episode_0010

*****

There are times in everyone’s life when they feel skeptical about what they are doing. Just as office workers feel like they have become a cog in society.

The same goes for heroes. The person you saved later becomes a murderer, or you end up trampling on someone’s heart to save the lives of many people. There may be more cases than the average person when they want to deny their own actions.

In the end, isn’t it arrogance for people to save others? What is saving in the first place? Having your own definition shaken in this way is inevitable if you play a hero for a long time.

And it seems I was no exception.

Because right now, I want to hit the hero violently.

“Senior~, you should try it on quickly, right? It’s a senior’s suit.”

“Well, Mr. Ha-min, no, Miss Ami, you need to get dressed quickly so we can proceed with the test… .”

“Are you crazy enough to wear something like that!”

What was waiting for me on the day I arrived at the medical center was neither a well-fitting riding suit nor a functional combat uniform.

Lots of frills here and there, lively colors such as white and pink, and an extremely bright design. The Doctor and Sia kept pushing items that could be called ‘magical girl dresses’ at me.

Give it back! I was so excited at the mention of a hero suit that I was so excited to see what kind of cool outfit they would give me back!

I thought about some transformation lines while I was here!

“Senior, by the way, you heard what Director Lim said, right?”

“I don’t know, I don’t remember. Anyway, I don’t remember! And who is Director Lim?”

“Who is this person whom my senior calls Doctor──Wait a minute, you really didn’t know the name of the exclusive medical center that has been in charge of medical check-ups for over two years!? Wow, this is still a bit weird… .”

“Noisy! A doctor is a doctor! No, anyway, what can’t be done can’t be done, okay!?”

“You’re like a kid, senior. Be cute.”

“So! Don’t call men cute!”

No, I know that too. I wonder how ugly it would look from someone next to me, pouting and pouting just because I didn’t want to wear a suit.

But shouldn’t I also consider my position here? Now that I’m well over 30 (including my past life), I’m in a position where I have to wear magical girl clothes with lots of frills!

“Well, I said it before… . Ms. Ami originally had the potential to ‘increase motivation leading to strengthening of magic power and body’. And, regardless of ability, I activated my ability by utilizing my own tendency that ‘other people’s interest leads to an increase in motivation.’

Here, a hypothesis was presented through the magical power measuring device attached to Miss Ami’s body and her life records for the past two days. When Miss Ami talked to people, her magical power was amplified, albeit in a small amount, and when all eyes focused on her on the street, her magical energy fluctuated greatly… . I think the two things that were originally divided into my inclination and potential have been merged into one.

So now, in order to test the hypothesis that ‘Miss Ami is currently conscious of the attention of others, reinforcement is triggered’, you need to wear that suit… .”

“Thank you again for the long explanation, Director Lim. So you got it, right? So, a baby dress that flutters like that is definitely not the senior’s taste, but the interest of those around him? Sight? Because I fully understand that it is to collect . There’s nothing to worry about that much, right?”

“That means you may know it, but other people don’t! I was completely like, ‘Wow~, she’s that old and dressed like that…’ .’ It means you hate it in the same way!”

“Thank goodness, senior. Magic power will definitely increase! Phew sigh.”

I just hate them all. Sia, who was teasing me as if this was an opportunity, the person who made that suit, the whole world… .

Do you know my sadness or not? Sia handed me a bracelet. It is said that if you wear this and pour magical energy into the central core, the SIM or something will respond and it will be worn automatically.

As a side note, it seems like every inch of my body size was examined while I was in the capsule. Somehow, there were a lot of clothes in my size at Sia’s house.

“There’s no need to wear clothes like that if you’re just testing people’s attention in the first place, right? Even if you just measure it in this state… .”

“That’s not possible. How does Miss Ami perceive people’s gaze? That also depends on the conditions. The data in the usual state is gathered to the extent that it can be collected.”

“But it doesn’t have to be like this… . … Wait, I just realized something. Considering that this is tailored to my body size, does that mean it is not a ready-made product but a custom-made product? But it was only yesterday that a hypothesis about my abilities came out. Is a custom-made suit usually completed in one day?”

“Senior, you really have to guess too much. ‘I originally made a suit for the girl who woke up from the egg’, ‘I was planning to discard this suit because it was my senior who woke up’, ‘I thought I could use it to match my senior’s potential, so I put her in this suit.’ There can be no such coincidence, right?”

“Just confess. Confess… .”

I guarantee you. Sia, you must be playing a part in the production process of this suit.

“What would be a good hero name, Director Lim?”

“Yes, yes? Am I deciding this? Umm… , since it is based on a dragon, how about Fafnir?”

“Fafnir, Fafnir… . Yeah, it’s okay. Now I just need to decide on the transformation lines and it will take shape.”

“The dragon named Fafnir in the story──”

“Hey! Why are you letting the story proceed as you please! Don’t just hang out with the doctor!”

“Hiik! Sorry!”

Taking things a step further, the two of them were discussing my hero name.

I think the dragon’s name is cool, but it just looks ridiculous wearing clothes like that. Moreover, I don’t know what it is like now, but in my generation, hero names were given by other people.

What kind of torture is it to call yourself a hero?

“Why, Magical Girl Fafnir. It doesn’t sound bad, right?”

“Who is the magical girl? I’m a hero.”

“Anyway, they are both similar from the perspective of helping people. And I just did a search, and these days, magical girls often fight instead of just messing around.”

Was the trend of fighting magical girls steadily taking place in this world as well? The trend of the times is scary.

Of course, it doesn’t matter whether it suits a magical girl or not. Even if I give in a million steps and say that my current appearance suits me perfectly, I have no intention of wearing clothes like that.

“And senior, this is my opinion. Of course, it may be said that the senior is currently unable to use his abilities properly, but isn’t the weakening too severe? It’s almost at the level of children.

I looked at it and thought about it… . Senior, haven’t you ‘awakened’ yet?”

“… !”

Awakening. This is the origin of the term ‘awakened’, and is the first process through which the awakened person realizes the form of his or her soul and opens a channel to receive magical power.

Since it is only through awakening that one can handle magical power, if one does not go through this process, one is no longer an awakened person. If you think about it that way, Shia’s hypothesis isn’t entirely wrong… .

“Ha, but Miss Ami already finished awakening a long time ago. Each person awakens only once. Additionally, cases of manipulating magical power before awakening are extremely rare. As Ms. Ami is already handling magical powers… , ah.”

A standard rebuttal that anyone who has studied the theory of the awakened can make. But while he was saying that, the Doctor also seemed to realize something and stopped talking.

Yes, usually an awakened person awakens only once. And there are almost no cases of dealing with magical power before awakening. However, there are exceptions in both cases.

The former is simply a matter of necessity. Soul form and awareness. And the opening of a passage to accept magical power. Either way, once you do it, there’s no need to do it a second time. That is what it means to have an awakening only once.

But what if, like me, your entire body has been replaced? What if the magic channel was closed during the process of the body being reconstructed from the dragon body? What if humans and dragons handle magic differently?

Although the soul’s awareness is overflowing, there is a good possibility that the passage of magic power is not yet clear.

Conversely, the latter case is a matter of experience. Cases of dealing with magical power before awakening are very rare. Well, I don’t know what magic is and I’ve never felt it, so there’s no way I can handle it.

But there are extremely rare exceptions here. This is a case where one has a natural talent for magic. This is an innate talent that allows one to freely manipulate magical power despite having literally never seen or felt magical power.

If you think of replacing that talent with experience so far, you can say that this case also applies to me.

Looking at it this way, Sia’s opinion that I, or more accurately, my body, is still ‘before awakening’ is persuasive. And naturally, another need arises.

“Senior, you know, right? ‘The more intense the opportunity for awakening, the better.’”

“That hasn’t been officially confirmed yet… .”

“Oh my. I hope you treated Junseok so harshly.”

Ugh. I flinched reflexively at the name Sia brought up. It’s cowardly to bring up Jun-seok’s story at this time.

To explain briefly, Junseok is a disciple I trained. Because of the situation at the time, the ‘awakening’ was also half done with my intention, and it was… . To be honest, it wasn’t something I could be proud of.

Compared to what I did back then, the suit in front of me could be said to be rather benign. Okay, at least this much… , better, side… .

“Hehe, looking at that expression, it looks like you agree. So, let’s think about the lines together. When a senior appears wearing this outfit, everyone there can’t bear not to see the senior. Such great lines!”

I learned a lesson I didn’t want to know: that just because it’s relatively better doesn’t mean it’s not absolutely terrible. What on earth is moderation?

“Pushing me, Miss Sia, and Miss Ami so hard… .”

“It’s okay, Director Lim, you are a stronger person than you think. It seems a bit untrustworthy right now, but that will change if someone gets in trouble.”

While my head was spinning between rationality and psychological resistance, Sia began to say something fascinating.

But no matter what, wouldn’t that be too belittling of me? I am not a man who is easy enough to move after just one or two compliments.

“As Director Lim knows, there is quite a difference in abilities before and after awakening. If it were a senior’s ability, just by making that small difference, the number of people that could be saved would increase by an order of magnitude. Of course, it might be a little difficult to suddenly wear clothes like this, but I think any senior can overcome this level of hardship!”

Ugh, hmm. It’s difficult to float it like that.

Still, yeah. Isn’t it a senior’s duty to meet the expectations of juniors? I owe Sia a lot of things, so what? If it’s this much of a problem, it doesn’t seem that difficult to me, right?

” Right? ‘Hero’ senior.”

“… Hmm, hmm, leave it to me!”

This is just gum! … Ah, my usual bravado reflexively.

But if you smile brightly and say things like you believe, it can’t be helped. Yeah, I can’t help it.

[Wow, Ami, that’s easy… .]

[Ahaha, it’s not like my senior’s supporter went somewhere.]

The two of them are whispering something behind the scenes, but it’s probably about transformation lines or something. I want to believe that.

… Me living up to my junior’s trust is awesome!

*****