Ch.58Fake Human (4)

# First Increase in the Number of S-Class Heroes in Hero City History

As expected, the faces of the three S-Class heroes became severely distorted upon hearing the proposal.

“You’re… increasing the number of S-Class heroes?”

“That’s right! We plan to strengthen Hero City’s combat power by expanding to 15 members.”

Currently, the total number of heroes protecting Hero City is 8,775.

5,000 E-Class heroes.

2,400 D-Class heroes.

1,000 C-Class heroes.

300 B-Class heroes.

70 A-Class heroes.

And 5 S-Class heroes.

While it might seem like a large number on the surface, for a city-state approaching a population of one billion, it was actually insufficient.

“Of course, I’m not suggesting we promote unqualified people directly to S-Class.”

“Then what?”

“We’re planning to increase the total number of heroes, currently only 8,775, by about tenfold.”

“W-what?”

All of this was for humanity’s sake.

Congressman Avanka mentioned the districts that had deteriorated into slums over the past few decades due to the shortage of heroes.

“Districts H and K.”

“…!”

“And District Y, which nearly faced complete destruction ten years ago because we couldn’t properly handle the Monster of Violence. Though we defeated the monster that appeared, those districts have now become ‘high-crime areas.'”

Building a tall tower and destroying one are completely different matters.

Recovering a district once it had fallen required enormous budget and time, and ultimately, it was only “humans” who suffered the consequences.

“Hero City has 26 districts in total, from A to Z. Yet we have only five S-Class heroes to protect the city…”

“……”

“Meanwhile, many of you are often unavailable for immediate deployment due to ‘explorations’ outside the city or ‘personal matters.’ You would agree with this point, wouldn’t you?”

“Well… that’s true.”

“But S-Class heroes have a crucial mission beyond maintaining city security—’territorial expansion’!”

At that moment, Roselia tried to interrupt Congressman Avanka’s aggressive push, saying this was unavoidable.

But it was useless.

“That’s right. If the mission of S-Class heroes is to expand Hero City’s territory, then it makes sense that A-Class and below are responsible for protecting Hero City from monsters.”

“But why…”

“However! Don’t you think the appearance of Level 1 monsters has become too frequent lately?”

“What?”

*Slam!*

Congressman Avanka struck the round table below his eyes forcefully as he asked.

“Level 1 and above monsters, known to be defeatable only by S-Class heroes. Their appearance rate has increased dramatically in the past decade.”

“Are you referring to the recent aquarium incident? But I thought Hero-Creator Girl resolved that situation well?”

“She was lucky. There happened to be an unidentified monster there who showed more interest in other monsters than in humans.”

Unidentified monster.

As soon as that name was mentioned, the atmosphere in the conference room grew even heavier.

“Princess Hoshino, there’s a record that you encountered that monster when you were subjugating the wolf monster recently. Is that true?”

“Ah, yes. But it ran away as soon as we met, so there wasn’t any particular damage…”

“Did you hear that? The unidentified monster. Though it’s currently classified as Level 1 because it hasn’t directly harmed humans yet, it’s a formidable opponent that survived a battle with a Special-Class monster!”

A monster that successfully escaped ten years ago, even when the Monster of Weapons personally intervened.

…That’s how Kang Janghoon was known to the public.

“Whether it suffered a fatal wound from the Monster of Weapons or not, it disappeared for ten years and has recently resumed activity.”

“Hmm. That’s…”

“It’s certainly a serious matter.”

“But we have a critically insufficient number of heroes to deal with not only that creature but also other Level 1 and 2 monsters.”

Symbol of humanity.

S-Class heroes.

They were supposed to be the embodiment of noble spirit, never yielding and dedicating themselves to humanity until the end.

But even Level 2 monsters, which A-Class heroes could barely handle, were increasing rapidly, as if the main story had begun.

“How many Level 2 or higher monsters have you S-Class heroes subjugated in the past year?”

In response to Congressman Avanka’s question:

“Um… I took down 47 Level 2 monsters, 11 Sub-Level 1 monsters, and one Level 1 monster.”

Yoon Ha-eun answered first.

“34 Level 2 monsters, 8 Sub-Level 1 monsters, and 2 Level 1 monsters.”

Roselia provided her numbers, though with a frown.

And finally:

“20 Level 2 monsters, 34 Sub-Level 1 monsters, and 5 Level 1 monsters.”

Clan Head Makoto answered solemnly.

These were undoubtedly impressive achievements worthy of the S-Class title.

However.

“414 monsters.”

“…?”

“The total number of Level 2 or higher monsters that appeared in the past year was 414.”

“!!”

“There were that many?”

As if dismissing their achievements, Congressman Avanka raised his voice again.

“Of course, you S-Class heroes eliminated all the Sub-Level 1 and above monsters, but we don’t know how long this can be sustained.”

If.

Just hypothetically.

What if multiple Level 1 or higher monsters appeared simultaneously, like in the recent aquarium incident?

And what if they appeared in different districts rather than the same one, causing havoc? That would truly be a situation worthy of being called a “national disaster.”

“Currently, Hero City has an overwhelming shortage of heroes. That’s a fact.”

“Hmm…”

“The frequency of monster appearances has recently exceeded the average by more than five times. Not only is the quality increasing, but the quantity as well. This means that we, the human side, cannot remain idle.”

Indeed, the S-Class heroes were directly experiencing the increased frequency of deployments.

Hoshino herself couldn’t even attend a month of college this semester due to the constant monster appearances.

“So because the opponents are increasing, we should increase our numbers as well?”

“Yes, that’s right, Clan Head Makoto.”

“But if we hastily increase the number of heroes, while the quantity might improve, the ‘quality’ will inevitably decline.”

Especially if the S-Class heroes were to suddenly increase.

Tripling their number to 15 seemed questionable.

Honestly, Clan Head Makoto didn’t trust the idea of immediately granting her still-inexperienced daughter an S-Class position.

“So if this bill passes, Hoshino will really become an S-Class hero already?”

“Yes! Princess Hoshino’s growth rate is truly in the ‘realm of genius.’ I believe your daughter is fully capable of fulfilling the role of an S-Class hero.”

“Th-that’s right! Mom, I recently took down a Sub-Level 2 wolf monster with a single strike, and I could probably barely defeat a Sub-Level 1 too!”

“Hoshino, please be quiet.”

She could become the face of heroes.

Hoshino was secretly wiggling her ears in excitement at the prospect of immediately becoming an S-Class hero.

But her mother’s response was beyond cold—it was frigid.

Like dealing with a day-old puppy that didn’t know to fear tigers.

“Wait, so you were planning to just fill positions 6 through 15 with random A-Class heroes?”

“Well… that would be the most efficient. We’ve already identified several A-Class heroes, including Princess Hoshino, to promote to S-Class.”

“We? So you’re saying the parliament decided the S-Class hero positions on its own?”

“Well… we did discuss it with the association executives…”

There are many A-Class heroes who are worthy of S-Class in terms of skill and reputation.

Adding this explanation, Congressman Avanka tried to persuade the three S-Class heroes present.

But his explanation was flawed from the start.

“So parliament thinks there are many A-Class heroes at S-Class level.”

“That’s right, Lady Roselia. They are all precious talents like Princess Hoshino here, just lacking opportunity, but capable of becoming S-Class at any time.”

“Then let me ask you this: why haven’t these precious talents become S-Class until now?”

“What? Well…”

“Simply because there weren’t enough positions? No. If that were truly the case, they would have taken Ha-eun’s position, who’s been S-Class for ten years.”

“…!”

But they couldn’t do that.

Whether born geniuses or precious talents, those at the threshold of S-Class—

They couldn’t replace Yoon Ha-eun simply because they were weaker than her.

“If you want to drink honey water, you should think about gathering honey from a new hive. Do you think dividing existing honey into more bottles will give the same taste?”

“Haha, well…”

“Instead, if news of S-Class hero defeats starts appearing regularly, this bill will go down in history as worse than useless—like a piece of toilet paper.”

“In the worst case, Hero City itself might collapse before that history can even be recorded.”

Heroes are fundamentally beings who save people.

For a person to risk their life for others requires both courage and strength.

But to recklessly increase the number of heroes just for the sake of greater security?

Clan Head Makoto, who couldn’t allow existing A-Class heroes to advance to S-Class, specifically pointed to Hoshino as an example.

“This child, who hasn’t even properly fought a Level 2 monster yet, is already becoming an S-Class hero? If that happens, I absolutely will not stand by quietly.”

“M-Mom! How can you say that! Do you still think I’m a child?”

“Young lady. You seem to be getting too heated. First, let’s cool down…”

As the atmosphere around the round table grew increasingly tense.

“By the way, Lady Roselia.”

“Yes?”

“You mentioned earlier that we should find a new beehive to fill with honey? We’ve already solved that problem.”

“…What did you say?”

*Clap, clap.*

Congressman Avanka clapped his hands toward the darkness behind him.

Immediately, a “created life” that had been “deleted” even from the original work appeared before everyone with its usual lifeless eyes.

“Let me introduce you. This child’s code name is Zero.”

“Code name…”

“Zero?”

“…?! Could it be?”

“Yes. As Yoon Ha-eun, who frequently visits the research facility, seems to have already noticed, she is the being who will become Hero City’s new hero…

An artificial human—Homunculus.”