I’ll Live as a Villain Obsessed Over by a Magical Girl

Looking around, it was already evening. The twilight had long since faded, and the moon had fully revealed itself.
Na Noah, who had roughly wrapped a bandage around her hand, yawned deeply.

It had been a tiring day.

She should have been home by now. She’d originally gone out to distribute flyers, and the incident happened while she was on her way home.

Who would have thought a monster would appear there?

Noah picked up the pinwheel with her left hand, which wasn’t bandaged. It was the monster she had fought earlier.
Its power had diminished, and it had already shrunk to this size.

“Absorb.”

With Noah’s command, the pinwheel shattered into particles of light.

Magical power transmitted through her arm. It wasn’t much, but if she kept collecting it, it would eventually amount to something significant.

As they say, many a little makes a mickle.
Thinking that way, bitterness washed over her again.

‘But why is my money still just a little?’

Noah stared at the few ten thousand won bills she pulled from her pocket.

It was little.
Far too little.

If this had been an allowance from her parents, she would have been grateful, but…

“Ah, let’s not think about it.”

After a moment of silence, Noah shook her head and stood up. The girl’s thin body swayed slightly.

Still, today’s income was decent. She’d gained magical power and had a well-paying part-time job for the first time in a while.

Above all, she’d saved people and increased her reputation.
At this rate, getting a job at a hero company might not just be a dream.

“Kyukyu! As expected of Lady Noah. I’m so moved.”

A small bird, crying “kyukyu,” flew nearby.
What was unique was that it cried “kyukyu” but spoke like a human.
It was a mascot, which every magical girl supposedly had.
Noah scolded her mascot.
“Where have you been all this time?”
“Kyu…! Mascots are supposed to stay out of battles!”
“You’re not even helpful.”

Noah flicked the bird’s forehead with her finger.
The bird started crying, “kyukyu.”
“Kyuu-! That’s too cruel! How could you hit such a cute little bird!?”
“Because you’re annoying.”
“How could this… don’t humans go crazy over cute things!? That’s why I transformed into this form on purpose…”
“Hey, Kyukyu.”
“Kyu?”
“I’m not eating you because you’re cute, you know.”
“Kyuuuuuu…!”
The bird climbed onto Noah’s white hair and curled up, trembling like a soft rice cake.
Noah chuckled at that.
She was just teasing, but the bird was so scared.
As if she’d make such a small creature fight. It was cute, so she was keeping it as a pet.
…And there’s not much to eat anyway.
“Sigh… let’s go home. Get into my pocket. Be careful not to be seen outside.”
“Yes, Lady Noah!”
Kyukyu quickly retreated into her pocket.
Seeing this, Noah began walking.
Let’s go home quickly and eat, then get a good rest.

Despite her resolve, her steps were surprisingly slow.

‘Ow, it hurts. Why did that bastard struggle so much.’

It was because of the wounds she received in the battle with the pinwheel monster. She was injured in various places, but the worst were her right hand and ankle.
The skin on her right hand was badly torn, and her ankle was slightly swollen.
Walking wasn’t impossible, but she couldn’t walk quickly.

Noah wasn’t happy with the current situation. She couldn’t be.

Usually, she walked quickly, ignoring everything around her. You do your thing, I’ll do mine, I don’t care.

That’s how she thought.

It couldn’t be helped. Especially on the streets at night, especially in densely populated areas.

‘Ugh… good smell…’

There were too many things on the street tempting the girl.

‘Chicken… when was the last time I ate it…?’

The last chicken she ate was mass-produced frozen chicken from school lunch. Even that, she couldn’t eat much because of spring vacation.

Chicken.
Lost in the savory aroma of oil, Noah shook her head.

She could eat cheaply at home.

‘It’s already too expensive as it is.’

The price exceeded 20,000 won per chicken.
Even though prices these days are crazy, isn’t that too much?
“Bi-bird… to fry a bird…! Kyu…! What cruel treatment…!”
“Why? Want me to fry you too?”
“Kyu…!!”
“I’m joking.”

Noah chuckled and began walking again.
But the crisis wasn’t over.

“Are you okay, Lady Noah? You don’t look well…”
“Really…! This is why I usually avoid this road!”

The temptations continued.

The aroma of fried food. The skillful hand movements of the uncle selling takoyaki on the street. The appetizing bread on display at the bakery.

She felt a bit envious when she saw girls her age eating malatang or whatever it was.
What is that, that they’re eating so deliciously? Is it tasty?
However.

‘Why eat malatang? With that money, I could just eat cup noodles and be satisfied.’

It was a matter of price.

She unnecessarily spread out the cash in her pocket. Although her earnings were decent, it wasn’t enough to spend lavishly.

Plus, there was rent, electricity, water, and communication bills. And there was also something else that required the most money.

Those things were too luxurious for a girl living alone without parental support.

‘Tch, I’ll eat something delicious when I get home too.’

Noah tried hard to resist the temptation and continued walking. Her ankle stung. Considering the cost of medicine, she didn’t have time to be distracted by such things.
She resisted the temptation.
After walking for a while.

“…Ah.”

Noah made a sound for the first time. It was a weak sound, as if dropping to the ground.

Noah’s purple eyes turned to a store. It was a restaurant. A restaurant with a large sign that read [Hanwoo Village].

The place, surrounded by large glass windows near the entrance, was a restaurant where the internal structure and people dining were all visible.

‘…What, what am I doing, Na Noah.’

I’m not some pitiful beggar, what am I doing here?
Move, I said move.
Leave quickly. You need to go home. What are you doing here, it’s embarrassing. People are staring.
“Lady Noah? Are you okay?”
“…”
“Lady Noah?”

But with legs unwilling to move, Noah just stared into the restaurant.

At the end of the girl’s gaze was neither the fancy interior nor the red meat being grilled.

There was a family.

A father wearing glasses with a clumsy smile.
A mother who briefly worries about the price tag but soon smiles.
And a daughter enjoying her meal without any worries with her parents.

One might say that scene wasn’t particularly enviable-
‘…Me too.’

No, she was envious.
Insanely envious.

At the same time, she wanted it. They say humans naturally desire what they don’t have and want to obtain it.

Then, what I want now is…

Crunch.
The bills in her hand became crumpled.
“…Tch.”
“Lady Noah…”
“I’m going to indulge too, Kyukyu.”
“Kyu?”
“Let’s go to the convenience store!”
“Kyu!!”
To shake off her gloomy mood, Noah headed towards the convenience store. This was also quite an indulgence.
After eating rice with just soy sauce, she was planning to get some new stimulation.
Moving her feet, she barely reached the convenience store.
Noah opened the door and entered.
“…Hello.”
“Welco-”
“…?”
“…”
She met a somehow familiar man.
Black hair with light-colored eyes. He was quite tall, as the cigarette display behind him was mostly hidden.
He was quite handsome, but probably not enough to make a living off his looks.
‘Ah.’
She remembered clearly.
Isn’t this the strange man she met when dealing with the pinwheel monster?
Despite meeting for the first time, his tone was oddly friendly, which made him memorable.
‘He said he was going to work.’
So he works here.
That’s where her thoughts ended. Just, the person I saved is safely going about their daily life. That’s it.
That man doesn’t know I’m Iris, so right now, we’re just in an employee-customer relationship.
There shouldn’t have been anything more.
However.
“What? Is there something on my face?”
“Ah, no. Not at all. Welcome, customer.”
The man kept staring, so she gave him a little warning.
Even after the warning, the man continued to stare.
‘Is it because of this?’
Noah raised her right hand.
“…Are you looking because of the bandage?”
“What? No, no. Just-”
“Ha. I just wrapped it because it looks cool, so don’t butt in unnecessarily.”
“…”
“What? Do you pity me?”
“…I apologize.”
As the man bowed his head, Noah deliberately made a “Hmph!” sound.
This should prevent the man from showing unnecessary interest.
“Kyuhuhuhuhuh…”
Kyukyu made a lecherous laugh from inside the pocket and whispered very softly.
“Kyuhuhuhuh… look at that man’s gaze, Lady Noah.”
“Why?”
“He must have fallen for Lady Noah’s beauty… is this what they call a green light…!”
“Kyukyu, want to get fried?”
“Kyuuuuuu…”
I should reduce the time he spends on YouTube.
He’s learning weird things from watching YouTube.
With that thought, Noah headed towards the cup noodle display.
Her mouth was already watering.
Yukgaejang cup noodles.
The harmony of savory broth and thin, chewy noodles.
Not just that. One of the few cheap cup noodles.
In a world where some insane cup noodles cost over 3,000 won, isn’t it a reliable supporter protecting the wallets of ordinary citizens?
Noah really liked Yukgaejang.
It tastes good and it’s cheap.
Perhaps because that’s what Noah thought.
“…Eh?”
“What’s wrong, Lady Noah?”
“Yukgaejang is now 1,000 won…?”

The betrayal from a single cup noodle might have been even greater.
“…Should I be attacking corporations instead of monsters…?”