Transformation or Death

Romantic Death Incident (1)

The Sagittarius villain injected the last remaining drug into his arm.

“Huu…”

Letting out a groan like a middle-aged person entering a hot bath, he slowly sank into pleasure. A tremendous euphoria, like the sound of trumpets, rose along the bloodstream, awakening the mind. It was an awakening of the mind, and also a powerless awakening.

Libra’s drug contains various pleasure-inducing and hallucinogenic substances, along with a tiny amount of starlight. For S-class villains who can’t achieve physical growth after completing their constellation, it provides a temporary but definite pleasure.

This drug offers the same effect not only to villains but also to ordinary people who have no connection to starlight from the beginning, producing what are commonly called ‘light chasers’. It’s a beautiful potion that creates addicts who chase after light while struggling with financial debt.

The Sagittarius villain was also included among these light chasers.

This drug can only be made by Libra, who can adjust their own and others’ starlight through transactions. There are no substitutes.

But now Libra has stopped producing this drug. They’re focused on researching other drugs.

Even cheap drugs that are diluted versions of the original, thousands of times weaker, are hard to come by these days.

“Damn it.”

The Sagittarius villain cursed casually as he threw away the empty syringe. The pleasure was certain, but too volatile. Like water evaporating and lowering the temperature, pleasure is the same. The moment it leaves, the mood instantly becomes a low temperature.

“This is all because of that bastard… Shit, I should have killed him properly when I shot him back then.”

He sighed deeply and began to lament. He should have done it properly when asked to bomb that day. They say Libra is busy manufacturing that drug to mess with a human named Han Jaejung.

A drug that greatly enhances injected villains while making them lose their reason. According to Libra, it strengthens the light at the cost of the villain’s star and reason. Honestly, they didn’t understand what that meant. The villains injected with the drug weren’t bright at all, rather just dark, so what kind of light enhancement was it?

“Tch. What’s the use of knowing that stuff?”

It’s not like anything changes by knowing the theory. They’re annoyed enough to want to just kill Libra, but they can’t do that either. If he disappears, the chance to receive the drug will be gone forever.

In the first place, who is this Han Jae-jung to be called someone with the qualities of a hero who will make a righteous sacrifice?

“Come to think of it, didn’t they say he survived Leo as well?”

There’s only one virtue needed to survive that beast.

Luck.

Courage, power, wealth, and the like don’t matter.

A villain who tried harder than anyone to become strong died simply because Leo unluckily passed by their vicinity.

Those who survived among the challengers were lucky that Leo withdrew during the battle.

The Sagittarius villain thought Han Jae-jung was also this case. A challenger who luckily survived.

But there was one thing, or rather two people, that the Sagittarius villain knew of, who managed to survive through factors other than luck.

Sky Polaris, who made Leo retreat with just a few words, without any battle.

“If that guy managed Leo like the master did…”

The Sagittarius villain scratched at his injection marks for a while, then sighed and got up.

“…I’ve got plenty of time anyway.”

Maybe he should go see what kind of person this guy is.

***

Ippotranslation 

***

The Sagittarius villain’s eyes are exceptionally good. As their primary job is sniping, their vision and eyesight are unparalleled.

Moreover, their eyes are special compared to others, able to visualize invisible information such as temperature or vibrations.

Synthesizing all visible information, they can observe targets as if looking down on the world from the sky.

Maintaining a distance of over 100km from the observation target, they watched a man. In contrast to their quiet gaze, their hand was noisily scribbling on a notepad. ʀᴀꞐȰ𝔟ΕŜ

-Name: Han Jae-jung.

-Age: Mid-twenties.

-Occupation: Café employee.

-Face: Fairly handsome. However, gives off a delinquent impression with a thin, sly look like a gisaeng’s brother. This impression seems stronger due to his large build.

Unlike their usual rough way of speaking, the memo itself was neat. They recorded only the outwardly visible facts, organizing them into the pristine white paper.

-Lives in a cheap villa in G city. Wakes up at 6 AM and leaves at 6:40 AM.

-Arrives at café ‘White Tiger’ around 7:10 AM. Prepares for business.

-Upon entering the café, immediately greets a petite woman inside. From their conversation, likely a business partner, officially closer to a superior. However, their private address is quite familiar, suggesting an exceptionally close relationship.

Though too far to hear sound, they can read lips. Through this, Sagittarius can sufficiently monitor even their conversations. They can eavesdrop on the other party’s dialogue.

“What, you came earlier than me. I thought I came the earliest. When did our master come?”

“I, I told you not to use that kind of title! It sounds like I bought you, brother!”

“That’s the problem, it’s not much different in reality. I don’t work, but money comes in. This isn’t compensation for labor, but isn’t it you, Ah-yoon, buying time to be with me? So in essence, you, Ah-yoon, are no different from my master…”

“Shut up!”

The woman called Ah-yoon threw the rag she was using to wipe the desk at Han Jae-jung. Han Jae-jung skillfully caught the cloth in mid-air and naturally started wiping a nearby desk.

“In short, if you don’t want to revive slavery in modern times because of you, Ah-yoon, you’re saying we need to find a way to save the café.”

“Do you have to say it like that! You’re really beating around the bush, you damn brother…”

Grumbling with her lips pursed, Joo Ah-yoon pulled out another large apron disproportionate to her size and another rag. She threw the apron at Han Jae-jung as she had just done, and resumed wiping the desk with the rag.

“In the first place, even when I come up with ideas, you reject them saying they’re weird… Did I know it would get this strangely twisted? A neighborhood café that’s neither famous nor unknown, just known to those who know it, with regular customers coming often, having coffee and desserts that can only be tasted here, where a single customer can keep coming for decades, and rumors spread by word of mouth about the beautiful owner and handsome employee, sometimes getting noisy when nearby high school girls visit – what’s so hard about making such a sentimental café…?”

“I can hear everything, master. Just keep your hands busy.”

“Ugh, fine!”

Scrubbing the desk irritably, Ah-yoon continued to grumble.

“Originally, I didn’t want something like master and slave, but a more equal relationship… This café, I originally wanted to put it all under joint names… Slowly adding names to the documents one by one…”

“Ah-yoon?”

“Ah, no! I’m not betraying my senior. Uh, okay?”

“Your friend is here?”

Following Han Jae-jung’s words and finger, Ah-yoon soon spotted a woman tapping on the window from outside.

“Ah~ her? She’s not my friend, ignore her.”

“Please come in.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jae-jung.”

“Whyyy~”

“You shouldn’t ignore a friend like that.”

“It’s not business hours, go back!”

“Ms. La, please sit here.”

“Thank you for everything. So different from someone like Ah-yoon. How could Ah-yoon have someone like Mr. Jae-jung by her side? I’m dying of envy.”

She cleared her throat once in the middle of speaking, then smiled bitterly. It was a polite smile, but by no means a friendly one.

“But I’m sorry… Could you not call me without my surname? It sounds a bit… Like a food name. ‘Ara’ with the surname is enough for me.”

“Brother, should we add lassi to our menu?”

“You’ll think of me even while working? Sorry, but little one. Such obsession is a bit burdensome.”

“Who are you calling little one?!”

“Ah-yoon, Ah-yoon, wait.”

“Eek?!”

Han Jae-jung put his hands around Ah-yoon’s waist, lifted her up, then turned away from Ara.

“Wh-what are you doing! Are you crazy? Someone’s watching… No, it’s not okay even when no one’s watching…”

“Ah-yoon. Are you crazy?”

“Brother, wait, don’t whisper in my ear…”

He whispered into Ah-yoon’s ear, his lips even closer than before, in an even softer voice. Han Jae-jung glanced at La with a tense gaze, who was covering her eyes with a reddened face as if embarrassed.

“That person is our shop’s highest-spending customer. Just yesterday, they spent 100,000 won.”

“Huh…? I, I told you not to whisper… Damn you, brother…”

Ah-yoon, who was flailing with her legs lifted off the ground while in his arms, managed to elbow him in the side.

“Does spending a lot of money excuse all bad behavior? Coming in before opening hours, rude speech and actions, even hitting on the staff! These should never be forgiven!”

“Th-that’s right. So could you please refrain from such affectionate displays in front of me? I understand that things are heated between the little one and Mr. Jae-jung, but…”

“Understanding my ass. It’s not like that, okay? And why are you suddenly being so polite to brother with honorifics? You were the one who caused the most trouble before.”

“That’s exactly why I need to be more respectful. I have to make up for my rudeness.”

Ah-yoon seemed at a loss for words and hesitated slightly. La smiled brightly, resting her chin on her hands in a flower-cup pose.

“Then, our Ah-yoon. Could you bring some coffee? And for Mr. Watcher too, while you’re at it.”

“Cut the crap. You still don’t trust me?”

“Haha…”

Joo Ah-yoon still responded irritably and nonchalantly, but Han Jae-jung just laughed awkwardly. The Archer sensed something was off.

As soon as the name Watcher was mentioned, Han Jae-jung and Ah-yoon’s reactions became awkward. Especially Han Jae-jung’s reaction.

Watcher. A simple name meaning observer.

He had heard it was the superhero name Han Jae-jung had chosen. Judging by their feigned reactions, had he hidden his identity from others except for that cafe owner woman?

‘If he’s hiding his identity, it would be difficult to act heroically…’

Or does overcoming that difficulty make him even more heroic? It’s complicated. Sagittarius decided not to dwell on unnecessary thoughts and focused back on observing.

“Don’t lie! I already know that Ah-yoon, he’s your partner! Wait a moment… Then is this adultery with Mr. Jae-jung? No, it would already be adultery with Sister Sirius… Double adultery…?! I’m disappointed. Even if you quit being a magical girl, to fall so low…”

“I haven’t fallen, and I have nothing to be ashamed of in front of Senior Seol-hwa. If you’re going to talk nonsense, just leave.”

“Your language is so vulgar. Ah, this isn’t falling. You were always like this. Hmph.”

“Fine, let’s both die then.”

Their bickering continued until La ordered one more cake, the most expensive special tea, and a smoothie, and then left the store on a dispatch order.

“Then I’ll contact Mr. Watcher later. Tell him that Orange Altair is looking for him.”

“Since he’s a superhero, you’d meet him better than me. You tell him yourself.”

“Okay, okay. I got it, our cute little one. Big sis has to go to work now. You take care of the empty store. Ah, Mr. Jae-jung, take care too. Squeeze a lot of money out of this friend. She’s loaded.”

“…Haha.”

Han Jae-jung, who had been repeating cooking and cleaning without intervening in their fight, laughed dryly. Ding. The door chime rang lightly once, there was a flash of light, and her figure disappeared without a trace.

Ah-yoon sat down heavily in any empty chair with a deep sigh. All the chairs, though not many, were empty, so she could sit anywhere.

“Damn, why is she so persistent? If it’s not true, just accept that it’s not.”

“Keep denying it. They have no decisive evidence. Even if you can’t completely erase their suspicions, they’ll tire out first.”

“I know… Brother, be careful with your words too. You know you’re good at everything else, but you’re not good at lying, right? Especially lies told at crucial moments.”

“…Honestly, it’s not very natural.”

“It’s not. Just stay quiet. Like today, just smiling is the best. That’s… Um, well, good to see too.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“Can’t you take it properly? Oh right, brother must be happy to have someone to have a crush on him. Hm? Come to think of it, your customer service was very kind today. Even providing services beyond what we usually do. Is it because you’re in love? Right, brother?”

“Why is the conversation suddenly turning this way?”

“Well, you know. She called Watcher brother too, and she’s obviously showing that she likes you. You like it too, don’t you? Hm? Be honest. I like hearing about other people’s love lives.”

Han Jae-jung looked around for a moment and then pointed at empty space.

“Sorry, a quest just popped up…”

“Oh, okay, quests are good. Come back when you’re done. We can talk when you return. Okay, brother? If you happen to meet that woman on your way…”

“It’s not like that, I tell you. Don’t you trust me?”

“Sure.”

“Then what should I do to make you believe me?”

Ah-yoon silently opened her arms. Han Jae-jung let out a deep sigh. Judging by his expression, it was a sigh closer to relief than exasperation.

“Just express it in words. That’s better, isn’t it?”

Han Jae-jung approached Ah-yoon and embraced her.

“Shut up. Isn’t it better when you understand without words? You too, Parrot, be quiet.”

“Anyway, I’ll be back soon. Take care of the store.”

“But brother, there’s no need for me to go too?.”

“No, there isn’t. It’s a simple matter.”

“Okay then…”

A small pink light flashed near her hands folded over Han Jae-jung’s back. It was a beautiful light, like a jewel reflecting sunlight.

“Take care.”

With those words, Han Jae-jung’s body, still embracing Ah-yoon, disappeared.

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