Chapter 15

[Hibung spills the tea about meeting a villain today.]

===

So, today was my first mission, and guess what? I ran into a villain.

The mission was supposed to be a simple bodyguard duty or something like that.

I remember it was about some research lab being threatened by villains, blah blah.

Of course, we had two senior heroes to guide us newbies.

One was this B+ nobody named Iron,

and the other was none other than the Ice Queen herself!

Honestly, I didn’t expect an A-rank hero to be supervising newbie missions, so I was kinda shocked.

(Though, gotta admit, she’s ridiculously pretty. Like, she could outshine most celebrities.)

Anyway, when we arrived at the mission site, I was a bit nervous, but the research team leader showed us around the lab, and before I knew it, I was just chilling.

Then Ice Queen got super pissed at us for slacking off and scolded us. The atmosphere was intense.

…

…

(omitted)

…

…

…Then we heard the sound of the building being breached, and villains showed up.

The newbies freaked out.

I mean, who expected to run into villains on their first mission?

I was no exception.

Then Ice Queen started giving us orders.

“Get it together, protect any remaining researchers, and take down the villains.”

She gave us some pep talk, assigned tasks to the newbies, handed command over to the B+ hero, and left.

(Probably because her ability is more suited for wide-range attacks, so she doesn’t like sticking around in groups.)

Anyway, just as we were about to move to our assigned tasks, a villain appeared.

It was this sharp-looking female villain, and honestly, she was drop-dead gorgeous and super sexy…

But turns out, she was the Training Room villain.

The newbies panicked and ran for their lives, and the B+ hero was nowhere to be seen…

===

The post was ridiculously long, as if the guy was trying to spill every single detail.

I kept scrolling, but it just wouldn’t end.

‘So, to summarize, he’s a rookie hero. Went on his first mission with senior heroes, ran into us (the villains), and ran away with his tail between his legs.’

Let’s check the comments. Sure enough, there were dozens of comments calling him out.

-Our gay dude doesn’t know how to summarize? Why’s this post so damn long?

-LOL, did you just go on a mission to check out girls? You keep mentioning how pretty they are, it’s hilarious.

-Dude, you ran away when the villains showed up. And you call yourself a hero? LOL.

-This guy really wrote a whole essay about running away from a mission. Tsk tsk.

-This is the kind of guy who’s a hero? Smh.

Countless people in the community were roasting the OP, while others questioned the credibility of the post.

===

+Additional)

There were too many trolls, so I’m adding proof.

(A secretly taken photo of the research lab.)

(A shaky photo of Ice Queen.)

(A photo of the chaos in the lab.)

(A photo of the Training Room and Maker.)

===

The OP uploaded all the photos he secretly took during the mission to prove he’s a real rookie hero.

“So, you even got a photo of me and the Training Room.”

“That’s exactly why people are talking.”

Astra, using her psychokinesis, floated her smartphone.

She flicked her finger in the air, and the screen switched from the post to news articles.

[Maker’s Antics? Late-Night Research Lab Raid!]

[Eclipse Executive Maker! What Did He Gain from This Raid?]

[Why Did They Raid the Lab? In-Depth Analysis of the Villain Group Eclipse!]

Just like when I committed terrorism, the news was flooded with stories about me.

At first glance, they seemed like typical news articles.

‘Huh?’

As the articles refreshed, I started noticing headlines that seemed to target me specifically.

[Maker’s Murder. A Shocking Incident Driven by Their Desires.]

[After All, He’s Just a Villain. A Criminal Who Only Pursues His Goals.]

[Villains You Can Reason With? That’s a Myth.]

‘This feels pretty intentional.’

There’s no reason for such articles to suddenly flood in, and when I clicked on them, it was even worse.

The villains the Training Room and I slaughtered were now portrayed as loyal guardian soldiers, and the researchers who kidnapped people for experiments were transformed into innocent victims.

‘There’s no way some villain or political group would suddenly attack me, so the only place that would do this is…’

“Looks like the Association started manipulating public opinion.”

“That means Maker’s starting to get on their nerves.”

Astra nodded in agreement.

Honestly, the Association pulling this kind of stunt isn’t new, so she didn’t seem too bothered.

It’s more bizarre for a villain to care about public opinion anyway.

‘But it’s kinda annoying.’

It’s not that I feel wronged.

I did kill people, after all.

What’s annoying is that this undermines the character I’ve been building for Maker,

the rule that “I won’t harm people if they follow my words.”

Now, all the traits and characteristics I’ve been crafting are being tossed aside,

and they’re painting me as “just another villain who only cares about his goals!”

‘Tsk, this is annoying. There’s no way around it… Should I just change my approach?’

A villain who only cares about his goals, just like the news says.

If I change my approach, I’ll just become like every other villain out there.

A mass-produced villain with no personality. Unless they’re overwhelmingly strong, most of these guys are just third-rate villains with no appeal.

“This must be frustrating for Maker, who values individuality and uniqueness.”

“…Haha, can’t argue with that.”

Looking at a community that discusses heroes and villains, I saw a flood of fiery comments.

-So, Maker’s just another villain after all.

-All those “gentlemanly” and “polite” guys, come out now. LOL.

-What, you’ll let them go if they do what you want? Typical villain. LOL.

-You guys defending Maker, do you get it now? There’s no such thing as a “thoughtful” villain. LOL.

‘What a mess.’

I don’t really care about getting roasted.

But it’s frustrating that my plan to avoid provoking the heroes while creating unavoidable situations for my terrorism is falling apart.

Now, I’ll have to actually kill civilians to draw aggro.

‘What’s the best way to handle this?’

As I was pondering my next move…

“…Huh? Maker, want to take a look at this video?”

“What’s going on?”

[Have you guys seen this?]

A video was being spread across multiple communities simultaneously.

-Please don’t come any closer, Ice Queen.

-Put that down.

‘Wait, isn’t this when I was talking to Ice Queen in the lab’s basement?’

Judging from the angle, it must be from a CCTV.

-This person might be a murderer who’s killed dozens, maybe even hundreds.

-What… Huh!

Since the audio was recorded, it was clear what Ice Queen and I were talking about.

-And you’re still not going to kill him?

-…Killing is still a crime. If this person has committed wrongdoings, I’ll send them to prison. So…

-Prison, not execution. What a joke.

The video felt like a scene straight out of a movie.

A rigid, principled hero and a villain who despises heroes and the world.

-…This is why I hate heroes.

-Bang!

The hero’s words were right but frustrating, while the villain’s words were extreme but hit the nail on the head.

Plus, with some editing, the contrast between the stiff Ice Queen and my free-spirited self was even more pronounced.

-If you want to shoot, go ahead.

-……

The video ended with her grabbing my hand and pressing the gun to my chest.

After the video ended, the community’s reaction exploded.

-WTF, there was this kind of backstory?

-He deserved to die.

-Those damn journalists didn’t know anything and just stirred the pot.

ㄴLooks like the Association made them do it.

-It’s ironic that a villain is pointing out the very thing citizens find most frustrating.

Before I knew it, public opinion had turned against the Association.

It was a full-blown backlash.

-But Ice Queen’s right, isn’t she? Responding to murder with murder isn’t the answer.

A few comments were still rationally criticizing Maker,

-Then what, villains just go to prison after killing people? Is that fair?

-This guy won’t get it until someone close to him gets killed by a villain.

-So, just letting those bastards go is the right answer? What kind of nonsense is that…

Soon, the post was flooded with trolls and got deleted.

“……”

Unintentionally, Astra and I witnessed my public opinion flip in real-time.

“Still, isn’t it good that public opinion shifted without us having to do much?”

Is it?

It’s definitely a win since we didn’t have to lift a finger.

“Yeah, a win’s a win.”

I nodded in agreement with her.

***

*Tap tap tap.*

Meanwhile.

In a dark room, a girl was typing away on her keyboard, then looked at the post she had uploaded.

[Have you guys seen this?]

Her post contained the video of Maker and Ice Queen fighting.

“……”

The girl quietly watched as her post spread.

She chuckled softly as she saw her post gaining traction.

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