Chapter 48

“Just how far have these tentacles spread!?”

Seo Yun-hee’s insides were boiling.

Thanks to the exchange meeting, she hadn’t heard about those tentacles for a while, and it felt so good!

“Where did you hear about it?”

How could it have spread all the way to Lily, who lives in the U.S.!

-Huh? You didn’t know, unnie?

As if it was impossible for her not to know, Lily’s voice was filled with doubt.

The tone sent a shiver down her spine.

“H-how would I know? Did it spread on some illegal site or something?”

-I saw it on your fan cafe.

“Wha…?”

At the innocent tone of her voice, Seo Yun-hee’s thoughts came to a screeching halt.

“…Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?”

The Ice Queen’s fan cafe, Ice Garden, had such a video?

Ice Garden.

A fan cafe created by fans who were captivated by Ice Queen’s unique beauty and her skills as a hero.

– Ice Queen-nim is always so beautiful!

– Queen! Thank you for protecting us again today!

A somewhat embarrassing but always supportive community, with not a single curse word in sight.

“Lily, you must have seen it wrong…”

Seo Yun-hee denied Lily’s words.

She must have mistaken it for another community…

Or maybe she saw a post sharing the situation from another community.

‘Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense. Right?’

With trembling hands, she searched for her fan cafe and entered.

A penguin holding a “Welcome!” sign appeared on the loading screen for a moment.

“W-what is this…”

Seo Yun-hee couldn’t help but be shocked by the posts on the fan cafe.

Honestly, she didn’t visit often.

It was a shame for the fans who loved her, but she didn’t have time to pay attention to such things.

But on rare occasions when she was tired or exhausted, Seo Yun-hee would browse the fan cafe to gain strength.

That’s how it used to be…

[Oh Almighty Maker, protect me with eternal light. Oh Almighty Maker, protect me with eternal light. Oh Almighty Maker, protect me with eternal light…]

[Damn it, it’s the Maker again. Now I have to worship! Damn it, it’s the Maker again. Now I have to worship! Damn it, it’s the Maker again. Now I have to worship!…]

[Oh Maker, please grant us our daily bread today… Please! Please!! Please!!! Pleeease!!!]

What on earth is this?

– Unnie?

“…Yeah.”

Seo Yun-hee, shocked by the state of the posts, barely managed to regain her composure at Lily’s voice.

“…So, about that tentacle thing?”

– It’s in the best posts!

What on earth is it doing in the best posts list…

Her eyes twitched, but after taking a deep breath, Seo Yun-hee clicked on the post.

[Revisiting our Queen’s iconic moments avi.]

At first glance, it seemed like a compilation of Ice Queen’s heroic deeds, but the unusually high number of comments caught her attention.

*Squeak… Squeak… Hah, ugh…!!*

As soon as she clicked on the post, sure enough, Ice Queen’s moans could be heard from the video.

– Our Queen’s tears are so beautiful!!

– Ah! Is the Maker a god? Is he a god? Is he a god?

– Showing a side of herself we’ve never seen before… to some random guy. Even though it’s live-streamed, she looks so blissful with that dazed expression… Heh. Heheh. Uhehehehe.

– Please ruin our Queen even more! Total chaos, mechakucha!!!

“Crazy!”

*Thud!!*

Seo Yun-hee, who had been reading the post, felt a chill run down her spine.

She jumped up from her seat and threw her phone onto the sofa.

“Ugh… Ha… Hoo.”

-Unnie?

She absentmindedly wiped her forearm.

‘What the hell has the Maker done to my fan cafe?’

And when she finally calmed down a bit, the emotion she felt was anger.

Thinking about it, it was all because of the Maker, that bastard.

The tentacle video spreading everywhere and her suffering because of it.

The ridiculous rumor that she was a masochist just because she flinched when the Maker cursed at her!

Even the distress she felt just now!!

‘And now, my fan cafe being ruined like this is all because of him!!!’

“……”

-U-unnie…?

Perhaps sensing the silence, Lily cautiously called out to Seo Yun-hee.

“Lily.”

-…Yeah?

“There’s someone who’s been making my life miserable lately.”

-A villain…?

“Yeah, a villain. A really sneaky one who only knows how to run away.”

Her voice was unusually gentle for Seo Yun-hee.

‘What’s going on…’

The voice was warm and seemed to carry a smile, but…

For some reason, Lily found the current Seo Yun-hee terrifying.

“That guy has caused me to lose so much of my social image…”

-……

“Why does he torment me so much? Haha. Hahaha… Haha. Ha.”

‘Should I… say something to comfort her…?’

Her laughter, or rather, her near-madness, made Lily hesitate.

*Crash!*

A sound of something being slammed came from the other side of the phone.

“I’ll catch him. The Maker. I’ll definitely catch him…”

-……

“I’ll catch him and make sure he pays for this humiliation…”

Um. Maybe it’s better not to say anything!

Deciding to wait until she calmed down, Lily quietly went to the fridge and grabbed some cola and popcorn.

***

“What’s the matter, Astra-nim?”

On a day when he was casually handling cafe work and simple missions, Maker was suddenly summoned by Astra and headed to her office.

“You’re here, Maker.”

Astra greeted him with a somewhat serious expression.

What’s going on? It looks pretty serious.

“The reason I called you today is to assign you a mission.”

“A mission, you say?”

“Yes. I think it’s better for someone who’s done it before to handle it.”

“If it’s something I’ve done before, what mission are you talking about?”

I’ve handled so many missions, you can’t expect me to know just from that.

At that, Astra nodded and pulled something out of a drawer.

“Can you take a look at this?”

“What’s this?”

It was a plastic bag.

And inside was a white powder.

‘White powder, and a mission I’ve handled before.’

Combining the two clues, there was only one mission that came to mind.

“Is this the Ability Amplifier?”

“That’s right.”

A drug that not only enhances abilities but also brings intense pleasure and addiction.

That drug was starting to circulate in the slums again.

***

The Ability Amplifier.

It was the first mission I handled as a villain executive.

‘After I took out the Blue Scope gang who were smuggling it, things seemed to calm down.’

Was there another group making the drug?

Even so, I don’t understand why they’re selling it again now.

“How effective is the drug?”

“The effects are the same. It enhances abilities and brings intense pleasure and addiction.”

Astra used her psychokinesis to float the plastic bag and shake it around.

After fixing the bag in mid-air, she looked at me.

“However, they say this batch is more potent and dangerous.”

“Hmm. That leaves two possibilities.”

Logically speaking, there were two possibilities.

“First, someone stole the drug and developed a new, more potent version.”

Even for me, it was nearly impossible to retrieve all the drugs that had already been distributed.

The best I could do was take out the smuggling rings to stop further distribution.

If someone used the drug for research instead of consumption, I wouldn’t know.

“Second, the drug initially distributed in the slums was just a test batch.”

Using the slums as a testing ground for a prototype.

The Blue Scope gang might have just been the ones selling it in exchange for goods.

‘This is going to be a bit annoying.’

If that’s the case, it means there’s a backer, and rooting out the drug won’t be easy.

Moreover, if they’re connected to Blue Scope, who would become a future S-class villain, the backer is likely a group or person from the original story.

Hmm…

“I assume refusing isn’t an option?”

“Oh my, stating the obvious. This month’s command authority is right here.”

Of course.

I smiled at her as if I had expected it.

“How much damage has our side taken?”

“It doesn’t seem like any of our members have been addicted yet.”

“Are you planning to prevent it this time?”

“Yes. We can’t have another situation like last time where members got addicted.”

I sipped my tea calmly as I listened to Astra.

“Last time was a close call. Who would have thought the drug that was only in the slums would spread to Eclipse?”

“…It was fortunate we caught it early. If it had been discovered later, it could have been a much bigger problem.”

“Right, if Maker hadn’t pointed out it was because of the drug, it could have been a disaster.”

Thank you, Maker.

Astra, recalling the incident, thanked me again.

“……”

Uh… Hmm.

Hearing this makes me feel a bit guilty.

I sipped my tea nonchalantly and thought back to that time.

Hmm.

‘Actually, I was the one who got the members hooked on the drug.’

Well, I induced them to take it, but still.

“…It’s nothing. Even though I was new, I was still an executive of Eclipse back then.”

“Maker…”

As long as Astra doesn’t know, it’s fine, right?

I covered my wavering eyes with a smile and continued the conversation with Astra.

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