Chapter 27
Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Villain's Order
-----------------------------------------------------------------
At her gesture, a 3D map floated up and unfolded in a vibrant blue.
Since there were many undiscovered Awakening Spheres in this dimension, she decided to start digging for them tomorrow.
‘If I plan my route well, I should be able to dig up three or four a day. I'll start with the ones in Gwonyoung City, and if that's not enough, I'll branch out to other regions.’
Though her face was tired, her eyes were filled with determination.
She was still sleep-deprived, but now she could at least manage a couple of hours whenever she fell asleep. She still woke up from nightmares, but even that was a significant improvement.
She could feel that the two days she'd spent with Juyeol had brought her some mental stability.
Haon rubbed her dry eyes, comparing the locations where Awakening Spheres had been found in the previous dimension with the map.
She reassured herself that, with a bit of luck, she might be able to gather the necessary Awakening Spheres faster than expected.
* * *
The next day, Haon succeeded in excavating an Awakening Sphere.
Her appearance was grimy with dirt and dust, but it was a good start.
But before she could even savor her joy, she hurriedly wrapped the Awakening Sphere in a mana-blocking shield and stuffed it into her bag.
“Darling. Are you busy?”
“No-Nova.”
It was because of Nova's sudden appearance.
Haon broke into a cold sweat at the thought that if Blue hadn't warned her in advance, the Awakening Sphere would have been discovered.
‘How did he know I was here?’
Whether he knew what she was thinking or not, Nova leaned his back against a tree and smiled beautifully.
“If you prefer meeting outside the lab, you should have just said so.”
“…”
Since their encounter in the old district, Nova had become more frightening, but moments like this also made him infuriating.
If he had threatened her to make him what he wanted or picked a fight, she could have at least fought back, but it was difficult to deal with him acting like her lover.
“Curious why I don't just kidnap or threaten you?”
“No, that's…”
Haon flinched, her inner thoughts exposed.
Nova fiddled with his long, white braid that hung to the side. It was a color that suited his inscrutable nature.
“It's meaningless unless you make it for me with all your heart.”
*Is he the romantic type?* Haon wondered if he might have had at least a little genuine feeling for ‘Eun Haon’.
“I can't trust something I get by force. What if you gave me a weapon that pretends not to be self-destructing?”
His next words completely shattered that thought.
*He's a realist.* Haon, who had been about to sigh, swallowed it back as a thought suddenly occurred to her.
Come to think of it, wouldn't Nova know a lot about ‘Eun Haon’?
Perhaps ‘Eun Haon’ had told him everything she knew.
“Nova. Did ‘Eun Haon’ ever say anything about Ghost's younger sibling?”
“If I tell you, will you love me?”
Finally losing her temper, Haon raised her voice.
“Why do you keep going on about love! You never even loved ‘Eun Haon’!”
“I'm pretty sure I told her I loved her often.”
“Only with words!”
Nova didn't deny it, merely shrugging his shoulders.
“I'll admit I haven't been listening closely to what you've been saying. But I do remember hearing something about Ghost's sibling.”
“...!”
“So, are you now in the mood to make anything for me?”
“…If you tell me, I'll think about it.”
Haon didn't give a rash answer, carefully observing him. It was only a few days ago that she had vowed not to sell weapons to villains.
Nova, who seemed to ponder for a moment, let out a soft laugh and opened his mouth.
“Not a blood sibling, I hear? It's common enough in the old district to pick up an orphan and raise them as a helping hand.”
“Ah.”
That wasn't what she wanted to hear, but it finally cleared up a question she had.
‘No wonder. Juyeol doesn't have a sibling. The Juyeol here must have originally been an only child, too.’
Juyeol's father was the kind director of the orphanage where Haon grew up.
She didn't know what he did in this world, but he wouldn't have taken in an orphan simply because he needed a helping hand, as Nova suggested.
If that were the case, Juyeol wouldn't have treated his sibling like family and cherished them so much.
‘So even here, he was a warm-hearted person.’
Haon found herself smiling without realizing it, but when her eyes met Nova's, she awkwardly let her smile fall.
“I-Is there anything else?”
“Well. You weren't the type to tell me everything.”
This was unexpected. She thought ‘Eun Haon’ was completely smitten with Nova.
Puzzled, Haon asked just in case.
“Have you ever been on the second floor of the penthouse?”
“No.”
“What about the fifth floor of the lab?”
“Was I supposed to?”
“…”
Even though Haon had never met ‘Eun Haon’, she felt hurt on her behalf.
‘She must have known Nova wasn't interested in her. She probably didn't say anything because she knew he'd find it bothersome.’
The only traces of Nova in the penthouse were a comfortable t-shirt and a bed that was far too large for one person.
*Maybe Nova doesn't know much about ‘Eun Haon’ at all.* Even knowing what a heinous person she was, Haon felt a little pity for ‘Eun Haon’.
“Aren't you strong enough without new weapons, Nova? Why go to such lengths?”
“Enough?”
Nova's lips stretched into a smile as if he'd heard something amusing.
“Darling. Of course I'm strong, but not strong enough.”
“How much stronger do you want to be?”
Though he was still smiling, Nova's eyes turned cold.
“Strong enough to kill Halo.”
Haon's shoulders flinched.
Halo.
She knew that name. It was listed on the villain roster as the most dangerous individual, with another peculiar note attached.
「The Villain's Order」
Without her permission, villains couldn't smuggle in contraband, open black markets, or start new enterprises.
It was no exaggeration to say that all the dirty money in this world circulated under her watch.
Haon didn't know how that was possible, but she understood that Halo was a person of particular caution even among villains.
Should she be relieved that Nova wasn't dreaming of world domination like the mana engineering terrorists?
She didn't know why or how he planned to kill such a villain, but to Haon, he seemed dead serious.
Nova truly wanted to destroy ‘The Villain's Order’.
* * *
“Hah—”
Gasping for breath, Haon's eyes shot open, and she frantically scanned her surroundings.
[This is the fourth floor of Haon's lab in Gwonyoung City. Did you sleep well, Haon?]
Blue announced her current location faster than she could wipe away her cold sweat.
It was thanks to a setting she'd configured to announce her location every time she woke up.
Haon let out a sigh of relief and rubbed her chest. Nightmares always left terrible scars.
‘How many people couldn't I save? It must be in the triple digits. If only I had been a little faster...’
She shook her head violently, trying to rid herself of the mentally draining thoughts.
“Blue. How long was I out?”
[You woke up 37 minutes after falling asleep. There is no new information, and the energy extraction from the Awakening Sphere is proceeding smoothly.]
“That's a relief.”
Haon mumbled with a yawn and read the text floating on the monitor.
「The Villain's Order」
As soon as she returned to the lab, she had looked up Halo's profile and related articles.
She'd felt it when researching heroes, too, but the more famous a person was—be they a villain or a hero—the less information was available about them.
Whether they were careful on their own or there was some kind of censorship, there were hardly any articles.
‘Are most of them Awakened, making them reluctant to reveal the details of their abilities?’
It was a plausible guess.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she searched for Halo in the lab's database without much expectation.
‘Wouldn't Halo know everything that happens among villains? Since she has a tight grip on the flow of dirty money, it's a likely assumption.’
Maybe Halo even knew about the arson incident in the old district ten years ago.
A big shot like Halo probably wouldn't have paid any mind to a scientist who fell in love, but ‘Eun Haon’ was different.
Haon was certain that ‘Eun Haon’ would have been very interested in Halo.
Because Nova wanted to kill Halo. There was no way she didn't know that.
As expected, the monitor filled with data on Halo.
‘…There's this much?’
Haon's face soured at the sheer volume of data, which was much larger than she'd anticipated.
Even if it was for Nova's sake, to have recorded this much about a single individual… It would take days to read through it, even skimming quickly.
‘Still, it's better than nothing. And I don't need to read all of it.’
Trying to think positively, she began to read through the data on Halo.
And the more she read, the darker her expression became.
“Huh?”
‘Eun Haon's’ files contained unexpected information. She doubted her eyes and looked again, but the content remained the same.
It wasn't just a collection of information about Halo.
‘Why are there so many commission fees received from Halo? What kind of commissions did she take, and how many?’
Haon stared at the records with bewildered eyes.
‘Eun Haon’ loved Nova, and Nova wanted to kill Halo.
So, shouldn't ‘Eun Haon’ and Halo have been adversaries?
Even if that wasn't the case, it was strange that she had accepted so many commissions, knowing Nova could be killed by a weapon she herself had made.
Judging by the fact that she had received payment more than once or twice, it seemed she had created items that satisfied Halo.
‘Did she draw a clear line between her public and private life? Or…’