The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl

Chapter 2: No One Can Resist Sweetness

‘Hmm, this should be fine.’

I stood in front of the full-length mirror, which was badly cracked, and checked my face.

An old, shabby hoodie and a mask thoroughly covered my face.

This should be enough to avoid being noticed.

Satisfied with the result, I nodded.

The reason I was doing this was that I planned to head down to the village today.

When I wasn’t acting as The Grim Reaper, I operated in plain sight.

However, when I visited places with people, I deliberately hid my face.

If I walked around openly showing my face, I would attract excessive attention.

People constantly hovered around me, and in extreme cases, some approached me with ill intentions.

‘Well, not that I don’t understand why.’

Objectively speaking, my face was unbearably cute and lovable.

If there was a flaw, it was that I looked too young.

Still, my appearance seemed to have a strangely magnetic charm, almost national treasure-level.

I didn’t think people approached me with bad intentions simply because of my looks.

Sometimes, I wondered if this world was filled with dangerous perverts or if my appearance was somehow turning people into perverts.

‘Honestly, there are times I feel grateful that my growth has stopped.’

My physical growth had ceased at the stage of a child.

Even though ten years had passed in this world, I hadn’t grown a bit.

No matter how much I ate nutritious food or stretched every morning, it was useless. I didn’t know why.

Occasionally, I suspected that the god who sent me to this world might have stopped my body’s growth for the sake of the world’s safety and peace.

Even now, I was so beautiful that I attracted people’s attention.

If I grew into an adult, I could already see what would happen—countless people would fight desperately to claim the last flower on the Yellow River.

The phrase “peerless beauty”—something I never understood before—had become deeply relatable.

Pure beauty was, in itself, pure evil.

In a peaceful world, it would undoubtedly be a huge advantage.

But in this brutal world, my face was practically a curse.

Anyway, now that I was fully prepared, it was time to head out.

After a final check, I stepped out of my base.

I stretched my stiff body by raising my arms toward the sky.

I waved my tiny hands lightly before lowering my arms and taking a deep breath.

‘Morning air is supposed to be refreshing… not here, though.’

A musty, disgusting stench assaulted my nose.

The area was so shrouded in darkness that it looked like evening, even though it was broad daylight.

The reason was simple.

The surroundings were littered with piles of debris and various waste materials forming towering mountains.

And there wasn’t just one of these mountains.

As befitting the name “Garbage Mountain,” filthy mounds were scattered everywhere.

All the trash from the surrounding area was dumped here.

Even now, I could faintly hear the sound of trucks unloading garbage in the distance.

To be honest, this wasn’t an ideal environment for humans to live in.

But because people avoided this place, I didn’t have to deal with troublesome situations.

Occasionally, while scavenging for treasure here, I found items that were still useful.

Sure, some might argue that living in such a place wasn’t right.

But after spending so long in this world, I’d grown accustomed to minor inconveniences.

I didn’t care what others thought; as long as I was fine, that was enough.

After loosening up my body with light stretches,

I hopped and skipped over the piles of garbage as I made my way toward the village entrance.

◆

After leaving the Garbage Mountain, I arrived at the village.

It was crammed with buildings stacked on top of each other, forming tall, narrow structures.

These buildings were so densely packed that the streets resembled a maze and stretched out extensively.

People referred to this place as the northern outskirts city, Labyrinthos.

Even the residents frequently got lost here.

I wasn’t entirely familiar with the layout either. But I never forgot the paths I had walked before.

I walked briskly toward my destination.

The deeper I ventured, the more complicated the roads became, and the more I felt people’s gazes.

It wasn’t because of my face; it was well-hidden.

It was because a small person like me was wandering alone.

The outskirts city attracted all kinds of people.

Losers who had lost everything, dropouts lacking ability, fugitives who had committed crimes, and more.

This place served as a refuge for those discarded by the world but still clinging to life.

It would be nice if everyone could get along, hand in hand, with laughter and goodwill.

But the outskirts city was devoid of productive activities.

Naturally, people resorted to easy methods to survive here.

Selling their bodies or stealing from others, for example.

They bowed before strength and wielded power against the weak.

This lawless zone, formed by outcasts, was virtually untouched by law enforcement, making it a breeding ground for crime.

Here, looking weak was as good as being prey.

And right now, I…

I was like a walking bundle of aromatic spices, emitting a strong scent.

– Heh, is that one wandering alone? Hope they’re worth something.

– Even if they have nothing, we can always sell the body.

– No, hold on. If they’re alone, they might have something up their sleeve.

– Right. Messing with the wrong person could end badly.

I sensed malice, but they didn’t show themselves.

Normally, they’d have attacked by now, so this was different.

Given the mix of people here, there were all sorts of personalities.

These kinds of people were like rats, hiding in the cracks and waiting for scraps to fall.

Cautious and timid, they rarely acted rashly.

They were probably watching and waiting for an opportunity.

Unless they deliberately provoked me, I didn’t bother dealing with them.

So, as long as they didn’t attack first, I wouldn’t punish them.

Still, it was annoying to have them lingering around me.

Usually, they’d trail off after a while, but today they were unusually persistent.

It felt like I was being stalked, and it was unsettling.

Honestly, it would be better if they attacked outright.

At least then, I could easily knock them out and be done with it.

Oh well.

I suddenly stopped and looked around.

Spotting some discarded metal debris nearby, I walked over and rummaged through it.

Found it.

A sharp, long piece of metal.

I spun around and hurled it toward where I felt the gazes.

The metal flew with tremendous speed and slipped between the buildings.

And then—

“AAAAAHHH!”

A loud scream followed.

I could sense panic from here, and the presence lingering around me quickly scattered.

There was no need to waste energy on rats like them.

A little scare like that was enough to send them running.

After dusting off my hands, I resumed walking.

*

Actions have consequences, and those consequences affect oneself.

That’s why people should think carefully before acting.

The reason I was thinking this was…

“Was it you? The one who messed with my guys?”

An orc, four or five times larger than me, was blocking my path.

He looked extremely angry, his face twisted into a frightening scowl.

Surrounding me were people who seemed to be his underlings, cutting off any escape routes.

I tilted my head, not understanding what the orc was saying.

But one of his lackeys yelled furiously and accused me.

“That’s right, Boss! It’s this one! This brat suddenly attacked us!”

Ah, I see.

Now I understood.

These guys were the ones who had been tailing me earlier.

Usually, they’d back off after being scared.

But instead of giving up, they had run crying to their boss.

“You’ve got guts, messing with people from Iron Hand.”

What’s with that second-rate name?

“Hand over everything you have and come quietly, and I might let you keep your life.”

The orc showed off his right arm, a mechanical one that made a loud, ominous noise.

“Alright, what are you going to do?”

It didn’t matter what I did—this was so annoying.

In this place, no one would notice if someone died.

Even if they did, no one would care.

Since it didn’t seem like there were any onlookers, should I just use a bit of force and take care of this quickly?

I was about to make up my mind to act.

“A bunch of big guys ganging up on a kid—don’t you think that’s pathetic?”

A voice interrupted the tense moment.

Everyone turned their gazes in the same direction.

Someone stood on the railing of a four-story building rooftop.

Without hesitation, the person leaped down gracefully and landed lightly on the ground.

She looked about 167 centimeters tall, a beautiful woman wearing a black coat.

Her bright red hair was tied into a ribbon that draped over her shoulder.

Her face was delicate and youthful, but her eyes, which had peculiar concentric circles, were sharp, exuding an eerie vibe.

Even her sharp teeth contributed to the overall fierce impression she gave.

The woman began walking toward us.

“Who are you? Outsiders should stay out of this!”

As one of the men tried to grab her shoulder, he was suddenly hurled into the air, crashing into the wall of a nearby building.

With a deafening noise, the wall collapsed in a cloud of dust.

Wow.

While others froze in terror, unsure of what had just happened, I had seen it clearly.

She had slapped the man with astonishing speed.

The men who had surrounded me began retreating as the woman approached, their earlier bravado gone.

“Step aside, all of you!”

The orc stepped in front of the woman, ignoring me entirely.

Despite his enormous size, the woman showed no signs of fear.

The orc opened his mouth.

“I don’t know what trick you pulled, but petty tricks like that won’t work on me. So, if you want to live, you’d better leave now.”

The woman didn’t reply.

She simply raised her middle finger in response.

The orc’s forehead veins bulged, and his eyes widened with fury.

Angry people tend to act on impulse.

The orc swung his fist at her.

A fist that could reportedly break boulders, enhanced further by mechanical power, hurtled toward her.

Yet, the woman didn’t lose her composure.

Just before the fist could connect, she bent backward to avoid it.

Then, with a single hand, she grabbed his wrist and lightly twisted it.

Snap.

“AAAAARRRGHH!”

The mechanical arm was torn from his body.

The orc dropped to his knees, letting out an ear-piercing scream.

Even though the orc had clearly lost the will to fight, the woman showed no mercy.

She grabbed his head and pressed it close to her own.

The woman smirked menacingly.

Her deadly aura made the orc’s face turn pale.

“If you don’t want things to get worse, get out of my sight right now.”

The orc scrambled to his feet and fled in a panic, leaving his pride behind.

With their boss gone, the underlings naturally scattered as well.

Impressive.

The woman turned her head toward me.

“Hey, kid, are you alright?”

I nodded.

“That’s good. Be more careful next time, alright? This time, I happened to scold the bad guys for you, but there’s no guarantee I’ll be around to save you next time.”

I bowed my head to express gratitude to the woman who had saved me from this troublesome situation.

Then I turned to leave.

“Wait, kid.”

The woman called out, stopping me.

“Do you know your way around here?”

I wasn’t sure what her intentions were, but I nodded for now.

The woman’s face lit up with joy.

“Really?! Actually, I haven’t been here in a while, and I got lost. So, could you help me out a little?”

I pondered whether her words were true or not.

Of course, it was true that she had helped me.

But it was also possible that she had her own ulterior motives for stepping in.

Yeah, in this city, that wasn’t an unlikely scenario.

If that were the case…

This could turn into something much more troublesome.

Even with my face hidden under a hood and mask, it was clear that I was annoyed.

Perhaps noticing this, the woman hastily tried to reassure me.

“I swear, I’m not some suspicious person! I really just got lost. Please believe me.”

Suspicious people never admit they’re suspicious.

“How can I convince you I’m not suspicious? Oh, I know—here, take this.”

The woman reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled something out.

It was a crumpled white cigarette.

Was she seriously offering a cigarette to a kid?

When I took a step back, clearly more wary, the woman quickly panicked.

She put the cigarette away and pulled out something else.

“This is it.”

Wait, isn’t that…?!

A Rainbow Lollipop, the one that was said to have 18 flavors and had been discontinued, making it impossible to find now!

She was trying to lure me with food?!

Did she seriously think I, who had been through so much, would fall for such a cheap trick?

I almost scoffed at the absurdity.

“You like it, huh? But be careful. There are a lot of bad people in this world. Even though I just tempted you with food myself, it’s true.”

Wait, what?

When I came to my senses, I realized the lollipop was already in my hand.

What?! Did I just get tricked by food?!

But… it couldn’t be helped.

Sweetness was the ultimate force of good, capable of calming evil and bringing happiness to everyone.

As I silently scolded myself for my weakness, my body betrayed me.

With the lollipop raised in my soft hands, I found myself hopping excitedly in place.

“Oh, right! I haven’t introduced myself yet.”

The woman placed her hand on her chest and introduced herself.

“My name is Red.”

What? Red?!

Could it really be that Red I knew?

The shock of such an unexpected meeting left me completely frozen.