My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

[―Following up on the terrorist attack that occurred last week at Auriga's Fighting Colosseum during the final battle of this year's annual Fighting Festival, an official statement has finally been released by Mr Azad Christoph, the current Head Manager of the Colosseum.]

[Hello. I'll get right into it by saying that the recent events are naturally of the kind that comes as an unwelcome surprise.

I will not hide any of the facts and claim that there were no casualties, because there unfortunately were; the sad details about this matter will be revealed later today, so I will not speak any further on that, however, there is something else I would like to bring attention to.]

[All of the people that were able to be rescued have officially been rescued as of today, which is why I am finally speaking today. I believe that the many teams who helped us in saving as many affected citizens as possible, both physically and emotional, deserve unconstrained thanks, and I have promised to generously reward everyone who has joined in on these relief efforts.]

[Additionally, the Aurigan Fighting Colosseum is already in the process of being rebuilt, and thanks to the many gracious donations of our investors and people watching from overseas, we look to have the reconstructed Colosseum be properly refurbished and restored in the highest quality to repay all the people who have gave their assistance.]

[Thanks to everyone involved, there is no longer anyone stuck under the rubble of the collapsed Colosseum.

I am speaking on behalf of all the workers at the Colosseum when I say that we sympathise with the families of the victims, and though our sole condolences will not be enough to bring back that which was lost, we hope that the Colosseum's redemption can bring even a little solace to those in despair.]

[Now, I know this is getting a bit long, but there is one last thing I wanted to say on this topic.]

[Recently, there are some unsavoury rumours I've caught that have surfaced and are currently spreading around online.]

[Keep in mind that these rumours are a vast minority, however the mere existence of them is frankly quite disgusting, and the people who are spreading them around like some sort of high-school gossip should be ashamed of themselves.]

[I will not go into detail of what these rumours entail, and I will not name-drop any of the culprits we have already found, because I do not wish to exacerbate this issue any further than necessary.]

[―Just know that anyone who reveres the antagonist of this terrorist attack on our country, during one of our most sacred periods no less, even jokingly, will certainly not be treated kindly.]

[And finally, to the three individuals responsible for this unprecedented tragedy―we will not forgive, and we will not forget.]

Tap.

Pressing a button on the remote to turn off the T.V., I turned to look at the twins sitting beside me with enthusiasm.

"Did you see that, girls? They showed a silhouette of me with my mask on! How easy it is to become famous these days, huh? They even mentioned you two at the end there."

They looked at me with their ordinary poker faces, but I've spent enough time with them to tell that they were actually feeling a little excited.

"Do you want us to do it again...?"

"...It was tiring, but I think it was okay..."

Woah.

Were they ready to go again already?

Since they were able to use their abilities however they pleased for the first time, they must have felt rather refreshed.

No, yeah, even if they did get a little hurt in the process, once the adrenaline gets pumping, something like that is no big deal at all.

Compared to staying cooped up in that experimental facility for days on end and only being let out occasionally to be tested on and have your blood taken, the kind of rush you would get from doing something naughty like this would be far more than just a little bit addicting.

I can't imagine the sort of never-before-felt emotions the twins experienced, having done it.

"Hey! What the hell did you do, you bastard?!"

Suddenly, Emir burst through the door to the living room.

Oi, Minami ain't gonna be happy with you if you start breaking her doors immediately after getting on her good side, you hear? Broken doors cost money to replace, and unless it's an investment, spending money is the one thing Minami hates most.

"What?"

"That-- On T.V., the terrorist attack in Auriga! Was that you?!"

Looking at this 14-year-old, I briefly wondered whether to tell the truth or not. If I admit it, then, knowing him, he'll probably stop working with me forever and report me to the police.

So, the best course of action was to lie.

"No? What are you talking about?"

Furrowing my brows, I claimed I had not a clue what he was saying. Nevertheless, he continued.

"You were there when it happened! Not only that, but there were three terrorists, two of them kid-sized, and the other one wore a mask exactly like the one you own! All of the descriptions match you one-to-one!"

Tsk.

I knew keeping this kid alive was a shit idea.

"You know who else was there when it happened? 254,893 spectators, 550 armed guards, 128 final tournament participants, and 7 referees. Are you trying to pin the blame solely on me out of all those people?"

"The descriptions--"

"Okay, so I am the only person out of every single person there who matches the descriptions? That sounds a bit unlikely, don't you think? How can it be me when I can't even fight? No, what's even the motive in the first place for me to do so?"

Confidently asserting that I was innocent on repeat would be enough to get him to stop accusing me, but I made sure to overload his brain so that he couldn't come up with a comeback just in case.

He was only a kid, so I doubt he'd be able to argue against even this level of half-assed reasoning.

"You're a bad guy, that's why! Of course you would do something like that! How would I know why a bad guy would do bad things?!"

Oh, Emir, come on...

If you make it this easy, it's not gonna be any fun.

"Bad guy, he says..." I frowned. "Look at you. You're already admitting that you came at me with a negativity bias from the very beginning. If you've already pegged me as a bad guy from the start, then obviously you're going to come to the wrong conclusion. This is prejudice. I'm disappointed."

A guy isn't bad just because he did one or two things others would call 'bad'.

Even then, just because someone is a bad guy doesn't mean that every bad thing that happens is automatically his fault.

Well, it was actually me in this case, but I wouldn't call myself a bad guy.

"Emir..."

"...Disappointing..."

I was surprised the twins actually agreed with me, but I went along with it.

"See? Even the girls think you're being unreasonable."

"Wha-!?"

Shocked, Emir physically took a step back.

"Yo-you mean to say that you didn't actually do it?!"

Sure, let's go with that.

Exaggerating with my facial expressions and arms, I put a hand to my chest.

"Of course I didn't! Honestly... I saved the lives of you three and ever since then, I've only given you all the support I can! What have I done to earn your ire and resentment like this, Emir?"

"Uh... Whatever...!"

He quickly exited the room and ran off; probably to wherever Minami was. Speaking of which...

Did I ever respond to that message of hers?

You see, just after the performance I put on at the Colosseum, news of the terrorist attack quickly spread, and Minami, knowing I was at the Fighting Festival at the time, sent me a message to see if I was okay.

Turning on my smartphone and opening the Messenger app, I looked at the one and only contact, labelled 'Minami Mochizuki'.

[47 missed texts]

[9 missed calls]

Huh.

Well, I've spoken to the maids and butlers of the house, so they've probably informed her that I'm already back.