“Villain extermination, how should we go about it?”

“Well…”

“Is there a particular area you’d like to focus on?”

“Not really.”

“…A villain you’re especially keen on catching? Or an ability that seems tricky to deal with?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.”

“Do you even want to do this?”

Arte narrowed her eyes, shooting Siwoo a look.

‘I don’t think I’ll ever get used to those eyes.’

They’re pretty, but…

Spine-chilling.

Even he gets startled seeing them occasionally, so others must react the same way.

Occasionally, when she shows her red eyes to other students, they all freak out.

In that sense, he’s fortunate.

He’s just momentarily surprised, but others can’t face them properly.

Like a treasure buried in mud, you could say.

“…What is it now? Suddenly staring at me.”

“Oh, sorry.”

It’s certainly not a bright, cheery gaze.

But because of that, there’s an indescribable allure.

So, without thinking, he gazed at her for a long time without responding to what she said, and she seemed a bit annoyed.

‘I should make an excuse.’

“No, well. I thought we don’t need to go out of our way to worry about these things.”

“…?”

“We can take it easy, you know?”

She thinks he doesn’t know, but he knows she’s a member of Arachne.

Since they were on the same team, making things difficult is unnecessary.

It’ll be enough just to catch the few villains they come across.

It’s natural not to be excited about the exam when you’re with someone who annihilated the Übermensch.

‘And this may sound arrogant, but I think I’m a bit stronger than the other students.’

Unless some huge dark horse emerges, that is.

The top ranks are basically guaranteed.

“…Well, that may be true, but…”

“Right? We don’t need to overthink it, I’m telling you.”

Hearing him say that seemed to convince her too. Her embarrassed smile was cute.

‘But why is she trying to prepare so systematically? ‘

With her skills, she could easily snap a villain’s neck just by taking a short stroll in a back alley.

No matter how you look at it, Arachne seems to be an organization with considerable influence.

Breaking into the academy, hacking the database, attacking the Übermensch, and so on.

That organization is behind so many incidents.

‘I’m not sure what her rank is within Arachne, but it must be high.’

Based on the conversations he overheard between her and the person she calls “Author,” Arachne’s information network is substantial.

Amelia and he deduced that they were somehow divided into “field” and “office” workers.

Arte as the field agent, and “Author” as the office worker.

The Author gathers intel, and Arte carries out tasks based on the information she receives from them.

That’s why he planned to go along with whatever Arte suggested.

‘…But then why is she asking me?’

Moreover, she seems unusually eager.

‘We could just go about normally and casually rack up points, which should be plenty, right?’

“Can’t we catch plenty of villains without trying too hard?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“But we should aim for an overwhelming first place!”

“…?”

‘…I made an offhand comment, wondering if that might be the case, and she latched right onto it.’

As if she was desperate to obliterate villains.

Was Arachne an organization that despised villains?

‘I heard they brutally kill villains, earning cheers from citizens tormented by villains, but opinions are split among heroes.’

Some sympathize, while others think it’s too cruel.

The heroes have also seen their share of the villains’ misdeeds.

They all likely assume there must be circumstances that drive them to such extremes.

But it seems opinions diverge when it comes to killing villains to stop them.

“…”

Siwoo’s chest felt heavy.

Arte is also a member of Arachne.

That means she must have her own circumstances too.

Just what happened to make her express such hatred toward villains?

The thought that his friend had a dark past weighed on Siwoo.

And it strengthened his resolve.

He wanted to create a society where she wouldn’t have to hunt villains.

His childhood dream of becoming a hero started taking a more concrete shape.

If only fewer people could be hurt by villains.

If only there were no more people taking the wrong path after being wounded again and again, like Arte.

“…and to plan. Do you agree?”

“Oh, uh?! Yeah. Sure.”

“That’s great!”

Siwoo was flustered.

What did Arte say again?

Lost in thought, he didn’t hear what Arte was saying and absentmindedly agreed.

It shouldn’t be a big deal.

…Alright. Even if Arte gets mad at him here, it can’t be helped.

‘It’s my fault for not focusing on the conversation and letting my mind wander, so I need to ask what she was talking about, politeness be damned…’

“Then I’ll see you at your house tomorrow morning! See you then!”

“…Huh?”

“Well then, get some good rest today!”

Arte got up from her seat.

…Wait, hold on.

‘My house? Whose?… Mine?’

Why?

Cold sweat trickled down.

She definitely said something to him. There must be some purpose behind specifically suggesting a meeting at his house.

If she told him directly, it shouldn’t be anything shady.

She’s an ordinary student to the outside world, so there’s no need to overthink it.

But why is she coming to his house?

He’s well aware that Arte lingers around his house.

Finding her hiding spot has become part of his daily routine, so of course he knows.

‘She’s gotten better at hiding than before, but my presence detection has also improved.’

…No, that’s not the point!

‘What is it? What reason would Arte have to come to my house?’

Think, think. Yoo Siwoo. Rack your brain.

‘…I have no idea!’

“Arte…?”

“Yes?”

Arte smiled slightly as if telling me to speak.

… She’s pretty.

“Seems like you have nothing to say. Then, see you tomorrow morning!”

“…Oh no!”

Darn it.

He was entranced.

While he was staring blankly, captivated by her mischievous smile for a moment, Arte vanished.

Arte, you didn’t plan for this too, did you?

‘…No way. I’m just being stupid.’

“Sigh… This is bad. Really bad.”

Siwoo muttered to himself even as he headed home.

‘…Why on earth is Arte coming to my house?’

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a reason.

Unable to figure out a reason even after arriving home, Siwoo made a decision.

He wouldn’t show a single gap.

He never thought his house was that messy.

But glancing around, dust caught his eye.

If Arte came over with the house in this state…

“Ah, this won’t do!”

He snapped to attention.

This can’t happen.

Figuring out why Arte was coming could wait.

It was already set in motion. There was no undoing it.

So he decided to clean the house first.

***

After the house was turned upside down and looked somewhat neat even to Siwoo’s eyes,

His face grew even darker.

The cleaning was all done, but he found one item while cleaning that was a problem.

“This is still here…”

A black ball of thread exuded in front of Siwoo’s eyes.

The thread from Arte’s… that he ended up keeping last time.

He had meant to throw it away but apparently forgot to do so.

What would Arte say if she saw this?

Would she notice? If she did, what would her reaction be?

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t imagine a good reaction.

It made sense to him.

A male student took thread made from a female student’s underwear and brought it home.

Even he had to admit it was a bit much.

The problem was that the student was him.

“…”

‘Alright, let’s throw it.’

It wouldn’t be good if Arte saw it.

Siwoo reached out to grab the ball of thread hiding in the corner of his house.

“… It’s soft.”

And he fiddled with the thread for a while.

After enjoying the texture for some time, Siwoo realized what he had done.

Undeniably perverted behavior.

If Arte had seen it, she would have looked at him with contempt.

No, this couldn’t be helped.

Ever since he passed out and woke up after receiving Dorothy’s buff, he felt like his ability had gotten stronger, and it was because of that.

Whether it was a side effect or a benefit, he wasn’t sure…

As his intuition sharpened, his other senses became more sensitive too.

His senses, already more delicate than others, had intensified further.

That’s why he absentmindedly touched it, drawn to the soft texture, and meant nothing else by it. Really.

Siwoo felt his nose itch and scratched it with his hand, then he realized.

…It smells nice.

_________________________

Author’s Notes

I applied for a cover yesterday.

The outfit is an overfit short-sleeved top, napkin pants, and a ponytail?

I asked them to emphasize the waist and nape of the neck.

Of course, since this is the first draft, there may be some changes.

I’m looking forward to it!