I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

At that time, at the Phuket command post.

“This, this is…!”

“No, how could this be?!”

Breaking news was coming in from all over.

Citizens, engulfed in fear and chaos, began to search for the truth.

“Is it true, General!”

“General, did you run Slave Island with Laplace?!”

“Heh, heh heh.”

Outside the command post, the cries of the citizens played with General Jeokrang’s mustache.

His voice was steady and overflowed with composure, but he could not completely hide the discomfort that was seeping out.

“Chairman of the Association, let’s observe the situation for a moment. I need to call the Prime Minister.”

“Ha, but.”

“Quiet. I’m on the phone right now.”

He covered his ear with an old-fashioned earphone pulled from his pocket, gently covering the microphone part connected to the earphone cord as he made the call.

“Ah, Prime Minister. What a day. It seems the villains are spreading ridiculous information to overthrow the government.”

[You don’t mean, the Secret Society would do such a thing…!]

“Right. Martial law, we need to impose it.”

[Con…con, constitutional amendment? At this time?!]

“No, not an amendment!”

Perhaps it was due to the surrounding noise.

“I said martial law, martial law! Issue it immediately!”

[Understood, General. I will prepare for the constitutional amendment immediately…!]

“Damn, I shouldn’t have spoken in Korean…!!”

Despite General Jeokrang’s scolding, the Prime Minister said ‘constitutional amendment.’

The call was suddenly cut off, and no more calls came in.

“This damn thing….”

Even as a general, he couldn’t just act rashly.

At a time when all eyes were on him, it was difficult to move his troops independently while others from different forces were eagerly waiting for an opportunity.

“Could it be…”

Was the Prime Minister pretending to be deaf, meanwhile scheming something shady?

If that were the case, this place was dangerous.

“General! What is the truth? We have the right to know!”

“Did you really capture people and make them slaves?! Yes?! And who are these mysterious ability users?!”

“…Slander and conspiracy. It’s the villains’ machinations! Why don’t you understand!”

General Jeokrang threw his earphones on the ground and bellowed loudly.

“I’ve dedicated so much to this country, how dare you—”

“General Jeokrang.”

Click.

The Chairman of the Association drew a pistol.

As a tense situation erupted, those in the command post began drawing their guns at each other.

“Chairman of the Association. What are you doing?”

“That’s what I’d like to ask you, General Jeokrang.”

The Chairman, pale-faced, pointed to the large TV screen brought in with his ThaiWatch and situation panel.

“Is it true that you fired missiles at the island to drown all the kidnapped people and children there?”

Breaking news kept coming in.

As if by agreement, various documents and information were being posted by unknown online media outlets.

“It’s the villains’ machinations! The truth can’t even be immediately verified; it’s fabricated information! It’s false!”

“Chairman! Right now!!”

An Association staff member connected their ThaiWatch to the screen.

And then.

“Goblin TV…? What is that?”

They saw.

[…the children… turned into mana powder.]

The Goblin, accusing Laplace of his crimes.

“…….”

Static.

General Jeokrang took out a cigarette and lit it.

“These damn ability-user brats. Tch.”

Bang!

As the gunshot sounded, a storm of blood began in the command center.

Laplace’s demon.

Perhaps the one here, who blew up Laplace’s head, was the being that made Laplace willingly take on the name ‘Laplace.’

[Did you control Laplace’s actions while assisting him right beside him? Interesting.]

“Oh, you noticed right away. You truly are a Goblin.”

[Isn’t it trite, the cliché that the one posing as a figurehead while acting as a secretary or second in command is the real one?]

“I’ve given it some thought.”

The demon, who called herself ‘Hyangdan,’ looked shocked and wore a gloomy expression.

“Indeed, Goblin. You know more than I gave you credit for.”

[…….]

“Well, you still only know what you know. On the other hand, I know much more about you than you might imagine. Hehe.”

Hyangdan chuckled softly and unfolded a black fan.

The aura of death was unmistakable, and a black aura began to spread throughout the room.

“For example, that your original name is funnier than you might think.”

[It seems you know more than I expected. But it appears you’re not omniscient after all.]

“…….”

I pointed to my head.

[I don’t know how you discovered my name, but unfortunately, you don’t know everything. If you did, you wouldn’t call yourself ‘merely’ Laplace’s demon but a ‘god’.]

Or, perhaps she was frustrated upon realizing she was merely a villain in a story.

[The world is broader than you think.]

“…To speak like that, knowing where we came from.”

[I say it because I know.]

Merely riding a comet to Earth within the Solar System.

I wonder if she came from further away than I did, having crossed from a completely different dimension, brought here by an author into a novel world.

[Hey. Do you know what this is?]

I ignited a flame on my goblin bat.

The flame of essence blazed proudly, starting to burn with the number ‘5700’.

[If you understand the significance of this number, I will acknowledge you. But if you don’t, you are just someone who thinks she knows everything.]

“…….”

Hyangdan’s expression soured.

[There’s no easier opponent than one who believes she is a great being. Consider yourself as good as dead, now that you’ve appeared before me.]

“Oh, sorry, but the method that killed Duoexini won’t work on me.”

Hyangdan folded the fan and stabbed herself in the abdomen.

[!!]

“The one here is a fake. The real me isn’t here. It’s unfortunate I can’t kill you right here.”

[……Tch.]

Did she know about the method that killed Duoexini, the ‘Room of Truth’?

“Why? Did you think I’d come face to face with you without any plan at all? That’s unfortunate. Hehe.”

[I’m truly sorry.]

It’s probably fortunate that they didn’t discover the use of the ‘Room of Truth’ in an ‘unmerged state’.

Given the situation, the best course of action was to extract as much information as possible.

[Conversing with Laplace was pointless. But talking to Laplace’s demon might prove to be somewhat beneficial.]

“Okay. Then tell me? What does that 5700 mean that you mentioned?”

[Alright.]

Combat was pointless.

If she didn’t come here to fight.

Instead, like with Duoexini, clues must be gathered to draw her out.

Like the aggro drawn by Duoexini, figuring out her tendencies so she will appear in her true form later is crucial.

[Ask her. Why did she control him under the name Hyangdan, under Laplace?]

“Well, because I wanted to spread Hallyu.”

[……?]

Wait, my brain just froze.

Which part of Laplace’s actions represented Hallyu?

“Korean things are good. Thus, I wanted to spread Korean things in this country. Not only in this country but also created similar entities in other countries.”

Hyangdan tapped her shoulder with her fan and approached Laplace’s dead body, giving it a light kick.

“I just contacted heroes with a decent enough name, provided them with the luxuries and pleasures they desired, linked them with powerful people to establish a political base, and ensured that no entity in the country would dare touch that foundation.”

[Those who pursued the truth were all killed, it seems.]

“Not exactly killed, right? They’re all human resources. There’s no better worker than one who has given up resistance and complies. This outfit, even the magic power that created this avatar, all of it was made from such people. Hehehe.”

She’s insane.

I knew she was not human but something demonic from another planet, but the more we talked, the clearer it became that she lacked any semblance of human sentiment.

“I just wanted to follow the original model?”

[What?]

“Oh, was that too sensitive for a Korean? Or did it sting a bit inside? Hehehe.”

[…You can’t be serious.]

A single possibility flickered through my mind.

At the same time, it was utterly preposterous, yet it seemed to underlie everything happening in Phuket.

“An unjust law is still a law. That’s what Socrates said.”

One realization from dealing with a demon from Pandemonium.

When they quoted great people, it’s not because they deeply resonated with those words, but rather they misused them to make their ideas look legitimate and justifiable.

“I think it’s a good saying. An unjust law is still a law. A bad human is still a human. And… a bad history is still history, a bad culture is still culture. Just as Korea shines brightest now, the dark shadow cast by its history is also Korean.”

Hyangdan clasped her hands and beamed broadly.

“Trials make humans stronger. It’s the same. Behind Korea’s current glowing image lies a dark and painful history.”

[Are you saying you want to implement that exact process in other countries now?]

“Exactly! You are indeed a Goblin. You uncovered the darkness of this country quickly because you were thinking the same!”

I thought about it.

But I considered it ‘crazy’.

“From being one of the poorest countries after the Korean War to becoming one of the best in the world. If every country could undergo that compressed process, they would all develop like Korea.”

[Have you not thought about the blood that will be spilled in that process?]

“Oh. Is the Goblin from the Secret Society saying that? Sacrificing the few for the many is nothing, right? If the blood spilled now will be converted into this country’s development later. Like Seoul’s Miracle, well… maybe something like Bangkok’s Miracle could happen too. Hehehe.”

She actually went through with that insane plan.