For two whole days, we had controlled all vehicles and continued patrolling the city without rest, but we still couldn’t find the fugitive villain or the victim. In the end, the Hero Association issued a withdrawal order.
“…A bounty?”
They concluded that the villain was no longer in the city, and with that, announced a reward system for reports related to the masked villain.
“To be precise, it’s a reporting reward. We’re in a situation where we have to find the victim of the suicide bombing threat, even if it means relying on help from the public.”
Sure, we did need to rescue the victim of the suicide bombing threat…
But there was something I absolutely had to ask the part-timer.
“I’ll stay behind and look a little longer.”
I chose to stay behind until the very end to keep looking for the part-timer.
Something felt wrong.
In the documents stored by the Hero Association, there were a few terrorist incidents with unknown causes.
– Bombing in an empty lot.
– Terrorist attack during the forced demolition of an abandoned school,
And so on.
Terrorist attacks like those where we had no idea who caused them, and because there were no casualties and not even witnesses… they were events shrouded in mystery.
And now, it looked like a new case was about to be added to that list of unsolved terrorism files.
– Kidnapping incident during a threatened bus suicide bombing.
The Hero Association was an organization that prided itself on not leaving behind unsolved terrorist cases.
Because of that, they paid large bounties to the heroes who managed to resolve each of these unsolved incidents.
If I failed to find the part-timer here, and the Association couldn’t close the case even with citizen-reported tips, then… they’d end up registering this one as an unsolved case, too.
I had to solve it before a bounty got posted.
If it came to that…
In the end, a bounty would be placed on the part-timer, and it would be obvious that all the heroes would jump at the chance to resolve a cold case where the culprit was already clear. I had to find him somehow before things escalated that far.
The part-timer?
While floating in the sky and continuing to look down at the area around me, I finally spotted the part-timer walking somewhere. He no longer looked like a villain, but just like an ordinary civilian…
A girl?
He was standing at a crosswalk, arms linked with a woman I had never seen before.
The part-timer didn’t have a girlfriend, did he…?
After observing him for a long time at the pub where he worked, I knew for certain that he didn’t have a girlfriend.
As proof, he had never once received a call from a woman while on shift, and he didn’t wear anything like a couple ring, which any person in a relationship would naturally have.
…So she’s the victim of the suicide bombing threat.
The moment I realized that the woman standing next to him was the victim from the bombing threat—
“Ugh! That hurts! You were the same in bed last night. Why do you keep hurting me like that?”
“?”
I heard it.
“I didn’t think you were like that, babe. You really can’t control your own strength, huh?”
The woman’s voice, speaking as if they were lovers.
Hurt? Who do you think you are to say that hurts? If it were me, I’d have endured it.
Then switch places with me….Swallowing back the words that nearly rose to the tip of my tongue, I descended to where the two of them were standing.
“…Sorry.”
“Duh~ You should be sorry!”
“…….”
“Just sorry?”
“…What, then? What more do you want me to do?”
“Buy me a bag. Then I’ll forgive you.”
It was obvious at a glance that the part-timer was in a really awkward situation, so I approached him, wondering how I could help…
“You… you know me, right?”
The answer that came back was…
“I remember. We met at that shop across from the pub. The one that exploded.”
“…Right. And the person next to you?”
“She’s my girlfriend.”
It was an unbelievably cruel lie.
***
After avoiding Mobia who stood there blankly and leaving the city behind, there weren’t any particular difficulties.
We took a taxi out of the city and arrived at the location specified by MBYHW.
“We’ve arrived. Can I buy the bomb now?”
When I tried to purchase the bomb from Pyro Bomber at the designated place as instructed…
“?”
She naturally lifted the grass.
“…Are you really going to open your hidden place so boldly in front of me?”
“We’re a couple, aren’t we? What’s the problem?”
[Unnie? Unnie…! Wait a minute…!]
We began to enter the hidden space beneath the grass.
“Follow me quickly.”
“…Okay.”
If we took a wrong step, we could end up being hunted, so we carefully watched our surroundings as we descended underground.
And then, a bit further down—
“…Hello.”
“Hello, Miss Whatever-your-name-is.”
“Mhmm, nice to… meet you…”
I saw a kid who looked like a middle schooler sitting in front of a computer monitor.
“?”
She had seemed quite talkative when speaking to me through the machine’s voice, but maybe she was more shy than I thought.
When it came time to actually face me and talk, she quietly slipped behind Pyro Bomber’s back.
“You’re here to… buy the bombs, right?”
“I am.”
Well, there are all kinds of people in the world. Being a little shy wasn’t such a big deal.
“How much can I buy?”
“Originally… I mean… um…”
Maybe it was a big deal after all.
Ugh, this was so frustrating.
“That…”
Perhaps Pyro Bomber noticed how frustrated I was.
Tap—tap—
She smoothly detached some bombs from her vest and started leading me deeper into the underground.
“The computer’s at the entrance because that area’s closest to the surface, so the signal’s better there.”
“…I see?”
I was a bit thrown off by the sudden bunker tour,
But I could tell Pyro Bomber was trying to buy some time so that the girl could calm down.
So I went along and started casually looking around the bunker where they lived.
A short while later.
[I finished making the bombs.]
“Hmm? You made the bombs, you say?”
“Hye-won is a creation-type ability user. As long as she has the necessary materials in hand, she can make anything she imagines.”
Along with the news that the bombs had been completed,
I also learned that Pyro Bomber’s companion possessed a creation-type ability.
[…She’s just out here spilling all my personal information.]
“Why are you being so uptight with your Unnie’s boyfriend?!”
When I returned to the spot where the girl had disappeared, the original twelve bombs had now been turned into twenty-two handmade bombs.
[See that clock over there? I rigged it so you can adjust the explosion timing with it.]
The reason they had to bring the bombs all the way here.
It must have been to modify the bombs that originally detonated only with a wired button, combining them with a wristwatch to make the timing adjustable like a C4.
“Wow… this is really impressive. I love it. I’ll take them all. How much is it?”
[They’re normally 6.5 million won each… but since we’ve all had a rough time these past few days… I’ll give them to you for 5 million each. At that price, we’re barely breaking even. Just so you know.]
“Hye-won, we stole the parts for those, you know?”
[Oh, come on!]
“Thank you. From 6.5 million to 5 million per unit…. what a greaat discount.”
[Unnie, just blow the whole thing up already.]
“Got it!”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding…!”
Things were starting to feel a bit more lighthearted, so I decided to play along. But that crazy woman actually tried to set off the bombs.
Just because she’s immune herself, she was ready to kill everyone else here…
“Alright then, thanks for the…wait a moment.”
Just as I was about to head home, having wrapped up all my business.
“Now that I think of it, there’s something I wanted to ask.”
“What is it?”
Suddenly, I remembered how every time the Pyro Bomber carried out a terrorist attack, her clothes would burn away completely except for her underwear.
“Did Miss Whatever-your-name-is make your underwear, Miss Pyro Bomber?”
[…Just call me Hye-won. Why are you calling me something weird and making it awkward for everyone…]
“Did Miss Hye-won make them for you?”
“Oh my, babe~ Are you that interested in my underwear?”
“No, it’s just that even when your bombs go off and everything catches fire, your underwear always seems to be completely untouched—”
“So you want to see the inside of my underwear?!”
“If you’re capable of making clothing, Miss Hye-won, I was hoping to request a custom outfit. Something for me to wear as a villain.”
If Hye-won really had made her underwear…
Then I wanted clothes like that too. Something that wouldn’t burn, no matter the explosions or flames.
[Mhmm, I made them.]
Fortunately, it turned out that Hye-won had made Pyro Bomber’s underwear.
“Would it be possible to custom order something?”
[It’s going to be really expensive, you know?]
“One hundred million won. It’s all the money I have left. Will that cover it?”
“Hye-won! Are we really making two hundred million a day now?!”
[Deal.]
“De—!”
With the money I had left after robbing the loan shark office, I decided to commission a custom-made villain outfit for myself.
…
After getting my measurements taken—
And picking out a design that looked reasonably decent—
Hye-won told me it would take about two hours, so I stepped outside to get some fresh air, with about 3.5 million won in cash still on me.
When the hell did she swipe that extra 5 million…?
After doing the math in several ways, it became pretty clear that the Pyro Bomber had stolen 5 million won from me.
But I checked her pockets countless times and there was nothing…
If no matter how many times I searched, the money didn’t turn up, then it had to mean it was hidden somewhere I couldn’t possibly reach.
I decided to think of the missing 5 million won as a tip taken from the roughly 33 million won discount I got when buying the bombs.
Whatever, it’s fine.
I hadn’t realized how precious time alone could be.
After finally being free from the constant threat of that thieving she-cat who’d been eyeing my money bag for days, I felt refreshed. Both physically and mentally.
I should take a walk around the neighborhood.
I figured I’d take my time thinking about how to spend the rest of the money.
As I quietly enjoyed a solitary walk in the darkness—
So, it’s goodbye for you too.
I had decided that starting today, I’d no longer wear the mask I’d used during my villain activities.
Since there was no one nearby, I kept the mask on and began to enjoy the cool night air.
Is it really that ugly?
I always thought the mask looked decent enough.
But every single person who’d seen me wearing it had nothing but insults for it.
“Let’s see… is there a mirror around here?”
I looked around for a place nearby where I might find a mirror to check how I looked with the mask on.
If you’re a villain, you’ve got to go all out. That’s what being a villain’s about.
There was a factory with its lights still on about 500 meters away.
Thinking I’d boldly trespass like a true villain, take a quick look in a mirror there, and leave without a fuss, I immediately started running toward the factory.
…
No knocking. I’m a villain, after all.
For some reason, despite the lights being on, the inside of the factory was eerily quiet.
It seemed to be a factory that manufactured machine parts, but none of the equipment was running. I figured maybe the manager had simply forgotten to turn off the lights before going home.
Oh, there it is.
I spotted a large mirror at the end of a hallway that led deeper inside, so I sprinted straight toward it…
“..?”
Back there…
I could see around twenty people, all tied up hand and foot with blue tape.
Ah, looks like someone else got here before me.
I had no idea which villain it was this time, but—
Just as I realized someone else had beaten me to it and was about to leave the factory—
Creeeak…
Suddenly, a door in the hallway opened slowly and cautiously…
“Over here…! Here…!”
Someone inside began waving frantically at me, motioning for me to come in.
“?”
Caught off guard, I followed them into the room…
“You’re here to help, aren’t you?! Thank you, hero…! Thank you so much…!”
“????”
At some point, I had somehow become a hero.
“The villains took everyone’s phones and cut all the phone lines, so we had no idea how to call for help….!”
“No, no. Here, please look closely at this mask. Look at me.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you recognize this mask?”
“Uh… well…”
“You really don’t know me?? Seriously? I’ve been, you know… active lately, so… I thought I had at least some… recognition?”
“I’m sorry… we’re always so busy working on-site… we don’t really watch much except the news… You’re a new hero?”
“…Let’s go with that.”
More than anyone else, I knew that if I tried to explain I was actually a villain, I’d only end up embarrassing myself even more.
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