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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Alliance
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A penthouse in Busan.
Two women sat in the room, with the entire Busan sea visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"Oh, Haru, Haru-yaaa."
"What?"
"I'm so jealous..."
"Of what?"
The blonde woman sitting at the balcony table, sipping a cool mango juice with ice and gazing outside, was Shin Haru. She was an ordinary college student who hid her life as an A-class hero, having come along with her friend.
And the woman whining to her, lying on the sofa with a sky-blue ponytail, was also an A-class hero, Icicle, Lee Seolah. Unlike Stardust, however, she didn't hide that she was a hero.
"What do you mean, 'of what'? You're about to become S-class. And the first in South Korea!"
"Haha, is that what this is about?"
Only then did Shin Haru understand what Lee Seolah was saying, and she gave an awkward laugh.
"I'm jealous of S-class... I wanted to be S-class too..."
"Well, I don't really feel it myself, so I'm not sure. And I wonder how much of a big deal it is for just one letter in the ranking to change."
Shin Haru said this nonchalantly, stirring the ice in her juice with a straw.
Lee Seolah shook her head at her, as if telling her not to talk nonsense.
"What are you talking about! So much changes when you become S-class. Your standing alone will be different, for starters! The difference between S-class and A-class to people is like night and day."
"Is that so? Hmm... Ah. I guess that makes sense, since the greater your standing, the better it is for your company."
Shin Haru nodded as she spoke. She knew that Lee Seolah ran a business alongside her hero activities. That's why her hero work was more for the company's image-making than out of a sense of justice.
"Exactly. Sigh... I want to raise my rank too. But to do that, a strong villain needs to appear so I can build up my実績. Everything here is so weak. There are no unique ones! I wish I had someone like Egoistic, like you."
At the sudden mention of Egoistic from Lee Seolah's mouth, Shin Haru flinched for a moment.
And whether she knew it or not, Seolah continued speaking.
"Ah! Should I just go up to Seoul this time? Anyway, there aren't many villains around here lately. Haru, this time, if Egoistic causes a terror attack, can I be the one to face him?"
"....No."
"Huh?"
Haru had said it reflexively, without thinking.
And only after seeing Lee Seolah's puzzled expression did she realize what she had said, and she hurriedly added a reason.
"No, it's just that whenever he causes a terror attack, he always threatens to make me come, so who knows what unpredictable actions he might take if someone else faces him? And, um..."
"Alright, alright. Why are you so flustered?"
Seeing Seolah smile and tell her to calm down, Shin Haru let out a breath.
'...Why did I answer like that?'
She herself was flustered by the words that had spilled out without thinking. What was it? Something... she felt a sense of rejection at the thought of Egoistic fighting another hero besides her.
.....Right. It's because she knew Egoistic best and had fought him the longest. Seolah might get hurt if she needlessly faced him. Since he's always pulling off unpredictable, hard-to-stop attacks, it'd be too much for Seolah to handle. I'm just worried she might get hurt, so I'd rather fight him myself. Yeah.
While she was thinking these unspoken excuses to herself, Lee Seolah, who had been leaning on her arm with a suspicious smile, finally stood up.
She stretched with a soft groan, then spoke to Shin Haru again.
"Ugh... Haru, I'm going to my company for a bit today. I have some things to take care of, but I'll be back soon! Just wait for me, okay?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah. Go ahead."
"Okay. Bye~."
With a bright smile, her sky-blue hair flowing, she left the living room, leaving Haru alone, still touching her lips and lost in thought.
And a short while later, she arrived at her company's main building.
As soon as she entered the company, her face instantly returned to a blank expression.
When she, with her completely different, cold expression, entered the hallway, the nearby employees all greeted her.
"Madam President, good morning."
"Good morning."
She looked around at the bowing people, then finally offered a slight smile as she returned their greetings.
"Yes, yes. Hello."
Of course, after returning the greetings, her expression returned to blank. And when she reached the top floor where her office was, the atmosphere of the building had distinctly changed.
Rather than being bright and lively like the lower floors, a serious and somewhat heavy air enveloped her.
She exited the elevator, untied her hair, and began to walk. Click, click. The sound of her heels echoed around her. Soon, she arrived at her office and spoke to the bodyguard standing in front.
"When I'm working, don't let anyone in here. Understood?"
"Yes, Miss."
She nodded at his robotic reply, given through sunglasses, then entered her office.
Her spacious office was larger than most living rooms.
In the empty room, save for herself, she walked with clicking heels and sat down with her back to the window.
"Whew..."
She pulled out one of the stacked documents awaiting approval.
Then she took a pen nearby and began to sign the papers.
She continued working on the documents, her head bowed for a while.
How much time had passed?
She put down her pen, picked up a cup of coffee, and before bringing it to her lips, she opened her mouth and spoke.
"Don't just sit there quietly; why don't you say something?"
Her voice echoed in the empty office.
And then, a man's voice came from in front of her.
"Shall I?"
She raised her bowed head and looked forward.
In front of the office chair, which had been empty when she entered, someone was sitting.
A man wearing a black hat, a black cloak, and a gray mask covering half of his face, sat with his legs crossed.
Then, he smiled slightly at her and spoke.
"Good day, Ms. Lee Seolah. I am Egoistic. It's a pleasure to meet you."
***
A true man's trait: charging in headfirst.
So, having blindly headed to Busan, I was now facing Lee Seolah, who had her long, sky-blue hair flowing freely.
As if she had expected my arrival, she indifferently sipped the coffee in her cup.
...I decided to pretend not to notice her fingers trembling slightly.
In fact, I'd been yawning through my work, and I decided to erase the memory of her flinching when she belatedly realized I was sitting in front of her. It was pretty funny how she flinched, then pretended she hadn't seen anything and went back to focusing on her paperwork, but whatever.
While I had secretly teleported into her office and sat there for a while, she stubbornly pretended not to know anything and continued with her paperwork. After a moment, she finally put down her pen and spoke to me.
Her words were unbelievably calm and quiet for words directed at a villain who had illegally trespassed into her private space.
"Don't just sit there quietly; why don't you say something?"
So, I graciously replied to her.
"Shall I?"
"Good day, Ms. Lee Seolah. I am Egoistic. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She quietly nodded at my smiling greeting.
Then, taking a sip of coffee, she opened her mouth again.
"So, why have you come here? Have you finally decided to turn yourself in?"
To her, who spoke with a gentle smile, I returned an equally smiling retort.
"Haha. As if? I merely came because I was interested in Ms. Lee Seolah, the true power behind the Yoo-sung Group, who pretends to be a hero but secretly aims to swallow South Korea whole."
"Oh, really? And I thought our dear Mr. Egoistic, who pretends to be a villain but secretly looks after Stardust and protects South Korea, had decided to surrender himself to a detention center."
"Hahahahahahaha!"
"Hahahahaha."
For a moment, my booming laughter and her dry laughter echoed in her office.
Then, after a long laugh.
We stopped laughing simultaneously, as if by prior agreement.
"...Amazing, truly amazing, Ms. Lee Seolah. I thought you would have expected that much."
"You too, Mr. Egoistic, it's impressive. I never imagined you thought of me that way. Where did you get that information? It should never have leaked?"
"Haha. There's no such thing as an eternal secret in this world, is there?"
I said that and crossed my arms.
It's important to appear relaxed and smiling here. If you let your guard down around Lee Seolah, she'll strip you bare. She's a truly terrifying woman.
Seeing me sitting cross-legged in her office, as if it were my own living room, smiling leisurely, she sighed as if giving up, then spoke.
"....Alright. So, why did you come to me?"
Seeing her finally ask me, I grinned and replied.
"Ms. Lee Seolah. Would you be interested in forming a 'cooperative relationship' with me?"
Rule number one for surviving in this crazy hero comic book world:
Team up with the mastermind.
You don't take down masterminds; you ride them like a bus.
***
"...."
Shin Haru, who was resting at her friend Lee Seolah's house, suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine.
"....What was that?"
She had a strong premonition that something very bad had just happened...