episode_0020

After the meal.

I look at the ledger placed in front of me.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The three of us are silent, looking at the ledger.

It’s not because we don’t have enough money.

Anyway, although it wasn’t as much as I thought, we now have enough wealth to live a prosperous life again.

But this is the problem.

“…This.”

Eclipse points to the ledger and looks at me and Firebringer.

“Do you know what this is?”

“A ledger.”

“Well, it’s a ledger, right?”

“…”

Eclipse, hearing our conversation, sighs deeply and rubs her forehead.

“Yeah. It’s a ledger. And it’s not just any ledger.”

“Yeah. It’s a ledger for organ trafficking.”

“…”

Eclipse bows her head even deeper.

“Are you perhaps intimidated? That we brought that?”

“Do you think I’m the kind of person who would be intimidated by seeing something like this?”

As soon as she hears me, Eclipse looks at me as if she’s dumbfounded, and Firebringer hurriedly steps between us.

“D-don’t fight…”

“We’re not fighting.”

“Yeah. We’re not.”

We’re really not fighting.

Firebringer, hearing our words, returns to her seat, and Eclipse sighs deeply again.

“Anyway, there will be many uses for this.”

“Many uses?”

“Yeah. If we reveal this, we can wipe out all the guys pretending to be righteous.”

Eclipse mutters, grinding her teeth.

Looks like she has a lot of pent-up emotions.

“You have a point.”

But we have to be careful, especially then.

I reach out and take the ledger.

“So, I’ll manage this.”

“What?”

Eclipse reaches out to take the ledger, but when I glare at her, her movements stop.

“Since I received it, it’s mine, right? Isn’t it?”

“…Okay, so can you not look at me like that? I just locked eyes with you and my legs went weak.”

Eclipse mutters, putting her hand back.

“Shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”

“To get used to that face, I think I’d have to get married or something.”

“Are you saying my mother and father haven’t gotten used to my face yet?”

“Sorry.”

Eclipse bows her head slightly as if she has nothing to say since I brought up her family.

“Anyway, what are you going to do with that?”

“I won’t use it now, even if I do.”

A big incident will happen soon. It’s not too late to throw the ledger then.

And it’s also a good political weapon.

“There’s no point in us throwing this now.”

We’re still seen as heinous villains in the media and public opinion.

What more can we expect than to be told that villains manipulated the results if we throw the ledger now?

“The time will come.”

The time will soon come when heroes start turning on each other and the world becomes chaotic.

“It’s not too late to throw it then.”

“…”

Eclipse, hearing me, makes eye contact with me, sighs, and averts her gaze.

“Yeah. You’d know that better than I would.”

“Thanks.”

I nod slightly and thank Eclipse.

The reporter’s voice turns our attention.

As the anchor speaks, the three of us turn our attention to the television, and the anchor continues to speak.

The screen switches to a man stepping onto the platform and opening his mouth.

People appear on the screen, alternating with the man on the platform.

They were holding banners or waving their hands with angry faces.

The time has come.

As I get up from my seat, the eyes of the two turn to me.

“We need to prepare.”

“For what?”

“They’re saying it there. That villains may commit crimes at any time.”

I say that, but the government will probably want villains to commit crimes.

That way, they can loudly claim, ‘See? That’s why we have to make hero work mandatory.’

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Control the situation.”

A dry voice whispers in my ear.

The survival rate has dropped.

It’s dropped by about 0.5% compared to the survival rate I recently raised.

But I wasn’t surprised.

In fact, this incident is a major event that is constantly mentioned in the story.

If it continues like this, the situation will worsen, and it will flow as in the original work.

That won’t do. How hard did I work to raise the survival rate?

It shouldn’t flow as in the original work.

I have to end this incident as mildly as possible somehow.

And to do that,

“We have to prevent accidents.”

The two, hearing me, exchange meaningful glances, and Firebringer lets out a sighing laugh.

“I thought so.”

Eclipse also looks at me with a helpless gaze.

“Yeah. I knew you would.”

I wish people wouldn’t pretend to read my mind without knowing anything.

“Enough with the nonsense, everyone get ready.”

Now that the news is out, we can’t delay even for a moment.

First, we must move cautiously but accurately.

I get up from my seat, and the others also get up from their seats, following me.

“Let’s go. I’ll explain the plan on the way.”

*

“The protests by ability users are intensifying!”

“Tsk.”

The man Bad Face and his group were watching on television just now frowns as soon as he hears the words.

“They should just accept it.”

“…”

He mutters with a frustrated expression, and the others simply remain silent upon hearing those words.

There’s no way they would accept it that easily.

If they smiled and accepted that policy, which has no rewards and is full of responsibilities, then that person would be even stranger.

But they couldn’t bring themselves to say those words.

Because this man in front of them proposed the policy.

And what was guaranteed in return was his tacit permission and assistance to enter politics in the future.

“Hoo…”

The man sighs in annoyance and looks at the screen in front of him.

People are still protesting, holding up pickets.

“We can’t leave it like this.”

He mutters in an annoyed voice, then picks up his phone and starts calling someone.

“Yeah. It’s me. Uh. Yeah.”

He smiles.

“Watch a little longer, draw more attention from the media, and then take action.”

Take action?

The others look at him with puzzled expressions, but he just gets annoyed.

“What are you looking at? Do your work.”

The others avert their eyes.

“Heh.”

The corners of his lips turn up.

It’s a story that will be buried soon anyway.

What the public will remember isn’t the ability users’ protest, but the tragedy resulting from the ability users’ bloodshed.

*

“Everyone, please calm down!”

“Get out of the way!”

“You won’t gain anything even if you do this!”

Snow runs around, trying to stop the others.

She understood the feelings of the ability users as well.

They were just born as ability users, but their lives were bound by legal obligations, and their choices and freedom were ignored.

In fact, she was also an ability user.

But this shouldn’t turn into bloodshed.

If it did, they would lose their cause.

Ability users would really be seen as dangerous people.

“Please, this shouldn’t be happening!”

That’s why she was desperately controlling the protesters.

This is a disadvantageous fight for them.

The game was set up that way from the start.

Then what she can do is end the protest as peacefully as possible so that they don’t enter the public opinion battle at a disadvantage.

“Everyone-”

As she shouted and reached out her hand,

“…?”

She caught a glimpse of a familiar person in her sight.

It was someone from the hero side.

Was he an electrical ability user?

He was always thirsty for achievements and only looked for requests that made money, the person she thought was the least suited to be a hero.

But what made her puzzled wasn’t seeing that person.

Why is that person on the side of the protesters?

Most heroes would have been dispatched to stop this right now, right?

So, Snow followed that hero.

Out of pure curiosity.

Maybe it’s because there are too many people,

The hero didn’t notice that Snow was following him.

The hero is talking on the phone and going somewhere.

A phone call?

Snow looks at the hero’s mouth.

Lip reading was a skill that heroes had to learn to some extent.

-Yes, I understand.

-Yes. I’ll start now.

Start now?

Start what?

Just as a question popped into Snow’s head,

The hero raises his hand.

“…!”

Electricity starts to be generated from the hero’s hand with a crackling sound.

The hero extends his hand forward.

The target is-

A hero desperately trying to stop the protesters.

No way.

“No!”

She shouts urgently, and the hero, hearing the sound, turns his gaze and makes eye contact with Snow.

The hero clicks his tongue and swings his hand.

She uses her ability to block the lightning, but instinctively knew.

It’s too late.

If this continues, there will really be bloodshed-

Snow closes her eyes tightly, and what she heard wasn’t the sound of lightning directly hitting, but,

-Crack!

“Aaaagh!”

The sound of something breaking.

“…?”

When she slightly opened her eyes,

A man with a villainous face was holding the hero’s wrist.

“I knew it would be like this.”

He muttered with a very evil smile.