Ep 249 – Sunset
I, Egostic, am a Class A villain in South Korea, and I’m the number one target that heroes are most wary of. Yet here I was, in front of a hero, sweating nervously.
“You… Youuu…”
“Are you… alright?”
“Do you think I’m alright…?”
“H-Haha…”
We stood on the rooftop of a building sowhere. Stardus, exhausted, leaned against the wall, looking up at with eyes brimming with tears.
…I felt a sense of guilt that was gnawing at my heart.
“Of course, I have my own reasons…”
I might appear like a wicked instructor who’s making a hapless hero run laps, but I had my reasons, too. If I hadn’t pushed her so hard to improve her flying abilities, she’d regret it later, crying about how she should have put in more effort. The sweat I shed today could save a life tomorrow. It was that critical, especially with the impending disaster.
If I explained it to her like this, she would probably understand, and she’d be willing to fly a few more laps right away. But I couldn’t do that. This had to be seen as a crisis for her to be vigilant. If I started to explain everything, would it be training or disaster control? Besides, I had to act like a sinister villain; I could never! Explain this was the only way.
So, I, the villain who had turned all cris upside down and was making the perfectly fine hero go to the opposite side of Seoul to stop a missile, decided to be the villain.
After all, a protagonist shines when there’s an antagonist. Haha…
“Haa, haa, haa…”
“…”
Of course, that was a show. I was genuinely sorry, especially given the current situation where she was so exhausted and almost on the verge of crying.
Thankfully, she was too tired to co running toward .
Anyway, I cleared my throat again and tried to steer the conversation.
“Uhm… But you did really well flying and stopping them, didn’t you? Honestly, I was quite surprised. It was a great performance from my worthy adversary.”
“…Haa. Well, maybe. Haa, haa. Yeah. Do I have to be thankful for this?”
Such complints from ? She seed sowhat taken aback by my words but still replied while catching her breath. Her mouth curled upward slightly, probably due to her mood.
I was about to say a few more words, but I decided to drop it and simply offered an apology. It felt easier and would help lighten the mood.
“Ahem. I apologize. I pushed you too hard, Stardus, and it saddens to see you struggling. The duty of an archenemy is to challenge the hero, and I’m sorry.”
I slightly turned my head as I spoke. It might not be common for a villain to apologize to a hero, but who knows? Among archenemies, there might be monts for it.
In any case, she was free to accept or reject my apology. In fact, it might be taken as a provocation and fit right into my concept of being the villain.
As I contemplated this, waiting for Stardus’s reaction,
“Pfft…”
I suddenly heard her clear laughter from in front of . I turned my head, surprised. She stood by the wall, her hand on her abdon, chuckling heartily.
“Seriously, haha. It’s ridiculous. Who apologizes for going too far in terrorizing a hero?”
“Haha. Well, our relationship isn’t typical for a hero and a villain, is it?”
“Seriously, it’s ridiculous…”
“Hahaha…”
How amusing was it to make her laugh until tears welled up in her eyes? I wasn’t sure, but she continued laughing, wiping her tears away.
And the curve of her lips?
Certainly, it seed like she was smiling more than before.
…I don’t know what exactly happened, but it appeared to be resolved.
I breathed a sigh of relief while thinking about that. Regardless, the atmosphere improved significantly after her laughter compared to before. Maybe it was just because the sun was setting, casting the sky in a warm orange hue. Haha.
“Ahem…”
Continuing these thoughts, I unintentionally turned my head in a sowhat awkward and ticklish feeling. I gazed at the sky.
On the rooftop of the building, the vast sky was beautifully painted in warm orange hues as the sun began to set. The sun, half-hidden beyond the mountains, burned with a crimson light, dyeing the sky red.
“…The sky is beautiful.”
As I mumbled such words, she comnted.
“Yes, it is.”
“…Yeah, that’s right.”
Suddenly, I heard that voice by my side. I glanced over, and there she was. Stardus, still with her hand against the wall like , looking toward the red horizon. Her lips still had that slight upward curve.
Her golden hair shimred in the crimson sunlight, and her beautiful, clear blue eyes glistened as they captured the descending sun.
… Watching her like this, I found myself involuntarily smiling, too.
Yeah. Heroes and villains could watch the sunset together if they were in the middle of a battle when the sun went down. After all, is there a rule that they must fight every day? Besides, it felt sowhat familiar to be talking and looking at the sunset together after their fights.
Yeah, familiar…
“…”
Wait a second.
Why did that feel familiar?
“…?”
And as I had that thought for a mont, I felt a sense of déjà vu.
‘What’s going on?’
-Even if ti turns back, in the end, it’s the two of us.
Sothing about this situation.
This similar situation.
-People don’t change.
Once.
-Soday, we’ll have conversations like this again.
I’ve experienced sothing like this before.
“…”
I beca lost in thought for a mont due to the sudden doubts arising. The sunset, the rooftop, Stardus, Shin Haru, the conversation, the touch, warmth, mory, Shin Haru.
There was sothing. There was sothing to it. It felt like I’d experienced this situation, a similar situation with her, once before.
Did I have a dream or sothing?
‘What’s this?’
As I had this thought, I heard a voice right next to .
“What are you thinking?”
I turned my head in surprise to see Stardus smiling and tilting her head toward in the warm glow of the sunset. Bathed in the setting sun, she looked more beautiful than ever.
…But that’s not the point.
“Ahem. It’s nothing, really.”
I cleared my throat and replied, feeling that I couldn’t tell her that I was thinking about her.
“I’ve been quiet for a while, and I thought you might be preparing to scold or sothing.”
She said this with a mischievous grin, and I couldn’t help but chuckle in response.
“As if that would ever happen.”
Yeah, I don’t know what mory this is, but for now, let’s focus on the mont.
We won’t have many opportunities like this with Stardus.
I smiled and, under the setting sun, pulled out the black object that brought here and presented it to her through teleportation.
“By the way, Stardus, it’s a gift.”
“A gift…?”
She tilted her head while reaching out to take the object.
Still not quite sure what it was, she examined it.
I nodded as she looked at it.
“It’s a communication device.”
“A communication device…?”
She continued to examine it, resembling a walkie-talkie and earpiece, appearing to be puzzled by my words.
After clearing my throat again, I continued with the explanation.
“Yes, besides , there are many villains in South Korea, right? Not all of them are as socially active as or pick fights in their own territory. Especially among those, the worst ones are usually taken care of by .”
“Yeah, but what’s your point?”
“…So of them are quite challenging for to handle. They know everything, from my residence to my weaknesses. Those villains are the ones I’d appreciate your assistance with. I’ll cooperate.”
I handle those who steal my aggro, and Stardus can take care of the other villains, so it’s a win-win situation.
While I added this, Stardus’s gaze remained fixed on the communication device.
“So, you’re going to contact with this?”
“Yes, if anything cos up, I’ll send a ssage. When that happens, the red light here will flash. After that, press the button, and you’ll hear my voice. Just think of it as a ans of communication.”
“A ans of communication…”
Stardus gazed at the communication device I handed her under the reddening sky.
…The reason I gave her this device today is that there’s a villain I need to defeat soon. One we, the mbers of the EgoStream, can never handle. Stardus might be able to do it, but she doesn’t know how to defeat him.
To deal with that villain, communication with Stardus was essential. I could hack my way into it, but this was more reliable and safe. The crucial point was that it looked like an ordinary iPhone.
So, if she refused to accept it, it would be a big problem. If we don’t catch that villain before the Wolgwanggyo disaster, things will get really bad.
And a little while later, all of my concerns faded away.
“Uh, yeah. I wasn’t planning on taking it, but just in case, I’ll accept it! Got it?”
She turned her head and raised her fist while her cheeks turned slightly red saying that.
…Thank goodness.
“Thank you.”
I replied with a grin.
…Her cheeks seed a bit redder than before.
After a few more exchanges, I smoothly escaped through teleportation.
I promised to contact her in a few days.
…It ended on a warr note than I expected.
***
After Egostic’s extensive missile terror attack, South Korea’s broadcasts focused exclusively on the event. But there was sothing different from the usual.
[As you can see, Stardus’ speed and frequency are steadily increasing. In the end, she’s almost doubled her initial performance, which is an exceptionally high speed even on a global scale…]
The dia talked more about Stardus rather than Egostic on that day.
[Perhaps Stardus’ abilities have not yet reached 100%, experts believe. In addition, there are opinions among so of the citizens that Egostic planned the terror attack to grow Stardus…]
“As expected, South Korea’s pride, Stardus! Hahaha!”
When the people who witnessed Stardus’ actions that day praised her, she didn’t pay much attention to being at the center of the controversy regarding whether Egostic had planned the terror attack with Stardus’ growth in mind. Instead, she lay on her bed, holding the communication device that Egostic had given her, and gazed at it from below.
“A private ans of communication that allows to talk to Egostic without eting in person…”
“Finally…”
She muttered to herself from the cool bed. Despite being exhausted from using her powers all day, she couldn’t help but wear a warm smile. It was a sumr night.
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