The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl

Chapter 8: A Tiring Day

The girl’s name was Lena.

She was 11 years old this year and was a child from the orphanage sponsored by Red.

Lena had secretly snuck out of the orphanage and was practicing singing at a secret hideout nearby.

However, strangers had come to her secret hideout that only she knew about.

And they kidnapped her.

Lena woke up in a cramped and filthy room.

The door was tightly shut, and there was nothing she could do with the strength of a child.

Lena trembled in fear and whimpered.

“Sis, save me.”

The room kept shaking, and loud noises kept coming from outside.

It was terrifying.

Just like a knight in a fairy tale rescuing a princess trapped in a tower, she fervently wished for her sister, Red, to save her like she had done before.

Suddenly, her sister’s words from a long time ago came to her mind.

“Yeah, crying like this won’t help.”

Lena wiped her tears and mustered up her courage.

With a different look in her eyes, the girl stood up and grabbed the doorknob, pulling it with all her might.

Lena grunted and strained.

The door, as if mocking her, didn’t budge, as if to say, “You can’t get out of here.”

But Lena didn’t give up.

Fail once, try a second time.

Fail a second time, try a third time.

“Ugh, come on, open!”

And, surprisingly, the metal door creaked open slowly.

Why?

Perhaps the constant tremors weakening the door, or maybe it was for some special reason.

The young girl didn’t know.

But what mattered was the fact that the door was now open.

“The door’s open!”

Lena peeked her head out and looked around.

“Nobody’s here.”

There was no one outside.

If she wanted to escape, now was her only chance.

“Now’s the time!”

Lena left the room and ran as far as she could before the bad adults could catch her again.

Even though her breathing grew labored and her legs trembled.

Lena didn’t stop.

But, eventually, the stamina of a young child ran out.

“Huff, huff. I’m so tired. Just a little… rest.”

Lena entered an abandoned building to take a break.

In the distance, she saw flashes of light, and loud noises continued to ring out.

It was so noisy.

Even as a young child, Lena could tell that something frightening was happening.

She bit her lip to hold back her tears that threatened to burst out.

“Sis… I miss you….”

Not long after, the commotion slowly died down until it became completely quiet.

Then, as she stepped outside, she encountered a pure white angel.

*

“…That’s how it happened.”

I knelt before the human girl, Lena, with my hands covering my face.

Kidnappings of children could happen anywhere, so it wasn’t surprising.

What mattered now was whether her words were true or false.

Since she saw me after I deactivated my Grim Reaper form, she didn’t know I was the Grim Reaper.

But if her words were lies?

It might just be a ploy to escape the immediate danger.

And if she got out of here safely and revealed to the outside world that the Grim Reaper’s true identity was a young girl?

The consequences were obvious.

There was no need to agonize over such a decision here.

Even if her face didn’t seem like she was lying.

Logically speaking, eliminating any potential future threats was the safest option.

In other words, I should… deal with her right here.

No, no, no.

I… I couldn’t do such a thing.

Harming a child? How could I even think of such a thing?

Sure, ever since I ended up in this trash heap of a world.

My hands had been stained with quite a bit of blood.

But all of them were terrible people, the worst of the worst.

I had to survive because they were trying to take my life, so I retaliated.

I justified it to myself as something I had no choice but to do.

I dulled my guilt and sinfulness that way.

Until I reached a point where cleaning up trash no longer gave me any sense of remorse or guilt.

But a child was different.

No.

Maybe I could do it if I really set my mind to it.

Perhaps I could do it easily, as if it were nothing.

But I must not.

Even if I thought I could, it was something I must never do.

There are lines that must never be crossed.

“Um… Angel? Are you okay? You don’t look well.”

In Lena’s sparkling blue eyes, I could see my pale and weary face reflected.

Lena looked at me with a worried expression.

I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes directly.

Blaming such a pure child by saying, “It’s your fault,” would only make me feel more miserable.

I forced a smile and shook my head.

“How did I not notice a kid nearby? Was I that distracted?”

I resented my past self for not paying attention to my surroundings.

Stupid. Idiot. Fool.

Damn it. I wish I could turn back time.

Lena gently patted my back.

“There, there. This will make you feel better. When I’m having a hard time, my sister does this for me, and it makes me feel at ease.”

The innocent smile of the young girl.

It felt like a sharp dagger of guilt stabbing into my chest.

“Fine. Let’s trust her this once. She doesn’t seem like the type to lie, so it should be okay.”

Children are the future and the hope of the world.

If you abandon the future and can’t trust in hope, then what can you believe in?

If I was wrong, then.

“It just means my eyes for judging people are worthless holes in wood.”

I stood up and raised my arms to show I was fine.

Lena, delighted, spread her arms wide as well.

Now, let’s solve this problem with this kid.

“I can’t just leave her here alone, so let’s take her with me. There seem to be a lot of Problem Solvers around, so I can just grab one, give them some money, and ask them to take her home.”

I was about to put on my hood and mask before leaving but stopped.

Let’s just go like this.

If I put on a hood and mask now and someone recognized me later, it might become troublesome.

Besides, it seemed like showing my face made the kid feel more comfortable.

I held out my hand to Lena.

“You’re taking me home?”

I nodded.

Lena hesitated, unsure whether to trust a stranger, but eventually, she steeled herself and cautiously took my hand.

Hmm, even though I suggested it, I was surprised.

To think she trusted the words of a suspicious person.

Or perhaps she had some reason to believe in me.

Never mind.

There’s no need for me to know that.

Let’s hurry up and hand her over to a Problem Solver.

I started walking toward the faint presences I sensed in the distance.

Along the way, Lena, in her childish curiosity, began asking me questions with an innocent expression.

“Angel, why are you here?”

“Angel, are you alone?”

“Angel, why did you help me?”

She kept calling me an angel.

Well, with this extraordinary appearance, it wasn’t strange for a kid to mistake me for an angel.

“Um, Angel….”

I remained silent in response to Lena’s questions.

After all, I couldn’t speak.

Even communicating with gestures felt exhausting.

And there was no need to have a long conversation with a child I would soon part ways with.

“…Can I sing?”

When I glanced at her, Lena was looking at me with eyes full of hope.

How could I say no after seeing those eyes?

I nodded.

Lena began to hum a song in a small voice.

She sang well. She had talent.

“How was it?”

I answered Lena’s question with a smile.

A joyful grin spread across her face.

She seemed excited and started singing a few more songs.

As I listened to her warm and soothing melodies, I suddenly stopped walking because I heard something.

I motioned to Lena to wait for a moment.

Climbing to a higher vantage point, I focused my gaze in the direction of the faint sound.

‘There it is!’

I spotted an Orc.

It looked quite strong.

The Orc was shouting something.

Listening closely, I could make out the word “Lena.”

That was the girl’s name.

So, was that Orc looking for her?

I returned to the girl and explained through gestures.

There was an Orc searching for her.

Lena’s face lit up.

She grasped my hand tightly.

Then, with a cheerful voice, she exclaimed:

“It’s Uncle Stal!”

So, it was someone she knew.

To be sure, I asked through gestures if he was a trustworthy person.

Lena nodded repeatedly.

“Uncle Stal is a friend of my sister’s.”

I see. Well, I suppose it should be fine.

It’s safer to entrust her to someone she knows rather than a stranger.

I held her hand and walked toward where the Orc was.

Soon after, Lena spotted the Orc in the distance and began jumping up and down, pointing excitedly.

“Uncle Stal!!”

When Lena shouted loudly, the Orc turned in our direction.

Before things could get troublesome, I decided it was time to leave.

Patting Lena’s back, I gestured for her to go.

Lena ran toward the Orc but stopped abruptly, turning back to give me a deep bow.

I waved casually in response.

Lena turned around again and dashed toward him.

‘What a truly exhausting day. Time to head home and rest.’

*

“Uncle!”

“Lena!”

The Orc and the human child embraced.

Stal carefully checked Lena’s body to see if she was hurt.

“Are you okay? You’re not injured anywhere?”

“I’m fine.”

Seeing that she had no serious injuries, Stal let out a long sigh of relief.

It was truly fortunate.

Considering she had been a hostage of a criminal organization and the Grim Reaper had shown up, the fact that she had no significant injuries was nothing short of a miracle.

“An angel helped me.”

“An angel…?”

“Someone with pure, clean eyes.”

An angel from the Bible?

Stal didn’t understand what she meant.

Perhaps a passerby from a winged humanoid race had helped her?

It wasn’t uncommon for young children to mistake humanoid wings for those of angels.

‘Come to think of it, there was someone with Lena earlier.’

The distance and darkness had made it hard to see, but the figure had appeared childlike.

Stal was lost in thought when a colleague’s face quickly passed through his mind.

‘Ah! Not the time for this. I need to let them know the child is safe.’

Stal took out his phone from his pocket and called Red.

Hearing the childish ringtone, Stal couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

Anyway, he waited for the call to connect, but it took longer than expected.

As worry crept into his heart, fearing something might have happened, the call finally connected.

Stal exhaled in relief.

Though he knew Red wasn’t someone who would go down easily, he had still felt uneasy when she ran off to face the Grim Reaper.

Stal informed her that the child was safe.

The two exchanged a brief conversation and agreed to meet at the parking lot before ending the call.

“Lena, let’s go to your sister.”

“My sister?!”

“Yes, she’s here too.”

Tears welled up in Lena’s eyes as soon as her sister was mentioned.

Stal’s large hand gently patted Lena’s small head.

To ensure they wouldn’t get separated, the two held hands tightly as they moved toward the parking lot.

The parking lot was bustling with Problem Solvers who had participated in the mission.

Conversations buzzed around about the Grim Reaper’s appearance and the outcome of the mission.

The two sat on a bench and waited for Red to arrive.

Lena, likely exhausted, kept blinking her heavy eyelids.

Her drowsy body repeatedly leaned against Stal’s large frame.

‘Considering everything she went through, it’s no wonder she’s tired. I should let her rest in the car.’

Stal was about to pick up the half-asleep Lena when—

“Lena!”

Red arrived.

Her once pristine appearance was now in shambles, her clothes torn and her body covered in wounds.

Lena woke up at the sound of her sister’s voice and widened her eyes when she saw her.

Tears pooled in Lena’s eyes, and soon, the dam of suppressed emotions burst.

Lena ran toward Red.

She dove into her sister’s embrace, and Red held her tightly, as if she would never let go.

In her sister’s arms, Lena sobbed uncontrollably.

“I’m so… so glad you’re safe.”

“Sis… sniff…”

“I’m sorry for not being there with you.”

“No, Sis, it’s not your fault.”

Lena cried herself to exhaustion and eventually fell asleep.

Red carried her carefully and laid her in the back seat of the car.

She brushed aside Lena’s bangs and gently tucked her in before walking over to Stal.

“You look like a mess.”

“What do you expect? I just fought the Grim Reaper.”

Red placed a cigarette in her mouth.

The fatigue she had suppressed in front of her sister finally surfaced on her face.

“So, how was it? Was it really as the rumors say?”

Stal lit his own cigarette beside her.

Red fell silent, lost in thought.

After a long pause, she exhaled smoke and lowered her gaze.

“Yeah… it was really strong. Now I understand why the rumors exist. It’s a complete monster.”

“If you fought it again, do you think you’d win?”

“…I don’t know. I wasn’t fighting seriously, but neither was it.”

“When was the last time you spoke like this?”

“Not sure… I don’t remember.”

Stal’s expression stiffened at the sight of his colleague’s rare dejection.

And for good reason—Red wasn’t an ordinary Problem Solver.

“For one of the few SSS-rank Problem Solvers in the city to feel uncertain… This is just awful. As if the Grim Reaper Cult’s recent activities weren’t bad enough.”

Stal grimaced and exhaled smoke into the air.

The two smoked in silence for a while before Stal broke it.

“Well, at least we rescued Lena safely. That’s what matters, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Red nodded in agreement.

Once they finished smoking, they got into the car.

Red sat in the passenger seat, and Stal took the wheel.

“Wake me up when we get there. I need to rest.”

Red reclined her seat slightly, pressed her back firmly against it, and closed her eyes.

It had truly been an exhausting day.