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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Katana's Realization
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Around the time Egostic's dragon terror attack struck South Korea.
"No!… K-Katana… I!"
"Silence!"
The headquarters of Japan's yakuza organization, the Samhyup-pa.
The basement.
In that dark place, the process of executing a traitor was underway.
"Lady Katana. All the circumstances have been uncovered. Hishimoto Natsuha, she was betraying us and handing over all information to the Association."
"It's a conspiracy, this is a conspiracy!"
At the very end of the basement, a woman in a Japanese-style martial arts uniform, a Japanese sword at her hip, her black hair tied back. Katana, the leader of the Samhyup-pa.
Beneath her, sitting quietly in the center, two grown men held a woman, the traitor Hishimoto Natsuha, kneeling.
And beside them, a subordinate stood, recounting Natsuha's actions.
"...From what we've gathered so far, it seems this woman is the reason we've been losing battles recently. From tactics to our troops' weaknesses, even air raid locations... she simply handed over everything."
"This is! Slander— *mmph*."
The woman's mouth was promptly covered by the subordinates beside her.
Katana, silently looking down at the scene, thought quietly to herself.
...Why, though?
Why would the friend I trusted most do this?
She truly couldn't have imagined it.
Natsuha, who had always been by her side, who had been with her from the very beginning.
Was, in fact, the Association's dog. A traitor.
If that man she met at the S-class villains' meeting, the Cathedral, hadn't told her, she would have been oblivious forever, suffering without ever realizing her old friend was a traitor.
With that bitter sense of betrayal, Katana silently gazed at her old friend, who was still struggling and cursing at her. She then sighed and ordered the subordinate beside her.
"Dispose of her."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"*Mmph! Mmmph, mmmph!*"
The traitor thrashed at her words, but was soon dragged away and disappeared from sight.
Just a few minutes later, the subordinate quietly returned.
"Lady, she has been dealt with."
"Well done. You may rest."
"Yes, ma'am."
After waving her hand, dismissing all her subordinates.
Katana, once again left alone in the basement, fell into thought with a sigh.
...While the shock of an old friend being a traitor was immense, as the leader of the organization, she couldn't remain in shock indefinitely. And to be frank, wasn't this a good thing? She had finally found the traitor.
"Yes... I should look on the bright side."
Katana, quietly closing and opening her eyes, came to that conclusion.
Instead of being depressed, she should be celebrating. The Samhyup-pa, who had only ever lost to the Association's forces before, had been winning consistently since they started feeding Natsuha false information.
At this rate, it wouldn't be impossible to eliminate that wicked Association and government, and restore Japan to its proper state.
Katana, fiddling with the Japanese sword at her hip, then murmured.
"And..."
Yes, that man.
Egostic.
'Hishimoto Natsuha. She is the traitor.'
The Korean villain who had given her that information. He had suddenly approached her, suggesting they get along since they were neighboring countries, and then offered to share a piece of information, and that was the information he gave her.
...At first, she hadn't believed it. In fact, she had been wary. She even wondered if the Japanese Association had commissioned him to drive a wedge between her and Natsuha. Given how corrupt the current government was, colluding with a villain from another country would certainly be easy for them.
However, there was an uneasy feeling.
And the way that man, Egostic, had presented himself at the meeting... a feeling that he was hiding something, that he knew everything, holding it all in the palm of his hand with such a relaxed demeanor. It made her wonder if—
So she had ordered her subordinates to investigate Natsuha, and the result was the discovery of her betrayal.
And from the day they intentionally fed Natsuha false information and excluded her, the Samhyup-pa, who had always lost, had been winning consecutive victories against the Association.
And all of this was thanks to Egostic. That man.
...She didn't know how he knew, but if he hadn't told her, she probably never would have imagined it. She might have lost all her subordinates and even collapsed herself.
"....I owe him a debt."
Katana murmured.
...Now that she thought about it, perhaps he was a good person after all. Indeed, he was the one who first approached her, suggesting they get along as neighboring countries. It was she who had responded curtly, being in a sensitive state after repeated defeats.
...If she owed a debt, it was her duty to repay it. Especially since the Samhyup-pa valued the concept of gratitude and vengeance above all else.
Thus, Katana resolved that when she met Egostic at the next meeting, she would approach him first. To offer her thanks, and also...
'Egostic... he was the same kind as me.'
Just as the Samhyup-pa, who rose against a corrupt government, were liked by the people despite being called villains, Egostic was said to have the support of the South Korean public. In fact, his terror attacks reportedly caused almost no casualties.
As Katana continued these thoughts, she suddenly recalled the previous meeting and fell into deeper contemplation.
'...Wait. Now that I think about it, he mentioned a hero who could turn back time was in America.'
Since his words about Natsuha proved true, this information was also highly likely to be accurate.
...What kind of person is he, exactly? How does he know such things?
That question suddenly occurred to Katana.
***
[News reports indicate that Japan's villain organization, the Samhyup-pa, has recently been winning against the government and the Association.]
"Hmm?"
A few days after the dragon terror attack, at Egostream's large house.
In the living room there, I was sitting on the sofa, as usual, when I suddenly lifted my head at the sound coming from the TV.
Then, Katana's face appeared on the screen.
Behind her, the anchor's words continued.
[News reports indicate that the Samhyup-pa, who had previously been pushed back by government forces, have started winning consistently from a certain point. The Japanese Association is reportedly facing a considerable crisis. However, among citizens, there is significant support for the Samhyup-pa, with many saying they are better than the corrupt Association...]
Ah.
Did Katana listen to me?
"Why are you suddenly so focused on the TV? Is that your type of woman?"
"No, don't suddenly slander me out of nowhere...."
As I was focused on the TV, I dealt with Seo Ja-yeong's baseless accusations flying at me from the floor without a moment to breathe, then resumed watching the news.
...News that the Samhyup-pa were winning. That's a good thing. Katana must have listened to me and dealt with the traitor.
With this, Japan's fate has changed somewhat from the original timeline.
Originally, the Samhyup-pa would have been completely annihilated and Katana would have died, but that won't happen now.
At least they'll hold out until the Moonlight Gate. That's enough. The corrupt Association won't completely take over Japan, then fail to cope when the gate bursts, leading to Japan's ruin. Some events that affected Korea because Japan became a monster den will also disappear.
Of course, the Samhyup-pa probably won't be able to completely drive out the Japanese Association. Haha, surely it won't go *that* far?
As I was thinking that, the news segment on Japan concluded.
[Yes, and the next news item is about the terror attack involving Egostic and the dragon. The video of the attack has reportedly become a huge sensation overseas! Let's watch...]
"Seriously, how long are they going to talk about this?"
Seeing my dragon-riding self appear on screen again, I unconsciously changed the channel.
...Speaking of dragons, where is Shinryeong, by the way?
With that thought, I went to look for Shinryeong.
...She's probably sitting on the railing in front of the main gate, where she usually is.
And.
There, I naturally found her.
"Shinryeong, what are you doing?"
Outside, in the green forest stretching out before the large house, filled with the scent of fresh phytoncides, Shinryeong was sitting quietly, her legs stretched out on the grass, gazing at the forest as usual.
Her long, black hair, adorned with a binyeo hairpin, flowed down her back. She wore her usual white traditional robes and sat holding a long-stemmed pipe.
Sitting alone, exuding a calm and mysterious aura, she looked nothing like the dragon who had roared 'Kwararara!' in the sky the day before.
"...You, aren't you thinking something disrespectful again?"
"Me? Haha, of course not."
"Haa..."
Feeling a slight prick of guilt, I naturally sat down beside her. She shifted slightly to make it easier for me to sit.
Sitting next to Shinryeong, I gazed at the forest with her.
"...Somehow, I've ended up back in the mortal world."
"How is it?"
"Well, it's not entirely bad. The people living with me in this house seem to be good folk... for villains, that is."
"If you put it that way, aren't you a villain too now, Shinryeong? You flew around with me to commit terror attacks."
"...How did I, who lived my entire life as a guardian dragon, come to this? Haa. Still... I'm doing this because you said it was a type of guardianship."
Muttering, she suddenly remembered flying around as a dragon, roaring 'Kwararara,' and pressed her hand to her forehead as if dizzy.
...Hmm, I probably shouldn't provoke her further. Remembering how Seo Ja-yeong got blasted by Dragon's Breath and sent flying last time she teased her...
So, I left Shinryeong to continue her mental healing by watching the forest and returned to the house.
And as I walked down the hallway, I suddenly noticed the calendar hanging on the wall.
"Ah... now that I think about it, it's really soon."
I murmured, looking at the calendar.
The main event, and the event that will soon become 'undone'.
The day the world ends, and X-Machina, the time-reversing ability user, dies.
...Well, I'll be able to keep my promise to Stardust to see her soon.
I decided to think positively.