I’m Not That Villain - Chapter 40



39 – Second Special Equipment (1)

I immediately started working.

But at the same time, there was a question.

Special equipment in the form of a firearm.

Haven’t I seen various special equipment while repairing them? There were no special equipment in the form of a gun.

The reason is simple.

Projectile-type special equipment is extremely complicated to make. Just when you think you’ve completed the connection, durability becomes an issue.

There may be people who know how to make it, but no one actually does. It’s special equipment that breaks after a few uses.

But someone is selling such a thing…?

“Who did you buy it from?”

“I don’t know! It was a place my sister took me to! All I know is that it was very shady, and it cost hundreds of millions!”

Under Lily’s watchful eye, Juhwa-rin, who had been released with her hands tied, grabbed the omelet I made with both hands and ate it.

“One more bowl!”

“Do you think this is a restaurant?”

Her sociability is impressive. I’ll give her that.

I turned off my interest in her special equipment. To be honest, it was undoubtedly a structure that could pique my interest, but…

The fact that she doesn’t talk about it even though she doesn’t need to keep it a secret probably means she really doesn’t know. Besides, how can we find something left in the middle of Seoul now?

“You said it hasn’t had a single malfunction in two years, right?”

“That’s right!”

I decided to remember her as someone who could handle things to some extent.

It’s certain that she’s better than Seo Ji-soo, the most outstanding craftsman I’ve seen recently.

For now, I put that aside and untied my hands.

I decided to stop the income for a month. When I said it was for safety, Renata also agreed.

“I decided to take the risk, but that doesn’t mean I want to die… But, we’re not going to rest for a whole year, right?”

“Then I’ll starve to death.”

“That’s a relief…”

There was one new piece of information I learned through Juhwa-rin.

There is a separate site that assassins use.

“It’s called KILLING MACHINE! I’m using my sister’s account.”

“Your sister didn’t teach you, did she…”

“I secretly watched from behind!”

It’s not really something to be proud of.

I had her report to the client that the assassination of Heuk-gyeong was successful.

Juhwa-rin agreed for now. But there was also a part where she subtly changed the subject.

“Well… if possible… I don’t want to leave any records on the KILLING MACHINE site. If you need a smokescreen, I’ll contact the client personally. I’ll say you’re dead…”

“Why?”

“False reports affect my sister’s credit rating. My sister is a Night Owl who has never failed even once… So… even if it wasn’t successful, I want to leave it as an unexecuted request…”

“Is there a big difference?”

“…I’m lacking…”

She drooped.

“This is the first request I’ve received using my sister’s account. But I failed to catch even a mere craftsman…”

“A mere craftsman?”

“…Anyway! The plan to call you by your sister’s name has failed. I’ll just operate under my own account, and leave your sister’s account as it is. I can’t tarnish the reputation of Night Owl…”

Joo Hwa-rin glanced at me cautiously.

“So… please. I don’t want to tarnish my sister’s account any further. If it can’t be helped…”

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“If it can’t be helped?”

Joo Hwa-rin closed her eyes tightly.

“Just… kill me.”

“Oh?”

I thought she was a petty person who only cared about herself.

But when it comes to her sister, she has some loyalty, doesn’t she?

I nodded. Ah, loyalty. It’s a good thing.

“Lily. Break her neck. She asked to be killed, so there’s no choice.”

“Ahhh!!”

Joo Hwa-rin burst into tears. She hiccuped and covered her face.

“At least… if my sister ever looks for me… tell her I died without begging… as a person walking the path of a proper assassin…!”

What is the path of an assassin, anyway?

Lily grabbed Joo Hwa-rin’s neck from behind. But she only hiccuped and didn’t say anything more.

Is she afraid of dying, or is she more afraid of her sister’s honor being tarnished?

I thought it was a bluff…

But it seems like real loyalty.

“…She doesn’t seem like a complete petty person…”

“Shall I kill her?”

“Y-yes, kill me…! If possible, do it cleanly in one go…!”

“No. It’s okay. It’s not a difficult request.”

Lily let go of Joo Hwa-rin’s neck. She gasped for breath and looked at me with a pale face.

I slid my portion of the omelet in front of her.

A wary attitude. But she started chewing the omelet again with her hands still tied.

I know it’s something only petty people would do, playing with someone’s life.

But you have to know your opponent well to know how to lead them.

It’s a matter of life and death. There’s nothing more foolish than trying to go about it nicely.

“Juhwarin.”

“……”

“I won’t touch your sister’s account. Instead, make sure to deliver this message. To that side. That I’m dead.”

“…Got it.”

“At the same time, my condition is to release you and hunt down the person who put my name on the list.”

Juhwarin slightly nodded.

I tilted my head.

“But as soon as I release you, the chances of you running away are higher. There’s a greater possibility that you’ll prepare for a second assassination instead of listening to me. Right?”

“…No.”

“No way. I don’t trust you. I can’t trust you. You were the assassin who targeted my life in the first place. But I don’t trust people, I trust conditions. I’ll soon prepare a condition in front of you that you can’t help but stick to me. You’ll know once you try it.”

I patted Juhwarin’s head.

“That you can’t help but stick to me.”

“…….”

She looked at me as if I were a villain. It’s a bit unfair.

I was the one whose life was targeted.

. . .

The specialized equipment was being completed step by step. The previously accumulated specialized equipment was quickly repaired and immediately returned to the owner.

After that, of course, I didn’t take any orders. Curling up as if I were dead. That’s what I wanted.

Juhwarin’s hands and feet were completely freed. It might be somewhat dangerous, but as a result of assigning Lily to her separately, no dangerous situations would occur…

or so I thought.

“Ouch?!”

There were two escape attempts. And each time, Juhwarin’s body was slammed to the ground.

Lily’s surveillance was as reliable as her protection of me, and Juhwarin couldn’t handle her at all.

With the monstrous strength and skills that seemed to come from nowhere, Juhwarin was repeatedly subdued and dragged before me, covered in dust.

“I, I just wanted to go out to buy some snacks!”

I added one more judgment about Juhwarin’s character.

A habitual liarthat’s what she was.

The person herself was light. Just words. Most of the things she said were just excuses when she felt they were disadvantageous to her.

“…Do you really intend to use such a person?”

“Yes.”

Scarlett’s assistance was slowly coming to an end. Perhaps because I focused solely on one thing, abandoning everything else, the work was finished even faster than when I made Cha Seo-yoon’s equipment.

Total time taken: 9 days.

To be honest… the low quality also played a part.

Because I deliberately made a defective item.

Having seen so many escape angles, I now approached Joo Hwa-rin, who was completely tied up.

She smiled awkwardly.

“I behaved today.”

“…….”

There’s no one as shameless as this.

But well, I actually prefer it this way. Rather than being needlessly intimidated, stay thoroughly as trash.

That way, I can deal with you without any emotions.

“Joo Hwa-rin. Your commission fee is ready.”

“…That equipment you mentioned for me?”

“Yes. Since I’m commissioning you, it’s only natural to pay you. Right?”

I placed the prepared gun-shaped equipment in front of her. She rolled her eyes.

“…A shotgun suits my ability better. The more bullets fired, the easier it is to manifest my ability.”

“I looked into that in detail. Your ability is more like a slot machine than a magic bullet.”

“……”

“Be honest. What was the original activation rate? Much earlier, when you first awakened your ability.”

“…Do I really have to say?”

“It would be nice if you did. But if you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

Joo Hwa-rin hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“0.1%.”

Raising 0.1% to 1%, huh.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“……?”

“I said you’ve worked hard. Isn’t it obvious? Refining an ability is difficult. Most people are satisfied with what they’re born with. To improve it and mold it in the desired direction requires blood, sweat, and tears. Efforts that could damage some of the ability factors in your body. Starting from the cellular level, changing everything you have… You must have suffered immense stress and mental anguish.”

“…How do you know that?”

“A weapon maker specializing in abilities should know that much. No matter how twisted and deceitful you are, I don’t intend to belittle your efforts. I can see that you’ve trained your body and honed your ability… You’re amazing.”

“…Hmph… Hmph…”

Ju Hwarin’s nose tilted slightly upward. I stroked the pistol in front of me.

“But the magic bullet. Isn’t it a bit stingy to call it that? A bullet that always hits the target. Its effect is certainly sure. It’s terrifying against ordinary people.”

“Right! Isn’t it amazing!”

“But there’s still a big risk. An absurdly big one. If you’re lucky, it can activate with just one shot, but if you’re unlucky, it might not activate even after firing ten thousand shots. The biggest drawback is that you can’t control the ability, and it’s even less effective against ability holders. You know that yourself, don’t you?”

“…….”

“Then what if, the last bullet in the magazine is guaranteed to be a magic bullet, an ‘absolute ceiling’ ability?”

Ju Hwarin blinked. I slid the pistol with a silencer attached to her.

“It’s your exclusive equipment that guarantees the last bullet in the magazine to be a magic bullet. Of course, there are various conditions attached… It also increases your ability success rate from 1% to 10%.”

“…Hmm…?”

She tilted her head. She slyly asked me.

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

Yeah. That’s a natural reaction. I haven’t even mentioned the other functions yet, but it’s normal to say not to scam at this point.

Why?

Because Cha Seyoon said so!

I spun the pistol and handed it to her.

“It would be faster to understand if you try shooting it yourself. Let’s go. Marksman of the magic bullet.”

“Where to?”

“These days, we’re illegally expanding the underground. And we’ve set up a temporary shooting range there. I don’t know if you’ll like it or not…”

I chuckled.

“Let’s go for now.”