Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Villain Steel Armor
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'Somehow, I ended up pulling an all-nighter.'
I'd left the house yesterday morning and only made it back after dawn broke.
Staying up all night hadn't been part of the plan at all, but Aqua Girl Yuna Reyes had pinged on my radar of all times, leaving me no choice.
The one who greeted me when I got home was our butler, Uncle Chris, wearing a smile.
"You've returned, Young Master? You're quite late."
"Uh... You haven't been up all night?"
"No, I slept. I simply woke up early."
"Uh... You're so diligent?"
"No, it's 9 a.m. now. This is when everyone heads to work."
"Uh... Sorry."
For some reason, it felt like thorns were hidden behind that smile. So I quickly apologized to him.
"It's fine. In fact, I'm rather relieved."
"Yes?"
"You're turning thirty this year, Young Master. You've only been working out every day and staying home so wholesomely at night that I've been terribly worried. Please go out more often from now on, meet lots of women, and have sleepovers frequently."
"..."
Was the previous Bal Jeong-nam not some kind of muscle fanatic after all? Maybe these muscles weren't from superpowers or customization, but from Bal Jeong-nam's workouts.
A very reasonable suspicion.
Oh my god! How wholesome do you have to be for an elder to tell you to meet lots of women and sleep over often?!
Of course, it gave me a perfect excuse to wander outside without drawing suspicion... but still, it felt off.
"How would you like your meal?"
"I'll wash up and eat right away. Oh, I'm really craving meat, so could you prepare some? No salad."
"Hehe. Yes, I'll have it ready."
Uncle Chris left first to prepare the meal, and I headed up to my room.
Thinking about it, the only thing I'd eaten since yesterday evening was a single cup of coffee. Maybe because it had been such a spectacular and wonderful night, I was starving.
After washing up and eating, I flopped onto the bed. The luxurious mattress made a smile creep across my face the moment I lay down. Yeah, this is happiness!
While Bal Jeong-nam drifted off into a sweet slumber with a blissful smile, there were others completely unrelated to him who were nursing massive headaches.
Chief among them was the Hero Association.
The conference room held elderly middle-aged men, young people who seemed oddly out of place at such a meeting, and several wearing masks or face coverings to hide their identities.
Hero Association President Valencia, seated at the head of the table, rubbed his forehead as he spoke.
"So, you failed to provide proper protection, nearly putting Vice President Yu in danger? Even with five heroes right there."
The room tensed the moment Valencia finished speaking.
Most people vary their tone when speaking, but this old man spoke in a flat monotone when angry.
And right now, Valencia was speaking in monotone.
"B-but in the end, Vice President Yu wasn't harmed at all. In fact, the heroes who participated in the operation fought the villain later to protect her and suffered severe injuries..."
A middle-aged man hurriedly spoke up. It was the same strategy room deputy director who'd chewed out his subordinates for show in front of President Bal Ji-un before.
Back then, he'd been the on-site commander, monitoring the situation in real-time via CCTV alongside President Bal Ji-un.
"What are you talking about? They fought the villain after Vice President Yu had already escaped the lab. Are you giving me a false report?"
"Ah, that's..."
Cold sweat beaded on the middle-aged deputy's forehead at Valencia's words. He'd tried to make excuses to defuse the situation, but only dug himself deeper.
"Does anyone here not know how dearly President Bal treasures his wife?"
Valencia scanned the room as he spoke. Just as he said, no one was unaware of President Bal's devotion to his wife.
His nicknames were doting husband and wife fool, after all.
"You knew that too, right?"
"Y-yes."
"Then why didn't you protect her properly and cause this mess? Are you flaunting your parachute status?"
"Th-that's... I'm sorry!"
"..."
The middle-aged deputy bowed hastily to the president. And there was another man with a crumpled face: Director Gizman, who'd placed him in the strategy room deputy position.
The fallout from this incident had greatly weakened his standing within the association.
"You know the association's events are all scheduled for the year, right?"
"Yes..."
"Unless it's something truly extraordinary, we've always stuck to our pre-planned schedule. Except for exactly two times so far."
Planning a full year ahead when situations could change anytime might seem foolish. But when the one doing it was the giant that was the Hero Association, it was different.
No matter how fiercely the winds blew around it, the giant didn't waver. The Hero Association didn't blink unless it was something major.
It overflowed with powerful heroes and exceptional talent.
Even those two exceptions had been a massive war with the Villain Alliance and a massive monster outbreak.
Unless a city was destroyed and mass casualties occurred, the Hero Association pushed forward with its scheduled plans.
"But today, that second time is about to become the third. You know why, right?"
"..."
The middle-aged deputy was struck dumb, like his mouth was glued shut with honey.
How could he not know? The money that was supposed to hit his account today hadn't come. President Bal Ji-un had used this incident as an excuse to stop filling his pockets monthly.
But the money the deputy received was a drop in the bucket compared to what the Hero Association got.
The association could plan a year ahead precisely because of such sponsorships. Beyond President Bal Ji-un's Sanctuary Corp, it received ongoing funds from numerous top conglomerates—astronomical sums.
President Bal Ji-un gave the most, but he'd unilaterally "notified" them that since the company's stock had fallen due to this incident, he'd halve sponsorships for the next six months.
Even a one-sided declaration from an ordinary person—no, a non-powered individual—left the giant Hero Association unable to protest.
No association executive hadn't taken President Bal Ji-un's money, and they were now loudly demanding an official association apology to him.
Of course, there was an undercurrent of trying to check the president.
"It's pathetic, but what can we do? It's in the past—let's not dwell. More importantly, have you looked into it?"
Valencia sighed and asked. A woman with fox-like features spoke up.
"Based on CCTV footage cross-referenced with the database, villains matching the description exist, but it wasn't them. A new villain."
"Ugh... Another rookie? These guys get powers and instead of doing good, they become villains and make trouble? Ice Queen."
"Yes, President."
"You clashed with him, right? How was he?"
At the president's question, Ice Queen, attending the meeting, recalled the day she'd fought(?) the massive, burly villain.
'He was huge...'
Her face flushed.
"Ice Queen?"
"Yes? Ah, yes. Well... he was big. Ah, no, that's not what I meant..."
"We know the guy was huge. Tell us something else. What superpowers did he seem to have?"
Fortunately, the president interpreted her "he was big" comment as referring to his size. A relief for Ice Queen.
"The most likely is Body Enhancer."
"Body Enhancer... The most common yet threatening power. Level?"
"Purely in terms of defense, S-rank—no, possibly higher."
"What?"
"What do you mean?"
"Impossible!"
The possibility of S-rank or higher ignited the room. Everyone shouted it was nonsense.
"Quiet down. Ice Queen fought him directly, not you lot. What do you know, never even crossing paths with him?"
"..."
"..."
The room fell deathly silent at the president's words. He turned back to Ice Queen.
"Ice Queen, can you stand by that statement? S-rank or higher means it's no longer just a villain. That's disaster-class monster territory."
"Yes. He took my Ice Rage head-on and emerged unscathed."
"Ice Rage?"
"My god..."
"Ice Queen."
"Yes, Flame Witch."
Then, a fiery red-haired woman cut in. Hero Flame Witch looked down at Ice Queen with disdain.
"You're not an S-rank hero yet. You don't know how strong they really are. I acknowledge your techniques are impressive, but basing that to claim the villain is S-rank or higher is problematic."
"..."
Ice Queen bit her lip at Flame Witch's gaze. Emboldened, Flame Witch pressed harder.
"Right. No S-rank hero would block your technique head-on. Know why? In hero training, there's no need to go all-out against each other. An S-rank could kill you in a minute if they wanted."
"..."
"Flame Witch, mind your words. That's a warning."
"Yes, President."
Flame Witch bowed to the president but shot Ice Queen a sly smirk. Despite the provocations, Ice Queen couldn't protest.
Ice Queen was A-rank; Flame Witch was S-rank.
"Anyway, we should classify him as an S-rank villain then."
"No."
"What? No? Ice Queen, you just said..."
"Yes, I still think he's S-rank or higher. But I said his 'defense' is S-rank or higher."
"Only defense is S-rank or higher?"
"Yes. His combat power was significantly lower compared to his defense. He had strength befitting a Body Enhancer, but he fought like someone who'd never been in a real scrap—clumsy moves. He didn't land a single hit on me."
"A turtle of a villain... At least that's fortunate."
If his combat prowess had matched, it would've birthed a true monster. But luckily, it hadn't.
The president fully trusted Ice Queen's judgment. He knew her cautious nature well.
"His rank... A-rank it is. He held his own against A-rank hero Ice Queen. Now, let's assign him a villain name."
We couldn't keep calling him "that guy" or "the villain" forever. A name made sharing info and memorizing traits easier.
"...Steel Armor."
"Hm? What was that, Ice Queen?"
"Steel Armor seems fitting. Come to think of it, I saw his body turn to steel."
"Is that so? A defense-focused villain with defense-type powers. Fine. A-rank Villain Steel Armor. Settled. Next item."
"Regarding the villain organization Scorpion King distributing drugs in sectors 77 to 79. The Scorpion Hunt operation launched at 23:00 the previous day failed. Numerous heroes and operation personnel involved were killed or went missing."
"Bad news keeps piling up. And?"
"B-rank hero Jelly Master, the on-site commander, is currently hospitalized. C-rank heroes Aqua Girl and Solar Bear are missing. Also..."
And so, while Bal Jeong-nam slept, the heroes decided his villain name.