Chapter 68 : S-Class Candidates (3)

Carmilla, who became the representative hero of D City following Lazerita.

I knew she was popular to some extent, but I never dreamed it would be to this extent.

“Everyone~. I’m going to become an S-class hero starting next week~. So, please don’t be too surprised and show me lots of love~!”

“Oooh! Congratulations, Carmilla!”

“We’re always cheering for you!”

“Thank you for protecting D City!”

It was when I followed Carmilla and started holding signs to promote her.

It was a sudden increase of 10 more S-class heroes, so the citizens must have been quite flustered.

However, when they found out that one of them was Carmilla, everyone seemed to understand and even cheered her on.

Was it because of that?

Did I also look like one of Carmilla’s close associates since I was promoting with her?

I can’t tell you how much sweat I broke out in as people came up to me, telling me to take good care of her, work hard, and offer all sorts of support.

Well, in the end, it turned out to be a good thing.

Besides, since I had a reward to receive separately, I decided to show Carmilla off as a great S-class hero to the public.

About three days passed, I think.

“…Are you going today too?”

“Ah, miss…”

“Hmph!”

While heroes like Carmilla, who were about to reach S-class, were filling up the TV screens.

Naturally, Hoshino, the young lady who had known me since earlier and recognized me next to Carmilla, gave me a sharp look every time I went outside the Okami family.

It was undeniable that her gaze was always piercing.

“Haha. Yes… Carmilla said there was no one else she could ask for this kind of thing… so she asked me…”

“Lie! That’s a lie! She has no one else to ask for promotion stuff! She’s probably scheming something sneaky behind your back!”

A sneaky plan…

Could that be something the lady who secretly steals my things when she’s in heat and later returns them wet would say?

Anyway, Hoshino-san turned her back on me as if to say, “Don’t go,” and suddenly hugged me from behind.

“Don’t, don’t do that. Help with my promotion activity, okay?”

“Your promotion activity…?”

“Yes! I haven’t done anything like promoting yet, right? But I’m about to become an S-class too! So, help me, okay?”

Even if she asked me for help, honestly, Hoshino-san didn’t need to promote.

Why?

Because she was the next head of the Okami family.

As a princess of a swordsmanship family that had passed down the S-class hero title for generations, she didn’t need to promote.

Her spot as an S-class hero was already more or less confirmed from the start.

The people wouldn’t have complained even if she became an S-class hero a little earlier than expected.

She was simply born different.

“Lady… Even if you say that, you don’t really need to promote, do you?”

“…! No, that’s not true! It could be necessary!”

“No. It’s not necessary… You’re more popular than Carmilla with the public, so if you become an S-class hero, everyone will just think, ‘That’s how it is.’”

It was Hoshino-san herself.

Moreover, Hoshino-san was also one of the A-class heroes that Avanka, the lawmaker who passed the S-class hero expansion, was openly supporting.

So, continuing to push for it would just make me seem unreasonable.

“I’ll be on my way now, Lady.”

“Ah, noooo…!”

I tried to leave quickly to go to Carmilla, somehow getting away from Hoshino-san.

It felt strangely like I was dismissing Hoshino-san like a bad boyfriend, but…

Well, this was all for the world.

When I told her firmly that I couldn’t stay, I remembered that after anger, sadness follows in the five stages of denial.

“Ugh…

Sniff…”

The lady, looking like the protagonist of a tragedy, knelt down and was on the verge of crying like a fox who failed to catch her prey.

I couldn’t leave her like that.

“Sigh…”

So, even though I had originally planned to give her a gift during her heat cycle,

“Lady, if you’re that sad, how can I leave with peace of mind?”

“Sniff… I guess so…”

“And no matter what anyone says, I’m your loyal subordinate. I’ve also prepared a ‘gift’ for you.”

“…A gift?”

In a whisper.

“In the second drawer of my desk, there’s a pair of panties I’ve worn for three days without washing. Use those during your heat.”

“…!!”

Hoshino-san, who received my surprise gift,

“Don’t come back too late~ Got it~!”

“Yes, understood.”

With her spirits lifted, she kicked me out without a second thought.

Carmilla, who was the representative hero of D City even before she became S-class.

When the news spread that she, who was originally ranked 9th in A-class, would now become S-class, the whole city of D was filled with a festive atmosphere.

Carmilla had become a model of good deeds and justice in D City, so most citizens congratulated her.

Well, most citizens did…

“Ugh.”

She, who was among the few who didn’t share in that celebration.

She had always been pushed aside by Carmilla and was the second-best hero in D City but didn’t have much popularity.

A-class, rank 38.

With her wild, rough black hair fitting her nickname “Mad Dog,”

A well-built body like a carnivorous animal and fierce eyes.

Blanche, a hero similar in age to Carmilla and me, was furious after hearing the news that Carmilla would become S-class.

“Jenzaang…! If there are now 10 more S-class heroes, I should be given that opportunity too! Why am I staying quiet!”

She was also an A-class hero!

And the fact that she had lost the position to her (self-proclaimed) rival, Carmilla, stung the most.

Of course, Carmilla still thought of Blanche as just a “loud colleague,” no matter what Blanche thought.

“AAAAAH!”

“Monster!”

That’s when it happened.

As always, a monster appeared in her city today as well.

As expected, responding to that was a hero’s duty.

And who knows?

Maybe by showing that she, as an A-class hero, was more active than Carmilla, she could prove herself to the association and be promoted to S-class instead.

“A-class hero, rank 38! The Mad Dog Blanche is here!”

“Ooh…! It’s Blanche.”

“Isn’t she the one who often supported Carmilla?”

“She came alone today without Carmilla?”

“She probably came to take over for her busy teammate’s S-class promotion.”

“She’s actually a very warm-hearted person despite her tough appearance.”

But that wasn’t the case.

She actually came out to show off her skills and interfere with Carmilla’s promotion.

However, to the citizens, she appeared as a true hero who came to deal with the monster in place of her busy friend.

Blanche, however, was the only one who didn’t realize this.

“Everyone, step back! It could be dangerous!”

“Human…?”

“Strong. That one.”

“It looks worth eating.” Yeah, yeah.

“Then I’ll tear the head off myself first.”

Meanwhile, at an intersection in the city center, strange life forms successfully emerged from underground, breaking through the concrete pavement.

Blanche instinctively frowned as she looked at the creatures, which were not a single entity but had split into as many as five separate beings…

Mutant cockroaches that resembled monsters.

“Tsk.”

“What is this? It looks human… but no matter how I see it, it’s just a cockroach.”

“That’s right, human.”

“Do not compare us to mere monsters.”

“Mere monsters? So you’re saying that you’re not monsters?”

“That’s correct. We are the new humanity.”

“We have surpassed both humans and those so-called monsters. We are the new rulers of this Earth.”

“Ha! Now that’s a ridiculous dream.”

Creatures that aren’t monsters but look exactly like them.

Heroes usually dealt with monsters or criminals who disregarded public order.

So, how should she handle these mutants?

Self-proclaimed ‘new humans’ who looked like monsters.

Each of these cockroach humanoids stood about three meters tall, with muscular bodies.

Blanche found the situation quite troublesome.

But still.

At least, they weren’t the same ‘Cockroach Monster’ that Yoon Ha-eun, one of the original S-class heroes, had defeated twelve years ago.

“If it’s just this much, I can handle it.”

More than anything, she was a woman who would one day surpass Carmilla and become an S-class hero.

There was no way she would fall to mere humanoid cockroaches.

Then, her fangs began to grow between her teeth, and fur spread all over her body as she started transforming into a beast.

“Grrrr… Graaaaah!”

“She’s… changing?”

“You’re not human, are you?”

“I’m human. And at the same time, a hero.”

“You’re still just a human!”

“Yeah, and all we have to do is kill and eat you!”

As Blanche’s beast transformation progressed, one of the ‘new humans’—

A cockroach suddenly leaped at her in an instant, aiming to smash her skull with a punch strong enough to destroy a skyscraper.

BOOM.

The impact shook the entire intersection.

At the same time, a newly grown fang was sent flying from the mouth of the now lone wolf—

The A-rank hero.

“Kyahhh!”

“Lady Blanche!”

Screams echoed from all directions.

The faces of the citizens darkened with fear.

But.

“F*** off.”

“?!?”

BOOOOM.

In what seemed like a give-and-take, Blanche’s fist slammed into the face of the cockroach ‘new human.’

And at that moment—

POP.

“Huh?”

“…What?”

Their bodies were supposed to have surpassed human limits due to radiation exposure.

Yet, one of their kind had just had its head explode and died on the spot.

Seeing their fallen comrade, the remaining cockroaches were left in stunned silence.

“Hey.”

“?!?”

“Enough. Who’s next? Step up.”