I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

There were two S-rank individuals and dozens of ability users around, but there was no major problem in having a conversation.

[I’ve set up a barrier. Now we can talk without being overheard, and even if anyone wakes up, they won’t be able to break through the shield.]

Yumir created a separate barrier in the negotiation room, gathered everyone in the golden prison, and covered it with a shield.

“That is….”

[You shouldn’t show off your skills recklessly in front of the Platinum Sun. They’ll steal all your techniques like that.]

[Isn’t that something you shouldn’t be saying?]

Yumir used her magic power to create a shield that mimicked the abilities of Taejo.

Unlike her usual circular shield, she created a golden shield that perfectly matched the shape of a steel safe and then sat in the negotiation room’s chair without showing any signs of fatigue.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Of course. You fly around space so easily, you must have an abundance of mana. I envy you.”

That was genuine.

Even if Taejo himself barely had S-rank mana, no matter how rich you were, you’d envy someone who had more assets than you.

[Surprisingly. The more I see, the more I think. Given the appearance of Armored Taejo, I’d expect jealousy and envy. Almost like having a split personality.]

“…Well, it’s similar.”

[Hm?]

“It’s not strange to have a split personality.”

Oh.

Was this for real?

[Really? Split personality? Are Armored Taejo and Black Taejo different individuals?]

“Strictly speaking, they are not different individuals. …If I were to talk about my circumstances, I’m revealing everything about myself. Even my sister doesn’t know, only the President knows this secret.”

Taejo made a bold move.

With a face full of tension, he clenched his hands, alternately looking at me and Yumir.

“Is this enough?”

[Ah….]

I removed my mask.

“It’s absurd to ask someone to trust you just because you remove your mask, but at least it’s enough to show a gesture of trust.”

“…If you’re going to do that.”

Yumir also removed her mask.

Now, both Yumir and I had completely revealed our appearances.

Later, if we happened to pass by each other and went, ‘Huh?’ we might meet, but Taejo showed a relieved expression as soon as he saw our faces.

“Thank you, both of you. For trusting me. I won’t tell anyone your identities, not even the one here.”

Taejo tapped his temple with his index finger.

It likely referred to his ‘child’ self.

“Is it really split personality?”

“Yes. Strictly speaking, I am the real one, and the unruly one outside is another personality I created.”

“Wow.”

Yumir was amazed, sticking out her tongue.

“Isn’t that very dangerous?”

“It is. In the worst case… the chance of becoming a demon doubles.”

Two personalities.

One body.

No matter which side was in control, if one became a demon, the other side’s consciousness had no chance to intervene.

Because the body had already become a demon.

Even so, the reason for splitting the personality and creating an imaginary one to live in the world of light was compelling.

“Self-protection. Active in the underworld. Which one do you value more?”

“…The Goblin seems to know everything.”

“It’s not knowing everything. Just knowing what I know.”

The reason I could understand Taejo’s feelings was because I had encountered many characters in similar situations through various works.

“If I had to quantify it, it’s about 70:30. It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“It’s not embarrassing. Rather, it’s an effort to protect your family through it, isn’t it? To avoid hurting your remaining family.”

“You can’t say anything. Do you know everything?”

“It’s just that the pieces of the puzzle I had vaguely thought about until now have come together. The clues fit perfectly, and I just brought the solution from the many possibilities I had considered before.”

“Hey.”

Yumir poked my side with an ambiguous expression.

“Instead of talking like you know everything, can you explain it in a way I can understand?”

“It will be a dirty story. Are you okay with that?”

“Is it dirtier than that?”

Yumir pointed to the ground near the tunnel covered in white mucus.

Even though he manipulated the gold to push the walls and wiped away all traces, he couldn’t clean up the traces left while cleaning the traces.

“It’s not that kind of dirtiness. It’s the evil that occurred during the development of this country, something you wouldn’t have encountered normally.”

“If I were to give a recent example… it’s similar to the case in Thailand.”

“……!”

Yumir’s expression instantly hardened.

“Could it be a demon….”

“Sometimes, humans are more demon-like than demons. They do such heinous things that even Satan would be shocked.”

“That’s an interesting expression. Even Satan would be shocked…. Well, it seems true. If the world knew, it would expose the country’s dark side. Still, do you want to hear it?”

“…Yes.”

At Taejo’s question, Yumir nodded calmly.

“No matter what happened, even if you split your personality, I will support and encourage you for choosing the path of a ‘hero’.”

“…….”

“Taejo… sir?”

“No. Hm, something.”

Taejo bowed his head briefly, then took a deep breath.

“Truly, it’s been a while since I’ve heard such touching words. May I call you sister-in-law?”

“S-sister-in-law?”

“Why are you calling her sister-in-law?”

“Because I’ve already decided to call you brother.”

“That was on the train… ha, fine. Call me whatever you want.”

It was more comfortable that way, too.

“Baridegi doesn’t know that Black Taejo has a split personality. Does she even know about Black Agent?”

“She knows that I do something separately behind the scenes. But she doesn’t know that the personalities are completely different. Only my grandfather and the President know. From the moment we planned this, from the moment I split my personality, it was something I consulted with my grandfather and did.”

When Taejo placed his hands on the table, two golden statues popped up.

“At 12 years old, five years ago, Taejo made a choice. To protect his own identity, to prevent the situation where he might become a demon, he created a ‘fabricated’ Taejo by manipulating his past memories.”

In other words, it was because there was an emotional turmoil that was unbearable.

“Our parents had twins. We also had a youngest sibling. And they all died.”

How did they die?

That ‘how’ was what made Taejo split his personality.

“Do you know anything about it?”

“Brother, do you know?”

“Yes.”

I knew it well.

Because Tae Irin of Baridegi was a heroine.

And through investigating the heroine’s past, I learned the truth about her parents.

“I know from the information gathered by the secret society and what I’ve learned, and also through speculations about the profile and the cause of the incidents. It’s not 100% certain, but I’m 99% confident.”

On the father’s side, through the knowledge of the original work.

On the mother’s side, through the intelligence obtained in this world.

“Min Ji-young, your mother tried to sell the children she had with your father to North Korea.”

“…Yes.”

Taejo smiled bitterly.

“My youngest sibling, whose name I only knew, whose face I never saw, who I only knew was born, is dead. She was foolish despite being my biological mother. She thought North Korea would treat her well, even though she wasn’t an ability user. Well, she probably didn’t predict it easily. It’s common sense that a child needs their mother.”

“Humans die because of actions beyond common sense.”

“Do you know how they died? Why they died?”

“…I assume it was due to an imprinting attempt.”

“That’s correct.”

Taejo clicked his tongue and let out a hollow laugh.

Soon, several golden statues appeared on the table.

A baby in a cradle.

A woman lying next to the baby.

Soldiers in uniform.

And a female soldier who resembled the woman.

“North Korea killed Min Ji-young and tried to replace the baby’s mother. They didn’t know that an S-rank baby was intelligent enough to realize that their mother had been switched and murdered.”

Whoosh.

Golden balloons spread from the baby doll and enveloped the area, soon forming a huge crater on the table.

Like a satellite image of Pyongyang.

“That’s how I lost my younger sibling and mother. Of course, this wasn’t the reason my personality split. The split personality was… due to my father.”

Taejo’s biological father.

The son of Tae Chae-jin.

The person who no longer existed.

“Do you know?”

“……Only speculation.”

“Since you’re going to reveal the correct answer anyway, you might as well say it. Sister-in-law might feel uncomfortable hearing it, but….”

“I’ll listen.”

Yumir clenched her fist, and I placed my hand over hers, gripping it tightly.

“Habsburg.”

“……?”

Yumir tilted her head, as if wondering what that meant, while Taejo closed his eyes as if the sky was falling and lowered his head.

“It must have been an attempt, even if it failed.”

“…….”

“Not you, but your younger sibling.”

Taejo’s parents.

The combination of Taejo’s father and mother.

Including Taejo, Tae Irin, and the nameless baby who died, they produced a total of three S-ranks.

Three in succession.

“Min Ji-young was old, so to have more S-rank children, they sought younger blood.”

“Yes. So….”

Taejo created a box with his hands on the table.

“I call my technique ‘Steel Safe’ instead of something else. Although the direction is different, it’s a symbol of filth.”

The Steel Safe.

The first person that was confined and killed with that technique.

“The day my younger sister first bled, I killed my father.”