Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

‘What choice did I have? The age limit for admission here was twelve!’

While I acknowledged deceiving them about Han Seo-hyeon’s age was ludicrous, it was necessary for infiltrating the interior.

Had it not been for my unique talents, I wouldn’t have resorted to such absurd measures.

Fortunately, I possessed the ability to make any falsehood seem truthful.

“You’re claiming he’s truly twelve years old?”

Skepticism filled the man’s eyes.

“Yes, it’s the truth. He must have grown so tall due to being an awakener.”

Gazing into the man’s eyes, I spoke while gradually infusing my mana into his body. Unlike Seol Rok-jin’s brainwashing that bluntly overwhelmed through sheer persuasive force, my deception required a more delicate touch – especially for such an outrageous lie.

Thankfully, this man’s mental defenses weren’t particularly complicated. By slightly clouding his vision and presenting fabricated documents, he soon accepted my ‘ridiculous falsehood’ without question.

Hunched over in an exaggerated crouch, Han Seo-hyeon let out a pained groan. Even hunching his shoulders seemed strenuous. As a reminder to endure it a bit longer, I lightly tapped his calf.

—That child just gave you a rather insolent look, it seemed.

‘Yes, if this drags on further, who knows what might emerge from that mouth. Best to conclude this swiftly.’

Addressing the man, I said:

“If you cannot accept him, I’ll look into other orphanages instead. My time here is limited.”

This place always lacked children, suspicious circumstances or not. For a ‘child,’ they wouldn’t hesitate with such an opportunity. The issue was me – the guardian presence was undesirable. So by eliminating that undesirable guardian, problem solved.

“I’ll be receiving a transfer to the northern region soon.”

“Ah, were you a soldier?”

A northern deployment was practically a death sentence for soldiers – missions lasting at least five years with no returns.

At my words, the man’s expression brightened as that final lingering doubt dissipated. Now there was only one acceptable response left for him.

“Oh my, serving our nation like that. In that case, we simply must take in the child.”

Just as expected.

Forcibly suppressing the revulsion rising within me, I grasped the man’s hand.

“I’m truly grateful!”

From there, everything proceeded smoothly. I swiftly signed the documents he provided without examining their contents – after all, neither of us would likely refer to those papers again.

“May I take one final look at where the child will be staying?”

At my request, the man readily nodded.

“Of course, go right ahead.”

—Hmm, not even a shred of hesitation.

‘Obviously. There’s no way it was done so sloppily.’

We would find no traces of the human experimentation and trafficking undoubtedly occurring below this very orphanage.

At least, not in this Bomnal facility frequented by the public.

The reason I insisted on directly inspecting the premises was to verify through Ray’s vision that no artifacts were present which could hinder us.

—Hmm, there are artifacts over there monitoring entry and exit. And over there as well.

As expected, Ray’s sight revealed everything.

I firmly etched the locations of those artifacts into my mind.

Inside the orphanage, four sickly-looking children sat listlessly.

—This is strange. For so many sick children to be gathered here…

Indeed, the number of children at this orphanage seemed abnormally low, and their health conditions were disturbingly poor.

‘This is merely a smokescreen.’

By presenting a reasonably decent facade with some pitiful-looking children, they could feign being a caring orphanage, nothing more.

How distasteful.

While removing these children would render them homeless, anything was better than remaining trapped here.

After inspecting the facilities, I addressed the man:

“Let me have one final word with the child.”

“Of course, go ahead.”

The man tactfully excused himself, giving us privacy.

“Is that guy’s head screwed on right? How could he actually believe I’m twelve?”

Han Seo-hyeon shot me an incredulous look, disdainfully eyeing the oversized pants I had forced him into for this charade.

“I’m really annoyed that this ridiculous plan is working, which just annoys me even more.”

“Just endure it for a few more days.”

“Dammit, I didn’t even wear clothes like this when I was actually twelve.”

“Stop cursing.”

With a disgruntled expression, Han Seo-hyeon nonetheless nodded in resignation. For the next few days, he would have to live as a twelve-year-old. I told him:

“If it becomes too dangerous, call me immediately, understand? Don’t try to tough it out stubbornly.”

Han Seo-hyeon’s safety remained the top priority. If he faced any peril, I would abort the entire operation to extract him immediately. Sensing the sincerity behind my words, Han Seo-hyeon nodded with a more serious demeanor.

As Han Seo-hyeon followed the staff member away, Ray remarked:

—To actually believe he’s twelve years old. How utterly nonsensical.

Ahem. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

* * *

On the third day since Han Seo-hyeon’s infiltration, a letter arrived tied to Rat’s leg – a carrier pigeon, or rather, a carrier mouse transmission. Quite an ungainly term. In any case, thanks to Rat secretly delivering these messages past the watchmen, we could accurately track the events unfolding inside.

On the first day, Han Seo-hyeon’s account of the orphanage’s interior seemed ordinary – aside from all the children appearing listless and gloomy. But then, maintaining high spirits within an orphanage was inherently difficult.

Despite his towering stature, Han Seo-hyeon had attempted conversing with the children, only for them to avoid him. He wrote that he had been asked over thirty times if he was truly twelve, expressing a desire to kill me. 

Hmm. At least his spirit seemed lively.

On the second day, Han Seo-hyeon persisted in trying to interact with the children, but none would respond to him. Eventually, he gave up on communicating and focused on investigating the orphanage itself. That night, he discovered a path leading underground.

Today, the third day, Han Seo-hyeon had tried to gather more information but failed. He reported that there were no passages below through which Rat could infiltrate, not even the ventilation shafts typically present in underground facilities. Deeming further investigation futile, he concluded his report.

Very well, it seemed we would have to directly enter ourselves.

“The infiltration will commence tonight. Relay that message.”

Upon hearing my words, Rat squeaked in acknowledgment.

* * *

That night, after all the watchmen had departed, I seized the opportunity to scale the perimeter wall. Kim Jae-ho nimbly followed right behind me.

We had never specifically trained together, but then, exceptional physical prowess was his inherent baseline. Although the process through which he had obtained those capabilities was anything but enviable.

Kim Jae-ho’s body was covered in mottled, unsightly scars that contorted his visage. The most prominent among them was a massive surgical scar traversing his chest – as if his heart itself had been transplanted.

I had inquired about that scar’s origin in the past, but Kim Jae-ho had remained silent. Either he couldn’t recall, or he simply didn’t wish to discuss it. This lifetime, I didn’t intend to pry into those wounds.

From what I understood, Kim Jae-ho was part of the 0.5 generation born at this very facility.

The 0th generation had been complete failures, all terminated without a single success. Only a handful from the 0.5 generation had remained as successful subjects. However, even they were deemed ‘defective’ for being too unruly. Kim Jae-ho himself had originally been slated for disposal as a defect, until Seol Rok-jin had collected him.

In any case, learning from the 0.5 generation’s flaws, mental reconditioning had been prioritized from the 1st generation onward – to ensure absolute obedience to their masters.

The 0.5 generation was the current market supply. Which meant the 1st generation children were likely inside this facility.

The new modified humans created from the data harvested as Kim Jae-ho’s friends had perished.

Before entering, I handed Kim Jae-ho a ring.

“What’s this?”

=====

Vampiric Lord’s Ring / A-Grade

—–

Accessory・Auxiliary

A ring imbued with the Vampiric Lord’s intense will.

Absorbs surrounding blood to heal the wearer’s wounds,

Restore mana and vitality.

=====

“This ring seems rather well-suited for you.”

I had considered using it myself, but already possessed separate means of restoring my mana and vitality. For now, it was better utilized by Kim Jae-ho.

Carefully, Kim Jae-ho slid the ring onto his left middle finger. The middle finger, of all choices.

After scaling the wall, we cautiously infiltrated the interior while I neutralized the artifact defenses – a simple task with Ray’s assistance for an artifact creator of my caliber who had fashioned a B-rank dwelling. No human presences could be detected nearby.

Beyond the breached entrance, we reunited with Han Seo-hyeon, who appeared utterly drained.

“What took you so long!”

“Settle down.”

“Dammit, do you know how exhausting it was pretending to be oblivious all day long?”

“My apologies for burdening you with this.”

Shifting my gaze behind Han Seo-hyeon, I surveyed the children lying sprawled there.

There were four children present. At a glance, I could tell these were mere dregs, unusable even for experimentation.

Devoid of any talents or potential, coupled with frail constitutions and assorted illnesses afflicting their bodies.

The orphanage had likely set up this front as a smokescreen.

“They all ate dinner and fell asleep.”

While Han Seo-hyeon’s towering awakener physique would render any sedatives ineffective, the children had succumbed – unresponsive even when shaken or called out to, as if comatose.

“I’ll take care of them.”

With a sigh, Han Seo-hyeon looked upon the children. As expected, his heart remained tender.

“Yeah. I’ll definitely come back for them, so wait here.”

“Part of me wants to go too, but…”

“You promised.”

At my words, Han Seo-hyeon bit his lip.

“If you slide the bookcase aside, there are stairs behind it leading underground. That’s the entrance to the basement.”

“Thank you.”

“I couldn’t properly investigate what’s down there since there were no ventilation shafts, so…”

Lowering his head, Han Seo-hyeon told me.

“You’ll be careful, right?”

“Stop worrying about us and just focus on getting those children safely to the car.”

Nodding at my instructions, Han Seo-hyeon hoisted the unconscious children onto his back. Watching him depart, I addressed Kim Jae-ho:

“Shall we proceed inside then?”

“…”

Without a word, Kim Jae-ho slid the bookcase aside and entered.

The instant we set foot inside, a menacing aura emanated from Kim Jae-ho’s body.

As we descended the underground path, he spoke:

“I remember this place.”

“You were here, after all.”

Kim Jae-ho stated:

“You said we could kill anyone here, right?”

“If that’s what you desire.”

Truth be told, I held no wish to spare those who had forsaken their humanity either.

—Wouldn’t it be better to keep a few alive for interrogating and gathering information?

I shook my head at Ray’s suggestion.

‘We already know all the information we could obtain from this place.’

I was fully aware of the identities behind the scum who had directly designed and operated this facility. There was nothing to be gained from questioning the miscellaneous underlings working here.

Slowly, I moved forward.

To eliminate the trash that had abandoned its humanity.