I’m Not That Villain

80 – Black Mamba (8)

At dawn, a rumor spread rapidly within the Hundred.

A rumor that the Boss had taken a concubine.

Those who hadn’t actually seen it whispered amongst themselves. A concubine for that Boss?

Wasn’t she the type of person who hated people in general? The words that she’d rather kill everyone than step into a crowded place didn’t sound like a joke when she said them.

But…

“Her letting a man in?

That was…inconceivable, thinking of the Black Mamba’s image. The very same woman who’d told even her own guards to keep their distance and follow from behind?

Those who hadn’t seen her the day the Boss returned were consumed by curiosity, every single one of them. Especially now, on the verge of all-out war.

And amongst them…

There was one who reacted most violently to the rumour.

Hundred Eyes’ No. 3.

Tsubame dashed across the corridor, a blur.

*KWAANG!*

She threw the door open, a furious growl rumbling from her throat. Her Korean, still somewhat clumsy, burst out.

“Darko! What the hell kinda bullshit?!”

Darko.

Hundred Eyes’ No. 2, and the highest-ranking executive, glanced casually at his watch.

“…You woke up at this hour? It’s still dawn.”

“Heard some crazy talk in my sleep! Boss got a lover! What the hell?! Shit! Need answer!”

“At least you’re good at saying ‘shit’…”

Tsubame spat out a curse in Japanese. Darko pinched the bridge of his nose, hard.

He didn’t forget to desperately suppress his own rising emotions. This organization would surely collapse in an instant if a sane man like himself wasn’t there to hold it together.

“I don’t know what rumours you’ve heard, but it’s nonsense.”

“Boss makin’ out with lover! Kissy kissy, all over the place?!”

“I don’t know how the rumour has already become so twisted…but it’s nonsense. Utterly.”

“Organization member?! Or a strange gigolo?! A host?! A gold digger?!”

“If you’re asking if he’s one of those… I’d say it’s best to just call him an outsider.”

Tsubame raked a hand through her disheveled hair. Her face twisted with venom, she ground her teeth and produced a knife from within her robes.

“Kill.”

“You kill him, and the Boss will kill you.”

“Boss. Trust me!”

“Have you ever known the Boss to trust anyone?”

“I’m better than some strange man!”

“Normally, that would be correct. It’s unlikely some strange stranger brought in overnight would be valued more than you.”

Darko pushed the report he’d created after the emergency meeting to one side.

“But this time, things are different.”

“How so?”

“There’s been some exaggeration in the rumors, I’m sure. But that doesn’t mean it’s all lies. So…”

Darko was at a loss.

How on earth was he supposed to explain this?

“So…”

Tsubame bared sharp fangs.

“Hedge, and I korosu.” (kill)

Not a day goes by without some kind of death threat.

This is why personality assessments are essential for executive-level positions. Or, no, if that were the case, no one would ever be in the leadership.

Darko chose his words with careful consideration.

“Not quite a concubine. Just… a close acquaintance, more like.”

Tsubame scoffed, a sharp little sound.

“Boss no have friend! Boss loser!”

“If I recorded that and played it for the Boss, your neck would already be gone.”

“Boss where?!”

“He’s resting. He went to take some time to relax before the all-out war. And let me tell you beforehand, he’s sensitive. As you know, disturbing the Boss right before sleep is suicide…”

“What about the gigolo?!”

“Just listen to me. Please. It’s more important to ignore that side of things and understand your role when the all-out war begins…”

Tsubame bolted out of the room.

Left alone, Darko turned his attention back to the plans.

It was obvious, a disaster was about to erupt…

If this were the old days, he would have stopped it. Definitely. But now, he almost felt like he could just let it happen.

Unlike the Boss of just a few days ago…

The current Boss, for some reason, seemed to have found a newfound leisure.

“…He won’t die. The Boss knows even if that guy is a fool, he has his uses…”

There was something he had to rush to do before preventing some disaster.

The enforcement agencies had the overall numbers and overwhelming firepower on their side.

But on this side, there were all sorts of ability holders who had survived in conditions that exceeded that.

To exploit that difference, he had to carefully craft a plan. Simple victory wasn’t the only objective. Beyond that, preserving the organization’s power was also incredibly important.

Only then, even after winning this war…

Could we continue to reign as the colossal organization dominating Jung-gu, Seoul.

“…If I knew it would give me such a headache, I should have played dumb from the start.”

Darko chuckled, a bitter sound. But what could he do?

A job like this was hard to find anywhere. So, naturally…

He had to strive to keep his rice bowl, one way or another.

. . .

Tsubame strode forward, with purpose in her steps.

Hundred Eyes.

An organization with a name that means ‘a hundred eyes’.

She was the one who came up with the name, Hundred Eyes, on behalf of the Boss, who couldn’t even be bothered to name it himself.

This place is my family. Where I belong. A collective of those who yearn for the impossibly strong Boss!

Of course, the majority were drawn by the money flowing from the Boss…

But not me!

I’m the Boss’s most cherished!

“Ts, Tsubame-nim?! This floor is currently off-limits…!”

She shoved aside the guard standing before the door. Tsubame stepped directly inside.

Searching meticulously, floor by floor. But she hadn’t found anyone.

Every face familiar. Not a single unfamiliar one mingled amongst them.

Perhaps, then, it resided somewhere here. Tsubame snarled, flinging the door wide.

The Boss’s private office.

And there, she witnessed it.

“…Huh?”

A man and a woman, shoulder to shoulder on the sofa.

“I want to eat that.”

“Then eat it yourself.”

“…I said I want to eat it!”

“Why are you acting like this, a grown woman?!”

Grumbling, the man still picked up the food. He held it out to the woman’s lips with the chopsticks.

And she took it, just like that. A familiar sight, like a baby bird accepting food from its mother.

Except, that woman.

That she was the Boss, the Black Mamba, who never allowed anyone near, froze Tsubame solid.

“…Dare?”

Who. Who is it?

Who is that?

Tsubame blinked. Black Mamba, belatedly turning her head, met her gaze.

For a fleeting moment, her brow twisted like a demon’s. She chewed and swallowed what was in her mouth…

“…Didn’t I say, don’t let anyone in?”

From her whole being, something like a black serpent crawled forth.

“Like he’d *actually* kill him.”

Tsubame flinched. She’d been on the receiving end of the Boss’s threats enough times to be used to it. So it wasn’t the situation itself that terrified her.

It was just that this absurd spectacle was causing some serious cognitive dissonance. Tsubame trembled, extending a hand. She pointed a finger at the man.

“Wh-Who?! Why are you next to the Boss?! A kept man?!”

“A kept man? Me?”

“I’ll kill y-“

Another piece of food was suddenly shoved into Black Mamba’s mouth, right as she was about to get up.

Her expression softened instantly as she chewed on the rolled omelet, bewildered.

“It’s true he came in without permission, but still, you can’t just go around killing people like that, can you? An organization will fall apart fast if you manage it like that.”

“…I wasn’t trying to kill him, okay? I was just going to punish him.”

It was a face she’d never seen before.

A face she’d *never* seen before!

Tsubame screamed inwardly, trembling. To turn the almighty Black Mamba into something like a well-trained dog…

He’s not stronger than the Boss, is he? But wh-who is he, anyway?

I really don’t recognize that face? Even though I know all the prominent ability users in Seoul by face…

I really don’t recognize that face?!

“Out.”

Tsubame was chased out by the now-docile Black Mamba. She wanted to say something more, but she quietly slipped out of the room, feeling like she’d be legitimately murdered if she said another word.

Even so, unable to completely shake off her lingering questions, she glanced back one last time at the closed door.

Astonishment.

Then came curiosity.

The last emotion to settle was, in the end…

“…Ugh…!”

Unequivocally, jealousy.

The jealousy of one who adored Black Mamba above all others.

. . .

“Gigolo! Stalker! Pretty parasite!”

That annoying Japanese woman had attached herself.

Honestly, is a cute face all it takes? I loathed troublesome women.

“Won’t you just go away?”

“Boss…! Boss…! “

“I keep telling you, she’s not my girlfriend. How many times do I have to say it? Just an acquaintance… no… a fleeting connection, that’s all?”

“I am the one who decides that.”

Baek Soyeon, stubbornly fiddling with the custom equipment I’d made for her right beside me, furrowed her brow.

“Tsubame. Aren’t you going to scram?”

“Boss! Boss’s bodyguard! I am needed!”

“You’re not needed, so go away.”

Tsubame.

That woman, with that face and that personality, wept pathetically, claiming to be Number Three.

“Bossssss… are you abandoning me…?”

A cute woman openly flirting; the destructive power was considerable.

But Baek So-yeon was even more formidable.

“Get lost before I toss you out of the building.”

Those few words ignited Tsubame’s fighting spirit again as she glared at me.

“You…NTR b*stard…!”

“That’s not it.”

It really isn’t. You crazy b*tch.

I told you I wouldn’t contact you after leaving this place.

That annoying woman was making such a racket that I simply kept pushing her out. I addressed Baek So-yeon, who was fiddling with the custom equipment I’d made for her.

“Weren’t you not going to use that?”

“…My choice.”

She huffed and turned her head. I poked her cheek. Baek So-yeon, startled, mumbled quietly.

“D-don’t do things like that out of the blue…!”

“Ah. Sorry. I won’t then. I just saw your cheek puffed up with air.”

“…It’s not like I’m telling you not to do it *at all*…”

What does she even want from me?

I gestured with my eyes.

“You sensed it the moment you held it, didn’t you? The two other possibilities within you.”

“…A sense of disharmony. Yes. After hearing your words, I knew for certain. Exactly what the possibilities hidden within me were. And this is…”

She nonchalantly lifted the cube-shaped custom equipment.

The cube-shaped device whirred to life on its own. Each facet twisted, aligned, then contorted again…

And then, expansion.

It morphed into a spherical form, rising to float above her hand.

“…’Store’ and ‘Release,’ right? And this constantly shape-shifting device acts as its receptor, allowing for the ability to control the inner space.”

“Precisely.”

Black Mamba’s aptitude.

Spatial Devouring.

At a glance, it was an aptitude possessing tremendous destructive force. But that didn’t make it invincible.

Objects swallowed whole by this aptitude were compressed, entering her stomach. It was the reason she suffered from indigestion and vomiting every time she fought.

But,

With this device, the story changed entirely.

It was an external storage space created by harnessing her aptitude. It allowed her to use two additional aptitudes while acting as an external stomach.

With this alone, anything she devoured with her aptitude would be stored within the expanded sub-space of the cube. Of course, the scale was limited, but…

‘Spatial Storage’ and ‘Spatial Release’.

The latter of the two additional aptitudes would regurgitate what had been consumed, emptying the inner space.

There was no pain for her in this process. A complete farewell to the unsightly displays she had experienced until now.

“Well? My masterpiece.”

“…It’s practically creating something from nothing, isn’t it?”

“I’m a bit talented, you know. Feel free to praise me more.”

“…Pfft.”

“B-Boss… the Boss is smiling…?!”

Beside the aghast Tsubame, Baek So-yeon chuckled.

“My, my. That usual prickly facade of yours is fine, but this smile suits you far better.”

The laughter lingered, drawn out. Silence fell, and then Baek So-yeon lightly pinched my cheek.

“…Idiot.”

“Why?”

“Just because.”

As adept at wielding her ability, so too was Baek So-yeon immediately skilled with the customized equipment.

The sphere-shaped cube idled in her palm before morphing shape in a flash. Returning once more to its square cube form, the customized equipment was placed upon the desk.

Baek So-yeon toyed with it idly.

“Risk-free ability use. It’s like giving a monster wings. You know that, right?”

“I know. That’s why…”

A prick of conscience over what I’d unleashed made me slip in an additional condition.

“This is a personal favor, so you don’t have to agree… but, you know.”

“Speak.”

“Show a little mercy with your hands… yeah? You know? If you don’t *need* to kill someone, don’t. If someone gets killed because of the gear I made, my nights will be haunted.”

Tsubame gasped in horror.

“Disagreeing with the Boss?! Advice?! Guidance?! Another body to add…?!”

“Understood.”

“Boss?!”

Tsubame was kicked away. She tumbled, slammed against the wall.

Perched on the desk, Baek Soyeon tossed the cube lightly, then snatched it back.

“Mercy in your hands. You remembered.”

“…You’ll really do it?”

“Why? Don’t want me to?”

“No. I’m all for it, but…”

I thought she’d refuse, so why is she agreeing so readily?

Baek Soyeon’s eyes narrowed. She looked down at me, seated, with a quiet gaze, before sliding completely off the desk.

“Think about it until I return. The reward you want.”

“…Are you going to fight?”

“It’s a little early, but it’s better to prepare beforehand. Don’t follow this time. Absolutely not.”

“I won’t. I won’t. You have plenty of people around you, right? My part ends here.”

Naturally, I had no intention of following.

What if I get needlessly tangled up if I interfere any further?

I already felt queasy from meddling more than necessary; I had no intention of starting anything beyond this.

Still, though.

I’ll sprinkle in one particular worry.

“Don’t get hurt. I don’t want to face the person I brought back to life as a corpse.”

“…Hmm…”

She gripped Tsubame by the nape of her neck, and just as she was about to head out the door, she turned back to look at me.

A tilt of the head. A finger lightly pressed to her lips.

“You’re… worried about me?”

“Of course.”

Baek Soyeon’s eyes widened a fraction. After tossing Tsubame out the door and slamming it shut in haste…

She came back to me.

“…Hey.”

“What?”

“You… that…”

Like she wanted to say something, but ultimately couldn’t, she gave up, her mouth forming a small, round ‘o’.

My arm suffered another bite. For no good reason.

Honestly, why does she love biting so much?

The mark from the last time hasn’t even faded.

“What is your problem?!”

“My heart.”

This woman…

Was she a snake in her past life, perhaps?