Chapter 315: Introspection
That evening I arrived at a large mansion.
“Da-in, this is our home!”
Seo-Eun explains to me.
I nodded, looking at the large wooden mansion in the middle of the mountains.
…Yeah. Seeing that the house is exactly my style, I guess I should have built it. I’ve always wanted something like this.
I walked through the lush green gardens, heading towards the house.
…And all around me, my companions, my friends, were walking together. It’s not like we’re going to war…
On my way home I was introduced to my companions in a large airship.
“So, Da-in, did you have a girlfriend?”
Seo Eun, the original White Witch, a woman with white short hair, smiled at me and said it as if it was a casual question.
“…Seo-eun, it’s rude to ask such a question to Da-in, who just lost his memory and is confused.”
The dark-haired woman dressed in a white shrine maiden outfit scolded her. It was Moonlight Maiden.
They must have been quite close, because they both looked familiar. And for some reason, I felt like I should take care of them, even though they were all grown up.
There were many others.
[Haha! Da-in, you’ve lost your memory? Of course you have, isn’t that what happens to men in life?]
Clad in black armor from head to toe, Death Knight said that while slapping me on the back.
“Hmph…If I tease you now, will you remember later…?”
Looking at me was a woman with purple short hair, a hood and violet eyes like a ghost, Seo Jae-young.
“You really are, ehh…”
The woman with the bouncy yellow ponytail must be Electra from earlier.
“…Da-in’s energy is very fragile right now. He should probably rest.”
It’s Shinryong, her long black hair flowing down her back, wearing a white bodysuit with a small dragon horn on her head.
“Big brother, are you okay?”
The blue-haired girl clinging to my arm and sobbing is Ariel, a character who was only a setting in the original. And the nice-looking woman next to her is Lee Ha-Yul, the saint of villains.
And
“Da-in, this way.”
The brown-haired woman with the bright smile leading me from the front is Lee Soo-bin. I’ve never seen her before in the original… Somehow, I trusted her.
Anyway, just like that, I was able to enter the mansion.
It’s a warm, wooden building with lots of windows that let in plenty of sunlight.
‘…So, is this the lair of the villains?’
I relaxed in this place, which was somehow too cozy (?) to be the home of evil S-class villains.
“I’ll show Da-in to your room first.”
Soobin smiles warmly at me, and I nod gratefully.
…From what I could tell, she seemed like a nice person. Her words are easy to understand, and she has a basic sense of caring for people. I felt like I understood why she was hired, even though she clearly never appeared in the original story.
Once I got to the room, I told her I was going to change and was left alone for a while.
“Phew…”
I sighed.
I took off my coat, grabbed some clothes from the closet, and changed.
I put something that resembled a tape recorder in my coat pocket on my desk.
I remember…
[Oh, and my memories will magically come back to me when I open the diary I entrusted to Seo-Eun, because she’ll probably give it to me.]
…Probably, according to the last thing I said before I lost my memory.
The problem is that Seo-eun doesn’t seem like she’s going to give me the diary right away, judging by the way she awkwardly averts her eyes and runs away when she makes eye contact with me…
‘Well, not bad.’
I concluded.
I wasn’t planning on getting my memory back right away anyway, because…this is a chance to look at myself.
“…”
Yes. I’ve lost my memories of this world, and as such, I might learn something new if I look back on the past and the present with my current perspective. Isn’t this true self-objectivization?
In other words, I’m going to use this as an opportunity to examine what I’ve been doing in this world.
…A cool-headed judgment that I was able to make because I was actually just possessed and confused, but I valued reason. It’s in my best interest to do so, since nothing good will come of this, and I’ll get my memories back anyway.
A week would be enough.
With that thought, I walked into the bathroom, removed my mask, washed my face to clear my mind, and examined my face in the mirror.
“…”
Strangely, my face looked no different from the day before, even though I was told that I had spent years in this world.
…I don’t know if I came to this world young from the beginning, or if it was during my time here, or if there’s some other reason… Anyway, it was like that.
“…Haha, what’s going on?”
I muttered to myself as I wiped the water off my hands.
…I can’t believe I’m possessed by a superhero manga overnight, ha.
To be honest, I still felt like I was dreaming, and a really crazy dream at that. It honestly feels unreal.
…So, I was able to get myself together.
Especially with the idea that it’s all over once I regain my memories, my allies by my side looking out for me, and the instructions left by my future self.
‘…..’
Still, there was something terrifying about it.
The thought of not being able to see everything I’ve built up, my friends, my parents, all of them, takes my breath away.
The only thing keeping me going was the reasons I gave earlier, and the fact that I only had to wait a week…
‘How did I survive the first time I was possessed in this world?’
I was able to survive because I had so many things that I had already built up, and I had friends that my body remembered.
When I lost everything in my normal body, and was dropped into this world of shattered power balance. How did I survive when I came to this world with nothing to show for it, no friends, and no instructions?
‘…Well, I’ll figure it out as I go along.’
I thought to myself, wiped my face, opened the door, and went out into the living room.
For now, let’s talk to my coworkers.
***
[The situation in Carqueas has finally been cleared up after the Egostic-led prison sabotage, aka the Great Jailbreak. Most of the villains who attempted to break out have been captured, but… The five remaining villains, including Egostic, Crocodile-Man, and Dungeon Maker, have yet to be captured. The Association says they are tracking them down, and the people are told to go about their daily lives in peace…]
Quite a bit of time has passed since I lost my memory and woke up.
During that time, I learned several things.
[Meanwhile, the people who were protesting for my release have all disbanded with satisfaction after my escape, especially the Egostic fan cafe that led the protest, whose membership increased by ten thousand units every day during the protest…]
That is, my popularity in this world is beyond my imagination.
I’m not kidding, I, the villain, seemed to be more popular than Stardus, the hero.
When I saw that I even had my own fan cafe, it was ridiculous.
Especially when Seo-Eun showed me the top posts in my fan cafe last time…
*
[Egostic was obviously caught on purpose, what are the fuckers who doubted that??? hahaha]
[(Pureblood Mangodan Special) I actually knew Ego would escape…]
[No, there’s a reason why Ego Stream members and allies didn’t come out when Mango was captured in the first place…]
[[Fact] The mangos who did come out to protest have nothing to be ashamed of… ROYALTY]
[Favorable iron right seat news… heartwarming mango bread donation]
[Actually this and that… the mango gang is just happy to see the mango broadcast again]
[Conspiracy theory) Egostic was held for a week. And Stardus disappeared from public view for that week… What did they do?]
*
“Haha…”
What kind of country has a fan cafe for a villain and celebrates when that villain escapes?
…Of course, it’s not that I don’t understand them.
After everything I’ve done so far, it’s no wonder I’m a hero.
*
[Egostic Achievement Summary]
Stopped the Behemoth Invasion Prevented the HanEun Group from invading Stopped the Moonlight Maiden attack Stopped a demon terrorist attack Defeated many S-class villains.
.
.
*
‘…You’ve lived hard.’
I could only think so.
Perhaps the reason I was living as a villain was to grow the Stardus. I’ve always been pretty nonviolent when it comes to terrorism.
What was particularly unusual was the relationship between me and Stardus.
First of all, in the press, we’re called arch-enemies, and we’re said to be each other’s worst enemies…
[Stardus, do you want to join us?]
“….”
After watching a few of my terrorist videos at 2x speed, I realized something.
Aside from his slurred speech and weird conceptualization…
‘…Why am I in a fight with Stardus?’
I… it finally dawned on me now that I had lost my memory.
…I’ve lost my mind.
