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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: You Jerk
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Above the heart of Seoul, strong winds swept across the sky.
-CRASH!
Stardust, who had shattered Katana's blue Heart-Sword with her bare fist, was certain. Victory was hers.
"....."
Of course, Katana hadn't just stood there and taken it.
Just as she quickly regained her senses, pulling out another Heart-Sword from thin air to fight back.
Whoosh.
"Hahaha, what a shame, but this is where we part ways!"
"....Egoistic."
He appeared, supporting Katana as if embracing her from behind.
Soon, the relatively small figure of Katana nestled into his arms.
With a teleport, the two retreated, maintaining some distance from Stardust.
"Katana-ssi, are you alright?"
"....Yes. I'm fine."
Egoistic asked, still holding Katana from behind as if supporting her.
And as if it were the most natural thing, Katana nodded with a calm expression and stopped summoning her Heart-Sword.
*
[Is it time to end the broadcast?]
[No! You're ending it here??????]
[More, more, more, more, more, more, more]
[Mango barely even appeared today ㅡㅡ Is this for real????]
[Just watching them fight, I lost track of time, an hour just flew by lol]
[Wouldn't this be a Stardust victory by decision? lolol]
[I just saw on the news that Katana-chan was fighting in Korea, but what's the point if it's already over wwwww]
[Chilling fact: After today's broadcast, we won't see Mango's face for another 3 months lolololol]
[This can't be real!!!!!!!!]
*
While the chat window was ablaze, asking if the broadcast was already ending.
Stardust's attention, however, was elsewhere.
The two of them, embracing tightly, just like lovers.
...Yes, she understood. Egoistic had supported Katana as she was about to fall, so that posture made sense.
But even if her mind understood, her heart thought differently.
Stardust's heart pounded as she watched the two of them.
'...Why am I like this?'
To be honest, it shouldn't have mattered to her what the two of them did. It wasn't important to her who a villain embraced or what they did.
But, but.
Why.
Was her chest throbbing, aching as if someone were poking it?
As she watched them with that darkened expression.
Finally, the two separated from each other and then faced Stardust.
...Still, their hands remained tightly clasped.
"Yes! Haa, I thought it would be easy to win if I called Katana-ssi, but Stardust-ssi is truly unbeatable. Of course, I don't know what would happen if Katana-ssi continued the fight, but it's not right to make Katana-ssi suffer more in a foreign land, so we'll stop here!"
Egoistic continued to speak, smiling.
But Stardust didn't hear his words.
Her gaze was simply fixed on their clasped hands, which Egoistic and Katana had been holding since earlier.
"..."
"Then today's terror will conclude here. Farewell, everyone!"
Egoistic's final words echoed.
Then, still smiling, he looked at the camera, adjusted it slightly, and turned his head back towards Stardust.
Still, his hand was clasped with Katana's.
"Hahaha, Stardust-ssi. Next time, I won't lose...."
As he spoke towards her, he paused for a moment upon seeing her expression.
...Honestly.
Stardust couldn't even understand why she was angry.
What did it matter to her what Egoistic did? He and she were merely villain and hero, nothing more, nothing less.
However.
Egoistic, holding Katana's hand tightly.
Perhaps it was an unconscious recall of some forgotten memory.
In the deepest, unacknowledged part of her heart.
Perhaps the thought arose that 'that's the hand I should be holding.' Or perhaps it was a sense of loss, as if something had been stolen from her.
For some reason, she couldn't quite place it.
Stardust. Shin Haru, found her eyes welling up without her even realizing it.
"S-Stardust-ssi...?"
Seeing Egoistic's bewildered face as she suddenly acted strangely.
...And yet, seeing Egoistic still holding Katana's hand, she felt a pang of sorrow without realizing it.
She was sure they had made some kind of promise. She hated Egoistic for breaking it.
Stardust, without realizing it, clenched both her fists tightly.
And lashed out at him.
"...You, you jerk."
...That was the best she could do.
Even Haru herself couldn't answer what was so 'bad' about him.
Anyway, Egoistic was a jerk.
....A jerk.
***
I felt good today.
First off, successfully concluding the terror with Katana was a huge plus. Especially seeing Stardust's remarkable growth in just a few hours. Katana's attack style, flitting around like a butterfly and stinging like a bee, seemed to greatly improve Stardust's reflexes.
Yes, up until then, I had been thinking positively.
"Yes! Haa, I thought it would be easy to win if I called Katana-ssi, but Stardust-ssi is truly unbeatable. Of course, I don't know what would happen if Katana-ssi continued the fight, but it's not right to make Katana-ssi suffer more in a foreign land, so we'll stop here!"
The open sky.
Embracing Katana, who was panting, looking calm on the outside unlike the after-effects of a long battle.
I looked at the camera and delivered my closing remarks for the broadcast.
Today was truly enough. Katana even used her Heart-Sword against Stardust, so that pretty much says it all.
"Then today's terror will conclude here. Farewell, everyone!"
*
[Bye, Mango~]
[Next time you come, please bring Electra noona. It's been ages since I've seen the electric mouse....]
[Seriously, why does EgoStream hide its members so much and not show them? Do terror attacks more often!!!]
[I have a dream, a dream of seeing Mangostick personally carry out terror attacks more often, like the Dragon Fruit Mango terror last time...]
[LOL, people requesting terror content from a new-concept villainㅋㅋㅋㅋ What is this, seriouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[But wasn't today's terror fun? It was so flashy my eyes couldn't rest for a secondㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[And Katana is super prettyㅋㅋㅋ]
[Mango x Katana, this is a hit. Korea-Japan Mango lololol]
*
After confirming the good atmosphere by watching the chat, which was still entertaining itself, I turned off the broadcast without hesitation.
Alright, now all I had to do was say goodbye to Stardust and leave.
"Hahaha, Stardust-ssi. Next time, I won't lose...."
As I spoke to Stardust.
I suddenly froze.
"..."
She stood with her head bowed, her fists clenched.
And.
An unusual atmosphere emanating from around Stardust.
'....W-what is this?'
In the chilling atmosphere, almost akin to bloodlust,
I instinctively gripped Katana's hand tighter.
And Katana, too, looked tense.
Her left hand rested on her hip, ready to draw her Heart-Sword at any moment.
...Should I teleport away right now?
The atmosphere was so unusual that I momentarily considered that thought.
However, I instinctively realized. I didn't know where things had gone wrong, but if I ran away now, something truly bad might happen.
So, I cautiously called out to Stardust once more.
"S-Stardust-ssi...?"
And then.
She lifted her head again.
Her blue eyes, sparkling as they reflected the light... and moisture?
To me, whose brain had frozen at that sight.
Stardust, her voice slightly choked with tears, lashed out at me in a small voice.
".....You jerk."
"....."
...I don't know what's going on, but it seems I'm the jerk.
While both Katana and I remained silent.
She then quickly wiped her eyes with her hand.
"..."
She glared at me once more.
Then she turned her head, showing me her back.
WHOOSH.
And vanished as swiftly as the wind.
And.
"...W-what was that?"
"Beats me...."
Only Katana and I were left hovering in the air for a while, filled with bewildered emotions.
...Had Stardust ever left first, with a villain still in front of her...?
***
[Egoistic, carrying out a terror attack with Japan's S-rank villain Katana? A summary of the Stardust vs. Katana battle witnessed by the entire nation, and Egoistic's growing global influence, will be revealed tonight! At 9 PM, on 'Entertainment Relay'!]
That night.
After the terror attack ended, people talked about today's events all day long.
Everyone was saying how strong Stardust had become, and how strong Katana was.
In Japan, especially, Katana's popularity was skyrocketing as she was seen as a rival to the Association and government, symbols of exploitation and incompetence. So, the sudden news of her carrying out a terror attack with me in Korea led to many in Japan watching the video. Apparently, my name spread quite a bit in Japan because of this. They kept asking how I even became friends with Katana.
Among the surprisingly positive reactions from people, one unexpected thing was that there seemed to be no sense of crisis about the top Korean villain and top Japanese villain colluding. Some even said it was 'reassuring,' though I had no idea what was reassuring about it.
Anyway, that aside.
The truth was, none of that was important to me right now.
"Oppa, what are you pacing around for in the living room?"
"No..."
There was only one thing on my mind.
'...You jerk.'
It was Stardust, who had looked genuinely upset, almost teary-eyed, and angry as she lashed out at me.
Why on earth was she so angry?
".....Hmm."
...The biggest problem was that there were too many possibilities, I couldn't pinpoint just one.
***
That night.
Shin Haru's home.
--------Ughhh!
Thump. Thump.
Shin Haru, her face buried in her pillow, was thumping the bed with her hands.
"....I must be crazy, why did I really do that?"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she mumbled.
'....You jerk, *sniff*.'
"Ughhhhhh---!!!"
Why, why did I do that there...? I must be completely insane....
That night, Shin Haru continued to kick her bed until she fell asleep.
Out of sheer embarrassment...