episode_0022

“You sent them off well, right?”

“Probably.”

“What do you mean, ‘probably’?”

Eclipse frowned deeply, seemingly offended by my nagging, while Firebringer darted his eyes around as if gauging our mood.

“Um, well… don’t fight…”

“We’re not fighting.”

“Yeah. Just having a conversation.”

“Is that so…?”

We just have some differences of opinion, it’s not a fight.

“I left them in the right place.”

“You hid the traces, right?”

“Yeah. I hid the traces well too.”

“Good.”

I nod and look at the television.

After managing to end the protest stably, there was no time to rest after finishing what I had to do.

Because I had to prepare for the next thing right away.

Soon, the news comes on.

“It’s here.”

At my murmur, the two of them look at the television.

“That was fast.”

“The media is always looking for something profitable.”

The protest by the ability users. It’s a sufficiently attractive topic, a topic that can cause ripples in society.

But will it cause as much of a stir as a politician’s secret ledger and internal whistleblowing about the hero society?

It won’t.

“But will the media really be turned upside down by something like that? There’s a ledger, but there’s no video evidence, and no recordings either.”

“You’re right.”

I nod, looking at Firebringer who is muttering with an anxious expression.

“They’ll probably deny it, and there’s actually no evidence anyway.”

“Then isn’t it not going to work?”

“That’s right. They probably won’t be held substantially accountable.”

Firebringer’s expression becomes more and more worried as he listens to my words.

“Then, what if…”

“But the people won’t.”

“Yes…?”

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from living in my proud country for so long, it’s that the public’s distrust of politicians is sky-high.

If a politician said he’d make tofu out of beans, they’d still say he was lying.

A society where distrust of politicians is so widespread, and.

“I uploaded it to the internet too.”

“Yes…?”

Unlike in the old days, this is not a society where information is controlled.

To the point where if someone else knows, it will leak out right away.

Even in this moment when ability users and non-ability users are experiencing some degree of conflict with each other, throwing the ledger is no different than throwing good bait to get them to take sides and fight.

I quietly access an internet site with a burner phone.

-Hey, did you see this?

-Yeah, but how do we know if this is real or not?

-Just looking at the list, they’re all guys who’ve been getting a lot of flak for embezzlement and nonsense, so it’s gotta be real;

-The,.,.,.,,discipline,.,.,of the nation,.,.,is collapsing,.,.,!

Even just looking at one internet community, it’s like this.

Would it be any different anywhere else?

It’ll be a complete mess.

“Ah…”

I take my eyes off Firebringer, who is muttering as if he has realized something, and look at Eclipse.

“See? This is me.”

“Not that surprising.”

Eclipse sighs deeply and then looks at me.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“Now I have to divide the heroes.”

“…Are you saving Snow?”

“There’s no need to save Snow.”

I already saved her yesterday.

Because ending the protest peacefully dramatically reduced the probability of a bloody incident.

“…What, is that the end?”

“Yeah. It’ll probably be like that.”

I nod and listen to the emotionless voice.

The survival rate has returned to its original state.

There’s still a 98.5% chance of dying, but a person who is happy that it’s over 1%. How fickle can you be.

“Okay, well, that’s better then.”

How bad is your relationship with Snow?

I shrug, looking at Eclipse who looks much happier.

It’ll be fine if nothing happens.

“No, stop talking nonsense.”

“I, I was just thinking about what to have for dinner…”

“Not you.”

*

“Damn it!”

-Bang!

Something flies past Snow.

But without paying any attention to it, Snow looks at the man who is expressing his anger in front of her.

“Because of you, such a good opportunity…!”

“It’s not because of me.”

Snow replies calmly and looks at the man.

What was his name again? I only remember that his last name was Kim.

Snow gives up on remembering the man’s name and opens her mouth.

“I saw with my own two eyes the hero trying to attack the protesters, and you’re still saying it’s because of me?”

“It was a necessary procedure.”

“Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say it’s not a necessary procedure, but your own greed?”

“You’re the one being greedy!”

Contrary to her calm voice, the man, called Kim, looks at her with anger and resentment.

“There are so many villains and accidents right now, it’s better to register them all at once and then manage them!”

“That can be solved somehow just by getting rid of the performance-based system.”

Snow recalls what happened in the slums and continues to speak.

“Is it right for heroes to go out in droves to protect the city councilman’s painting, and for no one to go out when there’s a signal that a bomber was found in the slums?”

“…”

The man glares at her with bloodshot eyes, and Snow meets his eyes without paying any attention to it.

Honestly, she wasn’t scared at all.

If we’re just talking about scary faces, it was scary when Badface looked at her.

Wasn’t killing people with your eyes what that meant?

“Hero Snow, you’re making a mistake right now.”

“You’re the one who made a mistake. There’s a huge uproar in the news too.”

A ledger that suddenly appeared.

The ledger, which is presumed to be a record of transactions by organ traffickers, contained detailed information about the names of the people who had gone missing so far, what organs were extracted from them, and whose orders were used to proceed with the commission or trafficking of those organs.

And, the ledger contained the names of several politicians, and.

“…”

The name of the man who is glaring at her in front of her was also there.

She wasn’t disappointed.

Snow just thought that it was something that someone like that would do.

The man grinds his teeth and glares at her, and Snow meets his eyes without paying any attention to it.

How long had the two of them been making eye contact?

“…According to rumors,”

The man glares at her.

“There are also rumors that you’re colluding with Badface.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You.”

“Ha, really.”

Now you’re saying ridiculous things like that.

Badface.

A man with a truly terrible face, just like his alias.

‘But is he really such a terrible man?’

The he that Snow saw was not at least directly doing bad things.

Subduing bombers, or stopping heroes who were raiding protesters.

Is he really a villain?

While she is wondering, the man opens his mouth.

“Get out.”

“I was going to leave anyway.”

Snow answers calmly and goes out the door.

Badface. The more she thinks about him, the more incomprehensible he is.

“How was it?”

When she comes out of the door, several heroes check her complexion.

These were the few people who could be called ‘real heroes’.

Those who move for a better society rather than immediate gains.

“…”

Snow listens to the people’s words and shakes her head with a mournful expression.

“It’s hopeless.”

“What did he say?”

“He said I was colluding with Badface.”

“That’s absurd.”

The other people who heard her words mutter as if they can’t believe it.

“If she were going to collude, it wouldn’t be with Badface, it would be with Eclipse.”

“I know. Eclipse is quite popular these days too.”

“…”

Snow’s expression turns unpleasant when she hears Eclipse’s name, and the other people close their mouths.

Just like a bad guy doing a good deed once has more of an impact than a good person doing a good deed, Eclipse is just acting on a whim.

But the people who say good things about Eclipse…

“They’re foolish.”

She mutters and moves her feet.

As she steps out of the Hero Association’s building, cool air brushes her hair.

“…Hoo.”

After taking a deep breath, Snow looks at the sky.

The public sentiment is being diverted to other places, as if the sky is helping, and even others are revealing their true colors.

Is something big happening that she doesn’t know about?

“…”

Snow moves her feet as she thinks that.

The situation has been resolved well, but it’s still difficult.

While she was thinking that,

-Tring!

Her hero contact network rings.

Right. Let’s work.

Snow thinks that and picks up the phone,

“…”

Her gaze is fixed on the sky.

*

“Keuk!”

“Is that all you’ve got!”

Firebringer is hit by darkness and falls to the ground.

“Firebringer!”

Badface shouts her name, then grits his teeth and glares at Eclipse.

“How dare you hurt my subordinate…!”

“I was a little careless back then, but this time it’s different.”

“…”

Eclipse raises his hand.

A dark awl is created in the sky,

“…Tch…!”

Badface clicks his tongue.

“Eclipse!”

“Eclipse is awesome!”

“Eclipse!!”

And other people cheer her name incessantly.

Eclipse looks at the scene indifferently,

“This is the end.”

He mutters and throws the dark awl.

And, Badface smiles as he watches that scene.

He smiles as if he were hiding something,

-Crack!

Ice shoots out and the dark awl disappears.

“…Eclipse.”

And, white hair flutters in the sky.

Snow comes down.

“…”

Eclipse stares at Snow with wide eyes.

He looked like a child who had been caught doing something naughty.

“…”

Why is he making that expression?

Snow looks at Badface in embarrassment,

“…”

Badface was also looking at Snow as if he didn’t know what was going on.

*

I look at Snow who appeared in front of me.

What. This was when the production where I used my ultimate move to counter Eclipse’s attack was supposed to come out.

I look at Snow in disbelief,

An emotionless voice rings in my ear.

What the hell. What is it.