Surviving as a Brainwashing Villain in a Hero World 20

## Chapter 20 – The Red-Eyed Villain and the Blue-Eyed Hero

***

A café operating somewhere in downtown S City.

It’s not in a neighborhood with a lot of foot traffic, but customers are drawn in by the quiet atmosphere and the rich, fragrant coffee aroma.

A woman is grinding coffee beans, humming a tune that barely reaches the ears.

– *Ding-*

“Welcome.”

The café owner, with long black hair reaching past her waist and rabbit-like red eyes, faced a customer with long, white hair and blue eyes.

“Iced Americano. Light on the ice, please.”

“Yes, understood.”

The proprietress, wearing a sleeveless shirt and black skirt that accentuated her voluptuous figure, took the order and began brewing coffee, humming again.

“This place… it’s quite peaceful, isn’t it?”

The blue-eyed customer, with a somewhat exotic appearance, smiled gently, complimenting the tranquil atmosphere of the shop.

“Yes, we have many customers who appreciate the ambiance.”

She put a few small ice cubes in a thick glass, slightly smaller than a beer mug, and mixed the freshly brewed coffee with cold water.

“People like that… I think they’d prefer the smell of dust to the smell of coffee.”

The woman, having received the glass of iced Americano with condensation on the outside, took a smooth sip and added something strange to the proprietress’s words.

“The smell of dust…? What do you mean by that?”

The white-haired woman quietly sipped her Americano, wearing a relaxed smile.

“When you go to an old bookstore on the outskirts of the city… it’s the serene feeling you get among the dusty books.”

The proprietress looked somewhat puzzled, but took it as a compliment about the store’s atmosphere and thanked the customer.

“So you’re saying you feel that kind of warmth in our store’s atmosphere?”

“Exactly. I really like this place.”

The woman, maintaining a meaningful smile, turned her head to look around the store. One of the paintings hanging on the wall caught her eye.

It was an old-looking oil painting depicting a white horse clad in black armor, carrying a knight in jet-black armor.

The woman seemed to like the painting, staring at it for a long time.

“It’s not a painting with any particular meaning. I bought it when I traveled to Europe.”

“Ah… it’s a painting that gives quite a dynamic feeling.”

While admiring the impressive painting, only a few ice cubes remained in the woman’s glass.

“I enjoyed it. Please charge it to this card.”

The card the woman handed to the proprietress for payment had a unique design.

A red drawing of the letter H with what looked like a fist powerfully punching upwards – the symbol of the Hero Alliance.

Cards with the Hero Alliance symbol are provided to Alliance personnel, but they can also be thought of as a kind of merchandise sold to the general public.

After receiving the card, the proprietress looked at it for a moment, then nonchalantly completed the payment and handed the card back to the customer.

“That’s 3,500 won. Please come again.”

“I hope that happens…”

The two exchanged light smiles.

“Then, goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

– *Ding-*

The blue-eyed woman opened the door and quietly left the store.

“Looks like this place doesn’t have much time left either.”

As soon as the customer left, a door in the corner of the kitchen opened, and another woman entered the kitchen.

A woman with a slightly smaller height and build than the proprietress or the customer from earlier.

Judging by the fact that she spoke informally to the mature-looking proprietress, she was definitely an adult, but conversely, she had a petite and youthful appearance.

“I told you it’s best not to come out while the store is open.”

The proprietress said, making a pouty face at the woman.

“Do you know how stuffy it is in there? It’s far worse than where I used to live.”

A small room beyond the kitchen. It was certainly spacious enough for one or two people to live comfortably.

Yet, the woman complained to the proprietress.

“Just say I’m Chaeryeong’s younger sister and let me stay by your side.”

“If it were that easy, would we be hiding like this?”

“That’s not wrong. But what can we do? The whole hideout burned down.”

The proprietress, called Chaeryeong by the woman, pointed to the door.

“Go back inside. There are many eyes we need to avoid if we’re going to another hideout.”

However, the woman, grumbling as if she felt stifled, listened to Chaeryeong’s words, pouted, and opened the door.

“Close up shop early today. I want to go to a more comfortable place soon.”

“Haha… understood, Supreme Leader Kaiser.”

***

An office in the Hero Alliance headquarters.

The white-haired woman who had visited the café a few tens of minutes ago was talking with a middle-aged man with neat facial hair.

“So. Is there a place suspected to be their hideout?”

“Yes. Two places in the center of S City, and a total of three places on the outskirts have been identified.”

Unlike her earlier attire of sports leggings and a tracksuit, she was now dressed like a soldier, wearing a sleek black uniform and cape that accentuated her figure.

It was the kind of uniform that officers or superiors in the military would wear.

“The file I sent you contains detailed information on the suspected illegal hideouts.”

“Your reports always contain a large amount of information.”

The woman took out a small chip from a pocket on her chest and handed it over.

“And this is a memory stick containing information about the organization that was destroyed in the recent surprise attack.”

“Oh. You found the Dark Knights’ hideout much faster than the full investigation team?”

The middle-aged man, who seemed to be the woman’s superior, took the memory stick with surprise and inserted it into a slot on the side of an electronic device about the size of a cell phone.

“It’s quite far from the location where the Dark Knights’ previous hideout was located.”

The location on the map displayed on the man’s electronic device was the place she had visited earlier. The location of the café where she had enjoyed a peaceful atmosphere while drinking an iced Americano.

“This is a café. Are they using it as a temporary refuge while running a business?”

“Yes. The person who was seen inside first was believed to be a Dark Knights executive.”

That woman with long black hair reaching down to her hips and attractive red eyes. She spoke about Chaeryeong, the café’s proprietress, with an expression devoid of emotion.

“The café’s proprietress is an executive who was active in the Dark Knights under the name ‘Trickster.’ According to information gathered during the last operation, she is believed to wield the ability to create clones.”

“Clones… she has an ability that would be difficult for us to deal with. It seems there is no information yet about other executives or the Supreme Leader.”

“Yes. I will do my best.”

The woman took off her uniform hat and bowed to her superior. She felt that she had not achieved a level of success that would greatly please or satisfy her superior.

However, her superior’s expression seemed brighter than she had expected.

“There’s no need to overdo it. We have a full investigation team for a reason. I understand your feelings… but acting hastily can lead to mistakes.”

The man stood up and encouraged the woman, patting her on the shoulder as she bowed her head. The woman raised her head, seemingly understanding her superior’s broad intentions.

“It’s not easy to find a hero as capable as you in many ways. Most ability users tend to be free-spirited and self-willed.”

As the man said, ability users tend to be free-spirited.

Those born with abilities in the world’s population account for about 5% of the total population.

Even within that 5%, if you exclude those with abilities so minimal that it is difficult to tell whether they have them, the actual percentage of ability users is reduced to less than half.

Ability users often have difficulty living normal lives from a young age, and there are many research results that show that they develop unique or twisted tendencies and personalities in the process.

Most of those who come to the Hero Alliance and become active are also like that, and it was not as if she had lived a normal life either.

Rather, it would not be an exaggeration to say that she had lived one of the most eventful lives among the heroes in the Alliance.

“That’s all I can report at this time.”

“I see. Good work, Ms. Lumi.”

“You shouldn’t use my real name while on duty. Even if you know my name is Seol Lumi.”

As a matter of principle, a hero’s personal information should not be mentioned while on duty.

“Haha! That’s what I really like about you. Well, go now. A-Class Hero Ice Queen.”

A-Class Hero Ice Queen of the Hero Alliance. Seol Lumi bowed to her superior and left his office.