I'll Be Villain to Everyone! Except for my Cat...-Chapter 56: My Ex

*Don’t walk. Don’t walk...* The holographic traffic light repeated in a flat voice, glowing red.

The black motorcycle came to a stop, letting pedestrians cross at the crosswalk.

Since this was one of the most affluent areas of Como, the people looked elegant, and their faces were lit up with smiles. Sometimes even sincere ones.

Using the excuse that he needed to take care of something regarding the girl, Mr. Nobody politely declined Marcel’s invitation to have dinner together at his place, and once again didn’t go down to Southville’s underground.

After all, his feelings toward this place were rather complicated.

"..." As they stood there listening to its signal light, the cat’s gaze never left Mr. Nobody.

"...Don’t you recognize me in my new clothes, kitty? Hey, it’s still me—your savior, sent to you by fate.

"..." The cat turned away.

’Looks like she definitely doesn’t like me...’ he sighed to himself.

The holographic traffic light turned green, and the voice signal stopped.

Evening had fully settled over Concord, and the sun began to dip below the horizon.

The motorcycle shot forward, carrying the three figures through the streets of a veritable neon paradise — Como.

...

His wolf suit was simple— a black jacket, a snow-white shirt, and a black tie. The bottom half consisted of pressed black trousers and dark patent leather shoes.

Mr. Nobody couldn’t count how many times in his nightmares he had encountered the mustachioed old man Dum, whispering that strange tale—an allegory of Concord—into his ear. That was also why the wolf suit got its name.

A standard style, but in Concord, only a certain group of people wore such clothes.

Those people in suits. Them.

The zookeepers. The wolves.

Simply put, the enemies—those who sided with Big Brother.

And yes, more often than not, Mr. Nobody wore the same clothes.

"One of them among strangers... a stranger among my own..." he hummed quietly, parking his motorcycle right in front of the huge tower. "Kuronuma, we’re here."

Now all that remained was to wait for the person who would come out of the tower to take the girl.

"..." The girl’s head was tilted upward, and the image of the massive tower glinted on her helmet visor.

It seemed the girl was truly impressed by the view and didn’t even answer.

"Heh..." Mr. Nobody was glad she hadn’t taken off her helmet. That would have been the end for both of them.

"Neocorp." That was the red logo located at the top and bottom of the black tower. At least, that’s what the rumors said.

He never actually got to see the logo at the top. The tower was so enormous that it seemed to reach all the way to space...

But that was hardly true.

Mr. Nobody didn’t deny the theory of a connection to space and even believed that, from the top of the tower, one could get there without going to the spaceport. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Most likely, something else took over at the top — strange technology or something beyond it, creating the illusion of reaching the clouds and the possibility of going straight into space.

At least, that was his theory.

The fact was that after reaching a height of about three hundred meters, the tower consisted of dense holograms visible from miles beyond Concord. As a rule, the holograms displayed either advertisements or propaganda.

Always one or the other.

"Mr. Nobody, what is that?" Kuronuma pointed to one of the advertising banners on the lower floor of the tower.

The screen created a 3D illusion of a girl dancing and singing in a provocative outfit. Soon, the girl faded into the shadows, and a music group’s ad replaced her place. Two girls and three men... And it seemed like Mr. Nobody had already seen one of them.

"Oh, that? Looks like there’s going to be a concert in two or three weeks. That girl and the band will be performing."

’And it looks like a new job will be waiting for me around that time... In Concord, events like this never go unnoticed.’ Mr. Nobody thought, a conflicted look on his face.

"A concert? Is it like that music, but in real life?!" Kuronuma pointed to her ears with both hands.

"Yeah." He replied with a smirk.

"Can I go? Will you come with me?"

"That would be..."

He froze.

Looking at the girl through the visor of his helmet, he saw her red eyes, burning with anticipation.

"...I don’t think it’ll work out. I have a lot of work planned for those days."

His gaze shifted from the girl’s face to the cat.

"..." The cat looked back at him without a word.

"Really... That’s a shame."

"Yeah... me too. In any case, never forget my lessons, Kuronuma... And never take off your helmet until you’re sure you’re safe. Or get yourself something like a cap, a mask, and big headphones."

"Yeah... By the way, Señor!

"What?" he said, still looking only at the cat.

"I already know that others call you Mr. Nobody... But what’s your real name?"

"...Mr. Nobody. I don’t have anything else."

"Is that even a name?"

"No. It’s a nickname I made up for myself."

"Really..." Kuronuma sadly lowered her head, then quietly added. "To be honest, ’Kuronuma’ isn’t my real name either. I made that one up for myself, too."

"..." He bit his lip.

"B-but I don’t think of it as some kind of nickname! It’s my real name—the one I chose myself!"

"Is that so..."

"Maybe... Do you want me to come up with one for you, too?" the girl asked cautiously. "It must be lonely... living without a name."

"..." He remained silent.

Gazing into the cat’s blue eyes, he kept trying to find the right words... But nothing came to mind.

Maybe nothing wasn’t in the cat’s eyes?

Maybe that nothing... was inside him?

And at that moment, breaking their silence and his thoughts...

"Y-you! You fucking bastard!" a shout rang out beside them.

"...," he smiled.

"Hey! I’m talking to you, Nobody!"

He hadn’t even imagined that this contemptuous tone would sound so refreshing to him right now.

"Ah, Tasha! I’ve missed you, little wolf cub!" He spread his arms in greeting.

A girl with blonde hair and a face overflowing with anger and contempt. Her white shirt and tie looked rumpled, likely because she’d just come down from the hundredth floor of the tower. However, that didn’t change the fact that the outfit rather accentuated her ample bust.

"Y-you bastard... You’ve already forgotten about the restraining order! You have no right to be near me!"

"Come on. We both know that the order exists only because your brother works there. Besides..." He ran his hand over his mask, and his face instantly changed to a new one. "The man who hurt you is gone. Nobody ever has just one face, remember?"

"Y-you...!"

One was barely holding back her rage, while the other didn’t bother hiding his smirk.

"..." The cat and the girl looked from one figure to the other in surprise.

It was very hard for them to understand what kind of relationship existed between them...

Fortunately, Mr. Nobody dispelled their doubts with just one phrase.

"My ex."