The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home - Chapter 33

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈

Chapter 33: It's You

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It was enough to make Hyeonyul doubt his ears.

A singer or an actor?

Thinking they might be trying something funny, Hyeonyul glared at them.

Before his killing intent could show, Sinu naturally spoke up with a startled expression.

“What do you mean? A singer...?”

“We happened to see you at the movie theater...”

“You saw us at the movie theater? Are you saying you were watching us the whole time?”

As Sinu recoiled, the best-dressed woman of the three smiled kindly.

“I apologize if we made you uncomfortable. But we are absolutely not suspicious people. We are also the company behind several well-known artists. You can look us up right now.”

Even after hearing her, Sinu took out his phone and searched with a suspicious look.

S.T.D. Entertainment.

Hyeonyul was curious as well, so he searched for it.

‘...It’s a real company?’

It was newly established, but bigger than he had expected.

‘And Villains run this place?’

There was a chance it was not S.T.D. Entertainment, but a faint scent of blood clung to them.

Where would ordinary people encounter the smell of blood?

Given how fresh it was, they seemed to have killed someone only a few hours ago.

‘So I can approach Villains like this.’

Hyeonyul found the situation extremely interesting.

Had they truly failed to recognize that he and Sinu were from Black Eagle?

Or had they approached them knowing exactly who they were?

He did not let down his guard.

“I’m sorry, but it’s hard to believe you. There are so many scams these days.”

Sinu awkwardly scratched between his brows.

Even if they were not Villains, he could not simply accept an offer like this.

“Of course. If you have time, would you like us to show you around S.T.D. Entertainment? Please visit whenever it is convenient. We will come out to meet you right away.”

The woman smiled brightly.

She seemed confident.

“...Then I’ll think about it.”

At Sinu’s embarrassed reply, the woman continued smiling.

“Yes, please contact us. Please do.”

She repeated it several times before leaving, as if urging them not to forget.

Perhaps because of what had just happened, quite a few people were looking their way.

It was not every day that someone got street-cast.

“Should we move somewhere else?”

Sinu spoke with a stiff face.

Street casting.

He felt like his mind had gone blank.

* * *

“So this is...”

Haeryeon trailed off and laughed for a moment.

It was absurd, but funny at the same time.

She did not know what to make of the situation.

Street casting.

After receiving Sinu’s message on her way home from work, she had headed to a cafe Black Eagle secretly operated.

It had private rooms, making it suitable for discussing matters.

Feeling Sinu’s gaze, Haeryeon barely held back her laughter and looked at Hyeonyul.

He sat there calmly, holding a cafe drink and taking sips from it.

‘Hyeonyul really is catnip for Villains...’

Since joining Black Eagle, she had never heard of Villains street-casting someone.

It was the kind of story people would talk about for a long time.

“Team Leader. It seems my disguise is quite good-looking.”

Sinu spoke confidently, and Haeryeon frowned.

“Is this really the time to talk about that?”

“You were laughing along with us just now. That’s harsh.”

Sinu smacked his lips.

“That was that, and this is this. I’m off the clock right now.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Sinu shut his mouth.

“So the owner of S.T.D. Entertainment is a Villain after all?”

“That is correct.”

Sinu nodded.

The amusement slowly left his face.

“That’s surprising.”

After saying that, Haeryeon fiddled with her cup.

Media could deceive the public as much as it pleased.

What would happen if Villains got their hands on that power?

What people grew up seeing could be frightening. They could subtly plant hostility toward the Empire in people’s minds.

“...It really is surprising.”

Haeryeon let out a long breath.

“It’s all right. They haven’t been established for long. We can root them out at this stage.”

Hyeonyul spoke lightly.

S.T.D. Entertainment was a new company.

Perhaps because it had money, it had grown quickly by recruiting famous entertainers, but it had not achieved anything yet.

“Isn’t it fortunate that we found out now?”

Hyeonyul continued.

Villains were already deeply involved in other businesses, but what was the problem if this business had only just started?

Even though Hyeonyul had given Black Eagle information related to Shin Daeho, they still had not found the major corporation run by Villains.

How deeply had it been hidden?

If they uncovered it, it could nearly shake the whole country.

Compared to that, this was insignificant.

“It is fortunate when you put it that way.”

Haeryeon chose to think positively.

Villains had spread throughout the Empire.

It was funny, but it was a lucky break to catch them this way.

“The investigation into S.T.D. Entertainment has begun. For now, you will have to wait. I can’t promise how long it will take. There are several cases going on.”

There was the cleanup over the internal informant.

The matter of escorting the Poison King, among other things.

There were quite a few major and minor issues.

“Then do we have to stay still until the investigation is finished?”

Hyeonyul asked.

If all they knew was a name, as with Ahsan and Night Rat, they had no choice but to stay still.

The Empire was vast. How could they find someone without any information in hand?

But this time was different.

They knew the exact location.

“...Most likely.”

Haeryeon replied awkwardly.

An investigation was an extremely important process.

Nothing was more dangerous than going in without knowing the enemy.

Countless Black Eagle agents had died or lived based on a single piece of information.

So, when they knew nothing, not moving was the right choice.

“Then, Team Leader, may I go deal with them myself?”

Hyeonyul thought the time spent waiting for the investigation was a waste.

Their opponents would be letting their guard down right now. He could not let that opening go.

Once the head was gone, the rest would collapse on their own.

Of course, another Villain waiting for the chance would recruit the remaining forces, but that was harder than building a new organization.

Even if they managed it, problems would inevitably arise within.

When they exhausted themselves fighting one another, Black Eagle could simply catch them.

“Deal with them yourself?”

Haeryeon could not easily continue.

Surely not.

“I’ll go there and take them out one by one.”

After finishing, Hyeonyul lightly tapped his head.

His gaze sank.

“Whether they are intermediaries or top brass. Their heads.”

Normally, he would have needed to think of a way to reach the enemy’s throat, but now he had obtained a ticket straight into that place.

What should he do then?

‘...Go inside and bite their throats out.’

“So, Hyeonyul, you’re saying you want to walk into the enemy’s mouth?”

“Yes. I did the same with the Poison King. I don’t think it will be a problem.”

At Hyeonyul’s words, Haeryeon’s face twisted as if something pained her.

“That was an emergency. This is not. It’s dangerous.”

Hyeonyul found that statement strange.

“It’s all right. It’s what I’ve always done.”

He had completed every mission he had been given.

Nothing was more miserable than failing to prove his usefulness.

If he failed, there was only death.

“Are you planning to let this opportunity pass?”

Hyeonyul placed the business card down and tapped it with a finger.

The street casting they had received was a very good opportunity.

“Opportunity. Yes, perhaps you could call it that. But Hyeonyul, what team leader would drive a team member into certain death? As long as I’m here, I have to stop you.”

Efficiency meant nothing to Haeryeon.

All she needed to do was weigh Hyeonyul’s life against the current situation.

He was not just anyone.

He was her team member.

“If we eliminate one bastard, countless people live. If we eliminate one bastard, countless Villains scatter.”

Hyeonyul pointed out the truth.

Black Eagle had been created to exterminate Villains, after all.

Their interests aligned perfectly.

“I can enter the enemy’s jaws, kill them, and escape.”

Hyeonyul smiled confidently.

Haeryeon and Sinu must know his strength.

He did not understand what was supposed to be dangerous.

Had he not shown them until now?

Who he had brought in.

What places he had smashed to pieces.

‘Even that isn’t enough? Black Eagle really is something else.’

He had expected the standards to be high given how demanding the requirements were, but he had not expected this much.

Reality felt quite heavy to Hyeonyul.

“What if there were two of us?”

Sinu pointed at himself.

“Sinu! Baek Sinu!”

“...Y-Yes!”

“You can’t be like this too!”

Haeryeon’s words poured out at once, and Sinu became like a turtle pulling its head into its shell.

He knew he was poking a hornet’s nest, but it still stung.

“But if we stop Hyeonyul here, won’t it seem as if we don’t trust him?”

“Me...?”

Haeryeon asked, suppressing the anger rising in her.

Hyeonyul really might have thought that.

“Hyeonyul is capable. As you know, Team Leader, he even captured the Poison King.”

“That is true. Hyeonyul is capable.”

At Sinu and Haeryeon’s words, Hyeonyul’s eyes widened slightly.

‘...So they do acknowledge me?’

Something inside him felt strangely ticklish.

“But that was because Hyeonyul was the Poison King’s natural counter. The matchup was good from the start.”

He was simply someone poison did not work on.

Otherwise, she might have lost another team member.

“There was also the Red Witch case.”

Sinu brought up another matter, and Haeryeon pressed her lips together.

“If he can do it and we stop him, won’t that discourage him?”

‘Discourage...?’

Haeryeon immediately looked at Hyeonyul.

Discouragement was a word that did not suit him.

Still, she thought it might be possible.

Hyeonyul was human too.

A person with emotions.

Haeryeon gripped her hair with both hands.

The soft strands filled her grasp.

“I know Hyeonyul is extremely capable. But if I make him do even things like this, my conscience will hurt too much. I wanted to show him that this place is different from where he escaped.”

How much had he been exploited?

How much had he suffered that every time he saw her, he asked her not to make him work overtime?

Haeryeon was honestly afraid.

People naturally wanted to make capable people do this and that.

If Hyeonyul was so good that they gradually loaded more work onto him, how would they be any different from the Villains’ company?

“Right now, Hyeonyul has been through something very serious. You can tell this matter is serious too, can’t you? If this keeps happening, you won’t be able to endure it.”

“It’s all right...”

“It’s not all right, Hyeonyul. Everyone reaches their limit eventually. Villains have already ruined even your day off. How could that be all right?”

Haeryeon’s words sounded almost like a rebuke, and Hyeonyul could not casually reply.

Strangely, he did not feel bad.

“That is why I’m saying I’ll go with him.”

Sinu smiled gently.

He looked mild, but his eyes showed that he had no intention of backing down.

“Could you trust Hyeonyul for now and save the scolding for later?”

Haeryeon was distressed by Sinu’s added words.

If she made the wrong decision, a team member could die.

She weighed it over and over.

“...All right.”