Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Villain and Chocolate
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While waiting for the ability measurement results, there was a bit of time left.
While the pet rats discussed the measurement results, this body grew a little bored.
Scouting the enemy's base could be considered a basic quality of a villain, in a way.
Dark Circle Doctor's lab—what interesting things might be there?
"Hmm... A true villain always scouts the enemy's base. This is all part of world conquest!"
Darkness and White King sniffed around from atop my shoulders, surveying the surroundings. Then both suddenly pointed their noses in the same direction.
Squeak squeak!
"What? You smell something? Where?"
Following their gaze, I spotted a small metal locker in the corner of the lab. It looked like an ordinary gray cabinet, but given Darkness and White King's reactions, there was definitely something special about it.
Seo Jin-ho the pet rat guy, the bald potbellied chairman, and Golden Princess were deep in serious conversation with Dark Circle Doctor. A perfect opportunity for this body!
"Operation commence! Darkness, White King—switch to chocolate detection mode!"
Squeak! Squeak squeak!
I crept toward the locker. It had a lock. A classic password input, seven digits.
"Hmm... Let's trust a villain's intuition."
I tried the most basic password first. Lazy scientists often used simple numbers.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7
Beep!
"No good. Hmm... Dark Circle's password..."
Dark Circle Doctor was a scientist, so she'd probably like some special number. Maybe a complex equation or constant.
1-6-1-8-0-3-3?
Beeeep!
No dice. Let's think harder.
"Something simpler. The number scientists love most..."
Squeak squeak!
The rats squeaked softly into my ear.
3-1-4-1-5-9-2
Click!
"Kakakat! Pi! A choice worthy of a scientist!"
The locker swung open to reveal a sweet paradise. Chocolate bars, jelly, energy drinks, cookies—all sorts of snacks neatly arranged.
"As expected, this body's villain intuition never fails! Scientists need sugar for all-night research! This is strategic pillaging!"
I quickly grabbed a chocolate bar and tore off the wrapper. I broke off a small square piece for Darkness and White King too.
"Eat up, my minions. Rewarding loyal subordinates is a key virtue of a villain!"
Squeak squeak!
The taste... wasn't anything special, but stealing it made it feel twice as delicious!
Of course, Everlin's chocolates were fancier and tastier, but the thrill of taking someone else's had its own unique joy!
"How did you find my emergency sugar stash?"
I turned slowly to see Dark Circle Doctor standing there with her arms crossed.
"Eek!"
I frantically tried to wipe the chocolate from my mouth with the back of my hand, but it only smeared more. The rats vanished under the desk in an instant. You traitors!
"Th-this is a villain's rightful spoils of war! I found it, so it's all mine!"
Dark Circle Doctor sighed and held out her hand.
What if she got mad? What if she turned me into some weird lab subject or ran horrifying tests?
"Give me one too."
"Huh...? Surrendering this easily! As expected of Dark Circle Doctor!"
"My name is Lee Ji-ah..."
She grumbled but took the chocolate I offered and took a bite. Surprisingly non-hostile.
Dark Circle Doctor—soon to be a key talent in this body's empire of evil! Every great villain needs a genius scientist! Just provide enough research funding, and she'll come around!
"The theobromine in chocolate's cocoa boosts brain activity. Essential for long research sessions. Especially this Italian one—72% cocoa content makes it extra effective."
She munched on the chocolate as she returned to her computer.
"Come to the conference room in five minutes. Time to announce your measurement results."
"Kakakat! The moment my great villain powers are revealed has arrived!"
When we gathered in the conference room again, the atmosphere was more solemn than ever.
Hero Association staff, S-Rank Heroes, and even the bald potbellied chairman sitting in front of me. Everyone was eager for this body's results.
Of course, to maintain villain dignity, I struck the most intimidating pose. Slouched in the chair, feet up on the table, munching on the scientist's chocolate.
"Grimoire, that posture is a bit..."
Seo Jin-ho said cautiously.
"Hmph! Dare to question a villain's posture? Sitting however I please is a villain's privilege!"
I acted bold in front of everyone, but my heart was pounding like crazy. What if this body wasn't SSS-Rank? What if it was F-Rank? Just thinking about it made cold sweat trickle down.
Squeak squeak?
"This body is obviously SSS-Rank, so no worries!"
I whispered to Darkness and White King, but really, it was to reassure myself.
Lee Ji-ah stood at the holographic display. She tapped her tablet lightly and spoke.
"I'm announcing Grimoire's measurement results now. Don't ask questions in the middle—it's annoying."
All eyes turned to me in an instant.
I kept an indifferent face to save face, but honestly, I was so tense the chocolate wouldn't melt in my mouth.
No, not tense—bored! A true villain doesn't care about results!
"I divided the analysis into three categories."
The first hologram screen showed brainwave graphs from Darkness and White King. Complex colored lines danced around.
"First: 'Animal Control Ability.' Detected abnormal communication patterns between Grimoire and the rats. Timing sync rate of 98.7%. An absurd figure."
Hmph, naturally! This body's minions are an elite squad trained with perfect teamwork.
Every villain wants loyal minions, but truly understanding ones are rare. Proof of this body's immense charisma!
"Unlike normal animal controllers, it seems like two-way information exchange is happening. Not only are the two rats' brainwaves synchronized with each other, but they also show partial resonance with Grimoire's."
The hologram shifted to a complex neural network structure. Points connected like constellations.
"The rats are forming a kind of biological quantum network. A structure with countless parallel processing units. Not simple animals—almost collective intelligence level."
"Kakakat! As expected, my minions are top-class!"
Darkness and White King wagged their tails proudly. I felt a surge of pride and petted their heads.
"Where'd you buy these rats? I'll give you more chocolate—trade one for dissection? That'd let me analyze them accurately."
"N-no way! They're this body's loyal minions!"
Squeak squeak-!
I hugged the rats protectively. I completely ignored her dissection comment.
"Second: 'Enhanced Physical Abilities.'"
The hologram changed to my body scan data. A 3D model of me rotated, with grades marked on each part.
"Durability: A-Rank. Unfazed in situations that would seriously injure normal heroes. Mostly unresponsive to physical impacts."
A-Rank! Not bad at all? Still hope!
"Especially the horns—no tool could extract them. Not even a diamond drill."
Yes, my horns are special! I felt a swell of pride and touched them lightly. Smooth, hard, and sometimes squishy! The true mark of a villain!
"Strength: B-Rank."
"What?! I just smashed the punch machine, and it's still B-Rank? Refusing to acknowledge my feats to the end! This is clearly a Hero Association conspiracy!"
"Normal most of the time, but explosive power during emotional peaks. Especially spikes dramatically in anger or crisis situations."
Hmph, at least they acknowledge the potential! Like a shonen manga protagonist whose power explodes in crises!
"Speed: C-Rank. Reaction time and agility are average. Nothing outstanding. Speed limiting factor..."
She paused and glanced at me.
"Short legs."
"Gyaaaak! This body does not have short legs!!"
"Compared to average human female leg length, about 15% shorter. Scientific fact. No refuting it."
"Stop! Next one! This is a measurement error! Next!"
My face burned. I saw Golden Princess biting her lip to hold back a smile. I couldn't take it anymore. That blonde pervert—first one to the dungeon once I conquer the world!
"Third: The 'unknown energy' Grimoire claims is the king's authority, Gray Matter."
The hologram shifted again to a waveform analysis graph of gray energy emanating from my horns.
"This is where it gets important. Analysis of the gray energy from the horns matches gate energy by 76.5%. Intriguing data."
At those words, the potbellied chairman suddenly leaned forward. His eyes sharpened.
"The energy waveform recorded during the punch machine destruction matches the early stages of gate formation almost exactly. But current equipment can't analyze further. Needs more research."
She emphasized the last sentence, staring straight at the bald chairman.
"Need special budget right now. Chairman."
"Uh... We'll discuss at the next board meeting."
The doctor continued her presentation with a dissatisfied look. A 3D hologram compared my horns' energy waveform side-by-side with a gate's.
"Theoretically, this energy has high potential to interact with gates. Footage from Golden Princess confirms gate shrinkage."
The screen changed to footage of me reaching toward a gate. Gray light from my horns, the gate shrinking smaller and smaller.
"But the energy manifestation conditions are irregular, and it seems uncontrollable. Kinda useless."
"Of course I can control it! Right now... I just don't feel like showing it!"
I puffed out my chest proudly, but honestly, I had no idea how to trigger it. A villain's pride wouldn't allow admitting I couldn't control my own power.
Thankfully, Golden Princess sensed my crisis and stood up.
"Grimoire can't use her power in a tiny conference room like this! Our Grimoire is a special being who shines in important moments!"
"Even Goldilocks recognizes this body's true value! Saving power for the right time—that's a villain's philosophy!"
For a moment, Golden Princess who helped me in this pinch seemed grateful. Of course, she's still number one on my blacklist.