Ch.44Strange Man

Yu Anna, having dismissed Han Mu-ryo’s rude comment as just another instance of him wanting food, resumed walking toward her home. After a moment, something felt odd, so she turned around to look at Han Mu-ryo standing quietly in the alley.

“Huh? Aren’t you coming?”

“Should I follow?”

“What? Well, I mean, right now…?”

Wasn’t he supposed to help her and walk her home? Or maybe not? Perhaps they should part ways since he just happened to help her? Is it safe to tell this man where she lives?

As various thoughts raced through Yu Anna’s mind, Han Mu-ryo walked toward her like a stray cat in the night.

Feeling considerably reassured by having a large man accompany her on the night road, Yu Anna decided to use Han Mu-ryo as her escort home.

Han Mu-ryo followed right behind Yu Anna, looking around cautiously.

She wondered if he was being vigilant in case other criminals might attack, which made her face flush again, but his next words made her feel colder than the night air.

“Isn’t Starlight coming?”

“…I see you heard from the residents that I’m Starlight’s sister.”

“Many people talk about it.”

“She’s not coming.”

“Why not?”

“Because I told her not to come.”

“Why?”

“My sister is busy, isn’t she? Even an S-rank hero with superpowers is still human. Rather than spending time with me, she should rest at home when she can. Those brief moments of rest will help her save more people when needed.”

“I see.”

Han Mu-ryo nodded with understanding, which baffled Yu Anna.

Was he genuinely curious about why her sister wouldn’t come when she was in danger, rather than just wanting to see the S-rank hero Starlight?

Yu Anna felt sorry for her sharp response.

“I’m sorry. You helped me, and I couldn’t even thank you properly.”

“If you’re grateful, add more meat to the free meals.”

“Food talk again? You really do love food.”

Yu Anna chuckled, thinking Han Mu-ryo was quite an easy man to understand, which put her at ease.

Han Mu-ryo was strange, but not a bad person.

He didn’t hide complex intentions or approach her with ulterior motives. All he wanted was to eat well and sleep soundly.

Arriving at her home, Yu Anna sincerely thanked Han Mu-ryo for coincidentally saving her, bowing her head respectfully.

“Thank you for helping me today. Next time when you’re free, I’ll treat you to a hearty meal.”

It was a greeting she’d grown accustomed to while volunteering at the free meal service.

Without thinking much about what she’d said, Yu Anna was surprised when Han Mu-ryo’s eyes lit up and he stepped closer.

“A meal? You’ll buy me food?”

“Y-yes? I suppose so?”

“When is ‘next time’? The weekend?”

“Um… no? I have volunteer work on weekends.”

“A weekday then? Good. I can eat well on weekdays too.”

“W-wait, don’t come so close.”

Oh no! Realizing something had gone wrong, Yu Anna blinked rapidly and backed away from Han Mu-ryo.

Was it because he was so large? Just his approach made her feel like she was being embraced, which felt strange.

Regardless of Yu Anna’s reaction, Han Mu-ryo, who seemed somewhat excited, continued approaching with bright eyes and pressed on.

“Which weekday? ‘Next time’ doesn’t tell me when.”

“What? Well, um… whenever you’re free? Anytime…?”

“Good.”

With that, Han Mu-ryo suddenly leaped up onto a nearby streetlight.

Finally feeling the cold night air and coming to her senses, Yu Anna stared blankly as Han Mu-ryo crushed the streetlight with a crack and jumped to a higher building.

“W-wait! You’re leaving without saying goodbye?! Hey! Why are you breaking the streetlight?!”

What should she point out first? Confused, Yu Anna hesitated before shouting at the disappearing Han Mu-ryo.

“Be careful on your way home!”

Would Han Mu-ryo even need to be careful on his way home? Feeling a bit embarrassed by her own words, Yu Anna touched her flushing face and went inside.

He truly was like a storm of a man, impressively appearing and disappearing with a whoosh, just like when he appeared in District 4.

After vanishing like this, he’d probably suddenly appear again at some point.

But she never expected to see him again the very next morning.

#

“What are you doing here?”

Early morning, as Yu Anna came out to go to work.

Han Mu-ryo was standing in front of her house, dressed exactly the same as the night before.

“I’m hungry.”

At Han Mu-ryo’s innocent voice, Yu Anna unconsciously smacked her forehead.

Oh no… this guy’s daily food intake was no joke.

She had told him to come whenever he was free, and apparently that meant now.

“I-I’m sorry, but not today. I mean, not now… I have to go to work. I’ll only be free after I get off work.”

“When do you get off work?”

“Huh? Well, um… at six in the evening…?”

Hearing this, Han Mu-ryo suddenly placed one finger on his palm and faced the direction of the rising sun.

“That’s 9 hours and 11 minutes from now. I understand.”

“How did you figure out the time from that… wait, what?”

Yu Anna checked her phone and was surprised.

The current time was 8:49, meaning she would indeed get off work in 9 hours and 11 minutes, just as Han Mu-ryo had said.

Before Yu Anna could marvel at this, Han Mu-ryo jumped onto another streetlight.

Seeing the already split streetlight break completely with a crack, continuing last night’s damage, Yu Anna shouted at Han Mu-ryo as he leaped onto a building.

“Hey! I told you not to break the streetlights!”

And this time he’d broken the opposite side! If he needed a foothold, why not use the one he broke last night instead of breaking a perfectly good one!

Feeling drained already in the morning, Yu Anna hurried to work.

“Ms. Oh? Could you adjust these documents to match the format? How long will it take?”

“I think I can finish them all today.”

At work, Yu Anna went by the name Oh Hana, completely concealing her appearance with Mirage to hide the fact that she was Starlight’s sister.

She worked at a private monster insurance company, verifying that insurance payments were being correctly disbursed by comparing damage reports with insurance terms.

When Yu Anna pressed the approval button, insurance money was paid out; when she pressed the review button, payment was put on hold.

In these reviews, Yu Anna had a high approval rate.

“Oh Hana, the department head wants to see you.”

“…Sigh.”

“Hang in there.”

Perhaps because of this, Yu Anna was frequently called by her superior.

“What were you thinking, approving so many claims! Do you think you’re there to just hand out money to people?”

“Department head, but that’s…”

“Is it your money? Huh? Is it your money?! Wake up! Do you know how much the company is losing because of you!”

“But we can’t withhold insurance payments from people who suffered damages.”

“If you’re going to give everything they ask for, go work at a welfare center! Why are you working at a company?!”

After being scolded again today and kicked out of the department head’s office, Yu Anna went to the bathroom to wash her ears.

“…It’s not even his money.”

She had only disbursed payments according to regulations, so what was the problem?

If anything, the insurance money came from citizens’ wallets and government subsidies—not money to fatten the company’s profits, but funds that should go to citizens who truly needed it.

She wanted to report the company to the government for trying to withhold insurance payments that should be disbursed according to regulations.

But if she told Starlight directly and had her handle it, reporters would ask questions and make a fuss about the hero’s sister overstepping boundaries in company operations or conducting an undercover boss operation using family connections.

Even reporting directly to the government would lead to a similar outcome.

This was something Yu Anna, who was living as Oh Hana to avoid the spotlight of being Starlight’s sister, did not want.

“Sigh…”

Stressed, she quickly washed her face and was about to return to her desk when she noticed a long contrail in the sky outside the window and approached it.

Today too, her sister was flying off to eliminate a monster.

While an S-rank hero’s involvement typically meant a Disaster-rank threat or higher, W City had the ironic situation where, since Black Cat’s appearance, Disaster-rank threats weren’t treated as disasters, unlike in cities A and B where heroes were abundant. Nevertheless, it was still a major incident causing harm to many people.

“She’s working hard… huh?”

Just then, a large man on the opposite rooftop suddenly sat up.

Having apparently been sleeping, the man wiped his eyes, quietly watched Starlight fly away, then looked in the opposite direction, yawned, and got up.

“W-what? What’s he doing there? Taking a nap…?”

Could it be that he was waiting there because she said they’d eat after work?

Confused, Yu Anna pressed her cheek against the window to look, and Han Mu-ryo, sensing her gaze, met her eyes.

He made a gesture of rubbing his stomach—indicating hunger.

As Yu Anna let out an incredulous laugh, Han Mu-ryo began running across the rooftops.

“Is he really going to hunt monsters?”

A little later, back at her desk, Oh Hana received an alert about another large monster attack.

Simultaneously, the department head shouted loudly from his office.

“Damn it, it’s Black Cat again!”

Breaking news that Black Cat had hunted a monster nearby was not welcome news for private insurance companies.

Unlike government insurance that only considered the extent of damage for all monster incidents, private insurance sold special policies to attract customers.

These policies paid out insurance money not based on damage assessment, but when Despair-rank or higher monster attacks occurred.

Despair-rank monster attacks were extremely rare, and most people who should receive insurance money died in such attacks.

Therefore, it was a profitable product that helped grow private insurance companies—until Black Cat appeared.

“How is Black Cat a Despair-rank! That damn cat should be bound by special terms—when is the government law going to pass?!”

For private insurance companies in W City, Despair-rank damage insurance was no longer a profitable product.

“How does it make sense that someone who just ate kebabs at a food stall gets full Despair-rank monster damage insurance?!”

#

“Ms. Oh, heading home now?”

“Yes, good work today, Team Leader.”

“Take care on your way home~ Good work today.”

After a tiring day of work filled with the department head’s nagging, it was time to go home.

Stepping outside the company, Yu Anna glanced toward the rooftop where Han Mu-ryo had been.

Suddenly, there was a booming sound of something falling between buildings, and recalling the night’s events, Yu Anna realized it was the sound of Han Mu-ryo landing.

Moments later, seeing Han Mu-ryo approaching with nothing covering his upper body, Yu Anna hurriedly fled from in front of the company.

Seeing this, Han Mu-ryo quickened his pace and followed right behind her.

“You’re off work.”

“Yes, I know, so please don’t follow me right now.”

“So it was a lie after all.”

“It wasn’t a lie! I’ll buy you food. Could you please walk a bit further away from me?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Goodness, please wear something on top when you’re out.”

“I don’t have many clothes that fit.”

Should she buy him clothes first instead of food?

After briefly considering this, Yu Anna glanced around to make sure no coworkers were nearby, then tugged at Han Mu-ryo’s waistband.

“Come with me.”

Finding a nearby clothing store, Yu Anna searched for the largest sizes available and had Han Mu-ryo try them on.

In the monster era, people’s food intake had generally decreased, reducing average body sizes, but if you looked carefully, you could find large clothes sized for physically enhanced superhumans.

Finding the largest sweatshirt available, Yu Anna was impressed by how much Han Mu-ryo’s appearance changed just by wearing a top.

“Let’s try this one too?”

“I like these pants.”

“Come on, I think it would suit you. I’ll buy it for you.”

“No.”

Despite Han Mu-ryo’s stubbornness about keeping his old firefighter pants, just wearing proper clothes transformed him from a strange person to someone who looked like they enjoyed working out.

Thinking she wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen with him in public now, Yu Anna considered which restaurant to take him to.

Wait… is this like a date? Yu Anna glanced at Han Mu-ryo and took out a lipstick from her pouch to apply it.

“It looks like you put ketchup on your lips.”

“It’s lipstick!”

After responding to Han Mu-ryo, who was curiously watching her apply lipstick, Yu Anna sighed and asked:

“So… what do you like?”

“Soup with rice.”

“…Soup with rice.”

Maybe I applied lipstick for nothing.

Yu Anna felt deflated.