Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: It's Time to Beat Them
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Kim Yushin arrived at work in high spirits, only to freak out.
A few cadets were wearing masks, insisting that the Smiling Man wasn't a villain.
For a moment, he wondered if this was the academy or the streets in front of Gwanghwamun Square.
There were just so many people there making those outrageous claims.
How else could anyone defend a villain like that?
If they kept it up, they could lose their cadet qualifications.
More than that, it created the biggest problem for Yushin.
The way to make a villain-sucker image? Have cadets openly mention it like this?
It was bound to provoke even greater backlash from other cadets or heroes.
The "enemy turned ally" position always drew mixed reviews.
But it had to stay ambiguous to everyone—never swing to extremes.
'And! I don't look that freakish!!'
Honestly, this part felt the most unfair.
If they were going to make one, why not something cool like a Guy Fawkes mask!
That thing was basically designed to demean the Smiling Man!
So Yushin was doing his utmost to dissuade the cadets.
"No!"
Seo Ha-eun the cadet? No, why are you jumping in again?
Yushin panicked. He'd planned to intervene just enough and bow out.
But if Seo Ha-eun got involved, things could get messy.
Her fearless charge into danger was still fresh in his mind.
She seized the initiative. That one reason had driven her to that madness.
'Please rein it in, Seo Ha-eun. Getting too serious here won't do you any favors! If your drive for revenge weakens, you could break at any moment!'
His concern was one thing; the performance was another.
"So, Seo Ha-eun. If he's not a villain, then what is the Smiling Man? Just like they say online—is he some kind of dark hero now?"
Outwardly sharp criticism, inwardly pure worry.
Thankfully, Seo Ha-eun played right into his hands.
"The Smiling Man... is just the Smiling Man."
She didn't call him a villain. Nor a hero.
So what was the Smiling Man? If neither villain nor hero, then what?
It was the flaw of black-and-white logic itself, but in this world, it was a question that worked.
Highly binary, yet the villain-hero divide was that crucial.
And Seo Ha-eun, who hated villains more than anyone, gave that answer.
The Smiling Man was just the Smiling Man. That was all.
Neither villain nor hero—an entirely different response.
"That's an ambiguous answer, Seo Ha-eun."
"But it's the truth. The harm he's caused. The people he's saved. All of it."
Such words could one day count against her in hero selection.
Even with subtle warnings of crisis, Seo Ha-eun wouldn't budge.
Yushin inwardly applauded her sincerity.
Thank you, Seo Ha-eun. That's exactly it. Just what I wanted!
Something that was nothing... yet could be anything.
Bold guess: closer to ally than enemy.
This was the proper place for the Smiling Man that Yushin knew.
The ultimate position fulfilling his romantic ideals.
'And the ones behind her, Jin Seo-ah and Kang Yuna, had such thoughtful expressions.'
Louise's heart hadn't fully turned yet, but that was fine.
The day suspicion turned to trust wasn't far off.
He knew the incident in the UK would erupt soon.
Then the "enemy turned ally" position would be complete.
No villain treatment, yet free from the cumbersome hero role.
Bzzz!—
Heading to the storage room with a "see you later," his phone buzzed.
"Oh."
Valkyrie. Not a message—a phone call.
Ahem! Clearing his throat, Yushin donned the Smiling Man guise.
One slip, and he might appear as the storage clerk.
[Hey. Smiling Man. Got a sec to talk...?]
"Hahaha! To think the great Hero Valkyrie is calling me. I'm so moved, tears are blurring my vision!"
[Cut the jokes...]
"Are you calling to give me more autographs? Oh dear. Keep this up, and the pawnshop baldie's descendants will haggle you down! Hahaha!"
[...]
For a brief moment, Valkyrie went silent.
No—not silent. Speechless.
[Quit messing around. This isn't the time for jokes.]
"Oh. That's exactly why I'm joking. Getting more serious in a dire situation helps no one! This is how you ease tension with laughter and loosen stiff minds! Come on, try it. Hero Valkyrie. Hahaha!"
[You're a real lunatic, you know that?]
How did I end up talking to a villain?
Valkyrie sighed so deeply through the phone it seemed to shake the earth.
Thanks to her, the Smiling Man cackled in delight.
[Heard the old geezer from the Sword Saint helped out. Just calling to say thanks.]
"Hmm? That was days ago. Thanks now?"
[I wasn't the one who fell for it, okay? You handed it over, I blew it wide open, and I've been busy keeping the Union in check my way.]
"Oh, right. Very well. I'll let it slide this once!"
Hahaha. Note: this laugh wasn't the Smiling Man's.
It was Valkyrie's resigned chuckle, half in surrender.
"Is that why you called?"
[...Now for the main point.]
"I'm all ears, Hero Valkyrie."
[That massive terrorist attack over the weekend. Your boss didn't order it, right?]
"My boss? Hahaha! Even heroes can crack jokes like that."
His laughter-filled voice suddenly turned ice-cold.
Valkyrie flinched on the other end, or so it seemed.
"If the boss had pulled it off, it would've been several times more horrific than this."
[...]
"You know that, Hero Valkyrie. So confirming it anyway? Looks like the Union's desperate to shift the blame to villains."
[Probably. But it's fine. Me, and the heroes who share my views—we're done burying the Union's screw-ups.]
"But it lacks buzz. Without firepower, public interest fades, and the Union wins the PR game in the end."
Hmm. Guess it's inevitable.
The Smiling Man, entering the storage room, waved his hand.
Mana Threads draped everywhere, forming walls.
Ensuring no sound escaped from here on.
No one outside could dare intrude.
"Hero Valkyrie."
[What.]
"Next week, I'll eliminate one hero."
[...Have you lost your mind?]
"Strange. Weren't you the one who just called me a madman?"
[No, that's not—! Don't change the subject! What the hell are you talking about!?]
"Why pretend you don't know? A rotten hero who wouldn't raise eyebrows dying to a villain. One heroes can't—or won't—deal with. Enter the Smiling Man!"
Isn't it cool just imagining it? Or scary, maybe?
As the Smiling Man burst into laughter, Valkyrie's gut twisted further.
This lunatic was threatening to kill a hero out of nowhere.
No sane person could just go "Oh, okay."
[Who. Why. What crime?]
"Secret."
[Hey, you bastard!]
"One thing's certain. That hero deserves death for their villainy. Taints the hero name. Worse than any villain. Isn't that enough?"
[Fine. Fine. Say that's all true. How's that got anything to do with the buzz you mentioned?]
Obviously. Time to shoot a blockbuster movie.
Villain kills hero. Heroes hunt that villain.
Chase and investigation. Dark truths revealed along the way.
Nothing grabs public eyes like this!
[You crazy bastard! So who exactly? What crime? Fine, skip that. You got evidence, right? Right?]
"Oh. No evidence yet, by the way."
[What is this, a hero dying of brain hemorrhage mid-shit?]
"Exactly. A brain fart? Hahaha!"
[...]
Valkyrie was speechless. But no helping it.
Only Yushin knew the guy was rotten.
Because he knew the future. The past. That's how it had to be.
Explaining would make him sound crazier.
And it was fine. The evidence would come soon enough.
"Oh, kidding. Kidding. Hahaha! No need to get so grim! I'll pass on what my informant knows shortly."
Yes. Informant. Purple suits her perfectly.
She's conflicted now. Will agonize plenty.
But she'll figure out the right path in the end.
The day as the disguised storage clerk ended.
Next up—yeah. How about the orphanage today?
His magician uncle persona for the kids was still intact.
Nothing impossible for the Smiling Man with his disguise arts.
Normies wouldn't notice. Heroes might.
'Here she comes.'
Actually, Yushin's real target wasn't the orphanage.
"Oh. Secretary? Off to the orphanage again today?"
"...Smiling Man."
"Perfect timing. I brought perfume that erases the scent of parentless kids. Want some? Hahaha!!"
So spoke the one who'd protected those orphanage kids more sincerely than anyone.
Lee Bora's eyes visibly wavered.
"Anyway. Shall we go together? Got something to discuss with you, Secretary."
Something to discuss. Yushin didn't miss how her body trembled at those words.