“…One. Two. Three. Four. Is this all of them?”

“It seems like it for this area.”

“Sigh… How many of them are there in total?”

Four men trembling.

Even now, it was hard to believe, but they were all impersonators.

“P-Please spare us.”

“We’ll never do it again…!”

“…”

I had already lost count of how often I had heard these words.

It was absurd.

It seemed like I wasn’t the only one who thought so, as Lyla laughed as if dumbfounded.

“Wow, impressive. We were popular, huh?”

“We didn’t get popular from doing things like this.”

“We’re not even celebrities, what the…”

Just four people.

“How many were there so far?”

“Twenty-two.”

“Hiik…”

This is crazy.

I grabbed my throbbing head.

I never thought there would be this many.

No matter what, this was too many.

“I think it’s because it’s a secret organization.”

“…Because it’s a secret organization?”

“Yes. It’s the perfect condition for impersonation.”

Why are there so many impersonators?

While thinking that, Ha-Yul, who had been pondering something for a while, finally opened his mouth.

“It’s just an organization known by name, isn’t it? It’s understandable to think it’s easy to impersonate. Especially since our activities have become infrequent lately.”

“…Is that so?”

“A secret organization that nobody knows the true identity of. But a secret organization that the public quite likes. Even though they don’t hesitate to commit murder, their popularity is skyrocketing. What do you think?”

We didn’t answer Ha-Yul’s question.

We could tell that everyone understood, even without saying it.

Ultimately, we had reached a limit due to the inherent nature of being a secret organization.

“…Sigh.”

“This… There’s no way. There are too many. If we kill them all, it might tarnish our name.”

[N-No, you can’t do that! A dark hero who receives cheers from the citizens, that’s quite cool!]

Killing them all would solve everything.

But realistically, that’s impossible.

The number we found after searching for several hours is barely around twenty.

You might say we found a lot, but the problem is that we caught that many even after searching continuously.

We even had an investigator with us, not just ordinary people, yet we could only catch twenty people.

I don’t know the total number, but it doesn’t seem like it would be just this much.

If we try to catch all the impersonators in this crazy neighborhood, we might have to stay here for months.

The roads are all twisted, so even if we definitely went forward, we sometimes end up back where we started.

“…It will be difficult to catch them all.”

“You think so too, right?”

“Yes. I think we have no choice but to make an example out of some and teach them a lesson.”

“H-Hiik…”

“Don’t worry. We won’t kill you.”

Perhaps it was inevitable for Arachne to gain the image of people who execute villains.

Arachne was born because I caught villains while trying to control the ridiculous setup the Author had scattered.

The organization wasn’t created to execute villains as the citizens think.

It’s just that the organization was somehow created while killing villains.

That image wasn’t our intention, but… The Author seemed to quite like it.

Then, I had no intention of killing those other than villains.

Even if it’s an unintentionally created image, if it’s a good direction, I’ll just follow it.

“Consider yourselves lucky. You guys are too ambiguous to be called villains, so you get to live.”

Well, I also don’t particularly want to kill those who don’t need to be killed.

I didn’t want to go around slashing every single person I saw.

Besides, our investigator wouldn’t like it.

Ha-Yul didn’t seem to consider them villains.

Then, as the boss, I should respect that.

“But I thought you would tell us to kill them, but you didn’t? Aren’t those guys also villains?”

“Because they haven’t killed anyone. There’s still a way for them to atone for their sins, right?”

…Ah. I see.

Upon hearing Ha-Yul’s answer to Lyla’s question, I finally realized why he was reluctant to kill them.

Because they haven’t killed anyone.

That’s all there is to it.

The reason Ha-Yul turned to Arachne was for revenge.

Revenge against the villain who killed someone precious to her.

“There’s no need to kill for stealing money. They can just compensate for the damage. There’s no need to kill for attacking someone. They can just provide appropriate compensation.”

“You’re really rational despite muttering that you can’t forgive impersonators…”

“It’s embarrassing, but I clearly distinguish between public and private matters. I can’t recklessly kill just because I’m angry, can I?”

“I see.”

“…However, I cannot forgive those who have taken the lives of others. No, they can’t even ask for forgiveness. Because the victims themselves are no longer in this world.”

“Then what about you killing villains?”

“That’s a different story.”

Ha-Yul affirmed.

As if it wasn’t even worth talking about.

“I know what you want to say. Doesn’t that apply to villains too? That’s what you’re going to say, right? I’ll tell you firmly. Villains are not applicable.”

“Yeah?… I didn’t mean it that way. I was just curious, so don’t get too angry.”

“It’s an order. We’ve probably rested enough, so how about we threaten the impersonators and come back?”

“Ah, don’t worry, Spira. I’ll take care of it.”

“…Well, okay. I have to do what I’m told.”

I forcefully ended the conversation.

I didn’t want to hear any more of that kind of talk.

Whether killing is right or wrong, such things have no meaning at all.

In the end, they’re all just puppets. Even if you think about such things, nothing is important.

It only makes my head hurt.

There’s only one being in this world that mustn’t die.

Just Siwoo.

The rest doesn’t matter.

Yeah, the rest isn’t important.

The only important thing is him. The rest doesn’t matter…

“Huh? Where is this place…?”

When I suddenly raised my head, the surrounding scenery had already changed.

I was distracted for a moment while walking, and in that short time, I had moved to an unfamiliar place.

“…Hmm, this is troublesome.”

I felt a bit embarrassed.

It was easy to get lost even when several people were walking together in this place, so could I really find my way back to them?

As expected, the scenery changed every time I moved, but it was always unfamiliar.

I never thought I would get lost.

They say to stay in the same spot if you get lost, but…

No matter what, if I stay in the same spot, it won’t look cool.

I forcefully split up with my subordinates to end the conversation.

It seemed like it wasn’t a good choice after all.

Now that it’s come to this, should I find other people nearby and ask for directions?

…Or should I use the thread to go up to the rooftop of a building?

Hmm, that would be good.

Just using one glove would be enough.

Alright. If my subordinates catch me, I can make up an excuse that watching from the sky is more comfortable.

“Hey, sis. What are you doing here?”

“…?!”

The moment I looked at the rooftop of a tall-looking building to release the thread from the glove.

I heard a voice from behind.

“Die…!”

“Oh my, don’t move. You look like an academy student, but you don’t think I’ll attack you alone, right?”

I tried to attack, ignoring the sharp blades that came close to my neck and back.

There’s no way someone who sneaks up behind me without making a sound would be friendly.

If I hadn’t seen the blue energy emanating from the dagger, I definitely would have done so.

“…Mana?”

“Hey, what did I say? I said a superhuman would recognize it, didn’t I?”

“Right. That drug really seems to be effective.”

“It’s a prototype made by the guys who attacked the academy. The effect should be certain.”

Ah.

I let out a small sigh.

It’s another side effect of the setting the Author created.

It must be the drug that animal organization was making.

When they collapsed, the drug prototype that supposedly turns people into superhumans must have naturally spread to these back alleys.

I let my guard down.

It’s hard to fight without preparation.

Due to the nature of threads, it’s much more effective to lay them in advance…

Taking advantage of the moment I was distracted by the maze-like twisted paths, they launched a surprise attack.

They must be guys who are familiar with the geography here.

“…What do you want?”

“Oh my, sis. You’re quite calm? Aren’t you scared? Ehehe. If you get stabbed a little more here, hmm? You’ll die?”

Poke.

With a slight pain in my neck, the leotard became a bit damp.

The dagger must have dug into my skin.

It’s probably a threat.

“I’m asking what you want. Just say it. I don’t like bothersome things.”

“Oh my, you have guts?”

Guts or not, I won’t die, so there’s no need to be scared.

There are many reasons.

The first reason is that I am the Author’s only eyes.

I am the only way for her to view this world.

If I die, she will face great hardship.

So I won’t die…

At least.

The second reason is that these guys won’t make me disabled.

Although it may seem that the academy doesn’t care about the students’ safety by sending them to the field, that’s not the case.

As soon as there were stories of some students getting hurt, the teachers directly punished the villains based on the students’ testimonies.

It’s already been several weeks. The rumors must have spread far and wide.

As proof, if they wanted to subdue me, they could have cut off my arm, but they only slightly showed blood as a threat.

…Lastly, I’ve already finished preparing.

You should also think about being attacked from under your legs, you idiots.

I finished preparing to attack them from the blind spot as the thread from the stockings unraveled.

Since they’re annoying, cutting off a finger or two should be fine.

…No. Since they hurt my pretty body, wouldn’t it be legal to cut off the hand holding the weapon?

Hmm, it should be fine.

Just as I was about to attack those annoying guys while rationalizing to myself.

I was startled by a voice that suddenly came.

Because it was the voice of someone who shouldn’t be here.

“Can you let go of that person?”

Siwoo, for some reason, appeared before my eyes.

…Why the hell is he here?

________________________

Author’s Notes

Starting today, it’s the enjoyable Chuseok holiday!

I hope everyone has a joyful Chuseok!

The ant is busy.

Today too, busy.

Working hard~