Became a Villain Heroine in a Harem Story

“Get lost…please.”

I made some scary monster with my shadow and intimidated them with the Japanese sword I didn’t know how to use.

The thugs who looked like appropriate extras started running frantically.

They chose to flee.

This deal was a bust too. The last deal was a bust as well. For some reason, we’ve been striking out lately, giving me an ominous feeling.

“It’s really effective. But is it okay to show your face?”

“It’s dark, so they can’t see well.”

“Hmm, I guess so.”

He responded casually and then fell into deep thought.

Recently, a considerable number of deals have been cut off or shifted to other organizations.

A clear warning sign.

He seems to be concerned about the thugs who just ran away.

Is someone deliberately cleaning up organizations? If not that, then direct government intervention?

Since the game never revealed what happened before the protagonist entered the academy, I had no way of knowing the past.

Do I have no choice but to experience it firsthand?

‘More importantly… I need time to think.’

The status window offered to give me the [SAVE & LOAD] and [Resurrection] abilities.

With just one condition: obey its quests.

It was too good a condition to refuse outright.

[Resurrection] never appeared in the game, but I could roughly understand what kind of ability it was from the name, and [SAVE & LOAD] was undisputedly one of the strongest abilities in this world.

It would be great if I could immediately save my little brother and family. But how much will it demand of me in exchange for that reward?

To begin with, is that really a status window?

It seemed more likely that it was another ability user disguised as a system.

: Of course not. Have you seen anyone in the future with abilities like mine? You haven’t!

: Ha! I am unique!

‘…Sure.’

: What about my conditions? I can proudly say there’s no better offer for you. Think carefully.

The status window seemed to think I would accept.

Unfortunately for the status window, I had already learned many things from my previous life.

Among those things was the old adage, ‘Be wary of people who give you something for free.’

The saying that contracts with too good conditions should be suspected first was a bonus.

Just like when I didn’t open the door.

What kind of unreasonable demands would the status window force on me through quests?

I was so afraid of that.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

“Ah, sorry. You didn’t like being touched, right?”

“It’s fine.”

“You seemed to be trembling a bit. I acted without thinking.”

If I were a naive teenage girl without any knowledge of the world, I might have fallen for him.

He was strangely affectionate and kind to the point of foolishness.

Unfortunately, the person inside this body was a slightly younger, dark-minded man.

In the end, the story comes back to square one. I’ve finally adapted to middle school life, and in four more years, I’ll be an adult.

Ability users who become adults, or rather, those who manifest abilities before that, must all register their abilities in their respective regions.

And then, once they become adults, they immediately enter SAGA Academy.

This entire process is mandatory.

Just as all men have a military obligation, all ability users are obligated to maintain local security after graduating from the academy.

It was an absurd policy, and naturally, there was significant resistance, but it was implemented as a matter of course, like in China.

In the end, I’m left with two choices.

Compromise to some extent, complete the ‘Academy Enrollment’ quest given by the status window, and receive the regeneration ability. Then watch the situation and gain abilities as a reward that can save my family.

The other option is to ignore the status window’s words from beginning to end and just live as I please.

To be honest, the current life wasn’t so bad.

Except for the delayed salary, the boss had a decent personality and was easy to live with. Sometimes unexpected gifts even came in.

The salary wasn’t actually that small and was enough to buy what I wanted.

Even room and board included! —No matter how much I forcibly emphasized the positive aspects…

‘…This sucks.’

Cigarettes, alcohol.

It seems like I could endure if I had just one of the two.

This damn mister had a strange sense of law-abiding spirit in certain areas—he sold transparent weapons on the black market but absolutely wouldn’t tolerate a minor drinking alcohol or smoking.

Yet giving a Japanese sword as a gift to a middle school girl was okay.

“Dinner?”

“…Please make some ramen.”

“How many?”

“Three.”

“Eggs?”

“Please add three eggs too.”

Dinner is always like this. Strangely inadequate, yet delicious instant food as the main dish.

When I first came, I vaguely thought the office was shabby, but I realized it was carefully designed so one could escape at any time after seeing the considerable preserved food stacked in the warehouse.

This mister is the type who appears to have a friendly smile on the surface but diligently prepares Plan B behind the scenes.

…Let me test him a bit.

“Mister.”

“Yes.”

“If you die, please leave your inheritance to me.”

“…No, that’s not possible.”

He completely erased his usual smiling face and looked at me with a cold expression.

His expression was so creepy that I felt a chill in my body.

“I’m joking.”

“…D-don’t joke like that. It was scary.”

“So there are things that scare you too?”

“What do you take me for?”

“I wonder.”

That smile that always appeared with a meaningful expression painted his face again. A smile riddled with lies.

He was always hiding something from me.

That could be said to be the only unsettling point about living together…

♦♦♦

Time is flowing too quickly.

Wrinkles increase one by one on his face, the number of my grade changes one by one, and eventually, the school changes.

On the day when the seasons, which are becoming increasingly indistinct, changed twelve times.

I finally entered high school.

I maintained excellent grades in middle school, and I wanted to aim for the top ranks in high school as well… but I’m feeling my limits in various ways.

‘Status window.’

: Yes. You finally decided to talk.

‘…Can you give me the answers to calculus problems as a quest reward?’

: Ah, please.

‘I’m serious.’

: It loses its meaning the moment you enter the academy anyway. Just practice handling and training your ability.

It was still an unhelpful thing.

And on top of that, uncooperative.

I’m already practicing handling my ability whenever I have time.

Recently, my range has been increasing, and I can now extend my shadow to cover half the office.

If all that mass were combined, it would be at the level of a moving compact car!

I was starting to think I could win against anyone. Even the protagonist!

No, even so, that might be too much.

[Self-Sacrifice] is just too powerful an ability, no matter how you look at it.

The creator directly said it was one of the abilities closest to omnipotence.

The protagonist, as an academy student, only used extremely limited methods due to lack of proficiency, but still.

: I have always given advice for your benefit.

‘Then why did you guide me not to open the door?’

: Because it will ultimately work out better for you.

Unbelievable words. It’s still an unpredictable risk factor.

If it had really acted for my benefit, it could have simply ordered me to open the door earlier. But it didn’t.

The status window is still the number one cause of my family’s death.

.

.

.

While walking and thinking about various things, I arrived at the office before I knew it.

But for some reason, the atmosphere is more chaotic than usual.

The slightly messy position of objects as if someone had been there, furniture arrangements different from my memory, the door left open with the lock undone… this is.

“Mister!”

I immediately spread my shadow to defend the front.

A huge explosion sound came from the office entrance.

No, if it had been an explosion, my shadow wouldn’t have been able to block it. This is gunfire.

In a country like South Korea, organizations that possess firearms, especially those with this level of power and sound, are not many.

And one of those few organizations bears the name ‘police.’

A legitimate massive violent organization directly recognized by the state.

“Yoon Myeong-hwan, your ability usage license is revoked as of this moment. This judgment is based on Article 53, Paragraph 2 of the Ability User Registration Act Enforcement Rules.”

“Haha… Can I know on what grounds?”

The mister hiding behind my shadow responded to the armed police with an awkward laugh.

There are clear limitations to blocking bullets with shadows. Escape is the last resort. He knew this fact too.

But why?

More than that, his name… so it was Yoon Myeong-hwan.

“You’ve been employing an unregistered ability user. You should know well that this alone is a crime deserving license cancellation.”

“Wait…!”

Bang!

They fired a gun without warning.

This meant they placed more emphasis on killing us than capturing us or handing us over to the court.

I immediately moved the shadow beneath my feet and began to flee at high speed, sliding across the building floor.

Since the first ambush failed, it would take time for them to chase.

: Dangerous, Bia.

‘I know.’

: It’s very dangerous for your ability to be revealed. So…

‘I said I know!’

: Fortunately, your face wasn’t properly observed. I recommend that you abandon that person and escape alone, even now.

‘Shut up.’

I immediately dragged him and entered an abandoned empty building.