Chapter 39 : The one who moves now is the culprit (1)

I survived for now.

As soon as Lord Makoto entered the interrogation room, I was able to stand up.

But the real problem started now.

“I’ll kill you.”

“P-please spare me…!”

“Makoto-sama! You mustn’t!”

“That person is an S-rank hero like you! A valuable asset that Hero City cannot afford to lose!”

“So?”

“…What?”

“And what of it?”

Lord Makoto, who just seemed like an adult version of Miss Hoshino.

This isn’t good.

Even if Yoon Ha-eun was a threat to my identity, she was still a crucial force in Hero City.

But seeing Makoto flashing her blade like she was hunting a monster—this was seriously bad.

If the original story starts ten years from now, who knows how much the plot will get messed up?

So.

“Die.”

“W-wait, what?! Seriously?!”

Just as Makoto-sama’s blade was about to flash and wipe out the entire building—

I lunged.

“L-Lord Makoto!”

“…!”

I threw myself into the arms of the now more terrifying-than-monsters Lord Makoto.

Doing my best to act like a frightened child, I squeezed out tears in my eyes as if begging her to stop.

“It’s over now, let’s go back. Okay?”

“But…”

“Everyone is safe, right? So let’s just leave. Okay?”

If we stay here any longer, Hero City might be destroyed before the story even begins!

At the very least, I need to make it to the starting line before failing!

If I end up in a game-over state without even getting to play the game, I’d be so frustrated I might come back as a ghost.

And maybe my desperate feelings reached her.

“Yes, Janghoon. As long as we have you, that’s enough for us.”

Makoto-sama sheathed her blade, knelt down, and hugged me tightly.

I really shouldn’t be thinking about this in such a moment, but—

With my face trapped between her voluptuous breasts, all I could focus on was the nice scent rather than any touching emotions.

Well, at least the situation wrapped up nicely…

“Wait a moment!”

…?”

…Or so I thought?

“But Janghoon might still be a monster!”

Why is she digging her own grave when we’re trying to spare her life?!

Is this the infamous stubbornness that turned a PG-15 game into an R-19 one?

Just when not only me but also the other senior members of the Hero Association who came with Makoto-sama were all starting to relax—

Yoon Ha-eun’s persistent objections turned the atmosphere in the interrogation room into absolute chaos once again.

“…What?”

That day, I saw it.

The great beast lurking inside Lord Makoto.

Her crimson eyes began to slit open again, and the sheer terror of her gaze—

No joke, every single monster I had fought until now suddenly seemed adorable in comparison.

“L-Lord Makoto, please don’t!”

“…No, Janghoon. This is a matter between women.”

“Women all of a sudden…?”

“Yes. This is a ‘battle of pride’ that only women with wombs can understand.”

What kind of nonsense is that?

It just looks like neither of them wants to apologize first, leading to a ridiculous power struggle.

In any case, I couldn’t just sit back and let this happen.

Yoon Ha-eun, who was determined to brand me as a monster until the end despite knowing the danger.

And Makoto-sama, who didn’t care about anything else and just wanted to kill her.

If I let them be, it wasn’t just the Hero Association building that was at risk—at worst, the entirety of City A could be reduced to rubble.

“L-Lord Makoto, please calm down!”

“That’s right, Makoto-sama! This is the interrogation room!”

“Yoon Ha-eun, just apologize already!”

So, I and the other senior members desperately tried to stop the situation from escalating any further.

“Let the sword stay sheathed.”

At that moment.

Click.

“…?!”

Makoto-sama tried to draw her sword again—

But as if the sheath and blade had fused together, it refused to budge.

She looked utterly flustered.

Meanwhile, Yoon Ha-eun, who had conjured a massive sniper rifle in midair, tried to fire first.

“Let the bullet stay put.”

And once again, a voice echoed in our heads.

At the same time—

Click-click.

“…Malfunction?”

No matter how many times she pulled the bolt, the bullet wouldn’t fire.

Yoon Ha-eun was just as bewildered.

Someone had just effortlessly suppressed both of their weapons.

Recalling a similar experience from the game’s buffs, I realized who had just entered the interrogation room.

“What do you think you heroes are doing, fighting each other instead of taking down monsters?”

“You are…”

“Oh, the ‘Monster of Weapons!’”

Yes, the Monster of Weapons.

An NPC from Kaiju Frontline, the shopkeeper who always welcomed me when I wanted to spend money on in-game purchases.

I had wondered if I’d ever get to meet her now that the game had become reality—

But I never expected it would be like this.

“Ha-eun, what are you doing against an adult? Did you think I contracted with you just so you could recklessly fire your gun?”

“I-I’m sorry…”

A red-skinned oni stepped forward beside me.

Two horns on her head like handles, dressed in just shorts and a bikini—

Her outfit was as scandalous in reality as it had been in the game.

But then again—

She was Yoon Ha-eun’s contracted monster, after all.

“The one responsible for turning this into an R-19 game, and her monster. I should’ve known even their outfits were a hint all along.”

The Monster of Weapons casually passed by Lord Makoto and flicked Yoon Ha-eun’s forehead.

But at that moment—

Nobody in the interrogation room dared to move.

Because even though she was a supporter of humanity, the Monster of Weapons was the first and only ‘Special-Rank’ in Hero City’s history.

A Special-Rank Kaiju.

A threat level assigned only to beings deemed capable of single-handedly wiping out Hero City.

In other words, the moment a Special-Rank Kaiju appears, Hero City is as good as doomed.

Perhaps because of that overwhelming setting, even after five years, she was never released as a gacha character in the game.

But now that she had shown up to mediate the fight, the tension in the room was forcibly defused.

“Oh. So you’re Okami… Sanae?”

“Okami Sanae was my great-grandmother.”

“Ah, is that so? Then you must be Okami Sakura—”

“I am Okami Makoto. Sakura was my mother, who passed away ten years ago.”

“Oh, I see. My bad, my bad. I guess I made too many swords for the Okami family to keep track anymore.”

“It’s fine.”

By the way, I never expected that all the swords of the Okami family were creations of the Monster of Weapons.

This was some unexpected TMI that even the original story didn’t mention.

Meanwhile, seeing the appearance of the legendary blacksmith who had forged the swords of this prestigious swordsmanship family, Lord Makoto bowed politely in greeting.

However, it seemed that the killing intent flowing from her body was still as strong as ever.

“First, both of you calm down.”

“…!”

“Monster of Weapons…”

Noticing this, the Monster of Weapons naturally inserted herself between the two.

“Even if you’re annoyed and pissed off, does it make sense for the five S-rank heroes, the only ones we have, to be fighting each other?”

“Ahem…”

“H-ha ha…”

Here it is—the ‘back in my day’ speech.

Even ten years later, she talks the exact same way.

In the original game, whenever I tried to buy something, she’d casually gaslight me, saying things like, “You should spend money while you’re young,” subtly bringing up the past.

Because of that, my brain was so fried back then that I once fell for her line, “A real man buys the entire package!” and actually broke my savings.

But wait—when exactly is ‘back in her day’ for someone who’s lived at least a thousand years?

“Your enemies are the kaiju, aren’t they?”

“That’s right…”

“Yes, that’s true…”

“Then let’s just apologize already! And if you really don’t want to, let’s settle this over drinks later. These kinds of things are always best handled with alcohol.”

I have to agree with that.

Awkward situations are best smoothed over with alcohol—that’s just common sense.

She really does seem like she was inspired by those rugged Busan uncles who start their mornings with alcohol.

The way she casually swept aside such a dangerous situation was actually quite impressive.

So, can we finally wrap this up now…?

“By the way, why were you two even fighting in the first place?”

I really just want to go home…

“Well… it’s about this kid I brought here. His name is Kang Janghoon, a student in my class.”

“Oh, now that you mention it, there is a kid here… Ha-eun, don’t tell me… You always talk about ‘shota shota,’ and now I see you’ve been eyeing something heavy down below?”

“Wha—?! Of course not! No matter what, I still follow the law! Just listen to me first!”

Yoon Ha-eun, flustered, hurriedly explained everything to the Monster of Weapons as her contractee.

“…So, I thought he might be that Horned-Mask Monster and brought him here.”

“I see.”

“Hmm. But you have no actual proof, do you?”

After hearing the full story, Lord Makoto immediately reached for her sword again, furious at the thought of her ‘son-like’ child being treated as a kaiju.

But as the two were about to clash again, the Monster of Weapons, now playing the mediator, thought for a moment and then said—

“Are you two idiots?”

“…?”

“If you want to check whether he’s a kaiju or not, just take him to the underground medical ward for a simple physical exam.”

……Oh!

Such an obvious solution.

And since young boys need regular health checkups anyway, this was perfect timing.

“Makoto, right? Since you came all the way here, why not have your son-like kid get a flu shot or something while you’re at it?”

“Uh… well, I suppose that’s fine…”

“Wait, Lord Makoto…?”

“Janghoon, since we’re here anyway, the flu is going around these days. Let’s just get you checked up and vaccinated before we go.”

And just like that, under the suggestion of the Monster of Weapons—the one and only Special-Rank Kaiju—I found myself on the brink of absolute disaster.