Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

[I had no idea you were so proficient in Chinese.]

Zhang Liuweian seemed surprised. As did Baek Do-san. The man who had initially underestimated me showed no outward signs, but he must have been greatly taken aback.

“Didn’t you mention your Chinese fluency?”

“No one said I couldn’t speak it either.”

For a moment, I considered feigning ignorance to further probe them. But I preferred proceeding directly to the main topic.

[I’d rather not waste energy on mind games before discussing crucial matters.]

“Your friend seems quite frank.”

This time, it was Zhang Liuweian who spoke in Korean.

“You speak Korean well yourself.”

“Korea is a major business partner, so learning the language is only natural.”

Yet he had initiated the conversation in Chinese, likely attempting to feel us out.

“Shall we start with the meal first?”

As soon as I suggested it, I turned to Kim Jae-ho, who had been drooling beside me, and said:

“You can eat.”

The instant I gave him permission, Kim Jae-ho pounced on the dishes. Shoveling food unceremoniously into his mouth like a ravenous beast, Zhang Liuweian chuckled.

“Your friend must have been quite famished.”

While his laughter held no hint of disdain, those at such elevated positions seldom revealed their true thoughts so transparently.

Han Seo-hyeon had also cautiously begun eating. Taking a bite, his eyes widened, clearly savoring the exquisite flavors.

“By the way, I understand Weltschmerz is a team name, but what might your personal name be?”

At his query, I hesitated briefly, having not prepared an appropriate alias beforehand. But I swiftly regained my composure with a smooth response.

“I am Weltschmerz itself – the leader, the head. You may address me however you wish.”

My delivery was smooth, but the content itself was rather shoddy – a potential pitfall.

—He can’t address you however he wishes.

‘I hadn’t thought up a proper name beforehand!’

Indeed, while I had decided on the Weltschmerz organization name, I hadn’t determined individual aliases for us.

Unlike myself who had already arranged alternate identities, or Kim Jae-ho lacking any legitimate identity, Han Seo-hyeon would undoubtedly need an alias.

Hmm, I should contemplate that eventually.

“Well, your name isn’t particularly important in any case.”

Zhang Liuweian brushed off my flimsy excuse with an amused chuckle, though his levity soon dissipated.

“You’ve likely heard the situation here is quite perilous currently.”

“I was informed there were issues with the Anti-Society.”

“They struck first against us. Without any warning, they cowardly utilized awakeners to wipe out our personnel and operations, leaving no traces behind. It could hardly be called a war – it was a massacre.”

If the person I suspected was involved, Zhang Liuweian’s description of the events as a one-sided massacre rather than a war did seem accurate.

“What I desire is to drive those Anti-Society bastards out of this region. Would that be possible?”

“To be frank, I can’t say for certain yet.”

At my words, a spark of fury flashed in the eyes of the woman standing behind Zhang Liuweian – how dare I speak so brazenly in this venue? But I was being truthful.

Having only just been dragged here without properly grasping the situation, how could I provide any definitive assurances?

“I will at least strive to do my utmost.”

“Hmm, very well.”

Zhang Liuweian also seemed dissatisfied, while Baek Do-san merely quirked his lips in amusement.

“As much as I would enjoy dining together, urgent matters call, so I must take my leave first.”

With those words, Zhang Liuweian rose from his seat. I shifted my gaze to follow him.

“Please, enjoy your meal.”

Having spoken dismissively, Zhang Liuweian promptly departed.

It was an overt display of disrespect, but I merely shrugged it off.

“Go on and eat up, kids.”

* * *

Inside the descending elevator, the woman who had remained silent until then – Cheon Si-yeon, or rather Qian Chilian – finally spoke up.

“They truly are a disappointing bunch, even at first glance.”

Zhang Liuweian nodded in affirmation at her words. They had indeed seemed rather underwhelming – the mask-wearing man came across as impudent, while the youth behind him appeared overly cautious.

Frankly, they were no different from common street thugs.

Zhang Liuweian’s abrupt departure from the dining venue had been an expression of his dissatisfaction with them, a breach of etiquette despite Baek Do-san’s introductions.

But truthfully, even Baek Do-san had left him thoroughly disappointed.

“Do you truly intend to entrust this matter to such guys?”

At Qian Chilian’s question, Zhang Liuweian let out a wry smile.

“It might not be so bad. Even if they fail, so what?”

Zhang Liuweian remarked.

“It will only make us seem more pathetic. But we have nothing left to lose.”

Their situation was dire indeed. The Anti-Society had already seized or destroyed 80% of the Silver Moon Society’s territories within a mere six months, steadily displacing them from regions they had dominated for decades.

The Anti-Society had long since become the dominant force of this era.

Calling upon outsiders had been a flailing, desperate gambit.

For the Anti-Society harbored a monster – one that devoured everything without a trace.

* * *

Baek Do-san apologized on their behalf instead.

“He’s usually not like that.”

“Just look at us. I can understand his dismissive attitude. And truthfully, I’m not sensitive enough to take offense at such trivialities.”

In fact, the uncomfortable presence’s departure only improved my appetite.

Persuading such individuals through mere words would have been futile regardless. Results were the only thing that mattered.

“Then we shall investigate those folks in our own way.”

After parting with Baek Do-san on those words, I returned to the hotel room with my two companions. Before gathering intelligence, I first shared the information I already possessed.

“The leader of the Anti-Society is a man named Sama Heon. But we need not be wary of him – he’s an ordinary civilian without any abilities. The true threat is his adopted daughter, Sa Ho-ju – a girl who goes by the name Xie Haozhu.” (tl/n: this time too, the author gave us Korean and Chinese pronunciation of the girl’s name, and only ‘Xie Haozhu’ will be used. But the name of the character ‘Sama Heon’ here was written only in Korean pronunciation.)

“A girl, you say?”

“Yes. In outward appearance, she seems around fifteen years old.”

Han Seo-hyeon’s mouth fell open at my words.

“Wait, you’re telling me the opponent we’re facing is just a fifteen-year-old girl?”

“That’s merely her outward appearance. In reality, she’s likely much older.”

“So, is her talent some kind of youth preservation?”

“No, her talent is ‘Transaction’ – sacrificing parts of herself as payment to gain power.”

Her time was frozen because she had offered her ‘inability to grow’ as the price.

When I had encountered her, she appeared around fifteen. But by then, she had already been active for over a decade.

No one knows her precise age, not even herself – she had long since forgotten her original age.

“Such talents really exist?”

“Yes.”

“But how do you know all these details about her?”

“Just… intuition.”

“Isn’t your talent supposed to be lying?”

“I did say I have various miscellaneous skills.”

“This doesn’t seem very miscellaneous to me.”

Though regarding me with suspicion, Han Seo-hyeon eventually nodded in acceptance.

“In any case, our opponent is that girl – or rather, the person who merely appears as a young girl but is actually of unknown age, correct?”

“Correct. Don’t underestimate her. She’s monstrously powerful despite her peculiar talent.”

Talents were precisely that – innate gifts one was simply born with. A talent existing in this transactional form was truly unique.

Which was what made her so special.

A talent that grew stronger with each imposed limitation.

Few knew the exact sacrifices she had made. I had only heard vague accounts myself.

Showing footage of a district she had destroyed, I remarked:

“To unleash such devastation, she must have forsaken immense aspects of herself.”

The Silver Moon Society’s defenseless crumbling was due to this ‘existential monster’ becoming involved.

“At this level, she may have even sacrificed her own memories.”

“Memories?”

“Yes. Her memories and emotions. Her adoptive father likely tampered with those. Transforming her into an unfeeling combat machine that only obeys his commands.”

While Xie Haozhu’s disposition was as heartless and cruel as a psychopath or sociopath, it was an acquired condition. Trusting and believing her adoptive father’s words, she had locked away the components that shaped her identity one by one, per his instructions.

Having encountered her directly, I knew Xie Haozhu had never possessed the drive to instigate such warfare herself.

All of this had been orchestrated by that adoptive father of hers.

“So the supposedly unremarkable adoptive father is the real boss?”

“Correct.”

Watching the footage, I stated:

“Xie Haozhu only embarked on this path because of that adoptive father.”

Her descent into the Anti-Society, the countless massacres, ascending to power by climbing atop those corpses – it had all been for the sake of earning that adoptive father’s praise. She would do anything to receive his commendation.

“Precisely what kind of person is this adoptive father?”

At Han Seo-hyeon’s question, I twisted my lips bitterly.

“A conman, nothing more.”

The issue was that he was an exceptionally skilled scam. By discovering Xie Haozhu and remodeling her into a personalized weapon tailored to his desires, he had obtained everything he coveted.

“From now on, you focus on locating that man.”

“What about you, Boss?”

“For the time being, I intend to track down Xie Haozhu herself.”

“Wait, didn’t you just say she was ridiculously powerful? Are you hoping to get killed or something?”

“She won’t indiscriminately kill anyone unless her adoptive father instructs her to. We should be safe until then.”

Han Seo-hyeon’s jaw dropped at my words.

“Pardon me for asking, but have you lost your mind?”

Letting out a hearty ‘wahaha’ laugh at Han Seo-hyeon’s blunt remark, I flicked his protruding belly.

“Oww!”

“Don’t just blurt out whatever nonsense comes to mind with that mouthy tongue of yours!”

“It’s not unreasonable, is it? You spent all this time emphasizing how dangerous that woman is, only to say you’ll meet her in person now.”

“There’s a reason behind my intention to locate her.”

I was aware of Xie Haozhu’s situation four years from the present timeline. Which meant I had no knowledge of her current state.

So I intended to observe her directly, first. Know thy enemy to ultimately emerge victorious in this war.

“The ideal scenario would be to turn Xie Haozhu to our side. To convince her not to blindly follow her adoptive father’s words.”

“Is that even possible?”

I shrugged at Han Seo-hyeon’s doubtful question. Xie Haozhu had loved her adoptive father – not in any normal, familial sense, but an obsessive adoration for a well-functioning tool. It had been the only ‘love’ in her life devoid of affection.

But this world contained so many other things worthy of love.

If she could be made aware of those, perhaps this twisted tragedy could be averted in advance.

Hence, I intended to encounter Xie Haozhu preemptively.

“Is she someone you can just casually meet like that?”

“Yes.”

I was already aware of certain habits she indulged in from observing her up close.

Such as a particular ice cream parlor she frequented without fail, for instance.

Deciphering the implication behind my expression, Han Seo-hyeon clutched his forehead and muttered:

“I must truly be insane.”