Chapter 98: Doppelganger Younger Brother (1)
Chapter 98: Doppelganger Younger Brother (1)
After my self-quarantine period ended and my cold had completely cleared up, I returned to my hero duties.
My KakaoTalk was flooded with messages from Shin Tae-geon, who was acting all gloomy and claiming he’d caught the cold from me, but unfortunately, his cries didn't reach my ears.
"Hehehe."
I easily took care of the first task I was assigned upon my return. It was just clearing a B-rank Gate, so it wasn't particularly difficult. Since there wasn't even a chance to set up any defeat play, I just finished it quickly.
It feels refreshing to move around after a while.
That midnight chase with PussyHunter didn't even count as exercise. To properly warm up a Magical Girl's body, you need to face a monster capable of easily tearing dozens of people apart.
On a whim, I decided to drop by the Hero Association to report the completion of the mission in person.
Actually, a report like this could have been handled with paperwork. It wasn't a major mission, so there was no real need for me to visit. My mind was on something else.
Well, it’s a good chance to see the Operator or the Association Chairman uncle too.
It was a huge relief that Shin Tae-geon had rejected the Villain Association's recruitment offer. However, that didn't mean we were completely free from their threat. Even at this very moment, those bastards were likely luring other ability users into their organization.
This wasn't just a guess. According to Shin Tae-geon, it was a definite fact. Despite the name "Villain Association," they seemed to be accepting active heroes as well. I suppose the moment they join, they become villains, so the naming might actually be appropriate.
In truth, whether they were heroes or villains, the organization was likely accepting anyone to expand their power. As long as they had superpowers and could contribute to the organization's strength, literally anyone was welcome.
I wonder if there's anyone around me suffering from their threats.
The first people who came to mind were the Operator and the Association Chairman.
I wasn't sure if I should say I was worried or anxious. Honestly, I felt a mix of both for each of them.
I’d felt it back at the Academy, but the Villain Association definitely had their eyes on the Operator. The love calls he received were a bit more special compared to others.
The Operator... that guy makes me a bit uneasy.
The Operator had definitely rejected the Villain Association's scout once in front of me. Even so, I couldn't be at ease.
Even Zhuge Liang didn't serve Liu Bei right away. It was only after the "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage" that he was moved to pledge his loyalty. There’s also the saying that no tree can withstand ten axe strokes.
In my eyes, the Operator was still in the danger zone. I might not have thought so before, but now that I knew for sure he saw me as a woman, I couldn't let my guard down.
After all, hadn't I heard him say he didn't just see me as a woman, but that he wanted to fuck me?
He might have gone home, thought it over, and had a change of heart.
Just like the offer they made to Shin Tae-geon, they might have whispered to the Operator that they would turn Magical Girl Floss into his personal cock sleeve, onahole, and sex slave.
However, since the person receiving the offer was different, the outcome could be very different as well.
Shin Tae-geon had already seen through my true nature and had fucked me several times. In contrast, the Operator still tried to treat me as a woman to be respected rather than an easy-to-handle female.
Anyone could see that the latter would be more easily swayed by the devil's temptation.
...It'll be fine, right?
Actually, I was more worried about the Association Chairman than the Operator. In the Operator's case, the worst-case scenario was just him joining the Villain Association, but the Chairman's life was actually in danger.
His own ability wasn't much to look at, but as the Chairman of the Hero Association, his symbolic importance was massive. In other words, the Chairman would be the Villain Association's top priority for assassination.
If they try to take him, he probably won't follow, and his superpowers are just mediocre. But if they kill him outright, it would deal a massive blow to the heroes' morale.
On the other hand, the villains' morale would soar. My worries wouldn't go away for several reasons.
Should I just charge into the Villain Association and smash everything before they grow any larger? The thought crossed my mind, but even I can't go and punish them if I don't know where they are.
For now, since a lot of the Hero Association's personnel were working hard on the search, I figured I should wait a bit.
Until then, should I stay close to them? Monitoring the Operator and protecting the Chairman?
Once I fell into thought, my anxiety and concern grew rapidly. When I sighed and looked up with a face full of worry, I saw a somewhat familiar face near the cafe on the first floor of the Association.
White hair tied back in a ponytail, mysterious blue eyes, and a uniform. A cold image reminiscent of a Grand Duchess of the North from a fantasy novel.
"Oh, that person is..."
It's rare to see an S-rank Hero at the Association. Usually, Association staff visit them rather than the heroes visiting the Association themselves. As an S-rank, they deserve that level of treatment.
Actually, I was already in that rank myself, which made it even more surprising. It must be quite a hassle to go back and forth to the Association... yet the S-rank Hero, 'Queen,' was here.
"Hmm."
Still, it was a bit strange. I knew the names and faces of all the S-rank Heroes. So it wasn't odd to feel a sense of familiarity when running into one by chance.
But the familiarity I felt from Queen was different. Had I seen her somewhere other than official broadcasts?
We’d never met privately. If that was the case...
Ah, right. When I was on a video call with the Chairman.
Was it when I was streaming as 'Lople'? I had called Shin Tae-geon and the Association Chairman while trying to guess who 'Invisible' was—the one who kept sending massive donations.
In the end, the answer was Shin Tae-geon, but the scene the Chairman showed me over the video call back then was quite impressive.
That beautiful white hair was all disheveled, and her uniform was just covered in semen...
Recalling that scene made my pussy feel wet. I shouldn't be getting turned on by this in public. However, I couldn't tell if the reason for my excitement was the Chairman's semen or Queen's beautiful female body.
Anyway, it had been a shock. I knew the Chairman often demanded sexual bribery from female heroes in exchange for ranks. But I had no idea it included S-rank Heroes.
Her abilities did seem a bit lacking.
Objectively speaking, although Queen was S-rank, she was a hero who fell behind even me. Not only was she inferior in terms of actual combat ability, but there wasn't much difference in our track records either. Considering the difference in our active periods, the fact that our records were similar was a serious issue.
Furthermore, Queen had almost zero combat capability. Her ability was Future Sight. Literally, she could see the future. This wasn't an ability that directly helped in combat.
However, it was certainly a top-tier ability in the support category, so even if there were limits on the number of uses, no one could deny she was a significant human resource.
...And most importantly, she was popular because she was pretty.
She's a good hero, even if her rank is a bit inflated.
As soon as I finished evaluating what kind of hero Queen was in my head, I made eye contact with the woman herself.
"Oops."
That haughty and prim face overlapped with the image of Queen's face ruined by an ahegao expression in the video call with the Chairman.
Just as I was about to flee, fearing my face would turn red if I kept looking, she spoke.
"Wait, you... you're Magical Girl Floss, right?"
Queen spoke to me. An S-rank female hero and an ability user with Future Sight.
I didn't know why she was talking to me, so I was tense for a brief moment. The words she actually spoke were from a completely unexpected direction.
"I don't want to meddle, but... be careful for a while."
"Huh? Be careful?"
"I didn't see it on purpose, but I happened to see it. Your near future."
...The future?
It was such a sudden statement that I just blinked blankly.
"My ability is Future Sight. But I can't see the futures of others at will unless it's my own. The ability activates regardless of my will. Sometimes it just pops up in front of my eyes when I'm passing by someone."
"Are you saying that happened with me?"
"Yes. I just saw it. You... um, being toyed with in the future."
"Toyed with?"
When I tilted my head, Queen's face turned bright red. Since her skin was so pale it looked translucent and her hair was pure white, her blushing face stood out even more.
"Y-you know. Something very shameful for a woman, that kind of..."
Is it similar to what happened to you with the Association Chairman?
...I wanted to ask, but I held back. I knew she was S-rank, but why was she using informal speech the first time we met? And seeing as she'd slept her way to S-rank, she seemed a bit annoying.
"So, who should I be careful of? You have to tell me in detail so I can prepare."
"As for who it is, well..."
Honestly, I didn't take it seriously. Even if Queen really did glimpse my future, if she saw me being helplessly dominated by a man, it was definitely a defeat play I had intended.
Because I knew about defeat play, I was beyond indifferent—I was perfectly calm. But Queen wasn't. I suppose to an outsider, I would look like a female hero being raped.
"I appreciate the concern, but I'll be fine. I'm confident I won't lose to most guys..."
"I think it's your younger brother."
"...Pardon?"
I didn't see that coming.
...I was left speechless.
*
That's strange.
After returning home, I thought deeply about Queen's Future Sight. No matter how much of a defeat-addicted masochist bitch pervert I was, there was no way I would do something like that with a family member.
...Is there really no way?
No, no. No way. What's the point if I can't even trust myself?
No matter how many times I thought about it, it didn't seem likely that I would enjoy defeat play with my younger brother, Do Min-jae.
Setting aside how I felt, there was no way Min-jae would look at me with those kinds of eyes. He's the brother I grew up with since I was a guy; there's no way he'd do that.
I’d even moved out to live on my own because of the issue with raising Rang-i. If it didn't happen when we lived together, why would it suddenly happen now? It made no sense. Just a while ago, he was reacting awkwardly to the fact that I’d become a woman.
Even if he did make a move, I wouldn't accept it.
I admit that the sense of betrayal and taboo in the concept of incest is top-tier. The idea of a sister being violated by her younger brother also stimulates my desire for defeat. Even if we were siblings, if it were an older brother and a younger sister, it wouldn't have pumped out this much dopamine.
To be honest, I’d even come a few times to works tagged with incest among the excellent creations in the back alleys of the Female Hero Gallery. But me being the actual party involved is a different story.
Putting everything else aside, even looking at him purely as a man, Min-jae isn't my type. First of all, he's a civilian, not a fierce and violent villain, and he's not manly enough to be called a 'real male.'
Of course, he might have been a good brother only to me and different in front of other women...
Anyway, putting all the facts together, the possibility was slim. Then what was it? Why was I being toyed with by my brother, Do Min-jae, in Queen's Future Sight?
I couldn't just relax and assume Queen was wrong, either. Her 'Future Sight' ability had a success rate of nearly 100 percent.
I agonized over it for a long time but found no answer. It wasn't until that night, when I saw a message from an unknown number, that I realized the meaning of the Future Sight Queen had told me about.
[Noona, it's me, Min-jae!! My phone number changed, but I didn't tell you ㅠㅠ]
[Actually, I'm near your place, but I have nowhere to go right now...]
[If it's okay, can I stay over for just one night?]
[(Photo)]
The photo sent by the unknown number claiming to be my brother, Min-jae, definitely showed Min-jae.
It was a photo that looked like it had been taken while walking right in front of my place. I could tell immediately it wasn't a stolen photo.
But I wasn't fooled. Even at a glance, there were several strange things about it.
His phone number changed, but he didn't tell me? And why would he have nowhere to go?
This wasn't some remote area without a single building; it was a neighborhood where you could easily find a place to stay for the night if you looked around a bit. If he didn't have money, he would have whined for me to send some rather than asking to stay over.
And Min-jae is so uncomfortable around me since I became a woman.
Moreover, a strange sense of uncanny valley rose from the photo. He looked exactly like Min-jae, but his expression seemed soulless. There was a somehow awkward feeling and a sense of heterogeneity in his appearance.
I was certain. This wasn't my real brother, but something pretending to be him.
[Who are you?]
I tapped on the phone's keyboard. Just as I was about to send a message to the thing imitating my brother, a brilliant idea struck me at the perfect time.
I immediately edited the message.
[Really? Come on over for now.]
I didn't know the details, but the future Queen saw must start from here. I couldn't understand how bringing something pretending to be my brother into my house would lead to that, but...
I have to find out this guy's identity so there aren't any more victims.
I sent the reply, using my duty as a Magical Girl as a pretext. It wasn't because I was looking forward to that kind of development. Not at all.
"...Reality and fiction are two different things!"
And a short while later, the thing pretending to be my brother set foot in my home.