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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Public Opinion
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"…?"
"P-Please, if you spare me, I'll do anything! Anything!"
What is this now?
For a moment, I couldn't understand what was happening, and a brief opening appeared, but it seemed she didn't notice, with her head pressed to the ground.
"Wow… You really want to live that badly?"
"Yes! Yes! S-Shall I lick your feet?! Master!"
"No, I don't need that."
"Understood, Master!"
What's with 'Master' now?
Anyone would mistake her for a dog beast-kin, not a snake one.
No, she looks like a Lamia, a woman with a snake lower body, so I wouldn't get confused, but her actions are…
"Haa, what should I do? I was planning to kill her."
"H-Heek! Don't kill me! I'm good at laundry! I'm good at cooking, and I'm good at cleaning! Couldn't you use me as a housemaid slave?!"
"…"
Is she in a state of panic? It doesn't seem like I can reason with her.
…My mood sank.
Does she want to live that much?
I was planning to kill her mercilessly if she showed any sign of attack or resistance. I was going to kill her anyway, and I felt no particular emotion about it.
But seeing her want to live this badly, I felt a strange mix of emotions.
No one who'd challenged me before had ever acted so servilely just to survive.
[Reader, are you hesitating? It would be fine if you just killed her. Isn't that why you came?]
"…Right. You're right."
It's as the Author said.
That snake beast-kin is an obstacle to the novel's progression. Just a puppet, whether she's here or not doesn't matter.
She's just one of the 2,400 villain constructs that appeared due to the Author's setting changes.
Besides, if I drag this out, the villains who've escaped the fear might suddenly burst in.
Then, that woman, emboldened by numerical superiority, might try to stab me in the back again.
Killing her is easier and more certain. There's no reason not to kill her.
…Yes, that's right. Killing her is easier.
[…? Reader?]
"Can you hide those legs?"
"Yes, yes! I can! I can hide them! Please don't kill me!"
"You said you were good at housework?"
"Yes, yes! Just leave it to me!"
I threw various questions at her that I was curious about.
Did she instinctively realize that those questions meant she might survive? Her face lit up, and she smiled as she spoke.
[Reader?!]
"I've always wanted to see a maid."
[Ugh, that's just an excuse! Why are you suddenly like this?!]
Yes, I know. It's an excuse.
2,400 villains created by the Author's mistake. My current goal is to eliminate 1,600 of them.
There was no particular reason to spare one. Especially if that person held an important position like an executive.
Moreover, it's a very dangerous action that could even cause friction with the Author. Killing her is the best option.
…But, but.
I looked at her face, which was smiling so brightly it was servile.
Perhaps sensing my gaze, she slammed her head back to the ground.
To bow her head and smile like that to an enemy who killed her comrades, all just to survive.
She didn't seem like a puppet, but like a living person, and my feelings became complicated.
She wasn't a cool character from a novel who raged at the death of a comrade, but a realistic person who thought about her own self-preservation.
She wasn't some cool person I'd never encountered and thus couldn't truly grasp, but a normal person I'd often seen anywhere.
Seeing her desperately clinging to life, as if truly alive, twisted something inside me.
"…Alright, how about becoming a member of a secret organization?"
[Y-Yes…? A secret organization?!]
"It works out perfectly. I was feeling a bit empty with only two members."
"…Huh?"
"Welcome, Spira. From now on, you are a member of Arachne. Please take care of us."
"What?!"
No, that can't be.
This one is a puppet. No doubt.
So this is just my whim.
Just a trivial whim.
[Hmm, a secret organization with only two members is a bit… Okay! A secret organization with a traitor from an opposing group… This is cool too!]
Fortunately, the Author didn't seem to have any particular complaints.
Sighing in relief, I subtly glanced at Spira, who was now my comrade.
"Alright, then, here's your first command. Maid."
"Y-Yes! What should I do?!"
"Go outside the room and kill your former comrades."
"?!"
"…Can't you do it?"
"Oh, no! I will!"
Only after confirming Spira rushing out of the room did I throw off the heavy wool blanket.
Ugh, it was so hot.
And heavier than I expected.
"Hah, haa… This is really heavy."
[It looks really fluffy. I want to hug it too.]
"Of course, the texture was nice, but it was incredibly hot?! Even in this state! …No, more importantly, give me some clothes quickly!"
[Ah, yes. I almost forgot.]
There are some things you just don't forget!
I was buried in that wool because I wasn't wearing anything!
I almost got caught naked!
I only had just enough power left to kill Spira.
Even that would have been insufficient if she had resisted violently or if things had gone wrong.
Precisely one time. I only had enough for exactly one attack.
"It's fortunate that she's the type to prioritize her own self-preservation above all else."
I let out a small sigh.
***
[Arachne Live Update.jpg]
(Warning: Disturbing Image)
(Photo of an abandoned factory, completely covered in red blood)
(News Portal Hyperlink)
Annihilation of the villain organization called Ubermensch, with one presumed male executive and one female executive dead. The last one is missing.
Are they gods?
Are they envoys sent by the gods to grant our wish of annihilating those trashy villains?
Comments - 1176
Amelia put down her phone and checked the comments.
Shiwoo, who was checking the news over her shoulder, let out a gloomy voice.
"Praise here, praise there. …Everyone's thrilled."
"Of course they are. They just erased the people they hate."
Shiwoo seemed uncomfortable with the overheated atmosphere.
Occasionally, people with similar sentiments posted comments, but they were quickly criticized by public opinion and disappeared in an instant.
"I don't understand."
"But I understand why this is happening. Both you, and these people."
Shiwoo seemed unable to understand those people who praised the deaths of hundreds, even if they were criminals.
Perhaps it was because he had killed villains himself, and thus understood the gravity of taking a life.
Having keenly felt the weight of life, he seemed to feel an instinctive aversion to the fact that so many people had died.
Even if they were a criminal organization.
"…But I think I understand why these people are acting this way."
"Because quite a lot of people have suffered damage from villains, whether big or small."
"That's…"
"I know. You mean those specific people might not have caused *that* damage, right? But what can you do? Do you think people's feelings can be appeased that easily? In their eyes, they're all the same villains."
Most citizens are not superhumans. And most villains are superhumans.
Therefore, citizens were inevitably prone to getting caught up in villains' superhuman crimes.
"They think the punishment is too lenient compared to what they suffered. Blood for blood. Tears for tears."
Villains killing people and being quickly released was not uncommon. Due to the chronic shortage of superhumans.
Through plea bargains, they were often released on the condition of serving a certain period on the front lines, though not frequently, it did happen.
"Villains get released through plea bargains, but the dead don't come back, do they?"
"…But the survival rate for villains on the front lines is abysmal. It's incredibly hard to survive. Even the heroes on the front lines despise them, so they don't help them when they're in danger. They get isolated."
"Citizens know that too. But it's not like *no one* ever comes back."
"…"
It's an efficient method.
Through plea bargains, the Association increases its scarce superhuman workforce, and villains get a chance at freedom instead of rotting in prison for life.
However, emotions don't follow efficiency.
Citizens who had been directly harmed by villains couldn't tolerate the very idea of villains getting a chance at freedom.
Even though the number of villains who return alive from the front lines is extremely small, they cannot tolerate the fact that even a tiny number of villains return to society.
"It can't be helped. If a villain killed my parents and I heard that villain was returning to society, I'd act the same way."
"…Yes. I understand that. I'm not criticizing those people."
"Then what don't you understand?"
Was I barking up the wrong tree?
I thought you didn't like the festive atmosphere of citizens celebrating the villains' deaths.
"Hey, this. Arte did this, right?"
"…Probably? They say Arachne is a group, so if Arte participated, then yes."
"Then Arte, how must she feel?"
"Huh?"
It felt like I'd heard something out of the blue.
Arte's feelings? How would I know that?
I wanted to dismiss it lightly, but Shiwoo's expression was serious, so I couldn't just brush it off.
"When I killed someone, if Arte hadn't helped me, I would have struggled for a while."
"Yes. You would have."
"Then, will Arte be okay after killing so many people?"
"You, what are you…"
"I don't know how Arte feels right now."
Arte Isis's feelings, you say.
What a random thing to say.
"Of course, she wouldn't care. She's a villain, a villain."
"…Is that so?"
"Yes, so stop thinking useless thoughts and figure out how to win her over. Or find the artifact first."
"Alright."
However, that day yielded no significant results.
This was because Shiwoo couldn't focus properly and kept nagging.