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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Trolley Problem and a Love Scandal
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If a train is heading towards five people tied to the tracks, and if you pull a lever, it diverts to another track where only one person is tied, would you pull the lever?
This was the dilemma I posed.
In truth, it's a well-known philosophical conundrum.
It's famously known as the Trolley Dilemma.
If the train continues on its path, five people will be hit. But if you pull the lever, only one will be hit. From a utilitarian perspective, pulling the lever is the correct choice, as it saves five lives.
But would you truly be able to pull it?
The train hitting five people would be a tragic accident. In this context, perhaps a tragic act of terror rather than an accident. However, if you pull the lever, it ceases to be an accident. The five would have died by accident, but if *you* pull the lever, that one person is killed *by you*. A person who could have lived dies because *you* pulled the lever.
...Well, that's the dilemma.
And I implemented this dilemma in the real world.
Stardus, rather than just contemplating a theoretical dilemma, took action and brilliantly broke through the situation.
Instead of agonizing over which way to divert the train by pulling the lever, she stepped forward herself and stopped the train.
Stardus is a superpowered individual.
A dual-ability user like me. She possesses immense strength and the ability to fly simultaneously. To be precise, it's superhuman strength and flight.
And because she's also a dual-ability user, her powers have some drawbacks, just like mine. Though not as severe as mine. For instance, those with only superhuman strength can demolish entire buildings by themselves. And those with only flight ability can fly at supersonic speeds. Of course, both of those examples are heroes in America.
Stardus, however, isn't quite on that level. Her superhuman strength is impressive, but not enough to level a building in one go, and while she can fly, it's not at supersonic speeds.
...Of course, she's much better off than me, considering I'm also a dual-ability user with serious flaws in both. Still, it's undeniable that she's a bit lacking.
While dual-ability users are incredibly rare, and her combination of superhuman strength and flight works well together, making her A-class, there was still a slight something missing.
But she is the protagonist of this story.
Her unique trait, unlike other ability users, is that her power evolves.
A power that grows stronger through trials and tribulations.
That's why I prepared this strength-enhancement event this time.
Make Stardus Great Again. To make Stardus great again.
In reality, her original strength wouldn't have been enough to stop a speeding train, but when faced with a real-life situation, her desire to save people made her explosively stronger. True to the protagonist of this world, she grew stronger in a crisis.
And thanks to the terror attack I orchestrated this time, her popularity among the public significantly improved.
In other words, her popularity, which had dipped due to her opposition to me, rebounded with this opportunity. Her image, throwing herself fearlessly to stop the train, deeply moved people watching on televisions nationwide.
Right. It was good that Stardus became popular again like this.
But why did a sudden dating rumor break out?
***
The living room.
Sitting on the sofa there, I was watching TV with a hollow feeling.
After barely teleporting back home following the big event and getting a good night's sleep in my recovery device, I woke up to find Seoeun grabbing my hand and dragging me to sit on the sofa, telling me to watch TV.
The large title of today's broadcast appeared on the screen.
[Egoistic-Stardus Dating Rumor]
"What is this now..."
I exclaimed the moment I saw the TV.
But regardless of what I said, the people on TV began to speak their piece.
"Yes, this is Entertainment News! These two are really hot topics these days. Egoistic, the villain enjoying the highest popularity in South Korea, and the rising supernova hero, Stardus! Dating rumors involving these two are sweeping the Korean entertainment industry. Reporter Park, what's the reason these dating rumors broke out?"
It was a terrestrial broadcast entertainment news program.
A female anchor posed a question to a male reporter who looked quite professional.
"Yes, first of all, we can see this by looking at Egoistic's actions."
The man suddenly brought up a panel from below and placed it in front of him.
It was a panel with a white background and stickers on it.
The phrase 'Egoistic♡Stardus' written in pink at the very top was particularly striking.
"The first reason is Egoistic's public declarations of affection."
There was a white sticker on the panel, and when he peeled it off, folded text and a picture were revealed underneath.
[1. Egoistic's Love Letter.]
The man continued to speak with a very serious expression. Dressed in a suit, with slicked-back hair and horn-rimmed glasses, his demeanor made it seem as if a CEO was presenting a performance report at a shareholders' meeting.
Of course, what came out of his mouth wasn't a serious report, but rather absurd gossip.
"Egoistic's first actions were the killings of S-class villain Enjodiak and A-class villain Rhino. But that's not what's important. What's important is this."
He pointed to a picture attached to the panel he was holding.
The picture showed letters that looked as if someone had written them in blood. The letters read:
To you, Stardus.
"Now, do you see this phrase here? It's a message Egoistic left at the scene after committing his crimes. What's notable, of course, is the last line, 'To Stardus.' In fact, from the very beginning, Egoistic has consistently pursued Stardus. It's implied that he eliminated villains and then presented them as gifts to Stardus. It's practically a public proposal!"
He explained with such fervent enthusiasm, spitting as he spoke.
Watching him say such strange things, I quietly thought to myself.
Uh... that wasn't a gift; I just did it to get her attention...
What if I committed an evil act and some random hero, not Stardus, was assigned to me? That's why I specifically named Stardus to draw her in. Stardus hates vigilantism so much, what the hell...
However, my words couldn't possibly reach them, and the reporter, still with a very serious expression, opened his mouth again.
"The second reason is the terror attacks. In truth, it was hard to even call Egoistic's acts 'terror' since there were zero casualties in the end. However, what's noteworthy is that in both terror incidents he caused, he called out Stardus, and Stardus brilliantly resolved both of them."
Then, footage of my terror attacks appeared. Clips of Stardus giving a speech to the people on the ship and stopping the train by herself were shown as archival material. Hmm, she *does* look cool. Stardus really is the best.
"And the words Egoistic spoke afterward are also very significant. Have a listen."
And then, my voice played.
These were the words I said to her after the terror attack on the ship was thwarted, when I was feeling perplexed.
[So it was because of you.]
[After hearing your speech, everyone suddenly united.]
[Yes. Yes. It seems I underestimated you. Something that no one else seemed capable of doing. For you, enlightening the public with a single word would be nothing.]
Ah. I said *that*?
Before my confusion could fully subside, another one of my voice clips played.
This time, it was what I said during the recent train terror attack.
[Yes, Stardus. Well done. In a way I never imagined. To save everyone like that, I truly didn't expect it. It's your victory.]
The reporter, who had been quietly listening to the audio he played, suddenly shot up from his seat.
Regardless of the surprised anchor watching him, he suddenly began to shout loudly.
"Look at this!!! If this isn't love, then what is it?! After Mangostick said those final words and closed Stardus's eyes, Stardus quietly fell asleep right then and there!!! If this isn't them dating, then what *is* dating?!"
He started tearing at his hair, screaming!
That madman! Is what I'm watching truly a public broadcast?!
"What on earth is this!!!"
I yelled and threw the remote control at the TV.
Seoeun, who had been watching next to me, had been laughing so hard she could barely breathe for a while now.
The broadcast suddenly cut to a commercial after showing the anchor looking at the reporter with a very flustered expression. A subtitle reading `[Broadcast Check in Progress]` appeared, so it must have been a broadcasting accident.
Right... Who on earth calls me Mangostick on national television?
All I could do was hang my head in despair.
No matter how I looked at it, this South Korea was insane.
It was later revealed that the reporter was a fervent member of my fan club, commonly known as the 'Mangostick Brigade.'
He had faced a demotion crisis for causing a sudden incident, but thanks to that day's broadcast achieving record-high viewership, he reportedly received a bonus instead of disciplinary action.
The world truly is ending...