The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl-Chapter 8

The girl’s name was Rena.

She was eleven years old this year—one of the children from the orphanage Red sponsored.

Rena had snuck out of the orphanage and gone to a secret hideout nearby to practice singing. But then, strangers found their way into what was supposed to be her secret place.

And they kidnapped her.

Rena woke up in a cramped, filthy room.

The door was shut tight, completely immovable for a child’s strength.

She trembled in fear, sniffling.

Big sis, please save me...

The room kept shaking. Loud explosions rumbled outside.

She was terrified.

Like a princess trapped in a tower, she prayed that her knight—her big sister, Red—would come to save her, just like before.

Then, she suddenly remembered something her sister once told her.

Yeah, crying won’t change anything.

Rena wiped her tears and steeled her resolve.

With renewed determination in her eyes, she stood up and yanked on the door handle with all her strength.

She struggled, gritting her teeth.

The door didn’t budge, as if mocking her efforts.

But Rena refused to give up.

If she failed once, she would try again.

If she failed twice, she would try a third time.

"Guh... Please... Just open!"

And then—

To her surprise, the iron door slowly creaked open.

Why?

Maybe the constant tremors had weakened the door.

Or maybe... there was some other special reason.

She didn’t know.

But none of that mattered.

What mattered was that the door was open.

It opened!

Peeking her head out, she cautiously looked around.

There’s no one here.

The hallway was empty.

If she wanted to escape, now was her only chance.

Now’s the time!

Rena bolted out of the room, running as far as her little legs could take her before the bad adults caught her again.

Even as her lungs burned and her legs wobbled—

She didn’t stop.

But in the end, she was still a child.

Hahh... hahh... I’m so tired... Just... a little break...

She ducked into an abandoned building to catch her breath.

In the distance, bright flashes of light flickered, and deafening sounds filled the air.

Even as a child, she could tell that something terrifying was happening.

She bit her lip, holding back the tears that threatened to spill.

Big sis... I miss you...

Time passed.

The chaos outside slowly quieted down—

Until, eventually, silence filled the air.

And when she finally stepped outside—

She met a white-haired angel.

*

“...And that’s what happened.”

I was crouching before the little human girl, Rena, my hands covering my face.

Child abductions happened everywhere. That much wasn’t surprising.

What mattered now was whether her words were true or false.

She had seen me after I deactivated Reaper Form, so she didn’t know my identity.

But what if she was lying?

What if she was making up this story to get out of immediate danger?

And once she escaped safely—

She could spread the truth that the Reaper was actually just a little girl.

What would happen after that was obvious.

I didn’t need to think too hard about this.

Even if she looked innocent—

Logically speaking, the safest option was to eliminate all future risks.

Which meant, right here, right now—

I had to—

No, no, no.

I... I can’t do something like that.

Harming a child?

There’s no way.

Sure, ever since I ended up in this trash heap of a world,

I had gotten plenty of blood on my hands.

But those were all the worst kinds of people.

I only killed because I had to survive, because they tried to take my life first.

I had to retaliate.

I had justified it to myself—

Telling myself I had no choice.

For so long, I numbed my guilt that way.

Until, eventually, I didn’t feel guilty at all when taking out trash.

But this was different.

No.

Maybe, if I forced myself, I could do it.

Maybe, if I steeled my heart, I’d be able to do it easily.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

But...

No.

Even if I could—

I shouldn’t.

Some lines should never be crossed.

"Umm... Angel? Are you okay? You don’t look so good."

I saw my reflection in her bright blue eyes.

She was staring up at me, face full of concern.

I couldn’t meet her gaze.

Even if I irrationally blamed her for putting me in this situation—

It would only make me feel more miserable.

Forcing a weak smile, I shook my head.

How did I not notice a kid was nearby? Was I that distracted?

I cursed my past self.

You idiot. You moron. You brainless sea cucumber.

Damn it.

I wanted to turn back time.

Then—

Rena gently patted my back.

"There, there. This helps, right? My big sis does this for me when I feel sad, and it makes me feel better."

A pure, innocent smile.

And at that moment—

A massive, sharp dagger of guilt stabbed straight through my chest.

Alright. Let’s believe her. She doesn’t seem like the type to lie.

Children were supposed to be the future—the hope of the world.

If I couldn’t believe in the future—

If I couldn’t believe in hope—

Then what else was there to believe in?

And if I was wrong—

Then that just meant—

I have zero ability to read people.

I stood up.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

To reassure her, I raised my arms.

Rena mimicked me with a bright smile, lifting both her hands high.

Now—time to solve this problem.

I can’t just leave a kid alone here. I’ll take her with me. There are a lot of Fixers in the area—I can just grab one, shove some money in their hand, and ask them to take her home.

Before heading out, I instinctively reached for my hood and mask—

But then, I stopped.

No.

I’d go as I was.

If I put them on now, and someone recognized me later, it’d just be a hassle.

Besides—

She seemed to like it better when she could see my face.

I reached out my hand toward Rena.

"You’re taking me home?"

I nodded.

She hesitated, unsure if she should trust a complete stranger.

But after a moment, she steeled her resolve and carefully placed her small hand in mine.

Hmm. I was a little surprised.

She actually trusted me?

Or was there something about me that made her believe I was trustworthy?

Well. Whatever.

Not like I needed to know.

I just had to hurry up and find a Fixer to dump this problem on.

I started walking in the direction where I could sense people.

And along the way—

Rena, being the curious child she was, started bombarding me with questions.

"Angel, why were you here?"

"Angel, are you alone?"

"Angel, why are you helping me?"

She kept calling me Angel.

Well, with my appearance, it wasn’t surprising that a kid would mistake me for one.

"Um... Angel?"

I remained silent.

I couldn’t answer her anyway.

And honestly, trying to communicate without words was exhausting.

Besides—

There was no point in getting attached to someone I’d part ways with soon.

"...Can I sing?"

Glancing sideways, I saw Rena’s eyes shining with hope.

How could I possibly say no after seeing that?

I nodded.

Rena smiled and began humming a tune in a small voice.

She was good. She had real talent.

"How was it?"

I answered with a smile.

Her face lit up with joy.

Excited, she started singing a few more songs.

As I walked alongside her, listening to the warm, soothing melodies, I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

Something had caught my ear.

I motioned for Rena to wait, then climbed to a higher vantage point, focusing on the faint noise in the distance.

There!

I spotted an orc.

He looked quite strong.

He was shouting—

And when I listened carefully, I heard him say Rena’s name.

That meant he was searching for this girl.

I returned to Rena and explained the situation through gestures.

Some orc was looking for her.

Her face brightened instantly.

She gripped my hand tightly.

Then, in an excited voice—

"That’s Mr. Stal!"

So she knew him.

Just in case, I gestured again, asking if he was trustworthy.

Rena nodded repeatedly.

"Mr. Stal is my big sister’s friend!"

I see.

Well, if that was the case, there shouldn’t be a problem.

Better to entrust her to someone she knew than to a total stranger.

Holding her hand, I walked toward the orc.

As soon as Rena spotted him from afar, she bounced up and down, pointing excitedly.

"Mr. Stal!"

The orc turned toward us.

I considered leaving before things got more troublesome.

I patted Rena’s back, motioning for her to go to him.

Rena ran toward the orc.

Then, she abruptly stopped, turned around, and gave me a polite bow.

I waved lazily in response.

With that, she turned back and ran off.

What a long day... Time to go home and rest.

"Mr. Stal!"

"Rena!"

A reunion between an orc and a human child.

Stal immediately checked her over, looking for any injuries.

"Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?"

"I’m okay."

Seeing no serious wounds, Stal let out a long breath of relief.

Thank goodness.

She had been taken hostage by a crime syndicate, and on top of that, the highly dangerous Reaper had shown up—yet she was unharmed.

She must have had the devil’s luck.

"An angel helped me."

"...An angel?"

"They had really pure eyes."

An angel, huh?

Did she mean the angels from the scriptures?

Stal frowned.

He wasn’t sure what she meant by that.

Maybe some winged demi-human helped her?

It wouldn’t be unusual for a child to mistake one for an angel.

Come to think of it... there was someone standing next to Rena.

Because of the distance and darkness, he couldn’t see them clearly.

But they had looked small, like a child.

Lost in thought, Stal suddenly remembered something—

Right! I need to contact Red!

He pulled out his phone and called her.

Hearing the ridiculous ringtone, he let out a small chuckle.

Still, the call was taking a while to connect.

Just as unease began creeping in—

The call went through.

Stal exhaled in relief.

He knew Red wasn’t the type to go down easily—

But when she had rushed off to fight the Reaper, he couldn’t help worrying.

He quickly reported that Rena was safe.

After a brief exchange, they decided to meet at the parking lot and ended the call.

"Rena, let’s go see your sister."

"Big sis?!"

"Yeah, she’s here, too."

Hearing that, Rena’s eyes welled up with tears.

Stal /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ gently patted her small head with his large hand.

Hand in hand, the two headed toward the parking lot.

The area was bustling with Fixers from the mission.

People were murmuring—

"The Reaper actually appeared?"

"What happens to the job now?"

Amid the noise, the two of them sat on a bench, waiting for Red.

Rena blinked sleepily, her small body swaying.

She kept nodding off and leaning against Stal’s massive frame.

Well, after everything she’s been through, of course she’s exhausted. I should let her rest in the car.

Just as Stal was about to lift her up—

"Rena!"

Red had arrived.

Her once-pristine appearance was gone.

Her clothes were torn, her body covered in injuries.

Rena’s eyes widened at the sight of her sister.

Tears welled up—

And then, her dam finally burst.

Rena ran toward Red.

She threw herself into her sister’s arms, and Red held her tightly, as if she would never let go.

Her little sister sobbed into her chest.

"Thank god... Thank god you’re okay."

"Big sis... sniff... hic..."

"I’m sorry. I should have been there with you."

"It’s not your fault, big sis..."

Exhausted from crying, Rena drifted off to sleep.

Red carefully carried her to the car, laying her gently in the back seat.

She reached out, brushing Rena’s bangs aside.

Then, she turned to Stal.

"You look like hell."

"What do you expect? I fought the Reaper."

Red lit a cigarette.

Now that her little sister was safe, she finally let her exhaustion show.

"So? Was it really as the rumors say?"

Stal lit a cigarette of his own.

Red fell into deep thought.

After a long silence, she let out a slow exhale, watching the smoke drift.

"Yeah... It was."

Her voice was quiet.

"It was insanely strong. Now I understand why people say those things. That thing... was a monster."

"If you fought again, do you think you could win?"

"...I don’t know."

"I wasn’t going all out... but neither were they."

"Hell. When was the last time you said something like that?"

"...I can’t remember."

Stal’s expression darkened at his colleague’s reaction.

It made sense, though.

Red wasn’t just any Fixer.

"There aren’t many SSS-rank Fixers in this city. And even you don’t feel confident about this one?"

Stal scowled, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"And on top of that, we’ve got those lunatics from the Reaper Cult or whatever causing a damn mess lately. I’m sick of this shit."

The two smoked in silence for a while.

Then, Stal broke the quiet.

"Well, at least we saved Rena. That’s what matters, right?"

"Yeah."

Red nodded.

With that, they finished their cigarettes and got in the car.

Red took the passenger seat while Stal grabbed the wheel.

"I’m gonna catch some sleep. Wake me when we get there."

Leaning back, she closed her eyes.

It had been a long day.