Ch.241Chapter 10. I’m Not a Dine-and-Dasher (1)

How should I summarize the unrest that occurred in Phuket, Thailand?

I feel like I shouldn’t need to summarize it, but if I were to briefly describe what happened overnight, it could be called “the collapse of a dictatorship.”

The dictator’s secret army-building was exposed to the world.

The dictator’s attempted coup was suppressed by a powered individual.

The hero who sided with the dictator was “executed.”

-That’s our Goblin for you!

People cheered for the Goblin. If the Goblin hadn’t revealed the truth, people would never have faced all the dirty secrets hidden behind the regime.

Just one day.

In just one day, Phuket—Thailand—was turned upside down.

The military leadership committed suicide, and those who were puppets of the military are now desperately trying to read the situation.

While many are confused by the unrest in Phuket, the Goblin has mysteriously vanished.

-Where is the Goblin and what is he doing?

Many people raised questions.

-After causing all this chaos in Phuket, where is the Goblin and what is he doing now?

-If you collapse a regime, you should take appropriate responsibility. How can you just eliminate the root cause and leave?

That’s what people are saying.

To this, the Goblin—The Syndicate—always answers:

-From now on, it’s your responsibility.

Irresponsible?

It might seem irresponsible.

But I can’t blame them for that irresponsibility.

Because.

I am a villain.

* * *

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

Almost 700km in a straight line from Phuket, but the capital is in chaos due to the unrest in Phuket.

“What a mess since early morning. Right, Hye-ra?”

“……”

Yoon Hye-ra sipped her fruit smoothie with a tired look. Still appearing dazed, she couldn’t quite gather her wits, so I fixed her slipping sunglasses and tidied her disheveled hair.

“Tired?”

“You’re really strange, oppa.”

“What?”

“Isn’t it supposed to be the woman gaining energy and the man getting drained?”

Yoon Hye-ra complained to me grumpily. She had certainly struggled dealing with me alone last night, but even after sleeping, she still wasn’t in good shape.

Because she’s tired?

No.

She was still distracted, savoring the lingering sensation of magical power filling her from our mana supply session last night, which we indulged in regardless of the chaos in Phuket.

“If I’d known it would be like this, I should have dragged it out for a few more days.”

“Have you forgotten The Syndicate’s motto? If there’s work to be done, finish it quickly and rest afterward. You know that.”

“I know. But do you realize how long we’ve been in Thailand?”

“…What, about 72 hours?”

“That’s exactly my point.”

It hadn’t even been three days since one incident ended.

From obtaining information on the Zenros escort ship to breaking the doppelgänger Hyangdan, it hadn’t even been three days since we arrived in Thailand.

We met with Nguyen on the day we arrived.

The next day, we blew up Phuket.

Now, after resting for a full day and enjoying brunch at a café, it’s exactly the third day since arriving on the morning flight.

“Now we can relax a bit, right? Both of us can slowly recover our mana while enjoying ourselves. Why? You were the one who said we’d have an amazing time during the remaining period.”

“Sometimes I feel it’s really hard to handle this alone…”

“You say that but never call for backup.”

“…Hehehe.”

Yoon Hye-ra collapsed onto the table with a soft laugh.

“If I called someone else, I’d lose time with you, oppa. Why would I give up my time?”

“You just said you couldn’t handle it alone.”

“Even if I can’t handle it, I’ll enjoy it all by myself. I’ll eat to my heart’s content even if my stomach bursts.”

“Will your stomach stretch from overeating?”

“Even if I wanted it to stretch, it couldn’t.”

Yoon Hye-ra patted her stomach.

Her model physique was truly remarkable—a fantastic figure with curves in all the right places that seemed almost inhuman.

That’s the power of S+ rank.

Given Yoon Hye-ra’s characteristic of having a body composed of magical power, her body maintains its beautiful form only when supported by sufficient mana.

“Hye-ra. Your chest seems smaller than before we left.”

“Oh my, really?”

“Yeah.”

“…Even though oppa refilled my chest last night?”

“Well, I didn’t use much mana yesterday.”

Yoon Hye-ra looked over the mana pouch on the table with a sad expression.

Having considerably more mana than other executives, losing confidence in her mana pouch was somewhat disheartening.

“Sigh. Men and women are so different.”

“It’s not about men and women, it’s about you and me, isn’t it? The Lord of Radiant Wings would be the same, right?”

“…Should I ask him?”

Yoon Hye-ra tapped the Taegeuk Watch she’d brought from Bangkok’s bunker.

“It’s not mannerly to ask a man such things.”

“Who cares? You might end up in the same situation as the Lord of Radiant Wings someday.”

“…That won’t happen. I’ll survive until the end.”

I will stubbornly survive until I can take the stories of this world back to my original world.

“And even if that happens, the size of my stick won’t shrink.”

“Why? Isn’t that maintained by mana too?”

“With so many people around to fill me with mana, why would my stick shrink?”

“Oh….”

Yoon Hye-ra’s eyes sparkled.

As if having an epiphany, she clapped her hands.

“As expected of you, oppa. Your ideas are so extraordinary. So it’s possible to make it bigger right away by feeding you mana?”

“That’s right.”

I carefully gauged Yoon Hye-ra’s reaction before cautiously bringing up:

“Ymir has that ability.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Taowu learned it last time.”

In hushed tones—since we couldn’t speak loudly in the middle of the street—I briefly explained the method of mana supply that Ymir had taught and Taowu had learned.

“Contact Taowu sometime. He’ll teach you right away.”

“…Is it worth giving up one day to Taowu to learn that technique?”

Yoon Hye-ra began seriously weighing her time against the value of the technique.

“Hmm. But I’m reluctant to call him.”

“Why? Is that too much?”

“No. I just hate losing time with you, oppa.”

“…You’re so greedy.”

“If I know the technique exists, I can learn it later anyway.”

Yoon Hye-ra sucked up the rest of her smoothie in one go and leaned her face closer to mine.

“…Oppa. Can I ask you something?”

“The way you’re setting this up makes it sound like you’re about to say something serious.”

“Yes. Will the kids in Korea be okay?”

“……”

I immediately understood what she was worried about.

“Are you concerned they’ll be disappointed that I killed Laplace?”

“Yes. This was supposed to be my job to handle. You didn’t need to come.”

“I couldn’t just ignore knowing Pandemonium was here.”

“Still, their thoughts might change. Especially Ymir.”

“……”

I took a sip of coffee to moisten my throat.

“Snow White saw you kill villains in Korea, so she’ll be fine. But what about Platinum Sun? This is basically the first time since meeting you that you’ve acted like a true member of The Syndicate, isn’t it?”

“You worry about the strangest things.”

“I worry because I’m concerned.”

“Even if there’s cause for concern, neither Platinum Sun nor Ymir will become my enemies. Ymir avoids killing people herself, but she’ll accept when irredeemable people die.”

And that’s what I want as well.

“One shouldn’t hesitate to kill those who deserve death. If I don’t have to dirty my hands, I’d prefer someone else do the killing. If legal justice can’t be served, I hope someone will pass emotional judgment even if they bear the stigma. When such thoughts grow deeper, that’s when Ymir becomes a person of The Syndicate.”

“What if Ymir still refuses to dirty her hands after joining The Syndicate?”

“That’s something to negotiate with the Chairman, isn’t it?”

“…True. With exceptional abilities, different treatment is natural.”

Yoon Hye-ra stirred the remains of her smoothie with the straw and smiled bitterly.

“That’s how I joined The Syndicate too.”

“……”

“That’s how everyone becomes part of The Syndicate. Former heroes, former villains—when they believe The Syndicate’s order is most ‘right’… that’s when people start falling into The Syndicate one by one. …Well, the same goes for those people over there.”

Thump, thump.

Rough footsteps sound from behind us.

Despite deliberately setting up an invisible barrier, the ground shakes—meaning the tremors are so strong they persist even with sound blocking.

Is it an earthquake?

No.

This earthquake isn’t natural—it’s artificially created by people.

“Oppa. If later Ymir and the others complain like ‘Is killing people enough?’, make sure to tell them. The Syndicate isn’t just some irresponsible group that kills villains randomly and considers everything finished.”

As a villain, that’s what I do.

I just execute villains and that’s it—like I executed Laplace.

“You’re a villain executioner, not an anarchy resolver.”

“I know.”

But The Syndicate is different.

I created the situation according to The Syndicate’s plan, and now it’s time for The Syndicate to properly intervene.

“Leave complicated political issues to the politicians in The Syndicate, and we can just enjoy ourselves.”

“””Waaaaaah!!”””

The moment Yoon Hye-ra temporarily disabled the sound barrier, cheers erupted from the people marching in line behind us.

“Prime Minister!! Resign!!”

“””Resign!!”””

Citizens dressed entirely in black from head to toe are occupying the streets in protest.

Most are ordinary citizens, but they’re being organizationally led by The Syndicate’s collaborators or consultants.

“We’ve finished everything that needed to be resolved with superpowers. The rest is up to the adults, not powered individuals.”

That’s right.

Yoon Hye-ra and I have done our part.

The rest is up to those born before the year ’00, the social adults.

It’s not like we’re just traveling around Bangkok, causing incidents and simply having fun.

“Oppa. Where should we go today?”

“…Let’s see. How about Pattaya?”

We’re definitely not just overthrowing a country and then traveling around carefree.

Definitely not.

The Goblin isn’t someone who makes a mess and runs.