I Became The Villain The Hero Is Obsessed With

369 – Misunderstanding and Explanation

“Misunderstanding?”

“Yes. It’s a misunderstanding. Mr. Stardust… No, Haru. Please listen carefully.”

With Haru in my arms, staring intently into my eyes, I averted my gaze slightly and began to speak with a confident voice.

“You’re aware that Miss Lee Seol-ah has tremendous influence in South Korea, right? Not only is she a hero, but she’s also the CEO of a large corporation. She even has her foot in politics.”

“Yes.”

“…So, to prevent any situation where I could be captured and my identity revealed, I made initial contact with Miss Lee Seol-ah and threatened her. We established a business relationship. That’s all there is to it.”

“I see…”

But why did you hide it until now?

Even though she didn’t ask, I could feel her unspoken question, so I hurriedly explained.

“I didn’t intend to hide it, but I didn’t pay much attention to it and didn’t find an opportunity to mention it, hahahaha.”

“…Alright. I understand.”

Although she responded as if she understood, she still seemed unconvinced.

…Well, it can’t be helped. After all, it’s been quite a long time since I revealed my identity to Lee Seol-ah. Of course, we were closer than mere business partners… But I wasn’t so oblivious as to say that here.

Regardless, she seemed somewhat sullen despite my explanation.

…Somehow, I had a feeling that if I let this pass, it might become a big problem later. I felt the need to do something.

…Right. I should do this.

“…”

Having made up my mind, I immediately opened my mouth again.

“…And Haru. You know this.”

“Huh?”

“Ultimately, you’re the only one for me.”

Saying so, I gently took her hand, gave her a smile, and continued.

“Haven’t I always said? My hero is only you. Who else have I been looking for all this time? Only Stardust. Do you think I’d look at any other heroes?”

“My life has always been, and will always be, about you.”

I spoke with heartfelt sincerity.

While looking into her eyes and holding her hand tightly.

And in response to my words, Stardust…

“…Uh, wha…?”

From noble mtl dot com

Her face turned bright red all the way to her ears, and she couldn’t meet my eyes, seemingly shy and trembling slightly.

…Finally, she no longer wore the stern expression from earlier, but her usual relaxed face.

Phew. It seems I’ve narrowly averted the crisis.

As Haru was flustered by my heated confession, I held her hand and helped her stand up from the ground.

“Come, let’s go somewhere else. We don’t have much time left. There’s a lot for us to see, right?”

At my words, accompanied by a smile, she nodded with a flushed face.

“Yes…”

***

And so.

We spent the remaining time exploring here and there, making the most out of it.

And now it was really time to say goodbye.

“Phew… That should be enough, right?”

“Yes. It’s good.”

Dressed in our outfits that almost looked like we’d been in a fierce fight, we stood hand-in-hand in a spot where we were out of sight from others.

Now it was really time to say goodbye.

…And it seemed that Haru was somewhat reluctant.

“We… can we meet again next time?”

Standing in front of me, she fiddled with my collar as if adjusting my outfit, and asked.

Feeling her gentle touch at the base of my neck, I reassured her.

“Sure, of course. There will certainly be an opportunity to see each other again soon. Don’t worry too much.”

…Truth be told, I was also reluctant to part ways.

“…”

While she was fiddling with my clothes one last time, she sighed and placed her hand on my chest, starting to speak.

“Right… we’ll be able to see each other again. We are a hero and a villain, after all. Right…”

She stopped mid-sentence, seemed to hesitate as if searching for what to say next.

…She spoke in a quiet voice.

“…You know, Egostick. I haven’t asked you in detail, haven’t I? Why you continue to be a villain.”

Her words…

…And they were true. She had indirectly asked me, but I had evaded the question.

I had answered her question about why I continued to be a villain like this: it’s all for you. I became the person in charge of Cathedral, the bulwark protecting South Korea. Because that’s somewhat true.

And to my words.

She asked sharply as if she had intuitively realized something.

‘Is that all?’

‘…’

And I…

…could not tell her more.

Because the ultimate goal I’m aiming for by entering Cathedral, a secret that goes beyond simply protecting the world.

It was too early to tell her that.

…It was not a truth she could handle yet.

Did she read my expression like that?

Haru quietly changed the subject. Because she felt I didn’t want to talk more.

And now, she’s talking about it again.

“…I’m worried, but I trust you. Yes. I’ll continue to trust you… So don’t get hurt. If anything happens, you must call me, okay?”

“Understood… Yes. I got it, Haru.”

And to her words.

I nodded, brushing her hair.

It was really time to go now.

The sunset was already setting.

“…”

Looking at Haru, who seemed to lean on me a bit, I bowed my head and kissed her again.

Like that.

“Okay, let’s go back.”

“Yes…!”

We returned to the battlefield.

After that, everything went smoothly.

Kwa-aaang

“Cough! Stardust, you’re back!”

“…Yes! It was a bit of a hassle chasing him, what’s the situation?”

“It’s tough, but we’re winning! We barely managed to repel them!”

“Got it. I’ll take over from here!”

The sky above the city, where numerous heroes and white soldiers were flying around, and smoke was billowing.

As I returned to the battlefield, which looked like a fierce fight, I said.

“Uh…! Excellent. You all did a great job while I was driving Stardust away! It’s quite an achievement to harass so many heroes with such a force. I’m looking forward to next time.”

“You, what are you muttering about! There won’t be a next time!”

“hahahaha, that’s not possible. I’ll retreat this time, but I won’t show mercy next time… Look forward to it. Now then!”

With that, I defeated all the summoned soldiers, teleported and disappeared.

And so…

“The terror instigated by the members of the Cathedral today has ended.

…And what happened after that.

From noble mtl dot com

It was only natural that everywhere, including the internet and news, was discussing this battle.

*

[Breaking news! At last, the invasion where our heroes confronted the villains of the Cathedral has ended! The terror that S-class villain, Egoistic, caused upon his first return in half a year was an actual war on an unimaginable scale unlike any previous terror…]

[Though it was a war that South Korea won, experts say that ‘victory is nothing but a wound’, and there is a high probability that what the Cathedral showed today was not their full power. The opinion that we need to reinforce our defense is…]

[…particularly considering that the abilities of the heroes have been leveled up after the last inflation incident, the fact that the soldiers summoned by Egoistic were strong enough to face each of these heroes indicates the power of the Cathedral…]

*

That’s how the news, in general, was accurately summarizing the visible facts.

S-class villain Egoistic has returned.

We have stopped the Cathedral’s soldiers he led, but they were powerful.

We must be careful as we still don’t know the full power of the Cathedral.

…And this was, of course, the story of the official news.

In the online community where real people were talking, quite a different opinion was being expressed.

*

[Fact) Didn’t Egoistic just let us off this time?]

It was an invasion of an enormous scale! (Only one villain, Egoistic)

It was like a war, it was dangerous! (Zero casualties on the hero side)

It seems like Mango is just doing the same old thing, a terror with zero casualties

Government Association Press ＜＜＜ If you think they are freaking out just because they entangled with Cathedral, like this ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Just trust in Egoisticㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

=[Comment]=

[For realㅋㅋ]

[That’s correct, right now Cathedral is invading other places as well and there’s nowhere else that ended with no damage at all like usㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Yeahㅋㅋ Especially us, we even fought in the sky, not the city, so there was no city damageㅋㅋㅋㅋ How far can Egoistic see…]

[To be honest~) No need for terror analysis, if you want an explanation of the 5 hours that Egoistic and Stardust disappeared, like thisㅋㅋㅋ]

[For realㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[For real, what were the two of them doing? Hmm, am I the only one who doesn’t knowㅋㅋㅋ?]

[No, they were in a chase, but nothing was recordedㅋㅋ Suspicious, suspicious…]

[I just think they should officially announce that they’re datingㅋㅋㅋ, starting with me.]

[Look at the delusions of EgoStar fans ㅉㅉ. Do you know what kind of person my oppa is?]

[Ice Mango group arrested at the U-seong Group building]

[No, no, looking at the posts this person wrote, it seems like they are a strong supporter of Hacker Mango]

*

*

[Just forget everything else, if you’re happy that Egoistic is back, like thisㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Let’s welcome the return of the GOAT.

May you protect South Korea forever.

=[♡] 10703 likes

=[Comment]=

[F**k, the number of likes in the fan cafe seems to be the highest everㅋㅋㅋ]

[Especially, he just showed his face for the first 10 minutes and then disappeared, making it even more excitingㅋㅋㅋ]

*

…Not just somewhat.

Quite different opinions filled the community.