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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: A Secret Alliance
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[With the consecutive disasters of the Brazil Anomaly and the global invasion, the world is reeling. As an atmosphere of fear spreads, global security has become unstable, and villain attacks have grown more frequent. In response, governments have decided to designate several countries, including Japan, as 'travel advisory nations'.]
[Meanwhile, South Korea remains remarkably peaceful. The Association has self-congratulated, attributing this to 'efforts to stabilize the social atmosphere.' In response, netizens have commented that they weren't aware Ego Stream was the Association...]
South Korea was peaceful.
Of course, only South Korea was peaceful; the rest of the world was slowly spiraling into chaos.
[Controversy continues in the U.S. Congress, with discussions about conducting a full investigation of all ability users and registering their identities with the Association. Given that unregistered ability users often become villains, there's talk of a law to forcibly register all citizens with abilities and punish those who violate it...]
As nations overreacted, the International Association suffered from overwork, and corporations crumbled, there were some who profited.
"Executive Choi, did you acquire that one?"
[Yes. The acquisition was successful. We plan to change the name from Nihonsan Tech & Loss to Yoosung Tech & Loss.]
"Thank you. Please continue to exert your influence like this."
[Of course.]
A click.
"Whew..."
Lee Seol-ah sighed after hanging up the phone.
So busy, so busy. It felt like ten bodies wouldn't be enough.
Amidst this unexpected global crisis, Lee Seol-ah was having a better time than anyone.
With repeated security collapses and terrorist attacks overseas, the value of corporations was steadily declining.
Of course, only peaceful South Korea was an exception, untouched by crisis, so she was busy shopping for foreign companies with her pre-stocked capital.
She had bought so many, using all sorts of tricks, that she was running out of "bullets."
"Is this enough?"
Having more or less concluded the situation, she leaned back against her chair.
She let out a sigh of relief, yet a proud smile still graced her face.
She didn't know if such an opportunity would come again, but she had done all she could for now.
However, South Korean companies, having suffered less impact, had well-defended stock prices, so she couldn't acquire many of them... but still, this was something.
"...Seriously, what would I have done without Dain?"
Lee Seol-ah murmured to herself without realizing it.
Ego-Stic. Thanks to his prior warnings, she had been able to prepare and brace for everything in advance, and for that, she was grateful.
...Moreover, wasn't it fortunate that South Korea alone had avoided disaster, precisely because of him?
...But truly, what if Ego-Stic hadn't existed?
The mere thought of such a scenario was horrifying.
First, Seoul would have been destroyed by Behemoth and the Haneun Group, with the Moonlight Cult delivering the finishing blow for a clean sweep.
Seoul would probably have been completely ruined, and Busan might have become the capital.
"Wait a minute, that's actually good...?"
If the Blue House or the National Assembly had moved to Busan, she might have already seized control of the government, and then some.
Since Yoosung Corporation's base was in Busan... perhaps South Korea might have already fallen into her hands long ago.
"...Still, that's not it."
However, she shook her head.
Lee Seol-ah wanted to acquire a whole and intact South Korea, not a country on the verge of collapse.
Perhaps, if she had easily taken over South Korea in a world without Ego-Stic,
...she probably wouldn't have been very happy in that world.
Instead, in a situation where her goal was absent, wouldn't she have suffered more?
Well, it was all absurd fantasy.
Fortunately, Ego-Stic existed, and because of him, South Korea was still functioning perfectly today.
'...Ego-Stic.'
In fact, when Ego-Stic first appeared, she hadn't paid him much attention.
She had simply thought he was just another common villain.
But as time passed, and she began to observe his actions,
she changed her mind.
Now, she genuinely believed he was remarkable.
The way he knew all information she herself didn't, and how he gathered talented individuals—powerful ability users—to build his own force from scratch, was truly something she ought to emulate.
Furthermore, hadn't he already prevented South Korea's crises several times over?
She didn't know why someone who seemed to protect the country more than anyone else would call himself a villain, but there was probably a deeper meaning to it.
Dain, he seemed to know almost everything.
The only problem was that all his attention was focused solely on Stardus.
"....."
...Of course, she had thought that as time went on, she could make him look her way, rather than at Stardus, whose whereabouts he didn't even know.
But then, on top of that, there were the numerous female villains constantly by his side...
But putting all that aside, the biggest problem was that she had made a big mistake last time, and he had been disappointed in her.
"....Right, for now, I'll just keep quiet."
...Still, she was the only hero who knew his true identity, so there was still a chance. Perhaps...
As Lee Seol-ah tried to console herself, her face suddenly hardened at a fleeting thought.
"...Now that I think about it, Shadow Walker, he too..."
When the Moonlight Cult's monster awakened, Stardus had almost guessed that Ego-Stic was the one who defeated it.
While Lee Seol-ah, surprised herself, was desperately trying to cover it up,
Shadow Walker had strongly testified that he hadn't seen anyone there, successfully making Stardus misunderstand.
"....Could he really not have seen him?"
Ego-Stic had certainly been there. If he had looked around, there's no way he wouldn't have seen him.
...So, why did he so strongly claim he hadn't seen him?
She got up for a moment, took a wine bottle from the display cabinet, filled it with grape juice, and sipped it to clear her head. Then, she slowly began to speculate.
"Could it be that...."
She hadn't thought about it then because she was busy, but thinking about it now...
Perhaps Ego-Stic had approached him, just as he had approached her?
It was a perfectly plausible idea, especially since Ego-Stic had been the one to approach her first...
"....It seems I'll have to talk to Shadow."
She made up her mind.
Let's see, where was Kim Jae-hyun's number...
***
"[...Yes. So, it's highly probable that Ego-Stic conducted negotiations with Latice behind the scenes. I don't know if it was pure luck that avoided the terror attack, or if Ego-Stic predicted everything and acted accordingly.]"
"What do you mean, 'don't know'? Of course, it's all thanks to Ego-Stic."
After dropping his girlfriend off at her place,
Shadow Walker, Kim Jae-hyun, feeling hungry, was eating kimchi fried rice alone at his home.
He murmured to himself while watching TV.
Since he already knew Ego-Stic was a hero, he wasn't particularly surprised by the news.
It was common knowledge that Ego-Stic, the terminally ill villain, was sacrificing himself to protect South Korea.
"Ugh... Ego-Stic, what a guy you are."
Recalling Ego-Stic bleeding during the broadcast where he was fighting alongside Stardus, he involuntarily let out a sigh.
Seeing the rumors about Ego-Stic's declining health surface, he felt like "it was bound to happen."
Did people know? That he wasn't just unwell, but terminally ill with a set number of days left to live?
Yet, despite that, he was a man who, instead of despairing over his remaining life, was dedicating himself to the country before departing.
"...Ego-Stic, if you ever leave as a villain, I swear I'll reveal the truth and restore your honor. Man to man, on my honor."
He vowed to himself.
He hadn't said anything yet because Ego-Stic seemed to, for some reason, not want to reveal his true identity.
He didn't quite understand why Ego-Stic did that, but later, after looking up Ego-Stic on a wiki by himself, he realized.
"You. You love Stardus."
His debut with Stardus, and his continued pursuit of only Stardus.
Seeing that, he realized. This was Ego-Stic's affection for Stardus.
However, as a terminally ill person, even if it were to be realized, it would be a short love, so he was living by suppressing his own feelings.
"Ugh, such pure devotion... A true man..."
Thus, firmly believing Ego-Stic to be a terminally ill, devoted hero, Shadow Walker Kim Jae-hyun regarded his own speculation as almost a proven fact.
Then, he received a phone call.
"...Lee Seol-ah. What's she calling for?"
Puzzled, Kim Jae-hyun answered the phone.
[Mr. Kim Jae-hyun. You met Ego-Stic, didn't you?]
He received a very startling question.
".....Hmm..."
[Don't be alarmed. I'm on his side too. So, tell me.]
".....Right. How did you know?"
[Just as I thought... Since it's come to this, let's meet and talk.]
"Why?"
[Naturally, to help Ego-Stic.]
"Ah, if that's the case, then fine."
He readily agreed.
If it meant helping Ego-Stic.
And so.
An unofficial meeting between two of South Korea's only three A-Class heroes was arranged.
To help an A-Class villain.
***
"...Someone must be talking about me."
"Oppa, stop picking your ear."
"Dain, would you like me to clean your ear for you?"
"Huh? No, I'm fine."
I replied to Subin, who had smiled kindly and joked with me.
"It's not a joke."
"Haha..."
It seemed it wasn't a joke after all.
Anyway, that's not what's important. The next plan is.
I quietly began to ponder, eating the peach Subin had peeled for me.
"...."
...My head hurts. Maybe I'll just manage the Stardus fan cafe a bit more before thinking about it.