Chapter 66 : S-Class Candidates (1)

A female soldier with a fiery red bob cut and eyes as passionate as her hair color.

Thanks to her, presumed to be the protagonist, the bow monster no longer caused any more chaos.

Of course, it fled while clicking its tongue, but the fact that the situation ended like this, even with the appearance of a grade-A monster, was a miracle in itself.

‘Thanks to that, I was able to take advantage of the situation and return.’

When I stepped out of the public restroom,

I saw Miss Hoshino, surrounded by female soldiers, walking back toward the limousine.

When she first mentioned going to hunt the bat monster, her face was shadowed.

But the face of the returned lady now blossomed with a smile.

And when her daughter, who had safely returned after the appearance of the grade-A monster, ran to her immediately, the head of the clan, despite her position, hugged her tightly.

“Hoshino!”

“Ah, Mom?!”

“I’m sorry. It seems I pushed you too hard. I tried to do your father’s job, and I almost lost you…!”

“No, it’s okay. Mom… When you think about it, I was too reckless too, so it’s fine.”

I was nervous, fearing that it might return to the original work’s bleakness.

However, unlike the original work, no one died, and the relationship between the lady and the clan leader seemed to have become even stronger.

But there was one person.

Amidst everyone’s joy, she alone remained gloomy.

“I’m sorry, Doctor.”

“Zero…”

Zero, who had failed to track the bow monster, stood in front of Dr. Avanka with a gloomy face.

Was it because she hadn’t learned the feeling of sadness? Or did she just look that way?

“Because of my performance issue, I missed the grade-A monster.”

“No, it’s alright. I was already planning to collect your corpse when I heard that the grade-A monster appeared. The fact that you came back alive instead is actually a good thing.”

“Thank you.”

“Good. Zero, you are a very valuable resource that will support the future progress of humanity. So, please, don’t die. Even if you do die, just make sure your ‘head’ is intact.”

“Yes. I will keep that in mind.”

It was a conversation that felt both cold and not cold.

Dr. Avanka spoke to Zero as if handling a precious ‘machine,’ with no real emotion.

‘The homunculus creature, Zero, didn’t even exist in the original work… I should keep an occasional watch on it just in case.’

In my mind, I wanted to secretly monitor Zero by sneaking it into the shadows while she was sleeping.

But if it’s Zero…

I felt like she’d end up being tied up and dragged out if I tried to spy on her.

So, I didn’t want to assign her any such task.

No, I couldn’t assign it.

Meanwhile.

Step by step.

“Hmm?”

“Princess Hoshino?”

“Zero. Come here for a moment.”

It was time to part ways.

Just as Zero was about to enter the limousine following Dr. Avanka, Miss Hoshino called out to her.

Zero tilted her head and looked back at her, while Dr. Avanka, intrigued by the expression on Miss Hoshino’s face, stepped out of the car.

“Why did you do that earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“Chasing the bow monster on your own, without protecting the soldiers! It was fortunate that the horned monster appeared there, or everyone except you and me would have been wiped out! Don’t you realize that?!”

“I know. So?”

“…What?”

“Oh?”

It was true that, had I not been there, the soldiers at that spot would likely have all been wiped out, both extras and main characters alike.

I hadn’t asked yet, but the red-haired female soldier also achieved this success because I had created an opening.

But Zero responded indifferently, as if it didn’t matter.

“The role of the soldiers deployed in Hero City is to support the hero who came to hunt the monster.”

“Right!”

“So, it wouldn’t be strange if they died while fighting alongside the hero. They did their job during the mission and simply died in the line of duty.”

“Line of duty… But we should save them if we can! How can you be so careless with human life?”

“Well, because it was more efficient that way?”

“Huh?”

“Hoshino. I understand the meaning of what you’re saying. But I only understand it. Unfortunately, I’m a fake that resembles a human, so I don’t have ‘compassion’ like you.”

“Y-You…!”

Unable to bear it, Miss Hoshino’s right hand was raised without hesitation.

That posture clearly looked like a slap.

A slap full of anger, one that, even though they were both heroes, could break bones if hit with sincerity.

“Ah, Miss, please don’t!”

I quickly ran to stop Miss Hoshino’s raised arm.

But before I could act, Dr. Avanka intervened between Zero and Miss Hoshino.

“Princess Hoshino. I understand exactly what you’re trying to say.”

“Doctor Avanka! This is wrong! Maybe in terms of combat power, but right now, Zero lacks the most important sense of justice as a hero!”

“Ha ha ha ha. I see. Maybe it’s because this is your first joint mission with others? It seems we’ve detected a bit of a ‘flaw’ that we haven’t seen before. Right, Zero?”

“Yes. If my current condition is unusual, I would appreciate it if you could patch it immediately.”

“Okay. As soon as we return to the lab, I’ll install a new moral framework for you. How does that sound, Princess Hoshino? Would this be enough?”

“Well, still…!”

At Dr. Avanka’s words, Miss Hoshino’s arm fell.

However, her face still showed many emotions, as if she wanted to talk to Zero again.

But that was all.

“Hoshino Princess. Zero is currently bound by a clause that prevents attacking humans.”

“…!”

“In other words, if you strike now, it won’t be a fight between ‘friends’ but simply the ‘violence’ of a strong person. Are you really planning to continue?”

“Ah, no… Then at least, can we talk a bit more…?”

“Unfortunately, since an error has been detected, I need to go and fix it quickly. We’ll be seeing each other again soon at the S-Class conferment ceremony anyway, so let’s save the greetings for then.”

“Ah……”

With an amused smile, Councilwoman Avanka got into the limousine alongside Zero.

Afterward, she calmly bid farewell and gracefully left City B.

In the end, who was that red-haired female soldier?

Even if I wanted to ask later, the soldiers of Hero City quickly dispersed and started restoring the city after the monster disappeared.

Because of their swift movements, I had no choice but to follow the lady and return to my home in City D before I could even ask anything.

Since then, I desperately searched for clues about the red-haired female soldier.

But my current occupation? At best, I’m just a university student with slightly above-average grades in a hero-related major.

I wasn’t even affiliated with the hero organization, so I soon hit a wall.

Only one person.

“Fufufu. So that’s why you came to find me?”

If it weren’t for my capable childhood friend, it would have taken much longer.

“Yeah… You’re the only one I can rely on, Carmilla.”

“Ohohoho. Of course! Compared to a beast like Hoshino Princess, I am far superior!”

‘Hoshino, miss! I want to know about that red-haired female soldier I met before!’

…If I had said that directly to her,

It wouldn’t have been an ‘Aha! I see!’ moment, but more like—

‘Who is she?’

Followed by an extremely scary expression, no doubt about it.

And since it’s also her mating season soon, she’d probably get even more aggressive.

So instead of dealing with the lady’s temper, I chose to confide in my childhood friend, who at least listens to my stories.

She had mixed feelings about me asking for her help to find another woman, but at least she wouldn’t explode immediately like the lady would.

“A red-haired female soldier, huh… But why are you suddenly looking for her?”

“Uh?”

“Don’t tell me… your first love?”

“No way! I was just curious. It’s just interesting, you know? She managed to accurately hit both eyes of the monster from almost a kilometer away!”

At that moment, I was drinking with Carmilla at a food stall in City D.

I had promised to buy the drinks, and by the third bottle of beer…

I thought she would loosen up by now.

But when I mentioned interest in another woman, Carmilla’s expression almost turned as fierce as Hoshino’s.

However, after hearing me out, she seemed to relax a little, though still frowning.

“I-I’ve always been interested in hero-related work, you know? So, this time, I’m thinking of joining a weapons development project as a university intern. And they just happened to be recruiting ‘civilians’ for testing.”

“And that ‘civilian’ happens to be the red-haired female soldier you just mentioned?”

“Y-Yeah! I’m planning to make a new firearm prototype, and I’d really love to have such a skilled person test it!”

“Hmm?”

Carmilla still looked half-doubtful.

Maybe it was because she was quite tipsy.

Drunk and swaying, she kept scrutinizing my face from different angles, sitting unnecessarily close to me.

If Hoshino had seen this, a huge fight would’ve broken out immediately.

But the real trial was yet to come.

“Just like that?”

“Huh?”

“I mean…

Janghoon, I come all the way to City D when you call me… And you expect to get that information for free?”

“Uh… Would buying drinks not be enough?”

“You think I’d care about such a small amount of money?”

Well, she is ranked 9th among A-Class heroes. This food stall’s bill probably means nothing to her.

She seemed to want something else, as she pointed at her cherry-red lips.

“Give me a kiss.”

“W-What?!”

“That would be enough for me.”

All she asked for in exchange for the information was a single kiss.

Just my first kiss.

Was this really okay?

…Then again, maybe because I was also getting drunk,

It started sounding like a pretty reasonable deal.