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# Villain Disguises Himself as a Hero (2)
“Hello, Team Leader.”
A beautiful woman with a refined, graceful appearance spoke to Team Leader Kim Hae-jin. Kim Hae-jin also welcomed her
with a smile in his eyes.
“Ms. Han Seol-a. Welcome.”
“Is there a seat beside you?”
“There isn't. Please sit here.”
Han Seol-a quietly sat down beside Team Leader Kim Hae-jin and began scanning through the documents placed on the table.
“Didn't you say there was someone unusual among the new recruits?”
“Have you seen him too, Seol-a?”
“Only on paper.”
“I heard he's quite a handful.”
“Really?”
“They say he's even more of a handful than you, Seol-a.”
Han Seol-a chuckled. She was also one of the notorious oddballs in the National Defense Bureau. Perhaps because she felt
some inexplicable sense of kinship, she didn't seem particularly offended.
“But... with these qualifications, he could easily join a major guild or even go somewhere like the Hero Management
Bureau.”
“Team Leader, if you look at the back, his personality and moral evaluations are almost failing.”
Han Seol-a pointed to the sections concerning personality and moral values on the back page and showed them to Team
Leader Kim. Kim also nodded, seeming to understand to some extent.
“Well... that could happen. But major guilds and hunters don't really care much about personality. His skills are more
than good enough for him to get in.”
“Hmm.”
“But... why would he specifically apply to the Initial Response Team, which is famous for being underpaid and overworked
even within the National Defense Bureau?”
Kim Hae-jin tilted his head as he looked at one recruit's application. Beside him, Han Seol-a was thinking about the
same thing.
Her reason for applying to the Initial Response Team was special. Because of her terrible past, in which she had lost
her mother to a villain, she wanted to be at the forefront of eliminating villains more than anyone else.
“Hello, Team Leader. Oh! Ms. Han Seol-a is here too?”
“Hello, Personnel Officer.”
“Hello.”
Han Seol-a greeted him curtly. Perhaps because he couldn't help feeling disappointed, the Personnel Officer stretched
his neck forward and stared at the beautiful Han Seol-a, a woman who was so difficult to see even though they worked in
the same National Defense Bureau that seeing her was harder than finding a star in the sky.
“Ah, haha. If you stare at Seol-a that intensely, you'll freeze to death later.”
Trying to break the awkward moment, Team Leader Kim Hae-jin made a joke. But Han Seol-a didn't even seem to hear him and
simply continued looking ahead. The Personnel Officer also cleared his throat, apparently annoyed.
“Team Leader, there was something I wanted to ask about. Among the applicants...”
“You mean Kang Do-hyeok?”
“Ah, yes! How did you know? I did select him for now, but... I feel really uneasy about him.”
“That makes sense. We thought it would be good to meet and talk to him ourselves, so that's why we're here. Right, Ms.
Han Seol-a?”
“Yes.”
Today was the final interview for the new heroes. Normally, it was rare for a team leader or team member to personally
come and examine a new hero. But this particular recruit was quite unusual, so they had no choice but to come.
“Well... his qualifications look pretty good on the application... but you saw the back page, right? His personality
evaluation and moral values are just... whew~ How can someone who wants to be a hero give answers like that? Whew~ I'm
still getting chills.”
“Is it really that serious?”
The papers Team Leader Kim and Han Seol-a had received did not contain detailed answers. So both of them became
interested in what the Personnel Officer was saying.
“Ah~ It isn't written there? Hoo~ Don't even get me started. You know that question about the most ideal way to achieve
world peace?”
“What did he say?”
“Well, guess what. He wrote ‘violence.’”
Team Leader Kim Hae-jin was shocked, while Han Seol-a chuckled. Rather than mockery, her laughter seemed closer to
amusement.
“Well... I suppose that could happen? Strictly speaking, we do use violence.”
“Still, who would confidently write something like that on an application?”
“That is true. He really is unusual.”
“You think that's all? There was another question: ‘What is the proper course of action when a villain takes citizens
hostage?’ Do you know what he answered?”
“I have a feeling I can imagine.”
“Someone who dreams of becoming a hero would never answer like that. Never. Absolutely never. Hah! I couldn't believe it
myself... He said to kill both of them.”
“What?”
Team Leader Kim Hae-jin looked deeply shocked. Perhaps the thought of rejecting Kang Do-hyeok had already begun creeping
into his mind.
“He said that if they couldn't save the citizen anyway, sending them off in one go without pain was what was best for
the citizen.”
“Haha. He really is an unusual... fellow.”
“Anyway... I don't know what to make of him, so you and Ms. Han Seol-a should question him thoroughly and make the
decision.”
“Yes. Anyway, thank you for taking care of this.”
“Sure~ Take care.”
After the Personnel Officer left, Team Leader Kim Hae-jin looked at Han Seol-a's expression. He had already decided to
reject Kang Do-hyeok. But he was curious about what his teammate, Han Seol-a, thought.
“Um... Seol-a?”
“Yes?”
“What do you think?”
“...?”
Han Seol-a tilted her head slightly, looking as though she had no idea what he was talking about.
“Kang Do-hyeok. Should we accept him?”
“We haven't even seen him yet...”
“Huh?”
Team Leader Kim Hae-jin had heard only what the Personnel Officer had said and had already evaluated Kang Do-hyeok and
reached his conclusion. Han Seol-a, on the other hand, seemed to have neither evaluated nor judged the new hero whom she
hadn't even met yet.
“Shouldn't we decide after seeing him?”
She wore such an obviously natural expression that Team Leader Kim Hae-jin felt embarrassed. Her innocent expression
left him with no choice but to lower his head.
“That's true.”
“Yes.”
*
Today was finally the day I was getting a job as a hero.
I'd been preparing diligently since elementary school. As for my abilities, there was nothing to worry about. I'd
awakened an ability strong enough to crush even the strongest villains, and I'd also learned how to become stronger far
more efficiently than I had in my previous life.
The real problem was the Hero College Entrance Examination and the personality and aptitude evaluations. I'd been
worried that I might fail them.
But the heavens were on my side.
The score I'd thought would surely be a failing grade had somehow landed exactly on the cutoff, allowing me to pass.
As expected, it's worth living a good life.
After redesigning my life so that I could become a hero, I was blessed like this.
“Hey, hey. Did you see the news?”
“What news?”
“They found another skinny villain in a remote area.”
“Holy crap. Is it Predator again?”
“Must be. I've never heard of anyone else with an ability like that.”
“Wow~ What are the heroes doing? Why aren't they catching such a vicious villain?”
Vicious?
Villain?
There were much more wonderful and beautiful terms like vigilante or vigilante hero. Why were they using such crude
words?
Something like an antihero who protected citizens from the shadows and defeated villains, like the Dark Knight, would be
more appropriate.
Kids these days were way too extreme with their choice of words.
“They say villains are always found turned into mummies. Apparently, more villains have been turning themselves in
because of that.”
“I don't know whether we should be grateful or scared.”
“Grateful for what?! If we become heroes, we might have to catch that guy.”
“Eek! Just thinking about it is terrifying.”
“We should just hope he gets caught as soon as possible.”
Click.
As I listened to the interview candidates talking, my turn had already arrived.
According to what people said, this interview was merely a formality, and there was practically no chance of failing. So
once I went through this process, I would finally be able to get the hero job I'd dreamed of for so long.
“Kang Do-hyeok, Jeong Deok-pal, Bang Sin-ye~ Come in.”
The two who had been enthusiastically chatting earlier jumped up in surprise.
Apparently, we were being interviewed together.
I slowly stood up and gave them a broad grin to show how happy I was to be interviewing with them.
Their expressions became even more rigid.
How nervous did they have to be if even my smile couldn't relax them?
When I entered through the door, there were exactly three chairs placed in the spacious room.
I sat in the remaining chair and looked around. The interviewers were seated in front of us.
It might have been a tense situation, but I already knew the truth.
Everything was just a formality.
Unfortunately, the other two people being interviewed with me didn't seem to know that. They kept sneaking glances at me
and showing how nervous they were.
“Mr. Kang Do-hyeok?”
“Yes.”
“We'll begin with questions for Mr. Kang Do-hyeok.”
*
Something had gone terribly wrong.
This was supposed to be an interview where formal questions were exchanged, but the questions kept coming without a
break.
What was especially strange was that the two other candidates being interviewed alongside me weren't even asked any
particularly meaningful questions.
Meanwhile, I was being bombarded with questions that were obviously designed to evaluate my personality and moral
values.
“Mr. Kang Do-hyeok. Then...”
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
I finally couldn't take it anymore and raised my hand.
“There is something I'd like to ask.”
Naturally, the interviewers seemed quite flustered by my behavior. An interviewee wasn't normally the one who asked
questions.
But I couldn't keep putting up with this forever.
“What is it?”
The person who had introduced himself as the Personnel Officer frowned.
“Isn't this an interview to select heroes? And I applied for the Initial Response Team.”
“Yes. And?”
“Then shouldn't you be more interested in something more fundamental than these questions? I heard the Initial Response
Team is the department that responds first whenever a villain or monster appears, carries out the initial response, and
minimizes casualties. That's why its mortality rate is higher than that of any other department.”
“So what are you trying to say?”
“Just let me prove my skills. Don't just question me as though you're testing a person.”
Everyone seemed surprised.
But I couldn't simply continue sitting through such an unreasonable interview.
If they had asked the two other candidates the same questions, I would've stayed quiet.
But they had only asked those two a few trivial questions and had spent more than thirty minutes questioning me about
sensitive subjects.
Of course, as a hero, I had given the most textbook answers possible. I was confident that they were the most efficient
and correct answers anyone could give.
But putting that aside, if I remained silent while being treated unfairly, that would go against the virtues of a hero.
So I couldn't simply sit still.
“Are you... provoking us right now?”
“No. I'm being sincere.”
“Do you know where you are? This is the National Defense Bureau. I'm talking about the sacred institution that protects
this nation from villains and monsters.”
The Personnel Officer snorted.
I'd probably made him dislike me.
But if I was going to be a hero who upheld justice, it made no sense to simply keep my mouth shut in a situation like
this.
When everyone else says no, I had to be capable of saying yes.
I'm pretty sure that's what they said in those public service advertisements for heroes.
“Excuse me... Personnel Officer? Could you... test me?”
“What? I... Team Leader Kim. Even so...”
“Please. I'm curious too. He seems quite confident in himself.”
“Haa... All right.”
*
“Secretary Jeong Myeong-seok.”
“Yes, Officer.”
“Don't go easy on him... Give it your best.”
“Yes, leave it to me. I haven't lost to anyone in C-rank yet.”
The Personnel Officer glanced sideways at Kang Do-hyeok's application lying on the table.
Physical Ability: Excellent
Magic Power Rank: C
The reason Kang Do-hyeok was such an attractive candidate for the National Defense Bureau wasn't his magic power rank,
but his physical abilities.
In particular, the Initial Response Team he had applied for was literally the team that arrived at the scene first when
an incident occurred, assessed the situation, and brought it under control.
Therefore, the most important ability wasn't magic power rank, which could be considered a measure of offensive power,
but physical ability, which represented the defensive capability to withstand a certain amount of force.
The Personnel Officer already knew this, and he wanted to teach this overconfident rookie hero a painful lesson.
Not all C-ranks were the same.
In particular, Secretary Jeong Myeong-seok was one of the highest-level talents among C-ranks, possessing the potential
to rise to B-rank soon.
“All right. Don't go too far... Just crush his spirit a little. I'll take care of the rest, so let loose.”
“Leave it to me.”