Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Villain's Charisma
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The air in the conference room suddenly grew heavy. The Hero Association Chairman, Park Cheol-gon... no, the bald, pot-bellied chairman's arrival had changed everything.
Upon closer inspection, this bald old man wasn't just a boiled egg. Sharpness gleamed in his eyes, and he exuded a beast-like presence.
Of course, it didn't faze me one bit!
So, heroes and villains alike—were they born with their charisma?
No! What was I thinking? As if I'd envy that bald old man! A great villain's charisma was a thousand times greater than some pot belly!
The formal meeting began.
"We will continue the Monster Wave Emergency Countermeasures Meeting."
Seo Jin-ho cleared his throat politely and unfolded a holographic map. Red dots multiplied rapidly over the S City map.
"This is the monster appearance pattern from the past month. As you can see, the frequency is steadily increasing, and..."
I muttered to myself, whispering to the rats.
"Even heroes operate pretty systematically. Though not quite on the level of my villain meetings..."
Squeak?
Darkness gave me a puzzled look.
"What, you've never had a villain meeting? Then what were those evenings we spent in the living room after dinner!"
Squeak squeak!
Darkness waved its tiny paws. 'Wasn't that just snack time while watching TV?'
"What? You didn't even think of it as a meeting? You disloyal minions! Didn't I declare every Tuesday at 8 PM the 'Villain World Conquest Meeting'!"
Squeak?
White King tilted its head. It looked like 'I thought it was prime time for the latest drama.'
"You...! We'll talk later! I'm reporting your work ethic to Everlin!"
"This is the analysis data from Dr. Lee Ji-ah, the chief researcher in the Hero Association's R&D Department. Based on the current gate generation frequency and patterns, we are facing what we can call a 'super-large wave.' There's an 89.76% chance of an S-Rank or higher super-large monster gate opening across all of S City within the next 72 hours."
The conference room froze in an instant. Government officials turned pale, exchanging glances.
"So what? I can just wipe them all out!"
Blondie... no, Goldie looked at me with eyes full of expectation. Like 'Grimoire will handle it!'
Wait a second. Come to think of it, I'm a villain! Why should I solve monster problems? Let the heroes deal with it!
Park Cheol-gon rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply.
"We need ideas for response plans. Let's discuss what countermeasures to prepare."
This was the moment their heroes' incompetence would shine through. The perfect chance to confirm their foolishness!
Then, Sakura Samurai shot to her feet.
"I have an idea! Monsters have hearts too, right? If they see a cute JK like me, they'll fall for it and calm down!"
She lifted her sailor skirt slightly, spun around, and struck a pose with cherry blossoms fluttering.
"Moe~ power to drive away monsters! I'll show you the power of Japanese content!"
Silence.
Seo Jin-ho swallowed dryly.
"That's... a bit..."
From one side, a scholar slowly rose. Stroking his long white beard, he continued.
"Even barbarians need morals and etiquette."
"Barbarians?"
"Monsters are a kind of barbarian, aren't they? The Master said, 'Without learning, one cannot know one's nature.' The reason monsters attack us is because they haven't learned etiquette and benevolence."
What was this old geezer saying? Teach monsters etiquette?
He pulled out a brush and wrote the five characters of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust in the air with ink.
"Teaching them the Mencius, Analects, and Three Bonds and Five Relationships to civilize the barbarians' savagery is the best policy. From time immemorial, Emperors Shun and Yu civilized savages and made them fine ministers..."
"Understood, Scholar Shipseung. Next..."
Seo Jin-ho tried to cut him off hastily, but the scholar didn't stop.
"Moreover, according to the Hwandan Gogi, even Grandpa Dangun..."
Alright, villain's turn now?
Time to show these foolish heroes the wisdom of a true villain!
Whoosh—
I leaped onto the table and stood tall, proclaiming loudly.
"Listen up! The great Grimoire's strategy is simple! Make all the monsters my minions! Ka-kat!"
All eyes focused on me in an instant. Perfect, those shocked faces! They must be stunned by my genius strategy!
"If monsters swarm S City, I just dominate them all and create a massive monster army! Then I lead that army to conquer S City! What do you think of this perfect plan!"
Darkness and White King started a praise dance on the table.
"See? Even my minions support this plan! The more monsters, the better for my world conquest! Tremble in fear and wait, you pathetic humans!"
Goldie suddenly jumped up, filling the surroundings with golden hearts.
"Grimoire's plan is the best! Do whatever Grimoire wants! I'm on Grimoire's side!"
She formed golden pom-poms and waved them.
"Grimoire! Grimoire! Grimoire!"
Perverted blonde... but useful at times like this? I'd secured my first supporter for democratic world conquest!
I looked down imperiously at the heroes. My perfect villain qualities stood in stark contrast to their incompetence! Soon, they'd all kneel before me!
Park Cheol-gon pressed his bald head and let out a deep sigh.
"S-Rank heroes at this level... Is S City really okay like this...?"
He exchanged glances with the government officials, then turned to the association executives.
"Prepare practical countermeasures. Deploy all available heroes and finalize civilian evacuation plans."
At that moment, a government official in the back raised his hand.
"Hold on. Why is Grimoire even at this meeting? She's not S-Rank, just a temporary hero..."
"I'm a villain! A villain! Not some hero!"
The suit guy flipped through the minutes, eyeing me suspiciously. The other attendees nodded in agreement.
"Deputy Director Seo Jin-ho, why invite someone unqualified to this top-security meeting?"
Seo Jin-ho looked flustered.
Good, finally realizing I'm a villain?
Truth is, I'm not a hero, so no need to be here! Time to head home and game!
Then Serena hurriedly stood and blocked my path.
"I recommended her! Grimoire has special abilities! Our Grimoire is amazing!"
She pulled out a tablet and connected it to the conference room screen.
The video showed me striking a flashy pose. Gray light from my horn enveloped the gate... and it shrank and vanished.
"This is footage from our IM Group drone. She definitely closed the gate! Grimoire is truly special! And cute!"
"Eek! When did you film this? Traitor! Voyeur!"
I glared at Goldie and growled. Shameless wench! Filming me in secret! Don't tell me she has a whole collection?
"Daring to sell me out to the Hero Association! You're on the Grimoire Empire blacklist now!"
Darkness and White King crossed their tiny paws, glaring at Goldie too.
"If you want to film me, make propaganda showing my wickedness!"
Did I really close the gate? I remember something coming from my horn... but not exactly how.
Most attendees remained skeptical even after the video.
"Closing a gate? Unprecedented..."
"A small girl like that having such power? Ridiculous."
"Isn't this manipulated? IM Group's special effects..."
Only the nerdy Seo Jin-ho and perverted Goldie were on my side.
"I witnessed it myself! Grimoire is truly special! She closed the gate! I swear on my family's honor!"
"I've confirmed Grimoire's feats multiple times at monster subjugation sites. Her help is essential for this crisis."
Shipseung shot up, sweeping his long beard with both hands.
"If this is true, Japan will envy us, America will be shocked, and China will tremble! An opportunity to elevate Korea's prestige!"
Sakura Samurai immediately countered.
"Lady Grimoire clearly has the power of a Japanese oni! Look at the horns! Classic Japanese yokai trait! Proof of Japanese mythology's superiority!"
"Nonsense! Those horns are from the Eastern clan's guardian deity, Chiyou Heavenly King! Clearly recorded in the Hwandan Gogi!"
"Hah? Baka ja nai? No such thing in Japanese history books! Don't claim novels are history!"
"Your ignorance is finally exposed! Japan just stole all Korean culture! Don't distort our sacred traditions!"
"Koreans always claim everything's theirs! Kimoii~"
Bam!
Park Cheol-gon slammed the table. Everyone fell silent.
"Enough! Stop this pointless debate. We need actual verification."
The bald chairman's gaze fixed on me.
"Grimoire, since you're here at the association, how about a power assessment? We need to precisely gauge your abilities to utilize them in operations."
My heart started pounding. Power assessment?
"Ka-kat! Finally, the chance to showcase my great villain powers! Heroes, prepare to be astonished!"
I followed Seo Jin-ho out of the conference room into the hallway. Goldie stuck close, whispering.
"It's okay, I'll cheer for you. Our Grimoire is the best!"
"Hmph, no need for hero pity!"
"Don't worry too much. This is just a formality. We know you're special."
My mind grew more tangled.
'How did I close the gate...? Think, Grimoire. Light from the horn... reached out... something like that...'
My steps halted automatically at the power assessment room door. A sign read 'R&D Department Power Assessment Room.'