Chapter 67 : S-Class Candidates (2)

Miss Hoshino.

What on earth should I do?

Of course, I had known for a while that you valued me.

It would be strange not to know when you’re so clingy.

But the world was also buzzing with rumors about Carmilla, who was as famous as you for being a beautiful heroine.

And here was a childhood friend who liked me, pressing her lips together, as if urging me to act.

Gulps!

Is it… that I’m not drunk enough yet?

Or is it that I’m lacking in courage?

My heart raced.

At the same time, I began to objectify myself.

Right, this is all for humanity!

For world peace, this is something I must do!

As soon as I thought that, Miss Hoshino in my mind just let out a small, tearful expression.

“Anyway, Miss Hoshino often does this when she’s in heat. This is only fair.”

After all, it’s something you should never do to your friends.

Especially not if it’s a childhood friend!

So, after quickly rinsing my mouth with some water I grabbed nearby, I faced Carmilla, who was still waiting for my lips.

Then, for the first time, not like the little baby-like kisses, but as adults, I was finally going to give her a deep kiss…!

“Ptui, phew!”

“Eh?”

I was about to, but…

“Fool. You’re so nervous, I can see it in your expression.”

“Oh, was it that obvious?”

“Heh. Yes. The way you looked like you were reluctantly going to do it, the moment I started asking seriously, was way too obvious.”

Reluctantly?

…That’s not it at all!

“I also have my pride. I’d rather pass on receiving my first kiss like that.”

“Eh, then…”

“Anyway, later, Janghoon-kun will end up kissing me because he likes me. I’ll receive my first kiss then.”

I can still give it to you now.

But the good opportunity, due to my nervousness, seemed to have flown away.

However, Carmilla continued, almost as if in place of it.

“In exchange, about the red-haired female soldier.”

“Mm.”

“I’ll tell you everything about where she belongs and where she lives. In return, you should help me with the ‘work’ I’m going to start from now on.”

“Work Carmilla will do?”

What does that mean?

Could it be that she wants me to support her in hunting down monsters?

A reward for revealing someone’s full personal details, wanting her in return.

At this point, I still had no idea what she was talking about.

“Alright, just give me a week’s worth of your time starting tomorrow. Got it?”

“Ah, yeah… I understand.”

Hero City.

Ranked 9th among A-rank heroes – Carmilla.

As a creator hero, naturally, she’s someone far superior to me in all aspects. What kind of help could she possibly need from me?

The next day, just as promised, I visited the city where Carmilla lived.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve been here.’

Back when we were elementary school classmates, we’d usually hang out at Miss Hoshino’s house after school.

So, this was my first time visiting Carmilla’s mansion since the day she took down the radioactive monster.

Ding dong.

“Carmilla. I’m here~.”

It’s still such an extravagant house.

My own Okami family may seem like it belongs to a different era, from the Edo period in Japan, but Carmilla’s detached house can also be called a top 1% residence.

As I rang the doorbell and waited in front of the entrance,

“Oh my. So, you’re Janghoon, the one I’ve heard about?”

“Eh? …Are you perhaps Carmilla’s mother?!”

“Heh, yes. I’m Carmilla’s mom, Razelita.”

Surprisingly, the person who greeted me was Carmilla’s mother, Lazerita, who had once been misunderstood as a stepmother after her body was possessed by a radioactive monster.

She had since retired as an A-rank hero.

“So… we met back when I was possessed by the monster, right?”

“Ah, yes. It’s been a while.”

“Well, come on in.”

I had heard that the radioactive monster had taken control of her body for years, so I wondered if she had recovered by now.

Back in elementary school, whenever there was a parent observation day, Carmilla would always have a sad expression on her face.

I tried to comfort her a little, even if it was just visiting her mother.

But,

“My mom… is too severely contaminated, even I can’t see her.”

“I see…”

Young Carmilla could only hear the news that her mother was alive but couldn’t visit due to the radiation contamination.

Hearing about Carmilla’s complicated family history, I once hugged her tightly.

By the way, back then, Miss Hoshino turned a blind eye to our skinship, almost as if it was unavoidable.

“Is your body feeling better now?”

“Yes… thanks to a lot of rehabilitation therapy, I can finally live a normal life. Well, because of that, I had to retire from being a hero.”

“I see…”

“Still, I’m alive, and that’s the best, right?”

“Well, I suppose that’s true.”

At that time, they had to split the monster’s heart in half and eat it one by one.

Since Carmilla was relatively less exposed to radiation, she could be fine, but for Ms. Lazerita, who had been with radioactive monsters for years, the detoxification effect was insufficient.

Still, Mother smiled as if she didn’t mind.

Rather, she expressed her gratitude to me and Miss Hoshino for staying close to her young daughter while she was unwell.

“But where did Carmilla go, and why did you come to meet me instead, Mother?”

“Ah, well, Carmilla is very busy right now.”

“Busy? …It’s not like she’s fighting a monster or anything, is she?”

“There’s something going on. It’s being prepared at home right now, and you’ll understand as soon as you see it, Janghoon.”

“Preparation?”

With those mysterious words, I followed Ms. Lazerita into the house.

The moment I stepped inside, I saw Carmilla, who had dressed up even more lavishly than usual, standing in the middle of the living room.

“Carmilla?”

“Ah, you’re already here. Fufu. How do I look? Do I appear incredibly beautiful right now?”

“Yeah! Absolutely! What’s with that dress? The silver coating makes it look simple yet pretty, and today, you’re… how should I say it… beyond your usual self.”

“…! Ahem, hearing it so directly… it’s a little embarrassing…”

Even though she had asked for compliments, when I actually praised her, she blushed and looked away.

Her demeanor was reminiscent of a princess at a ballroom.

Usually, no matter how much she dressed up, she just felt like a close friend.

But at this moment, she was so dazzling that even my insides were trembling—

“By the way, why did you dress up like that? Are you going to some important event?”

“An important event… Well, you could say that.”

“What exactly is it? I’m too curious, just tell me. And if it’s such an event, why do you need my help?”

“Because, Janghoon, you are the perfect support for the beautiful me.”

“Support?”

With that cryptic remark, she handed me a ‘signboard’ out of nowhere.

She told me that we were about to go outside, and when we did, I should confidently wave the signboard beside her.

So, what was written on this signboard?

If someone saw it, they might think she was running for a presidential election.

Curious, I checked the signboard before heading out.

“S-Class… Rank 14, Carmilla?!”

The sign was none other than a promotional poster.

It was an announcement about the first-ever S-Class Hero from District D—‘Creator Girl Carmilla.’

“The Hero Association said that suddenly adding ten new S-Class heroes would cause a lot of confusion.”

“Then this is…?”

“A kind of preemptive outreach to ease the confusion! If the heroes promote themselves directly like this, the anxiety should lessen a little.”

Humans feel fear from many things.

It could be instinctual or psychological.

It could also be societal, and one could feel fear from encountering unfamiliar cultures.

But the most fundamental fear for humans comes from what they see with their own eyes and feel with their own skin—‘instinct.’

Ten years ago.

For a brief moment, District D was on the verge of the worst level of contamination.

The radiation at the time had mostly disappeared after the monster responsible was defeated.

However, deep in the underground sewers of Carmilla’s neighborhood—

The radiation from the monster had seeped in, causing tremendous changes to the creatures lurking in the darkness.

“We… have all grown.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“It’s getting hard to keep eating our own arms.”

They were, in a way, half-monsters.

Mutated by the monster’s influence, yet not quite monsters themselves.

But they bore an immense grudge against humanity, their only natural predator.

Strengthened by radiation, their bodies transformed into humanoid shapes, growing to approximately five meters tall—mutant cockroaches.

For the past ten years, they had survived by eating and regenerating their own limbs.

And now, having completed their growth—

They emerged from the darkness, twitching their antennae, ready to take revenge on the humans who had slaughtered their kind with sprays and slippers.

“From now on… we are the new humanity.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“We will devour both monsters and humans alike.”