Chapter 347: Curiosity

After convincing Celeste to come with me to the location of the Sun God’s artifact, we made an appointment to meet another time.

I was back home, in my room, managing the Stardus fan cafe.

“Whew…”

It’s been a while since I’ve done that.

I managed my fan cafe by blocking bad users and posting good posts as announcements.

I remembered that the original Stardus Fancafe eventually became Stardust Anticafe, so I managed it even more tightly.

*

[No, the owner of the cafe here is not in a good mood these days. < Are you going to suspend me for 7 days just for saying this? damn]

*

“…How dare you swear at Stardus in my cafe?”

[Do you want this user banned?]

[Banned. Do you want to ban this user?]

[Banned]

I’ll deal with the flames.

“…Nah, there’s been a lot of weirdos lately.”

I’ve had to deal with them dozens of times since then.

So again today, I drove away all the troublemakers who were trying to take shots at Stardus.

Phew, I saved my little cafe again today.

Personally, I’ve never understood the people who bash Heroes, especially Stardus.

They basically put their lives on the line every day to protect the citizens. They put their lives on the line every day, and you criticize them for doing so?

I know it’s a cliché in hero comics, but it’s still annoying.

Especially in this [Stardust!], the writer doesn’t really have a human heart, and he portrays the public as people who criticize Stardus from beginning to end. That made the nobility of Stardus, who tries to protect even those people, more visible, but… I felt like I’d eaten a hundred sweet potatoes.

At least now, thanks to my efforts, all the aggro is gone and it’s mostly just fans.

Stardus is finally getting the respect she deserves.

The few remaining troublemakers, well, they’ve been banned from my fan cafe for now.

…Of course, I don’t think Stardus will ever know that I did this, but I’m proud of myself. I don’t mind being remembered as a villain forever, as long as Stardus it’s fine.

“…By the way, Stardus, how are you doing these days?”

I thought to myself.

Suddenly interested, I clicked through to the top posts and scrolled through them one by one.

I saw on the news that Stardus has been taking down enemies with a single punch…

I’ve been seeing Stardust’s photos in the posts.

“What’s wrong with Stardus these days…?”

…, I couldn’t help but mutter seriously.

In fact, to others, she didn’t look much different from her usual self. She’s always cold and stoic, beating the crap out of villains.

But to me, a Stardus expert, it was different.

There’s a hidden tiredness in her that’s hard to see, and an aura of defeat.

…Is something wrong? Something I don’t recognize?

I racked my brain, trying to think of something, but there isn’t much that could be stressing Stardus this time of year. Her old college classmate being turned into a villain? Not yet. Weapon Master slaughtering tens of thousands of Seoul’s citizens? I stopped him before he could.

‘I thought I was even retired, living a more pleasant and carefree life.’

What’s wrong with me?

For a moment, I thought about asking Stardus’ best friend, Lee Seola, but I stopped myself from reaching out because it sounded like a jilted ex-boyfriend asking about his ex-girlfriend’s life.

…Right. If something was really serious, she would have told me first.

If so, what the hell was wrong with her?

What could have caused her to be so stressed?

With that thought in my mind, I flipped through Stardus’ photos from months ago.

I realized a few things.

First, her complexion deteriorated around the time I retired.

And two. She had been looking worse and worse for about three months. It’s like she hasn’t been sleeping.

By the way, her complexion got worse around the time I retired.

No way. She missed me when I retired…Of course not. Is it because she’s angry that she couldn’t catch me with her own hands, or something else?

Whatever it is, I’m not sure…

Maybe I should meet her, at least once.

I thought to myself silently.

…Of course, I was a little embarrassed to sneak up on her again after the cool goodbye I gave her last time, like I’d never see her again.

Well. I said I had nothing to point out, not that I’d never see her again.

It’s not terrorism, it’s just a passing glimpse, so it shouldn’t be a problem. It’s not like I have a broadcast key.

“Okay…

At the end of Phase 4, when ‘the thing’ happens…I’ll have to step up and take care of it.

I’m sure Stardus will be there, so I’ll just have to check her face, because a quick glance can tell a lot.

Anyway, to make Stardus’ life easier for the rest of her days, it all came down to how to roast and boil Celeste.

Having one of the final bosses on my side would be a boon.

Especially considering that she is the Sun God’s greatest henchman, I could see how important it would be to win Celeste over.

…Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to do that to someone who was ranked number one in the world and could kill me with a snap of her fingers.

Still, I had an idea.

“The Sun God’s ruins we’re going to visit…If I go there.”

It would certainly bring me closer.

I’ll make it so.

Good.

…We can go this very week. I’ll make the first call.

When I was thinking about it.

-Ding.

“Da-in, are you there?”

Hmph.

Slightly startled by the knock on the door, I calmed down and answered.

“Yes. Soobin.”

“I brought you some fruit, please eat.”

Just like that, the door opened, and she came in with the fruit.

Smiling brightly at me, I smiled awkwardly and took the plate.

“…Yes. Thank you.”

“Hoo-hoo, Da-in. What have you been doing?”

“Ah. You know Celeste, right? The number one ranked villain. I was thinking about what to do with her…”

“Ahhh…”

She smiled at my words and spoke to me.

“Da-in. I’m all for it, but don’t you think it’ll be a little hard on Da-in if it’s too much…”

“What…?”

“It’s nothing, then cheers!”

And with that, she wished me good luck and left.

…After Soobin left like that, I sighed and sat down again.

“Hah…”

…After Soobin’s confession last time I was in quite the predicament, in more ways than one.

The girls were already talking to each other, and they were getting closer and closer…

‘…How much longer can I hold out?’

I thought to myself, remaining silent.

The offense was intense. No joke.

Of course, I’m gritting my teeth because it’s not even Phase 4, but who knows what will happen after that.

…Actually, I still haven’t gotten over Stardus, so maybe I should get over this and do something about it.

Uh, no. Considering the original setting, I’m not sure I’ll even be alive after the final chapter.

I continued my thoughts in a stream of consciousness.

I shook my head, stood up, and reached for my cell phone.

I don’t know. I’ll do what I have to do first.

Let’s convince Celeste first and think about it.

With that, I immediately contacted Celeste to schedule the next appointment.

***

After Egostic left, in the center of the prayer hall, the silver-haired Saint Celeste, dressed in her saintly robes, kneels reverently.

She remained in a prayerful posture, thinking.

‘…Egotistic.’

That bastard, the S-class villain of a country called Korea.

…And somehow, the servant of the Sun God… He was chosen by an angel.

And yet, he killed the Sun God’s warriors.

Her teeth clenched at his brazen and shameless behavior, she quickly calmed down and thought calmly.

“Hah…”

For some reason, being around him made her feel childish.

…Actually, she hadn’t really realized it.

It was also natural.

Ever since she had awakened the power of the Sun God as a child, she had been at her peak at that very moment.

With the power to manipulate the heavens and earth, she led her own faction, and always stood above others.

Most of those around her were either wealthy, or ‘beneath’ her, whom she could wipe out with a wave of her hand.

It was practically the first time in her life that she’d ever met someone she couldn’t kill.

…since he had already been chosen by the Sun God.

There was no point in using force against him.

Of course, she believes he stole the angel somehow, but… but one never knows.

What if he really is the Sun God’s chosen one?

And he knows… about the sun.

Of course, beyond these things, there was another reason to be wary of him.

‘The beast…’

The image she had seen in the prophecy, of herself kissing him.

The image of her future self, the one she’d seen in the prophecy, kissing him, the one she’d forced herself to do even though she didn’t want to, and the one she’d secretly accepted even though she said no, shocked her.

The body she had given to the sun in the first place. She had never thought that she would be in such a relationship with a man, even with him?

‘…Never, never will.’

She reminded herself.

Never, never, never. No matter what he did, never.

Just as she was making up her mind, Egostic informed her that he had found the remains of the Sun God and asked to see her.

She didn’t know then, as she rose to her feet, still full of determination, her face cold.

That it would happen there.