Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Loss, Preparation (3)

“Brother, what are you doing! Come quickly!”

“I’m coming.”

Joo Ah-yoon, walking briskly down the street, seemed quite excited. The intense makeup she had carefully applied blended with her innocent candor, accentuating her cuteness.

Han Jae-jung followed behind her with a faint smile.

“This is the place I looked into yesterday. What do you think?”

“Uh...okay...”

“Look at it properly! This isn’t some part-time job you can quit easily, it’s a business we need to view long-term! At least for a few years, so take a good look when you have the chance.”

The place Joo Ah-yoon had brought him to was a modest detached house on a sloping street. Despite being a house, its modern design suggested it could be utilized as a cafe with some minor remodeling.

“I don’t want to be in a busy area. It’s too noisy. More importantly, we’ll be operating with a small staff, so we couldn’t handle that intense workload. A residential area like this, away from the hubbub, would be better.”

Her vision was more concrete than expected. Scrutinizing the potential cafe location with sharp eyes, she looked like a shrewd young businesswoman. Her small stature even gave her a charismatic aura despite her young age.

“Ah, and while I have baking and barista certifications...you should get them too, brother. Since it’ll be our cafe, you need to know how to brew coffee.”

“Oh...okay...”

Han Jae-jung was flustered to be included in this startup plan.

“Uh...Joo Ah-yoon? I don’t know when it was decided, but I don’t recall agreeing to help with your cafe.”

“What? You’re saying this now?” Joo Ah-yoon asked incredulously.

“Do you have a job, brother? No, do you at least have money?”

“No...”

“I even bought the chicken we ate earlier. So do you have a place to live?”

“No...”

“Any specs, future plans, or industries you’re interested in?”

“No...”

Han Jae-jung’s self-esteem dwindled with each answer. A typical unemployed mid-20s high school graduate. He had dipped into his parents’ insurance money and what Seol-hwa sent, but that was practically debt.

Karma that would eventually need repaying.

Self-respect may not put food on the table, but it was a value worth preserving even through starvation. For him, it was a sense of guilt – he felt uncomfortable freely spending others’ money as his own.

He really did feel like a complete waste.

“Brother, close your eyes.”

“Huh?”

“What do you see?”

“Darkness.”

“That’s your future if you keep living like this.”

“Ha...”

Joo Ah-yoon let out a small mocking laugh. Han Jae-jung couldn’t bring himself to refute her.

“It’s hard to find a job, you have no money or house, right? You know how difficult that is in modern society, don’t you? But it’s okay.”

She declared confidently, hands on her hips.

“I’ve got it all. This charismatic and hip little sister has a plan to support you.”

“I’m not some kept man...”

“That’s why I’m going to get you employed.”

Joo Ah-yoon knows Han Jae-jung’s character well. Despite his unsavory appearance, he has an overly delicate heart and strong aversion to relying on or clinging to others.

“I won’t just give you fish, but teach you how to fish them. True noblesse oblige.”

So rather than simply giving him money, she’s giving him an opportunity to earn it.

“From now on, you’ll address me as company president.”

“Understood, madam.”

“Don’t call me madam, it makes me sound old.”

“Understood, my little kitty.”

“You’re pushing it.”

Exchanging playful banter, they turned to leave.

“You don’t like this place?”

“Hmm...I do. But the location is a bit disappointing. Since it’s uphill, it might be hard for people to come. What do you think, brother?”

“Of course, we must follow our princess’s opinion.”

“Stick to one way of addressing me. And don’t use nicknames like princess or baby cat. It’s cringeworthy. Just because I’m short doesn’t mean I won’t kick your shins.”

“Got it, Joo Ah-yoon.”

“Good.”

Satisfied, Joo Ah-yoon nodded and opened her map app to find another potential location.

“Oh, and brother, let’s look at clothes too while we’re out.”

“Clothes?”

“Yeah. Your looks aren’t the most approachable, so we need to adjust your vibe so customers don’t feel uncomfortable.”

“That’s too much. I’m clearly a smiling merchant.”

“But that smile has an undercurrent, like a seedy, lecherous smile. Brother, did you know you sometimes look at me with lecherous eyes?”

“...Me?”

“That’s just how it comes across! You can’t look at anyone else like that, got it?”

“But when did I ever...”

“Anyway! We need to completely change your look – dress you in stylish formal wear, maybe glasses to frame an intellectual vibe!”

Joo Ah-yoon’s voice was strangely excited.

“Joo Ah-yoon, you’re getting too worked up.”

“No, I’m not! I’m totally calm!”

He’s also pointlessly obsessive and stubbornly tries to get whatever he fixates on.

The previous kidnapping seemed like a mere whim, but listening to what he’s saying now, he already seems quite fixated. Fleeing would just be a war of attrition.

“Not fleeing...”

So he chose to defeat rather than flee. He would protect Joo Ah-yoon and take down the villain. He had to succeed in all this within a limited time.

Watcher’s lenses gradually started darkening, and the lightning bolts also expanded their range, devouring his body.

It was quite a difficult task, but.

“I’d like an execution.”

It wasn’t impossible.

“Having both the Star of Magic and the Star of the villain, and being able to switch between human and villain forms... You’re quite appealing to me! Watch this!”

Aquila casually flicked his wrist.

“Bring them before me!”

Dozens of geese charged at them. The sight could be likened to a meteor shower. Each one a massive cluster of stars.

“Grit your teeth again this time.”

Watcher ran while carrying Joo Ah-yoon.

A straight white line rapidly traced. That line sliced through the descending geese like tofu, burning and shattering them, and without any pause, extended all the way to Aquila.

Aquila is arrogant. He also values his authority.

So, he’s complacent.

He thinks showing sincerity undermines his authority and makes him seem vulgar, so he initially takes everyone he meets lightly. He’s always off guard.

It was a very good thing for Watcher.

If he lets his guard down, the task becomes much easier.

“Who’s taking whose neck?”

There are many villains who don’t die even until the end of the original story. One of them is Aquila.

One reason is that after the magical girls awaken their divinity, their characteristic complacency weakens.

But he is different now. He underestimates Watcher and treats all the magical girls even more arrogantly. He doesn’t actively defend or attack.

Like now.

Crunch.

His neck can be easily taken.

Watcher, who soared to the sky at lightning speed along with the diamond eagle, cut off Aquila’s neck. It was a very simple task. It didn’t even take a second. It was an extremely tidy, mechanical execution.

The tidy movements of the eagles turned to chaos, and Watcher landed from the sky.

Ka-gwagwang! The loudest sound among his movements so far occurred during this landing. As if thunder was rumbling, Watcher landed on the ground and put down Joo Ah-yoon, whom he had been carrying.

“Ugh, ueck... what, is it over?”

“Yeah, it’s over.”

Since it happened in an instant and she had her eyes tightly shut, Joo Ah-yoon didn’t realize what had just occurred.

Thud. Something followed after them and fell from the sky.

“Look.”

“Uwaaaaak fuck!”

It was Aquila’s neck. Joo Ah-yoon was startled.

“What, what is this? Did you do this, bro? Can it really end this easily?”

“It’s better if everything ends easily.”

“That’s true, but...”

More than half of Watcher’s lens had darkened. It meant he had less than a minute left to maintain his emotions.

The moment he raised his hand to his belt to cancel his transformation, a scene replayed in his mind.

The full utilization of the Ursa Major’s ability with his belt’s function.

The observation of possibilities infinitely close to the future.

As if entranced, Watcher pushed Joo Ah-yoon away.

“Kkyak!”

Right after, lightning struck. Dazzling golden lightning. But it didn’t fall down, it shot upwards.

Kwajik!

Joo Ah-yoon, who had rolled on the ground, looked up at the ominous sound from above.

“...Bro?”

A hole had been punctured. A perfect circle, cleanly drilled into a person. So intricate that it sent chills down her spine.

It was the mark left by lightning passing through the area around Watcher’s chest. The scar looked closer to being stabbed by a drill than being struck by lightning.

“...Congratulations.”

A voice flowed from the severed neck.

“You’ve managed to enrage me greatly.”

A cold, frigid voice straining to suppress rage as much as possible.

“You’ve made me take on such a vulgar form! This is the second time for you!”

The decapitated villain was not dead. His voice was lightning. Whenever he spoke, golden lightning erupted, shredding Watcher.

“So you will not be leaving.”

Joo Ah-yoon had often provided first aid to Blue Sirius when he was injured, so she knew the body a little. That’s why she knows where the hole in Watcher is located.

The heart, lungs, liver.

All vital spots.

“Die as my nemesis.”

The severed neck hovered in the air as Watcher’s lens fully blackened.

Anyways... Happy Reading!!!

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