Chapter 45

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 45

Chapter Title: But You Have No Human Rights Either

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No, is this for real?

Rubbing my eyes with my perfectly fine right hand and looking again, the popup message stayed exactly the same.

Tap.

Propping my phone on my stomach using my bandaged left arm as a stand, I touched the message. And there it was—an illustration that was unmistakably Robelia herself on the thumbnail, along with a post from the official SNS account hyping her up as the new magical girl coming in next week's update.

And sure enough, every comment or quote post under it was along those lines. There were a few mentioning that I was a criminal... well, a Villain, but that was about it.

"Ha, seriously... this can't be real?"

Storming out into the living room in outrage over the game company releasing a character without my permission, the answer I got from Bell was this.

"But you have no human rights either."

"......"

"Betrayal, corruption, dark transformation... people go nuts for that stuff. Throw in a little spice to the performance, and sales are guaranteed to explode. Plus, no human rights means no licensing fees? How could they resist?"

Honestly, if I were them, I'd grab the opportunity too.

"On top of that, the HQ's security is airtight thanks to all the magical girls who barge in complaining about balance and designs. They're not nerfing things for no reason."

"Ugh..."

"The government's probably egging them on too. Pull in some revenue to secure the budget, and if Miss Ha-yul flips out and shows up, perfect—send in three magical girls from the enforcement division."

In fact, if I weren't in this condition, I might've transformed and stormed their HQ right then.

"Perfect timing since you exploded last time. Pulling for her now should break your pity ceiling. Haha. I'll do full pulls, of course."

"No, common sense-wise, why would I pull for myself...?"

"Maybe delete all those selfies from your gallery first before saying that?"

"You...! How do you...!"

"Sigh, I'm really worried about you, Miss Ha-yul. Your narcissism is off the charts. What if you end up single forever?"

Even I couldn't help but blush at this topic. With one arm bandaged and my face burning red, I flailed my right arm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to hide it... but if it were that easy to cover, he wouldn't be smirking like that.

"Miss Sun-ah and you both—I told you I do regular security checks on your phones to keep the government from tracking them. At least use incognito mode or secure folders?"

Unable to lift my head from the nagging, I squatted down, burying my face between my legs, breathing deeply to cool my scorching cheeks.

"And that's why I placed your room far away when I moved in..."

"Gyaah—!"

"...Oops."

I had a gut feeling I absolutely could not hear the next words. By then, I'd already screamed, leaped up, and launched my whole body at his face.

Krunch...!

Finally, the sensation of his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠face fully enveloped by my bare soles flew off into the distance.

"Huff, huff...!"

I panicked at the sight of Bell on the floor, blood streaming from his nose, mumbling softly.

"...Hey, you alive?"

In my panic, I'd thrown myself full force without holding back like usual. If he actually died, I'd be in trouble too. Approaching cautiously, I poked his cheek with my right hand.

"Kuh, kuhk..."

Thankfully, he was conscious, coughing in agony. I sighed in relief inwardly.

"Miss... Ha-yul..."

"...What."

"When you do laundry, it's embarrassing... at least clean up properly..."

"Die, you bastard!"

I stomped his face one last time as he stared at me with resolute determination, like he had to say it even in death.

"Bare feet... reward... thank... you..."

Leaving the pervert who emphasized the importance of indoor slippers to the end behind, I returned to my room.

"...Ha."

Sighing, I pulled the blanket over me on the bed... After mulling it over, I quietly muttered as I moved all the images from the download folder in my gallery to a secure folder.

"Guess I'll give pulling a shot..."

What could I do? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Though I didn't show it, Seriel had been my ideal type since my guy days, and my current look as Robelia matched that perfectly—right up my alley.

Tap, tap tap.

Plus, with no human rights, Robelia had no licensing, so every kind of artwork was flooding out... In short, it was my fault for being so damn cute.

The moment I'd been waiting for had finally arrived.

Long, wavy brown hair, a white lab coat, and red round glasses worn for the aesthetic.

"Alright, everyone! Good morning, good afternoon, good evening—however you're tuning in!"

The woman beaming at the unusually large array of cameras in her small studio—Ha Yu-ra, operator of the Bella Channel internet broadcast—greeted her audience, and the chat exploded faster than ever.

"Whoa—I didn't plan this, but the timing lined up perfectly. Yes, that's right! Just an hour ago, the announcement dropped! Today, we're reviewing Robelia!"

Of course it would. She'd predicted Robelia would get featured eventually. She just hadn't expected to know about it ahead of time.

'Can't complain about not getting government gigs anymore. Next time, I might actually die.'

Long story short, skipping the tedious backstory: She'd snuck some classified docs to make a Robelia review video and got caught. The government agent who showed up used it as leverage—what most would call blackmail—to coerce her into releasing the video at this "coincidental" timing.

"So, who is Robelia? I figure most viewers know by now, but since this is a review even Florida Man could understand, let's cover the basics!"

The government's requests totaled three.

"Originally a magical girl named Seriel, she killed the very citizens she was supposed to protect for unknown reasons and became a Villain... Robelia, the fallen magical girl."

One: Do not mention one of Seriel/Robelia's presumed unique abilities—magic-slicing power. Risk of Villain Alliance and hostile forces researching it as a magical girl counter.

'They've probably already sniffed it out without me saying a word. Government's always one step behind, but damn good at cleanup.'

Plenty of gripes, but what could she do? Even as a top-tier PhD streamer, her past government ties meant she had to toe the line.

"Of course, no Villain's complete without their organization. It even made the news recently: Crown Theater Troupe."

Still, considering the next condition... the first one was tame by comparison.

"A Villain group supposedly wiped out 20 years ago... Wow, impressive. Twenty years back, records were spotty, and yet here it is, alive and well—not just saving people, but with a fallen magical girl to boot? You couldn't script this drama."

Two: Do not investigate Crown Theater Troupe's detailed history. Blackout alert level—mentioning it risks imprisonment for all involved on national security threats.

Three: While minding the above, stoke civilian interest in Crown from a layperson's view. Analysis of Robelia's past tendencies and witness statements indicate high likelihood she'll seek this video out... and she probably knows little about her own group.

It sounded contradictory at first, but her PhD wasn't won in a bet—she got the intent quick enough.

"Digging deeper would mean going back to my old workplace... Ugh, I don't wanna see that rainbow magic lighting up the lab like a rave on Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri-Fri-Fri again. So, that's all on that."

The government wanted simple: Prompt Robelia to try accessing classified docs herself. That was it.

"Anyway, enough chit-chat... Let's dive into the real review!"

Every time she confronted her lack of human rights, it hit her just how ruthless the government could be. She clicked her tongue inwardly at the agents in black lurking behind the cameras, their cold stares waiting for any slip-up.