Chapter 190: The Sprouting Doubt

In America, there’s a hidden S-class hero.

His ability is to turn back time.

The moment the words left my mouth, the atmosphere around the round table grew
noticeably tense.

“...”

Everyone looked at me with expressions that read, ‘Who is this guy to spout
such nonsense?’

Fair enough. Most of the villains sitting here probably had no idea about the
existence of such a hero, let alone the reality of such an ability. For me,
merely an A-class villain, to suddenly drop this bombshell was naturally going
to be met with incredulity.

The round table remained frosty for a moment after my revelation. No one
outright said, “What are you talking about?” but the atmosphere was nearly as
accusatory.

A few even cast furtive glances at Celeste, as if to ask, ‘Aren’t you going to
rein in this guy spreading weird false information?’

And then Celeste...

“...”

Without a word, she sat there as usual, eyes closed in silence.

Of course, it’s information she would have already known.

S-Class Hero Ex Machina.

The only man in the world with the ability to turn back time.

America is already teeming with powerful individuals, but his skill stands out
as extraordinary among them all. Naturally, the Association tightly wraps this
asset in layers of secrecy to ensure he remains unknown to the public.

Usually based in an underground bunker within the American Association, he has
a hotline that enables immediate contact with the Chairman of the American
Association, the U.S. government, and the head of the International
Association.

And truth be told, I might have sounded very confident when I just said that
he can turn back time, but that ability comes with enormous penalties.

He can only rewind a matter of minutes, not hours. And even then, using the
skill incurs such significant penalties that it’s not easily reusable.

Yet despite all these shortcomings, his ability is genuinely unparalleled in
this world—particularly when it comes to averting destruction.

Within the Association, he’s often referred to as ‘Humanity’s Last Bastion.’
He’s the only one who can prevent the world’s destruction.

According to the original story, he’s thwarted nuclear wars multiple times and
has stopped acts of terrorism that could have devastated entire nations dozens
of times.

In a nutshell, his significance in the original story lies not in making the
world better, but in ensuring that the worst-case scenarios never happen. No
matter how recklessly powerful individuals might wreak havoc, at least the
world won’t come to an end.

And that man will die in a few months.

...Of course, if I went on to share that, I’d likely be mistaken for a real
fortune teller, so I’ll stick to explaining his abilities for now.

Thus, in the midst of the unsettled atmosphere at the round table, I continued
my explanation with a subdued smile on my face.

“Yes, he has the ability to turn back time. However, the duration he can
rewind is extremely limited. So, the Association primarily uses his ability
for the sole purpose of averting humanity’s extinction.”

“...”

The round table remained icy cold.

Granted, they still looked skeptical, but a few showed signs of cautious
semi-belief. After all, who would dare to lie at a gathering like this?

...But why is no one calling me out? By now, someone should have shouted,
‘What nonsense!‘—like that guy with the red Mohawk hair last time.

Speaking of which, that guy was now sitting beside me, his eyes shining as he
looked at me, as if to say, “As expected of you, Hyung... to know even this
kind of confidential information!”

Seriously, how did you end up like this?

...Well, it doesn’t really matter if they believe me or not.

Even if they don’t now, in just a few months, the existence of Ex Machina will
be disclosed to the world before the third meeting of Cathedral takes place,
all due to his death.

As I was wrapping up my thoughts,

“...I also feel like I’ve heard similar rumors.”

“?!”

Everyone’s attention immediately shifted to the source of the faint voice
coming from one side of the round table.

Celeste, who had been silently listening the whole time, finally opened her
mouth.

“...Huh.”

With Celeste chiming in to corroborate my words, it implied that what I had
just said was highly likely to be true.

As a ripple of murmurs spread across the table, I calmly nodded my head
without showing any emotion.

Truth be told, I was also a bit flustered.

...Why are you speaking up now?

Keeping my thoughts concealed, I subtly turned my head to look at Celeste.

Still in her white nun’s attire with her face partially covered by a veil, she
was sitting quietly with her eyes closed, as if she’d never spoken at all.

“...”

...I really can’t figure out what she’s thinking.

But for me, it’s definitely a good turn of events. It immediately lent
credibility to my words.

My original intent was to continually drop bombshell information, making
others think that there’s something to me, that I’m a dangerous individual.
But now, it’s not a big deal; that Ex Machina guy is going to be known to
everyone in a few months anyway.

‘...Though I did anticipate drawing Celeste’s attention.’

I didn’t expect her to speak up in this manner. But then again, she’s a woman
whose inner thoughts are inscrutable.

With that, both Celeste and I closed our mouths, leaving the atmosphere at the
round table in a state of disarray.

And then, it was Atlas’ turn to share his information.

“Heh, what’s with the mood? Well, now it’s my turn to spill the beans. Listen
carefully.”

With that, Atlas effortlessly shifted everyone’s attention to himself, and the
sharing of information resumed.

However,

“...”

A few questioning glances were cast my way. I sensed a few suspicious looks,
tinged with doubt. How could a Class-A individual know such information?

On top of that, I saw them occasionally whispering while looking at both Atlas
and me. Along with the information, they must be wondering how I seem so
chummy with Atlas, a heavyweight whom I’m not close to at all.

Yes, keep being suspicious and cautious of me.

Until the day you decide that messing with me is more risk than it’s worth,
and that I’m far more dangerous than I actually am.

As I mulled over these thoughts, I smoothly ignored the questioning glances
directed my way.

And just like that, time flew by, bringing the lengthy meeting to its eventual
end.

Celeste’s final words—suggesting that we reconvene in a few months—served as
the cue for people to gradually rise from their seats.

“Ha ha! Egoistic, how did you come by such information? A power-user who can
turn back time—that’s truly astonishing! Of course, even he couldn’t stop this
Atlas, ha ha ha!”

Atlas burst into hearty laughter, seemingly taken by some newfound
fascination.

Meanwhile, our redhead announced, “Hyung, I’ll take my leave now!” Before
departing, he left his direct contact information, insisting that I call him
whenever I needed.

Will there ever come a day when I use this?

As I was getting up to leave with Atlas, I spoke.

“Just a moment, Atlas-nim. There’s someone I need to see briefly. I’ll catch
up with you shortly.”

“Hmm? Very well.”

After securing Atlas’s permission, I made my way toward the woman who had
subtly caught my attention earlier.

With her black hair tied back, perhaps for ease of movement, she wore a gray
samurai-inspired outfit and seemed to be preparing to leave with her weary
eyes.

The leader of Japan’s largest villain organization, Katana.

As I approached her, she sensed my presence and momentarily paused, casting an
inquisitive gaze in my direction.

Smiling, I initiated the conversation.

“Good day, Katana-san.”

“...What is it?”

She asked, her face etched with fatigue.

“I go by the name Egoistic, and I operate in Korea. Given that we are
neighbors, so to speak, I thought I would take the opportunity to introduce
myself.”

“...Nice to meet you. But I’m quite busy right now.”

She replied, seemingly uninterested and ready to move on.

Of course, she must be busy; her alliance has been continuously losing to the
government and its associations.

To this preoccupied woman, I offered a slight smile and continued speaking.

“By the way, in the spirit of future friendship, I have some information to
share exclusively with you.”

“...Information?”

At the mention of the word ‘information,’ she exhibited a flicker of interest.

Even through her visible fatigue, she looked at me with a hint of interest.

“Yes, I have something special to tell you.”

I leaned in, whispering softly into her ear.

“Hishimoto Natsuha...”

“...She’s a traitor.”

“...!”

At my words, she seemed taken aback, stepping back in apparent surprise.
Sensing her momentary confusion and the fleeting look of anger in her eyes, I
casually shrugged.

“Well, I’m telling you this in the spirit of fostering a friendly
relationship. I hope my information proves useful to you.”

“Goodbye, then.”

With that, I turned away and headed back toward Atlas.

...Well, I’ve said my piece.

Whether she believes me or not, how she’ll act now is entirely her choice.

“Did you finish your business?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Having done what I needed to do, I walked away, alongside Atlas… Feeling
Katana’s gaze on me as I went.

***

‘What the... What just happened?’

Japan’s S-class villain, Katana, was left staring at the back of a man who had
just told her something unbelievable.

“Hishimoto Natsuha… She’s a traitor.”

‘How can he even say that... No, how does he even know about Natsuha?’

Katana had set out to correct the now rotten Japan. Despite being labeled a
villain and treated as such by the public, she had accepted it. If she could
change this country, she was willing to walk even the path of evil to do so.

Fortunately, like-minded friends had joined her cause. Together, they had
founded San Kyopa, now the largest villain organization in Japan, several
years ago.

But now, for some reason, they were consistently losing ground to the
government forces and the Association. As if these newcomers knew exactly how
they would move next.

Just as she was growing increasingly troubled by this series of defeats, that
man had suddenly approached her and said those words. “Hishimoto Natsuha is a
traitor.”

‘...Natsuha has been so careful to keep her identity hidden, no one should
know about her.’

Natsuha... A friend who had been with her since the beginning and her reliable
advisor.

She had no idea how that man knew her, but Natsuha would never do such a
thing. Absolutely not.

‘...Or at least, she shouldn’t.’

Yet, from the moment she heard those words, there was no going back for her.

Doubt—a terrifying thing—had taken root in a corner of her heart.

“...”

On top of that, there were his shocking remarks during the earlier meeting.
While seemingly unrelated to her, he had spoken of something no one seemed to
know: that the United States was hiding someone capable of manipulating time.
And Celeste’s subsequent agreement to that.

‘...What if this Egoistic guy really knows something?’

Katana found herself, unwittingly, mulling over his words again and again.

Meanwhile, the scene of Egoistic and Katana talking to each other…

“...”   

...was etched into the eyes of Celeste, who sat quietly at the end of the
round table, observing them.

[AsuraTl: Hey everyone, Asura here! Just wanted to let you guys know that this
is my first-ever novel translation project. I picked it up because the
previous translator was just putting out machine translations, and honestly,
this book deserves way better. So, I've taken it upon myself to translate the
entire book for you all. Super excited about this, and I hope you are too!
Thanks for joining me on this ride!

Cheers,

Asura ]

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