I Became the Academy's Kibitz Villain

Chapter 373: Villain Alert Anytime, Anywhere (2)

People often thought of villains as malicious individuals who used their abilities to commit crimes or murder.

However, the National Deer Association—abbreviated as NDA—had a somewhat different approach.

“Sure, it’s illegal, but when they say they’re acting for the country out of conscience, it makes you second-guess them.”

From an international perspective, their actions were villainous, but domestically, they could be seen as extreme patriots.

“Shintoburi” (身土不二).

If you’ve never heard of this term, you’re probably part of the younger generation. If you understand its meaning, you’re likely an MZ generation person.

If you thought it stood for “Exciting Saturday, Burning Night,” then you should stand up, stretch, and take care of your lower back—you are probably at an age where health matters.

So, what does shintoburi mean?

It was a term meaning “the body and the land are one.” The idea was that agricultural products from the land where you lived were best suited to your constitution.

That was how it’s defined in the dictionary.

From a more patriotic viewpoint, it extended to rejecting foreign imports and promoting domestic products.

“Let’s eat domestic balloon flowers instead of Chinese ones!”

“Let’s eat Korean beef raised by our farmers instead of American beef!”

“Mackerel caught in our seas are thicker and tastier than those from Norway!”

This call to favor Korean products in every aspect of consumption was akin to a Buy Korean Campaign.

“That’s ridiculous. Is everything Korean better? What is this, ginseng propaganda? How does that even fit into modern times? Everything is so expensive—just one grocery trip costs 100,000 or 200,000 won!”

“But what if it increases the likelihood of giving birth to ability users?”

“A!”

“Bi!”

“Li!”

“Ty!”

Actually, from an ability-science perspective, this argument held some weight.

“Well... A study showed that avoiding foreign agricultural products and consuming only domestic ones significantly increased the probability of giving birth to ability users.” РäN∅ВĚs

“What nonsense! Does that mean that young men raised on potatoes and corn in Gangwon-do are guaranteed to produce ability users?”

“...If one out of every 100 newborns in Gangwon-do is an ability user, wouldn’t that be statistically significant?”

“How much does an apartment in Gangwon-do cost?”

After the Great Shift.

It’s as if mana infused the soil in place of minerals, and Korean agricultural products underwent their own transformation!

So much so that foreign restaurants proudly labeled their hash browns as made with “Gangwon potatoes,” prompting customers to tip generously.

This worldwide obsession with Korean products began to spread.

However, the phenomenon was primarily limited to products from the primary industry—raw materials produced in Korea.

“Let’s drive Korean cars instead of imports!”

“...Aren’t foreign cars better?”

Sure, drinking Boseong green tea might increase the chances of producing ability users. But did driving a Korean car have the same effect? That seemed doubtful.

As industries became more complex, such as in manufacturing, the link to ability-user births disappeared.

Especially for highly technical products like cars, there was no direct connection to the birth of ability users.

“How dare you disrespect the glorious vehicles of God’s Korea! You must be a foreign-brainwashed traitor!”

In short:

Korean products were associated with a higher probability of ability-user births.@@@@

[Had the car’s body not been reinforced with mana, we might’ve ended up like that as well.]

“...It’s basically totaled.”

[Of course. You’re colliding with an ability user protected by mana.]

The video continued playing.

“It’s heartbreaking, isn’t it? A deer jumps out, wrecks your car’s hood, and runs off. You hear these stories all the time, don’t you? The person in the video said that when they got out of the car, they saw a deer retreating up the mountain. While there was no carcass, they suspect it might’ve been another deer that collided and got flung away. It’s a complete loss—getting hit by wildlife leaves your car damaged, and the repair costs come out of your own pocket. Honestly, if this happened to me, I’d be furious... but wait!”

The lawyer emphasized his voice as he played a different video.

“Do you see this? This black box footage was taken 30 minutes earlier by a domestic car. Do you notice anything strange? Do you see the person getting out? Yes, that’s right. It’s a human deer. Now here’s the big reveal: the victim’s car was a German luxury vehicle. That’s right. Sharp-eyed viewers might have guessed from the damages that it wasn’t an actual deer but a human—specifically, a villain.”

“...Ha, haha...”

[It’s common here. Especially if you drive a foreign car in remote areas.]

I approached Harubang No. 2 and pulled back the deer hood to reveal the person’s face.

[She seems to be around 21 years old. Judging by her mana, she’s a D-rank physical enhancement type.]

“Why would a young woman with decent abilities...?”

[Why would she do something so crazy, right? Two reasons.]

I tapped my empty wrist, indicating Desmond’s Taeguk Watch.

[One, they genuinely believe foreign cars shouldn’t exist. They’re incomprehensible ultra-nationalists. These people are like natural disasters—wild animals in human form. If you’ve signed up for the ‘Villain Incident Insurance Rider,’ you might at least get some compensation for damages and medical expenses.]

Although proving it took an absurd amount of time, you could still sue the individual if it turned out a person, not an animal, caused the accident.

“The phrase ‘a person crashed into a car’ feels odd, doesn’t it?”

[In Thailand, there was a case where a high school girl with abilities destroyed a tank. It’s not that strange.]

“Hmm. What’s the second reason?”

[This kind of case.]

I pointed at the Taegeuk Watch on the human deer’s wrist.

[Who benefits most when a foreign car is destroyed?]

“No way.”

[Yes, them.]

The National Deer Association.

[Whenever there’s an ‘association’ in Korea, you can bet there’s a company secretly funding or manipulating them behind the scenes.]

“If crimes targeting foreign cars become frequent, regular people will feel compelled to buy domestic cars...!”

[Exactly.]

Srrrr.

A sand snake controlled by Chaos slithered into Harubang No. 2’s costume and retrieved something—a wallet. I opened it and pulled out a business card to show Desmond.

“What’s this...?”

[It’s a business card from a service agency. And their employer? These people.]

On the back of the card.

Amidst several business cards from clients, I brought the one labeled with an ‘automobile company’ to the forefront.

[It looks like a subcontracted agency, but in reality, they’re employees of Haegneul Motors.]

The National Deer Association.

[About 70% of villain deer incidents are paid insurance fraud targeting foreign cars.]

And behind it all was Haegneul Motors.