Chapter 55: Illusion Smoke Villain – Haze Fog ②

"Any idea who the attacker was?"

"It was the Illusion Smoke Villain, Haze Fog."

Usuzumi declared this without hesitation.

A villain I’ve never heard of.

Lately, even I’ve been feeling some urgency, so I’ve been keeping up with the latest hero-villain news. If I still don’t know the name, then this must be a villain without much notoriety yet.

"Already identified. Impressive, Usuzumi."

"No, no. He spoke to me directly, you see. An old acquaintance of mine. Told me, ‘I’ll give you three minutes,’ so I used that time to run away."

For a villain, that’s a pretty considerate way to rob someone.

When I asked about Haze Fog, Usuzumi explained without resistance.

"He used to be an assassin with Public Security, but before I knew it, he’d become a villain."

"Doesn’t Public Security just keep churning out villains?"

It’s starting to feel like they’re the root cause of everything.

What if Delta’s true identity is Public Security itself—an alias for the entire organization? Surely not.

But even if it’s not that extreme, it wouldn’t be strange if Delta had once belonged to Public Security.

The fact that Mio never goes into detail about Delta—no, no, that’s too much of a stretch.

Usuzumi smiled pleasantly.

Pretty no matter what expression she wore, but that smile hits harder—so I wish she’d stop.

"Ohohoho, I’d fall under that category too, so it’s hard to say. But one could argue that if not for Public Security, I’d have become a villain much earlier."

"That your self-analysis?"

"In my case, it was less Public Security itself and more thanks to Flux, who was in Public Security."

I’d heard that back when Mio was in Public Security, he kept his ability hidden.

I’m curious what kind of relationship there was between ordinary human Mio and ability-user Usuzumi—but that’s a question for another time.

For now, what matters is protecting Usuzumi.

She came to me for help, after all. I’ll do what I can.

Of course, I’d do the same even if Usuzumi were just a sweaty middle-aged man.

At least, I think I would. But when I’m staring at a beautiful woman, that confidence erodes. Honestly, could she just transform into a middle-aged guy right now?

"Do you know what Haze Fog is after?"

"No. But his target may well have been Inori’s medicine. A man who could’ve attacked Public Security’s labs whenever he pleased, yet only now makes his move… the timing is suspicious. Especially since I hear Inori is already being targeted by Delta. Villains, as a rule, are best assumed to be connected to Delta."

"You’ve met Delta too?"

"Spoke with him, exchanged words, but never saw his face. In my view, the more information you learn, the greater the chance of being erased. So I didn’t dig further."

I see. Every villain has ties to Delta.

Even Usuzumi—who was only a villain for a blink—has crossed paths with him. That makes it seem true.

Maybe if I just went around saying, “I’m a villain too!” I’d get to meet Delta.

Could be worth trying… though Raiden might cry.

At the entryway, I recalled what Usuzumi had said earlier.

"Ah. Hiding you’s fine, but the house is cramped, you know? Jin lives here, plus a few others. And, uh, you okay with living alongside women? Guess that’s normal in share houses these days."

"Oh! So Inori is living in a share house? When I visited last time, it seemed you lived alone, so I misunderstood completely. If it’s a problem, I can look elsewhere. Finding a place will be easy enough. Though that may also mean they’ll find me just as easily."

"Come on. You can’t say something like that and expect me to just go, ‘Alright then, out you go.’"

"Ah—! I’ve troubled you. That wasn’t my intent. Ah, how careless of me, my apologies. Us nerds do have a tendency to babble unnecessary things, don’t we?"

I told the flustered Usuzumi not to worry and considered where she could sleep. The hallway, maybe?

I could give her my futon, but that… well, that would cause problems.

Mainly with my, uh, preferences. That would mess me up real bad.

"Like Doraemon, I don’t mind a closet."

"Sorry, all we’ve got are closets, and one’s already taken."

"Ah, I see. Well, even half a tatami mat’s space would suffice. Us nerds don’t move much, after all."

"Well, maybe just the corner of a room somewhere… but you’ll get economy class syndrome."

"Ohoho, I know plenty about medicine, you see. I’ve already developed a poison that prevents economy class syndrome."

"If it’s poison, it’s no good from the start."

"Anyone but me would die from it, of course."

"Then don’t drink it!"

A mad scientist beauty had just become my new roommate. My preferences are really gonna get screwed up.

"What’s going on now?!"

Sudama yelled the instant she returned. Can’t blame her.

And seeing Sudama, Usuzumi gaped open-mouthed. Can’t blame her either.

"A f-fox-eared loli who speaks in archaic tones…!?"

"Yeah. A fox-eared loli who speaks in archaic tones."

"Th-then I must have actually died…? Is this the underworld…?"

"Why does everyone who comes into this house assume they’ve died? Do we really feel that out of touch with reality?"

…Maybe we do.

Just the fact that a fox-eared archaic-speaking loli lives here makes the place strange enough.

And the fact that she lives normally in my hometown probably means my hometown’s pretty strange too.

There are other weirdos here as well… including in my house.

I stood up and put my hand on the closet door.

"Better warn you ahead of time. Our closet’s long-term resident—D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E."

"Eeeh—!?"

I opened the closet, and sure enough, there was D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. standing there like always.

His pink pupils were darting around restlessly, just like usual. Is he like this even when he’s asleep?

Hard to say. Since every time I open the door, he’s like this. Maybe the sound of the door wakes him.

Usuzumi took one look at D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. and immediately recoiled.

I really hope she doesn’t get the wrong idea that I’ve got a hobby of locking lunatics in my closet.

"Doesn’t Public Security circulate intel on things like this? Like, ‘By the way, D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. is living here’?"

"Different department. That would fall under Ratlord’s jurisdiction. But my, my, so it was true. If someone that intense lives here, then that means you too…?"

"Ah, you mean Jin. Ironclad."

"Eeeh—!?"

Jin shot me a glare for giving him that nickname without permission.

Though honestly, with how sharp his eyes always look, he might as well be glaring even when he’s not. Doesn’t bother me anymore.

"Hey."

"Jin, this is Usuzumi—she quit being a poison-smoke villain and now works with Public Security."

"Tch."

Just a click of the tongue. So he’s not planning on storming out of the house.

Feels like forever since the days when he said he’d leave if a second person moved in.

Guess Usuzumi, since she’s only staying temporarily, doesn’t count.

If I asked him directly, he’d probably get pissed and storm out, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.

Truth is, maybe he’s actually gotten attached to the place.

He’s hauled in plenty of scrap metal, after all.

With Ironclad’s power, this house might actually transform and combine into a giant robot if things ever got serious.

Would be cool to see, but I’d prefer he not do that while I’m still living here.

"Hold it! Are you seriously adding yet another resident?!"

Sudama, who’d been listening silently as I introduced Usuzumi around, finally burst out.

She’s a very understanding fox—has the good sense to wait her turn before speaking up.

"Just temporary."

"Temporary, you say, but she might be planning to stay forever!?"

"Sounds like a confession."

"N-no-no-no-no, I have no idea what you mean~!"

Officially, Sudama’s living here to keep an eye on me until I go back to my hometown.

But given how she’s completely settled in and even added a bunch of new appliances, it’s obvious she intends to stay.

I don’t complain. The housework she does is a huge help.

That said, if the house really gets too full, the first one out will probably be Sudama.

After all, I trust that she wouldn’t hate me even if I did kick her out.

"Sudama, how about turning into a teapot?"

"No way-jya!"

Pouting, Sudama turned her head aside, tied on her apron, and started doing housework like always.

Watching this, Usuzumi muttered, "Hawawa…"

She may look like a beauty, but inside, she’s still just a nerd.