The Masked Villain (3)
I strode through the dark alley without hesitation. The place had no streetlights, giving off a bleak, desolate atmosphere. I stopped in front of a certain shop, let out a heavy sigh, and reached for the doorknob. To be honest, I hesitated for a moment because I really didn’t want to go inside. After another deep breath, I opened the door.
Ding-a-ling. The shop bell rang as the door swung open. At the same time, the thick stench of alcohol hit me like a wave. The interior was cluttered to the point of chaos, strange objects scattered everywhere. Clothes, bolts of fabric, and sewing machines were expected, but there were also potions, blood, bones, and other bizarre things.
Art.
In the middle of the mess, the woman sprawled on the sofa with a drink in hand slowly lifted her eyelids. Her gaze swept across the room before landing on me, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“What the hell? Isn’t that the Hypnotist?”
“...Art. It’s been a while.”
I smiled awkwardly and gave her a small wave.
Art stretched her arms high with a loud yawn. “Hwaaaam~” Her body was incredibly flexible, making her look like a cat. Even the way she trembled while stretching was flawless. She swept the bottle off the table with a careless hand and pressed a red button.
Clank-clank-clank—! Shutters slammed down over the door and windows. No one outside would be able to see or hear anything now.
“Why are you here? Want to drink with me?”
“I’m a mental-type, remember? I can’t drink. Who knows what kind of mess I’d cause.”
“Ahhh, right. That time you drank and… Puhaha!”
At my sigh-laced reply, Art clutched her stomach and burst into laughter. She was twenty-seven now, but I had no idea how she hadn’t aged a day. My own face had worn down until I looked like a tired middle-aged man. Whatever she found so funny, she kept shaking with laughter, wiping away the tears that had welled up in her eyes.
“So why did you come? Finally thinking about getting married? You’re at that age, after all. Want me to introduce you to someone? Or… me?”
Her rapid-fire words made my face twist in disgust. She studied my expression, clicked her tongue, and staggered closer.
“You never have any mood. You’ve got to ride the atmosphere if you want a pretty girl.”
“Is there even a girl who likes me?”
“...I wouldn’t know. But you’re a hero, right? You must have fans at least?”
Art smiled awkwardly and looked away. The way she laughed with that “Ahaha” and her dark eyelids fluttering made it completely insincere.
Talking to her always drains my mental energy.
I pulled something from my pocket. Art’s eyebrows shot up. “Hm?”
“You still had that? Gross.”
She made a face of exaggerated disgust at the colorful slip of paper that read Art Free Pass. I gave her a look that said I couldn’t believe her.
“You’re the one who gave it to me. An Art Free Pass? I kept it back then thinking it was a joke. Turns out I still had it.”
“...Must’ve been about seven years ago. It really has been a while.”
Art closed her eyes for a moment as if recalling the past, a faint smile on her lips.
It couldn’t have been a pleasant memory for her.
After all, she had been one of the villains active during the time when they ran rampant. She wasn’t one anymore, and she had even opened this shop. Maybe that was something to be grateful for.
“Anyway, can I use it today?”
“For what? Should I get some drinks ready? Ah, but the bed’s kind of dirty…”
Art’s face flushed bright red as she rambled, her hands waving uselessly in the air.
“Cut the crap. I need you to make me a costume.”
“Ah.”
Her voice went flat with realization. She let out a small sound of understanding, then glared at me with a pout.
“You really have no sense of mood at all.”
“Like I always say, I’ve never had a girlfriend. Doesn’t mood come from experience?”
“It comes from the heart! From this heart! Ugh, forget it, forget it.”
Art poked her ample chest a couple of times with her index finger, then shook her head in defeat. She was the one who seemed completely lacking in mood. The fact that her shirt had been slipping off her shoulders when I walked in was already ridiculous. The visible strap was a total disaster.
“You should be the one getting married. There are plenty of guys who like you.”
Art. One of the few S-class ability users in the world. She could create things that didn’t exist from cloth and even tailor the fabric of the world itself. After her villain days, the Hero Association had tried to scout her, but she had chosen to open this shop instead. Her face was beautiful enough that she had been quite famous once. She hadn’t liked the attention, though.
“That’s why it doesn’t work. Tsk tsk. It has to be a man I like. None of them are good enough. Besides, I only have one heart.”
“You?”
Art clicked her tongue and wagged her finger like she was lecturing me. Her eyes showed even greater disbelief. Her face turned redder as she huffed and whipped her head away.
“Never mind. You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”
“Guess not.”
The real reason I had come was to have a villain costume made. Obviously, pulling off the masked villain concept required both the outfit and the mask. Hero costumes were usually specially made. The hood I wore as the Hypnotist, for example, was designed not to tear easily and allowed complete freedom of movement.
The villain outfit should be the same.
If I showed up in a regular suit and a mask, people would probably treat me like an idiot. It wasn’t that my physical abilities were bad. Including technique, I was roughly C-class. But a normal suit would rip apart under the strain, and then the whole villain act would be pointless.
“You’re already using that Hypnotist hood pretty well, aren’t you? It’s one of my masterpieces.”
Art tilted her head curiously. I stayed silent for a moment, then answered with a sigh.
“I need a villain costume.”
“...”
Art’s body jolted like she’d been electrocuted. Her bewildered eyes snapped to my face, clearly demanding an explanation. I spoke calmly.
“I’m becoming a villain. Call it a side gig.”
“Are you insane? Do you need money all of a sudden? No… why you?”
Art frowned, unable to understand. “I do need money, but you already know that. If that was all it was, I would’ve accepted that offer back then.”
“Then why?”
“The Hero Association doesn’t sit right with me. It needs to change. And there’s someone I need to save. Someone like you.”
At the words like you, Art’s expression froze. She pressed a hand to her forehead, thinking, then snapped at me irritably.
“Do you even understand what becoming a villain means?”
“I do. Art, I’ve been a hero for ten years. Ten years isn’t a short time. Don’t worry about me.”
“Who said I was worried about someone like you! Fine…”
Her eyes trembled as she stared at the Art Free Pass in my hand. She ground her teeth, then let out a long breath to steady herself.
“You know you’ll regret this… right? If it’s you, you definitely will.”
“Art. I’m sorry.”
“Ah, don’t apologize. I never should’ve given a free pass to a guy like you. I’m the idiot here.”
Art snatched the coupon from my hand and glared at me sharply.
“You can’t tell anyone I made it.”
“...You didn’t know things would turn out like this either. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”
“But you brought it all the way here. I’ll do it.”
Art twisted her lips, clicked her tongue in annoyance, and turned away. As she prepared to use her power, she glanced at me from the corner of her eye.
“What kind of outfit?”
“A suit. And a mask. I’ll leave the design to you. My sense of aesthetics is complete garbage. Just make it look as villainous as possible.”
“Your aesthetic sense really is trash. I know. I’ll do my best.”
With those final words, Art waved her hand. From somewhere, a dark piece of fabric flew into her grasp. It was soft and refined, like the night sea and the night sky combined.
She’s even pulling something like this out?
Art’s ability turned the world itself into fabric she could use. The larger and more impossible the creation, the greater the risk and the stronger the power output. The material for the white shirt and mask was like elegant silk, reminiscent of the midday sun. It began to take shape. A white mask with a sneering grin. A black suit. It was made quickly, but the details were meticulous. The finishing touches were perfect.
As expected, her skills have only gotten better with time.
In the end, the suit and white mask rested in her hands. Art staggered slightly. I rushed over to support her, earning myself a displeased sideways glance.
“I kept the design simple, but I poured quite a bit of power into it.”
“It just needs to not tear…”
“What do you take an Art Free Pass for? You’ve kept it for seven whole years. It should be worth that much at least.”
After staying in my arms for a while, Art’s face flushed and she pulled away. She cleared her throat awkwardly, as if embarrassed, and gave me a careful look.
“Ahem. Anyway, it’s done. I’m never making you another costume after this.”
“...Right.”
“I was joking. Come anytime. Adding extra functions costs more, though. The basic ability is ‘convenient wear.’ At night it grants stealth, and during the day it enhances physical abilities. There’s more, but… that should be enough.”
Art pouted her lips like she was sulking.
“Thank you.”
“...”
She looked at me with a complicated expression before closing her eyes.
“If you’re thankful, then repay me somehow.”
I stared silently at the suit and mask she had given me, then smiled and asked.
“What kind of repayment?”
“...Anything. Just don’t die.”
“Why would I die? Even if I did, it’d be as a hero.”
“I said don’t die, you idiot.”
Art glared at me with clear irritation. I gathered the clothes in my arms and left the shop. The wind outside was cold. When I glanced back, I saw Art watching me with moist, glistening eyes.
“A villain, huh.”