After convincing Celeste to come with me to the location of the Sun Gods artifact, we made an appointment to meet another time.
I was back home, in my room, managing the Stardus fan cafe.
Whew
Its been a while since Ive done that.
I managed my fan cafe by blocking bad users and posting good posts as announcements.
I remembered that the original Stardus Fancafe eventually became Stardust Anticafe, so I managed it even more tightly.
*
[No, the owner of the cafe here is not in a good mood these days. < Are you going to suspend me for 7 days just for saying this? damn]
*
How dare you swear at Stardus in my cafe?
[Do you want this user banned?]
[Banned. Do you want to ban this user?]
[Banned]
Ill deal with the flames.
Nah, theres been a lot of weirdos lately.
Ive had to deal with them dozens of times since then.
So again today, I drove away all the troublemakers who were trying to take shots at Stardus.
Phew, I saved my little cafe again today.
Personally, Ive never understood the people who bash Heroes, especially Stardus.
They basically put their lives on the line every day to protect the citizens. They put their lives on the line every day, and you criticize them for doing so?
I know its a clich in hero comics, but its still annoying.
Especially in this [Stardust!], the writer doesnt really have a human heart, and he portrays the public as people who criticize Stardus from beginning to end. That made the nobility of Stardus, who tries to protect even those people, more visible, but I felt like Id eaten a hundred sweet potatoes.
At least now, thanks to my efforts, all the aggro is gone and its mostly just fans.
Stardus is finally getting the respect she deserves.
The few remaining troublemakers, well, theyve been banned from my fan cafe for now.
Of course, I dont think Stardus will ever know that I did this, but Im proud of myself. I dont mind being remembered as a villain forever, as long as Stardus its fine.
By the way, Stardus, how are you doing these days?
I thought to myself.
Suddenly interested, I clicked through to the top posts and scrolled through them one by one.
I saw on the news that Stardus has been taking down enemies with a single punch
Ive been seeing Stardusts photos in the posts.
Whats wrong with Stardus these days?
, I couldnt help but mutter seriously.
In fact, to others, she didnt look much different from her usual self. Shes always cold and stoic, beating the crap out of villains.
But to me, a Stardus expert, it was different.
Theres a hidden tiredness in her thats hard to see, and an aura of defeat.
Is something wrong? Something I dont recognize?
I racked my brain, trying to think of something, but there isnt much that could be stressing Stardus this time of year. Her old college classmate being turned into a villain? Not yet. Weapon Master slaughtering tens of thousands of Seouls citizens? I stopped him before he could.
I thought I was even retired, living a more pleasant and carefree life.
Whats wrong with me?
For a moment, I thought about asking Stardus best friend, Lee Seola, but I stopped myself from reaching out because it sounded like a jilted ex-boyfriend asking about his ex-girlfriends life.
Right. If something was really serious, she would have told me first.
If so, what the hell was wrong with her?
What could have caused her to be so stressed?
With that thought in my mind, I flipped through Stardus photos from months ago.
I realized a few things.
First, her complexion deteriorated around the time I retired.
And two. She had been looking worse and worse for about three months. Its like she hasnt been sleeping.
By the way, her complexion got worse around the time I retired.
No way. She missed me when I retiredOf course not. Is it because shes angry that she couldnt catch me with her own hands, or something else?
Whatever it is, Im not sure
Maybe I should meet her, at least once.
I thought to myself silently.
Of course, I was a little embarrassed to sneak up on her again after the cool goodbye I gave her last time, like Id never see her again.
Well. I said I had nothing to point out, not that Id never see her again.
Its not terrorism, its just a passing glimpse, so it shouldnt be a problem. Its not like I have a broadcast key.
Okay
At the end of Phase 4, when the thing happensIll have to step up and take care of it.
Im sure Stardus will be there, so Ill just have to check her face, because a quick glance can tell a lot.
Anyway, to make Stardus life easier for the rest of her days, it all came down to how to roast and boil Celeste.
Having one of the final bosses on my side would be a boon.
Especially considering that she is the Sun Gods greatest henchman, I could see how important it would be to win Celeste over.
Of course, it wouldnt be easy to do that to someone who was ranked number one in the world and could kill me with a snap of her fingers.
Still, I had an idea.
The Sun Gods ruins were going to visitIf I go there.
It would certainly bring me closer.
Ill make it so.
Good.
We can go this very week. Ill make the first call.
When I was thinking about it.
-Ding.
Da-in, are you there?
Hmph.
Slightly startled by the knock on the door, I calmed down and answered.
Yes. Soobin.
I brought you some fruit, please eat.
Just like that, the door opened, and she came in with the fruit.
Smiling brightly at me, I smiled awkwardly and took the plate.
Yes. Thank you.
Hoo-hoo, Da-in. What have you been doing?
Ah. You know Celeste, right? The number one ranked villain. I was thinking about what to do with her
Ahhh
She smiled at my words and spoke to me.
Da-in. Im all for it, but dont you think itll be a little hard on Da-in if its too much
What?
Its nothing, then cheers!
And with that, she wished me good luck and left.
After Soobin left like that, I sighed and sat down again.
Hah
After Soobins confession last time I was in quite the predicament, in more ways than one.
The girls were already talking to each other, and they were getting closer and closer
How much longer can I hold out?
I thought to myself, remaining silent.
The offense was intense. No joke.
Of course, Im gritting my teeth because its not even Phase 4, but who knows what will happen after that.
Actually, I still havent gotten over Stardus, so maybe I should get over this and do something about it.
Uh, no. Considering the original setting, Im not sure Ill even be alive after the final chapter.
I continued my thoughts in a stream of consciousness.
I shook my head, stood up, and reached for my cell phone.
I dont know. Ill do what I have to do first.
Lets convince Celeste first and think about it.
With that, I immediately contacted Celeste to schedule the next appointment.
***
After Egostic left, in the center of the prayer hall, the silver-haired Saint Celeste, dressed in her saintly robes, kneels reverently.
She remained in a prayerful posture, thinking.
Egotistic.
That bastard, the S-class villain of a country called Korea.
And somehow, the servant of the Sun God He was chosen by an angel.
And yet, he killed the Sun Gods warriors.
Her teeth clenched at his brazen and shameless behavior, she quickly calmed down and thought calmly.
Hah
For some reason, being around him made her feel childish.
Actually, she hadnt really realized it.
It was also natural.
Ever since she had awakened the power of the Sun God as a child, she had been at her peak at that very moment.
With the power to manipulate the heavens and earth, she led her own faction, and always stood above others.
Most of those around her were either wealthy, or beneath her, whom she could wipe out with a wave of her hand.
It was practically the first time in her life that shed ever met someone she couldnt kill.
since he had already been chosen by the Sun God.
There was no point in using force against him.
Of course, she believes he stole the angel somehow, but but one never knows.
What if he really is the Sun Gods chosen one?
And he knows about the sun.
Of course, beyond these things, there was another reason to be wary of him.
The beast
The image she had seen in the prophecy, of herself kissing him.
The image of her future self, the one shed seen in the prophecy, kissing him, the one shed forced herself to do even though she didnt want to, and the one shed secretly accepted even though she said no, shocked her.
The body she had given to the sun in the first place. She had never thought that she would be in such a relationship with a man, even with him?
Never, never will.
She reminded herself.
Never, never, never. No matter what he did, never.
Just as she was making up her mind, Egostic informed her that he had found the remains of the Sun God and asked to see her.
She didnt know then, as she rose to her feet, still full of determination, her face cold.
That it would happen there.