Became a Villain Heroine in a Harem Story

There wasn’t much that I remembered.

Like giving a gun to a newborn baby, the shadow lost control and went wild.

All I did was swing it recklessly, without caring about what would happen afterward. And the result was now in front of my eyes.

: Wow.

: That was a hit.

Though it was simply text, I could easily tell that the status window was strangely excited.

I slowly began to retrieve the shadow that extended from beneath my feet. My shadow returned to normal as if it had never gone wild.

It gradually lost its color.

My mind had become empty, unable to judge what to do next.

I lost my goal, my home, my family.

I had nothing left.

: I’m here!

: I’ve prepared the next quest too—!

[Academy Enrollment]

[Reward: Regeneration]

[An ability that’s perfect for the fragile you. As long as you protect your head, you can regenerate based on your head no matter how injured you are. However, regeneration isn’t omnipotent either.]

I ignored the text and just kept walking.

To begin with, only adults can enroll in the academy.

My mind slowly started to turn.

Humans are extremely selfish creatures, moving their bodies for their own safety even in situations like this.

Even in this world where abilities had become reality, the authority of a “gun” was absurdly high. If it was discovered that I was the one who caused this incident?

No matter how strong an ability you possess, you die if your head is pierced by a bullet.

That’s common sense.

Fortunately, this surrounding environment is poor and public safety isn’t good. At most, they’d think it was the work of an unregistered ability criminal passing by.

There’s no CCTV anyway. There’s no evidence that my shadow ability did this.

I was left alone in the ruins where everything had collapsed.

♦♦♦

Time flowed indifferently like the wind sweeping through a wheat field.

In the end, humans are animals of adaptation, and I adapted to this kind of life. Unfortunately.

There weren’t many ways for a child with nothing to survive in a slum on the streets.

After abilities manifested in some of humanity, some areas were severely damaged, and the local infrastructure still hasn’t recovered, with everyone involved in the underworld.

In a situation where both manpower and cameras were lacking, the national government began to divide areas into those they could control and those they couldn’t.

The result is this shabby alley that’s hard to believe is in an advanced country.

The absence of public authority.

Some government-authorized ability users maintain local security, but that’s simply a showcase policy.

They were more interested in filling their own pockets than maintaining local security.

Thanks to this, humans with abilities had a very easy way to make money after getting certified through the academy.

‘I have no intention of going to the academy.’

In the end, the only path left for me in such alleys is to become a criminal.

An unregistered ability user with unclear identity, treated as deceased or missing. That’s me.

A socially invisible person.

There were no stores that would employ a child who hadn’t even graduated from elementary school. Even in the most corrupt back-alley society, there’s a minimum standard.

There are places where that minimum standard doesn’t exist, but the one in charge of this back alley seems to have that minimum standard.

Thanks to that, I still have no money.

Then, how have I survived until now without starving?

The answer was simple.

I stole.

…What can I do?

“Thanks for the bread!”

Behind me, shouts and curses were heard. It’s a store run by an older woman alone.

If I go during morning hours, freshly baked bread is always displayed on the shelf, so I’ve been visiting frequently lately.

My shadow ability, no matter how positively you try to view it, is specialized for crime. It feels like having another me that leaves no fingerprints or traces.

Although there were some issues with range, it was enough to steal items while avoiding the eyes of restaurant owners.

I have a conscience, so I didn’t steal anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary for survival.

As a result, my clothes were filthy and tattered.

‘Should I steal clothes next time?’

: Didn’t you just say you only steal items essential for survival?

‘Shut up.’

Since that incident, I hadn’t had a long conversation with the status window.

It was a repetition of a strange standoff—I would ignore when the status window spoke first, and it would avoid answering when I initiated conversation.

As I was gliding along the street by moving the shadow beneath my feet.

I ended up bumping into someone.

The freshly baked, warm croissant rolled over and over on the dirty ground full of dust and insects.

“Ah…!”

I immediately glared and tried to find the person I bumped into.

But there was no trace anywhere.

I definitely felt like I bumped into someone, but for some reason, I couldn’t see them.

I had certainly seen invisibility abilities in novels. But there’s no way an ability user would be wandering around such a back alley…

“Whoa?!”

“Caught you.”

Someone grabbed my clothes from behind. Because of this, I couldn’t help but flail my arms and legs while dangling from his hands.

“Hmm, to move the shadow, you need to be in direct contact with it. Not bad.”

“Let go!”

“Okay.”

Thanks to him suddenly releasing my clothes, I rolled once on the ground.

What kind of humanity treats a child who appears to be a kindergartener so roughly?

I immediately looked back, but there was nothing.

One thing that became clear from this fact is that the ability of the person who caught me is invisibility. That means they must have a physical form.

I’m touching the ground.

Which means I can control the shadow.

The way to easily deal with this type of enemy is to indiscriminately fire wide-range attacks.

A sharply honed shadow sprang up from the ground.

“Oops. That’s a bit dangerous.”

And then, nothing was visible.

With the sensation of someone’s hands touching my eyelids and eyes, my vision went dark.

“Calm down for a moment.”

“…Who are you?”

“Since you can’t resolve this with force, you’re attempting conversation. Not a good habit.”

“…”

“Let’s just say I’m the person in charge of this district.”

The game never went into detail about the ability users in charge of each district. From the beginning, this story was about an academy filled with students’ bright futures and youth.

In a light-hearted harem story, dark tales of back alley circumstances are at most consumed as event content.

My misfortune is just material for someone else’s laughter.

The misfortune of these people is the same.

Therefore, I couldn’t figure out who the person who caught me was. I also don’t understand how they were able to take away my sight just by touching me.

“Your eyes have become invisible.”

“…Give them back.”

“So, things that touch my hands become invisible. Of course, I can also restore them like this.”

My vision suddenly returned.

I frowned due to the sudden brightness and sunlight.

“Is it because I stole the bread?”

“No?”

“Then why…”

“I’m interested in you.”

Ah, there it was.

It was an episode briefly covered in the game, but there definitely was a villain who had an interest in the bodies of young children.

I never thought I would be the sacrifice.

Should I use my last resort in this situation? No, that’s too dangerous.

Perhaps noticing that I was about to do something, he urgently shouted.

“No, no! That’s not what I meant!”

“If that’s not what you meant, then what?”

“Would you consider doing a job with me?”

“…”

“In a world where ability registration is mandatory, unregistered ability users are valuable and rare resources.”

“How much…”

“Huh?”

“How much do you start with?”

He laughed for a moment, then took out paper and a pen from his pocket and wrote down an amount.

As expected, it was too much to refuse.

I followed him without thinking.

.

.

.

After walking for some time.

We arrived at his office.

“Haha…”

“Can you really pay that amount?”

“You hit a sore spot.”

His revealed appearance was more normal than I expected.

Dark circles under his eyes and ordinary black hair. He looked like an office worker worn out by fatigue. His attire was also a black suit.

The half-burned cigarette in his mouth gave a very decadent impression. To the extent that it was hard to believe he was the ability user in charge of this area.

‘Fuck…’

I inwardly cursed at myself for naturally judging his appearance.

To begin with, he looked older. To the extent that passing children would be more likely to call him “mister.” Clearly over 30 years old.

‘More importantly, why is a licensed ability user in such a shabby building?’

I wondered. The government should be depositing plenty of money.

It was a dangerous job, after all.

“Let’s go inside and I’ll explain.”

He was suspicious in many ways, and I followed him with some doubt.

I didn’t think I could escape from my current situation, and if he called for “public authority,” it would become troublesome.

In addition, he said he would give me money right now.

Yes. Money.

Money.

That was the most important thing.

For some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the conversation was being guided somewhere, even though I didn’t intend it.