Ch.90New Alliance (2)

People often say.

Children forget quickly.

That at an age when they’re easily captivated by a mere toy or doll, they’ll soon forget painful memories.

But that’s just an adult’s misconception.

Real wounds leave deeper scars the younger one is.

Bruises imprinted when the heart is at its softest never fade, even with time.

Carmilla had such a time too.

The marks left on the back of her hand, where no one could see.

The sound of a slap echoing with just a single word.

And the times when no one could stop it.

…For someone with such a past, the scene before her eyes now was an unbearable sight.

“What exactly… are you doing right now?”

S-Class Hero, Carmilla.

Her cold tone carried emotions frozen like ice.

And it wasn’t just anger.

She knew.

The same touch she had endured as a child.

The weight of that cold hand, swung in the name of righteousness.

“You are… Carmilla, was it?”

The woman who interrupted his ‘discipline.’

Blamashu wore an expression of disbelief as he turned to face Carmilla, who had caught his wrist mid-air before it could reach his daughter.

“That’s correct, Councilor Blamashu. Are you calling this situation… ‘discipline’?”

Carmilla’s voice was firm.

And her hand still didn’t let go.

Instead, she tightened her grip slightly.

“…How perplexing. Don’t you know it’s proper etiquette not to interfere in another family’s affairs? Miss S-Class Hero.”

“Family affairs, you said?”

Carmilla took a moment to steady her breath, her eyes gleaming.

“That child was being… hit. As a hero, I merely stopped the violence.”

Marna quietly raised her head.

In her eyes was surprise and simultaneously… a small, faint feeling of being understood.

Carmilla took one step closer.

Blamashu’s expression instantly contorted.

“Are you, a mere youngster, trying to speak to me as an equal?”

She quietly smiled.

“This is absurd. No matter if you’re an S-Class Hero, to think you’d dare block me, Representative Blamashu!”

Carmilla’s hand was still firmly gripping her wrist.

But then.

Creak.

With an impossible friction sound, Blamashu’s arm began to forcibly bend downward.

Like something being pressed down, the once forceful wrist went down powerlessly.

Carmilla’s eyes twitched.

“How… is this possible…?”

She was clearly an S-Class Hero.

Her strength, which had subdued even monsters, was now being overpowered right before her eyes.

“Hmph. Surprised?”

Blamashu spoke in a leisurely tone, mockingly.

“Seems you intended to threaten me with force… Too bad. I’m not such an easy opponent.”

Zero and I, watching this scene, noticed something simultaneously.

“Zero, is this…?”

“It doesn’t match our records. Deputy Representative Blamashu is… someone with no combat ability or practical experience. But this…”

Zero’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s definitely a power unknown to the Association. Something received from someone, or… a hidden contract.”

I swallowed hard.

This situation was far more serious than I thought.

And at that moment.

“Could it be… you’ve illegally contracted with a monster?”

At Carmilla’s question, Blamashu raised the corner of her mouth.

“What if I have?”

“That’s clearly a crime! Contracts with monsters must go through the Association’s review and verification…”

“It passed the review. I just kept it secret.”

“What…?”

“Two years ago, I contracted together with my daughter Marna. The Hero Association must know, and I received approval at the time. I simply didn’t announce it.”

Everyone was speechless at those words.

Institutionally, it was perfectly ‘legal.’

The information was just deliberately buried.

That this was possible meant she wasn’t just an ordinary politician.

“Hero Carmilla.”

Blamashu slowly freed her wrist and sneered.

“Do you know the ownership structure of the Hero Association?”

“…?”

“Our Social Party holds… a whole 12% stake.”

Carmilla’s eyes wavered for a moment.

“That means even an S-Class Hero like you… can’t touch me carelessly.”

“No amount of shares… justifies what you’re doing to this child!”

“Is that so?”

Blamashu turned her back with a smirk.

Then quietly, yet so sharply, she said:

“Then can you… stay by my child Marna’s side 24 hours a day?”

“…What?”

“This heroic act of yours might look cool now. But when you part ways soon, can you shield her from what she’ll face afterward?”

Carmilla silently stared into her eyes.

“In reality, shares are stronger than justice. That’s the adult world… and that’s the world Marna will live in.”

And as if delivering a final blow, she whispered in her ear.

“Know your place. Youngster.”

At those words, Carmilla’s fingertips trembled.

Like something echoing from the depths of her memories.

Through her leather gloves, Marna’s small, warm hand quietly rose.

“…”

She looked up.

Their eyes met.

The girl said nothing, just quietly looking up.

She didn’t ask for help. But it was clear in her eyes. She was desperately saying something.

Carmilla took a moment to steady her breath, then slowly bowed her head.

And.

She gripped Blamashu’s wrist even more firmly.

This wasn’t just restraint.

As if this moment was precisely why she ‘held the name of a hero.’

“Even so… I cannot back down!”

“Such a stubborn youngster…!”

It was then.

“My goodness. What kind of scene is this right before the marvelous… truly marvelous Second Hero Exam that’s about to begin?”

The voice was gentle, but each word flowed sharply as if gripping the air.

In an instant, the atmosphere at the scene completely changed.

“Y-You…!”

The first to react was none other than Blamashu.

A reaction close to a seizure. There was long-standing resentment in uttering that name.

“Avanka!”

She trembled her lips and gritted her teeth.

In contrast, the approaching woman waved her hand kindly as if nothing was wrong.

Dressed neatly in a black suit, Councilor Avanka, the representative of the Progressive Party in Hero City.

She was also a politician who clashed daily in the assembly and always crushed Blamashu in public opinion battles.

“Oh my, Madam Representative. It’s been a while. You were swayed by my public opinion campaign during the last agenda, and now you’re causing a scene on the street again. Your mental fortitude is truly admirable~.”

Instantly, Blamashu’s face turned red.

Whether it was anger or shame was unclear.

Ignoring her gaze, Avanka passed by us quietly with a gentle smile.

And.

“Hello, little one.”

Where she stopped was not in front of Blamashu, but Marna.

Avanka slowly bent her knee toward the frightened girl hiding behind Carmilla’s back.

“So you’re the dark horse of this exam? Seeing you in person, you have good visuals too. You’ll make a fine hero someday.”

Avanka said this while carefully stroking Marna’s head.

As if the fact that she was the enemy’s daughter didn’t matter at all.

“What are you doing to my daughter!”

Blamashu rushed over in an instant and pulled Marna behind her back.

The person who was about to hit her just moments ago was now acting protective and showing wariness.

“This is another one of your tricks, Avanka! My Marna passed the first exam fair and square, but her second exam is on hold? You manipulated this from behind, didn’t you?!”

“What? The second exam is on hold?”

Avanka seemed genuinely surprised, tilting her head slightly.

Her eyebrows furrowed subtly, and her gaze naturally shifted to the Association staff nearby.

“Is this true? What’s the reason this child can’t enter the second exam despite passing the first one?”

When the Association staff nodded slightly with awkward glances, she turned her gaze back to Blamashu with a frown.

And Blamashu, feeling treated like a fool, shouted out the explanation:

“My daughter’s abilities are exceptional! Yet the examiners what? Put her on ‘hold’? Does that make any sense?!”

“Councilor Blamashu… it’s for the test-taker’s own safety.”

“Yes, that’s right. While her abilities are excellent, her control is significantly lacking, making it dangerous…”

“Who decides what’s dangerous?! If she passed, shouldn’t she be allowed to continue the exam to the end?!”

The examiners’ words were soon drowned out by Blamashu’s shouts.

And at that moment, an unexpected voice spoke again.

“There’s some logic to that. If she passed the first exam, she should be allowed to take the second.”

“…Pardon?”

“What did you say…?”

Everyone present, even Blamashu herself, turned with surprised faces.

No one expected those words to come from her mouth.

“Please allow candidate Marna into the second exam venue.”

Avanka continued speaking slowly while smiling, looking ahead.

“This is a ‘polite request’ from me, who solely holds 20% of the entire Hero Association’s shares.”