Chapter 293: Can’t a Common Sense Alteration Villain Dream of Pure Love? (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 293: Can’t a Common Sense Alteration Villain Dream of Pure Love? (1)
The criminals who escaped during the collapse of Labyrinthos were largely divided into three groups.
First, the largest faction consisted of those who chose to follow the robed stranger—the self-proclaimed King of Villains.
Claiming to be the savior who brought down Labyrinthos and an apostle of God, he demonstrated mysterious powers. He successfully absorbed the relatively moderate criminals and those born within Labyrinthos, naturally amassing the largest following.
Next was the new Villain Alliance, “Labyrinthos.” This group didn’t trust the robed stranger and united under the banner of resisting the Association on their own terms.
Though they were a gathering of heinous criminals, their nature prevented them from appointing a proper leader. They spent most of their time bickering and fighting amongst themselves, so we shall set their story aside for a moment.
The most important group was the third one.
These were the individuals who refused to join any group and chose to act alone.
Some, like Old Man Poison Mist and Wildcat, operated in small numbers to achieve specific goals. Others committed acts of terror solo simply to vent the stress they had accumulated inside Labyrinthos.
Why am I suddenly explaining all this?
It’s because the mastermind behind the incident in this story—the culprit who triggered an utterly nonsensical act of terror—was one of those individuals.
* * *
I woke up because of a strange, throbbing headache.
I tried to recall what might have caused the pain, but nothing suspicious came to mind.
Let’s see… Yesterday, I definitely watched a movie with Cathy Noona, went on a date, made omurice together, and then quite naturally showered with her.
…Well, we didn’t just shower; we did a few other things too. But still, we didn’t go at it hard enough to give me a headache.
Glancing to my side, I realized Cathy Noona, who should have been sleeping next to me, was gone.
Thinking she might be preparing breakfast, I started to get up to help her, but it seemed I was already too late.
The sound of footsteps approaching was unmistakably Cathy Noona’s. The moment the door opened, the person who entered was Cathy… Noo… na?
“Oh, I was just about to wake you up, but you’re already awake!”
…Is that really Cathy Noona? I mean, it is, but…
The brilliant blonde hair, the elegant figure, the face smiling softly at me.
It was definitely the Cathy Noona and Professor I knew, but there were some parts of her that were completely different from usual.
Specifically, her hair was styled in twin-tails, and she was wearing a white Academy cadet uniform.
…What is this? Is it some kind of roleplay first thing in the morning? I mean, I’m not complaining, but…
“…What are you staring at so intently this early in the morning?”
She blushed and covered her chest with her arms. It was a heart-fluttering sight, but I felt wronged. I was just looking at the twin-tails.
“Ehey, just kidding! Hurry up and change. We’ll be late for the Academy!”
Her energy seemed strangely high today.
Hmm. If this was a new kind of roleplay, I should act according to my role, but since I had no idea what my character’s setting was, I decided to give a normal reaction first.
“It’s the weekend, though.”
“Huh? Why are you using formal speech? More importantly, what? Ah, right! It is the weekend! No wonder I washed all my spare uniforms and put them away. I was wondering why I did that. Am I getting forgetful already? Hehe, I’ll go change real quick.”
Ah, it seemed I picked the wrong dialogue option.
It must have taken a lot of courage for her to suddenly put on a school uniform for cosplay, but I had ruined the mood with a common-sense response. As a result, the event of rolling around on the bed with a twin-tailed Noona in a school uniform had vanished into thin air.
Truly a tragic turn of events.
“Yep, I’m back.”
When Cathy Noona returned, she was still wearing the twin-tails.
…Wait, what? Should I bring this up? Or did she just feel like changing her style?
I searched my memories for help.
Basically, Seo-ha liked it when I noticed her hair changes immediately, but even so, she had never changed her style this drastically before.
I wasn’t fully awake yet and my head still hurt, so I hesitated for a moment, but surely a compliment was the right answer here?
She actually looked really cute and it suited her well.
“The twin-tails look good on you.”
“Huh? So suddenly? You’re being weird. I wear my hair like this every day.”
…Huh? She did? Um, I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’m seeing it?
At first, I thought it was just a simple game, but the conversation was starting to feel out of sync.
“It’s the weekend, so what should we do? Should we call the others and hang out?”
“Aren’t you going to do your dawn training?”
“Huh? Training? On a weekend morning?”
Each discrepancy was minor on its own, but as they piled up, the sense of wrongness became impossible to ignore.
“Well, I guess training every day is important. Let’s go then!”
Hoping that I was just being irritable because of the headache, I arrived at the training grounds, only to find…
“Haha, holy shit.”
Not a single familiar face was in sight.
Unless everyone had conspired to pull a belated hidden camera prank on me for not taking them to the dungeon, it seemed something had definitely gone wrong.
* * *
Praying it wasn’t anything serious, I pulled out my smartphone and made a call.
Despite my desperate hope that she would pick up, the person on the other end answered quite casually.
[Hello? Is this So-hyun?]
“Ha-ni-ya!”
Fortunately, Ha-ni’s voice over the phone sounded perfectly calm.
Maybe it was just a coincidence that no one showed up for training today, and everyone except Cathy Noona was normal.
[Goodness, calling your mother ‘Ha-ni-ya’? Really now.]
But as soon as that thought crossed my mind, Ha-ni started talking nonsense too.
Wh-what? Who?
[I told you to call me ‘Mom’ or ‘Darling.’]
What did I just hear? Can ‘Mom’ and ‘Darling’ even exist in the same sentence…?
[But why do you sound so urgent? You slept at Cathy’s place last night, so why are you calling so early? Did you two have a fight?]
Wait, hold on. Are these worldviews connected? Do the two of them perceive each other’s status correctly while I’m the only one out of the loop?
“I was wondering who you were calling. Was it Ha-ni-ya?”
“Ah, um. Wait. Just a moment. Please wait a second. Let me try a few more calls.”
Next, right, Ga-eul. Let’s call Ga-eul.
[Hello?]
“Ga-eul. Ga-eul, are you… normal?”
[Huh? What are you talking about so early in the morning, So-hyun? Of course I’m normal.]
“…Fine. I’m going to ask a very simple question. Can you answer it?”
[A quiz out of nowhere?]
“What did you say to me when you and I first met?”
[Uh, um. I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong…? Or are you upset about something…? Should I apologize?]
“So you are normal…!?”
[…So-hyun, are you sick or something? This is bad.]
No, Ga-eul, I’m not sick. You have no idea how reassuring it is to have at least one sane person.
[If you’re sick, what happens to the concert schedule this week? You have a concert this week…]
I reflexively hung up the phone.
Why do humans give hope only to betray it? No, maybe I was just the one who expected too much and got hurt.
“So-hyun, are you still not done? I’m bored.”
“Just… just a few more.”
After making several more calls, I reached a firm conclusion.
Either the world or I was definitely insane. And if it turned out that I was the crazy one and not the world, I might as well bash my head against a block of tofu and die.
The information I gathered through the calls was roughly as follows:
Lilac, Cheon Yu-hak, and I were a three-member male idol group. Ga-eul was our producer, Lee Yu-na and Ju Ri-ra were our stylists, and our agency was Cheonhwa Entertainment. Apparently, Cheon Yu-hak was under suspicion of using his position as the CEO’s son to get other trainees eliminated.
But instead of reflecting on his actions, he supposedly released an article saying he would prove himself with his face and talent at next week’s concert.
…I’m going to lose my mind.
As the number of people I talked to increased, the sheer volume of information became too overwhelming to keep up with.
[Do not worry. I expected this level of trouble to occur. As always, I shall win over the fans with my song and my face…]
“My head hurts. I’m hanging up. Sorry.”
With that, everyone in my year was a lost cause.
Actually, there was one person I hadn’t called yet. Knowing this guy, there was a high probability he’d talk nonsense the moment he picked up.
Still… still, I couldn’t discriminate. Let’s give him a call.
Even though Lee Yu-na had turned my stomach by suggesting that for the next concert outfit, Lilac should go with all-white, Cheon Yu-hak with all-black, and I should go with a plaid concept.
And even though Ju Ri-ra had triggered my murderous intent by suggesting a concept where two princes compete over a princess, playing off my ‘lovely face.’
It would be unfair to exclude only this guy.
“So-hyun, you’ve been saying ‘just a moment’ for a while now. How long are you going to stay on the phone~?”
“Really, just one second. This is the last one.”
“Hmph. You said that was the last one earlier, too.”
I felt bad for the pouting Professor, but since this guy would likely be in a similar state, this really was probably the last one.
[…Hello?]
“I’m going to ask a brief question. Lilac. My head really hurts right now, so don’t say anything weird and just give me a short answer.”
[…Fine.]
“Are you an idol? Are you in a team with me and Cheon Yu-hak, and do we have a concert next week? Tell me quickly.”
[So-hyun, even you’re saying that!?]
…Wait? His reaction is a bit different?
No, wait. There have been so many times he’s pretended otherwise just to screw with me. It’s too early to get my hopes up.
“Then what’s our job?”
[Our job? We’re Academy cadets, obviously… Please, what is everyone talking about? So-hyun, I’m begging you, if this is a hidden camera prank, just tell me. I feel like I’m going crazy…]
Is this… is this for real?
“Then did you do your dawn training today?”
[…I tried to leave the dormitory at dawn, but people in front were screaming and chasing me. I just did some light jogging while running away.]
…It’s real?
Of all the days in my life, I never thought I’d be this happy to hear from this guy.
Yes. If even he had been out of his mind, it would have meant I was the crazy one. But if he was sane, the story changed.
It really was the world that was crazy, not me…!
“You’re normal, Lilac…!”
[Huh? Did the others say weird things to you too? It doesn’t seem like they’re pulling a prank on just the two of us, does it?]
Wow, Lilac, the original protagonist’s form doesn’t go anywhere after all…! Yeah, when an accident like this happens, at least one other person has to be sane.
“Hey, where are you right now? The dormitory? No, you said you ran away, right!? I’ll…!”
In my joy, I tried to arrange a meeting with Lilac, but the next moment, the smartphone vanished from my hand.
Startled, I turned my head to see Professor Cathy with her cheeks puffed out in a massive pout.
She was even holding the smartphone she had presumably snatched from me.
“Hmph!”
She then turned her head away, her twin-tails swaying cutely.
…Uh, um. Anyone could see she had an ‘I’m sulking!’ face, and it was incredibly cute, but what on earth was she doing?
“Please give me back my phone.”
“What? You promised to play with me on the weekend, but you’ve done nothing but talk on the phone. That’s mean, So-hyun.”
Slowly tucking the smartphone into her back pocket, Noona began to back away from me.
“I’m confiscating this as punishment for not playing with me.”
“No, what do you mean…!”
“Hehe, I’ll give it back if you catch me!”
With an adorable attitude and gesture—but at a speed that was anything but adorable—Professor Cathy leaped away, instantly widening the gap between us.
Ah, um. So, what now?
“If you don’t hurry up, I’m not giving it back~!”
I had no way of knowing where Lilac was right now, and even in this situation, it would be troublesome if she actually got upset. I felt like I had to chase her for now, but…
“Hurry up~!”
…Can I even catch her?