episode_0015

“No.”

Eclipse shakes her head immediately upon hearing my words.

“Hey, don’t be like that…”

“I said no.”

“No, that person isn’t inherently bad-”

“Then where are heroes who are inherently bad?”

There are plenty.

I look at Eclipse, showcasing the manners to not say those words that came right up to my throat but not spitting them out.

“And, he’s like my rival.”

“I’m your rival.”

“Not like that, a real rival.”

I’m a real rival on the surface, too.

I think that as I look at Eclipse.

“…Anyway, I’m against it.”

Eclipse shakes her head and crosses her arms.

It looks like it will take some time to persuade her.

“Hey, think about it carefully.”

Just as I raised my hand to call her,

“Oh, we’re on the news again…”

At Firebringer’s words, I turn my gaze to the television.

Perhaps because it was filmed from the air, a photo of my face, somehow enlarged in low resolution, was plastered on the front of the news, and the reporter began to speak while looking at my face.

“Oh.”

They even provide this kind of service?

A service that gives you a name because you didn’t say your name.

What kind of name is it? I’m a little excited.

I would be satisfied enough with something like Eclipse. It’s a pretty cool name.

Personally, Firebringer’s name is a little lacking.

I watch the television without hiding my anticipation, and soon a man in a suit appears on the podium.

Behind him was an enlarged, low-resolution image of my face.

And, he opens his mouth.

Eclipse, who was sewing, also raises her head to look at the screen, and Firebringer also stares at the screen with a curious face.

As for me, needless to say.

Yeah, Masked Villain, something like that might be okay. Or…

“…”

“Bad Face… it’s exactly as the name says…”

Firebringer mutters as she looks at my face, and

“Heroes are good at naming, as expected.”

Eclipse claps and nods.

“…”

I was dumbfounded.

Bad Face.

Doesn’t that literally mean a bad face?

“Look at that face. If that’s not a bad face, what is?”

“…”

When I glare at Eclipse with widened eyes, she quickly turns her head away when she meets my gaze.

“Can’t you not look at me like that? It’s really scary.”

“I’m looking at you like that so you’ll be really scared, hurry up and make eye contact.”

While I’m arguing with Eclipse, the news continues to play.

“They’re saying it’s the same threat level.”

I look at Firebringer, who is muttering, and start explaining.

“That means they want me and Eclipse to fight more.”

“Pardon?”

“Superficially, I and Eclipse are rivals.”

I mutter, and Eclipse nods.

“By putting the two of us on the same level, they’re making us have a pride battle.”

“They’re telling us to fight over who is more dangerous.”

“Ah.”

Firebringer nods and looks at the two of us.

“But you two know each other…”

“That’s right. There’s no need to get worked up and fight over something like this.”

“Yeah.”

Eclipse nods at my words.

No sooner than our conversation ends, the man picks up a piece of paper.

“…”

Firebringer closes her mouth and stares at the screen, and I and Eclipse also stop talking and look at the screen again.

They’re revealing her personal information right away.

A photo of her from her orphanage days appears on the screen.

“…”

“…I only attacked people who deserved to be attacked.”

Firebringer mutters in a bitter voice, and I and Eclipse simultaneously pat her on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much. Whether you’re a hero or a villain, it’s easy for your face to get revealed.”

“That’s right. The moment a hero appears, their personal information is quickly spread online.”

That’s just how the life of a public figure is.

In fact, if a hero has a school violence controversy, it can disrupt their life as a hero.

A villain committing school violence? A villain is just doing villain things.

But I never committed school violence. I was just walking around, but I often had people from other schools pick fights with me, asking if I was good at fighting.

I turn off the television.

“We’ve become famous.”

“Yeah, Bad Face.”

“I told you to call me PD.”

“PD? The media was kind enough to give you the name Bad Face, shouldn’t we use that?”

Eclipse smiles slyly.

How did I end up getting a name like this?

I deeply sigh inwardly.

Well, now there won’t be any-

“…”

“Why the gloomy face again? Are you that angry about me teasing you?”

No, it’s not that I’m angry about being teased.

I’m angry about this absurd situation.

*

“…”

Hero name Snow.

The person fighting Eclipse, and the woman who first witnessed Bad Face.

“…”

As the man steps down from the podium, she walks towards him.

“Please think carefully. Even though he looked like a villain when you first saw him, he wasn’t a villain.”

“So he’s a villain now, I guess.”

The man answers coldly to her words and walks past her.

Snow clenches her teeth.

She was someone who believed that villains should be punished.

But she didn’t think it was right to make someone a villain against their will, or to immediately label them as a villain.

“Maybe Eclipse is threatening him!”

The sight of Eclipse grabbing the back of his neck and flying away was vivid in her mind.

And, upon hearing her words, the man finally turned around to look at Snow.

“You want me to believe such nonsense? Why don’t you just say Eclipse and Bad Face are plotting together to raise their profile.”

“…”

He doesn’t even think about listening.

The man scoffs and walks past her, and Snow clenches her fist with gritted teeth.

It’s always like this.

The essence of a hero is not to punish villains, but to guide them.

But at some point, the essence of a hero changed.

Villains are just performance vending machines, and they avoid requests that don’t make money as much as possible.

She agrees that people need money to live, but there are lines that people should still uphold.

“…”

Snow stares at the man’s back with gritted teeth.

There will be more and more of this in the future.

Now that the policy has changed, being a hero has become mandatory.

It should be something you want to do, not a sense of duty.

That’s the only way to prevent heroes who are obsessed with performance from appearing.

As she thinks that,

A dispatch order is issued, and many heroes quickly rush out.

Another order is issued.

But this time, no one moved.

In terms of performance and practical considerations, the performance and compensation for catching the person who damaged the city council member’s private property is greater than catching the criminal with a bomb in the slum area.

“…”

Snow looks at the board in front of her with a heavy heart.

1. Lighter

2. Darkness

3.

.

.

.

.

13. Snow.

Even though she is one of the most dispatched, her performance is like this.

Is this really okay?

Even while thinking that, she moves her feet.

To the slum area that no one else is heading to.

Following her beliefs as always.

*

“…”

Snow arrives in the slum area as darkness descends.

“…Where is he?”

They said there was a bomber, but there isn’t even an ant nearby, let alone a bomber.

“…”

It couldn’t be a false report.

Snow ponders and moves her feet, and

-Crash!

Something breaks and a person falls from above.

-Thud!

“…!”

Snow quickly assumes a stance, and

“Ugh…!”

The sound of a man’s groan in pain is heard.

Could they be using an ordinary person as a shield? Thinking that, she looks ahead.

“Got you, you bastard!”

“Gah! Gah!”

“Where did you get that bomb and start threatening people! Threatening people!”

“Gah!”

“You were about to kill everyone!”

Bad Face was beating the man holding the bomb with a distorted face.

“…?”

What’s going on?

Snow’s head started to hurt.