Academy’s Villain Professor-Chapter 195 : Chapter 195

Chapter 195: The Plan
Ho-cheol also had to admit it honestly.
He had been completely mistaken.
Hero crime was not impossible.
In the end, since a hero was also an individual with desires and ideologies, such things were bound to happen.
But he had thought that it was just an individual's deviation, and that the system that made up this society was running well on its own.
In fact, he had thought that the citizens who were too dependent on heroes were the problem, and that the heroes themselves were not the problem.
Even though he had lost everything because of a hero, to the extent that he had inwardly thought that that too was an individual's deviation, Ho-cheol had been mistaken, no, he had believed so until now.
The heroes he had dealt with so far had always been S-ranks.
Although they were somewhat twisted and bizarre people, their foundation was clearly complete as heroes.
Naturally, he had thought that A-ranks and B-ranks were also the same heroes, just with a lower output and not twisted.
“I must be crazy.”
There was no way a human would be like that.
In fact, after his release, he had felt that something was strange as he had looked into various things.
Even though there were statistics that the output of awakened ones was getting stronger every year, why were the A-rank villains and heroes so substandard?
On the other hand, their numbers were too large.
He had finally found the answer to that subtle question.
It was a very simple principle.
Because there were really a lot of substandard heroes and villains.
Because you could easily build up achievements even without ability.
A villain and a hero collude, and the hero builds up achievements by catching the villains that the villain throws at them.
It was a truly despicable act, but its effect was overwhelming.
The villains dealt with traitors or useless subordinates whose purpose had been served, without having to get their own hands dirty.
The hero caught that villain and built up his achievements.
A mad cycle, it was not an exaggeration to call it a perpetual motion machine.
The problem was that this was circulating with the citizens' taxes.
Ho-cheol covered his mouth as if dumbfounded and muttered.
“This is not even an economic crime.”
The anger Ho-cheol felt soon subsided.
Instead, what came in its place was how to use this unexpected situation and information.
They were trash, but to just get angry and shout for punishment and justice, Ho-cheol was not that different of a race either.
As he was busy drawing a picture where that absurd variable would become an advantage.
“What’s wrong? You don’t look so good. Are you okay?”
Ha-rin asked, looking at Ho-cheol who had stopped walking with a serious expression.
Ho-cheol belatedly came to his senses and shook his head, removing the hand that had been covering his mouth.
“Ah, it’s nothing. I just have a bad memory of a hero.”
“Good grief. Who likes heroes here?”
Ha-rin chided Ho-cheol with a silly expression.
It would be stranger for someone to have a good memory of a hero in a villain's headquarters.
The hero who had hidden his identity had already disappeared far away and was out of sight.
“To find out who it is…”
“At the very least, only the executives directly under the boss would know. If we even pretend to try to find out…”
Ha-rin made a chopping motion at her neck with the side of her hand.
“It’s over. Revenge and all that.”
***
Leaving behind the brief confusion, Ho-cheol stood in front of Hong Beom-do again.
In the meeting room in the hall, this time, Hong Beom-do was also properly dressed and greeted Ho-cheol.
Of course, even if it was a proper outfit, it was just a woven and draped tiger skin, so he looked like a bandit who could have come out of a historical drama.
Of course, outside, he could wear it considering his recognition and intimidating presence, and the actual effect of that leather outfit, but couldn't he dress a little more normally inside the hideout?
With that question, a hollow laugh escaped him.
Come to think of it, in his villain days, he had been worse than that.
Hong Beom-do, who stood in front of Ho-cheol, laughed heartily.
“Thanks to you, I’ve gotten rid of all the suspicious guys! It was a very hard job!”
When he looked around, Ho-cheol also followed his gaze and checked the inside of the hall.
Indeed, the decorations and taxidermy inside were all still tigers, but they were all different from when he had come last time.
It was clear that he had kept the concept and had changed all the items.
“Besides that listening device, there was one more camera. It’s a very shocking thing. I trusted them.”
Hong Beom-do shook his head with a sad expression.
Of course, it was just his expression, and it was obvious that he was not actually sad.
There was no way a villain would be genuinely sad over something like that.
Conversely, Ho-cheol had a genuinely surprised expression.
Although the listening device was his own doing, the fact that there was a camera as well meant that there was a real traitor.
Well, considering that there had been several traitors in his own organization, which he had managed so diligently, it was perhaps a matter of course.
“So you didn’t just call me to brag about that, did you?”
“That’s right! Of course not! Thanks to your warning, I’ve gained a lot, so I have to reward you!”
When Hong Beom-do gestured with his hand, one of the executives who had been standing with his hands behind his back took out a pouch and threw it at Ho-cheol's feet.
A tiger-patterned pouch.
A golden gleam flashed from between the open mouth of the heavy pouch, which could not be wrapped with both hands.
Ho-cheol tilted his head.
“Is it gold?”
“It’s more than enough as a reward for your advice!”
Hong Beom-do shouted with a grin.
Ho-cheol stared at the pouch for a moment.
Even though he could have handed it over from hand to hand, he had thrown it like that.
At the blatant attitude, which was beyond obvious and pathetic, Ho-cheol's head throbbed for a moment.
To think he had drawn a picture, made a plan, and worried about a guy like this, he felt like a fool.
The intention of that action was obvious.
Right now, he was showing the appearance of a magnanimous organization's boss, but his true feelings were different.
Ho-cheol's attitude, no matter how much he was the head of an organization, there was a difference in class.
He was too stiff.
Even the boss of an organization twice the size of Ho-cheol's would have immediately bowed his head and not been able to meet Hong Beom-do's eyes if he were to have a private meeting with him.
But Ho-cheol was different.
He seemed to see Hong Beom-do as an equal, no, he looked at him as if he were lower than him.
Since that had been repeated not once, but twice, Hong Beom-do was also quite displeased.
This pouch, in the name of a reward, was a kind of warning and a declaration to solidify the hierarchical relationship.
Hurry up and bend down and pick it up.
Hong Beom-do's eyes, which were curved like a crescent moon, were saying so.
But Ho-cheol did not pick up the gold pouch.
Instead, he kicked the pouch with the tip of his foot.
“It’s light. Who’s going to use this?”
Someone swallowed a hollow breath.
“Are you saying this is not enough?”
“I have more than enough money.”
In the first place, for Ho-cheol, money was a useful tool, nothing more, nothing less.
“If you want to give me a reward, there’s something else I’d like to receive.”
At those words, Hong Beom-do looked at Ho-cheol with an interesting expression.
“Hoo. What is it?”
Normally, he might have shouted that he was being impertinent, but his curiosity about Ho-cheol had overcome his displeasure at his attitude.
“I want a piece of your business.”
“Business?”
“If I was going to live by filling my pockets as just a delivery boy, I wouldn't have become a villain.”
The villain Ho-cheol was playing was perfect.
Like other villains, he was greedy and spiteful.
No, it wasn't acting.
In fact, his past self had been like this.
“Right, let’s hear what kind of business it is.”
“You know, the one where you sell hero achievements.”
Ho-cheol spread his three fingers, excluding his ring and pinky fingers.
“That looks good.”
It was also part of the new plan Ho-cheol had made.
Two problems that had to be solved, and a new problem that had appeared on top of that.
It was already a tight schedule to solve these two, so there was no leeway to solve an unexpected problem separately.
That's why Ho-cheol was planning to bundle the three problems together and turn them into one big problem.
At the business Ho-cheol had mentioned, Hong Beom-do had momentarily thought of a few lucrative businesses, but he had never expected it to be a hero-related business.
The profit was certainly huge, but that was because Hong Beom-do's organization had an overwhelming scale, a semi-infinite supply of manpower.
The spoon Ho-cheol was holding was too small to stick his head in.
At his explanation, Ho-cheol shrugged his shoulders.
“There must be villains who are used against heroes, not other customers, in a staged capture situation. Let’s use my organization for that.”
Hong Beom-do's eyebrows twitched again as if puzzled.
This was also unexpected.
I thought he was coming to a 3-star restaurant with a spoon to share a steak, but isn't he just rummaging through the leftovers?
“Hmm. Why that dirty work?”
“As much as it’s hard work, there’s a lot of profit. And in any case, the hard work isn't my share.”
He was exuding a nuance that he had some other ulterior motive, but no one pointed it out.
In the world of villains, there was no such thing as pure goodwill.
They backstabbed each other, and the one who benefited from it was justice, and the one who lost was a fool.
In fact, because Ho-cheol had revealed his desires so openly, they were able to erase their suspicion.
Of course, just erasing the suspicion did not mean they would do business together.
“The risk is great. For just a few pieces of advice, it’s probably too much…”
“Of course, I have no intention of getting a piece of the action with just this kind of advice.”
Ho-cheol immediately cut Hong Beom-do off.
He gestured with his index finger and added a condition that Hong Beom-do could by no means refuse.
“Instead, after you catch me, I’ll take care of all the traitors and spies you haven’t caught yet.”
A list of traitors and spies.
Of course, on that list would also be the names of the loyal retainers who were truly loyal to Hong Beom-do and supported this organization.
Of course, he wouldn't be able to get rid of such true loyal retainers right away with Ho-cheol's instigation.
But he could create a small crack.
That crack would give strength to the final blow that would lead to his downfall in the future.
You don't hammer a nail into a hole.
A hole is made where you hammer a nail.
In fact, Hong Beom-do could not hide his tempted expression.
The reason he had invited him was not just for a power struggle, but to use his ability to root out traitors.
In fact, Ho-cheol had scratched his itchy spot first.
Although it was not intentional, the situation was flowing as he wanted.
“You don’t even have a villain rank yet. You could quit being a villain at any time and disappear into society. But if you join our business, that’s not the case from then on.”
Hong Beom-do suddenly warned him.
Of course, it was not that he was genuinely worried about Ho-cheol.
Until now, they had just been a business partner, a cooperative relationship.
But as Ho-cheol had said, the moment he put his hand in the business, even if they were a different organization, they were in the same boat.
“Not just traitors, but also those who pull out in the middle will not be forgiven. One criminal record. You’ll be a proper criminal and a villain.”
This was an immutable truth that did not change no matter which villain organization you went to.
“Ha. One criminal record.”
Ho-cheol swept his hair back as if it was ridiculous.
“I’ve already committed more than 100 crimes, and considering what I’m going to do in the future and what I’ve done so far, that level of error is now…”
For a very short moment, everyone felt an inexplicable chill.
“Trivial.”
***
On their way back after finishing their deal with Hong Beom-do.
Ha-rin shook her head with a strangely flushed expression.
“This is like a dream. It’s unbelievable.”
She muttered softly.
Just a month ago, she had been someone who would not have had a chance to see not only Hong Beom-do, but also the executives under him.
But since her chance encounter with Ho-cheol, everything had been going unbelievably easily.
She glanced back quickly and looked at Ho-cheol's face, then turned her head back again.
As if a misaligned gear had found its proper part, after the man named Ho-cheol had entered her life, everything had been successful and perfect.
A fate that surpassed luck.
It was not unreasonable to think so.
The only thing she was disappointed about was the fact that he was a villain.
Although she was wearing the label of a villain for the sake of her goal of revenge, she hated villains more than anyone else.
And that hatred was no reason for Ho-cheol to be an exception.
Because he was useful now.
That's all she thought.
As they were making their way back through an alley.
Cheolkang—!
Kugugung—!
Suddenly, huge walls rose up in front of and behind them.
“Ah?”
“What’s this?”
And on top of that wall, four people were standing.
“Who are you?”
Even in the bewildering situation, Ha-rin lowered her voice threateningly.
“Do you know who I am!”
“We do. That’s why you’re going to die.”
Ho-cheol looked around calmly.
In fact, aren't there too few of them?
It was such an obvious situation that he even had such a thought.
Just an hour ago, he had declared that he would catch the remaining spies and traitors in Hong Beom-do's organization.
If there were still traitors or spies among the executives, they would naturally be anxious at that bold statement.
Of course, if they had covered their tracks well, they might not have been caught, but Ho-cheol had explained that ability as a vague kind of gut feeling.
If Ho-cheol's ability was real, the traitors had only two choices left.
Either run away before they were caught and live as a fugitive for the rest of their lives.
Or have their necks flown off by Hong Beom-do's axe.
But they had chosen an option that was neither of the two.
If Ho-cheol, who could identify the traitors, was gone, everything would be solved.
Looking at the villains who were exuding a menacing atmosphere towards Ho-cheol, he tilted his head.
“You guys are very lucky.”
He was still taking medicine for his Trait treatment.
If not, he would have torn their limbs off in 3 seconds.
Of course, if it was really urgent, he would use his power even if he had to push himself, but there was no need for that now.
He took a step back and said to Ha-rin.
“I’m not good at fighting. Can you protect me a little?”
Let’s see how well our stubborn old man has educated his granddaughter.