Being a Villain is My True Calling

“Phew.”

Several days after receiving the letter from Astra, in a garden.
I checked my attire and prepared a bouquet of flowers.

‘It’s been a while, so I’m feeling a bit nervous.’

I was going to meet a woman today.
Moreover, a very powerful, beautiful woman who could be of tremendous help to my safety.

Step, step.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly made my way into the garden.
Not far in, I saw a woman.

A cold beauty with long ashen hair and piercing eyes of a bloody red hue.

“Chairwoman.”

Seated in a wheelchair with an apathetic expression, I smiled and offered her the bouquet as I approached.

“It’s been a long time.”

The Chairwoman.
The head of Eclipse, and one of the powerful figures in the latter part of the original story.

And the owner of the letter Astra had given me.

‘Please come see me as soon as possible.’
‘The Chairwoman must be feeling bored as well.’

With an expressionless gaze, the Chairwoman scanned me up and down.

“…It has been a while, Maker.”

Her flat, monotonous voice rang in my ear, contrasting her doll-like appearance.

…She didn’t really seem bored, though.
Even after receiving the bouquet, she simply stared at me.

“Have you been well?”

“The same as usual.”

“I see. May I push your wheelchair from behind?”

She nodded.
Taking position behind her, I pushed her wheelchair as we strolled through the garden.

‘It would be nice if we could become a little closer.’

Despite her feigned indifference, she was someone who cherished her own people.
Just getting on her good side could provide immense benefits.

During our stroll, I attempted to engage her in conversation.

“The flowers are quite lovely.”

She nodded.

“Chairwoman, do you have a favorite flower?”

“Not particularly.”

“I like hydrangeas. Their meanings differ by color, which makes them interesting.”

“I see.”

However, our exchange ultimately devolved into terse, one-word responses, repeatedly trailing off.

‘Does she dislike me…?’

She had been the one to appoint me as an executive, but our rapport didn’t quite match that of the other executives yet.
Her decision to recruit me seemed driven more by necessity than anything else.

‘If she truly dislikes me, that could be problematic…’

Regardless, she was undoubtedly one of the strongest in this world.
One of my plans involved healing her and ingratiating myself with her protective allies.

If she disliked me, I might not receive that protection…and if mishandled, I could end up being used and discarded.

“…Shall we rest on that bench for a moment?”

She nodded.

Consumed by these thoughts, I suggested taking a break on a nearby bench to gather my thoughts.

“Pardon me.”

Then, I swiftly lifted her out of the wheelchair and seated her on the bench.

“The bench isn’t too cold, is it?”

“It’s fine.”

Silence fell between us for a moment.

She glanced at me.

“…This time, you’re not making any remarks about liking me or anything.”

Finally, for the first time today, she posed a question to me.

“I was holding back since you seemed put off by them.”

“I see.”

“It’s quite sad that I must suppress these feelings of affection.”

“You don’t really look that sad, though.”

I gave her an awkward smile.

‘Why don’t you work for our organization?’
‘We’ll grant your desires.’

When she had invited me to join Eclipse’s executive ranks, I had flirted with her.

‘Desires, you say…what if I said I desired you?’

‘?’

‘To be honest, I was smitten at first sight.’

Not just once, but several times.
My contacts with the Chairwoman had been cut off after I took on my first mission, so it had been quite a while since I had flirted with her.

“If you wish, Chairwoman, I can express my feelings once more.”

“…That’s alright.”

Well, to be fair, I had been in a tight spot back then.
Who could have foreseen my 20-year plan crumbling before my eyes?

I needed to grasp at whatever straws I could.

‘Now that I’ve regained some stability, there’s no need to actively pursue her.’

Still, maintaining a close rapport couldn’t hurt.
I flashed a bright smile at the Chairwoman.

“…How is the terrorism going?”

“Smoothly.”

Glancing at me, she posed another question.
While I couldn’t discern her exact thoughts, she did seem more engaged in the conversation than before.

“If it’s going smoothly, then…”

“We’re carrying out activities in line with the ‘purpose’ behind our terrorism.”

The purpose of terrorism.
Come to think of it, it was only natural.

A large organization like ours wouldn’t resort to terrorism without a clear objective in mind.

‘Most large organizations remain discreet until achieving their goals, avoiding actions that draw unwanted attention.’

They don’t engage in attention-grabbing acts like terrorism.

So why had Eclipse chosen to openly reveal itself and resort to terrorism?

“…It seems I’m causing you a lot of trouble.”

The reason was none other than to protect the Chairwoman.

The Chairwoman had once been among the strongest ability users, perhaps even powerful enough to conquer the world, if that wasn’t just an exaggeration.

Now, reduced to her current weakened state, she had become a prime target for other villainous organizations and heroes alike.

‘In this situation where everyone is gunning for her, Eclipse’s choice was terrorism.’

A form of self-assertion.

A demonstration that even without the Chairwoman, Eclipse wasn’t to be trifled with.
An attack on them would come at a grievous cost – that’s what their terrorism asserted.

Ultimately, they proved that Eclipse was no pushover, just as they had intended.

‘And since then, they’ve been reinforcing that perception through periodic acts of terrorism.’

At least until I joined them.

“If I hadn’t ended up in this state, they wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble.”

Lowering her head, she scanned her own condition.

“…But I must regain my powers as soon as possible.”

Though her expression remained impassive, there was an unmistakable hint of gloom in her demeanor.

“There’s no need to rush, Chairwoman.”

Seeing her like that, I decided to offer some consoling words and score some points along the way.

“Even without you, Eclipse is far from the feeble organization you might think, at least not in the eyes of someone who joined later than the other executives and members.”

Regardless of the circumstances, Eclipse was a villainous organization that persisted until the latter part of the original storyline.
They had even managed to briefly restore the Chairwoman to a fraction of her former glory, albeit imperfectly.

“Everyone is progressing in their own way.”

In essence, I was telling her that Eclipse wasn’t entirely helpless without her.

“So don’t try to rush things.”

Rising from the bench, I knelt before her.
The clear sunlight filtering through the garden created a nice atmosphere.

“Until you recover, Chairwoman, I will bear the brunt of all scrutiny.”

Gently taking her hand, I placed a kiss on the back of it while basking in the radiant sunlight with a serene smile.

“Until you regain your strength, I will always protect you.”

“…More sweet-talking from you.”

She curtly responded to my words.

However, she didn’t withdraw the hand I was holding.
And her ear had tinged slightly red.

‘Scored some points there.’

I smiled at her reaction.

A few weeks later, at an international airport in South Korea.

“Well then, let’s get going, heroes.”

Association staff were escorting the heroes who had arrived for the exchange program.

“Suzuki! Come sit here! It’s really comfy!”

“Just a moment, Ms. Kato! That’s no way for a hero to behave!”

Their charges today were heroes from Japan.

Being relatively close by, they had arrived earlier than heroes from other countries and were being guided to the Korean Heroes Association headquarters.

“Whoa! It’s so cushy. Isn’t it great, Chise?”

“……”

“…Huh? Hey, Suzuki. Where’s Chise?”

“Chise? I just saw her a moment ago…huh?!”

With the exception of one individual.

“Is this where I’ll be taking the stage?!”

Inside the airport.

A petite woman confidently grinned as she removed her sunglasses.
She was one of the Japanese heroes who had come for the exchange program.

The missing woman her male and female colleagues had been searching for.

“By the way, it’s deserted! The Korean association can’t even manage basic courtesies!”

Grumbling about the lack of association staff or fellow heroes to greet her.

“I guess they’ll come out eventually if I just wait.”

She was unaware of the situation.
Having boarded the business class alone, the staff had simply escorted the other heroes who disembarked first, leaving her behind.

“Well, no helping it!”

Accustomed to such treatment, she brushed it off as normal.

“Might as well head to the Korean Heroes Association on my own!”

Ohohohoho!

She laughed confidently.

Her outward appearance resembled that of a young girl more than a woman.
An oddly mismatched laugh, but she didn’t seem to mind.

‘Hmm, can’t really use my ability for personal reasons like getting a ride…’

Using her ability here wasn’t an option.

Unlike others, if she used her ability, it would draw too much unwanted attention, and at worst, she could even be mistaken for a villain due to the nature of her ability.

Moreover, there were ethical concerns she held about using it.

Rustle, rustle…ding-

Retrieving an old mobile phone, she opened a map app.
After some rustling, the app finally loaded.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Relying solely on the map app.
The woman began making her way to the Heroes Association headquarters.

On foot.