So What Kind of Guy Is Maker? (2)
The news was completely flooded with articles about Maker’s second terror attack.
Villain ‘Maker’s Another Terror Attack!
New Year’s Peace Shattered at the Terror Scene.
Second Department Store Terror? Zero Casualties!
Villain Psychology Professor Says: “The B-District Heroes’ Response Was Wrong.”
Even in a world where villains committed terror as casually as eating a meal, it was extremely rare for the same villain to strike again so soon after their previous attack.
Above all, the outcome was shocking.
Zero casualties.
That was the combined total from both the first and second incidents. Even a simple rampage by C-class villains would produce casualties, yet not a single person had died in his attacks.
Why?
Was Maker simply weaker than even a C-class villain? Or had the heroes responded appropriately?
Some people were simply using Maker as an excuse to bash the heroes, but at the same time a genuine public opinion was forming that didn’t see him as purely evil.
That was the ordinary view of villains. And no matter what, locking up citizens and blowing up a department store was undeniably a criminal act. Yet—
People’s opinions gradually split over the villain whose behavior felt strangely out of place compared to other terrorists.
In the major communities, a handful of people defending him, a large number of troublemakers who simply found the situation entertaining, and ordinary users began tearing into one another.
Meanwhile, in a certain community, a completely different breed of Maker supporter was beginning to appear.
People were beginning to like him purely because of his outstanding appearance.
These comments were still clearly nothing more than the faint first stirrings.
***
“Hey, sunbae!”
Inside a university hospital, a middle-aged man arrived carrying a small bouquet for the patient sitting on the bed.
“How have you be—”
“Whoa, Ice Queen is here too!”
“......”
The middle-aged man had been about to greet him with a hearty laugh, but the patient cut him off and beamed at Ice Queen who had just entered behind him.
“You rotten bastard!!”
Smack!!
The middle-aged man, face twisted, smacked the patient hard on the head.
“Ow! I’m a patient! A patient!!”
“Patient my ass! You’re lying in a hospital bed because you touched a mannequin and got covered in bomb powder!”
“Argh! Who was the one who told me to stay put just in case?!”
“What did you just say?!”
“...You look healthy. That’s a relief.”
Ice Queen had been staring blankly at the two men growling and bickering, but she eventually let out a sigh mixed with relief.
“Aigoo. I’ve shown our A-class hero an embarrassing sight… Haha.”
The middle-aged man scratched the back of his head sheepishly and laughed.
“...Not at all. It’s nice to see.”
Ice Queen smiled awkwardly, denying his words.
“......”
The patient who had been watching her bowed his head toward her.
“...I’m sorry. Because of me.”
After a brief silence—
“...Minseung, it’s not your fault. You were just worried about the citizens.”
“But didn’t I get caught because I touched the mannequin for no reason?”
“That’s not it, Minseung. The villain had already set everything up long before that.”
After the terror ended, Ice Queen had been able to watch the footage that had been broadcast on the news.
“After analyzing the scene, we found a device transmitting live video hidden among the mannequins. And when Maker released the footage, the conversation was captured before he even entered the room with the mannequins.”
There might have been a slight delay, but the point was that it had been live. In other words, it had nothing to do with Minseung touching the mannequin.
It meant Maker had already known they were using Ice Queen as bait for a diversion.
“So please don’t blame yourself, Minseung. And even if it was a mistake, you were trying to save citizens.”
“Ice Queen is right, Minseung! Our heroes aren’t that petty~ That’s what I’m saying!”
The middle-aged man sat on the edge of Minseung’s bed and thumped his back heartily to comfort him.
“Ah! Ah! That hurts!”
“Such a baby…”
Minseung, apparently feeling a little better, grinned and pretended to whine.
“By the way, what happened with that news?”
“What news?”
“Maker. I heard he pulled another terror attack?”
“Oh, that? They say zero casualties again. Almost no injuries either.”
“Oh. That’s good to hear.”
Minseung nodded, then suddenly chuckled.
“The Association must be pretty embarrassed. They tried so hard to hide how incompetent they are, but they got humiliated again.”
They had let the same villain slip away twice. And the second time had come so quickly that the villain couldn’t have properly prepared.
“If it had been the first time, maybe, but blaming the heroes after that is just pathetic.”
New heroes with poor judgment were legally required by the Ability User Act to follow the Association’s orders first.
And both Minseung himself and the hero who had attacked Maker during the E-District terror were still fresh rookies whose hero licenses hadn’t even dried yet.
In other words, no matter how much the Association tried to hide it, everyone who mattered already knew they had given the wrong orders.
Minseung wondered if they would try to pin it on him again this time.
“Kid. You really hate the Association that much?”
“I admit I made a mistake, but it pisses me off that they refuse to admit their own fault and dump everything on me.”
Ice Queen could relate a little to Minseung’s words.
The statement they released this time really was enough to kill any goodwill.
They might think no one knew, but the rumor had already spread far enough among the heroes. That the Association had shoved all the blame onto clueless rookies again.
“And these Association bastards! They even took my phone away saying I needed to ‘reflect’!”
I’m not an elementary schooler! As Ice Queen watched Minseung grumbling, she turned to leave quietly.
“Ah. Are you leaving, Ice Queen?”
The middle-aged man noticed and called out to her.
“...Yes. As the leader of the last terror response, I’ve confirmed my team member’s condition, so I should be going.”
“Thank you for visiting, Ice Queen!”
“Yeah, go on ahead, Ice Queen. I’ll keep an eye on this punk.”
“Then.”
Creak.
With those words, Ice Queen opened the door and left.
Now that my personal business is finished… I should head out for the mission.
Good grief. The new year had barely begun and they were already assigning missions… Ice Queen frowned slightly, grumbled to herself for a moment, then walked down the hallway, her light sky-blue hair swaying.
The next mission was probably…
***
“So we’re raiding a research institute.”
“Yes. That is correct, Maker.”
After the previous terror ended, Astra had called me while I was resting. After skimming the mission details, I smiled brightly and said.
“I’ll refuse this mission.”
Why would I do it if there’s no benefit to me? It’s a hassle.