The mind-reading villain’s face didn’t appear in the episode Iris had read.
The comic she had read was an omnibus format, unfolding episodes involving various heroes and villains.
One of the villains was connected to a religious group.
The mind-reading villain was one of the core figures in that religion.
As the cult leader’s son, he was appointed as the next head of the sect, and many people wanted to exploit his power.
Mostly politicians and businesspeople visited him, bringing money in hopes of learning the true thoughts of their rivals or allies.
Thanks to that villain’s ability, the cult grew immensely.
“A lot of damage occurred in the process.”
With the mind-reading villain’s help, businessmen uncovered competitors’ core technologies and brought down healthy companies.
Politicians used their rivals’ weaknesses to solidify their power.
To bring peace to Gyodam City, that mysterious, mind-reading villain had to be stopped.
“Ugh, this is getting way too complicated. Honestly… this is far beyond what I can handle. Just dealing with Laika is already tough enough, and now I have to take down some cult leader’s son whose identity I don’t even know?”
For now, she decided to focus solely on Laika.
Still, she couldn’t just ignore the situation, so she’d need to gather information about the Enraka Sect whenever possible.
While recalling the comic and organizing her thoughts, the second speech had ended.
Again, people rushed forward to fill out suspicious documents…
Fortunately, the villain’s skill didn’t affect everyone.
After enduring two rounds of boring, incomprehensible doctrine preaching following an idol performance, many audience members grumbled and left.
The Enraka Sect’s event, which had netted a whole school of new believers like a double trawler, finally ended with the MC’s closing remarks.
“Turns out there was no need for bodyguards. A villain with that kind of ability wouldn’t need any anyway. They probably hired the security agency just to fool the ability-user. They must’ve known that requesting from an agency would also post the mission on the Hero App…
Or maybe, from the start, the agency was in on it too.
The company CEO could be a devout cult member for all we know.”
As the event ended, the remaining audience began to disperse.
Iris watched where the people who had signed the papers went.
They boarded a large bus bearing the Enraka Sect’s symbol.
Their vacant expressions made it clear they were completely out of it.
Were there any ability users among them?
Unless checked, no one would know the truth.
Even if an ability user had luckily avoided the priest’s hypnosis, they probably didn’t have skills like Iris.
They’d think they’d safely completed the escort mission and return home happily—without a single doubt.
Where was the bus headed?
How long would the priest’s skill last?
In times like these, her skill’s limitations were frustrating.
How great would it be if she could even tell what skill the enemy was using?
“Seeing wrongdoing right before my eyes and being unable to do anything about it… how stifling.”
There was no helping it.
That’s what it meant to be powerless.
Suppressing her frustration, Iris grabbed the event pamphlet as proof she had been there and headed to Teresa’s house.
Normally, she’d feel satisfied and happy after a mission, but this time, she felt uneasy and bitter.
She couldn’t have imagined that a mission from the Hero App had been commissioned by a villain.
She was lucky to escape danger thanks to her “pot crack” skill, but many others were dragged away by the cult members.
And even knowing that, she had no choice but to walk away.
The high-level priest and the vast Enraka Sect were too much for her to handle.
Sigh…
Arriving at the wishing well, Iris dropped the pamphlet in as proof of mission completion.
A moment later, a far larger-than-usual amount was deposited into her account.
Staring at her phone, she bit her lip in frustration.
“Damn this…! But money isn’t evil. I need it to grow stronger. And in a way… this wasn’t bad. Thanks to this mission, I discovered another villain’s existence.”
Again, the achievement notification window popped up.
“Nothing happened, but isn’t that better? Your reputation has grown. Sometimes, if you look in the mirror, you might receive a letter from the secret exchange. It could be good news, so don’t forget to read it!”
“What the…? I don’t get how reputation is even measured. Is this really an ‘achievement’? I didn’t complete a guard mission—I just managed to protect myself. Where is this message even coming from? Could it be linked to the Hero App? If not, then how could it know so much?”
She grumbled inwardly, but the system remained silent.
A letter from the secret exchange, huh?
Well, she looked in the mirror every day, so there was no need to make a mental note.
Walking toward the detached house, Iris fell into thought.
The massive black curtain that was the Enraka Sect, and at its center, the mind-reading villain.
They were another enemy Iris had to face.
Technically, the Enraka Sect’s rise was thanks to the villain’s powers, so if she could take him down, she could bring the whole group down with him.
…If Iris knew that today she had shared snacks and rubbed cheeks with that very villain, she’d pass out on the spot.
Completely unaware that Johannes was the mind-reading villain in question, Iris hardened her resolve.
First, she’d deal with Laika, get the skill, and block his plans.
After that, she’d hunt down the Enraka Sect’s core figure—the mind-reading villain—and take him down.
“Hopefully the next mission will help me level up.”
Even after hard training at the annex, she wasn’t lucky enough to get a skill level-up—maybe because she was no longer in the early stages.
Maybe she really had to go slay monsters.
Iris returned home in her rattling junk car and flopped onto her bed, staring at her phone.
Even after buying plenty of potions, she had money left over.
But she still needed more—more money, and more reputation.
After all, she wanted to buy the mouth-watering items from the secret exchange.
So she couldn’t afford to slack off.
“Come to think of it, I probably have to build up fame not as myself, but as Chastity Belt Girl. I’ve appeared in articles multiple times thanks to Laika, but the achievement window never popped up back then.”
That was a bit disappointing.
Several articles had been published—tiny bits of fame should’ve added up.
Or was that not fame, but public embarrassment?
Shaking off idle thoughts, Iris busied herself browsing the Hero App.
Successfully completing the recent escort mission had leveled her up, allowing her to take on two missions at once.
While it ended up helping a villain, she’d still gained valuable intel.
So there was no need to avoid taking on varied missions anymore.
As long as she had her pot-crack skill, she could avoid most traps.
As long as the mission wasn’t blatantly shady, it should be fine.
She decided to prioritize high-paying missions and slip in monster-hunting tasks for leveling up.
“Eliminate 30 monsters in the spider cave in Sector 4.”
“Hmm. Spider cave? Sounds dangerous, but the difficulty’s low—it can’t be that bad. The reward’s decent, and the travel distance is manageable. I’ll take this one first… now what’s next?”
Her brown eyes narrowed as she scrolled through mission listings.
There it was—a suspicious mission, the kind she said she’d never take.
“Seeking participants for clinical trial of new drug.”
“This kind of thing is posted on the Hero App? It’s obviously sketchy. Wow… the pay is insane. Still, no way I’m doing that.”
She now understood clearly: just because a mission was on the Hero App didn’t mean it was safe.
She shuddered, imagining a mad scientist injecting strange substances into a naive ability user.
This was a supernatural world where heroes and villains coexisted—swarming with lunatics.
She had to stay on her guard at all times.
Shaking her head, Iris scrolled further—until her finger paused on one listing.
“Potion factory hiring daily delivery vehicle driver.
Since the goods are valuable, we need an ability user rather than a regular person.
Due to the nature of the job, there is a slight chance of villain attack.
Workplace injury compensation available.
Only two hours of work—sweet part-time gig. You’ll be accompanied by another ability user.”