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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: An Unanswered Question
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It had been about a month since she investigated the Han Eun Group's underground facility.
Since that day, Shin Haru found herself lost in thought, often distracted in her daily life.
"....."
Whether studying, engaging in hero activities, resting, or trying to sleep.
One thought kept resurfacing, unbidden.
'....Why did *he* do that?'
She still couldn't be certain about what had transpired underground.
What was it, exactly?
Why did it happen?
It was natural to feel grateful to someone who had saved her.
Especially if that someone had sacrificed themselves to save her.
Anyone would likely be grateful for the rest of their lives.
But the problem was, the person who saved her had absolutely no reason to do so.
What was the relationship between a hero and a villain?
Simply put, it was one of pure antagonism.
Sworn enemies who considered each other their primary foe.
To a villain, there was no existence more irritating or desirable to eradicate than a hero.
And a hero burned everything they had to judge villains.
Therefore, a villain saving a hero was something that couldn't even be joked about.
But that's precisely why it was a problem – it had actually happened to her.
"...."
The Han Eun Group's underground.
It was something she hadn't told anyone yet.
But Egostic had thrown himself forward to save her.
Perhaps... if he hadn't stepped in, she wouldn't be here now.
Weren't villains the ones who celebrated most when a hero fell?
In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that countless villains in South Korea wished for her disappearance.
Dozens of villains had actually tried to kill her.
But why?
Why did that guy, Egostic, save her?
No. Even if he saved her, why did he go so far as to put his own body on the line?
"..."
Sitting at her desk, working, Shin Haru found herself lost in thought once again, without even realizing it.
A thought that had been repeating, over and over, recently. No, rather, bewilderment. And the curiosity that stemmed from it.
Why did he save her?
In essence, this incident put an end to all the doubts she had about Egostic.
Yes. Something had been strange from the beginning.
He had dealt with other villains.
All the terror incidents he caused resulted in no casualties.
On top of that, there were facts only she knew.
He told her not to reveal her face.
He told her to stop the terror, to trust herself.
He destroyed a bridge to prevent a disaster that only she had predicted.
And this time, he sacrificed his own body to save her.
Yes. Yes.
Now, she really, truly had to admit it.
Egostic. He wasn't an ordinary villain.
No, 'not ordinary' – could that even define him?
In fact, she wasn't even sure if she should call him a villain anymore.
Of course, as soon as that thought crossed her mind, she immediately denied it. No. If someone who caused terror, intimidated civilians, and arbitrarily killed other villains wasn't a villain, then who was?
However.
Beyond the incidents he caused, he had done many other things behind the scenes.
Strictly speaking, no civilians had died because of him.
But how many people had been saved because of him?
The terror incident caused by his followers taking hostages. He stopped it.
The terror incident caused by Alligatorman rampaging in the city. He stopped it.
The terror incident caused by Monkey Wrench at the hotel. He stopped it.
The disaster caused by the monster created by the Han Eun Group. He stopped it.
...And even herself. He saved her.
In truth, if you only considered his criminal record, he was indeed a villain.
But if you considered only his accomplishments, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a hero.
So why did he display such a dual nature?
If he was evil, there was no explanation for why he saved people.
If he was good, there was no explanation for why he caused terror.
Actually, the former could be explained.
Why would he save people if he was evil? He had already explained it to her directly.
The terror caused by his followers was to restore his damaged reputation.
The terror caused by Alligatorman was because he was annoyed by being mentioned.
The reason he told her to save the people on the plane was to strengthen the conflict between them.
The terror caused by Monkey Wrench at the hotel was just because he felt like it while passing by.
The disaster caused by the monster created by the Han Eun Group was because he was afraid of losing attention.
Yes. There were reasons for everything.
The detailed reasons he had explained, one by one.
Would it be an overreaction if all those reasons just sounded like excuses?
No. Let's assume for a moment that he was right.
That all the seemingly good deeds he'd done were exactly as he'd explained, and he was, in fact, an evil villain.
But even then.
How would she explain him risking his own life to save her?
"Haa..."
In truth, her heart was leaning towards the idea that it was difficult to see Egostic as a simple villain.
No, villain or hero, as he said, she owed him. He had sacrificed himself to save her from certain death.
But to say he wasn't a bad guy at all, the terror incidents he'd caused and the villains he'd killed kept nagging at her.
But to say he *was* a bad guy, again...
"Ugh..."
Yes.
This was an unsolvable problem.
In fact, just thinking about Egostic made her head and heart spin, to the point of dizziness.
He's a bad guy, right? But he also did a lot of good things? But then why did he save *her*?
And most importantly.
Somewhere deep within her heart, in the realm of intuition.
For some reason, her mind kept leaning towards the idea that he wasn't actually evil.
There was no logic or basis for that feeling.
It was just a persistent echo.
'Could I actually be misunderstanding him...
What if all the terror Egostic caused had some deeper meaning?'
"I must be crazy."
She shook off her thoughts and drank a glass of water from beside her.
Now, she was even having these ridiculous thoughts.
"...."
And whenever she thought about Egostic in various ways, it always ended with one particular thought.
Is he safe right now?
It was truly absurd.
A hero worrying about a villain. If word got out, it would be something the whole world would laugh at.
...No. Considering Egostic's popularity, maybe not entirely. But still.
Her thoughts about Egostic always concluded with concern for him.
He was severely injured.
If he didn't get immediate treatment, it...
No. Before that, was it even an injury that could be healed by treatment?
When she last saw him, he had a massive injury, almost as if his chest had been pierced.
...Surely there's *some* way?
He must have had something to rely on to act so recklessly, right?
....No way. He didn't just die, did he?
Saving her, only to perish so meaninglessly.
"....."
No.
To prevent herself from unknowingly falling into a gloomy mood, she reminded herself again.
Egostic. That guy, full of secrets and schemes, couldn't have fallen so vainly. He must be resting somewhere.
Even as she rationalized, the thought, 'Am I, a hero, worrying about a villain?' would make her feel like she was doing something wrong.
...This isn't worrying about a villain. It's just because he got like that saving her. Ah, right. Even if he's a villain, he shouldn't just die like that; he needs to face the judgment of the law. Yes.
"Haa..."
She was worried.
But she couldn't even worry freely.
And so, she just kept agonizing.
...Right. First, he has to be alive for her to ask him. So, she needed to confirm that Egostic, that guy, was alive.
With that logic, she logged into Egostic's fan cafe again today.
This place she visited daily, hoping to find some update on whether he was alive, or what he was doing...
***
[Must-read for Newcomers) Whining after just a month? Yeah, last time it was almost half a year lololol]
[Day 26 of eating Mango Stick with gratitude once a day...]
[Just wait patiently, and he'll return... Wait for it...]
[Last Horror Broadcast Highlight ver.7]
[Wait, the clip was deleted, what's going on?]
[But what now?]
[Egoboy had a dream today that Egostic came to our university festival]
Looking at the always-posted, ultimately useless threads, she sighed softly.
Right. She would naturally find out about his well-being when he caused another terror incident.
And so today. Strictly speaking.
The hero was waiting for the day the villain would cause terror.
***
"I'm not doing any direct terror for a while."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm going to live quietly for a while, so please... please stop asking!"
"That's a good idea. You pushed yourself so hard, of course you need to take care of yourself for a while."
"That 'you need to' was informal... Anyway, I won't be causing the next terror directly."
"What? Then what will you do?"
"I'll outsource it."
I grinned after saying that.
Right. How long do I have to run around causing terror myself?
To those waiting for my terror.
There won't be any for a while!
***
[Shin Haru, you have been promoted to a 'Diligent Member' of the 'Egostic Official Fan Cafe'. Congratulations!]
".....Ah."