The thing the Chairman brought out… Winterer and I jumped back in horror as soon as we saw it.

Because…

"Is she insane, this twisted bastard!?"
"Honestly, I’d rather just die than wear that!!"
"Listen. Even though it looks a bit odd…"
"A bit odd, my ass! That’s a dog collar if I’ve ever seen one!!"

Yes, in her hands was a dog collar.

No, not just any dog collar. Clearly, the Chairman meant to put that thing on Winterer.
Efficiency aside, it looked like a collar for a pet.

She expected me to take someone around like that? And not just anyone—a scrawny girl like Winterer?
Yeah, the journalists would have a field day with this one. Just the sight of me holding that would set the news ablaze.

"This is social suicide. Absolutely no way…"
"You’ll only have to use it inside the Gate. And you don’t need to hold it yourself anyway."
"Okay, fine. Go on."

After a brief moment of panic, I calmed down.

Only Awakened beings are allowed entry into Gates, and this time, only people from Cheonhwa would be joining.
Even if I put a collar on a time bomb, no one would care. There was no one who would want to drag down the reputation of their own clan.

"Look at this guy, acting all cool since it’s not his problem…."
"……."

Winterer’s glare was painful, but hey, my safety comes first.

The Chairman chuckled.

"First, let me explain. About 30 years ago, I devised this while attempting to utilize a Villain…."

Then she began her explanation.
About 30 years ago, when it became widely known that Villains were beyond redemption, the Chairman, having just assumed her role as head of the association, thought to herself:
“Ah, there’s just not enough Awakened out there. What if we could harness the help of Villains?”

"Now, there are more Awakened people, but back then, we were short-handed. It was to the extent that—"
"I don’t care about your nostalgic stories. Get to the point."
"Brat. Anyway, so I decided to capture a monster. The very one we now call a Basilisk."

The Chairman explained that she had dragged a monster out of the Gate. A Basilisk, whose mere gaze could temporarily paralyze an Awakened’s power.

A bit cute and harmless, maybe. But dragging out a high-level threat that only appears in S-rank Gates?
Those things are at least 20 meters tall. How on earth did she manage that?
Suddenly, the Chairman felt a bit more awe-inspiring.

"I handed it over to Yoo Jeong-cheol, the head of Cheonhwa Research Lab at the time, and what we came up with is this."

Noticing the awe in my eyes, the Chairman grinned and dangled the dog collar in front of us.
Since it was originally made to handle Villains and with limited materials, it had to look this way.

Well, I can see why. After all, Sia’s outfits are revealing for a similar reason.

"So, when you use that, it can paralyze someone’s power? Like the Basilisk?"
"Exactly. Once the collar is applied, it’ll paralyze her powers for about three seconds."

I finally understood the Chairman’s plan.

Once we enter the Gate, put the collar on Winterer and deactivate the Mana Seal.
Then we go about conquering the Gate normally.

If Winterer starts acting up, the Awakened holding the collar immediately activates it to restrain her.
It was indeed a plan fitting of the Chairman.

"A restriction almost equivalent to another Awakened is required to restrain her, so I kept it stored away until now."
"This time, it won’t be an issue. Cheonhwa has enough A-rank members."
"Correct. Now then…"

After her long-winded explanation, our gaze turned back to Winterer. Her eyes darted around nervously.

"Hold on, you bastards. Isn’t this just a fancy way to drag me around with a dog collar? Are you Villains?"
"……."
"Wait. I’ll tell everyone who demanded my release. Do you think you’ll get away with this?"
"……."
"The strongest Villain in Korea, Winterer, in a dog collar…."
"……."
"This is truly messed up, damn it."

Sorry, Winterer. But let’s just get this done.

We decided to test the collar’s effectiveness.
After all, it was a 30-year-old item, and we needed to check if it still worked.

The Chairman, monitoring Winterer as she gathered mana, activated the collar at the right moment. A soft hissing sound indicated her mana dissipated.

The effect was as potent as ever.

Of course, this left Winterer looking… well, less than pleased.

"This is absolutely ridiculous… beyond words…."

Her expression soured while the Chairman simply nodded, satisfied.

"So, Haru, now it’s your turn. If your sister tries to power up, just let the mana flow into your hand. Think you can do that?"
"Mm-hmm! Playing puppy with sister. Hee-hee."
"……."

Winterer’s eyes turned to me, clearly disturbed by this development.

Hey, you bastard, what’s up with this? That’s my sister, for god’s sake. Is this really okay?
Sorry. It’s come to this.
If you’re sorry, why don’t you stop them? What if Haru starts learning weird stuff?
Do you think I can stop those two?
Tch. Useless bastard.

A silent conversation of sorts.

"Okay, sister. Give me your paw."
"You bastard. I’m not some pet—"
"But you’re a puppy right now. C’mon, give me your paw."
"…This is absolutely messed up, I swear."

Grabs.

"Good job."
"Ugh… damn it."

Winterer’s cheeks reddened, and she ground her teeth. She was clearly humiliated.
…The Chairman seemed satisfied enough, though.

"Alright, Haru, that’s enough."
"Aww."
"Yu-jin, I think we should run three more tests—"
"Chairman, please. We’ve seen enough. Any more of this is just bullying."

I quickly stepped in. The girl’s still a person, after all. No need to erode her dignity further.

Winterer, nearly moved to tears…

"You bastard. You…"
"No, you try it too, just in case."
"I’m not strong enough for this. There’s no way I…"
"I heard you’re skilled at mana control. You might manage. Just give it a shot."
"……."

She almost felt grateful, but then the collar was passed to me, and her expression soured.

"You perverted bastard, this is what you were planning all along!"
"It’s not like that, alright? Let’s just get this over with quickly. I won’t do anything weird like Haru."

There was no choice but to finish it quickly.

Our eyes met.

"…You twisted bastard. I’ll kill you. I swear I’ll kill you!"
"……."

The way she glared at me, coupled with her stance and the collar—it all looked… disturbing.
She looked small, and with her delicate frame, it made her age seem unclear.

Suddenly, I felt deeply uncomfortable.

"Let’s just get this over with, okay? Chairman, if something goes wrong, please intervene."
"Understood."

I activated my mana, aiming to wrap things up and get Winterer out of this situation.

And then…

Pfffft.

"This is so messed up."
"Huh?"

The mana that Winterer had been focusing dispersed instantly.
Just as it had done with Haru and the Chairman.

I was momentarily confused.

"Wait… did I just restrain her? With my stats? How is that possible?"

Winterer was supposedly the strongest Villain in Korea, her power rivaling A-rank Awakened.
Yet I had restrained her? Even with the Basilisk-made collar, this was ridiculous.

"Was she… was she pretending? This brat!"

Realizing the truth, I glanced up.

Winterer’s mana appeared to have dissipated, but her hand, positioned at her side, held a tiny, almost undetectable hint of mana.
Her expression was frozen in a subtle smirk.

An instinct only possessed by an S-rank Awakened screamed at me: she’s faking it.

The moment I realized that, she lunged.

"You’re dead!!!!!"

Realizing I’d caught on, Winterer immediately attacked, her nails glowing with blue energy as she aimed for my neck.

There was nothing I could do to avoid—

But then…

"Huh?"
"……."
"This chick’s got no moves."

There was no need to dodge.

Winterer’s move was painfully telegraphed.

"Seriously? She has no intention of killing me, huh."

It was clear she didn’t actually want me dead; she just wanted to mess with me.
She was like a chihuahua barking but too proud to admit it.

"Why’d you dodge, you bastard?! I’m the strongest Villain, Winterer! There’s no way a weakling like you could avoid my attack!”

Now she was starting to sound like a chihuahua in need of some discipline.

I just calmly stepped back, refusing to react with anger or even a hint of irritation. After all…

Step.

"Stop running away! I swear, I’ll kill—"
"—Oh? Perfect, since both of you are here."

"……!!!"

Knowing the Chairman and what happened the last time she disciplined Haru in the bathhouse, there was no need for me to get involved. She would take care of Winterer better than anyone.

"Dad, what’s happening with big sister…"
"There’s nothing we can do here, Haru."

As the memories of that previous incident rushed back to Haru, she clung tightly to me. Together, we turned away in silence, paying our respects to the impending disaster.

"Wait. Why are you two acting so strange…?"

Clank. Snap.

"……!? H-Hey! Where are you putting your hands, you twisted bastard!?"
"I recall mentioning a hundred smacks for a failure. Already forgotten, have you?"
"W-Wait, but why are you… Why are you stripping the top half!?"
"Didn’t I say I would completely strip before administering punishment? Hey, Yu-jin, look if you want~"
"I swear if you look, I’ll kill you!! I’ll—"

SLAP!!!

"KYAAA!!!"
"That’s one down. Ninety-nine to go."
"I-If you’re going to do this, at least take off the collar! With it on, it feels so damn—"

SLAP!!! SLAP!!!

"Nghhhh!!!"
"Talking back adds three more smacks."

"No… I can’t take anymore…."

The Chairman’s cabin was filled with the sound of Winterer’s punishment, each smack echoing sharply. It was a painful process, so let’s leave out the details. The important thing is…

"Hic… I-I won’t do it again…."
"Good."

Winterer had received a true lesson in humility.

Afterward, with the punishment concluded, I quickly left the cabin.

"Dad, I’ll blow on it for you. Blowing makes it feel better."
"Just… just help me get dressed…"
"Nope. If you wear clothes right now, it’ll hurt a lot more. Trust me, I know."

Winterer was sprawled out on the living room floor, looking quite pitiful, and there was no way I was sticking around.

So, I made my escape, claiming I had to head back to class. On my way, I figured I’d apologize to Alice and Sia for dragging them into this whole exercise mess.

When I got back to the lecture hall, I planned to offer my apology, only to be greeted by their serious expressions.

Clack.

"Yu-jin. Come sit here for a moment."
"We need to talk. Just the three of us. For a nice, long chat."
"…Uh?"

What was this? I thought I was the one supposed to be apologizing, but it seemed like I was about to be on the receiving end instead.