Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Off-Duty Villain
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'I'm going crazy.'
I stole a glance at Elis while pretending to stretch and loosen up. Her already tight clothes were pressing her breasts down against her knees, subjecting them to even harsher compression.
Aah... tragedy! That's pure tragedy!
Elis, you followed me because you longed for freedom too! So give your breasts some freedom as well! Can't you feel how much they're suffering under that pressure?
That's right! Abuse! It's straight-up abuse! Elis is abusing her own breasts!
Just hang in there a little longer, my dear breasts! The day Elis falls into my hands, I'll set you free!
"Um... Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"Did you get a tattoo by any chance?"
"A tattoo?"
Why ask that out of the blue? I tilted my head but answered honestly anyway.
"Yeah."
"...!"
Elis's eyes widened. What was she so shocked about?
"C-Could you maybe show me what kind of tattoo it is?"
'A tattoo, huh...'
I thought of the tattoos etched onto my body against my will. A massive scorpion, a water droplet, and a frog.
Of those, the only one remotely suitable to show Elis was the water droplet tattoo.
The scorpion one honestly wasn't appealing to women, and the frog one was embarrassing. A hard-boiled guy like me rocking a frog tattoo? That'd just look ridiculous.
"Here."
I rolled up my sleeve to reveal the water droplet tattoo on my left forearm.
"Huh?"
"It's a water droplet tattoo. Cute, right?"
"..."
Elis blinked her big eyes as she stared at the water droplet tattoo. Maybe it was as cute as it was for my slave number one, Yuna—she couldn't tear her gaze away.
"No other tattoos anywhere else?"
"Anywhere else?"
I frowned without thinking. She might hate the scorpion one. I needed to boost her favorability, not tank it by showing her that.
"Oh, no, it's fine. You don't have to show me."
Noticing my expression, Elis hurriedly shook her head. What was up with her?
"But why the sudden interest in tattoos? Thinking of getting one yourself?"
If Elis said she wanted one, I'd vehemently oppose it. A womb tattoo might be okay, but anywhere else? Nah, not on her. I preferred a pristine, flawless body.
"No, just curious. Let's get back to working out."
"Uh... sure."
At her urging, I resumed my workout. But I couldn't focus properly because I kept sneaking peeks at Elis's diligently exercising butt. Especially when I spotted the sweat beading in her cleavage—man, I nearly lost my mind. H-Holy water!
It was definitely an enjoyable time for the eyes.
I should work out more often from now on!
Evening was villain time—the moment to become Steel Armor once more.
"She'll pass by soon, so just wait a bit."
"Okay, Oppa. See you later."
"Yeah."
I gazed fondly at Elis waving goodbye, then headed downstairs. I drove out from the garage and parked in a public lot in Sector 77, where Peter the Elder was. Then I donned Steel Armor's trademark skull mask.
"Sss~ Haa... the scent of a villain."
Once this mask was on, I became an entirely different being.
If Bal Jeong-nam was a polite and kind chaebol heir, Steel Armor was a wild stallion. No one could control me, and those who failed to grasp that got hurt.
Overflowing with confidence, I stepped out of the car and headed straight for Peter's clothing shop.
"Huh?"
"Hey, isn't that the villain Steel Armor?"
"What? Nah, no way. What villain struts around the streets this early? Must be cosplay."
"Maybe."
As I pondered what to buy for Peter the Elder, I spotted a lady selling rice cakes and traditional sweets on the street.
Rice cakes and sweets... yeah, definitely snacks old folks would love.
"These any good?"
"Oh, absolutely. Super sweet and chewy."
"Mind if I try one?"
"Go right ahead."
"Thanks."
I slipped a rice cake into the mouth area of the mask. Mmm! Chewy and nutty from the bean powder. Delicious!
"Think the elders would like these?"
"Of course. They love 'em."
"What if the elder's like 365 years old...?"
"Pardon?"
"Never mind. I'll take all the rice cakes and sweets you've got."
"A-All of them?"
Seeing the lady's shocked face reminded me of that news story from China—a chaebol heiress slapping an employee's face with wads of cash.
Looking at her, I suddenly wanted to pull the same power move. I was a chaebol too, right? Power-tripping was a chaebol's passive skill.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Pardon?"
"Do you know who I am?!"
"Wh-Why are you yelling, sir?"
I bellowed suddenly, startling her. Heh heh heh! This was the thrill of power-tripping! Next up, the cash slap!
"I'm your retirement fairy! Give me all this, and go home already!"
I shouted while pulling out a wad of cash from my wallet.
From cash slap threat to straight-up cash gift—couldn't quite bring myself to actually slap her, though. My hand just wouldn't move.
Ugh! Was power-tripping impossible for a polite guy like Bal Jeong-nam?! But I was a villain right now!
For the record, this was drug money from my underlings. You can't pay for drugs with a card, right? Cash only. So I had plenty.
"Oh, sir, that's way too much!"
Damn! And she's too honest!
"Tip."
"Pardon?"
"Think of it as a tip. Oh, you gonna clock out or what? Hurry up and pack it. Gotta deliver to our 365-year-old geezer. If he's already gone home by the time I get there, I'm returning this."
"Oh, yes, right away!"
I stuffed the wad into her pocket and prodded her along. Finally, she started carefully packing the rice cakes and sweets into bags.
Seeing that sparked some mischievous impulse in me. Could she pack faster?! Now I actually wanted to power-trip on her for real.
"Lady!"
"Y-Yes?"
I yelled, startling her again mid-pack.
"Who gave you permission to sell here?! If you're here tomorrow doing the same, I'll buy you out again—so you know! Got it?!"
"Y-Yes...?"
She stared at me, utterly bewildered, unsure if this was a threat or not.
"All packed?"
"Oh, yes. Here you go, sir."
"Then get home already."
"Aww, alright. Hold on?"
I helped her pack up her stall with one hand while holding the bags in the other. That's how you make her clock out quick! Then I even flagged a taxi and sent her off.
"Drive safe."
"Thank you so much, sir! Truly!"
The taxi drove off with her. Man, high-maintenance lady. Anyway, with her clocked out, time to really win over Peter the Elder.
"Lettuce for sale... A buck a bundle... Buy some lettuce..."
"..."
There was a grandma selling lettuce.
"Welcome... you! Back here again...?"
Peter was closing up shop for the night and scowled when he saw me. Didn't think I'd actually show up twice, huh?
But his scowl faded quick at the sight of the black bags overflowing in my hands.
"...What's that?"
"Man, why are there so many street vendors out here till this late?"
"Huh?"
It was insane. From lettuce to mugwort, chives, cherry tomatoes... and all sold by middle-aged ladies and grannies.
Are they nuts?! Who's buying that stuff on the street?! And this late! They'll catch a cold and rack up hospital bills! No health insurance here either! Fuck this privatized healthcare bullshit!
Fuming, I showered them with cash and swept up everything they had. Now my hands were loaded with bags.
"This is all for you... er, Peter. So you're eating it all."
"Wh-What?"
I dumped every bag on the bewildered Peter. Whew! Hands finally light.
Throat feeling dry, though, so I snuck back the rice cake bag. Tasted great earlier.
"Anyway, Peter."
"Yes?"
Peter was racking his brain trying to figure out what was going on. Don't bother, Elder. I don't get it either. Just roll with it.
"Any fabric come in today?"
"Fabric?"
"Yeah. I asked you to make this mask with the same functions as a suit."
"Hasn't come in. That's not something you can just easily get!"
"Then why make a suit out of hard-to-get fabric? And display it front and center for customers?"
"Well..."
My question hit him like a gut punch, and he hesitated. His eyes narrowed, like he was saying, "Why should I explain this to a villain like you?"
Whoops! Can't fumble the second button too. To calm his anger, I shoved a rice cake in my mouth and stood.
"Munch munch... I'll come back... munch... tomorrow... munch... okay. Munch munch... See ya."
Thirsty as hell. I grabbed a water bottle from the counter on my way out. Peter watched me with utter disbelief.
"...What the hell was that guy here for? And what's all this...? Huh? Ah... damn it! Just cleaned too! That bratty little punk!"
Peter exploded in rage at the bean powder crumbs on the floor.
First button fumbled, and now the second.
Leaving Peter's shop, I climbed to a nearby rooftop and started leaping across buildings like a stray cat.
Today was after-service day—I'd visit the homes of Rachel and the other kids I'd saved. Call it a villain teacher's home visit.
Using my powers to rooftop-hop was way faster than driving. Rush hour was brutal.
"Hey there?"
-Kyaaaooong!-
Thud!
Mid-leap, I spotted a cute cat and dropped down in front of it to say hi. But it freaked at my sudden appearance, convulsed, and passed out.
"...Hey, you dead? Hey, hey. Kitty?"
I poked it, but no movement.
Rumble rumble rumble-!
"D-Dead?! N-Nooo! My no-kill streak!!!!!!"
My hard-earned no-kill principle shattered again! What now? Dance the stairs dance?! H-How do I...!
-Kyaoong?
"What? Not dead. Phew... Anyway, one more no-kill for today. Sorry for scaring you. Buy some canned food with this."
I gave the clueless cat a dollar and took off again. Busy day—23 stops across five sectors.
-Miyaoooong~!
The cat's wail echoed behind me. Definitely thanking me for the can money.
"Live hard!"
I waved without looking back. A wild stallion villain never looks back while running.
"Adios!"
So busy!
-Miyaoooong~!
The black cat let out a long wail toward the receding Steel Armor. Our wild stallion villain waved and vanished.
-...
Staring until Steel Armor was gone, the black cat finally spoke.
-What the hell was that lunatic? Pops out of nowhere, scares the shit outta me? I actually fainted. And his "sorry" is a measly dollar? Cheap bastard, pfft!
Shockingly, human words—not meows—poured from the black cat's mouth.
It spat toward where Steel Armor had gone, pocketed the dollar, and went on its way. A merchant never leaves even a penny behind.
The black cat leaped across rooftops and landed on a building's roof. As if this were its destination, it descended the stairs quietly and entered a shop.
-I'm back. What? Still not cleaned? And what's with all these black bags?
"Finished cleaning earlier. Then some snot-nosed punk kid shows up right before close and trashes the place."
-Snot-nosed punk? What're you on about?
"It happened."
-Jeez, whatever. Huh? Oh? These are sweets? Whoa, fancy stuff.
The black cat gulped at the neatly stacked sweets in a plastic box. It extended a claw to rip it open—but then did something totally unexpected.
Riiiip-!
The black cat stabbed its own belly with the claw and sliced it wide open. Something burst out from the gap.
"Phew! Thought I was gonna suffocate."
Incredibly, a person emerged from the cat—a glamorous woman, no less. One who could enter and exit at will.
A full-grown woman bursting from a tiny cat body defied physics completely.
The woman, holding the limp cat skin in one hand, started devouring the sweets.
"Mmm! So good! Sweet! Can't get this taste anywhere else!"
"Hey, don't eat that h—ugh, seriously?!"
Peter clutched his head at the sweet crumbs now littering the floor.
"Haa... Can't these idiots just fuck off?"
Peter sank into deep despair.