I'll Be Villain to Everyone! Except for my Cat...-Chapter 48: Dead End

A chill ran down his spine, and cold sweat beaded on his face along with the raindrops.

He didn’t know what kind of creature was flying somewhere above his head... but he sensed it was there.

He prayed that it wouldn’t notice them... and wouldn’t sense him in return.

’Please... let the rain stop...’

"Hmph, what bullshit!" the guard spat, resentment and envy in his tone. His words carried a mixture of resentment and envy. "What kind of disrespect is that? Do they think the sky gives them the right to do whatever they want? Damn Dream spawn..."

"...Just shut your filthy mouth already, fat pig," Mr. Nobody hissed through clenched teeth.

Tension made him want to rip the chatty guard’s Adam’s apple out.

"What are you...!"

It was a mistake to insult the guard. In fact, he really should have at least broken his Adam’s apple right from the start.

But now none of that mattered anymore.

"...It’s over," he stated gloomily.

One, two, three, ten, a hundred, a thousand... hundreds of thousands... millions...

Every single raindrop froze in midair right then, resembling countless tiny shards of glass.

Even the wind—and it seemed, the very air itself—came to a standstill.

Nature itself obeyed this will.

At that very moment, every person realized what was happening.

"..." Every guard, every person in the traffic jam who had stepped out of their cars, and even those who were simply passing by chance... All of them turned away and, frozen in place, lowered their heads to the ground.

Each of them shyly averted their gaze. From above, they must have looked no different from a colony of pitiful ants.

However, now they themselves were behaving like disgusting cockroaches, instinctively afraid that their pitiful gaze would defile the face of the great being.

This was the reaction of people who never held back in expressing their dislike for Dirty Baals.

It was simply the instinct of the people of Concord, who had been raised like insects.

"..." Lifting his gaze upward, Mr. Nobody watched the creature descend. Only now did he realize that it wasn’t flying through the air, but literally walking on it.

The worst had already happened, but the fear and tension weren’t going anywhere.

"Haa..." He exhaled heavily and unconsciously pulled the cat close to him.

Perhaps it was out of fear for her... Or perhaps out of fear for himself.

"..." Whether due to surprise or the influence of the arriving creature, the cat didn’t even have time to resist and found itself pulled into his arms.

And that was exactly how, with the girl hiding behind their backs, they greeted the arrival of this creature.

It was a creature that had already set foot on the Path of Dream.

His Path.

...

"Hee-hee..." She giggled innocently.

At the same time...

’Kill her... No, that’s impossible! It seems she’s far stronger than the level of a mere First Step... She stopped every single raindrop! I feel like she could wipe out all these people along with me in less than a heartbeat!’

"La-la, la-la..."

This girl was humming some simple tune and skipping down to the ground straight from the sky.

She held a transparent umbrella over her head, giving the impression that it was helping her defy gravity, like a heroine from some bizarre movie.

’This is my first encounter with a person who has set foot on the Path of Dream! I sensed her, which means... She can sense me, too?! Will she find out that I’m actually the Champion of Dream?!’

His heart pounded in panic, and every "floating step" the girl took took his breath away.

"La-la..." she hummed with a sweet smile as she danced along.

’I won’t be able to handle her! Is she really going to find out who I really am?! WHAT SHOULD I DO?!’

In that silent moment, Mr. Nobody was facing one of the most severe crises and dead ends he’d encountered in the past two years.

At least, that was the case until...

"Meow..." the cat in his arms meowed softly.

After that, his breathing slowly began to calm.

’That’s right... I haven’t even reached the First Step, and I’ve never even tried to do so. Most likely, officially, I haven’t even stepped onto the Path of Dream... Besides, my Champion symbol is extremely faint and barely resembles the real thing. She won’t be able to tell who I am.’

"Fuuuuh..." Mr. Nobody exhaled slowly, stroking the soft fur.

He hadn’t even noticed how his left hand had started petting the cat, while his right hand nervously rested on the revolver’s holster.

’This is strange... Why did I panic just from seeing her? And why did I even decide she’d kill me? After all, Concord is Big Brother’s domain... Is it all because she’s associated with the Dream, too?’

"Meow..."

’Besides, why should I panic? It doesn’t matter what she wants, and it doesn’t matter if I have the strength to handle her... I can always use the radiance of the constellations. The side effects are terrible, but I’ll definitely be able to escape and buy enough time to hide, even from her!’

It seemed his initial panic and tension at the creature’s arrival had completely dissipated.

"Haa..."

"Meow." The cat meowed with a colder tone, this time looking at him.

"Huh? I’m sorry..." he added with an awkward smile and finally let go of the cat. Whatever happened... he was ready.

At that moment, the girl’s bare feet finally touched the ground.

She folded the umbrella and shook the raindrops off. Meanwhile, the surrounding raindrops remained suspended in the air.

This girl was truly special. Even at a glance, anyone would realize that a being far above them stood before them.

She was dressed in a light white dress that perfectly complemented her snow-white skin. Her hair was long and also white, with only a faint hint of a dark blue tone.

Pure, unblemished, heavenly... A multitude of such words would suit her perfectly.

Be that as it may... She landed on the ground and, with an innocent smile, glanced at all the people gathered there.

"I greet you... People of Concord," she addressed them with respect and a noble smile.

"..."

No one answered her. All she could see were people’s backs and bowed heads.

No one even dared to look up, as if they were somehow defiled.

"Hello...?" she asked again, not quite confidently, her darting gaze searching for at least someone who would look back at her.

’Don’t look at us. Don’t look at us. Don’t look at us. Don’t look at us. Don’t look at us. Don’t look at us. Don’t look at us. Don’t look at us. Don’t look at us...’ It seemed as though these words were coming from everyone standing there...

But finally, her eyes found the one... the ones who were also looking at her.

"Um, hi?"

"...," the cat remained silent.

"U-uh..." the girl in the helmet awkwardly waved her bound hands.

"Yo!" the man replied, raising his hand, and continued methodically loading the revolver’s cylinder with bullets.

Extra protection never hurts.