The villains of the Brigade of Evil who had attacked the academy had, for some reason, fallen into confusion.
Why was that? Was it because they had stumbled right from the beginning? Or because, somewhere along the way, they had sensed failure? Was it because the heroes standing in their way right now were stronger than expected, and because the students they were supposed to kill and throw into chaos had, aside from the very beginning, acted surprisingly calmly?
No. That wasn’t the reason.
The start had been good. With the help of another branch chief, they had made artificial rain fall, and using that rain as cover, they had succeeded in infiltrating with extreme stealth. The middle of the operation had been perfect as well. They had killed several students to cause chaos, and before the other heroes could rush in, they had managed to inflict even greater damage. Of course, the heroes now glaring at them while breathing roughly were still mostly unharmed, and they had not been able to harm the students further, so the plan had gone a little awry, but that was something that could be solved by continuing to press them with numbers.
Then why were they currently in confusion? And—
“Who the hell are you?”
Why was the hero who had clearly been hostile to them so visibly flustered?
“Come on, you’re a hero. Should you really be worse informed than villains?”
The answer was probably simple. Because of the man who had just pointed a gun at them, they, the villains and the heroes alike, had all fallen into confusion. Then—just who were those people?
The heroes glaring at the villains stared at the masks and listened to the grotesque, modulated voices, then widened their eyes. The villains of the Brigade of Evil, upon hearing the masked man’s words, twisted their faces.
“Repentance—those damned penitents.”
“Correct. Guess you’re not completely incompetent.”
Only five villains had appeared. Even so, despite receiving the hostility of both heroes and villains all at once, they stood there boldly without shrinking back. That fact was unbearably unpleasant.
The heroes and villains, who had initially fought while glaring at each other as if they would kill one another, were thinking the same thing at least for this one moment.
“So—our vice-branch chief, who showed up as a substitute for the guy who recently died, why are you grinding your teeth and glaring at me? Not going to keep fighting the heroes?”
“Shut up!”
“What, are you just anger-management impaired? Then—why are you hero folks glaring at us instead of catching those guys?”
“Shut up.”
“Villains and heroes really are six of one, half a dozen of the other.”
The man sighed deeply at their identical reactions while spinning a revolver in one hand and repeatedly flicking and catching a coin with the other—Jewel, the villain.
He was genuinely curious as to how things had ended up like this. They had clearly saved the heroes and students from danger, and yet they were being treated like this. How on earth had it come to this?
“Do you truly not know?”
“How would I know that? Do you? If you know, then what’s the answer?”
“It is because of the way you speak, Lord Jewel.”
Of course, the problem was that Jewel himself was the only one who did not know the answer. The other four villains, even with their masks on, glared at him with eyes sharp enough to be felt, silently begging him to please stay quiet. But he had not stopped, provoking the heroes and villains alike with his distinctive way of speaking—that was the whole story of the incident.
“What’s wrong with what I said? Was I wrong? Those hero folks who aren’t worth much, and those villains who look like small fry at a glance, if they keep fighting, they’re just going to get beaten like dogs by us—”
“Please, just keep your mouth shut.”
If only they had been with their leader who carried death with him—their god, Lee Hyeonu—or with Zero, who could not speak but was nevertheless faithful to the job, this never would have happened. The villains sighed instead of complaining, blaming their own misfortune for being assigned here, but—
“No, why? Isn’t it true?”
“Sometimes, one must know how to tell a kind lie.”
Not one of them said that what he had said was wrong. Rather, their answers indirectly expressed that what he was saying was correct, and perhaps it was only natural that those listening to the conversation were furious enough for their anger to reach the top of their heads.
“Your arrogance pierces the heavens—!”
Unable to listen any longer, a villain of the Brigade of Evil stretched out his hand toward them, and a blade immediately shot from his palm, aiming for Jewel’s neck, but—
“Hmm. Anyway, where were we?”
Without even giving a glance to the blade rushing toward his neck, he checked the face of the coin he had last caught and turned his head toward the heroes. The other villains, too, showed no particular reaction.
“Ah, right. Hero folks. Our god asked me to deliver a message. I’ll relay it without changing a single syllable, so open up your ears and listen carefully.”
It was not that they had failed to notice. Rather, it was the same as if they had noticed and simply chosen not to react. After all—
Baaaang!
“—What?”
The muzzle that had clearly been pointed at the ceiling spat fire, and the head of the villain who had charged in so confidently split and burst apart like a watermelon. As if the bullet had flown and then bent midair, it had struck with absolute perfection. Everyone watching could not hide their shock at the sight.
“Uh—what was it again?”
“Lord Jewel…”
“Ah, I remembered. Good grief. Am I getting dementia already? I’m still only in my late twenties.”
Only Jewel, scratching his head as he recalled Hyeonu’s words, and his companions, who looked at him and sighed repeatedly, remained completely unfazed.
“—Heroes and the Brigade of Evil. You have worked hard until now.”
At last, his mouth, which had been mulling over the words, opened. What came out was the message from their leader, Lee Hyeonu—
“Before getting to the main point—I express my regret to the Brigade of Evil, who attacked with a sloppy plan so incompetent it beggars belief, and to the incompetent heroes who fell for that plan exactly as it was. Thanks to your incompetence, it has become easy for us to make our name known to the world, so I consider this truly fortunate.”
A clear provocation, on a completely different level from Jewel’s sarcastic remarks that had angered them until now, poured from Jewel’s mouth—
“We came here to steal the Brigade of Evil’s plan and achievements, and to smack the backs of the heads of those brats suffering from a complete lack of safety awareness—”
At the same time,
“—So, heroes softened by peace, think yourselves very fortunate and feel relieved. And you lot, wearing capes far too chuunibyou for your age and even sticking roses into them, lament and accept death. That is all.”
The villain Ash finished speaking as she looked at the student before her, well known by the name Snow Woman.
“—That was what our god said, so it isn’t our opinion. We didn’t particularly intend to provoke you right now, all right? So could you get out of the way? At the very least, we’re not going to touch you.”
“Don’t make me laugh…!”
As expected, it was no good. Ash let out a sigh and gloomily looked down at the mask that had been split and completely shattered after being struck down by a palm.
“Incompetent heroes? Softened by peace? You say that and expect me to step aside? With you villains right in front of me?”
“You’re seriously angry. The Snow Woman I saw on TV didn’t have this kind of image—weren’t you supposed to be more cold and rational? I remember citizens going wild, saying a real-life kuudere existed.”
“Shut your mouth.”
Had relaying Hyeonu’s words exactly as they were been the source of trouble after all? Her expressionless face held anger so clear even Ash could recognize it, hatred dripped from her tone, and if her gaze had physical force, it would have pierced straight through Ash.
But—what could she do? What Snow Woman before her had asked was their intention. And so Ash had merely conveyed the words of the leader they revered as a god. But it was not as though she could tell the truth as it was—how could she say in front of a hero that they had come to protect them and throw ashes over the Brigade of Evil’s plan?
“So, you’re saying you won’t get lost?”
Of course, mixing in a little lie and talking around the matter was also an option, but she did not do that. The reason was truly simple.
“Then I’ll have to push you aside by force.”
Throwing away the broken mask, Ash looked at the hero before her, and a deep fighting spirit showed on her face. She was burning with enthusiasm to test just how strong the hero before her was, and her subordinates, having noticed it, sighed inwardly, exchanged glances, and headed elsewhere on their own.
“The nuisances are gone too. Shall we have a bout?”
One girl ignited flames from both hands, burning the surroundings, while the other created ice crystals from both hands, dyeing the area with flowers of ice.
Heat on one side, cold on the other. Ash looked at Snow Woman with eyes full of anticipation over which of the two would win if they clashed, but soon, seeing the wavering look in her eyes, she ground her teeth.
Those were the eyes of a hero. Even with Ash right in front of her, she was calculating gain and loss, weighing the people she had to protect against Ash. Ash knew that fact because she had seen it countless times over her long life as a villain, and that was why it annoyed her.
“You must be overflowing with composure. To think you can even look away in this situation.”
“Rather than wasting my attention on villains like you, protecting others is more important.”
Was she ridiculous to her? Or were other people’s lives that precious? Whatever the reason, it was truly absurd. Ash was a battle maniac. To have a strong opponent before her and yet not fight, instead looking elsewhere, was no different from gently scraping at her nerves. And so—
“—Aha, are you scared you’ll lose someone again?”
“What are you talking about—”
“Scared you won’t be able to protect them, like your childhood friend?”
In a fit of anger, she spat out a provocation that would have made Hyeonu roar if he had heard it.
Of course, immediately afterward, she realized she had made a mistake. This matter was practically Hyeonu’s reverse scale, something that absolutely must never be spoken aloud.
“—You.”
But—
“How do you know that?”
At the chilling cold that surged in a way incomparable to anything before, Ash threw those thoughts aside and smiled.
“How do I know?”
Yes, if they were going to fight, they should fight seriously. She apologized to Hyeonu inwardly as her mind raced, and soon, having thought of a line that could confirm the girl’s sincerity, she opened her mouth—
“Because I touched that moron with my own hands. Of course—”
“—Blizzard!”
“…Well now. Aren’t you impatient!”
Before Ash could even finish speaking, Jihyeon charged in with her face twisted.