episode_0068
by fnovelpiaA room with a very old-fashioned feel.
A middle-aged man with gray hair and a woman with light blue hair were facing each other.
“[Are you going now, Ice Queen?]”
“Yes, that’s right, Victor.”
The Ice Queen looked at Viktor and bowed her head.
“It was a short period of about half a year, but I learned a lot as a hero.”
“[..Don’t bow your head like that. It’s not like I taught you anything big.]”
During the hero exchange period, we just did activities together.
I’ve never been taught anything so special.
“Victor, these may have been common words, but they helped me a lot.”
“[If you have attained enlightenment next to me, it is all thanks to yourself. This old man was just meddling.]”
“You’re old.”
Victor tried to pass it off as nothing happened, though.
The Ice Queen could not admit it.
Victor.
A Russian hero.
“Currently, among all the heroes in the world, there is no one who can evaluate and treat Victor like that.”
The undisputed number one hero.
“How can you say that about someone who is considered the greatest hero?”
“[Is he the number one hero..]”
In the Ice Queen’s clear eyes, Viktor stared blankly into space for a moment, as if lost in thought.
“[..Anyway, I’m not that great of a hero. I just meddled a little.]”
“Even so, it is true that I learned a lot during this hero exchange.”
Although he is an A-class hero, he is a hero who has only recently lost his rookie status.
Although he has grown rapidly, it is only in terms of power, and in terms of experience, he is lacking compared to other higher-ranking heroes.
The advice Viktor gave to the Ice Queen helped her look like a proper hero for a short time.
“So before you leave, shouldn’t you say hello to the person who taught you?”
“[Stubbornness..]”
The Ice Queen bows her head once again.
At that stubborn attitude, Victor let out a snicker.
“[It was a short time, but I was glad to be able to work with such a great hero as you.]”
After a brief greeting, the Ice Queen turned and headed out the door.
“And..”
Before leaving the door, Ice Queen turned her head and looked at Victor.
“Thank you for stopping me at that time.”
She’s talking about a time when she was so enraged by the villain’s ridiculous ideas that she almost killed a person.
‘If I had done something wrong, it could have been a big problem.’
It wasn’t a mistake during the battle, and it was clearly an intentional murder since he was completely subdued.
I don’t know what disadvantages I may have suffered.
‘And I almost crossed the line as a human being.’
I’m still not sure if it’s right to subdue the villain.
But we need to think a little more about whether we should kill people.
“How should I repay this favor..”
“[What grace, as a hero, I just stopped my fellow heroes.]”
I almost made a rash decision that I should have thought about and considered carefully.
Since it was Viktor who prevented such a decision, the Ice Queen couldn’t help but feel grateful to him.
“Still, if there’s one thing you wish for, please tell me.”
“[Huh, do you want me to take the money I earned?]”
“Even if it’s not that…But anyway, it’s money that I got for nothing…”
Victor snorted and waved his hand.
“[I’m stronger, I have more money than you, and I have more connections.]”
“Ugh..”
Ice Queen shuts her mouth at Victor who laughs heartily.
I couldn’t refute it because it was all true.
“[What can a young person give to an old man like this?]”
“..Still, if you need any help, please contact me anytime.”
In fact, even if they did help, there was a high chance that it wouldn’t be of much help.
Ice Queen is one of the thousands of A-class heroes that exist all over the world.
Because Victor is considered the best hero among all heroes.
It seemed difficult for the Ice Queen, who lacked Viktor in everything – wealth, force, and power – to provide any help.
“……”
Still, if there is one thing Victor wants from her.
“[..next time.]”
“Yes?”
“[Next time, I’ll ask you to help out a few people who seem to need help.]”
It just reveals old, stale stubbornness.
Viktor looked at the Ice Queen and smiled.
“[That’s all I want.]”
***
Inside the room where the Ice Queen left.
Viktor stared at the door through which the Ice Queen had just exited.
“[The best..]”
Then she took a moment to mutter what she had said and take a sip of her whiskey.
“[That’s not a word that suits a cowardly old man who just survived.]”
He stared blankly into space as if thinking about the past, then soon let out a snicker.
***
“Welcome to today’s game, everyone!”
“Sa, save me!! Save me!!”
“Ugh…! I was wrong! Ugh!!!”
“Fuck! What did I do wrong! Huh?!”
People who scream loudly at my greeting.
“There are many people who welcome this game.”
I am committing terrorism again today.
“Polya?”
“Yeah.”
Pollya turned the camera with her telekinesis at my words.
Looking at the camera pointed at me, I smiled.
“Do you see the prisoners locked in the large iron cage behind me?”
“Why are we prisoners!!”
“Good question.”
I pointed to the place with my hand in a theatrical tone as I heard a loud voice from inside the iron bars.
“Everyone here probably doesn’t know what sin they committed to be here. That too is a sin.”
“What are you talking about!!”
The conversation piled up one after another, without going beyond my expectations, just like a set line.
It feels like everyday life.
“If you look at the data posted here, you will understand, right?”
“Those, those!”
“There will be no one who says they don’t know these articles. They are all written by you.”
I turned my back to the camera and looked at the hostages.
“Maker Gallery.. was that what you called it? Did you really think the villain would just sit by and watch you use him as a shield?”
When I smiled, the hostages’ faces turned pale.
“That, that may be true, but how do you know our status!”
“That’s right! I’m sure there won’t be any personal problems..!!”
Did you really believe the manager’s words so blindly?
I couldn’t help but laugh at their absurd attitude.
‘Well, I guess that’s why he only writes malicious comments because he has such low intelligence and only knows how to pass the blame to others.’
“The administrator personally handed me the data. He said, ‘Please get rid of those who are turning the gallery into a place to relieve their stress without worrying about getting caught, unlike its original purpose.’…”
“This is different from what I said!”
“I was fooled! If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have written such a thing!!”
“ It is so good to sell!
It must have been your own will that you wrote the article from the beginning, so why on earth are you blaming Jootak?
Today, I had some random thoughts, but I ignored them and continued with the next line.
“Anyway, this is enough introduction of the prisoners.”
“Aaaaah!!”
“Next, I’ll explain what happens when you lose a game.”
“If you lose..”
“Of course, this is the price that players will pay when they lose.”
Taaak!
I snapped my fingers.
Then, a sheet of iron floats above the iron bars.
One peculiar feature was that the part that was to overlap the iron bars had a bunch of sharp awls attached to it.
“If you lose the game, attack me during the game, or try to rescue the hostage secretly, you will be immediately…”
thud!
“Do you understand? Well, even heroes have suffered a lot, so they wouldn’t make such a stupid choice.”
People were left with their mouths open, speechless, at the sight of me laughing in a theatrical manner.
So, as always, I finished all my lines.
“Then next time I’ll talk about the game…”
And by the time I finish explaining this…
“That’s it, Maker!!”
“You came as expected. Phantom Luna.”
Phantom Luna appears.
A pattern that is now close to everyday life.
“What on earth are you dissatisfied with that you are committing terrorism?”
“I don’t really have any complaints. This is just work for me.”
“You seem to be working too hard for that!”
“Additional allowance is given.”
I commit terrorism and she comes to stop it.
This is a routine that has developed over the past few months.
“In the name of Phantom Luna! I will definitely catch you today!”
“Your momentum is good today too.”
“I’ll catch Eclipse as a bonus and make you unemployed!”
She also seems to think of this as a daily routine, and now even she, who used to be very picky, is joking with me.
‘If we continue like this, we’ll even be able to talk comfortably to each other.’
Suddenly, I felt dumbfounded.
I wonder if this is really the relationship between a villain and a hero.
“Anyway.. Come quickly, Phantom Luna. Shouldn’t we save the citizens?”
At those words, Phantom Luna began to approach me.
“The game is simple. Here, you, the hero, face off against three stages of villains that I have prepared.”
What happened after that was simple.
Phantom Luna had no choice but to join the game because of my threats and hostages.
“Haat!”
“Ugh!”
“Blow it away! Silphi!”
I fought the villains I brought (kidnapped) through conversation (threats).
Phantom Luna, showing off her promotional skills.
“Hmm.”
But I have to say, it’s a little disappointing.
‘It seems like growth is happening little by little…’
It’s definitely getting stronger, but it’s growing slower than I thought.
“Gyaat!”
As expected, Phantom Luna was showing signs of being pushed back little by little.
“Oh, in this situation, there’s no way we can save the citizens.”
“Be quiet! Maker!!”
What’s the problem..
I guess you could call it a kind of burnout.
Or maybe I should say I’m lacking dopamine.
Anyway, maybe because I’m a little tired of this kind of daily life, I’m going to take a moment to think about my brain, which isn’t working properly.
‘..I guess I’ve been worrying too much about terrorism lately.’
I was able to reach one conclusion.
There is a lack of tension.
Not only the hero, but also me.
‘Now that this kind of terrorism has become routine, there is no sense of crisis.’
What inspiration and growth can there be in everyday things!
The dull feeling suddenly disappeared as the realization came to me on my own.
‘I need something, something unfamiliar.’
Strangeness, or freshness.
If not, then we had to create a sense of crisis once again.
There’s one big thing I’m working on, but I still don’t have enough players to proceed with the story.
What should I do?
“Me, Maker!”
When I was so troubled, a voice called me.
I was the villain who was kidnapped off the street for this terrorist attack.
“I! I won!”
“Oh, so that’s what happened.”
The villain looked at me with a quizzical expression.
“Can I go back now? I did everything you told me to do..”
Phantom Luna had collapsed on the floor, face down.
Through the eyes behind the butterfly-shaped mask, he was staring at me clearly.
“……”
I think I know one of the reasons why you lost your sense of tension.
“You’ve lost the game, Phantom Luna.”
I continued speaking with a grin.
“Polya, release your psychic powers immediately. You have been defeated, so you must pay the price, right?”
“..!!”
Are you relaxed?
Then I have to make you nervous again.
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