Precautionary Measures
Precautionary Measures
"Dain. Are you sorry or aren't you?"
"Sorry..."
In the president's office of the Yuseong Group Seoul Branch.
I was there, apologizing to Lee Seol-ah.
"No... honestly, couldn't you have told me? Do you think I'd go around casually blabbing about it?"
She grumbled at me, pretending to be angry.
She probably really was hurt. In the middle of Seoul being completely trashed, she desperately tried to contact me, and I just went dark. Then, without a word, I started a broadcast out of nowhere, popped up, solved the problem in a flash, and disappeared again.
She flicked her sky-blue hair to the side, practically radiating that she was upset with me, as if I could almost hear a 'Hmph!'
...And of course, this was all probably an act.
I mean, who was Lee Seol-ah? In the Original Work, she'd been someone who could practically swallow all of South Korea. With a mind that sharp, even acting childlike was highly likely to be calculated.
Of course, uh. She might actually have been genuinely angry, letting her brain take a break. From her perspective, it was certainly a disappointment. I had planned everything for Stardus, so telling Lee Seol-ah might have tipped Stardus off through her unique intuition. That was why I had stayed silent. But there was no way Seol-ah knew that.
So for the moment, apologizing was my best option.
...To be honest, when I first heard her voice on the phone, she had sounded ready to bury someone. Compared with that, the situation then was much better.
"Hmph."
"Okay, okay. I'm really sorry. I won't do it again."
"...Really?"
"Yeah."
It wasn't a lie. I hadn't specified what I wouldn't do again.
Though I was sorry I hadn't contacted her immediately after my intrusion ended, I couldn't very well have warned her beforehand. It would probably remain that way.
But bringing that up then would have been a rookie mistake. For the moment, I would put on a poker face and go with the flow.
"...So, you admit you were in the wrong this time, right, Dain?"
"Yeah."
"Then... do me one favor."
She said, twiddling her fingers and looking down at her hands, her voice slightly quieter than before.
...What? What favor?
A sudden chill ran down my spine.
This is Lee Seol-ah. Who knows what she'll ask for.
"Okay. I’ll do anything you ask. Just say the word."
Even so, I threw that promise out first.
Just as I wondered whether I should knock her out and run if she asked for something too strange—
"...Show me your face."
"Huh?"
"Me too! Show me your bare face without the mask..."
Lee Seol-ah's face flushed slightly as she trailed off, as if a bit embarrassed to say it.
...She intimidated me like that, and in the end she just wanted to see my face?
She kept glancing at me, afraid I'd refuse, so I chuckled and just took off the mask.
"Here. Happy?"
"Oh..."
She seemed a little flustered that I took it off so easily.
But that was brief. Her eyes sparkled as she started examining my face detail by detail.
"...Hey, you're staring a bit too much. It's kind of uncomfortable."
"No, I'm just amazed."
"...What about my face?"
"No. I mean, you wear a mask even though you have Perception Inhibition, so I thought you might have a large scar on one side of your face—but you don't. Then why do you wear a half-mask?"
"This mask isn't ordinary. It's got tons of functions."
But they don't really get used. I mainly use it to read chat.
I didn't bother adding that.
"Anyway, good. Now that I've seen your face, only inviting me to your house is left. You'll invite me, right?"
"...That's for later."
I drew the line for now.
...Revealing the house location is a bit too much.
I could reveal my face without worry because the new Moon Priestess, Baek Eun-wol, could cast powerful perception magic.
"Okay."
Lee Seol-ah's face showed not a hint of disappointment. She seemed satisfied with seeing my face today. Her blush from earlier had long since vanished.
...Had I been played?
Before I could dwell on that, she spoke up as if she just remembered something.
"Ah. And Dain, there's a problem."
"What?"
"Right now, both online and in public opinion surveys, everyone seems to like Egostic. Almost on a hero level? Isn't that a problem?"
Lee Seol-ah looked at me with concern as she said that.
"...Even in our own internal survey, you have a higher likability rating than me."
...Is that so?
It was similar to what Seo-eun had said before.
"...Really? That much?"
"Yes. Your popularity is through the roof. They're calling it a Mango Concert or whatever. Even overseas are paying attention—an A-rank villain single-handedly handled a terror that S-rank heroes were hesitating over."
Are you telling me the overseas buzz isn't just clickbait from Nationalist Hype TV?
As she kept going, flustered, I felt this was getting a little worrying.
Hm... This is bad.
"But Dain. Common sense says you single-handedly saved all of Seoul from destruction. If your popularity didn't rise, wouldn't that be weird?"
"I'm a villain, though."
"...Calling yourself a villain doesn't actually make you a villain."
Lee Seol-ah looked at me with deadpan eyes.
"...Tch."
As expected, should I have simply launched another terrorist attack right away?
Right. Nothing proved I was a villain like a terrorist attack.
"...Got it, thanks for telling me."
"Being worried because you're too popular... I'm so envious. Sigh."
She said with a sigh.
After that, we exchanged a few more words, then parted ways.
Along with a promise to definitely contact her next time something like this happens.
...I wasn't sure whether I could keep that promise, but I'd made it.
But something felt off... It was probably only my imagination.
***
"Hoo..."
The president's office, after Egostic, Dain, had left.
Lee Seol-ah was left alone again, looking out the window with a sigh.
Truthfully, she knew.
Egostic. He didn't really trust her all that much.
Lee Seol-ah prided herself on being perceptive.
Without her extraordinary mind, she would never have reached this position. Seizing control of this company from her grandfather was no easy feat for such a young girl.
In other words, her read on people was something she could trust.
And the Dain she saw—he didn't trust her.
'...Why?'
She found that strange.
...What did she even do to earn that lack of trust?
From the start, she had only been good to Egostic. She'd never harbored any ill will.
Yet, suspiciously, he seemed to... how to put it, always a bit guarded, no matter how much she opened up.
No matter how much she approached, always.
As if he knew something about her that even she didn't.
'...Frustrating.'
An information gap.
No matter how perceptive she was, she couldn't do anything about that.
Besides, he clearly didn't seem displeased with her plan to swallow up South Korea. He even supported it.
Then why?
'...While he trusts Stardus so much.'
And his baffling devotion to Stardus.
He even claimed that every attack he staged was for Stardus. It was practically an obsession. In a way, he had devoted his entire life to her. What incredible pure devotion.
'Ha-ru... she is charming, but is she that charming?'
Objectively, both she and Shin Ha-ru were A-rank heroes. She didn't understand why there was such discrimination.
...In any case, wasn't she better than someone who didn't even recognize him?
What's so great about Ha-ru anyway?
"...No."
Her thoughts were getting too gloomy.
She exhaled and collected herself.
...Yes.
In the end, it was always me who won.
Because once she set her mind on obtaining something, she always found a way to grasp it.
"...Just you wait."
Someday, Egostic.
She would make him look only at her, not Stardus.
***
While Icicle was scheming and Egostic was pondering his next terrorist attack.
In the Big House serving as Ego Stream headquarters, connected to the underground base that was the original HQ, two girls were walking.
"...Seo-eun. Where are we going?"
"It's just for you, so follow me."
A passageway underground with pure white walls.
Under the flickering lights, Baek Eun-wol was clutching Han Seo-eun's clothes, looking around nervously.
And Seo-eun spoke to her.
"You know about Ego Stream now, right?"
"Yes, I learned it all. It's a villain alliance founded by Dain, right?"
"Right. Big bro made it. But do you know who the founding members were?"
"Who?"
"Big sis Soo-bin and me."
Seo-eun said that, then sighed and continued.
"But the public only knows big sis Soo-bin, not me. Even big sis Ha-yul debuted as Saintess or whatever this time, yet big bro keeps sheltering only me."
"Oh, why?"
"Probably because he thinks I'm young or have no combat ability. Sheesh, I'm a high school junior now—isn't that basically an adult?"
"...W-well, you're not exactly an adult, though?"
"No way! This is definitely grown-up enough."
She then began entering a passcode on the massive steel door ahead of them.
Soon, with a heavy rumbling, the door opened.
"...Seo-eun? You're not planning to abandon me in some deep dark place, right?"
"What are you talking about? Come on."
Han Seo-eun walked ahead of Baek Eun-wol, who still looked uneasy, and continued talking.
"Anyway, forget the age issue—that’s just his misconception. Combat power is probably the real problem. He thinks I can’t stage an attack on my own, especially because I don’t look capable of handling Stardus, that brainless powerhouse. You know Stardus, right? The woman big bro has that strange fixation on."
"Yes, I've heard."
"Anyway, big sis Se-hee and I looked for a way for me to face Stardus directly. And... it's finally finished."
As she said that, Han Seo-eun unlocked another steel door.
With a screech, a giant garage-like door.
Beyond it, a vast dark space came into view.
"Here, let me introduce you. I made this."
After saying that, she grinned and turned on the light.
The lights clicked on.
Vrrrm~.
There, in the center of the space, was something before Baek Eun-wol's eyes.
Roughly twice the height of a person.
A giant suit-like thing made of a steel-like hard substance.
The imposing pressure of the huge gray mechanical mass, with arms, legs, and torso all looking big and solid, made Baek Eun-wol's jaw drop.
"...Whoa. What is this?"
Seeing Baek Eun-wol's awe, Han Seo-eun smiled proudly and answered.
"It's a suit for me to wear... I mean, a giant weapon. With this, I can take on that woman directly!"
"Amazing. You made it yourself?"
"Yep. I even gave it a name."
"What is it?"
To Baek Eun-wol's curious question, Seo-eun grinned and answered.
"Starbuster."
"The ultimate weapon created solely to fight Stardus."
Seo-eun put her hands on her hips and said with a confidently wicked smile.
"With this, I'll take down that woman Stardus myself. How about that?"
And watching her...
"...Uh, fighting?"
Baek Eun-wol could only respond with an awkward smile.
***
"...Soo-bin, where did Seo-eun go again?"
"She probably went to the basement again."
"...What the heck is she doing in there all the time?"