Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Private Desires (1)
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“Serika! Hurry up and come out! You have to go to elementary school!”
Straight black hair neatly trimmed in a blunt cut. Sharp eyes and a sulky expression. Her face somehow screamed arrogance—a truly nasty-looking little girl.
I knew this face.
“Yes, Mom. I'll be right out.”
I knew this snappish, overbearing voice well, too. And those golden eyes that seemed to pierce right through you.
“Got your bag all packed?”
“Yes, Mom. Dad already left for work?”
“Yeah. He said work was busy today, so he headed out early.”
Glancing around, I took in the spacious living room and glossy hallway. With my backpack on, I stuffed a piece of bread into my mouth and headed for the front door, munching away.
“Serika! I told you not to run while eating! That's so uncouth!”
“Abwadadeoimnida! (I'll be back!)”
I mumbled a half-hearted reply to Mom's scolding and reached for the front door. It clicked open with a familiar sound, revealing a pretty garden. A dog was there, panting with its tongue lolling out. The moment it spotted me, it wagged its tail furiously and rushed over, licking my cheek.
“Okay, okay, I got it. I have to go to school, so I'll play with you later.”
The fluffy Samoyed seemed to understand, slumping its shoulders dejectedly before turning away. I gave Mongmong's hindquarters a couple pats and hurried outside. The street was filled with clusters of kids heading to school.
True to its reputation as a rich kids' school, the uniforms had neat patterns and elegant embellishments for a sophisticated look, and everyone's shoes gleamed spotlessly.
“You really do have to be born rich.”
Once I was away from home, I stretched contentedly, savoring the moment.
This leisurely life. The great school. The pristine clothes.
Everything was perfect.
My name is Serika.
Iwamoto Serika.
A minor villainess who makes a brief appearance in the '90s hit school manga Alice in the Multicolored Garden.
Alice in the Multicolored Garden started as a shojo manga but exploded in popularity thanks to its setting of a school for kids with superpowers and its classic plot of suddenly appearing mysterious villains getting taken down.
And the protagonist of this manga is Alice.
She's introduced as a transfer student in high school, with the bizarre ability to produce chicks of various colors from her head depending on her mood.
Because of this weird power, Alice faces subtle bullying and ridicule at the academy,
but she overcomes it, teams up with other kids in similar situations, defeats the evil villains, and in the end, ends up dating the school's hottest guy. That's the story.
“Serika, I didn't do my homework. Can I see yours?”
“Sure, here.”
“Thanks, Serika!”
My name is Serika.
The heiress of Iwamoto Industry.
In Alice in the Multicolored Garden, she first appears mocking Alice when she reveals her power.
She bullies Alice, spreads rumors, builds up her anti-fanbase, but later loses a power duel to Alice. Overwhelmed by inferiority and jealousy toward Alice, who gains popularity in the academy, she gets brainwashed by the villains, transforms into a third-rate evil minion, fights, and meets a pathetic end.
“Serika, can you help with this?”
A classmate came over, legs trembling under a stack of documents. I casually took them from her hands and asked,
“Where do these go?”
“On the teacher's desk. She said she'd use them in class today. Thanks for the help—your power's so handy for stuff like this.”
Serika's ability is Super Strength. Its limits aren't clearly defined, but from what's shown in the original, one punch knocks out a thug, and she smashes concrete walls like nothing.
It's a total contrast to her scheming appearance, and her action scenes are pretty badass, earning her a surprising fanbase relative to her screen time.
But seriously, how did she lose to a girl who pulls chicks out of her head with a power like this?
Even as someone who's read the original, I just don't get it.
Plus, she comes from a wealthy family with a solid power. Even if she lost to the chick girl, she'd live well in the end. Resorting to evil powers, getting her whole body modified, and ruining her life just to beat that ability once? It doesn't make sense.
If she hated her that much, she could've just bricked her from behind.
Why did she have such a hard life in the original? Her parents run a business, and her grades are good.
I just can't buy it.
Why bully the chick girl at all? Why not just chill and spend my money during that time?
From the moment I realized I'd been reborn as Serika, my overriding feeling wasn't despair—it was confusion.
As long as I don't mess with Alice, I've got a rich family, a pretty face, and a decent power. Isn't this a total jackpot? Can't I just enjoy a laid-back superpowered battle manga life in peace?
“Serika, wanna hit the school store after classes?”
“Yeah, me too!”
With that mindset, I flashed a cheerful smile.
Screw the original plot. I'll just live how I want.
[The Jericho Tower groundbreaking ceremony is just around the corner. Public anticipation is already building for this city's new landmark. Major corporations are set to move into Jericho Tower...]
“Ugh... Should I even do this?”
But my plans for a quiet life wavered a few days later when I turned on the TV and saw the news.
I knew exactly what Jericho Tower was.
It doesn't appear in the original story.
Because it explodes in a terrorist attack long before the story begins.
The official cause is a design flaw in a power device invented by scientists.
But the incident twists several characters' lives and becomes a major plot hook for the true cause of the explosion.
I sat lost in thought, watching the TV news while checking my phone.
I had no intention of warning anyone about the Jericho Tower attack.
For starters, no one would believe a mere elementary school kid. I don't have many ways to spread the word, and if the real attack happens later, I'd be grilled on how I knew. Without proof, sending letters would just cause a brief stir, dismissed as a prank, and might even twist the investigation weirdly later.
Plus, the perpetrators would have their eyes on me, and getting stalked from elementary school? That's the opposite of the life I want.
“So, the company behind Jericho Tower is Epsilon Corp... If I use every penny in my account, that's this much... And according to this world's capital markets law, leverage is capped at 30 times capital, so if I max it out...”
That's why I was agonizing over whether to go all-in on stocks.
The moment Jericho Tower blows, Epsilon Corp's stock will tank.
The hesitation came from a nagging doubt if this was really right.
People dying, buildings crumbling—going full leverage on shorts to profit off that? Not exactly wholesome thoughts for a little girl.
But to live luxuriously later, gain freedom of movement, and cushion any family business failure so I can enjoy an elegant life, I need to start building wealth slowly now.
Besides, there'll be more terrorist attacks and big events down the line. To profit from them, I need seed money ready.
I'm not just hoarding for selfish reasons, right?
I'll definitely do good deeds, too.
If I can't stop the explosion, isn't fattening my wallet the best I can do?
“Screw it!”
After weighing my conscience against greed, I squeezed my eyes shut and tapped the phone button.
“Serika, enough with the phone! It'll ruin your eyes!”
Mom's voice called from afar. I startled, shoving my phone away hastily. Dad, sitting at the kitchen table with his newspaper, chuckled good-naturedly.
“Haha, don't nag her so much, dear. We read comics and played when we were kids, too, remember? The phone's like her comic book. Serika's grades are fine, so let's not be too strict.”
“But honey...”
Dad laughed heartily, calming Mom. He had a mustache, a round face, and a perpetual smile—nothing like Serika in looks or personality. No clue where the original Serika crawled out from.
Mom was a bit strict, sure, but she fit the ideal mother mold perfectly.
“Mom, Dad, I'm off to bed!”
“Wait, Serika, come here. Give Mom and Dad a kiss goodnight.”
“Okaay~.”
The Alice in the Multicolored Garden community often speculated about Serika's unrevealed family life.
Most figured her inferiority complex and aggression toward others stemmed from a loveless upbringing.
But seeing it firsthand, no one was more loved than this girl.
Serika.
What the hell was her problem to end up like that?
It made me think I had to live right for her sake.