My gaze and the villains’ gazes crossed for a moment.
Interest, curiosity, irritation, amusement, excitement, and so on…
As expected of villains, they were staring at me with their own unique and varied reasons.
“Hello, everyone. I am Maker.”
With that, my greeting ended, and silence followed for a while.
“Your last entrance was so cool! I should’ve come last too!”
“Ashera, you little brat. Stop messing around and stay still.”
“Why are you cursing at me, huh? Don’t you know cursing is bad?”
“I don’t care, brat!”
The villains’ reactions started pouring in.
Their reactions could be broadly categorized into three types.
“Hey, gay gay! Who are you? Are you the boss of the organization? Or just a lackey?”
“Ugh…another villain…a new villain has arrived…normalization, we need normalization! How much normalization do we need this time?!”
“Someone get that brat some meds!”
“Oh, a new face~ I hope this one is a bit more normal~”
Villains looking at me with curiosity.
“What’s up with that guy? He seems familiar somehow.”
“That guy who stole my attention. So annoying, the vibe of an insider is annoying, the fact that he’s a high-ranking member of a famous villain organization is also annoying. I hope things that annoy me quickly self-destruct.”
“Wow, a famous villain organization…I’m jealous…but if they’re too good, I kinda want to kill them.”
“Hey, that brat! That brat! He’s the one who was hanging out with that crazy woman earlier!!”
Even though I didn’t do anything, some villains were already looking at me with disdain.
“Hoh, I wonder if this guy is a pure love type or a harem type.”
“Is that guy a virgin or what…? Why does he look so ambiguous…?”
“Hey, is that jjajangmyeon sauce~?…No, it’s not~”
“Tahahahaha!!”
‘What was that last one?’
And then there were the incomprehensible ones.
Besides them, various other unique characters started whispering among themselves.
“Hey, shut up over there! It’s noisy!!”
“What did you say? You shut up! You golden brats! You’re killing me with cringe, man!”
“…These brats!”
Are they elementary school kids?
Seeing them on the verge of a fight, I was speechless.
‘If you’re going to fight, at least wait until I sit down.’
It was a bit awkward since I was still at the door when they started fighting.
Anyway, I eventually walked over and took a seat.
‘They’ll probably sort it out when the staff arrives.’
Judging by the atmosphere, this kind of thing must have happened more than once or twice.
Meaning, the staff must have anticipated and prepared for this situation.
It’s best to stay quiet here.
If I, who already have some resentment, step in, things might escalate.
‘By the way, is this the artifact…’
After organizing my thoughts, I looked at the gem in front of me.
A massive round table large enough for all the villains invited to the party to sit around, with a beautiful blue gem embedded in the center.
‘<Discriminator>.’
Its name is <Discriminator>.
A bit grandiose, but as the name suggests, it can discern most things in the world.
In a way, you could call it a high-performance AI supercomputer.
Though, right now, it has quite a few restrictions.
Buzz
As if it knew I was thinking about it, the gem sparkled slightly.
I spent a moment admiring the <Discriminator>.
“Hey, sweetie~?”
I turned my head at the refreshing voice coming from beside me.
A woman with her chin propped up, smiling and waving at me.
She was a charming woman with her short hair tied up.
“Are you the Maker who’s been so famous lately?”
“Yes, nice to meet you. I don’t know about being famous, but if you’re talking about Maker here, I guess it’s just me.”
“Ahaha! Nice to meet you too, sweetie~”
The woman laughed and extended her hand.
“I’m Linling~ A high-ranking member of the Black Dragon Society’s Korean branch~”
“Black Dragon Society, you mean…”
“I’m Chinese~”
Linling pointed at herself and introduced herself as Chinese.
Somehow, she looked cute, but her affiliation with the Black Dragon Society was anything but.
The Black Dragon Society.
A massive villain organization based in China.
I can’t say each member is strong, but their terrifying aspect is their numbers.
Their teamwork and overwhelming numbers, moving as an organization, have even allowed C-class villains to take down A-class heroes.
‘Of course, it also depends on compatibility, and such tactics don’t work on S-class individuals who are like one-man armies or tactical nukes…’
Whether it’s unfortunate or fortunate, the Black Dragon Society is a villain group led by an S-class boss.
Thanks to that, the Black Dragon Society has absorbed many villain organizations and has now become a villain organization aiming for China’s political power.
“Aren’t you going to shake my hand~?”
“Ah, my apologies.”
Linling shook her hand, saying her arm was about to fall off.
I gave a brief apology and shook her hand.
‘…As usual, but today, a lot of women are flocking to me.’
And they’re all at least high-ranking members.
Is it because of the party?
“Hmm…now that I look at you, you’re quite handsome, aren’t you?”
“Even with the mask on?”
“Yep, even with the mask on~ Since it only covers the upper half of your face, the jawline is still visible~ With such a sleek jawline, it’s not hard to tell if someone is handsome.”
Linling seemed genuinely interested in me and leaned in close.
Then she hugged my arm.
“Sweetie~ Are you doing okay lately? I’ve been feeling lonely.”
Linling looked at me, licking her pink lips as if savoring something.
“If you’re okay with it, why don’t we spend the night together…”
Just as she was about to press her face against mine with a slightly crazy look in her eyes.
“I found a virgin!!”
“Kyaaaah!!”
The atmosphere was ruined by a villain’s sudden intrusion.
“What, what are you…!”
‘…That brat, isn’t he the one who called me a virgin earlier?’
The villain in front of me was a girl.
With fluffy hair like a poodle and clothes that seemed too big for her, she was a sparkling-eyed girl.
One peculiar thing was the drill-like horn attached to her head.
“Hmm~ This fragrant scent of purity~ It’s good, so good!”
“What are you talking about!”
The girl sniffed Linling and then started giggling.
For some reason, Linling’s face turned red at the girl’s actions.
“It’s okay! Being a virgin isn’t something to be ashamed of; it’s proof that you’re keeping your purity well!”
“What are you suddenly talking about? And I’m not a virgin!”
Linling put her hand on her chest and shouted with a red face.
“What kind of virgin wears clothes like this?”
A reformed version of the traditional Chinese dress, the cheongsam.
To explain…well, it had a lot of openings.
Like the deeply cut back down to the waist.
Or the sides, which were slit from top to bottom and held together with strings.
Certainly, looking at her clothes, it was hard to think of her as a virgin.
“My nose doesn’t lie!”
“No, it does!”
“My ability is the proof!”
“Where in the world does such an ability exist?!”
By now, the alluring atmosphere from earlier had completely vanished. The woman looked at me with trembling eyes.
“…Don’t misunderstand, sweetie. It’s just a crazy kid talking nonsense. I, I have a lot of experience…”
“I’m not crazy! And you don’t have to pretend to be experienced! We prefer virgins, you virgin btch!”
“…Who are we?! You crazy brat!”
“Haha…”
The villains’ bickering continued for a while until the staff came to stop them.
“Ahem, ahem. Now, let’s begin the main event of Black Night, the information exchange.”
The staff’s words began in a somewhat calmer atmosphere.
“The rules are as you know. Each person will take a turn, and it will go around five times. Depending on the value of the information you provide, the number of pieces of information you need to share may decrease. And…”
The content was the same as what I knew.
Confirming that there were no differences, I adjusted my posture.
“Then, let’s begin the ‘Information Exchange.'”
With that, each villain began to share the information they knew.
“Did you know that the B+ class hero Spider was recently injured?”
Beep
[5->4]
“I heard they’re going to significantly increase the number of personnel in C district starting next year. All villains active in that area should be careful.”
Beep
[5->4]
“There’s been a lot of unsettling rumors in the slums lately…”
Beep
[5->3]
.
.
.
The <Discriminator> quickly checked and valued the villains’ information.
Most villains were focused on quickly passing through with useless information rather than sharing high-value information.
[5->5]
“Ugh! How does everyone know that platypus skin is fluorescent?!”
“I studied because I thought such information would come up, idiot! Hey! Step on that brat!!”
“Kyaaaah!!”
‘So platypus skin is fluorescent.’
While reviewing the information I already knew and learning new information, my turn eventually came.
“…Thus, the Black Dragon Society has been expanding its business in various fields recently. If anyone is interested, please contact us.”
Beep
[5->4]
After Linling used the information exchange as a means to promote her business, it was finally my turn.
“Alright. Next is Maker’s turn.”
“Before that, I have one question.”
I turned my gaze from the sparkling blue gem in front of me to the staff.
“Ah, yes. Maker. What is your question?”
“It’s nothing much, but you said that the more valuable the information, the fewer pieces of information we need to share, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Then, is it possible to end the information exchange by sharing just one piece of information?”
“Uh…yes. Theoretically, that’s possible but…”
The staff made a dumbfounded expression at my words.
The loose-lipped villains chuckled and started talking among themselves.
“Kek, looks like that guy over there has some pretty good information.”
“High-quality information is good for us.”
“Is it some precious information from Eclipse? Are you going to tell us the location of some gold?”
It’s very precious and valuable information.
Pretending not to hear the villains, I smiled at the staff.
“Anyway, it’s possible, right? Theoretically?”
“Yes…that’s correct.”
That’s all I needed.
I turned my gaze from the staff and looked around at the villains.
“This information is very valuable.”
If mishandled, it could turn your organizations into a wasteland.
Buzz
Since dragging it out wouldn’t suit the villains’ tastes, I lightly reached out to the <Discriminator> and whispered.
“‘The Worst Hero’ will make a reappearance. And he plans to set Korea on fire.”
“……”
A brief silence fell over the banquet hall at my words.
Whirr
Only the sound of the <Discriminator>‘s analysis filled the room.
“…What.”
Just as one villain was about to laugh and call it nonsense.
Beep
[5->0]
The <Discriminator> judged my words to be extremely valuable information, unlike anything before.
Once again, silence filled the banquet hall.
