I'm Not Your Dad, I'm a Villain - Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Prologue

The Hero Association was established to address issues arising within Pangea.

Naturally, the incident at the Heroine Contest fell under their jurisdiction, and the association’s personnel were fully mobilized to calm the situation.

Stability returned to the association about two weeks after the incident.

An executive’s personal secretary returned from vacation just as the commotion began to settle.

“Oh, Mr. Mars. It’s been a while~ Did you enjoy your vacation?”

Mars Ector.

A third-year employee of the association, he was jotting down notes in his notebook as he greeted the receptionist at the desk.

[Good Morning :)]

“Yes, good morning to you too, Mr. Mars.”

The receptionist cheerfully accepted Mars’ cute drawing.

Talking through writing might seem awkward, but Mars had to undergo a laryngectomy due to a past accident, leaving him unable to speak.

Of course, anyone can handle clerical work as long as they can organize documents.

As a person, Mars was loved for his friendly demeanor, and no one in the association questioned his use of a notebook for communication.

Even now, look at this.

-Whoosh.

A rose suddenly appeared in his hand holding the notebook.

Isn’t that a gift only someone with a good heart could give?

“Oh my~ Thank you for the wonderful magic trick today~”

[Good Luck]

With a final cheerful note in his notebook, Mars left.

As the receptionist placed the rose in a vase, another employee who had been watching the scene approached with admiration.

“Did you see that hand movement? When he waved his hand, there was nothing there… Do you think he used a Gift?”

“No, Mr. Mars is an ordinary person.”

Even though the Hero Association manages and oversees heroes, its staff do not necessarily possess Gifts.

Anyone with hands and eyes can handle clerical work.

This applied to Mars, despite his lack of a voice and abilities.

“He’s really amazing. To perform such tricks without a Gift.”

“Yes, it’s really unfortunate. They say he lost his voice in an accident caused by villains…”

Sympathy spread in the eyes of the two employees watching his retreating figure.

Yes, that too testified to the trust they had in Mars Ector.

***

-Bang!

After clocking in, Mars entered the executive’s office.

He paused at the sudden loud noise just as he was about to close the door.

“Damn it, damn it…”

Looking around, he saw a woman clenching her fist amidst scattered documents.

She seemed to have been rampaging for a while, her face drenched in sweat.

Ceras Esenberg.

A former hero and current executive of the association, she was the direct superior whom he assisted.

“…Oh, it’s Mars.”

Ceras finally noticed Mars, looking up.

She was trying to calm down, but the redness of her face showed no signs of subsiding.

[What happened?]

“Nothing. Nothing at all…”

Ceras shook her head immediately upon reading the note in his notebook.

Though the topic was meant to end there.

“…Mr. Mars.”

Perhaps she couldn’t keep it inside any longer?

Ceras looked around carefully, locked the office door, and confided in Mars.

“Do you know about Femme Fatale Familia?”

“…..”

Mars adjusted his glasses silently.

A habit of his when he was paying close attention or acknowledging something.

Ceras, who had been working with Mars for three years, knew this habit well.

She trusted him enough to observe him closely.

“She was…”

Yes, what followed was a story she shared because she trusted him.

“She was the hero who most sincerely met the public’s expectations. No one suited the stage better than Jack Horse, except her…”

Even as she approached retirement, she exerted herself to fill Jack Horse’s void and pave the way for her successors.

That person not only colluded with villains but was addicted to drugs for over a decade.

As someone who once fought alongside her, Ceras found it impossible to believe.

“Why would she do such a thing?”

But Femme Fatale’s massacres and drug use were undeniable facts.

The world was condemning her, yet Ceras couldn’t see her as a pure villain.

Even if she had fallen, there must have been a reason.

“…Perhaps.”

What followed was a conjecture born of that trust.

Even if it was something a hero, let alone an executive, should never speculate on.

“Perhaps she saw something the association was hiding. Not the villain forces, but something unjust the association is concealing.”

“…..”

Did Mars realize the gravity of her words?

His eyes widened, showing seriousness.

Yes, this was dangerous talk.

It could ignite the flame of ‘rebellion’…

“…Was that why I was assigned to the frontier?”

But her thoughts weren’t baseless.

Just as she started investigating, she received orders to oversee a new facility in the frontier.

Even temporarily, handling that task would make it impossible for her to delve into the association.

“Mars.”

But only she was assigned external duties.

“I cannot participate in the association for a while. So, I want you to investigate this matter privately on my behalf. Will you?”

“…..”

Mars stood silently, contemplating.

It was a task that could mark him as a traitor to the association, yet Ceras’ eyes showed firm resolve.

She believed the hero she trusted wouldn’t have done this without reason.

If there was a reason, it would at least be something she could understand.

[What should I look into?]

Facing those emotions, perhaps Mars felt something.

“Seolhwa.”

After a long silence, Mars wrote a note, prompting Ceras to name someone.

“Why she appeared at the scene, and what Pandemonia, the group she belongs to, is. Investigate everything related to them.”

[Not the association, but the villains?]

“Directly probing the association is too risky. It’s better to gradually approach by investigating the villains involved in the incident.”

A reasonable explanation.

But more importantly, from the incident’s perspective, Seolhwa seemed more connected to the truth than Femme Fatale.

“Moreover, it’s Seolhwa we’re dealing with. For someone who matched Jack Horse to appear, it suggests this incident is more serious than we thought.”

[Such as?]

“It might be just a guess, but she could be gathering former Ouroboros executives.”

Mars trembled, stopping his writing.

Realizing the gravity, Ceras recalled those she faced in the Great War.

“The Ice Empress Seolhwa, who rivaled the Celestial Demon. The elusive Shadow, the human chimera Anatomy, the Blood Demon Bathory Erzsébet… And even the smiling Maestro.”

Each was one of the worst villains in Pangea’s history.

Though the Mad Bomber Beast Buster was confirmed dead, the other executives had vanished, and searches for them were ongoing.

To reappear at such a high-profile event was almost a declaration of something grand.

“Though not certain, the possibility should be considered once an executive appears.”

“…”

“Mars. I know this is a difficult request. If you feel it’s too dangerous, you can back out anytime. If those above threaten you, say I ordered it.”

The association might have sent her to the frontier knowing she was plotting something.

Leaving her secretary behind would surely arouse suspicion.

But Ceras didn’t want her secretary to suffer because of her.

Especially her most trusted confidant at this stage.

[You are my superior.]

That’s why someone who had built such trust could still accept this task willingly.

It worries but also reassures.

At least there’s someone on her side.

“…Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Ceras turned and left the office.

Mars, now alone in the messy room, began organizing the scattered documents.

Among them were lists of heroes involved in the incident, including Femme Fatale Familia, and information on the newly emerging villain alliance, Pandemonia.

And a list of survivors from the incident.

[Ginger Bread]

When he saw a familiar name on the list, Mars’ gaze fixed on it.

As if considering something upon seeing the name.

-Whirr.

A faint sound reached his ears.

Mars, breaking his concentration, looked down at the shadows beneath the curtain in the office.

Something wriggled and then solidified, revealing the upper half of a boy shrouded in darkness.

Mars knew his identity.

-Maestro.

The elusive Shadow.

A youthful voice followed the realization.

-There’s news from Anatomy.

Upon hearing that voice, Maestro adjusted his glasses and took a step towards Shadow.

And then…

***

“Twisted Fate.”

In her living room.

Seolhwa, sitting demurely on the sofa, closed her eyes, recalling her memories as she faced the Boss.

“The Gift Boss possesses can interfere with fate itself.”

Indeed, as Seolhwa said.

The power Boss had was in the realm of omnipotence.

“It can alter the cause, process, and outcome of any event as desired. It can fix an existing result and modify the process leading to it…”

It could erase even the smallest things or create what never existed.

A power that could rewrite this world’s ‘history.’

“But using that power comes with a significant cost.”

And for such an absurd power, the cost of using it is hefty.

Even a cosmic being is merely a life form compared to the vast universe.

“…Boss.”

Yes, that’s the limit of her power.

Having experienced that protection, Seolhwa recalled her old memories and gazed at the girl sitting across from her with pity.

“How many times have you used your power since that day?”

Recalling when she was taken in.

When she was around the same age as the girl now.

End of Chapter