Chapter 19 – Who Watches the Watchers? (2)

R‍e‍​a‌​d‍​ ‍​o‌n‍ ‌Kat​Rea‌d‌i‍​n‍gCa‌f​e‍

 

“A broadcast, huh.”

Money was always necessary for my goals.

To realize my ideals, to save students and citizens, and ultimately, to protect this world— 

That was why I chose to become a hero. And now, I had reached a point where I could consider broader options.

If I had lived as an ordinary student, would I be agonizing over choices like this?

Maybe I would’ve lived a quiet life, acting as a guide who knew the original story, without needing money like I did now.

But precisely because of that, my current choices carried immense weight. As a hero, as someone with influence, as someone whose decisions could alter outcomes of the story—

Like someone once said, money should always be spent according to a rational plan, and the process of earning it should be no different.

If I had acted like a villain instead of a hero, I probably would’ve made far more money by now.

But in exchange, I wouldn’t have gained people’s support. Nor would I ever receive their goodwill.

So—

“I’ll have to decline.”

I refused Hare’s proposal.

While broadcasting had been crucial in spreading my influence across Kivotos, involving money in the process would contradict my purpose.

Who knows?

I might end up doing hero activities to earn money, rather than making money for hero activities.

That was absolutely unacceptable. I’d rather work part-time deliveries than become a weak hero swayed by someone else’s capital. That was my conviction.

Honestly, I was tempted by the idea of money.

Who wouldn’t be? Even if I felt conflicted about the donations Veritas had funneled to me, hadn’t I been secretly happy about it?

But that was as far as it went.

A hero receiving money from citizens under the guise of ‘donations’ was something I absolutely had to avoid.

A one-time thing like this could be dismissed as coincidence. But if it became a pattern—if it turned from accident to intention—

“Hare. I think that even if there is ‘support’ in the activities I do, there should never be ‘sponsorships’.”

Why do all hero stories have sidekicks?

Why do most hero stories never directly show the hero earning money?

The answer was simple.

Because it’s uncomfortable. Money is terrifying, greedy. A hero exists for everyone, not to serve any specific individual.

Help can be accepted, but a hero’s foundation should never be built on someone else’s funding.

So—

“I have no intention of taking donations.”

If someone else’s money got mixed into my hero work, it would no longer be vigilantism—it would become something else.

It would no longer be an act for everyone, but for someone.

I made this point clear.

My firm stance made all of Veritas’ members widen their eyes in surprise. My sharp reaction must’ve caught them off guard. I felt a little guilty, but—

‘This is something I need to be firm about.’

No matter Hare’s intentions, I had to make my stance unambiguous.

I genuinely wanted them as allies.

And so, I hoped they’d understand my sincerity.

“I have a dream. A long, distant one—maybe even an impossible one.”

“……”

“The path will be harsh. There might be times I want to give up. But I’ll keep moving forward. That’s why I’m gathering allies to help me.”

Veritas listened silently as I spoke, meeting each of their gazes.

“That’s why there can’t be any interference. It’s a difficult, grueling journey—one that must be done by our strength alone. No one else should interfere.”

“…Is that why you refused?”’

“Yes. I just don’t want my path to veer off course.”

“Hmm……”

At my earnest words, Hare let out a troubled sigh. Maybe my outburst had hurt her feelings. A sharp pang of guilt stabbed at my chest.

But her response was nothing like I expected.

“Sorry. I must’ve phrased it poorly.”

“…?”

“If that’s what you’re worried about, then the broadcast is fine.”

“Huh?”

***

‘The broadcast is fine?’

Did she even understand what I said?

Just as I was about to voice my confusion—

Hare cut me off with a shake of her head.

“Hear me out. I never meant to equate broadcasting with donations. I think this misunderstanding happened because we have different ideas of what a ‘broadcast’ is.”

“Different ideas…?”

“Yeah. I’m guessing what you imagined was something like this—”

A live stream, transmitted to the public in real time, interacting with viewers and taking donations.

And she was right. The only ‘broadcasts’ I knew were public TV or live streams on the internet.

This was why I’d reacted so negatively.

Streaming inherently meant being swayed by viewers’ donations and opinions.

But Hare denied that entirely.

She never intended that kind of broadcast. Her playful demeanor vanished, leaving only the sharp, serious genius hacker of Veritas.

“The benefits I envisioned are these: direct and indirect support through broadcasting, and gathering new intel from your activities. I never planned to stream everything you do live.”

Her concept of “broadcasting” was this:

>Recording for documentation and intel analysis.

>Using transparent drones to assist during missions.
(Like the E.D.I.T.H. system that Iron Man gave Spider-Man.)

>Occasionally broadcasting my actions city-wide, like during the Wakamo fight, by keeping systems prepared at all times.

“I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“N-No, I…”

Realizing the truth, I couldn’t even lift my head out of embarrassment. This was all my mistake.

‘No, honestly, I was the one who made the mistake!’

I screamed internally, but I couldn’t say that to Hare’s understanding smile. This was entirely on me.

‘Ugh, this is why you should let people finish speaking’

Her ‘broadcast’ wasn’t a live stream—it was closer to mission support and documentation. A way to flexibly use recorded footage when needed.

And Hare had a point. Recorded footage had multiple uses.

It could be used to release intel publicly or wage information warfare if necessary.

I sighed and asked again:

“Then… what about the ‘donations’?”

“A way to divert attention. Nanashi, you’re earning money as a civilian to fund your hero work, right? Your account history suggests so.”

‘She hacked that a while ago, huh?’

I smiled wryly and nodded.

“While hacking for you, we noticed something. Wanna know what?”

“What?”

“Way more people than you think are digging into Silk’s identity.”

“……”

“Kaiser Corporation—the ones you beat up—are just one example. People from both sides are tracking you, trying to uncover who you are.”

“……”

“By now, they probably suspect you’re a Millennium student. Once that’s confirmed, they’ll tear through Millennium’s security to find you.”

Heroes have enemies.

That was inevitable.

I understood the reactions of those I’d directly confronted.

But hearing about clandestine* efforts to uncover my identity hit me differently.

*(Clandestine is things being kept or done secretly due to it being unlawful)

Even those Kaiser guys were still after me.

The thought made me laugh dryly.

“…Guess I’ve been working harder than I thought.”

“Yeah. Honestly, I was impressed. I’ve never seen so many people turn against someone so fast.”

Her explanation continued.

The “donations” she mentioned were a smokescreen.

If Silk’s identity as a Millennium student was exposed, we could use “donations” to my civilian self to divert suspicion.

It would also make it harder to pinpoint who was aiding Silk.

“We figured you had bigger goals than just rescuing citizens. So you’d need money fast. That’s why we came up with this.”

“Hare…”

“If it makes you uncomfortable, we’ll stop. But our stance is this: If your goal is big enough, there’s no harm in accepting goodwill from citizens along the way.”

“……”

“That’s all.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be direct “donations to Silk”.

We’d set up a non-profit organization to collect “support funds” for heroic activities—which would then fund our operations.

“Some might try to donate with ulterior motives. We’ll screen those carefully. We don’t want that either.”

“Everyone…”

“Sorry for stressing you. This was the best solution we could think of to help you.”

Hare scratched her cheek apologetically, likely regretting my earlier reaction. The others mirrored her, and I quickly shook my head, rushing over to hug them.

Hug.

I couldn’t fit everyone at once, but it didn’t matter. My heart was so full I wanted to squeeze each of them tightly.

“Thank you, all of you! I can’t believe you thought this through so much! Let’s stay together forever, seriously!”

“Uh, um. Nanashi. You’re too close…”

“Mhm! More gratitude! Hahaha!”

“Can’t… breathe…”

“Glad we cleared things up.”

I didn’t let go.

This time, I truly felt it—

They really are angels. Even Trinity would covet hearts like theirs.

***

Though the conversation had veered off my original purpose for visiting Veritas, it ultimately brought us much closer.

Along the way, I casually shared one of my goals, and they responded with deep interest, even offering to join me in it.

What was that goal?

“—The Defenders.”

A coalition of heroes, centered around me.

Together, we’d stand against the threats facing Kivotos, protecting its peace and order.

Like the famous Avengers—except here, we’d safeguard the academy city.

This was both a contingency for threats beyond my individual capacity and my way of uniting everyone’s strength.

Moreover, it was my answer to the question I’d pondered while watching Millennium:

‘Who watches the watchers?’

If there was no force to check the Seminar President’s authority, no way to prevent future turmoil—

“Then I’ll create one myself.”

That was my answer.

And I was gathering the pieces to stop Tsukatsuki Rio’s unilateral rule.

• First piece: Myself.
• Second piece: The Engineering Club.
• Third piece: The Supernatural Phenomenon Task Force.

And now—

The fourth piece: Veritas.

Like this, the foundation for the future was slowly, quietly coming together—unnoticed by anyone.