Dear Heroes, I really am a Villain-Chapter 56: A Soft Meat to The Grinder

— Meanwhile - IHB (International Hero Bureau) Local Branch —

Strauss sat in his personal office, staring at the screen in front of him. It displayed footage sent by the observation team he had assigned to monitor Maximilian.

The screen showed Ricardo and his gang entering Maximilian’s house, and just two days later, emerging completely transformed—buffed, full of muscle, and walking with the unmistakable posture of trained martial artists.

In just two days, these people had gained physiques and skills that would normally take at least a year or two to develop. There was no way that kind of transformation could happen without the help of alien tech or some kind of experimental equipment.

The question was... which one?

Even though Strauss had Level 9 clearance, he wouldn’t claim to know every secret the UEC had locked away. Some secrets were better left unspoken. He didn’t want to know things that were far above his pay grade... not if he wanted to stay alive and sane.

Should he submit a formal request for information regarding what he’d discovered? No... he shouldn’t.

Just because he liked working within the system and following rules didn’t mean he would follow them blindly. Sometimes, it was wiser to pretend not to know something.

If he submitted a request citing his team’s observations, and it turned out that what they had seen was classified information of the highest sensitivity meant only for top brass or the dead. He’d be shooting himself in the foot.

He wasn’t going to do that.

"Ugh..." Strauss groaned, clutching his head as dizziness and nausea washed over him. His hand fumbled through his drawer until he pulled out a small white inhaler.

With a single press of the red button on the inhaler, he took a quick whiff. The effects were immediate, his dizziness and nausea, a result of long and stressful work hours, quickly vanished. His focus returned, and his hands stopped trembling.

Strauss decided to simply record everything and continue observing before taking further action. The information his team had sent was dangerously close to crossing into territory that could get him labeled as someone overstepping their authority. For now, he would document these anomalies and hold back.

— Night —

Maximilian got up from his bed, feeling refreshed. He took his armor out of the system inventory and examined it.

The armor was covered in scorched plating. Several sections had melted in strange ways, and some of the warped plates even obstructed his joints.

It had taken too much damage from Photon Fury and wouldn’t be usable anytime soon.

He checked the system shop to see if there was anything available that could help him repair it. He noticed one potential option, but... it came with a gamble.

Get a Random Skill – 10,000 VP

Maximilian decided against it. He wasn’t thrilled by the idea of relying on the system’s RNG. All he wanted was to repair his armor, not to roll the dice on getting a completely unrelated skill.

[Nothing interesting, right? Max, I suggest you start the main quest as soon as possible. I’ll see if I can adjust the system to include a shop item rotation for you. (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ] Aetherna said.

"Thanks in advance, Athel."

Since his armor couldn’t be used and there was a chance that some people in the Fringe might already recognize his face... especially considering the last time he went there to hire someone ended poorly... for them. Too lazy to deal with complications, Maximilian decided to take a different approach.

With a smile, he took his coat from the hanger and put on the Glasses of Ordinarity before stepping out of his home.

— Observation Point, Diagonal from Maximilian’s House —

The observation team stationed in the building across from Maximilian’s place noticed someone exiting the house.

"Huh? Who’s that?" one of them muttered, peering through binoculars at the man wearing glasses.

"Him? That’s Max Sterling Graham, the twin brother of Maximilian Sterling Graham. Why, you think he’s just Maximilian wearing glasses?" another team member teased with a grin.

"Of course not, I’m not stupid. The air around that guy is completely different from Maximilian. He’s definitely a civilian. Aside from the face and build, there’s nothing similar. I just wonder why he’s living here with his brother," the first observer replied thoughtfully.

"Who knows? That’s exactly why we’re here—we’re supposed to investigate them," the third observer added while recording everything.

— The Fringe —

Maximilian arrived at the Fringe. As he got out of the taxi, the driver gave him a strange look.

"Ugh~ poor guy," the taxi driver muttered in pity, watching Maximilian walk into the Fringe.

This reaction was fairly common among those familiar with the Fringe. It wasn’t a place that welcomed ordinary-looking people, especially ones who appeared as naive and harmless as Maximilian did at that moment.

[Max! That taxi guy is pitying you,] Aetherna said in a mischievous tone.

{Huh? Why is he pitying me? Do I really look that harmless to him?} Maximilian asked.

[You might not realize it, but aside from transforming you into an entirely different person while you wear them, the Glasses of Ordinarity also alter others’ perception of you. Anyone who sees your face while you’re wearing them will perceive you as a harmless, honest, innocent person... someone who wouldn’t even hurt a mosquito! (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ ] Aetherna explained.

{...So they basically see me as soft meat walking into a grinder.}

[That’s the gist of it! As long as you don’t take off the glasses in front of them or do something that strongly contradicts your ’innocent’ persona, no one will suspect you’re actually Maximilian.]

{Strongly contradicts? Like what, exactly?}

[Like killing someone and laughing like a maniac. (≧▽≦)]

{That’s.... a pretty high tolerance. So if I justifiably kill someone in self-defense, the perception won’t break?}

[Correct. But people’s opinions of you might still shift. Think of it this way: when you wear those glasses, you’re creating a separate persona. As long as your actions don’t drastically alter that perception, people will still see you as innocent... someone who couldn’t hurt a fly! (´～｀) ]

{Couldn’t even kill a mosquito, seriously? What kind of magical mumbo jumbo did that wizard put into these glasses?} Maximilian grumbled. It felt a bit excessive.

[To be honest, I don’t know either. All I know is that the guy just wanted people to completely overlook his real manacing self. So he designed the glasses to make others perceive him as harmless and as law-abiding as possible.] Aetherna explained.

{Well... I think this enchantment is going to draw a different kind of attention instead.} Maximilian remarked as he noticed a group of shady-looking men walking menacingly toward him.

[Well... that’s for sure. These glasses were never meant to be worn in a chaotic and lawless place like The Fringe,] Aetherna added.

"Hello, friend. Is this your first time visiting The Fringe?"

The largest of the group said this with a menacing grin as he casually locked his arm around Maximilian’s neck with just enough force to intimidate, trying to appear both threatening and friendly.

A nearby stall owner saw what was happening but said nothing. He simply shook his head in pity as he watched Maximilian being dragged into a nearby alley.

Once in the alley, the group stopped, and the one who had dragged Maximilian shoved him against the wall and threw a punch at his gut.

Pow...

"Arrrghh!" Instead of Maximilian reacting in pain, it was the thug who let out a cry, clutching his fist in pain. Maximilian had subtly shifted his body, causing the thug to strike the wall behind him instead.

Blood dripped from the thug’s knuckles, and he glared menacingly at Maximilian, blaming him for dodging the blow.

"Hahaha! What the hell, Ben? How lousy are you? Missing a wimp like that?" one of his friends laughed, joined by the rest of the group who mocked him loudly.

Furious, Ben snarled at Maximilian, clearly wanting to tear him apart, while Maximilian stared at them blandly, as if watching a group of fools.

{How much money do you think these idiots have? Will it even be worth my time?} Maximilian asked Aetherna through their mental link.

[I don’t know, maybe a little over a thousand bucks? (￣～￣)] she answered.

{Hope you’re right. Otherwise, it’s not worth the trouble of tolerating these brain-dead morons,} Maximilian replied, preparing to counter if Ben tried to attack again.

"Hey! Idiots! What do you think you’re doing?"

Before the thug could act, a loud, assertive female voice cut through the air. It carried a valiant and aggressive tone. Maximilian turned toward the direction of the voice and saw a woman standing at the entrance of the alley.

Her right arm was a prosthetic made of black metallic steel. She had long black hair tied into a ponytail, with bangs covering her right eye. Her face carries a hint of valiance.

She wore a revealing black tank top that showed off her slender waist, and her long, ripped jeans exposed parts of her pale thighs.