The Villain’s Sister - Chapter 119

“There usually aren’t this many customers.”

Laura smiled brightly.

There were so many customers that we had to issue waiting numbers and line them up.

Mandy and Noah, who’d been working nonstop the entire shift, looked pale.

I ended up sitting down on the floor and leaning against the wall.

I feel like I’m going to die.

I wasn’t even used to the job yet, but people kept pouring in, so I made mistake after mistake.

“This isn’t what we ordered.”

When I delivered the wrong dish, my heart dropped.

“You didn’t say there were clams in this. I feel like throwing up just from the smell.”

When I felt relieved that they weren’t an allergy patient, I also blamed myself for not doing my job properly.

Trying too hard not to make mistakes made me wonder if I was making even more small ones.

Every time I caught myself trembling, I felt pathetic for how comfortably I’d lived until now.

“Thank you for bringing out a kids’ set even though it wasn’t on the menu. It saved us. We were panicking, trying to find another restaurant on my wife’s birthday.”

When I received a tip along with their thanks, the shoulder pain from all the tension vanished.

While cleaning the bathroom, I saw my face swollen from exhaustion.

‘I thought I was someone who wouldn’t puff up even if I ate salty sausages and went to sleep, but I guess not.’

Not just my face, but my hands and feet were all swollen from fatigue.

Separate from how hard and tiring it was, I felt good.

Proud, overwhelmed… happy.

A sense of accomplishment was something I’d almost never felt in my life.

“Boss, it’s all thanks to Jean. Word got around that we have a really pretty part timer.”

“I know, I know. You all worked so hard.”

Laura handed each of us an envelope.

“We’ve been busy all week, so I put a little extra in.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, this restaurant pays weekly.

My heart swelled with emotion.

This is the first money I’ve ever earned with my own hands.

How should I use this… I should keep it in my wallet forever.

No. I should buy a frame and preserve it.

My hand holding the envelope trembled slightly.

I felt like I might burst into tears out of embarrassment.

“I even put a lottery ticket in each one, so pray you win at least third prize.”

“Isn’t the jackpot like two billion raphens these days? That’s all mine. No arguing.”

“Mandy. If it’s two billion, at least think about it.”

Everyone burst out laughing at Laura’s joke.

I couldn’t laugh, still struggling with the rush of emotion.

Laura asked, “You’re really tired, right?”

“A little. But it’s fun. And it feels rewarding.”

“Did you come to Blue City alone?”

“Yes. My family’s back home.”

Laura took out a paper bag. “I bought this because you feel like a daughter to me. It’s a security device. Install it on your window. Women living alone need to be careful.”

My eyes went wide at the unexpected gift.

Maybe embarrassed by my reaction, Laura looked away, pretended not to see it, then slowly stood up.

“I need to go check inventory in the storage room. You’re probably exhausted, so head home early.”

“Thank you. I’ll install it tonight and go to bed.”

After Laura went to the storage room, Alex came out of the kitchen and asked quietly, “Want me to pack up some leftover food?”

“I’m sorry. My brother told me not to accept free meals, so I don’t think I can.”

“Brother? You have a brother?”

“Yes. Two.”

I hesitated for a moment, then said, “For the record, my younger brother is in prison right now.”

Alex’s eyes shook violently. “You’re joking, right?”

“It’s true. He hit the stalker who was following me with a bench and got locked up for aggravated assault. That’s why I left my hometown.”

Alex turned pale and retreated back into the kitchen.

Watching that, Mandy and Noah snickered and clapped. “That was a great excuse.”

“By the way, do you really have two brothers? You did give off youngest child vibes, though.”

“Me? The youngest? You’ve got to be kidding. Those aren’t brothers. They’re gorillas.”

“Your brothers would be hurt if they heard that.”

“If you saw them fight, you wouldn’t say that. No dogfight compares.”

Cursing and punches were standard, and sometimes they even drew blood.

Raphael once broke his arm because of Oscar, and Oscar lost a tooth.

The feeling of watching them go out laughing together the very next day after fighting like that.

After that day, I decided to classify the two of them as primates.

“Anyway, what happened to the puppy?”

“I don’t know yet. I’ll probably take him to a shelter soon, but just thinking about it makes me feel awful.”

“If you don’t plan to raise it, there’s no helping it.”

Wouldn’t it be better to keep him for a while and look for an adopter?

If something went wrong after sending him to a shelter….

I worried the whole way home, but there was no real answer.

When I saw the puppy wagging his tail and coming over because I was home, my heart ached.

Still, I don’t regret saving him.

As I stroked the black fur, I realized I should give him a name first.

“I can’t get attached like this. This is driving me crazy.”

Black fur and yellow eyes.

Just looking at him, he was obviously handsome, so he’d probably find a good home soon.

“But he needs a name.”

I swallowed the sigh rising up and patted the head of the little guy who was licking my face.

“Listen carefully. Starting today, your name is Nelson.”

Seeing him lift his front paw, unable to contain his excitement, made me think I was in big trouble.

I could already picture myself bawling the day I had to send him away.

***

If you lack strength, you have to prove your usefulness. If you have strength, you just crush everything and climb.

Big Bear possessed the power to shatter concrete with bare hands and a body tough enough to deflect bullets.

With that strength, she freely pursued money and power.

She didn’t care about methods.

Law, police, and conscience were not things Big Bear feared.

― You have no conscience. I told you I’d deploy the army if you didn’t bring White Hands within two days.

“What was I supposed to do if the bitch ran off! Hey, Tezereton. You want your kid’s body fixed, right? Then shut up and wait.”

She would do anything for her goal.

Even if that meant throwing away her conscience, trampling her humanity, and staining her soul.

That was the kind of villain Big Bear was.

― I even have reasonable suspicion that you lied to buy her time to escape.

The organization was collapsing.

Raphael mobilized everything he had to crush Two Star, and the central army was scheduled to be deployed as well.

Realistically, evacuating all of Two Star’s members was impossible.

Big Bear thought for a moment, then proposed a deal.

“I’ll trade my life for the name White Hands.”

― So you’re abandoning your subordinates, huh?

“As long as I live, I can always gather subordinates again.”

― Fine. We have a deal.

Just in case, she even recorded the conversation on tape.

She was stuffing money and forged IDs into her bag.

Wooooong!

The building vibrated.

She couldn’t tell whether it came from above or below, but she knew exactly who caused it.

“Red Shadow……”

He was here.

She hadn’t understood why Red Shadow stepped in so awkwardly when she injected Giselle Moltke with the drug, but now she did.

It was because that woman was White Hands.

That Red Shadow was hunting White Hands was well known in this line of work.

“I want to face that bastard properly, but the timing’s bad, so I don’t have a choice.”

Rrrsh.

Stone dust fell from the ceiling. He was probably right upstairs.

Big Bear opened the window.

Just as she was about to throw herself out, one of her subordinates came running.

“Please help us! You’re the only one who can face him, boss!”

“The central army will swarm in soon. You should run too.”

“Boss!”

“It’s enough that I tipped you off specially.”

Big Bear put her monocle into its case. She’d forgotten she kept it separate.

“A-are you running away alone?”

“Then let’s go together.”

Big Bear grabbed the subordinate by the back of the neck and jumped out the window.

“Aaaah!”

Thud!

Thanks to her ability being physical enhancement, Big Bear landed lightly, but the subordinate’s bones were crushed.

“Ghh. Kgh!”

“Even when I spell it out for you, you can’t take the hint. That’s why you end up like this, idiot.”

Bang! Kaboom!

As short explosions continued, the building’s glass shattered.

Inside, gunfire and groans followed one after another.

Abandoning her subordinates was unfortunate, but she could always gather more later.

Big Bear quickly left the area before Red Shadow realized she’d escaped.