This Villain is Soft - Chapter 82
Only Noblemtl
Episode 82
Haon really liked Chacha and Bani.
I can’t trust him as much as Juyeol, and I don’t know that he’s another galaxy member like Nova, but there was a strange sense of stability between the two of them.
They had not met at daycare, school, or the lab, and they were not even acquainted with ‘Juyeol’. They were complete strangers.
Two people who come to my place as if it were a given, chat about nothing, and then roll around on the sofa and eat snacks all night long.
Maybe my first friends.
‘I see. So you’re not the only one who became friends with Juyeol.’
Haon suddenly couldn’t control his anxious feelings and folded his hands together.
“If I told you… … that I came from another dimension, would you believe me?”
“Of course you’ll think I’m crazy.”
Haon’s shoulders slumped at the unhesitating answer.
I was wondering if I should show the two people the photos and videos from another dimension, but Chacha said as she lowered her legs on the table.
“Still, tell me.”
“… … ?”
“I’ll fool you, so tell me something believable.”
“… … !”
Haon opened his eyes wide and raised his head.
Although both Chacha and Bunny looked at me with confused eyes, it wasn’t as if they were looking at a stranger.
I wonder if their new relationship with me wasn’t an illusion either.
“Then, Sister… … are you an alien who came to travel to Earth?”
Haon’s eyebrows and the corners of his mouth lowered as he stared blankly at the question that Bunny came up with after much thought.
“Is it okay if I’m an alien?”
Chacha was startled when Haon started sobbing with a walnut-like wrinkle on his chin.
“I can’t get used to crying with that face.”
Haon had more than one thing to do.
I had to contact Juyeol, check if the information on the hero headquarters server was properly saved, and find Bae Anjae.
But first, there was something I had to say to Chacha and Bunny.
“The chances of aliens visiting Earth are slim. It’s extremely rare for a planet that could support intelligent life to have been formed earlier than Earth.”
“… …What are you talking about while crying?”
He didn’t leave his seat, muttering with an expression that said he was getting tired of it.
Both Chacha and Bunny seemed intent on listening to Haon’s story until the end.
* * *
There was nothing to salvage from the remains of Hero Headquarters.
In the place where everything had been destroyed, only rocks and rebar were left.
Nevertheless, people rummaged through the rocks and brought back a few pieces of broken machinery.
The only place where that many people could gather and regroup was a large gymnasium in the central district.
Since most of the heroes only stayed in the headquarters dormitories without going to their own homes or anything, they looked especially empty when they entered the gym.
The hunter looked around at the people moving busily.
Joo-yeol, holding the problematic document in his hand, was staring at Hunter.
“Ghost. Entry to the storage facility is prohibited.”
“I got some help.”
“Who opened the storage door for you without permission?”
Just as Hunter was frowning, the leader of Engineer Team B happened to pass by.
“Has anyone seen my employee ID? Where on earth did I lose it?”
“Here. I picked it up.”
Joo-yeol calmly handed him his employee ID.
“Ah! Thank you. The headquarters may have collapsed, but I still feel empty.”
“No problem.”
The hunter looked at the B Team Leader, the engineer, who was walking away with a laugh, in bewilderment, and sighed.
The team leader and deputy team leader of each department could enter any storage facility by swiping their employee ID.
“Stealing someone else’s employee ID?”
“I didn’t steal it. I just picked it up from the floor and kept it for a while.”
“… … That’s not the only problem. It should have been clearly stated that taking archive materials out was prohibited.”
Joo-yeol scoffed at those words and threw the documents into the flames of the drum.
The names of Hunter and Halo were written side by side on the paper that was burning in an instant.
The hunter who had been staring blankly also smiled bitterly. They both knew that what was important was not this piece of paper.
“It’s exactly as you saw it. I owe Halo.”
“Have you paid it all off? Or are you still paying it off? You’ve known Halo’s whereabouts all this time!”
Juyeol gritted his teeth and thought back over the information written on the burned documents.
“Things to keep in mind when assigning a mission to a hunter (Gil Myeong-hwa).”
“I was attacked while pregnant, but survived with Halo’s help.”
“It is assumed that she was protected by Halo at the time of birth.”
“Many personal encounters with Halo captured.”
“Capture of the meeting with my son, Seongdante.”
“There is no record reported to headquarters, so please proceed with the interrogation.”
“Actively volunteering for Halo-related missions.”
“Request to observe the mission progress.”
⋮
“After awakening to the Holy Trinity, he joined the Hero Headquarters: Hero name: Chaser.”
“Request to observe the Chaser’s Halo-related mission progress.”
It was common knowledge within headquarters that Hunter’s deceased husband had been an actor and that their biological son was named Chaser.
It was an unknown secret among the heroes that when Hunter gave birth to Chaser, it was Halo, of all people, who helped her.
Joo-yeol was sure that even Chaser himself didn’t know.
What mattered to him right now was whether he could trust the Hunter, the leader of the heroes.
He is the one who tricked me into coming to the hero headquarters while I was already out looking for the culprit who set fire to my house, and he also just stood by and watched when Gowon was arrested for making a fake confession.
“Before I answer, I want to make it clear that headquarters has determined through investigation that there is no possibility of me betraying them.”
What the hunter said was true.
I didn’t bring it, but it was written like that on the next page that Juyeol saw.
But when it comes to their family, people decide to become villains, and Hunters are people too.
Can he really treat Halo so calmly when he owes her his life and his child’s life?
“It was the decision of my superiors not to arrest Halo for the arson 10 years ago. I am curious about where Halo is now, and I have never colluded with him. I would be willing to risk my life.”
Hunter added as Juyeol continued to stare.
“I’ll risk Dante’s life.”
“… … !”
“If you still don’t believe me, you can catch Halo and then request a cross-examination with me at headquarters.”
Joo-yeol clenched his fists in anger.
The more I talked to Hunter, the more it became clear to me that there wasn’t much I could do about her relationship with Halo.
Headquarters knew much more about the relationship between the two than I did, and it seemed like they were taking advantage of it.
The reason why Juyeol is the only one who is upset about this situation is because Halo is connected to my brother’s mysterious whereabouts or death.
“… … Hyesung’s death is my personal matter? Even though I don’t know if it was related to illegal human experiments.”
“Put personal matters aside and focus on what you’re told. Up until now, Halo’s involvement with the Awakening Orb’s human experiments was only speculated.”
The angry Joo-yeol clenched his teeth and then paused.
“… …Until now?”
“Most of the data was destroyed, so there’s nothing left, but I remember which company’s equipment the lab used to rescue your brother belonged to.”
The hunter looked around and lowered his voice.
“It’s a closed business now, but I contacted the company’s president a while ago to see if I could find out anything.”
At the unexpected words, the strength in Juyeol’s fists suddenly released.
Is this the Hunter who was looking into the human experiments my brother was involved in on his own?
“I heard that someone bought up all the remaining equipment that was stored in the warehouse due to the difficulty in disposing of it a few months ago. I don’t know who the buyer is, but they said that the goods were sent to Zone 2.”
“… … !”
“Isn’t this something worth investigating rather than just speculating? Of course, if what Dr. Eunhaon says is true.”
“I can guarantee that. I even saw Bae An-jae, who is said to have died. Do you still not believe me?”
Joo-yeol said urgently.
“But when on earth did you figure that out on your own? If you had told me in the first place─”
“Then your job is to find out the source of the experimental equipment that was delivered to Area 2. You will move under my orders.”
The hunter cut him off and spoke firmly.
“But I… … .”
“Tell me what you know about District 2 from Dr. Eun.”
Joo-yeol couldn’t utter the words that were on his mind and instead tapped Ttyong with the tip of his foot.
“Hey. Turn on the map.”
[I’ll show you the map the repairman made!]
The round, mutated belt shot a blue beam at the wall.
It was much smaller than the map in Haon’s lab, but it was legible.
“If you look at this part of Zone 2… … .”
Joo-yeol, who was pointing out the underground passage that Nova had discovered to the hunter, narrowed his eyes as he discovered something.
A small spanner icon was moving.
“What is this?”
[This is the repairman’s position!]
“Galaxy? Why is he here now?”
“Hunter! This is River’s report!”
At that moment, a staff member from headquarters came running in a hurry.
“Dr. Eunhaon killed someone again. In District 2!”