That's an Executive?
Executive Selene.
Blue hair, blue eyes, a dazed look and a languid, drawling way of speaking. At first glance, she seems like nothing more than a listless woman without a single ounce of drive in her.
And yet, against every impression that appearance gives, she was once known as the Butcher.
Her past was never properly revealed — not in the game, and not even after I transmigrated into this world. The only thing I ever learned was a single fact.
The Selene of today is quite thoroughly rehabilitated.
From what I've heard, the Branch Chief personally worked on her. I have no idea how he managed to tame a monster like that with that innocent, mischievous face of his, but...
Whatever the reason, thanks to it, today's Selene lives up to her title of executive in name only — she won't touch anything remotely bothersome, and pours every ounce of her energy into lying down or finding a quiet corner to nap in.
The permanently vacant expression is a bonus.
Truly an unfathomable woman.
All things considered... I'd say it's a good thing.
Rehabilitated means she's become relatively harmless.
"Hellooo there... Closer."
I turned my head and met her gaze.
Blue hair, blue eyes, and a vacant smile plastered on her face as she munched on some snack in her hand.
"Selene."
"It's been a while... no wait, I guess it hasn't really been that long, has it?"
"We saw each other at the meeting a few days ago."
"Did we..? Hmmm... I was asleep back then, so..."
She stretched her arms out lightly, like a cat working off a nap, then came to stand right beside me and held out the bag in her hand.
"Want some?"
"Don't mind if I do."
I picked out a few snacks and popped them into my mouth.
A perfectly ordinary corn-flavored snack.
"The taste's nothing special. I just eat them because they're fun to chew on and crunch."
"....."
With the subject left out like that, that sounds like it means something else entirely... probably just my imagination.
Selene gave the bag a little shake, tipped the last crumbs from the bottom into her mouth, and lightly brushed off her hands.
"So are you taking it easy from now on too?"
"That's the plan, for now."
"Must be nice... I wish I had days like that..."
"Don't you sleep and laze around all day as it is?"
"That's... self-care for recovering from work-related fatigue..."
Selene drawled out her reply, dragging her words lazily at the ends.
But then she put her hands on her hips and, for no discernible reason, put on a proud front as she continued.
"I did take on a mission last week, you know? I wiped out an entire hostile organization."
"By yourself?"
"Yep~ I just went to deliver a message and they picked the fight first. All I did was defend myself. Hmmm... and somehow everything ended up blown to bits, I suppose..."
Selene said it all with an embarrassed little smile.
Whatever she might claim, her eyes turned genuinely murderous when combat entered the picture.
The type who doesn't bother hiding her killing intent — she just lets it pour out.
That was always her state whenever I saw her in the game. Most of the scenes where the original protagonist crossed paths with Selene took place in the middle of battle, after all.
She didn't earn the name Butcher for nothing.
Maybe that's why I was so thrown off the first time I saw her in person like this — dazedly munching on snacks and mumbling away.
"So what are you doing today, then?"
"Let me think... first I'll go inside and lie down. Then, well... by the time I open my eyes it'll be around lunch, right? So I'll eat, lie down again, watch some videos, sleep... and if I keep that up, the day will be over, won't it?"
That's literally just being a hikikomori.
The moment I muttered that under my breath with a wry smile, a familiar voice came from behind me.
"You certainly make the most of your life, don't you."
"Hieeek—!"
Before I could even turn around, Selene flinched violently and curled in on herself.
It was Lee Sejin.
When did she even get here... I never heard a single footstep.
"Ah, Sejin... when did you arrive?"
"Just now."
"Did you... hear all that?"
Lee Sejin simply smiled. She didn't answer, but the answer had already been given.
Selene hunched her shoulders tight and, like a cat caught red-pawed, rolled her eyes around before letting out a small laugh.
"Ehehe... is there, um, some urgent business you need...?"
Rather than answer, Lee Sejin glanced at her wristwatch and let out a short sigh.
"Perfect timing. I happen to need one more able pair of hands."
"...Huh?"
"You're coming with me right now. There's work to be done."
"What kind of... work, exactly?"
"Paperwork, the backlogged warehouse inventory, equipment stock verification, and reviewing the experiment records."
"B... but I'm a field agent...? Documents don't agree with my constitution..."
"Then you'll adapt. You are an executive, after all."
Lee Sejin said it flatly, then took Selene's arm and began steering her away with practiced ease.
Selene was dragged along, feet scraping the floor.
"Ah! Wait a moment! My arm! My arm! Closer... help meeee...!"
"Would you like physical therapy with that?"
"Huaaaaa..."
"......"
I stood there blankly, watching her get hauled off.
The more I look at her, the less I understand...
What on earth could have happened back then to warp her personality into something so utterly harmless?
Inside a dark room.
Hero Valkyrie — Seo Eunha, sitting alone in the light of a single monitor — glared at the headline on her phone and quietly clenched her teeth.
Crack.
Strength flooded her hand, and the phone creaked faintly through its case.
If this particular phone had been a touch weaker, it might have shattered right there in her grip.
She could hardly remember how things had unfolded after that guy walked away. It had started with the complaints flooding in — an unnecessary incident had destroyed the logistics center's equipment — and gone straight to a summons from the Association's internal inspection office.
What she saw after that were not faces trying to understand, but faces obsessed with one thing alone: quietly burying the problem and sweeping it under the rug.
Listening to those words, Seo Eunha swallowed a hollow laugh.
"...Unbelievable. They've got to be joking."
The situation on-site had been unambiguously hostile, and that villain had clearly thrown out the implication that he would use civilians as shields.
So he was lying, was he?
Then what — was she supposed to stand by with her hands folded until it was confirmed there were no civilians inside that factory?
Her lips twisted on their own.
"Those absolute bastards, seriously..."
Of course, saying it changed nothing.
The on-site CCTV had clearly captured her making the first move. There were no civilian casualties, but the opponent, of all people, had been a villain infiltrating a major logistics hub that handled part of the Association's own supply network.
The ammunition was endless, and tearing her apart with it was far too easy.
In the end, the Association had made its decision.
Before the controversy could spread, she would quietly step off the front lines for a while — under the name of self-restraint.
That was the judgment handed down, presented as if it were the best possible option.
Word had already spread far enough among her fellow heroes.
That the Association had pinned the blame on the hero herself.
Seo Eunha forced down the bitterness clawing up her throat, then quietly picked up her phone.
When she tapped the familiar number, the saved name rose to the screen.
Hero Association — Branch A
Branch Chief Jang Munseok
The man who had first scouted her back in the day and raised her into a hero — the man whose actions had given the name Valkyrie its birth.
A retired hero who had operated under the codename Breaker during his active years.
Now he was the man sitting behind a desk, deciding the fates and careers of countless heroes.
After a long hesitation, she finally made the call.
A brief ring, and then the voice of a middle-aged man came through the other end.
[There you are, Eunha.]
"I'm not calling about the report."
[Knew it. Knowing you, I figured you'd call the second the order came down. Should I make this a long conversation?]
"Short works for me."
[Go ahead.]
"You saw the footage from that day too, Branch Chief. So tell me — was I actually in the wrong?"
[No.]
The Branch Chief's answer was short and firm.
[If I'd been in your position, I'd have moved the same way. Probably blown the place up even harder.]
Even hearing that, Seo Eunha's expression didn't soften. She steadied her breathing for a moment, then spoke slowly.
"Then why."
[I wish we lived in a world where we could just judge right and wrong and leave it at that.]
Valkyrie's gaze drifted absently toward the window. Clouds hanging over the gray city stretched their shadows slowly across the skyline.
[The Association is a public institution. It's not the military, and it's not a corporation. For organizations like ours, the public's trust is the root of everything. The moment citizens stop believing that heroes won't threaten civilians — that's the moment our authority starts dying.]
"So you're throwing me away?"
Seo Eunha's shoulders trembled slightly.
[Throwing you away... no. You're stepping back for a moment, that's all. The news cycle will move on to something else within days anyway. We bring you back out then. That much cover, I can give you.]
"……."
Seo Eunha lowered her eyes.
He wasn't wrong. If she reacted emotionally now, she stood to lose even more.
But understanding it was one thing. Accepting it was another.
"Did you look into that man — Closer?"
[I did.]
"And...?"
[Disappointing as it is, there's no record. 'Closer' is barely more than a codename itself — no real name, no history, nothing in the past. Circumstantially his power is definitely telekinetic, but we haven't confirmed his exact numbers or limits yet.]
"The organization is called Nightfall, right?"
[That's right. Armed, and organized into a fairly sophisticated structure. Don't go chasing them recklessly. It'll only turn dangerous for no reason.]
"So I should just let it go?"
[There's nothing you can do in your current situation. And there's nothing new to go on.]
"....."
[And listen, Eunha. Letting that man slip away was not your fault. You don't need to carry that weight. In that situation, your choice was the best one available, and I know it. You did everything a hero could have done.]
At those words, Seo Eunha closed her eyes for a moment.
With each deep breath in and out, the pressure weighing on her chest dulled, little by little.
[Rest properly when you're resting. It'll give strength to whatever you do next. I'll send you whatever internal files I can dig up on this, so don't worry too much.]
With those final words, the call clicked off.
Seo Eunha tossed her phone carelessly aside and threw herself onto the bed.
On the soft-giving mattress, she stared at the ceiling in silence for a long while.
"I'll catch him. No matter what...!"
Her whisper scattered into the stillness of the empty room.
"I'm sorry... could you repeat what you just said?"
I stared at Lee Sejin, who had come looking for me, with dead, uncomprehending eyes.
She gave a smile that seemed vaguely apologetic.
"It looks like you have another mission coming up."
"No, hang on — my last mission ended three days ago. And you're already sending me out again?"
"I know, it's just... how do I put this..."
While she hesitated, Selene poked her head out from behind her.
"I said I wanted to go with him...!"
SLAM.
No way! Get lost!