“Now then, let us review the situation.”
“Yes, sir……!”
At the heavy voice of the president of the Korean Hero Association, Lee Seoha’s shoulders visibly shrank.
For someone who had only barely scraped into B-rank, sitting face-to-face with the Association President she normally only saw on the news was more than enough reason to be nervous.
“Don’t be so tense, Nova. The investigation is already finished.”
“Th-that may be true, but… Ah, yes! I’ll do my best!”
“Hoho, my.”
The Association President laughed heartily, as if trying to ease her nerves, then continued in a slightly gentler voice.
“At any rate, the group of villains that attacked during yesterday’s transport is called Deviant, and the man who appeared to be their leader introduced himself as Sigma, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
As soon as the Association President got to the point, Lee Seoha’s dazed expression from moments ago turned serious in an instant.
“The dashcams and all nearby CCTV went down, so we couldn’t confirm their appearances precisely. But according to you and the other transport teams, they were attacked by villains that looked like animals armed with mechanical devices. Circumstantially, it must have been the same group.”
“They attacked other places besides ours?”
“That’s right. They appeared alone, overwhelmed all the heroes, checked only the contents of the containers, and then disappeared immediately.”
A deep furrow formed between the Association President’s brows.
“I expected them to be strong, considering they overwhelmed A-rank heroes, but to send an S-rank hero flying with a single blow, and then remain unharmed even after taking her strongest attack? And there aren’t just one of them, but six more…… Hah…….”
At the sight of the Association President sighing, Lee Seoha recalled Flare lying collapsed, covered in blood.
Fortunately, her life had not been in danger, but because her condition had been so critical, she was still hospitalized.
Hearing that she was scheduled to be discharged within the week, Lee Seoha briefly thought that she might visit her in the hospital while also bringing her younger sister Haeun along.
“For now, we won’t be releasing the news that Flare was defeated to the press. If it becomes known that a whole crowd of villains capable of taking down even an S-rank hero in one blow has appeared, the citizens will fall into great chaos.”
“You are absolutely right.”
“Yes. Flare, of course…… and you as well.”
“……”
Lee Seoha swallowed, wearing an expression that said what had finally come had come.
“You said the OOPArt that was the target of this transport has bound itself to you?”
“……I’m sorry, President.”
“What need is there for you to apologize? If anything, it’s fortunate that it didn’t fall into the hands of the villains.”
As the Association President said, an OOPArt falling into the hands of villains was practically a disaster.
The stronger an OOPArt was, the best course was to strictly isolate it, but if circumstances did not allow that, it was better to destroy it—or have a hero use it.
“To be honest, when I first heard it from you, I couldn’t believe it. But you transformed right in front of us and displayed that power, so I have no choice but to believe.”
“Ahaha……”
Perhaps recalling the demonstration where she had transformed into Core Relic in front of the relevant parties, Lee Seoha laughed awkwardly.
“Ordinarily, we would have to retrieve the OOPArt again, but does it still show no signs of coming off?”
“I’d like that too, but it doesn’t seem to have any intention of coming off.”
Lee Seoha shook her head, showing the black metal bracelet set with a blue jewel on her wrist.
At that moment, a sharp voice rang out inside Lee Seoha’s head.
『Hmph, as if I’d let go so easily after finally meeting a compatible user! If you want to get away from me, bring me someone more amazing than you!』
“Urgh, she says she’ll let me go if I bring another compatible user.”
“Hmm. I can’t hear it, but you said it has consciousness. The OOPArt’s name was Core Relic Stella, was it? To make you, a B-rank hero, instantly stronger than S-rank or above… Truly, it would have been a disaster if that villain had taken it.”
The Association President looked at Stella on Lee Seoha’s wrist with interest.
“At any rate, the government and the Association are of the opinion that we will entrust the OOPArt to you for the time being.”
“Is-is that really okay?”
“What can we do even if it isn’t? It’s an object that chooses its own master. Even if we forced it off, it would only end up shoved into a corner of a research lab. In that case, it’s far more beneficial to entrust it to a hero like you. The Association always welcomes having more strong heroes.”
Only after receiving the Association President’s firm assurance did Lee Seoha’s face brighten.
“However, research on the OOPArt is necessary as well, so I’d like you to visit the Association from time to time and cooperate with data measurements.”
“Yes, of course! Just call me and I’ll come anytime!”
“Mm.”
At Lee Seoha’s energetic answer, the Association President smiled with satisfaction.
@
No matter how much I searched through breaking news and articles, the news I wanted was nowhere to be found.
[Breaking News] Hero Association Releases Statement: Villain Group Deviant Attacks During Transport, Heroes’ Desperate Struggle Successfully Protects OOPArt.
[Society] Concerns Over Commuter Chaos Due to Bridge Collapse... Seoul City Secures Detour Routes and Begins Emergency Repairs.
[Exclusive] Mysterious Villain Sigma Appears... Hero Association Considers Raising Terror Response Level.
The news headlines were all about destroyed facilities and the Association patting itself on the back.
I set the tablet down as if throwing it and grabbed at my hair.
“──Why is there no mention of Nova?!”
Even after digging through social media and communities here and there, there wasn’t a single piece of news about Nova.
Wasn’t she the only hero who stayed until the very end and bravely faced our Nyangsik when the other heroes had fallen and fled?
They even drag in paparazzi to report on celebrities’ private lives in pointlessly excessive detail, so why on earth had they conveniently left out Nova’s exploits?
“No, wait. There’s no way the media would just let this slide, right? Then it must be the Association after all. Those Association bastards must have buried our Nova’s achievements out of jealousy!”
“As if that would be the case.”
Beside me, Makina cut in with a pathetic look on her face while eating potato chips.
“Think about it. You disabled all the CCTV and dashcams, so there’s no physical evidence at all. On top of that, if they said there wasn’t just one villain who took down an S-rank hero in a single blow, and that some no-name B-rank hero transformed with the OOPArt being transported and drove the villain away, who would believe it? Even I still don’t understand that plot development while saying it out loud. As if they could reveal that to the public.”
“Urgh, was the problem that I was too meticulous? And don’t call her a no-name!”
“Did I say anything wrong?”
It was infuriating how she cheekily stuck out her tongue and went back to eating potato chips, but I couldn’t come up with anything to refute her.
Since I didn’t want to show myself to anyone other than Nova if possible, I had completely shut down the surveillance devices. To think that would end up burying Nova’s recognition.
In order to make Nova the true protagonist of this world, fated opportunities and power are important, but recognition and fame befitting them are absolutely necessary too.
Would it hold any water with the public if I spent all day insisting by myself, “Our Nova is the protagonist!”?
To the public, she was still nothing more than a no-name B-rank hero who made people ask, “Was there a hero like that?” and go digging through the database.
-If she’s B-rank, she should act like a B-rank and stop showing off.
-Does it even make sense for a hero to get wrecked by a villain in the first place?
-Seriously, this isn’t even funny.
As if I’d let the girl I marked as the protagonist be treated like that again.
“Hehehe, so what we need is physical evidence, huh?”
I may be somewhat introverted and absolutely hate standing in front of people, especially in front of cameras, but if it’s for the sake of my plan to give Tanaka-kun one massive middle finger, I’ll gladly play the clown.
It’s not like I’m playing the role of a hero shouting about justice in some embarrassing skintight suit anyway, right?
If it’s just acting like the craziest bastard the world has ever seen, I should be able to manage somehow.
“Good. Let’s show the public properly. The exploits of the hero Nova, who stands in the way of the villain Sigma and Deviant.”
“You really are a villain, just like your face suggests. Villainy is your calling.”
“Be quiet.”
Seriously, this little brat always has so much to say about other people’s appearances.
I wanted to give her a good bop, but since she was going to suffer in all sorts of ways during the next plan, I decided to let it slide for now.
“Good, then, Makina. The next plaaagh……”
Just as I was about to confidently announce the next plan, a bizarre sensation of strength draining from my entire body washed over me.
My vision spun, and before long I lost my balance, staggered, and slammed straight into the cold floor.
“J-Jinwoo! What’s wrong with you? What happened!!”
Maybe she had grown attached after living with me for a while, because the moment I collapsed, Makina threw aside the potato chips she had been eating and hurriedly began checking my condition.
The sight of her worrying with a pale face and tear-filled eyes was so admirable that I wanted to pat her head, but unfortunately, right now I didn’t even have the strength to move a finger.
“Uuugh… Looks like I overused my ability.”
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Not only Core Relic, but even now, I had Resonance activated on the animals to monitor Nova.
If anything, it was strange that I hadn’t collapsed before now.
I wanted to start setting up the next board right away, but with my body in this state, I had no choice but to rest, even if I had to force myself.
“Well, since that’s how it turned out, I’m going to rest for a bit, so I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“The rest? What does that mean?”
I very much wanted to calmly explain it to the bewildered Makina, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury.
Having reached my limit, my ability released on its own.
Ziiiiiing──!!
“Uh, uhh… Why are you guys suddenly acting like that……? Guys?!”
The moment Resonance was released, the Core Relics, still yearning for freedom, broke free from my control, and the result was obvious.
“Uwaaaah! Why are you suddenly going wild!! Guys, please calm down!!!”
What else? The house instantly turned into a scene of chaos—no, a complete madhouse.
Hehehe, still, I had already covered all the windows in the house with reinforced glass, so the Core Relics shouldn’t be able to escape. Probably.
“Hwaaah! Jinwoo, you bastard!! How am I supposed to handle them all by myself!!!”
Sorry, Makina. I’ll take a quick, deep nap and wake up, so please suffer just until then.
And, well, you did manage it once in the capsule, so surely you can do it twice.
At any rate, listening to Makina’s screams echoing from beyond my fading consciousness, I fell into a deep sleep.