Chapter 18

“Where could she be?”

I walked out of the slums with light steps. Occasionally, there were beggars in the slums glaring at me, but they clicked their tongues upon seeing the gun in my hand.

“If I looked like an easy target, they would’ve tried to rob me right away.”

This place has no CCTV, and none of them carry smartphones.

Even heroes avoid patrolling this dump. It’s a completely ruined zone, unlike the areas with a few abandoned buildings.

F Zone.

It serves as a central hub connecting to other zones, but it’s a zone where only the abandoned live.

That’s why I’m dressed as a Maker right now. With no CCTV or smartphones, no hero will come to catch me, and if I look weak, things will get annoying.

“Anyway, if my calculations are correct, it should be around this time. Where could she be? Gayeon.”

Five years later, the villain Polia, who appears in the original story.

Her real name is Gayeon.

Her ability is a bit more special than others.

“A multi-ability user.”

It’s not that multi-ability users don’t exist. Rarely, there are those born with two or three abilities.

But more than that.

A person with 10, 20, or even countless abilities.

She is the future S-class villain, Polia.

“Of course, being a multi-ability user isn’t always a good thing.”

Abilities are like seeds planted in the ground. Depending on how fertile the soil is and how well it’s watered, they can grow into towering trees or wither away.

If a single-ability user plants one seed, a multi-ability user plants two or more seeds in the same soil.

What happens to the trees then?

They’ll probably fight each other for nutrients in the same soil.

“Those born as multi-ability users can stabilize it.”

Born with fertile soil, they can evenly divide the soil’s nutrients.

But they’ll fall behind single-ability users of the same type.

But what about artificially created multi-ability users?

Those who weren’t born as multi-ability users but were made into one?

“The girl I’m about to meet is exactly that kind of special case.”

“Kyaaak!!”

While pondering this, I heard a faint woman’s voice. Turning my head, I walked toward the sound and saw a man on top of a woman.

“Hehe… Stay still! You b*tch!”

“Kyaaaak!!”

The man tore at the struggling woman’s clothes.

“No, no!!”

“Hehe! You like it too, don’t you? Stop pretending!”

“Someone, help!!”

“Who’s gonna help anyone in this slum? Yeah right! Just stay quiet…!”

“I can’t ignore this.”

Click.

Bang!

Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger toward the man. A red flood burst from his head.

“Ah, ah…”

“Are you okay?”

The man was now just a lump of meat. I kicked him away and spoke to the trembling woman.

*Sigh. She doesn’t seem to be Gayeon.*

At this time, she’s still a middle schooler. The woman in front of me looks about twenty, so she’s not Gayeon.

“Th-thank you! Really, thank you!”

“Don’t mention it.”

The woman, who had been stunned, finally came to her senses and thanked me. I accepted her thanks casually but was a bit surprised.

“Even in a world where life has little value, isn’t she fazed by seeing someone killed right in front of her?”

“Ptui! That trash! Serves him right, that bastard! Ptui!!”

Hmm. Guess she’s fine.

Instead, she spat out a mouthful of phlegm, as if glad he was dead. Watching her, I felt like I was the one who’d be disgusted.

“Is this the mindset of citizens in a hero’s world? This part’s hard to get used to.”

I used my ability to create a thick fur coat and handed it to her.

“It’s cold. That outfit won’t be enough to endure this weather.”

“Huh? Ah, th-thank you…”

The woman, who had been laughing and spitting moments ago, blushed and shyly thanked me as I handed her the coat.

“……”

“I should finish my business and leave quickly.”

“By any chance, have you seen a child around here?”

***

Following the woman’s directions, I walked through the slums. I asked around politely whenever I thought I might have missed something.

Hours passed like this.

“Where on earth is she…?”

In the original story, she first appears five years later, in winter.

There was a scene in the slums where New Year’s sounds could be heard, so my timing should be about right.

“She’s probably too weak to use her abilities properly and can’t even run away properly.”

In the original, she was chased by crazy people trying to assault her as a child.

And to escape them, she kept using teleportation, eventually exhausting most of her mana.

In a situation where she’s psychologically and physically weakened, someone saves her.

It’s a cliché, but clichés work for a reason.

“The problem is, the protagonist needs to show up…”

“Get away…!!”

I think I found her.

Heading toward the sound, I saw a small girl glaring at a middle-aged man while he looked at her with a lecherous gaze.

“Seems like it’s not the dramatic timing yet.”

Should I watch for a bit?

“Be, be good…? I-I’m not a bad person!”

“……”

“I-I was just, uh, worried about a kid like you being here…”

“……”

“Th-that’s all!”

One step.

The middle-aged man took a step forward with a creepy smile, and the girl stepped back, trembling. She reached out her hand, but nothing came out.

“Why, why are you running? Huh? What did I do…?”

“Stay away…!”

The middle-aged man stomped his feet in frustration at her words.

“Why, why? What did I do? I didn’t do anything!! You b*tch! You’re just like them! You called me a freak too!!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The middle-aged man stomped the ground hard, grinding his teeth.

“I wanted to touch too! Me too, me too!!!”

He then lunged at the girl, knocking her down. The girl tried to push him away, but it was no use.

With her small hands, she hit him and bit his arm, struggling to break free.

“I’ll touch too! Me too!!”

Tears streaming down her face, the girl didn’t stop resisting.

Just as the man raised his hand to tear her yellow clothes.

Click.

“What are you doing to a child who hasn’t even grown up yet?”

I aimed the gun at the middle-aged man’s head, sounding a bit angry.

Bang!!

Again, I pulled the trigger without hesitation.

“……”

“Keep your expression in check.”

I’m really angry right now. Why? Because I just saw trash trying to assault a child.

But the girl shouldn’t feel that anger. After going through such a terrifying situation, I can’t scare her again.

“Are you okay?”

I awkwardly smiled and knelt to her eye level, trying to make her feel as safe as possible.

“……”

The girl looked at me with teary eyes.

“Here, if this is okay, use it.”

“…Sniff.”

I handed her a handkerchief I created, and soon, tears she had been holding back quietly flowed.

“Just as planned.”

I hugged the crying girl and smirked.

***

I brought her back to the cafe.

“Would you like something to eat?”

“……”

Whether she was embarrassed about crying earlier or starting to doubt me now, she kept silent, just looking at me.

Why’s she like this? We introduced ourselves on the way here.

“Is there nothing you’d like to eat, Gayeon?”

“……”

“I can make something really delicious.”

I’ve been to cooking school, after all. I can handle simple dishes.

“…No.”

“Huh? I didn’t catch that. Could you say it again?”

“I don’t want anything…”

She turned her head away.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“…Not hungry.”

Grrrrooowl.

“……”

“……”

As soon as she said she wasn’t hungry, her stomach growled in protest. Gayeon’s face turned as red as a persimmon.

“Seems like you’re hungry.”

“…I’m not hungry…!”

Gayeon hurriedly pressed her stomach and shouted.

“Do you not trust me?”

At my words, she paused and looked at me. I smiled, unfazed.

“It’s okay. That’s understandable.”

“……”

“But I can’t just let you go without eating. What should we do?”

“…I’m not hungry…”

Grrrrooowl.

Frustrated by her stomach’s untimely growl, Gayeon tapped her belly.

“Don’t do that. How about this?”

I brought a chair and placed it by the kitchen. Then, I nudged her and looked at her.

“Would you sit here and watch me cook to make sure I’m not doing anything bad?”

“……”

Gayeon thought for a moment, then hesitantly approached and sat on the chair.

“Let’s begin.”

I turned on the stove and started cooking. Gayeon stared intently, watching me cook.

***

“It’s done.”

What I made was pasta. I wanted to make a proper meal, but it would take too long, so I opted for a simple pasta with ingredients from the store.

…Gulp.

The girl swallowed hard at the sight and smell of the steaming pasta.

“Here, try it.”

As I handed her the plate of pasta and a fork, she cautiously started eating.

“Eat slowly. You might choke.”

I watched her eat for a while, chuckling, then brought her some water. She paused, looking at the pasta as she drank.

“……”

She hesitated, holding the fork, then started eating again, slower this time.

I was puzzled by her behavior.

“…Does the pasta not suit your taste?”

…Shake shake.

Well, if it tasted bad, she wouldn’t have eaten it like that.

Is she saving it?

“You can have more if you want, so you don’t have to eat so slowly.”

At my words, Gayeon looked at me.

“…No.”

She refused, just like when she said she didn’t want to eat earlier.

“…If I finish… I’ll have to leave.”

“So that’s it.”

She lowered her head, poking at the pasta. Such unnecessary worries.

“I wasn’t planning to let you leave.”

If I were, I wouldn’t have brought her here.

But from her perspective, it was a valid concern, so I quietly understood.

Then, I chose my words carefully.

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