Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: What on Earth Is His Identity!
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Korean Hero Academy first-year cadet.
This intake had drawn more anticipation than any previous freshmen class.
And for good reason—truly remarkable individuals had set foot here.
First and foremost, Jin Seo-ah, granddaughter of the Sword Saint, was a top prospect without question.
Rumors swirled that her power alone rivaled that of a B-Rank Hero.
Next up: Louise Capels, who had crossed the sea from distant England.
She hailed from the famous "Magic Bullet" family, renowned not just in her home country but in Korea as well.
Beyond those two cadets, there were a few other rising stars.
Kang Yuna, for instance, who had shone brightly even before enrollment through no intention of her own.
Or Seo Ha-eun, who had shown steep growth as of late.
What they all had in common was their extraordinary prowess in Ability.
In the world of heroes, where Ability was both alpha and omega, this was only natural.
But if one looked a bit beyond Ability, taking a broader view...
There was one more cadet who stood as tall as Jin Seo-ah or Louise.
"...Ha."
Incredible. Who would have thought it could leap forward like this?
One cadet, exuding an air of refined culture, let out a genuine sigh of admiration.
"Anyone who handles money must know how to turn anything in the world into profit."
It had started as nothing more than a hole-in-the-wall neighborhood shop.
Yet in less than fifty years, it had built itself into one of Korea's top corporations.
She recalled the words of that great entrepreneur—the founder of Hwiun, her mentor and grandfather.
Celebrities, politicians... and now even heroes.
Every company was pulling out all the stops to capture people's attention.
But even they couldn't have imagined a villain would prove helpful in such a way.
'This Smiling Man villain... those actions caught on camera were no coincidence.'
She could see it with her own eyes—the truth hidden within those seemingly chance behaviors.
Deliberately. Blatantly. He had shown the Omega Coffee logo.
Not artificial or excessive. But clear enough for anyone to notice.
To those in business, it was the pinnacle of product placement.
PPL that felt neither awkward nor unpleasant. Achieved by a villain, no less.
Smiling Man. In less than a day, he had completely captivated Korea's collective mind.
His identity was undoubtedly that of a villain. But something else could be felt.
This wasn't about good or evil—that was for heroes to decide.
From her own perspective... perhaps "useful on another front" was the way to put it.
'Of course, impossible for now.'
No matter the current public opinion, Smiling Man remained a villain.
The families of the heroes he had struck down were raising their voices in outrage.
The Union Korea Branch was clamoring for more focus on heroes over villains.
And just recently, there had even been a terror incident pinned on a villain presumed to be Smiling Man.
Experts debated its authenticity, but...
Either way. From a business standpoint, Smiling Man carried heavy risk.
A shame. Not even the classic high risk, high return.
With no certainty of his goodwill, the returns were uncertain.
'In that case, for now... it has to be her.'
A fellow first-year Hero Academy cadet: Kang Yuna.
Her feats might have been overshadowed by Smiling Man's emergence.
But her impressive showing as a sidekick was undeniable.
B-Rank Hero Shieldman himself had mentioned owing her his life.
A proven talent. High probability of continued growth.
Skill. Character. Feats. Nothing lacking.
Places that noticed would rush to sponsor her.
She needed to step forward first and build rapport.
'That's the reason I enrolled here, after all.'
Korea's leading conglomerate: Hwiun.
The owner family leading the Hwiun Group.
The youngest granddaughter of the founding chairman, Jeong Man-chun.
Jeong Ye-bin resolved to seek out Kang Yuna.
'For Hwiun.'
Heroes were verified paychecks that drove positive public opinion.
But meeting them outside put the hero in the superior position.
Here at the academy, they were all just cadets.
Building ties now would prove immensely helpful later.
Her Ability had awakened just in time, and she'd enrolled with that in mind.
If called blatantly materialistic, she'd accept it.
She was Hwiun's person through and through, after all, and valued money accordingly.
But if asked whether she held no heroic ideals at all...
"Are you alright?"
Eight years ago, when she'd been kidnapped by villains and nearly met a grim fate.
A mysterious man had appeared out of nowhere to save her.
No one knew his identity, but she suspected he was a hero.
All she remembered was the man's faint smile.
'If I truly become a hero... I'll look into that man.'
Of course, right now, befriending Kang Yuna came first.
Meanwhile.
"...This makes it real, doesn't it."
"Probably. It must be real."
Sitting in a corner of the academy courtyard, staring at their phones.
Jin Seo-ah and Louise were lost in a chain of astonishment.
Every news outlet was broadcasting the same story.
The events this time were pure shock and awe.
A villain saving a hero? It had never happened once.
The reverse—heroes saving villains—was rare enough.
The enmity and bad blood between the two groups ran that deep!
...Let's gloss over the stock market bits.
Jin Seo-ah and Louise had zero interest in that anyway.
"Cadet Kang Yuna and Cadet Seo Ha-eun were right after all."
Rubbing her forehead, mumbling how it was unimaginable.
Still, Jin Seo-ah had no choice but to accept the fact.
"But I still can't believe it. That Smiling Man. That wicked, horrific villain... saved us."
Louise's voice lacked conviction.
What to call it? A sense of deflation, perhaps.
Protecting citizens from monsters was important, of course.
But equally so—perhaps even more—the core reason heroes existed.
To safeguard citizens from villains, those ultimate scourges.
They had dreamed of becoming this era's noblest executors of justice.
Yet they'd been saved by that very target. How bewildering!
"It's worrying. There'll be all sorts of talk everywhere."
"I agree, Louise."
A villain saving others was undoubtedly astonishing.
People making a fuss and debating was only natural.
The problem was that this Smiling Man wasn't some petty criminal.
He was a hero killer. Dozens of heroes had died by his hand.
He'd even taken down one of Korea's top forces: an S-Rank Hero.
"...And the terror incident from the other day."
"Experts are divided, but the consensus was that it was Smiling Man's doing, right? I heard broadcasts in my home country even reported that Smiling Man carried out the terror."
"For now, yeah. Though..."
Since appearing in the world, he'd never once harmed a civilian.
He'd only killed heroes—then suddenly saved hero aspirants.
Herself included. She'd survived thanks to this villain.
Yet this Smiling Man had abruptly launched a terror attack on civilians.
Then gone quiet, only to reappear and save Kang Yuna, a hero, and citizens.
'Something doesn't add up. Doesn't add up at all.'
Was Smiling Man the odd one out? Or was his surroundings?
Jin Seo-ah pondered briefly, then decided to eliminate certainties first.
"First off, he did kill those heroes."
"Yes."
"And he saved Cadet Kang Yuna and Senior Shieldman this time."
"It was on live broadcast."
"Conversely, plenty of debate around the civilian terror."
The two put their heads together to form hypotheses.
Smiling Man had killed only heroes for some reason.
But this time, he'd suddenly saved a hero too.
He'd never harmed non-heroes even once.
Yet out of nowhere, a terror targeting civilians?
"...Someone borrowed Smiling Man's name to commit terror."
"And Smiling Man, displeased, flipped his actions up to now?"
If this hypothesis held, two major questions remained.
Who, and why, would steal Smiling Man's name for such an act?
And why had Smiling Man gone around killing heroes?
A quiet café interior. On the table before her: a strawberry yogurt frappe.
Scribble-scribble.
Seated at the table, Seo Ha-eun was jotting something down in her notebook.
For the past few days, she'd been investigating the people close to the heroes killed by Smiling Man.
She hadn't met anyone in person yet, but appointments were set.
Why had Smiling Man targeted only them, with assassin-like precision?
"..."
Seo Ha-eun glanced at the café TV for a moment before turning away.
Then she suddenly began poking at her innocent drink.
The sight was just like a child sulking after losing someone's attention.