Thud. Thud. Thud.
“Ouch, ouch, it hurts so stop, argh.”
I said that, but honestly, how much could a frail hand hurt?
It didn’t particularly hurt, but I wasn’t so tactless as to say that with a straight face in this situation.
“You bad guy, idiot, moron, villain, criminal, fiend!”
“Well, I am going to be a villain from now on, so that one doesn’t matter, but at least the last two…….”
“Shut up!”
“Cough.”
No matter what I said to Makina, whose eyes had gone completely dark, I didn’t think it would get through.
“Damn, do you know how hard I worked…! Unlike inside a capsule, the house was unnecessarily spacious, so do you know how hard it was to catch you?”
“Yeah, you worked hard. And sorry for worrying you.”
“Who said I was worried!”
“Kehek!”
Then a palm smacked against my back with a sharp *whack*, but again, it didn’t particularly hurt.
Rather, I wondered if Makina’s hand was the one stinging instead.
“Eeeek…!”
And sure enough, Makina let out a groan, perhaps because her hand was quite stinging.
Wondering if she was okay, I tried to sneak a glance, but I felt a piercing gaze.
*Ahem*, wondering if her anger hadn’t subsided yet, I lowered my head again.
How much time had passed like that?
This time, rather than hitting me, it felt like she had placed her fist on my back with a light *tap*.
“Don’t do that next time. I was really surprised.”
Well, thinking about what lay ahead, this kind of thing might happen again.
I could have just brushed it off by saying okay, but I couldn’t lie to a partner I’d have to work with for a long time.
“I’ll try to do better.”
That was why I answered so ambiguously.
“……Haah. Yeah, okay.”
Fortunately, Makina didn’t say anything more, but I felt even more sorry for no reason.
“So what’s the next operation?”
Makina brought up the main topic, perhaps because she didn’t want to talk about this anymore. As if I had been waiting for those words, I smirked.
“Hey, but honestly, your smile really looks like a villain’s. I was startled for a second.”
“…Shut up.”
Damn, I need to practice my expressions.
@
[Got it? Let’s have dinner together tonight~]
“Ugh, we ate chicken yesterday too, so eating it again today….”
[It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s because your sister wants to eat with Seoha. If you don’t want chicken, then how about samgyeopsal and soju?]
“Samgyeopsal……”
At the word samgyeopsal heard through the smartphone, I Seoha couldn’t close her mouth for a moment.
At the feast of samgyeopsal sizzling and hissing on the grill, saliva pooled at the corner of her mouth—*slurp!*
I Seoha, who had almost drooled disgracefully, hastily wiped her mouth and looked around.
Fortunately, it was an off-peak hour, so there was no one in the subway car except I Seoha.
Relieved that no one had seen, I Seoha blushed and answered.
“Ah, okay. I’m passing through your neighborhood on the way back anyway, so I’ll stop by then.”
[Heehee, promise? I’ll wait until you come, so you have to come, okay?]
“Okay, Sister Jina.”
After ending the call, I Seoha let out a bitter smile.
“Really, you don’t have to take care of me like this….”
Perhaps due to the guilt of running away from a villain while leaving her junior behind during the last escort mission, Spark had been taking care of I Seoha frequently since that day.
Buying her dinner like now was one such instance.
At first, I Seoha had accepted the favors to ease Spark’s guilt, but after four days straight, it was starting to become burdensome.
“It’s just that you’re tactless.”
“Huh? What do you mean, Stella?”
“What do you mean, it’s telling you to start excusing yourself. That senior of yours was buying because she felt sorry at first, but that’s only for a day or two. She can’t bring herself to say it because of pride, but it’s been four days, so shouldn’t you have politely refused by now?”
“R-really?!”
Shocked by Stella’s unexpected remark, I Seoha became flustered.
“Wh-what should I do? Should I tell her I can’t go even now?”
“How should I know.”
Stella continued in a tone that sounded thoroughly exasperated.
“More importantly, you’re something else for drooling over mere samgyeopsal. It’s not even beef. Are you really that bewitched by pork belly?”
“Ugh, but it’s been a long time since I ate meat. And you said the domain of favors is up to samgyeopsal, but beef means there’s an intention behind it.”
“Well, who would buy beef for a kid who doesn’t know how the world works.”
“Kuk…….”
Criticized about social life by a tin can, no, an OOPArts that wasn’t even a living creature, I Seoha shed a few tears of shame.
Anyway, she had been about to send a message saying that something suddenly came up and she couldn’t make it.
*Kugugung!*
Then, the train suddenly shook violently, nearly making her drop her smartphone, but she barely snatched it back with superhuman reflexes.
“Whew… that was close.”
“What big deal is it if that old phone breaks. Get a new one already.”
“Still, I’d be in trouble without this.”
It was an old smartphone just as Stella said, but having just paid rent, her wallet was tight, so losing it would be a major setback.
“By the way, what was that all of a sudden? Did something happen on the subway?”
The shock just now was bad, but the subway’s condition had become strange.
Despite being scheduled to arrive at the next station soon, rather than slowing down, it was gradually speeding up, and static noise crackled across the monitor screens that had been showing advertisements.
The moment she felt ominous at the unusual atmosphere of the subway, the monitor in front of her—and every monitor in the car—was covered with the face of a man wearing a grotesque mask.
“Long time no see, Hero Nova.”
“Sigma!”
The man on the monitor was none other than Sigma, the man who had vanished without a trace along with the Deviant during the last bridge attack.
The voice coming from beyond the disgustingly elaborate mask, mixed with mechanical modulation, instantly froze the air in the car.
“This train’s control system is already in my hands. Without stopping, without destination, it will continue running toward death.”
At Sigma’s arrogant declaration, I Seoha shot up from her seat and shouted at the monitor.
“What is the meaning of this? Stop the train right now!”
However, as if having anticipated I Seoha’s desperate cry, Sigma revealed a cold, sinister smile from beyond the mask.
“Surely you would shout asking what I’m doing. I have much to say, but for now, let’s call it a stage to test your power. For the protagonist, trials befitting them are necessary.”
“Protagonist what? Stop the nonsense! You put innocent citizens in danger for such a petty reason!”
I Seoha erupted in anger and clenched her fist, but Sigma continued with a dry notification instead of answering.
“You want to stop the train? Then defeat the subordinate I have sent. If you are truly a hero, prove it upon these runaway tracks.”
With those words, every monitor in the car turned off simultaneously as if by agreement, plunging the interior into darkness.
In the silence, all that remained was the roar of the train scraping the tracks as it madly accelerated.
Subordinate? While she was panicking wondering what that meant, Stella’s sharp voice pierced I Seoha’s mind.
“Don’t just stand there stupidly, look out the window!”
At Stella’s words, I Seoha turned her head and checked outside the window.
In the dark tunnel, something was chasing the train at a terrifying speed from the opposite track.
*Dudududu!* The identity of the heavy footsteps cutting through even the subway noise was a horse.
No, it wasn’t just a horse. Sharp horns made of steel protruded from its head, and its entire body was covered in sleek metal armor—a monstrous beast.
“That, a horse? Could it be a Deviant?!”
I Seoha’s face stiffened as she recalled the last bridge attack.
She was sure there had been a horse along with the lion and the whale.
The horse, now close to the train, leaped and landed on the train’s roof.
*Hiiiiiiiing!*
A bizarre whinny mixed with metallic sounds vibrated throughout the train.
“Hero Nova, come out at once! If you don’t come out, I’ll destroy this entire train!”
When the creature struck with its hoof, a thunderous boom rang out along with the sound of the ceiling collapsing.
“Kyaaaaak!”
“A m-monster!”
Screams erupted and the other cars instantly fell into chaos.
“Damn, why now of all times!”
She had to stop the villain before it rampaged further, but the problem was that I Seoha was currently in plain clothes without her hero suit.
The hero suit assisted I Seoha’s already lacking abilities, filled in the gaps, and even had a facial recognition disruption function to hide her identity.
No matter how righteous one’s activities were, if a hero’s identity was revealed, they would face retaliation from villains, and their daily life would be disrupted—there was nothing good about it, so wearing the suit during hero activities was essential.
But in an urgent situation like now, there was no time to leisurely get a suit from the association.
“But I can’t just sit still like this…!”
Just as she was steeling herself to step forward for the citizens even if her identity was revealed, Stella spoke as if bewildered.
“……What are you doing?”
“Don’t stop me, Stella. If I don’t stop the villain now, the citizens will be in danger.”
Of course, the opponent was a Deviant. It was said to be powerful enough to easily defeat even an S-rank hero, but right now she was the only one who could stop it.
“No, I mean you’re going to fight looking like that?”
“I have no choice. There’s no time to get a suit from the association.”
Even if she couldn’t win, she had to buy time until support from other heroes arrived…….
“……Did you already forget who I am?”
“What are you talking about at a time like this, Stella. You’re an OOPArts, Core Rel… ick…… Ah.”
Only then did I Seoha remember Stella’s ability, and her movements stopped abruptly.
Watching her, Stella let out a long sigh.
“Sigh, I shouldn’t have chosen you based solely on that guy’s word…….”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“Forget it, just hurry up and transform! You dud!”
“U-uh! Okay!”
Blushing in embarrassment, I Seoha calmed her face and looked around.
Confirming that there was still no one in the car except herself, she activated Core Relic-Stella on her wrist.
[Core Relic-Stella activation protocol initiated.]
Immediately, she transformed from her civilian clothes into a pitch-black suit in an instant.
I Seoha—no, Nova—who had transformed again for the first time since her awakening on the bridge that day, felt a strange exhilaration flowing through her body and hurried toward where the villain was.
And it was the moment she finally faced the Deviant rampaging on the train.
[WARNING! WARNING!]
“Whoa, you startled me. What’s with the sudden warning?”
“Don’t mind it and look ahead. It’s a Deviant.”
As Stella said, it was time to focus on the enemy in front of her rather than the unidentified warning.