I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

Nicknames could be created however you liked.

If it’s not a big deal, you could even use a name like ‘AnyNickname’.

But hero nicknames were distinctly different.

To a hero, a nickname was as crucial as their life, and if that name became a strange moniker, they would do everything to change it.

No matter how kind an ability user might be, if her nickname was ‘Cliff Rider’, she would sue the person who gave her that nickname for defamation and slander.

This wasn’t just limited to heroes.

If a villain was called by a weird moniker, they would track down the person who named them and stab them in the back.

And most importantly, giving a strange nickname was a surefire way to make someone a so-called ‘demon’.

-Teacher! Has the nickname from the Hero Association come out yet? It must be a really cool name, right?

-Why are you hesitating? Is there a problem?

-Calm down and listen carefully. Your hero name is…‘Bald Knight’.

-…Ugh! I feel like a demon!!

Giving someone a strange name was a surefire way to turn a normal ability user into a demon.

To protect an ability user’s mental state, the nickname should consider their personality, traits, abilities, and everything else as much as possible.

And above all, it should respect their own choice.

If they chose their own nickname and there’s no reason they couldn’t use it, it’s natural for them to become attached to that name.

In that sense,

I decided to seriously explore why Laplace’s demon named themselves ‘Hyangdan’.

Hypothesis one: Was there a previous existence that used the name Hyangdan?

“Brewer. What’s the result of the investigation?”

“Zero. Nothing.”

Summoned to the pension on Ulleungdo, Brewer - Celestia quickly investigated and compiled the data I requested.

“There was no ability user with the nickname Hyangdan. I checked not only Korea but also the entire Chinese character cultural sphere, and there was none.”

“What if the Chinese characters were different or if the pronunciation was changed to Korean?”

“Not at all. I checked Japan, China, and even North Korean communities. There was no ability user named Hyangdan.”

According to Brewer’s investigation and my own checks on wikis and communities,

“There are absolutely none. No ability user.”

There was no ability user with the nickname Hyangdan before.

Not someone deceased, nor anyone with different Chinese characters.

There simply was no such existence.

“The first hypothesis is wrong. Then the second. What if Hyangdan is a ‘name’ itself? Either a real name or an alias?”

“If it’s an alias, it’s hard to find, but there were a few with the real name Hyangdan. But they were all ordinary people. Not ability users, not from Pandemonium.”

The second hypothesis: If Hyangdan was not a nickname but an actual name.

It might be strange for the demon of Pandemonium to use their real name, but considering the case of Duoexini, it’s a mistake to expect common sense from them.

You shouldn’t approach it with common sense.

You needed to approach it in a way that matched the sentiments of aliens soaked in national pride.

“Really none?”

“Yes, none.”

“Then the next hypothesis.”

The third.

“…Related to Seong Chunhyang.”

Now, we need to seriously explore the ‘motif’ behind the name Hyangdan.

Where did the name Hyangdan come from?

Naturally, it’s from ‘The Tale of Chunhyang’.

One of our traditional pansori, in the romance story of Seong Chunhyang and Lee Mong-ryong, the maid serving Seong Chunhyang was named Hyangdan.

“Pansori practitioners, people researching the tradition related to The Tale of Chunhyang, the city of Namwon in Jeollabuk-do, where The Tale of Chunhyang is set. Anyone likely to use the name Hyangdan there…?”

“None.”

According to statistics, the population of Namwon in Jeollabuk-do was about 100,000.

Even if we tried to find someone with unusual behavior among those 100,000 people, it was already time-consuming. All the Brewers under Gunggi also investigated and found no relevant data.

It wasn’t a matter of time; there simply was no relevant case.

“In that case… I have no choice but to consider the last hypothesis.”

All three hypotheses were off the mark.

“The remaining one is…”

“Even after looking at Chunhyang fans, there were no particular points of interest.”

“Damn.”

The fourth hypothesis also crumbled.

If someone who loved The Tale of Chunhyang had used the name of a character from the story as a nickname, it would have been understandable, but there were hardly any who openly did that.

“Apparently, Hyangdan isn’t in the same category as Duoexini. Duoexini was a notorious troll with secondary accounts.”

“If she were like him, it would have been easier to catch them. Tsk.”

Now, the only thing left was to use the final resort.

“I didn’t want to use this method.”

Finding a specific fish in the vast ocean was difficult, but we had no choice but to bait the ocean and wait for the fish to bite.

“Wait a minute, I need to make a call.”

In the end, I had to use the last resort.

Knowing there’s a risk, but still, I had to do it.

“Hello?”

[…Ah, hi…?]

A voice as tiny as an ant.

[Uh, um, what’s up…? Did our kids do something wrong or anything…?]

A very introverted, gloomy voice that feared the phone call with me and avoided conversations with people.

“Not at all. I’m calling to ask a favor.”

[A f-favor?! From you…? To me?]

“Yes. Your team under the Director, they need to quickly produce some ‘content’.”

[What kind of content…?]

“Bait content to lure out Laplace’s demon, Hyangdan.”

[A propaganda piece, then?]

The voice changed.

[How are you going to draw that demon’s attention? Just tell me the method, and I’ll make it and send it as quickly as possible.]

“It’s fine to improvise. The quickest thing is text, so let’s start with that and then follow up with illustrations or comics as secondary creations.”

[Director Do, you have everything planned out, don’t you? Tell me.]

As soon as it got to work-related matters, this woman changed completely.

“Do you know The Tale of Chunhyang?”

[…I’ll look into it. It’s a Korean folktale, right?]

“Yes. It’s one of the pansori. The plan is to adapt the story in a new way to attract the attention of Laplace’s demon.”

If the name Hyangdan came from The Tale of Chunhyang, there should be some reaction to a modern reinterpretation of that story.

Whether it’s a positive reaction or, like Duoexini, she writes 5700 characters and then tracks down the creator, I just hoped for some reaction from Hyangdan.

If it failed, then at least a new piece of content had been created.

Content filled with risky and severe material, enough to make some viewers cough up blood.

[Alright. At least give me a simple plot.]

“First, let me tell you the title, Director Chaos.”

One of the four main executives of the Secret Society.

A woman designated by the Chief to oversee the ‘culture’ sector within the society.

Chaos.

“The title is ‘Bangja Chronicles’.”

I requested her to create bait content to lure out Laplace’s demon, Hyangdan.

In the darkness.

A red-haired woman lay on the bed, swiping through her smartphone with her thumb, looking for something.

“Is there anything interesting that’s new?”

The woman had a candy in her mouth, wearing only a white tank top and dolphin shorts, lounging on the bed.

Her hair was braided like an apple, and there were snack bags placed beside the bed.

“Yawn. Is there anything interesting… Oh.”

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the new releases.

“Oh my, did this person create a new work…? I can’t resist this.”

She took a respectful posture as she examined the new release.

“Ah, as expected. Romance is the best.”

She licked her lips and pressed the cover.

“…Tsk. Was this drawn with an ability? The drawing has no soul.”

The cover illustration was technically well-drawn, but it had a subtly unpleasant valley effect.

Whether the illustration was drawn using an ability or not was unknown, but the cover didn’t sit well with her, making her shake her head.

“The cover is just… Huh?”

Thump.

Her heart suddenly started pounding.

On the cover of the newly released work, a young man in white clothes was displaying his chest and abs.

“Oh my, oh my. What’s this…?”

Her eyes were fixated on the chest, but regaining her focus and looking down, she noticed hastily scrawled text.

Bangja Chronicles - The Pillar of Namwon’s Virtuous Bombshell -

“…What is this crappy title? Wait, this…!”

She finally noticed.

In the top right corner of the cover, a red ‘19’ mark was shining.

“It’s an adult novel!!”

She resumed a respectful posture.

She wiped the snack crumbs off her hands with a wet tissue, grabbed her smartphone with one hand, and placed the other hand on her belly, maintaining a formal stance.

“Bangja was Lee Mong-ryong’s servant… What has this writer done with The Tale of Chunhyang? Who is it? …Night Blossom Latte?”

Click.

She pressed the prologue.

“Ah, damn.”

And she cursed out loud.

“Chunhyang had her first experience with Bangja, didn’t even hold hands with Lee Mong-ryong, refused the advances of the local magistrate after Lee Mong-ryong left for Hanyang, and Hyangdan seduced the NTR-ed Lee Mong-ryong with her body…?”

Jerk.

“Has the writer gone mad!!”

The woman, ‘Hyangdan’, turned red in the face.

“How dare they mix NTR and adultery into a pure love story!!”

Even in creative works.

Even in novels.

There were things that could never be tolerated.