Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

I continued speaking slowly, as if explaining to Taika who was still just tilting his head.

[It’s because something with enormous mass is created at the center point that Mr. Taika creates. That center point pulls in surrounding objects.]

I only know simple methods too. I wasn’t a scientist to begin with. I just looked into it because I was curious about the difference between telekinesis and gravity before.

To put it simply, there’s a big difference between the two talents in the presence or absence of a ‘center point’.

Telekinesis can move objects freely without such a thing, but gravity needs a center point. While telekinesis wins hands down in terms of versatility, nothing can beat gravity when it comes to sheer destructive power.

This is because if you create a center point ‘inside’ an object, gravity becomes a talent more broken than anything else.

And that’s not all.

With the talent of gravity, you can even create a kind of black hole.

After all, a black hole refers to a celestial body where gravity has become so strong due to its extreme mass that it can even suck in light.

In fact, 10 years later, Taika would become a monster capable of dealing with tens of thousands of monsters with a single gesture, but for now, he was clearly still a novice.

Well, right now he’s a 7-Circle novice. Actually, even at 7-Circle, you’d be an ace in a top guild. Even the ‘great’ Kim Myeong-cheol is only 7-Circle.

But Taika Cooper was a monster who would become a 9-Circle hunter, one of only one or two in all of humanity. He’ll reach 9-Circle after figuring out how to create that black hole.

At my words, Taika just made groaning sounds.

It seemed he still couldn’t properly understand what I had said.

Well, there’s plenty of time.

It would be years before he actually realized this fact and put it to use. I stepped up hoping that time might be shortened a bit.

“What on earth are you talking about for so long? The food is ready, so come quickly.”

“Okay.”

“You didn’t teach that person anything, did you?”

“Hmm? Is that not allowed?”

Han Seo-hyeon’s gaze sharpened.

“Aren’t we going to be enemies with them?”

“Not quite enemies.”

“He’s a splendid hero, and our fate is to be villains. So even if not now, won’t we become enemies in the future?”

I chuckled at Han Seo-hyeon’s words.

“I told you, didn’t I? He’s going to be a national hero to begin with. He won’t have any reason to get involved with small fry like us.”

The scope of activity I envision for Weltschmerz is Korea, at most East Asia. There’s almost no chance that Taika, who will be operating on a global scale, will become our enemy.

Despite my words, Han Seo-hyeon’s gaze remained sharp.

“I just have a bad feeling about this.”

But I ignored that concern.

“I’m telling you, there’s no chance we’ll meet that guy again.”

What harm could it do to us if he gets stronger! I lightly brushed off Han Seo-hyeon’s worry like that.

* * *

From that evening, the sandstorm intensified. It was so strong that the previous sandstorm felt like a gentle breeze in comparison. It was difficult to even maintain proper visibility in this state. It seemed the sandstorm would get stronger as we got closer to the eye of the storm.

Walking through such a sandstorm with a bare face would be suicidal.

I took out a mask and handed it to Han Seo-hyeon. Even Han Seo-hyeon, who usually hated masks, put it on as if he had no choice.

However, since it felt a bit off to show someone else’s face, I just set it to smiling face mode. Han Seo-hyeon hated it, but there was no helping it.

Kim Jae-ho received a spare pair of goggles from Taika. Actually, I wanted to give the mask to Kim Jae-ho, but he snatched the goggles and ran away, so I had no choice but to give it to Han Seo-hyeon.

Somehow, it hurt that everyone disliked my mask so much.

I covered my face with a dome made of wind. It consumed quite a bit of mana, but with the mana-assisting bracelet, it wasn’t completely unreasonable.

As we walked deeper into the storm, the number of monsters decreased. Honestly, just standing still in this inner radius was torturous.

If it weren’t for the crazy goal of catching Yebrica, I would have left this place immediately. Of course, that wouldn’t have been easy either. This place was like a trap. The mana mixed in the sandstorm numbed all senses, making even the direction I was walking in confusing.

If it weren’t for Han Seo-hyeon’s eagle floating up there, it would have been impossible to even determine our direction.

We decided to move with our bodies tied together with rope. This was because we couldn’t even see clearly 2 meters ahead.

I took the lead.

I was basically immune to mental confusion, and I had Ray, the all-purpose navigation system.

Even if he couldn’t tell me about paths I didn’t know, he could at least give warning sounds whenever my walking direction deviated.

Taika stood at the very back. This was to prepare for any unexpected monster attacks.

The sandstorm was so severe that even eating or opening our mouths was difficult. So we just walked and walked.

The sand wind was so strong that we couldn’t even rest, as sitting down would turn us into sand pillars.

Han Seo-hyeon, who could speak relatively freely thanks to wearing the mask, said:

“Ugh, I can’t, I can’t go any further.”

At that sound, I grabbed the rope.

Everyone stopped at once. I pulled the rope little by little to gather people. After creating a round dome and standing, I checked on Han Seo-hyeon.

It was clear enough to see that he had pushed himself too hard. Looking at his swaying body, I gestured to everyone.

It meant we would stop here and rest.

Then I dug into the ground with wind.

There was a limit to digging with wind, so I moved the earth itself halfway through, but this wasn’t the time to worry about such things. After digging an earthen cave big enough for the four of us to enter, I ushered people inside. Then I took out a waterproof sheet and covered the top. After tightly securing the waterproof sheet to prevent sand from leaking in, a fairly cozy earthen cave was created.

“Whew.”

As soon as he entered, Han Seo-hyeon took off the mask covering his face. Kim Jae-ho immediately removed his goggles too. Then everyone started shaking off the sand covering their entire bodies.

“Be careful. You’re making this place all sandy too.”

“Uh, sorry.”

Han Seo-hyeon, who said that, staggered. I quickly supported Han Seo-hyeon.

[Is that friend alright?]

[Seems tired. He wasn’t very physically fit to begin with.]

Still, he wasn’t injured anywhere. He was just tired, so resting here would bring him back to his senses.

I handed some food to Han Seo-hyeon, who had just collapsed on the floor.

“Ugh, I don’t want to eat.”

“If you starve, you’ll really die tomorrow. Eat even if you have to force yourself.”

“Okay.”

After seating everyone, I handed out food. In this narrow cave, the only food was dry rations like beef jerky, but it was better than not eating at all. We also needed to drink plenty of water. We had to eat a lot now because we couldn’t properly get water or food in the intensified sandstorm outside.

Kim Jae-ho silently devoured what I handed him. Han Seo-hyeon, after finishing his meal, fell asleep as if collapsing. Kim Jae-ho, seemingly exhausted too, brushed off the sand on his face and closed his eyes.

Taika, who had been quietly observing this scene, said to me:

[Coming here alone would have been suicidal…]

I just gave Taika a look that said ‘You just realized that now?’ Embarrassed, Taika closed his mouth.

Leaning against the cave wall, it was cozier than I expected. The sound of sand brushing over our heads rang in our ears.

[How did you all get to know each other?]

It was probably meant as light small talk, but for us, whose circumstances of meeting weren’t all that pleasant, it was the heaviest of talks.

I bought Kim Jae-ho from human traffickers with money, and Han Seo-hyeon came looking for me to avenge his dead brother.

Hmm, thinking about it now, it’s not a normal meeting at all.

Seeing me silent for a moment, Taika carefully added:

[Especially that friend looks young, I mean. Even considering he’s Asian, he still looks like a student.]

I thought for a moment but decided not to wrap our relationship in lies.

[That taciturn friend over there is someone I hired with money, and this friend here is the younger sibling of a dead… friend. I’m taking care of him.]

[Ah.]

Taika blinked and looked at me.

[Well, traveling with an experienced hunter like you would certainly help them gain experience.]

Then, humming to himself as if thinking about something, he nodded his head.

“Ugh, brother…”

A small voice came from Han Seo-hyeon’s mouth. It seems he’s having that nightmare again. I thought he didn’t have those dreams when he collapsed from exhaustion.

Hearing the mumbling and groaning sounds, Taika said to me:

[He seems to be in pain, shouldn’t we wake him up?]

[He’s just having a nightmare.]

[A nightmare?]

[I told you earlier, didn’t I? He’s the younger sibling of a dead friend. That friend’s end… wasn’t very good.]

[When someone has a nightmare, you should wake them…]

[Even if you wake them, the nightmare doesn’t disappear. It just comes back. If it’s a nightmare you can’t chase away anyway, it’s better to let the body rest at least.]

I know because I’ve had such nightmares too. Waking someone up from a nightmare isn’t a very good solution. It just makes the body feel heavier. Even if he’s suffering like that, sleep is sleep. His body is diligently resting. Of course, it’s not comparable to a good night’s sleep, but still.

[You speak as if you’ve experienced such nightmares yourself.]

I smirked at that question.

[When you’ve lived this long, it’s natural to have had such experiences a few times.]

In reality, my body is the same age as Taika’s, but since he’s misunderstanding me as an experienced hunter, I think he’ll understand it that way.

The face I’m wearing also looks to be in the mid to late twenties. My ID says I’m 23, but well. It’s not like we’re in a situation to show IDs, so it doesn’t matter.

Anyway, I wish he would just shut up and go to sleep. I was thinking that as I was wetting my throat.

[I’ve never had nightmares. Well, to be precise, I’ve never experienced anything like that. So I don’t know how to comfort someone in this situation.]

[There’s no need for comfort particularly. Just being there is enough. And supporting them whenever they’re about to collapse.]

That’s what I needed most too. In my case, rather than someone supporting me from the side, there was someone who pulled my leash, but.

Anyway, the reason I didn’t collapse was, paradoxically, thanks to that bastard. It’s a fact that’s truly disgusting to admit.

[Still, I can tell a few things. That those friends are lucky to have met a leader like you.]

To say such things when we’ve barely met. American lip service is really something. Still, it was quite a welcome compliment.

[Haha, thank you for the compliment.]

[No, I really mean it.]

Taika said that while scratching his cheek.

[By the way, are you going to keep calling me Mr. Cooper?]

[You are Mr. Cooper, aren’t you?]

[Well, yes, but being called ‘Mr. Cooper’ makes me feel like they’re calling my dad, and it gives me the creeps.]

But I don’t feel like calling him Taika familiarly. I want to stay as far away from you as possible, man!

[Ugh, alright. I’ll stick with Mr. Cooper for now.]

For now, huh? What are you thinking? This is the last time I’ll be with you. I was muttering that inwardly when.

Taika said:

[By any chance, would you consider coming to America with me after this is over?]