The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl-Chapter 40

Today was a special day.

The kids piled into Red’s car and set off for a faraway place.

None of them complained or acted tired.

In fact, their faces were glowing with excitement and anticipation—and with good reason. The place we were headed to was something truly extraordinary.

We’d set out early at dawn and traveled for hours. And once we stepped inside that special place—

The kids were so thrilled they bounced in place and cheered.

“This is amazing! Everything’s so cool!”

“There’s a huge crowd over there! What is that?”

“There are tons of people wearing masks like Lily!”

“There’s happy music playing non-stop!”

It was a place completely at odds with the bleak city we knew.

Upbeat music thundered through the air, fueled by the heat of a joyful crowd.

Not sorrow. Not despair.

Just laughter—genuine laughter echoing all around.

In this dry, hardened world, it was rare to feel such warmth and energy.

In this paradise-like place, people of all kinds gathered—masked performers, strange and funny costume characters.

It was crowded with people, both adults and children, and everyone wore a smile.

This place was a theme park.

Also known as an amusement park or fairground, depending on who you asked.

She really found a place like this. That couldn’t have been easy.

In this era, theme parks were hard to come by.

Two main reasons: money and safety.

Building and maintaining a park like this cost an obscene amount, and to recoup those costs, you’d need to charge high prices—money that people living in outer cities didn’t have.

So, amusement parks—facilities built for leisure and joy—only existed in the neighborhoods of the ultra-wealthy.

And even setting that aside, the outer cities were dangerous. People lived under constant threat.

They had to stay on alert every day.

Let your guard down even a little, and you could end up dead. Relaxation was a luxury.

Which is why I was honestly surprised.

To not only build a park like this in the outer districts—but to charge such a cheap admission fee?

According to Red, this park was sponsored by a wealthy philanthropist, opened irregularly once a year to bring joy to the people.

She’d heard about its opening and brought the kids.

Hmph.

Doing charity out of goodwill... that’s a noble mindset.

But I don’t know.

Just how much money do you have to throw around to sponsor something this extravagant?

Is it really just pure-hearted generosity?

Something about it felt a little fishy... but if Red vouched for it, it should be fine.

“Kids, it’s crowded here, so don’t wander away from me.”

“““Okaaay!”””

Red glanced at the pamphlet in her hand and led the way.

When we saw the line for the ride, a shadow passed over Red’s face.

I understood exactly how she felt.

The line was long.

Even if the ride had a large seating capacity, it would be quite a while before our turn.

Ahaha...

I’d forgotten that a theme park is both a place of joy and a test of patience.

Still, if you want to ride, you have to endure the wait.

The kids didn’t whine or fuss while waiting.

Not a trace of fatigue on their faces.

They chatted about which ride to go on next, and every time someone screamed with joy from up ahead, they’d whip their heads around, eyes sparkling.

Mouths slightly open—they looked totally amazed.

When people stepped off the ride beaming with happiness, the kids began to fidget with excitement.

To me, waiting was boring, but to them, even the wait was part of the fun.

Seeing them so happy made me smile faintly behind my mask.

Tap tap.

“Look over there! People are dancing!”

Rena pointed to a performance underway.

People in various masks were dancing to music.

They moved gracefully, showing off dazzling choreography.

The crowd clapped along, enjoying the show.

Rena was bouncing in rhythm to the music, swaying with the beat.

I chuckled quietly and looked around at the faces in the crowd.

So different from outside.

In the harsh city, people’s faces were always gloomy. Their eyes looked dead.

Worn out from the grind of survival, obsessed with simply staying alive.

But here—everyone looked happy.

The music, the rides, the festival-like atmosphere—everything in this place lit a flame inside people’s darkened hearts.

Happiness overflowed, lighting up the streets.

Just for this short time, everyone could forget the nightmare of daily life and truly enjoy themselves.

It wasn’t a bad sight.

Seeing this made me think—maybe this damned world was still worth living in after all.

Yeah. A place like this, where people can breathe freely, should exist.

“It’s our turn!”

While I was looking around, our turn had come.

Everyone took their seats and buckled up.

The kids’ eyes sparkled with anticipation.

The ride started moving, and joyful screams burst out.

When the ride stopped, they got off beaming with satisfaction.

They looked at each other, exchanging wide-eyed glances—

And shouted all at once:

“““That was fun!!”””

Their excitement didn’t die down easily.

“I want to ride again!”

“Let’s go to the next one, hurry!”

The kids grabbed both of Red’s arms and tried to pull her toward the next ride.

With a small smile at their eagerness, Red stepped forward with them.

It wasn’t over.

Now, the real fun at the amusement park was just beginning.

*

Bumper cars.

We twisted the wheels dramatically, crashing into one another again and again.

There were no teams in bumper cars, but for some reason, a weird tension started building—like they were fighting over me.

“Don’t touch Lily!”

“You stay away from her!”

‘Um... hello?’

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Then we rode a water ride—floating boats drifting along a dark cave.

Small, dim lights lit our path as we slowly entered the deep darkness.

Everyone grew tense as the blackness stretched on, seemingly endless. Suddenly, a mechanical figure popped out, and they all screamed and clung to me tightly.

“Eek!”

“Aaaaah! What is that?!”

‘Ack! Can’t... breathe...!’

We rode the carousel next.

The kids on their spinning horses waved toward Red, who stood watching.

I joined them, waving at her too.

Red returned their excited greetings with a bright smile.

“Over here, big sis!”

“Sisterrr!”

‘Heh...’

After all the rides, lunchtime crept up on us.

We headed to a restaurant inside the theme park. Surprisingly, the prices were cheap.

The downside? The food reflected that.

Portions, presentation, and most importantly, flavor—it was all just... meh.

A brutally honest little place.

After the meal, Red bought us some snacks to make up for the blandness.

I mean, you can’t visit a place like this and not try the snacks, right?

Cotton candy, churros, hot dogs—rare treats in our world.

Sure, it was all synthetic, but they did a decent job imitating the taste.

Honestly, the kids looked happier eating snacks than they had during the meal.

Nom nom.

While we were deciding what ride to go on next, we passed an arcade area.

The kids immediately perked up with interest. Naturally, they couldn’t resist.

The arcade had games you'd expect to see at a festival.

From simple play areas to prize-winning games you had to pay for.

“Wanna give it a shot?”

Red encouraged the kids to try.

They looked at each other, then nodded.

The game was simple.

Moving targets. Throw a ball, hit the targets.

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The farther the target, the higher the score. Rewards were given based on your score.

There were two difficulty levels: one for kids, one for adults.

The kids' version had tons of flashy prizes. The adults’... not so much.

I took one look at the setup and couldn’t help but smirk.

They rigged the machine.

The adult version was fine.

But the kids’ version had... issues.

Put simply, they’d manipulated it so kids couldn’t score high.

Every time the kids ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) aimed for a faraway target, a weird gust of wind would blow, or the target’s movement would subtly shift just enough to throw them off.

“Ugh, so close.”

“I could’ve hit that!”

Red’s narrowed eyes told me she’d noticed, too.

It was a rigged game from the start.

Sure, we could complain to the manager—but ruining the fun atmosphere didn’t feel right.

But letting it slide didn’t sit well either.

A rigged game table? Just flip it over.

I hadn’t planned on participating, but I stepped up.

I picked up a ball and hurled it at one of the farthest targets.

It flew straight and hit dead-on.

“...Huh?”

The manager’s eyes went wide in disbelief.

Meanwhile, the kids lit up.

“You got it!”

“That was amazing!”

Fueled by their cheers, I kept going.

One by one, every ball nailed the farthest targets. Perfect scores across the board.

First place prize.

The manager handed it over with a forced smile, twitching at the temple.

Heh.

And I wasn’t done yet.

I asked Red for another round.

Again, I won easily. Another top prize.

Still felt unsatisfied.

So I kept asking Red to let me go again.

And again.

In the end, I cleared out all the first-place prizes.

Once I’d avenged the kids and made sure they got what they deserved, I turned to them and flashed a V-sign with my fingers.

The kids cheered and swarmed me.

I swear I could hear the manager silently weeping inside.

That’s what you get for messing with the machine.

Revenge, prizes, glory—it was a deeply satisfying game.

*

We rode more rides. Played more games.

The kids bounced happily from one area to the next.

But suddenly, somewhere nearby—a commotion.

The cheerful music clashed with the sharp noise of chaos.

A beastkin was throwing a fit.

He looked anxious, terrified.

And he shouted—loudly enough for everyone to hear.

“I’ve been to this amusement park before! If you stay here, everyone will die!!”

He repeated the same line again and again.

Everyone around him looked deeply uncomfortable.

No one wanted to hear something like that while trying to have fun.

Finally, someone snapped and stepped forward.

“What the hell are you even saying, you crazy bastard?!”

“You have to believe me!”

“If you knew people were gonna die, why the hell are you still alive?! Why’d you come back here if it’s so dangerous?!”

Just then, a security robot arrived and swiftly restrained the beastkin.

Even as he was dragged away, he kept repeating the same warning.

It was... an unsettling thing to hear.