Chapter 318: His Judgment

Anyway, after I got my memory back, I sipped my mango juice sideways, trying to find out what had happened while I was in Carqueas.

“What, the protests?”

The most bizarre thing of all was the massive protests that broke out among the people over my capture.

…I did a quick search and found out that the protests were instigated by members of my fan cafe and involved tens of thousands of people. Why would there be a protest when I, a villain, was captured? I’m confused.

Actually, there was a bigger question than that.

“…More than that, I’ve been in jail for a week?”

“Yes! Do you know how worried we were?”

I had been in Carqueas for roughly a week.

…And that, it couldn’t be happening. It should have happened within three days at the latest, right?

Surely there must have been some sort of catastrophic event in there…

“I don’t know.”

I gave up thinking about it but there was something that bothered me.

‘No. Isn’t it a bit cold..?’

‘…I’m not there, can’t you run away?’

‘Egostic, because you asked for it, ‘I’ll listen.’

Strange memories lingered in the back of my mind, like vague, haunting images.

…Especially when I thought about it, my face would flush and my heart would beat so fast that I suspected I had an arrhythmia. Usually in movies, it’s just an arrhythmia, and it’s because I like someone, but that’s definitely not the case with me, so I’ll let Ha Yul check my body.

Plus, I’m pretty sure I left a comment that I can’t remember.

[Stardus seems to like me.]

“…..”

First of all, I don’t think it makes sense.

I still remember Stardus looking at me like I was a bug and calling me “you piece of shit” early on in my terrorist career, so to change after a few years? Nonsense.

…Admittedly, she’s been acting a bit strange towards me lately. Holding my hand, her reaction to being trapped in Dungeon Maker’s Labyrinth… It’s easy for a guy to say, “Does she like me?”

And it was clear to me that she was beautiful. Let me fall in love with her, so I can get her to turn herself in.

…Perhaps my repeated villainy had pushed her to that point. It broke my heart.

…Still, somehow, I kept thinking.

I’m sure all men do. “What if?”

What if… what if Stardus really does like me? What if my amnesia has led me to the truth through a bizarre insight, through a tremendous amount of self-objectification? What if she really likes me?

Of course not… I think, but somehow, I still wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it.

But I don’t feel comfortable talking to Seo-eun or Soobin about it, so when I’m thinking about it.

When I went to visit Ha Yul for a health check, I suddenly thought, why don’t I tell Ha Yul, because I can trust her.

“Da-in, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with your body. You don’t have any arrhythmia or anything, of course, but you’re pushing yourself too hard lately, and that’s bad for you in the long run, so please don’t push yourself too hard. Do you understand?”

“Okay. Thanks, Ha Yul.”

I said, and put on the top I had taken off. For some reason, I was told that I had to take off my top for Ha Yul medical examination…?

Anyway, I took the opportunity to ask Ha Yul, who was looking at my face with slightly reddened eyes from the heat.

“More than that, Ha Yul, I’ve been browsing the internet lately and I heard something interesting…”

“Yeah, what’s that?”

“…Apparently, Stardus has a crush on me. Haha, I know it’s ridiculous, but some people are really insistent about it. Ha Yul, what do you think…?”

I asked in a lighthearted tone, scratching the back of my head.

She stood still for a moment, her face still smiling.

Then, without changing her tone, she smiled and said.

“No, Da-in, not at all.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, of course. I also know this because I saw other guys dating and flirting in college, but that’s absolutely not the case.”

“Um… is that what you’re saying?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded in agreement with Ha Yul.

After all, if she could see it, she must be right. It’s not just me, is it?

…More than that, it was a little scary to see her face still smiling like that from earlier, but I did it anyway. What’s wrong with her?

Anyway, just like that, I pieced together the two weeks I’d lost my memory.

All in all, I’d say it was a success, as I managed to defeat the final boss of Phase 3, the Wish Granter. Of course, there was the problem that a few other villains escaped in the process, including the Dungeon Maker and Crocodile Man… Oh well, we’ll catch them when they start terrorizing again.

Of course, things got a little messy out there while I was gone. And as a side effect of that…

[Da-in? I’m really busy right now… We can talk later, later…]

“Uh, yeah… I’m sorry.”

[No, it’s all for the good of the country…Haha…Hahahahahaha…]

…I couldn’t do much for Seola, who seemed to be overworked and almost out of it, except tell her to cheer up. From the international association’s squabbling over Carqueas to the economy’s faltering, Seola has to take responsibility for everything….I’ll have to take some herbal medicine when I go later.

Anyway, that’s how it is.

Now, in hindsight, Stardus wasn’t the problem.

“So, when are you retiring?”

It’s time to start thinking about my retirement really seriously and specifically.

I’m pretty sure I’m done with Stardus. Plus, I’d finally beaten the final boss of Phase 3. It was time to stop thinking about retirement.

…Actually, retirement wasn’t that big of a deal. I mean, I’m not really doing any more terrorism, so I don’t have to run into Stardus every three months or so.

Anyway, now that Seo Eun, the mastermind of the Phase 3 Great Escape, is a good girl, and I’ve sent the final boss, the Wish Granter, on a tour over the Jordan River, I can rest easy. Now it was time to get back to work on Phase 4, the last and final scenario of the original story, as planned, though there was still plenty of time left.

“Yeah, it’s about time.”

“When?”

“…Soon?”

I walked into the room, dodging the members of my Egostream who were starting to press me on when I was going to retire. No, why do they want me to retire? Because I came back too injured.

Well, yes. I should retire. I’ve raised Stardus already….

‘…..’

Somehow, I felt a little disappointed.

I shook it off and focused on what I needed to do right now.

That is…

[Villain terrorism rate up fivefold recently… Why? Experts say it’s due to ‘Egostic anomaly’]

Yes. This was it.

That’s why I was so intently watching the news on my smartphone.

[Regarding the excessive number of terrorist attacks by the villains this month, the hero experts say that it’s likely due to the ‘Egostic Anomaly’…The problem is that Egostic, who escaped from prison after being captured by Stardus on the 3rd of this month, is currently on the run, and there are rumors that something is wrong with him.]

[The rumors of Egostic weakness are likely causing his villains, who have been hiding in fear of him, to come out of hiding, and experts have suggested that Egostic will need to strike again soon.]

“….”

The media is saying that a villain should do terrorism… is this right?

Well, even with the weird drawing… I thought that was right. After all, that’s what my villain elimination campaign was all about in the first place.

“Right. I’ll start terrorizing right away.”

And that was the conclusion I came to.

It’s not good to be too invisible. I can’t have our day ruined because of me.

…Wait, it’s not exactly our day, it’s Stardus’. For a moment, I wondered why I called it that…?

Whatever.

The problem with terrorizing like that is that I’m going to meet Stardus…

“…”

There was something off.

The last time I remember seeing Stardus was when she captured me before Carqueas, and I don’t know what happened after that.

I do know that she must have come out and met me when I was in prison, though… I don’t know what I’d say, or how she’d react.

But at least we’ll be reunited as hero and villain, so it’ll be fine, maybe we’ll just have a little chase and end it?

‘…Come to think of it, it won’t be long before I meet Stardus.’

With that thought, I got up from my seat to inform my Egostream colleagues of the attack.

I was only a few months away from retirement.

Stardus, Shin Haru, has been living in a sort of daze lately, day in and day out, mechanically defeating villains and mechanically falling asleep.

‘…Egotistic.’

The only thing on her mind was worrying about him.

It had been over a week since he had disappeared, and her worries were growing.

What is he doing? Has he regained his memories?

…What if he hasn’t…?

That was all she could think about.

It’s no good for a villain to lose his memory. If anything, it’s good that he won’t be able to terrorize as skillfully as before. That’s what a true hero, Stardus, should think…

But Shin Haru, somehow, was thinking the exact opposite.

Whenever she thought of the amnesiac Egostic, she felt a pang in her heart.

…She thought they had finally gotten to know each other, but to lose it all now…she hated it. She hated it so much.

“Egostic…”

And so it was that she stared blankly at the cloak of Egostic she had once acquired, almost touching it without realizing it.

Finally,

[BREAKING NEWS! The S-class villain, Egostic, has finally struck after a long hiatus!]

News of his terrorism reached her.

Immediately, she had already changed into her suit and was flying away.

For some reason, the corners of her mouth were higher than ever before.

Unlike Egostic, for her, all the memories she’d shared with him in prison were alive and well.