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“Oh, sister, calm down first…”

It’s not for Jo Se-hee, but if Jeong Ha-yul is left like this, it feels like Starfield, no, Hanam City is going to be in big trouble.

I stepped forward to stop Jeong Ha-yul, but…

With just one intense glare, I couldn’t help but flinch.

“Gyeoul, you stay out of this for a bit.”

“…Okay.”

“Gyeoul! No! Don’t abandon your sister!”

Sorry.

I need to survive too.

You’ll have to bear the guilt alone.

I tried to sneak away to the side…

But Jo Se-hee clung to me like a shadow.

“Don’t go! If you leave, my sister will really die!”

“Stop it! I’ll die too!”

“…If you don’t let go of Gyeoul right now, you’re really dead.”

“No, Demon King, listen to me. We were really having fun until now, right? Right, Gyeoul? Hayan? Say something!”

“I-it’s true! Don’t torment Se-hee unnie…”

Hayan, who had already lost her heart to Jo Se-hee, mindlessly charged at Jeong Ha-yul, but as she met the cold gaze of the Demon King, her words gradually faded.

In the end, Hayan also flinched and sneaked away to the side with me.

Jo Se-hee, under the Demon King’s threat that she’d really die if she didn’t let go, no longer clung to me.

No, she couldn’t cling to me.

Finally, a one-on-one showdown between the Demon King and Jo Se-hee.

“Listen, Demon King, I only wanted to bring Hayan, but Gyeoul asked to be taken along too, right? And we were quietly playing at Starfield. I even ate that tasteless ginseng and sea cucumber kimbap you made!”

Listening to her, Jo Se-hee didn’t really do anything wrong to the Demon King.

It’s understandable she’d feel wronged, having forced down that awful kimbap.

She probably only intended to deal with Lee Ha-yoon.

But Jo Se-hee’s circumstances…

Were useless to the already furious Demon King.

“Explain later. Let’s just fight first.”

A ferocious aura, not reaching me or Hayan, focused intensely on Jo Se-hee.

“No, seriously!”

No way?

The Great Thief is definitely Korean.

But… you should only use “no way” when you’re facing the right opponent, idiot.

Jeong Ha-yul charged at Jo Se-hee.

Just as it seemed like she’d escape with the Great Thief’s signature speed…

Jeong Ha-yul’s right hand grabbed Jo Se-hee’s left hand.

“What, what’s this! Why are you so fast now!”

“Shut up. You’ll bite your tongue.”

Crack—

“Kyaaak!”

Jeong Ha-yul’s favorite technique.

A liver shot with her left fist struck hard.

Was it my imagination that the Great Thief raised her limbs to block the punch?

Jo Se-hee, screaming, was about to fly sideways like a baseball hit by a bat…

But Jeong Ha-yul grabbed her arm and didn’t let go, making her flail in place.

As Jo Se-hee writhed in pain, Jeong Ha-yul pulled her left fist back again.

Crack—

How many bones break with just two punches?

A sound suggesting multiple fractures.

Why do I only have two hands?

Covering Hayan’s ears, I couldn’t cover my own.

The clear, crisp sound was vividly heard.

Goosebumps all over.

‘Damn… I wouldn’t hit like that, right?’

Jo Se-hee, having been beaten for what felt like generations, crawled on the floor.

Finally, Jeong Ha-yul, seeming to have cooled down a bit, started to speak.

“Now, explain again. What did you say?”

“Ugh… You made me like this… and want an explanation?”

Her pronunciation was so off, it was hard to understand.

“I’m being gentle because there are kids here, so speak properly.”

At that moment, I felt magic power moving from Jo Se-hee.

But Jeong Ha-yul didn’t react at all.

And nothing happened.

“Honestly, what did I do wrong!”

Suddenly, Jo Se-hee’s pronunciation returned to normal.

It seemed like magic was filling in for her knocked-out teeth.

So that’s another way to use it.

Learned something good.

From now on, if I knock out someone’s teeth, I’ll block like that.

‘…Why am I thinking about knocking out someone’s teeth?’

Is it the influence of living close to the Demon King?

I feel like I’m becoming more violent and ferocious.

At this rate, will I get titles like Demon Race or Witch?

Jeong Ha-yul, dumbfounded by Jo Se-hee’s resentful answer, opened her mouth.

“You kidnapped two kids and dare to ask what you did wrong? Should I answer that your very existence is a mistake?”

“I admit I kidnapped Hayan. But Jeong Gyeoul just followed me…”

“Gyeoul, is that true?”

The Demon King’s intense gaze.

The Great Thief’s desperate gaze.

“I was so worried about Hayan being kidnapped alone that I asked to be kidnapped too…”

Mixing 99% truth with 1% lie.

“See? It’s kidnapping. Do you really want to die?”

“…Gyeoul, are you betraying your sister like this?”

Feeling the pang of conscience, I turned my head away.

This is all your fault…

From the start, you planned to kidnap Hayan.

And it was on the day of the field experience learning.

And it just happened to be the bus where Hayan and I were sitting together.

It’s all your choices.

Act like an adult.

Take responsibility for your actions.

Still, I can’t say I’m not responsible.

If I hadn’t followed, Jo Se-hee would have gotten what she wanted, Hayan would have made fun memories, and it would have been a goodbye.

So…

I’ll let you live.

“Sister…”

“Yes?”

“Please don’t kill her.”

“Of course.”

Fortunately, it seemed she wasn’t angry at me.

The look in her eyes had returned to the warm gaze from before.

Jo Se-hee’s pleading eyes turned to me, but I deliberately avoided her gaze.

Just as Jeong Ha-yul raised her fist again…

“Demon King! Stop!”

“…?”

A group appeared, spouting lines like a school violence prevention ambassador.

“You’re only quick at times like this. If you moved this fast normally, half my work would be reduced.”

“…We’re also managing our schedules…”

“That’s why I’m saying, why are heroes only managing broadcast schedules? You should manage your duties.”

“…”

The group, who made a cool entrance, was subdued by the Demon King’s few words.

Jo Se-hee, realizing they were Association heroes, looked at them with pleading eyes.

Perhaps she thought being caught by the Association was better than being beaten by Jeong Ha-yul.

“Great heroes… please save me…”

Even while fallen, Jo Se-hee’s beauty remained.

Seeing her face, the heroes raised their voices towards the Demon King.

“Demon King! Even villains have human rights!”

“So that’s why you trashed me on broadcast?”

“…That was… the writer’s script…”

“So, heroes can’t even stand up to a writer’s word and have to read scripts trashing me? At that level, just be civilians. Should I make you civilians?”

“The Association Head is calling. I’ll take this call and be back.”

“Huh? Is it your girlfriend?”

“No, it’s my deceased mother…”

The heroes, verbally beaten, retreated with phones that didn’t even light up.

Jo Se-hee, who had held onto hope for a moment, visibly disappointed.

“Damn…”

“Se-hee.”

“What!”

“If I had let you go last time, you should have come to your senses. Why did you cause this again? I’m really sad, sister.”

…Was Jeong Ha-yul the sister?

So Jo Se-hee is a minor?

“Two years younger…”

“What?”

“Your head shape is really pretty, sister.”

“…?”

Nope.

Guess it’s just a strong person calling her sister.

“Jeong Ha-yul, hero!”

“Tsk, why did the bald team leader come here again?”

“I… survived.”

Association heroes arrived one after another, and Team Leader Jeong Ho-min came too.

Only then did Jo Se-hee let out a sigh of relief.

The hero clicked her tongue at the Association staff.

The villain felt relieved seeing the Association staff.

Is this right?

It’s getting more chaotic.

It feels like the roles of villain and hero are reversed.

The heroes arrested Jo Se-hee and left first.

Team Leader Jeong Ho-min scolded Jeong Ha-yul, who then scolded me.

I glanced at Hayan and stayed silent.

The chain of scolding was cut off by my rational and gentlemanly self.

What does an 8-year-old know… as long as no one’s hurt, it’s fine.

As the situation wrapped up and we were about to leave…

Kwaaaaaang—

A massive explosion occurred from behind.

***

“We stopped Jeong Ha-yul, the hero.”

“…You safely protected Hanam. Wrap up the situation and return.”

“How should we announce it to the press?”

“Frame the Great Thief. Say Jeong Ha-yul stopped a major crime. Keep it vague so we can change the story later.”

“Yes, understood.”

The staff at the emergency committee, who had been tense, let out sighs of relief.

“Jeong Ha-yul really drains my blood every day.”

“I got male pattern baldness…”

“Hey, me too!”

Some stretched their stiff bodies.

Others called their families.

The Association Head was about to tidy up and return to his office.

“Emergency! Starfield has exploded!”

“What? Jeong Ha-yul stopped it, right! What happened!”

They clearly said Jeong Ha-yul had stopped it, arrested Jo Se-hee, and was returning to the Association…

“It’s not Jeong Ha-yul! It’s England’s S-Class villain, Jack the Ripper!”

“Fox Mask? Why did that bastard come to Korea! How did no one notice him coming to Korea!”

The S-Class villain Fox Mask, who attacked Jeong Ha-yul’s group in England.

This time, he made a grand entrance by bombing Hanam Starfield.

 

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