The Rabbit-Eared Vader
I wanted to observe Tasha for at least three days. Only then would my plan feel truly solid. But the situation was spiraling far more urgently than I had expected.
“Looks like the ‘Storm’ in Yeongdeungpo is rallying their members.”
“‘Storm,’ as in...”
“The idiots Black Yaksha trampled. Seems like they’re cooking up something~”
“Oh, right. That’s Red Ocean territory too, isn’t it? After having their pride crushed that badly...”
“Yep, yep. Something’s definitely going down tonight.”
Among villains who operated outside the law, the ones who made the most money in the safest way were the livelihood-type villains who controlled specific districts. Since the benefits of holding territory were obvious, competition there was inevitably fierce. Show even the slightest weakness, and a swarm of piranhas would rush in to seize someone else’s turf.
But after one Black Yaksha had turned dozens of Storm’s members into minced meat, they had no choice but to move aggressively to save face. There was no point wondering how Yu Hana knew about their circumstances. Asking would only get me some slippery non-answer anyway. Besides, I was already used to this kind of thing.
Still, if what she said was true, something exhausting would happen tonight. For the sake of my own future, I had to stop it somehow. I was pondering how to intervene—wondering if today was D-day—when Ji Seoeun came looking for me. She was carrying a mountain of bizarre objects.
The girl who usually hid in her room the moment she returned to the dorms? What was this about?
“Unnie, deploying today?”
“Huh? Ah… well, yeah. Where did you hear that?”
“Yu Hana told me. Pretty important.”
“It is important, but…”
That damn Yu Hana had even filled Ji Seoeun in? Of course, as a teammate, Ji Seoeun had the right to know about a member’s extracurricular activities to some degree. But was it really necessary to tell someone who probably wouldn’t be much help?
As if she could read my mind, Ji Seoeun thrust something toward me with complete confidence.
“What… is this?”
“Made it. Got the idea from the last fight. Optimized for you, Unnie.”
“…Really?”
The first thing that caught my eye was the shoes. They were gray combat walkers that resembled military boots, their soles specially reinforced and hardened. The exterior was rigid while the interior stayed soft, promising the same stable foot protection I’d relied on during my active-duty days.
She’d materialized this? This kid was more capable than I’d given her credit for.
“Shoes are just the preview. These are the real thing.”
“Whoa, this is… a full-body suit?”
“Put it on first.”
What Ji Seoeun handed me next was a sleek black full-body suit with a glossy finish. I had no idea what material it was made from. I wondered why she’d bothered creating something like this, but she kept pestering me to try it, so I changed out of courtesy. The result was… how should I put it…
“Isn’t this a little too provocative?”
“Zero skin exposure. What’s provocative about it?”
“There’s no exposure, but it’s still… Plus it feels way too cyberpunk.”
“Design is flawless. Unnie is old-fashioned. Can you handle idol work or not?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Honestly, I didn’t think the suit’s design was bad. The heavy cyberpunk vibe was strong, but that was the entire aesthetic of this type of suit, so it didn’t bother me. The real issue was how it clung to every curve, creating the sensation of wearing nothing at all. The material was impossibly thin, almost breezy. I could rock leggings without issue, so I wasn’t completely allergic to tight clothing, but the “concept” here felt different.
The fact that the suit was designed to be worn without underwear only made it worse. Still, when Ji Seoeun pointed out whether I could perform as an idol in it, I had no comeback. This world was surprisingly permissive about female celebrities showing skin. Idols were expected to pull off fairly bold outfits on a regular basis.
The reason for that permissiveness was obvious. This was the world inside a male-oriented novel. Censoring exposure here would be the truly strange thing.
Of course, I doubted I’d ever need to wear a full-body suit like this, but since bikinis were common, I probably needed to adjust my own standards regarding exposure.
“But do I really need to wear a full-body suit?”
“You do.”
“I do?”
“Unnie is careless. Even one hair could be dangerous. Full-body protection required.”
“Hmm…”
In a world like this, a single strand of hair was enough to identify someone. Leaving DNA at a scene was genuinely risky. The reason I had charged into Dr. Oh’s abandoned factory without precautions was because I’d planned to burn the entire place down. I couldn’t do that tonight, so I needed to take proper measures.
In that sense, this full-body suit that would never let a single hair escape was actually quite useful.
“But I… don’t have that problem.”
That only applied to normal people. In my case, it didn’t matter. My body didn’t grow any hair at all. Na Yeri had a peculiar constitution where not a single strand grew anywhere except her head and eyebrows. I’d been genuinely shocked the first time I showered in this body. Everything was completely smooth. It had been disconcerting at first, but later I realized it was actually convenient—no maintenance required.
So if body hair management was the main goal, this full-body suit wasn’t strictly necessary.
“…Surprised. But it’s fine. The suit’s performance isn’t limited to that.”
“Oh?”
“Inject psychic energy into the suit. So psychic energy is—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know what it is. No need to explain.”
“As expected. Competent.”
“Psychic energy, huh…”
When I poured psychic energy into the suit as instructed, sections of it began glowing red and my body felt dramatically lighter. It seemed the suit synchronized with psychic energy to grant special reinforcement effects.
“Good grief. Equipment like this already exists at this stage…”
Research into psychic energy was still in its infancy. People only used it to manifest superpowers or temporarily boost physical abilities. Full-scale development only began when those “fucking” bastards started causing real trouble. It was basic human instinct to accelerate combat technology and new weapons when safety was threatened. The next decade saw blindingly rapid progress.
In that context, equipment like this appearing during an era when humans still primarily fought other humans was clearly over-technology.
“I did pretty good.”
Ji Seoeun puffed out her chest with an incredibly smug look. It should have seemed arrogant, but it was arrogance backed by real skill. Even I was genuinely impressed.
The materialization type could create incredible things if you abandoned all thoughts of efficiency, standardization, and mass production. But that was only in theory. Producing something of this caliber wasn’t easy at all.
In short, it meant she had already completely grasped the operating principles of psychic energy. When she’d talked about building a space battleship I’d thought she was insane, but it seemed her abilities were no joke.
“Next is this.”
After humming contentedly while savoring my astonished expression, Ji Seoeun pulled out the next item. This time it was a weapon.
“This is a sword. A soft sword, specifically.”
“Correct. Prepared for easy carrying.”
The weapon Ji Seoeun had prepared was a soft sword. It was a peculiar item that could be bent and slotted into grooves along the blade to function as a belt. Without a subspace inventory, carrying a longsword over a meter long was cumbersome, so this was definitely more practical.
The fact that it fit my exact waist size after being inserted into the grooves proved it was custom-made. I was a little curious how she knew my measurements, since waist size wasn’t recorded in my official physical profile.
“That…”
“Problem?”
“No, never mind. More importantly, a soft sword feels a bit awkward for me. That part bothers me.”
But when I saw Ji Seoeun’s sparkling eyes as she admired the belt-style soft sword now resting at my waist, I wondered what my objection even meant. After all, I already lived with someone like Yu Hana. No matter what Ji Seoeun did, it probably wouldn’t top that. So I subtly changed the subject and simply stated that I wasn’t familiar with soft swords.
In truth, soft swords were unfamiliar to me, and using an unfamiliar weapon in a critical situation was a fast track to disaster. Of course, I probably wouldn’t need to draw a blade tonight, but it was better to be clear about these things.
“That’s fine. Inject psychic energy.”
“Huh? This too?”
But Ji Seoeun had planned for that. The sword hadn’t been made to be used as a soft sword in the first place. When I channeled psychic energy into it as requested, the blade snapped rigidly upright like a teenager’s morning condition, proudly displaying its majesty. The red glow along the edge was just a bonus.
“But can’t you do something about this glow? Both the suit and the weapon are too flashy. That could backfire.”
“Difficult.”
“Really?”
“Weapons and armor need good looks. No good looks, no inspiration.”
“Hmm…”
Good looks, she says. Sure, it’s important. But hearing those words delivered with such a pretty face and deadly serious expression left me slightly flustered.
Still, I could handle that much. The performance seemed solid.
But the real highlight came after this. Something “big” that I could never have imagined was still waiting.
“This is the highlight. My soul’s masterpiece that will protect Unnie’s beautiful hair and hide your identity.”
“That’s quite the grandiose introduction.”
Hair was one thing, but I needed to be careful with the hair on my head too. And someone like Tasha would recognize me even if I wore a mask, so hiding my identity was necessary. If Ji Seoeun had prepared a mask or something similar, it would be genuinely useful.
But Ji Seoeun was far more unhinged than I had anticipated.
“…Isn’t this that? Da-X-Vader.”
“Not it.”
“Not?”
“Anyway, not it. This level absolutely won’t trigger copyright issues.”
“No, whether you call it that or not, anyone can see this is—”
“Different. Definitely different.”
Yeah, I should have seen this coming. This was the same girl who seriously wanted to build a space battleship and could hum the entire Imperial March. Her fandom for Da-X-Vader had to be enormous. But still… wasn’t this a bit much? And it wasn’t even regular Da-X-Vader. The mask had rabbit ears attached to it.
Darth Vader with rabbit ears. At this point, wasn’t this basically sacrilege against the original work? Truly, the depths of fandom were impossible to understand.