Debut Battle (1)
Hah, please. Don’t say anything after you smell it….
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d doused myself in this much perfume. Or deodorant, for that matter. Not even during the sticky heat of summer when sweat poured off me had I ever gone this far.
“Stay calm.”
With 1.5 kilograms of stew meat in one hand, I punched in the passcode. The moment the lock clicked open—
“Ah! You scared me!”
“You’re late.”
There stood Bianca, arms crossed, eyes half-lidded, staring at me in silence. She grabbed my collar without warning, slammed me against the wall, and—
“Sniff—cough, cough! Kgh, hey, perfume!”
She shoved her nose in, then jerked back violently, shaking her head. Tears welled in her eyes as she kept coughing; she didn’t look pleased at all.
“I had to bundle up tight, so I sweated a lot. You… hate it?”
“Fuck, you call that a question?”
She immediately shoved her hand into my coat, fished out the perfume bottle, and hurled it to the floor. After glaring at me for a second, she growled.
“I don’t give a shit whether you smell like sweat or not. Just come as you are. Stop trying to look good for no reason.”
“If that’s how you feel…”
I hadn’t been trying to impress her, but if she wanted to interpret it that way, I wasn’t about to complain. Still… why was she wearing that jacket?
“That outer layer needs washing.”
Had I put it in the laundry bin? I had no memory of doing so. Did that mean she’d kept the one I’d given her back then all this time?
“Just cook. I’ll throw the laundry in.”
“…Since when are you this helpful?”
“What, am I only allowed to order you around? Does it bother you when I do something myself?”
She’d been doing exactly that until now. Was the sun going to rise in the west tomorrow?
“Hurry up and feed me. I’m starving.”
“Instead of complaining, why don’t you learn to cook? It’d be easier to match your own tastes, and the portions—”
Hm. Her eyes weren’t friendly. Maybe coming home late really had been a mistake. I shut my mouth and began prepping the ingredients. Water boiled, seasoning mixed, vegetables sliced. In the background, the washing machine rumbled to life.
“….”
“Got something to say?”
She wandered over while I stirred the soup, nose twitching a few times… then left again. What the hell was that about?
In the end, I set out the hastily made rice, soup, and side dishes without exchanging a single word. Her gaze kept boring into me the entire time.
“Eat.”
Normally she would have snatched up her spoon before I even finished speaking, piling her rice high with side dishes. But today Bianca didn’t move at all.
“That hero.”
Instead, she parted her dry lips and forced the words out, scratching her head in clear irritation.
“She’s a woman, right?”
I nodded. There was no point in lying.
“So you sprayed on perfume? Trying to trick me?”
“It was only because of the sweat smell. There’s no deeper reason.”
“…You should’ve sprayed extra on your wrists if you didn’t want to get caught.”
I hadn’t realized her sense of smell was that sharp. Whether that was lucky or unlucky, I wasn’t sure. At least covering everything evenly with scent seemed to have worked in my favor.
“I told you. I only wanted to get rid of the sweat smell.”
“That hero. The one with wings? That bitch?”
“No, the one who uses chains.”
Her eyes flashed open at that. Without another word she stood, walked into the bedroom, and returned with a file that she tossed in front of me.
“Then it’s Chain Girl.”
“…You ran a background check?”
The string came undone with a soft hiss, spilling out a thick bundle of documents. Everything from her real name to her residence poured across the table.
“I couldn’t just sit still. Figured I might as well help with what you’re doing.”
“…Huh.”
The name Geum Yu-seon stood out sharply. Maybe because it reminded me of that bright smile while she repeated my own real name.
“Her ability looks useful. She’s just a little slow, that’s all.”
As expected of someone who’d lived as a villain for so long. Or maybe she’d actually read the report with care. Several pages were packed with CCTV stills that focused on Chain Girl rather than Angel. She must have bought the information, but… this was honestly a little terrifying.
“So that’s why you chose her. Low recognition, easy to control.”
“…Mmm.”
When I deliberately avoided her still-uncomfortable gaze, she finally looked away—toward the food instead.
“As always, it’s loaded with meat.”
“You like it, don’t you?”
“…Yeah. I do.”
Was the problem that I’d met a hero? Or was she, like Kerberos, zeroing in on the fact that it was a woman again?
“What are you planning to do with that woman?”
Seemed like the “woman” part was what bothered her most. Even if I denied it, she clearly wouldn’t believe me. Either way…
“To use her properly, I need to build up her achievements first. I’ll have her slowly mop up Stahlleder’s remnants and give her shoulders some weight to carry.”
“Then you’ll be busy again?”
“…Probably?”
She was the one who always told me to ask if I needed anything. The atmosphere was growing painfully awkward. Even her eating speed had slowed.
“Let’s make one thing clear.”
Finally, her chopsticks clattered onto the table. She hadn’t even finished half her rice.
“You’re doing this because of me… right?”
Hm. To be exact, it was because of my own interest. But saying that outright would be idiotic.
“Of course. These are all necessary steps to make you Alpha.”
“…Yeah.”
That seemed to give her some reassurance. She picked up her chopsticks again and began eating, gradually picking up speed.
“Another bowl.”
“Sure, sure.”
Thank god it passed safely.
“If you picked that woman because…”
“Hm?”
“Never mind. It’s nothing.”
…It did pass safely, right?
Leaving behind last night’s slightly uneasy atmosphere, I greeted a quiet morning. I pulled the stiff chair up to the desk, sat down, opened the computer, and—
Tap. Tap. I slowly began drafting the plan, referencing Stahlleder’s now-shattered organizational chart.
In the end, the candidates narrowed to two: Gluestick, who possessed adhesive abilities, and Pebble, who—like Stahlleder—had hardening powers. Pebble, of all things. There really were a surprising number of bizarre villain names.
Regardless, it was too wasteful to spend Catena’s time on training right now. She had already provoked Angel and undergone a police investigation. To avoid further interference, she needed a major achievement.
Therefore, the plan was to raise her name value by using two villains who weren’t low-ranked and were exhausted from recent conflicts. I had already given instructions to Horn, who was now managing the drug distribution. I hoped it would proceed smoothly, but—
“Ugh.”
The sudden alarm made me jump. I snatched up my phone. I’d forgotten to turn it off when I woke up….
“Yes.”
“Good morning, Manager-nim.”
“Perfect timing. I was just about to send you a plan.”
“…A plan?”
What was that surprised reaction?
“Yes. You need to begin hero activities immediately. To land a blow on Angel.”
“Ah… aha, r-right. Yes, of course. We should make Angel eat dirt.”
So the call wasn’t about work? Then what other business could she have?
“Are you busy? Another schedule? Or… are you not feeling well?”
“No, no. It’s nothing. I’ll work! Work.”
She sounded evasive, but it didn’t really matter. I opened the messenger and sent the file right away.
“Let’s see… Villain suppression?”
“Yes. I carefully selected opponents with decent weight but relatively low current threat level.”
“Adhesive type and a hardening ability user… I’m confident against hardening as long as their speed is slow.”
“What about the adhesive type?”
Honestly, Gluestick seemed like the better choice. His name was fairly well-known, and he had stayed with the loyalist faction until recently, clashing with the police. But Pebble… the villain name itself felt uneasy. It lacked the impact needed to make headlines.
“My chains have no limits, but if I make a mistake I’ll be the one in trouble. If my hands get bound or something…”
“What if I provide support?”
“Then it’s a completely different story!”
Her volume suddenly shot up, as if she had been waiting for those exact words. Right in my ear.
“How will you support me? Flashbangs like last time? Smoke bombs? Electric stun guns?”
“I plan to assist in multiple ways. Starting with indirect support through real-time camera feeds and drones… all the way to direct intervention.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I’ve always wanted to try coordinating with someone.”
“You didn’t coordinate with Angel—”
“If I had to describe it, I was just following orders. It didn’t feel like teamwork.”
Wasn’t following instructions well a form of teamwork? Then what exactly did she want from me? For me to give orders? Or to follow hers? Hm.
“Anyway, I understand. I’ll put on my hero suit right—”
“No. We’ll go with civilian clothes instead of the hero suit.”
“Civilian clothes…?”
“Because Gluestick is going to appear in Seosang City soon.”
To be precise, I was going to make him appear. A reply from Horn arrived at that exact moment—he could transport a full truckload immediately.
“How did you even—”
“Let’s just say I have my own information network.”
There was no real need to move the cargo, but I had deliberately ordered it sent to a remote warehouse. Now all that remained was leaking this information to Gluestick. Desperate to impress his big brother, Gluestick would have no choice but to bite. When he caused a scene trying to hijack the truck, if Catena arrived faster than anyone else—that would mark the beginning of her debut. The debut of a hero who would surpass Angel.