I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

“Uwaaaah!!”

Ji Cheon-hyang stretched and threw herself onto the bed.

Even though she was an ability user, when her magic power was limited, her body naturally stiffened from lying in the hospital bed for a long time. However, before her body could loosen up, she had used her ability to the fullest to subdue the illegal intruders.

Her ability: controlling tangerines.

The maximum range of her ability covered the entire island of Jeju.

To be precise, her power extended across the whole island of Jeju and even some parts of the surrounding sea. In Jeju, a place famous for tangerine production, her ability was practically on the level of an S-class god.

Now, that god has returned.

Beep.

Ji Cheon-hyang turned on the TV with her Taegeuk watch.

After adjusting her posture, worried that someone might come in through the balcony window again, she carefully listened to the news anchors to understand the situation.

[…the ‘attempted island infiltrators’ who were captured in Jeju and transferred to Busan are currently locked in the iron cell created by Armored Taejo, but after a week, there have been more attempts to sneak into Jeju….]

“Damn national citizen protection law.”

On channel A, heroes from the Hero Association, including Thunder Emperor and Baridegi, were condemning the so-called ‘Bone Suckers’—illegal Jeju infiltrators captured by them.

[Their goal is to obtain the remains of Seon Ga-eul, the ‘Transfer Train’ ability user, and secure her power. Although her ability is called ‘Victory Support,’ considering she’s an A-class user….]

“Support? More like brainwashing. Tsk. Only those who know the real story would call it support. It’s true, though. Support, hypnosis. Anyway… confirmed that no additional information about Seon Ga-eul has been leaked.”

Even during her time lying in the hospital, she had cross-checked several times with the people who entered the room. The public still knew only the basic information about Seon Ga-eul.

An A-class ability user.

A hero, though not very active in hero activities.

A woman who often met men.

About seven months ago, she suddenly disappeared.

People speculated she was dead, and in fact, she appeared as an evil spirit in Jeju.

She even cursed Ji Cheon-hyang, but Ji Cheon-hyang broke the curse and awoke from a long sleep.

Ssssh.

As she turned the Taeguk Watch, the channel changed.

[…some rumors suggest that Hwalbindang or the Secret Society might be involved, but the Hero Association maintains its original stance of not collaborating with villains unless the world is truly on the verge of destruction….]

“The involvement of Hwalbindang and the Secret Society is just rumors. Confirmed.”

Ji Cheon-hyang browsed the internet to confirm the information.

-Still, even though Seon Ga-eul went missing and those nasty rumors spread, since she was a Korean hero, Hwalbindang should step in, right?

ㄴNasty rumors? If having three-digit male friends makes her nasty, then celebrities must be out of control. ^^

ㄴHow do you even know that? It's not like all the men she slept with certified it.

ㄴGa...!

ㄴNext, please. Even ability users don't wear out like normal people. ^^

ㄴ...Ping!

“Rumors about Seon Ga-eul still floating around, confirmed. Nothing about her exile to Japan or the hero defection being revealed yet. Confirmed.”

Seon Ga-eul remained just an ordinary A-class ability user.

The only odd thing was that people often saw her dining or having tea with men or being alone with them.

-Oh, maybe she was just trying to get married? What's so strange about an A-class woman looking for a spouse? Wasn’t she 24 years old? That's the prime age for marriage.

-Is 24 the prime age for marriage?

-She's an ability user! Back in my day, by 24, people already had five kids!

-This isn't the farming era anymore; it's the age of ability users....

-You fool! If you started having kids at 16, you'd have ten before you hit 25!

-Wisdom of the elders, indeed!

“The ‘nasty rumor’ is still viewed as people’s misunderstanding of her trying to get married while being a single woman. Confirmed.”

Nothing more, nothing less.

“Ah, Seon Ga-eul… She was quite something.”

Ji Cheon-hyang shook her head and rose from the bed.

“Testing all those men, then seeing that Goblin was about to ascend to S-class, she tried to cozy up to him by playing the childhood friend card. Ugh, an opportunist. She died well, died really well… If I had known she was buried in Jeju, I would have planted a ton of rotten tangerines around her grave.”

Crackle, crack.

Ji Cheon-hyang walked to the kitchen, turned on the stove, and poured water into a pot.

“Now that Seon Ga-eul is dead, the men who were bewitched by her will come to their senses, and since I’m free from the curse, people will know she’s dead….”

[…Yes, that’s right! There’s suspicion that this chaos was caused by a villain organization’s evil plot involving Seon Ga-eul’s spirit. Though their true motives remain unknown, they are likely targeting the tangerine empress of Jeju, Ji Cheon-hyang….]

“My title is Ji Cheon-hyang, and Tangerine Empress isn’t my hero name. It’s just what people call me.”

Hearing the reporter on channel C refer to her as the Tangerine Empress didn’t bother her too much.

“Is that guy my fan? Hmph.”

Feeling pleased, she placed the ramen she quickly cooked on the kitchen table and clasped her hands together.

“I wish Jeju would grow even bigger. That way, people would expect even more from my exploits.”

The sight of the tangerine jets falling toward the beach in front of Seongsan Ilchulbong was nothing short of magnificent.

No one knew who filmed that dramatic moment, but it ended up inspiring both hope and despair in others due to her tangerine bombardment.

-Uwaaah! What should we do? Without Ji Cheon-hyang, how will we handle all these rotten tangerines?

-Is that really the issue? Isn’t there something more important?

-Ah, right! The villains! Ugh, I haven’t seen a villain in Jeju for a while, but now that Ji Cheon-hyang has fallen, we realize how important she was. Only after the flower has withered... Woah! Look, the tangerines are flying in the sky! Ji Cheon-hyang is alive!

To the people of Jeju, the tangerines left in front of their homes and the trees on the streets had become even more reliable protectors than the police.

-Damn it, what’s happening?!

-The Tangerine Empress has been revived! It seems the curse has been lifted!

-Tch, damn useless evil spirit! Damn it, retreat! Even though it's an A-class corpse, with the Tangerine Empress awake, stealing the remains is impossible! If you don’t want a tangerine bomb exploding in your face, run away now!!

Villains who had secretly infiltrated Jeju Island now faced despair as they realized that a being capable of monitoring and responding from every corner of the island had returned.

With Ji Cheon-hyang’s revival, peace returned to Jeju Island, just as it had before.

“Hmph, so… have I dealt with everything? Can I finally rest now?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

[Not a chance.]

Whoosh.

Even though she was sure the balcony window was locked, a masked man was sitting on the living room sofa.

[The Jeju Project isn’t over yet.]

“…….”

[In fact, it’s just beginning.]

---

I came to say a word of thanks to Ji Cheon-hyang for her hard work, but as soon as I arrived, her expression twisted—she had just started to cook ramen.

[Don’t worry, I’m not here to put you to work. You can just relax and eat your ramen while you listen.]

“Ah, really?”

[Of course.]

“Wow, thank you! Oh, would you like to have some ramen before you go?”

[…….]

At Ji Cheon-hyang’s forbidden question, I shook my head, and her innocent expression soured slightly as she clicked her tongue in disappointment.

“If I ask you again later, will it be too late?”

[I have no idea what you’re talking about.]

“Heheh. I have eyes and ears all over Jeju, you know. There’s nothing I don’t know.”

[Except for places without tangerines. Isn’t that right?]

“…Ugh.”

Even on Jeju Island, there were places without tangerines.

Whether they removed the tangerines or erected a barrier, there were plenty of ways to avoid Ji Cheon-hyang’s watchful gaze.

[Just keep doing what you normally do. The incident with Seon Ga-eul’s evil spirit was only a prelude to the large-scale crisis coming in July.]

“How big are we talking?”

[As you already know, more than ten S-class individuals will gather here on Jeju Island. And they’ll be fighting a war over something.]

“Seon Ga-eul’s remains?”

No. Not Seon Ga-eul’s remains, but something just as valuable and expensive. And, unlike Seon Ga-eul’s remains, it’s not hidden away in some remote mountain—it’s something that will legally draw people here.]

What that was, Ji Cheon-hyang would find out when the summer semester officially began.

[But the situation will unfold similarly to the one with Seon Ga-eul’s remains. More people will start vying for it, and all you have to do is bomb the villains who cross the line with your tangerines.]

“Even the Secret Society?”

[Of course. What we want is for you to maintain your image as a hero.]

The Secret Society never puts heroes in a position where working with them would cause problems.

[If you feel someone has done something unforgivable, you can detonate the tangerines right in front of me.]

“Not that it’d hurt you anyway….”

[It’s not about hurting me. What matters is the fact that you attacked the Goblin.]

“Got it. But what exactly do you mean by ‘unforgivable’?”

[For example.]

I pointed to Ji Cheon-hyang’s hand, which was holding chopsticks as she took a bite of ramen.

[Eating a tangerine right after finishing your ramen.]

“…….”

Chewing a tangerine, Ji Cheon-hyang pouted and grumbled.

“That’s still better than eating mint chocolate….”

[Wait. What did you say?]

“I said, eating tangerines with ramen is better than eating toothpaste.”

[…….]

At times.

An ability user’s strong ego manifested in ways that others couldn’t easily accept.

[Do you seriously eat tangerines as a side dish?]

“I mix them into my rice, you know?”

[…….]

“It’s way better than putting pineapple on pizza, so why are you making that face?”

An unyielding, powerful ego.