Chapter 8
Chapter 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Who is the Villain?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Who is the Villain?
Once upon a time, Seo Ha-eun was a girl who smiled brightly every day.
A kind father. A warm mother. A brother who bickered with her every day, but that was all.
It was a happy family. It seemed like it would last forever.
But tragedy always strikes at unexpected moments.
"Uncle? What do you mean all of a sudden?"
"Ha-eun. Don't be startled. Listen carefully."
The hero couple was surrounded by villains during a mission.
Their colleagues rushed to rescue them, but all they found were traces of battle and bloodstains.
And a few days later, Seo Ha-eun experienced hell.
The bodies of the missing couple were hung upside down from a building.
It was the villains' way of mocking the heroes.
They tried to find the culprits, but there were no real leads.
After that horrific incident, Seo Ha-eun lost her smile.
She forgot her happy memories. She forgot the beautiful future she once envisioned.
All that remained was one thing. Hatred for villains. Nothing but that.
"I'm going to enroll in Hero Academy."
Her only remaining family, Seo Ha-eun's brother, added this.
I'll get in and become a hero. And take revenge.
"What about you?"
It was a question that didn't need asking.
"I'll find them. The villains who did that to Mom and Dad. And I'll get revenge. No matter what."
Villains were beings that had to be eradicated. Social evils. Targets for extermination.
Become a hero. Take revenge. Until every last villain is dead.
After the tragedy, that became Seo Ha-eun's unwavering goal.
'No matter what. I'll get revenge.'
Seo Ha-eun's brother enrolled two years earlier and became a cadet.
And Seo Ha-eun passed the final exam through sheer will and determination.
A rare case where both parents and their children all entered Hero Academy.
There was a brief news article about it, but Seo Ha-eun paid it no mind.
Instead, another article caught her attention.
<Villains Attempting Civilian Kidnapping Repelled by Hero Aspirant...>
A hero aspirant had taken on villains and defeated them all.
Since she'd passed the final exam, they'd be classmates.
She must have a strong hatred for villains, just like Seo Ha-eun.
If so, it meant gaining a good ally. A very good thing.
Villains had to be wiped out completely, without exception.
"Kang Yuna, right? I saw the article. About fighting the villains. And resisting the Smiling Man too. Nice to meet you. I'm Seo Ha-eun. A fellow new cadet."
She was lucky. She ran into Kang Yuna on the first day of enrollment.
If not for the sudden phone call, they might have talked more.
Regrettably, given who was calling, she could only say they'd catch up later.
"Hello?"
[Yeah. Ha-eun. It's your uncle. Did you get into the Academy okay?]
Holy Knight, a hero who had just been a rookie when Seo Ha-eun's parents were heroes.
Now an S-Rank Hero, he was a celebrity drawing all the public's attention.
Despite his busy schedule, he treated his senior's daughter like a niece. A kind uncle.
Above all, he was someone who could help with revenge someday.
He occasionally made strange requests, but he was still an outstanding hero.
"We sincerely welcome all you new cadets. From now on, you will protect the safety of this great nation of Korea..."
The new cadets around her couldn't hide their excitement.
They seemed eager to become cool heroes and bask in fame and popularity.
'Idiots.'
Seo Ha-eun couldn't understand her classmates like that. She didn't want to.
Heroes existed to kill villains. That was it. Nothing more.
From that perspective, most of her classmates seemed utterly useless.
Except for Kang Yuna over there, and a few others.
"New Cadet Representative, Cadet Jin Seo-ah, please come up to the podium."
Jin Seo-ah. Granddaughter of S-Rank Hero Sword Saint. The top prospect of this class.
Sword Saint had shown overwhelming talent against villains and monsters from way back.
She hoped Jin Seo-ah would become an outstanding hero like her grandfather and fight villains.
She needed allies. Villains were like bugs—kill them and more kept coming.
"...That concludes the new cadet entrance ceremony. Cadets, please exit and follow your instructors."
Now it really began. She'd become a hero and track down her enemies no matter what.
She'd do the same to them. Hang their corpses upside down for all to see.
"Seo Ha-eun."
As she stepped outside, a familiar face was waiting for her.
"...Oppa."
"You made it here in the end."
"Just like you did."
"Yeah. Just like Mom and Dad did."
The siblings who used to bicker at the mere sight of each other as kids were gone.
All that remained for them was revenge. A partnership for that purpose. That was everything.
"Uncle Holy Knight called me."
"He called me too. Said to take good care of his niece now that her little sister's enrolled."
"He suggested we have dinner together. You going?"
"Go by yourself. I have night training today."
"Got it."
A rough, arid conversation. A barren desert where even tears had dried up.
But this was Seo Ha-eun's last remaining hope.
If she hadn't had her brother. If she hadn't had Holy Knight.
She might have ended up at the end of a bridge instead of Hero Academy.
The first day for Hero Academy's new cadets was nothing special.
The welcome party was on the second day. They let the first day be chaotic.
It was time to reflect on their future and reaffirm their resolve.
Normally, Seo Ha-eun would spend this time training her Ability.
But today's schedule was a little different. She had somewhere to go.
Beep beep!-
"Seo Ha-eun!"
A flashy sports car pulled up beside her with its emergency lights flashing.
The driver's door opened, and a man in his mid-30s dressed in pure white waved his hand.
"Hello."
S-Rank Hero. Holy Knight. A man with many memories of her parents.
He was the one who put in the most effort to find the culprits.
He was the one who cried alongside her and vowed revenge.
To Seo Ha-eun, Holy Knight was a senior, a mentor, and reliable family.
"You've decided to become a hero after all."
"Yes."
"Yeah. Your brother too, and now you. I can't stop you. More than that, it's impressive. Your parents must be so proud."
Mention of her parents cast a deep shadow over Seo Ha-eun's face.
Perhaps that's why she didn't notice Holy Knight's hand subtly stroking her shoulder.
"Huh? It's Holy Knight!!"
"Holy Knight? Where?!"
The car was flashy, and the man even more so. He hadn't prepared anything to hide his face.
People gathered in an instant.
"It's really Holy Knight!!"
"Hero Holy Knight!"
"C-can I get your autograph?"
"Me too! Me too!!"
Heroes weren't just police or soldiers maintaining public order.
They were dazzling heroes with cool Abilities protecting the world from monsters and villains.
Just like characters from comics or movies.
The stronger the hero, the more their popularity exceeded imagination.
In fact, S-Rank Heroes could make celebrities out of themselves.
"Who's the woman next to you?"
"Is she your girlfriend?!"
"Hey now! Girlfriend? This young lady here is the new Hero Academy cadet, Cadet Seo Ha-eun! She's the daughter of my two most respected hero seniors! She's like a niece to me, so please refrain from such talk!"
He handled the crowd skillfully. As expected of a popular S-Rank Hero.
As more people gathered, police even showed up.
Only after the crowd dispersed could Seo Ha-eun finally get into Holy Knight's car.
"Whew. What a madhouse. Right, Ha-eun?"
"Yes."
"That's what it's like being a hero. To them, we're heroes and hope. Guardian angels protecting them from monsters and villains."
"I just want to kill all the villains."
"Yeah. That's our job, after all."
The sports car carrying the two sped on and stopped in front of a hotel.
"Today's a special day, so I picked the best place."
"A special day?"
"Yeah. The day you became a cadet. Of course it's special. Worth celebrating."
Seo Ha-eun tilted her head for a moment.
Did Holy Knight do the same for her brother?
She couldn't remember. Was she forgetting something?
"Shall we go?"
Yeah. She must have forgotten.
Back then, she was a hero aspirant in the middle of grueling training.
She could've easily heard the news and forgotten it right away.
"Welcome. Hero Holy Knight."
"I asked to reserve the entire lounge. It's ready, right?"
"Of course. This way, please."
Clearing out an entire lounge in such a massive hotel.
It must have cost a fortune, but to an S-Rank Hero, it was nothing.
"Here, have a seat."
Holy Knight pulled out Seo Ha-eun's chair and sat across from her.
Seo Ha-eun looked around. It was eerily quiet with no other guests.
"Thank you always."
"No need. This is just repaying the debt I owe your parents. Don't thank me. Ha-eun. This is only natural. We're not ordinary people to each other."
At that moment, the manager approached with an "Excuse me."
He carried wine that was clearly no ordinary vintage.
"This is..."
"A toast for the occasion. Ha-eun. One bottle on a day like this."
Alcohol. Something she'd never touched before.
She hesitated for a moment. It might interfere with night training.
But it was Holy Knight. The man who always looked out for her.
She had received much from him already, and expected more. She couldn't refuse his kindness.
The same time.
"Welcome. How may I assist you?"
A man entered the hotel lobby.
With a bizarre smile on his lips.