I’m Not That Villain

75 – Black Mamba (3)

The silence hangs heavy, a thing felt more than heard.

Black Mamba turns his head away, for no real reason.

Something feels wrong. Terribly wrong.

A story he’d told no one. To expose a weakness first?

Who within Seoul would do such a thing?

And yet, he had. Offered up something difficult to confess, offered it first.

As if to soothe his trembling.

As if to say, he, too, was not quite right.

“… “

His heartbeat, a dull thud.

Less, far less, than before.

The brief flutter has passed entirely. He’s forgotten all the lines ripped from some saccharine romance…

He meets his gaze for the first time.

Looks at the man before him, squarely.

The light returns, revealing the contours of his face. Slender lines, yet undeniably masculine.

Broad shoulders. A frame that suggests regular workouts. And beyond all that…

A desolate expression.

“…Hey.”

Black Mamba shatters the solidified air.

“Seriously, there’s nothing you want?”

“Nothing.”

“…Listen, I’m only bringing it up because of the customized gear, but, I can pay you the right price for it, you know?”

“I wanted to help you, sure, but as a craftsman, I just wanted to *make* it, too. You’re…special.”

“……..”

Black Mamba chewed the words in his mouth.

Something. Something was…

It sank right in. The words he’d been about to spit out. What. Was. This.

He barely managed to move his tongue again, choosing his next words carefully.

“…With your skill, you could even take a partner workshop position with Hundred Eyes? The fame a craftsman craves would naturally follow, wouldn’t it? A partner workshop with a mega-organization… every artisan in Seoul wants that.”

“That *is* tempting, I suppose…but if I’m going to gain renown, I want to earn it with my own two hands. Honestly, fame that just comes along with a position feels… a little cheap, you know?”

“……..”

Really? Nothing? Hmm.

Then… well…

As a last resort… this…

“W-women.”

“…What?”

“Women too…you could… you could have plenty of them, right? Nightly pleasures. I mean… n-night work. The kind… the kind you guys like.”

“Exactly *who* are you referring to when you say ‘you guys’?”

“Me! I mean, men, you idiot! You guys would risk your lives for that kind of thing, wouldn’t you?!”

“…Isn’t that too much of a generalization?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Well…it’s not that I completely disagree…”

He leaned back into the chair.

“Forget about it. That stuff.”

“……”

“I have no intention of going back on my words. Didn’t I say it? Once you leave this place, we’ll be strangers. I won’t be seeking you out afterwards. And I have no intention of relaying the story you told me to anyone else.”

“……”

“Think of it as a fleeting connection. I guess you’re thankful, but…you really don’t need to do anything. Truly. But you know.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“That custom gear I made for you.”

He turned his head, looking at her.

As if to loosen the atmosphere, stiffened by the heavy conversation, his small voice whispered.

“It’s really not a defective product, so you can use it however you want, okay? I poured my heart and soul into making that gear. Rather, practice using it. Then, you won’t have to throw up every time you use that ability.”

“……”

“It’s really not a defective product. There’s no way I would create such a fraudulent piece. My pride’s on the line, so don’t just brush it off, okay?”

“……”

Black Mamba gave a small nod.

“…Alright. Idiot. I’ll use it, okay? Hey. But you…”

“Yeah?”

“What’s your name?”

“It’s just a fleeting connection; do you really need to know even that much?”

“Shut up and tell me. You can at least tell me your name.”

“……..”

He scratched his head, looking troubled. He sighed, finally opening his mouth.

“…Since you told me your secret, I’ll tell you mine too. Don’t you go blabbing it around, alright?”

“I won’t.”

“…Lee Seo-joon.”

Lee Seo-joon.

Lee Seo-joon.

For a while, Black Mamba muttered it to herself, within the confines of her heart, before she spoke.

“I… I mean… well…”

Black Mamba.

That’s what she was called.

Because she wanted a name that was threatening, fearsome.

To show that no one could bind her, that she could hold her ground without leaning on anyone.

She had used this name solely for that purpose.

…But.

Before that…with a different name…

She had once been called.

“…So-yeon.”

“Hm?”

“Baek So-yeon, that is!”

Black Mamba’s head whipped around.

“N-no profound meaning behind it, just so you know…understand?! As you said, we’re nothing more than a fleeting connection!”

. . .

“Master.”

Scarlett spoke, still knee-deep in system restoration.

Instead of a stable form, only her voice echoed through the facility’s interior.

That voice was remarkably…

cold and detached.

“Didn’t you say we were fleeting acquaintances?”

“Didn’t I?”

“Then isn’t this a bit too intimate for a fleeting thing?”

Intimate, was it?

Had it been two days since that day?

External connection remained unestablished. What Scarlett focused on was the internal facility, which had crashed severely.

Though she’d managed to repair much of the circuitry fried by the EMP, some issues persisted. That was why she wasn’t projecting a holographic form.

Once this was over, I’d have to reinforce the facility with redundancies, to prevent problems like this in the future.

But thankfully, it wasn’t all bad news.

The search grid above had thinned somewhat. A perimeter, albeit fainter, remained etched around this place, but it seemed their manpower had been spread thin.

Black Mamba, Baek So-yeon. Once her injuries healed a bit more, an escape attempt could be dared. Besides, the war seemed to be one that wouldn’t end swiftly, but would drag on.

Now that they’d plunged into urban warfare, capturing scattered ability users would be incredibly difficult. Each individual’s power would be so potent that even armed normals couldn’t hope to keep up…

Perhaps it was only natural that the war wouldn’t end in a single stroke.

In any case, the important thing was this.

If Black Mamba got out of here, the disadvantageous war situation could potentially be reversed.

She, in her own way, would be able to protect what she held dear, which was all well and good.

And I, in my own way, could drive the execution agency out of this place, which was also well and good…

Yes. Everyone wins, doesn’t it?

But, you see.

Scarlett’s remark snapped me sharply back to my senses. I turned to look at Black Mamba, Baek So-yeon, who had naturally settled her shoulder against mine.

Come to think of it, she’s close.

No, she’s *really* close.

“Are you always like this?”

“…W-What nonsense are you spouting?! Like I’m what?! Hah! I’m speechless!”

She seemed to scramble away, only to subtly sidle back closer again shortly after.

It wasn’t like she was clinging without a reason, though. She was fiddling with a game on the spare phone I’d given her, using rest as an excuse, doing nothing much…

“Haaahm…”

She pretended to yawn, then plop. Leaned her head on my shoulder again.

Scarlett’s voice turned even sharper.

“Just what in the blazes do you think you’re doing?”

“Hey. You. This AI of yours is being far too finicky. Replace it. What use is an AI that talks back to its master?”

“Are you quite finished—”

“Look at it, snapping back. Where did you even get something that can hold a conversation so freely? How much self-awareness did you cram in there? Does this even sell in stores?”

“Don’t you dare use harsh words with Scarlet. She’s like a daughter to me.”

“…Ah. So you built it yourself?”

“Born of the heart.”

“…….”

Baek So-yeon, her eyes like chips of ice, turned away with a frosty sniff.

“Whatever. Artificial intelligence. I’ll be leaving sometime today or tomorrow. So until then, just shut up.”

“…Shall I begin timing it now?”

“Will you? Talk some sense.”

“Master. Please grant permission for termination.”

Mediating roughly between the two, I once again assessed the situation outside.

Her condition was rapidly improving. And her words were also correct.

As soon as tonight or tomorrow.

She could leave this place. Most of her injuries had already healed.

But I glanced at her body, top to toe.

Her ability, and the now-absent specialized equipment…

And I weighed the ability-holders she would have to break through.

“…Hoo.”

A little… precarious, I reckon.

Having to break through alone is the problem. How many Enforcers are littered in that crowd? A throng of them, trained to fight those with Abilities, and to break through all by myself is just…daft.

And outside is a veritable hellscape right now. Those crazed b*stards at the Enforcement Agency seem to spill blood first, ask questions later, regardless of whether you’re a civilian or one of their own.

Makes you think public authority’s gone completely bonkers, it does.

Ah, bloody hell. Originally, I was just going to give a bit of help at the right time, then send her on her way…

“Wha? What is it?”

Seeing her tilt her head, all pert and innocent, just made me sigh.

She looks positively clueless, she does. Like she’s thinking it’ll all work out somehow you can practically see it swirling in her eyes.

I’m not exactly one for meticulous planning, but…

This one’s worse. Bloody hell. Doesn’t she have a single thought in that head of hers?

…Ehh, sod it.

Shouldn’t have listened to that story back then, should I?

Nah. Can’t be helped. Since I went and heard it, what can I do now?

And I’m still planning on using her, so…

Might as well make a bit of an investment this time ’round.

“So-yeon-ah.”

“H-hey! Who gave you permission to use my name?! Want to die?!”

“Well then, should I call you Black Mamba?”

“Ah, n-no… Not that, but…”

“Let’s go out tonight.”

Baek So-yeon seemed to wilt a little. She appeared to nod, but…

Her head snapped back up.

“Go out…not ‘go out’, but ‘let’s go out’? You’re asking me to come along?”

“That’s right. I’ll carve a path all the way to the Hundred Eyes Headquarters with you. Just escort me that far.”

“W-what?! Are you insane?! How many of those things are swarming out there?! Hey, you idiot! This is war! You’ll be killed if you’re not careful! Even if you succeed unscathed, what do you even gain?”

“Why do you say I gain nothing?”

I began checking my personal gear.

“You get to live.”

“…….!”

Baek So-yeon clamped a hand over her mouth. Scarlet growled.

“Don’t read too much into it. Don’t accept it at face value either. There are more complex reasons…”

“Shut it. You.”

“Master! Please grant me permission to kill!”

I ignored the ruckus and focused on the equipment.

A full-blown war with the enforcement agency, huh.

To be frank, it’s a move that directly confronts public authority. A heinous crime in anyone’s eyes.

…But you know.

Seeing those b*stards slaughtering civilians on mere suspicion…

One can’t help but get confused about who’s the criminal and who’s the law, can they?

So, here’s the thing.

The b*stards I’m about to face aren’t paragons of justice.

They’re casually committing murder, just like those bounties I hunted down for cash…

No different from your average criminal, really.

And well, I don’t intend to kill anyone either. Just rough them up a bit, enough that they’ll eat some dirt…

Beat them all down, but not to death. Everyone who comes at me.

And this custom-made gear I cobbled together, well…

The model name, Shotgun, fits it terrifyingly well!

Because I can control the output, see!