Chapter 36
Chapter 36
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: How Can I Believe That?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
How was she supposed to believe that?
A short while later, other heroes and police arrived.
The villain had already been subdued, leaving only the cleanup.
As Seo Ha-eun watched the scene, a teacup appeared before her.
"Here, have some."
"...Thank you."
"Consider it payment for saving me last time."
She had thought it was coffee, but a fragrant aroma wafted up.
Like any Brit, stubbornly insisting on tea.
She hadn't expected to see such an elegant tea set outdoors.
As Seo Ha-eun fidgeted awkwardly with the cup,
Louise elegantly took a sip and spoke.
"Your intentions were good, but that was a bit dangerous just now."
"... ."
"A cadet dreaming of becoming a hero, driven by a strong sense of duty and clear justice. Truly admirable. That's exactly how an aspiring hero should be."
Her Korean was so fluent it was hard to believe she was from England.
If not for her distinctly Western features, she could have been mistaken for Korean.
"But."
Louise looked at Seo Ha-eun with a slightly stern gaze.
"In the end, we're still cadets. Not heroes yet. That sense of duty and justice—they're all good, but we need to exercise discernment. If that villain had taken you hostage, things would have escalated even more."
She had nothing to say. In the heat of the moment, she hadn't considered that.
Because of her vengeful urge to eliminate any villain in sight.
She had made the mistake of not properly gauging the villain's level.
Revenge. Revenge against the villain who did that to her parents.
It was important. The most important thing in her life.
But with revenge, achieving it mattered more than the act itself.
She had nearly gotten herself killed before even starting. She hadn't kept her composure.
That fact made Seo Ha-eun feel even more pathetic.
"Don't get all down about it, though. It makes me feel like the bad guy."
"Louise isn't a bad person. I was just the fool."
"That kind of talk... hmm. What's it called? Ah, self-deprecation. Don't do that either. Just don't make the same mistake next time."
Comforting Seo Ha-eun, she patted her shoulder.
Then she gazed at the neon signs filling the surroundings.
"Before coming to Korea, I had all sorts of imaginings. The Republic of Korea. A small but great Eastern nation, leading the world in producing outstanding heroes. While my parents grew up on tales of their homeland's great kings and knights, I was raised on stories of the strongest and most honorable new knights in another world."
In England, they called heroes knights, and it seemed true.
Honor. Justice. Sacrifice. Yes, they were indeed worthy of the name.
"My family has produced Ability users for generations. And I inherited that power too. My homeland has a Hero Academy, but it wasn't satisfactory. As much as I hate to admit it, it wasn't the perfect environment for hero training."
"So."
"Yes. So I came to Korea. I heard the heroes here are incredibly skilled, and the Hero Academy that trains them is top-notch."
That was Louise's reasoning.
The heroes of Korea possessed such unwavering justice.
They viewed honor and sacrifice as their destiny and fought with all their might.
Aspiring to that, she had decided to come to this distant land.
To study in this Eastern country, far from her family.
"And Korea truly lived up to it. So many heroes, and of such high quality. Unlike my homeland, where there are fewer than ten S-Rank Heroes, here they even serve as instructors at the academy."
In her country, S-Rank Heroes held high government positions, making them exceedingly rare.
It had been quite a shock that such figures would take academy instructor roles.
And that explained why Korea's Hero Academy was so superior.
"But it wasn't all good. There were disappointments too."
"...I think I know what you mean."
The words Louise kept mentioning from earlier.
Honor. Sacrifice. And justice.
Yes. Thinking about it, they were the very things Seo Ha-eun had felt too.
"I don't mean to disparage Korean heroes. But... how should I put it? The words aren't coming. It's that the reality doesn't match the image I had."
"A sense of discrepancy?"
"Discrepancy. Yes, exactly. A sense of discrepancy."
Rather than upright honor, the cheers and praise of the crowds.
Rather than noble sacrifice, burdens they could bear.
Rather than unshakeable justice, choices weighed by what they could gain.
It was like the difference between knights in chivalric tales and the real knights in history.
Louise smiled bitterly and set down her neatly emptied teacup.
"Korea is still an amazing place. I'll graduate from the academy here, get my hero license, learn even more, and then return to my homeland."
"To build a system like Korea's there."
"You catch on quick. You're impressive too, Cadet Seo Ha-eun."
Impressive? No, she absolutely wasn't that kind of person.
If anything, she was far from the heroes Louise described.
Not sacrifice. Not honor. Not even faith in justice.
Only one thing. Revenge, revenge, and nothing but revenge.
That was why she had shown such intense hostility to the villain earlier.
That villain could harm someone else's parents too.
The image flashed by—her parents hanging upside down from the building.
Suspect or not, it didn't matter. They were all villains.
Villains were bad. Villains were evil. Yes, all villains...
'Smiling Man.'
The image was still vivid. The Smiling Man blocking her path.
A villain, yet he had protected an aspiring hero.
Not once, but twice. Why? What was his ulterior motive!
"Cadet Seo Ha-eun?"
"...Ah. Yes, Louise."
"Need more tea? If it's too bitter, I can add some milk."
"No. No, I'm fine. I've had plenty. Thank you."
Honestly, she had no idea what the appeal was.
The aroma was nice, sure. But drinking it? Just bitter and astringent.
Still, saying that outright would be rude.
She had forced it down, eyes squeezed shut, and no way was she accepting more.
"Miss. You really need to move now."
"The cleanup's almost done anyway. No one's coming even if we wait, so they probably won't question Cadet Seo Ha-eun. This should be good enough. Where to, Cadet Seo Ha-eun? I'll give you a ride."
"I can go alone..."
"Don't refuse. It's not kindness without reason. If I need a favor later, you'll return it."
Louise had already helped her a lot.
The tea wasn't her taste, but she'd been treated anyway.
A little more favor wouldn't hurt.
If she asked for something later, she'd grant it.
"Huh?"
As Louise headed to the back seat with Seo Ha-eun, she let out an exclamation.
Grabbing Seo Ha-eun's shoulder to stop her, she reached behind.
"Louise?"
"Hold on. There's something stuck to your back, Cadet Seo Ha-eun. Look at this."
Louise showed her what she had grabbed.
Glimmering translucently in the city lights,
it was a single thread.
Somewhere in Korea. Hideout of the new villain group, the Evil Brigade.
"What the hell is this nonsense?"
A slender woman clicked her tongue in disbelief.
"What are we supposed to do now?"
"Make Union and Clan clash. What do you think? Great idea, right?"
Tattoos, of the Seven Evils. He continued proudly.
"The Evil Brigade is still a mess internally right now. If that crazy bitch storms in to retrieve her runaway dog, we're screwed."
"Not like we'd be scared of her?"
Murder Maniac Girl, of the Seven Evils—Massacre—grumbled, her pride hurt.
The Gloomy Swordsman sitting beside her—Narcissus, of the Seven Evils—nodded.
Though his line was fixed at "Annoying."
"The problem is Union might seize the chance to attack us. So we strike first—make Union and Clan fight!"
At first it sounded absurd, but on second thought, it was a solid plan.
Getting caught in the middle would be a hassle. Better to fish in troubled waters beforehand.
'The issue is why he thought of it. That tattooed pig just wants to show off.'
Massacre sighed as she eyed Tattoos.
The slender woman venting her dissatisfaction—one of the Seven Evils, and the object of Tattoos' unrequited love.
The other five had barely convinced her not to pair up with him, dragging her along.
Her Ability was too valuable to leave behind.
"Fine, say we do that. How? How do we make Union attack Clan?"
"We disguise ourselves as Clan villains and attack heroes and civilians alike."
"Not bad... But to sell it as Clan, we can't use weaklings."
"Exactly. That's why we disguise as this guy from now on."
Tattoos tossed a photo onto the table.
The Seven Evils' faces showed varied reactions upon seeing it.
"Oh, not bad."
"Annoying."
Massacre and Narcissus approved.
"Ah, fuck. Here he goes again."
The slender woman saw through Tattoos' real motive and dry-heaved.
"... ."
"... ."
"... ."
The other three Seven Evils seemed indifferent.
"That should sell it convincingly, right?"
Tattoos' proposed disguise target.
The identity in the photo was none other than the Smiling Man.