Ch.8Hero Agency (8)

“Could a civilian who’s never thrown a punch subdue a criminal? Especially with the frail female body I have that doesn’t have an ounce of muscle.”

“How am I supposed to subdue that Villain!”

“Wouldn’t the Goddess have given you strong abilities when she sent you to this world?”

“God doesn’t exist in this world.”

“Rebecca, we need to give her hope first. How can you start with despair?”

“You’re right. No matter how badly you get hurt, I can heal you right away. So don’t worry.”

“That’s exactly why I’m worried.”

Believe in a goddess? I’d sooner believe that a passing dog is actually an alien.

After experiencing a TS, being scammed by colleagues, and being given absolutely no useful information, my trust in the Goddess had naturally plummeted through the floor.

And even if I heal immediately after getting injured, the pain still remains. If I can’t even handle a sprained wrist, how could I endure anything worse?

“It’s okay, nothing bad will happen even if you lose. Except for being publicly humiliated in front of everyone.”

“…”

“No wait, you might get kidnapped by the Villain organization and be trained as their slave.”

“…Can’t I just run away?”

“It’s okay. If things get bad, I’ll step in and help you.”

“I’ll come help too if things look really bad. So go fight with peace of mind.”

“That’s hardly reassuring…”

One of them genuinely wants to see me humiliated, and the other probably won’t help until I’m literally about to die.

If only Leo were here, I could at least fight with some peace of mind…

As if trying to reassure me, Agath spoke up.

“Don’t be so tense. The opponent is only B-rank anyway.”

“How strong is B-rank?”

“About as strong as a veteran Hero with over 10 years of experience.”

“…Isn’t that way too strong?”

Far from being reassured, my worries multiplied enormously.

What would happen if someone like me, with no combat knowledge and a weak body, fought against someone as strong as a veteran with over 10 years of experience?

“I give up.”

“Too late now. Good luck!”

Agath abandoned me and ran to a spot a little distance away.

“It’s okay. You’re not destined to die here.”

Rebecca also casually walked to where Agath was. Thanks to them, it was just me and the Villain facing each other one-on-one in the lobby.

“Um… hello?”

“No hello for you, fucking bitch.”

The voice of the man who looked like a Villain was filled with anger.

More importantly, look at this jerk cursing at a first meeting. Is that what makes him a Villain?

“If… if you surrender now…”

“Your mother.”

“…Why are you so angry?”

“Don’t know, you bitch.”

The Villain spoke fiercely, looking ready to pounce at any moment.

I don’t have confidence in persuading this person. So I only have one option left.

I need to run away.

But just as I was about to flee, Agath shouted:

“If you run away, I’ll break my doctrine today and definitely turn you into a fallen female!”

…Nothing seems to be going my way these days.

Still, I’m not going to just give in. I need to try something.

First, my supernatural power is summoning firearms, right? If so, I only have one firearm I can summon.

A man’s weapon, the shotgun.

As I roughly imagined a shotgun in my mind, something materialized in my hand. So this is how it feels.

…But why did a pistol appear instead of a shotgun?

Still, it’s better than nothing. Let me put this away for now.

I tried to put the pistol in my pocket, but as soon as I let go of it, the pistol disappeared somewhere.

So it only maintains its form when I’m holding it? This really is full of flaws.

I imagined a shotgun again, but once more, a pistol appeared instead of a shotgun. It seems like a pistol is the only firearm I can summon.

My mistake for trusting the Goddess. I should have known better when she switched me into this body.

“You want to fight?”

Seeing me holding a pistol, the Villain began to be wary of me.

With just one pistol, you can easily subdue a person. That’s how it was in the world I came from.

But this world is very different from the one I was in. It’s a world where common sense doesn’t apply—where people can jump from the 20th floor and be fine, where supernatural powers and magic exist.

Moreover, I don’t know how to handle firearms at all. So the chances of hitting anything when I shoot are practically zero.

“Bang! Bang! You fucking bastard!”

The Villain began charging at me with a terrifying momentum.

His speed was fast, but his attack was too simple. Just a body tackle? I could easily avoid that by moving slightly to the side.

“Kuhek!”

I couldn’t move to the side at all and took the Villain’s body tackle head-on, my body briefly floating before crashing to the floor.

…Come to think of it, my physical abilities plummeted drastically when my body changed.

“Ugh…”

Just from one body tackle, my body won’t respond. Plus, the pain I’m feeling throughout my body is incomparably greater than when I hurt my wrist.

“Pathetic trash.”

The Villain mocked me as I lay miserably on the floor.

…Maybe if I just stay still, the Villain will pass by? After all, I fought hard, so I didn’t run away, which means I won’t be subjected to that “fallen female” thing.

While I was in the middle of rationalizing to myself, the Villain mocked me:

“You should just go to a brothel and sell your body. You’ll definitely be popular with the old men.”

“…Bastard.”

Popular with old men? What bullshit. He could at least say I’d be popular with girls.

Actually, why would old men choose a guy like me over a pretty girl…

…I really don’t think I’ll ever get used to this body.

“You can talk like that here, but don’t use such harsh words at the brothel.”

I’m definitely going to kill that bastard. I’ll absolutely kill him. My pride as a man is screaming for it.

They said I could use anything related to me as ammunition for my firearms, so if I put all my mana into a shot, couldn’t I kill him?

…But what exactly is mana? What if using mana incorrectly causes serious side effects?

Let’s try using just 10% of my total mana for now. With 10%, I should at least not die.

As I thought that, I felt something leaving my body. And I could clearly feel that something had entered the pistol in my hand.

But there’s no particular problem with my body. It’s hard to find any difference. So shooting this shouldn’t be a big issue.

As soon as I made that judgment, I forced myself to stand up to shoot.

“Urgh…”

Just standing is painful enough. Still, it’s much less painful than before, which is a relief.

Now all that’s left is to shoot the pistol…

…But should I really shoot? I’ve heard that pistols are quite lethal. If I hit a vital spot, that Villain could die instantly.

Do I really have the right to take that person’s life?

“By the way, if you want to go to a brothel, it’s over there…”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I pulled the trigger to kill that Villain.

—BANG!

With a sound that felt like it would tear my eardrums, the pistol spat fire. But strangely, I didn’t feel any recoil.

And in front of me was a completely shattered wall and beyond it, the Villain collapsed with a hole in his stomach.

…Huh?

While I was desperately trying to understand the situation, light gathered around me, and suddenly it became easier to move.

Then I heard Rebecca’s voice from behind me.

“Treatment complete. Now I’ll go treat that Villain.”

Rebecca slowly walked to where the Villain had collapsed. And Agath came to my side.

“…Did I do that?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

I only used 10% of my mana, but it was enough to make a big hole in that wall and create a large hole in the Villain’s body. Then if I used 100%…

“How strong am I exactly?”

“In terms of ability alone, you’d probably be around A-rank as a Villain.”

“How strong is that?”

“Roughly equivalent to an entire city, I’d say.”

My physical body has become weaker than average, but in exchange, my supernatural power is exceptionally powerful.

Maybe if I fired a bullet loaded with everything I’ve got at the Demon King’s head, I could take down even the Demon King?

“How strong is the Demon King?”

“Don’t know. Apparently even 10 S-rank Heroes together couldn’t defeat the Demon King.”

“How strong is an S-rank Hero?”

“About equivalent to an entire nation?”

So… even with the power of about 10 nations, they couldn’t defeat the Demon King…

Alright. Let’s abandon the idea of fighting the Demon King directly. It was impossible from the start. Let’s just try persuasion or something else, like I’ve been doing all along.

“By the way, how are we going to clean this up?”

“Clean what up?”

“The collapsed wall and the Villain’s medical expenses… Well, the medical expenses should be fine since Rebecca is here. Anyway, how are you going to pay for the wall repairs?”

“…Do I have to pay for the wall repairs?”

Doesn’t the state usually cover accidental damage that occurs while subduing criminals?

“Usually the state covers it. If it’s not excessive force, that is.”

“What’s the standard for excessive force?”

“Something like deliberately making a big hole in the wall when you have the ability to easily subdue a Villain?”

“…”

“I’ll pay for the wall repairs for now. Just be prepared to pay me back with your body later.”

Agath disappeared somewhere with an evil smile.

While I was standing there alone, a police officer approached me and spoke.

“Excuse me. Who fought with that Villain?”

“Well, I did fight…”

As soon as I answered, the police officer immediately handcuffed me.

…Why?

“We’ll have to take you in briefly for excessive force.”

“…Can’t this be considered self-defense?”

I was also treated badly by that Villain. He gave me a body tackle…

…Getting a body tackle once and responding by putting a hole in his stomach—there’s no way this could be self-defense.

But it really wasn’t intentional! I didn’t know I was this strong.

“You can explain the details at the station.”

And so I was taken to the police station alone.

***

Fortunately, I somehow managed to prove my innocence and wasn’t sentenced for excessive force. Thanks to that, I safely exited the police station.

…But where am I?

I had no choice but to go back into the police station. The police officer looked at me with confusion.

“Did you forget something?”

“Well… I’m lost…”

“…How can I help you?”

“I don’t know either.”

“…”

I’m so embarrassed I could die right now if I face-planted into a plate. But what can I do when I really don’t know?

As I hung my head in embarrassment, the police officer sighed softly and said:

“Where do you live?”

“I don’t know.”

“…Do you have any contact information for acquaintances?”

“I only know their names.”

“Sigh…”

The police officer sighed deeply. But what can I do when I really don’t know…

“Can you at least tell me the names of your acquaintances?”

“Yes. Mr. Leo, Ms. Rebecca, and Ms. Agath, these three people.”

“…Could they be from the Hero’s Office?”

“Yes!”

Fortunately, I wouldn’t end up lost like a missing child.

“…Please wait a moment.”

The police officer, with strangely trembling hands, made a call somewhere.

“Hero. Do you happen to have an acquaintance named Lite? What? Well, she’s lost her way… You’re coming personally? Understood.”

After hanging up, the police officer addressed me with a much more respectful attitude than before.

“The Hero said he’ll come personally. Please wait here for a bit.”

I can clearly feel that the police officer is terrified right now.

…Is there something else I don’t know about?