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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Alice
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The southern coast of South Korea.
There, where the waves surged, we were sailing our yacht forward.
"Whew… *this* is romance."
Salty air whipped my face, and the fierce sea wind flapped my cloak.
We cut across the sea, heading towards our target.
"Hey, Lee Subin. Where on earth did you learn to sail a boat?"
Choi Sehee, apparently bored of just sitting idly on the yacht, approached Subin, who was at the helm, and asked.
And towards her, Subin replied as if it were nothing.
"Where? I just taught myself at home, online."
"...? Is that even possible?"
Choi Sehee's tone was disbelieving, so I chimed in from behind her.
"There's nothing Subin can't do. She can even pilot trains and airplanes."
"....What? Really?"
"Yup."
"No way... Ha."
Choi Sehee clutched her head as if dizzy. *Sehee, Subin lives in a different world than us. Don't try to understand it.*
Separately, as could be seen from their casual, informal way of speaking to each other, the two had grown much closer than before.
How did this happen, you ask? It's a bit strange, but they became close during the process of thoroughly shaking down the Haneun Group researcher and Kim Sunwoo we caught last time. More precisely, after the last weapon incident, Seo Eun and Subin, who had a lot of pent-up frustration with Haneun Group, joined forces with Choi Sehee to thoroughly torment them before handing them over to the Association.
How much did they torment them? Well, let's just say Dr. Kim Sunwoo went insane. Who told him to conduct human experiments, anyway? He should be grateful I didn't kill him.
Anyway. Our current target is in the sea south of Busan.
There's only one goal.
"Right... there, it's slowly coming into view."
Through the hazy sea, a gigantic ship gradually emerged.
A ship, armed with cannons as if used by Vikings in the Middle Ages, and with a large white sail proudly unfurled, began to appear in our sight.
And the special thing about that ship was this.
"Hey, what the heck? The ship... it's floating?"
Yes.
The ship was floating in the air.
That colossal airship was the villain's ship, the Alice—a sort of pirate vessel we were going to hijack today.
* * *
After the Haneun Group's massive weapon attack on Seoul, the original work, [Stardust!], saw the story's atmosphere progressively darken, starting with the devastation of Seoul.
And the biggest reason for the story's darkening atmosphere was, of course, the continuous appearance of powerful villains.
In fact, until then, all the villains were pretty much on par. Aside from unavoidable disasters, the average villains were all manageable, so to speak. But from this point on, the atmosphere changed. The villains who appeared grew stronger. Increasingly, to the point where even Stardust herself found them overwhelming. Moreover, the number of villains also steadily increased. With the emergence of well-crafted villains, excelling in both quality and quantity, it was only natural for society to fall into chaos.
Furthermore, unlike before, when terrorism was primarily concentrated in Seoul, strong villains began to appear one by one in areas outside Seoul as well. It was truly a veritable age of villains.
In the original work, this caused Stardust to gradually grow weary, the story's atmosphere to darken, and a truly bleak narrative to begin... but.
With my appearance, however, things have changed considerably. Stardust grew stronger more quickly than in the original, and besides, I plan to step in and either persuade or deal with various villains myself from now on.
And as a first step.
We came to catch the villains who were going to wreck Busan.
"Whoa... what is that?"
Choi Sehee looked up, shaking her head in disbelief, and said.
Indeed, it's an astonishing sight to behold for the first time. A colossal airship floating through the air, advancing.
Choi Sehee, who had been marveling at the sight of the warship cutting through the sky above the sea, not just the sea itself, soon turned to me and asked.
"So. What's the plan?"
"First, we're going to give those guys up there a good thrashing."
I said it plainly. If they're 'reformed' after a good beating, they'll join our side. Otherwise... well, they'll become shark bait.
"Anyway, here. Take my hand. Subin, we'll be back."
"Alright. I'll be waiting here, so go ahead."
"Haa, alright. Let's go."
Choi Sehee swung her fist once to loosen up, then took my hand.
And just like that, we teleported onto the airship.
Time for villain rehabilitation.
* * *
The ones leading that airship and plundering were a group of three known as the 'Lapiss Band'.
Their most distinguishing feature was that all of them wore something resembling motorcycle helmets with rabbit-like ears attached.
In the original work, these guys, who mainly engaged in piracy in other countries using cannon-equipped airships, first appeared by attacking Busan. At that time, Icicle, being unprepared, got a bit roughed up. Of course, this time would be different.
Anyway, on the colossal airship.
There, overlooking the vast sea stretching in every direction, stood three figures.
Roughly in the center stood a guy wearing a red helmet with rabbit ears, and beside him were two others wearing identical helmets, one blue and one yellow. They were whispering among themselves.
And behind them, lightly landing, were the two of us.
As soon as they heard a creaking sound from where we landed, the guys spun their heads around to look at us.
"What was that sound? Who's there!"
What they saw was me, with my black hat and cloak fluttering, and Choi Sehee beside me, loosening her fists.
Towards the two of us, the one in the middle shouted.
"Who are you guys!"
The one in the middle shouted as soon as he saw me.
I yawned and told him.
"I'm your boss, you idiots."
"What nonsense! Blue! Yellow! Intruders! Grab your weapons!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
With that, the two beside him frantically began to grab their weapons.
Me?
Watching them, I merely floated the baseball bats I'd brought in my bag using psychokinesis.
And beside me, Sehee was clenching her fists, sparking.
I looked at them, ready to charge at us, and found myself grinning.
Indeed, for bad guys, a good beating is the best medicine.
"Everyone, attack!!!"
With the shout from the guy in the central rabbit helmet.
The three of them charged simultaneously, and the fight began.
* * *
Some time later.
"Alright. What did you say earlier?"
Towards the three figures kneeling on the ground, I tapped my bat against the floor.
"Who's your leader?"
"It's Egoistic, sirrrr!!"
"Good, good."
How much time had passed?
The villains, having received my and Choi Sehee's 'socialization' education, were now showing signs of realizing their sins and repenting. What a beautiful sight!
"Hey, Red."
"Yes, sir!"
The one in the very middle, wearing the red rabbit helmet, answered with a start. See? How nice it is when they answer so promptly.
"Alright. From now on, you're in a temporary alliance with our Ego Stream."
"Huh?"
"You're the second party of the Villain Alliance, Ego Stream. Got it or not?"
"Y-yes, sirrrr!!!!"
With a swing of my bat, I thus elicited the desired answer from them.
".....Wow, looking at this, I can't even tell who the villains are anymore."
Choi Sehee, who had been watching me from behind, said, shaking her head.
"...Hey, I'm already a villain, you know?"
"Anyway, alright. Welcome to Ego Stream!"
I spread my arms wide and shouted loudly.
First characteristic of villains: after a fight, everyone's friends. Even though my friends are currently kneeling before me, they're still my friends.
Thus, these guys—Lapiss or Rabbit, whatever they're called—were completely mentally subdued by my hours-long 'socialization' and even made a solemn vow deep in their hearts to only commit 'good' terrorism from now on. What good results.
After completing all preparations in this manner, I contacted Icicle—Lee Seola.
"Alright, hey. Busan invasion preparations are complete. We're planning to ride a cannon-equipped airship and 'bang-bang' in front of the city. What do you wanna do?"
"[...An airship? You really do come up with the most extraordinary things. When do you plan to set the date? Then, hmm... I could warn the citizens about the air raid in advance to gain some points... and if I show myself stopping it, my image would improve...]"
"Oh, and hey, get me a snazzy sail. Black."
"[Huh? Oh, alright. That much is fine. Then...]"
After plotting out the specific terror date and execution plan, I hung up the phone. Good. That's settled.
Next... right. I spoke to the former villains, who were still kneeling and nervously watching me.
"You guys said you wanted to attack Busan, didn't you?"
"Huh? No, sirrr!!! We'll go back quietly!!!"
"No, no, not that. Don't do that. Instead, why don't you guys work with me on something?"
I said that, giving them an even wider smile.
These rabbit-eared villains trembled at my bright smile.
"We should be close, shouldn't we?
Now that we're 'partners'."
And so, I prepared for the 'terror' with them.
Roughly speaking, taking an airship to Busan and firing a few cannon shots—that counts as terror, doesn't it?
It was just a rigged game with Icicle anyway, so it was nothing big. We just needed to make sure it looked good for the cameras.
Thus, the time for the decisive battle dawned.
* * *
Busan city.
In that peaceful place, sirens suddenly wailed.
WEEE-OOO. WEEE-OOO.
And soon, a voice echoed throughout the entire city.
"[Ah, ah. This is Yuseong Group. Terrorists are currently attacking Busan! We detected it before the Association and are urgently notifying you. Please evacuate immediately!]"
From every electronic device manufactured by Yuseong Group, Icicle's urgent voice blared.
Citizens, though flustered by the sudden situation, hurriedly began to evacuate.
And how much time had passed?
Beyond the sea horizon visible from Haeundae, something colossal was flying in.
A massive ship, unbelievable that it could be floating in the sky.
It was soaring majestically from the south, flying above the sea.
Attached to the top of that enormous airship was a large, black sail.
And on it, the word EGOSTREAM was boldly emblazoned.
From the very front deck of that ship, I stood with my arms crossed, my cloak fluttering, looking down at Busan in the distance.
"Egoistic-nim! All preparations are complete!"
"Boss! Cannons are ready too!"
"Excellent, gentlemen. Advance the ship even faster at once!"
I shouted that, looking down at the sprawling city of Busan.
Hmm. Committing an act of terror on the coast instead of in Seoul is certainly a fresh experience.
And so, I stood in the sea breeze, preparing to start the broadcast.
"Alright, shall we start the show?"
* * *
[Ego Stream Broadcast ON]
[Broadcast is up GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO]
[Oh holy sh*t what's with that airship LOLOLOLOLOL]
[No way, that ship is so f*cking snazzy LOLOLOL]
[Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick!]
[??Isn't this Busan????]
[Mango Stick appears in Busan LOLOLOLOL]
[Busan folks, taste some Seoul-direct Mango! LOLOLOL]
[Icicle on the verge of skyrocketing in popularity LOL]
At the mention of Egoistic's appearance, Shin Haru, who had instinctively been about to deploy, read the text and unconsciously rubbed her eyes, looking again.
But no matter how many times she looked, the text clearly stated that Egoistic had appeared in Busan, not Seoul.
"The place where the terror occurred... it's not here?"
Shin Haru muttered to herself, her eyes lifeless.
".....Why?"