episode_0009

Identity of the Hero

(clatter, clatter)

Waiters pushed carts into the bank with food.

“Um, thank you. This is a tip.”

Arthur handed a wad of bills to the waiters who brought the food.

“…Don’t feel burdened, just take it. Consider it a special bonus.”

Of course, it’s not my money. When else would I show off with money if not now?

[Arthur, third from the left and last]

“Here, take it.”

Arthur handed a tip to the waiter who was third from the left, listening with small earphones.

“Thank-”

(thud!!)

At the moment the waiter, or rather the policeman disguised as a waiter, tried to grab the tip, a robber behind him shot him in the head.

(thud!!)

Simultaneously, the undercover policeman at the end also collapsed due to the surprise attack.

“Is this it?”

(click)

Arthur looked at the waiter buttons and tore one off.

(whoosh)

When he tore off the button, wires and circuit boards were pulled out.

(swish)

Arthur checked the camera and threw it to the robber.

“Hello, police officers? Villain Mad Hatter here.”

Then he made a stage greeting towards the camera.

“The party is not over yet.”

(ring ring!)

As soon as Arthur finished his greeting, the phone rang frighteningly.

“Sir, we’ve received Mad Hatter.”

[They are both civilians. Don’t think about threatening them.]

“Andrea Officer, Hoshimon Sergeant, do we really need to call their badge numbers?”

Arthur mentioned the names of the undercover policemen in a situation where there was no evidence of the police.

[……]

“Well, now we have two more hostages, including two police officers. What should we eat for dinner?”

[Tell us your demands, getaway vehicle? Helicopter?]

“Oh, I don’t want such useless things. Let’s see… Ah, I’ve always envied magicians. Bring me a magic book.”

[Lets make reasonable demands.]

I said that, but it was truly an unreasonable demand. Although it’s a world where the reality of magic has been proven, the number of magicians is significantly low. Therefore, both magicians and magic books are precious resources entirely managed by the state.

“Or maybe you can switch to the hero next to you on the phone.”

[…]

(thump)

[Yes, sir.]

“Ah, Miss Snow Flower, have you had lunch? We have a sumptuous feast here.”

“Alright, what’s your purpose this time?”

“Well, have my villain registration finished?”

“Yes, the final registration process should be finishing up by now.”

“How’s life as an A-rank hero?”

“…?”

“I’m curious. Do you normally walk around in a costume or a suit?”

“Normally, I dress like everyone else. I live like everyone else.”

“Well, if your identity as a hero were revealed, it wouldn’t be good for the people around you in many ways.”

The biggest reason for hiding a hero’s identity is that it could cause harm to the people around them. There are plenty of instances where revealing a hero’s identity leads to their family or friends being threatened or killed.

Like the most famous case, Spider-Man.

“Here’s the deal. Right now, reveal Snow Flower Seed’s true identity on social media within an hour.”

“What?”

“I’ll give you one hour. If the post doesn’t go up within an hour, the hostage will die.”

*Click*

“Hmm hmm~~~♪”

After Hector hung up the phone, he walked back to the table where the hostage was sitting.

“…What’s your purpose?”

Looking at Arthur, the youngest daughter of the president of the Union Bank, Vivian Choi asked.

“Ah, finally building rapport, huh? Asking me a question first. What was the question again?”

“What’s your purpose?”

“Purpose is important, you know.”

Arthur nodded at Vivian Choi’s words and said, “Money doesn’t seem to be the purpose, but then… Not crazy villainy either?”

“…Yes.”

“Well, if I were crazy, half of the hostages here would be dead by now.”

“Gasp!!”

“Oh, I don’t mean that. I’m a very rational person.”

“No, I didn’t mean that, everyone calm down.”

Arthur said, looking at the frightened hostages, adjusting his hat.

“So, what was the question again? Oh, right, what’s the purpose? It’s a very fundamental desire.”

“…”

“It’s fun, isn’t it?”

“……”

“Right now, you’re thinking, ‘I was wrong, the guy’s insane.’”

“…”

“The silence feels like a positive affirmation. It hurts my heart. Just kidding. But if you hear my purpose, you might really be shocked into silence.”

“Then I won’t listen.”

“Wise choice.”

Meanwhile, in the situation room…

“I’ll upload it.”

“Snow Flower, first calm down. You’re an A-class hero now. How many villains are you dealing with? It’s obvious what they’ll do if they find out who you are.”

“There’s no other way.”

“But there are police. That guy, Mad Hatter, isn’t a villain yet. So the police should handle it first. You don’t need to reveal your identity.”

“That’s not a villain? Among the villains I’ve met, he seems the most like one.”

And Snow Flower, who seemed the most out of her mind, didn’t bother to say those words out loud.

“You know. Those kinds of villains are the most dangerous.”

“Then let’s do this. Get ready to upload, but let’s give the police 1 hour to solve it, okay?”

“…Okay.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve already planned the infiltration, and the special forces are currently entering.”

The detective who approached Snow Flower spoke to the middle-aged man appearing on the screen.

“Yes, please.”

*Beep*

The screen turned off, and other screens appeared.

“Then let the infiltration operation begin.”

“Start.”

…

…

…

*Clank!*

In the dark underground of the bank, special forces cautiously entered the dark basement.

“We’ve entered.”

“Install the sleep gas.”

“Understood.”

A colorless, odorless, and tasteless modern sleep gas, even enhanced individuals would collapse within minutes, while ordinary people without abilities would faint in just a few seconds. Because it causes no harm to the body, the police frequently use it in cases involving powered criminals.

“Begin installation.”

“Got it-”

*Pfft!*

“…”

*Thud*

“!”

*Pshoo! Pshoo! Pshoo! Pshoo! Pshoo!*

As if struck by something, one member collapsed, followed by the others falling like dominoes.

“What…what’s happening…”

*Pshoo!*

“Ugh!”

One member felt a stinging sensation as a hand reached for his throat, realizing he could barely touch the saliva.

“Urgh”

*Thud*

“He’s stronger than I thought.”

When they turned their heads towards the voice, the dusty wall suddenly moved, and a person sprang out, a mesmerizing disguise that seemed as if the space had been edited like a photo.

*Pshoo!*

Wearing night vision goggles, a headhunter approached a struggling special forces member and shot him.

“Can I shoot this twice?”

It’s an anesthetic gun that knocks you out as soon as it hits, but I’m not sure if it’s okay to shoot a person twice.

“Ah… no, Mad Hatter?”

[Yes, subordinate 1]

“All the special forces members have gone to Dreamland.”

“Yes, thank you.”

(Whoosh)

Arthur on the ground listened to the headhunter’s words over the radio and picked up the phone.

“Oh, um. This is the police station. Right now, there are a bunch of adults who have fallen into Dreamland underground. We hope the guardians will come and take them away quickly.”

[………]

“Oh, I think you might misunderstand, but they really went to Dreamland. I didn’t mean they died and came back.”

[……]

“5 minutes left.”

.

.

.

.

“I’ll upload it.”

[No, don’t.]

“The hostages are in danger right now.”

[The identity of a hero is not revealed for personal reasons. Furthermore, any voluntary disclosure is decided after consultation with the management office. Do you know why this clause exists? It’s because of those who try to find out the hero’s identity using hostages as bait or through threats. If a precedent is set, there will be more cases following it.]

“…”

[Whether you’re okay with it or not may not be a problem, but then it shouldn’t be done.]

“…”

[Snow Flower, or rather, Seolha, this one choice can make your life unhappy.]

“Okay, I understand.”

[Thank you, but can you put down the phone first and talk?]

Looking at the phone in her hand, Snow Flower, real name Seolha, the man said.

“…”

[Understood, calm down.]

“…”

“Oh? I know those eyes. They’re the eyes when you’ve made up your mind, calm down.]

“I’m sorry.”

[Seolha!!-]

(Beep)

Snow Flower, Seolha, turned off the screen.

“…”

(Tap, tap, tap)

And she wrote about her identity and things that proved it on her phone.

“……”

At the last posting button, Seolha hesitated.

“…”

(Click!)

And after confirming that there was 1 minute left, she pressed the button.

(Snap!)

“Ms. Snow Flower!”

A detective rushed into the situation room. In his hand, it seemed he had just received a call from the man who had been talking to Snow Flower on the phone.

“…the post won’t go up.”

Snow Flower, looking flustered, said while holding a phone with an [ERROR] displayed.

(Drip!!)

“…”

(Thud)

[This is quite impressive. To think you were considering revealing your true identity for real.]

“…”

[You shouldn’t reveal the hero’s identity. I’ve made it so that no posts will go up on social media for the last few minutes. Of course, I don’t know either.]

“Why…”

[Snow Flower, you are a just person, aren’t you?]

“Detective! There’s a hostage at the main entrance right now!”

“What?!”

(Swoosh!!)

Holding phones, including the police, Snow Flower rushed forward.

In front of the bank, beyond the windows, there was a robber and a hostage with their hands raised.

“They’re coming out!”

(Creak)

Another robber opened the door, and the hostage appeared. Just one step, just one step outside, and they would be out of the bank.

[Still, a promise is a promise, so someone has to die, right?]

“P-please, spare me!”

As soon as the open door and the police came into view, the hostage pushed the robber aside and ran towards them.

(Rat-a-tat-tat!!)

Then the robbers started shooting at the fleeing hostage.

(Thud!)

The hostage, riddled with dozens of holes, fell to the ground.

“!!”

(Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!)

After the falling of the hostage, smoke grenades shattered the bank’s windows and fell among the police surrounding the bank.

(Cough! Cough!)

The smoke grenades obstructed the police’s vision, and the smoke from the tear gas mixed in between the smoke grenades prevented the police who hadn’t inhaled the tear gas from seeing clearly.

(Swoosh!!)

“The robbers are coming out!!”

Amidst the confusion caused by the smoke and tear gas, men in suits and masks, the robbers, dashed out of the bank entrances.

“W-wait!!”

As the police aimed their guns at them, the robbers removed their masks.

“We’re the hostages!”

“Hold your fire! There are hostages among the robbers!”

(Rat-a-tat-tat!!)

Confirming the presence of hostages, the police refrained from shooting, causing the robbers or those dressed as robbers to scatter.

“Why are the hostages running away? Can’t we just shoot them? Ugh, cough! Cough!!”

“Just wait.”

(Swish)

The detective looked inside a bag held by one of the hostages.

“…Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot if you’re not carrying a weapon! The bag doesn’t contain explosives or weapons!”

Inside the bag were bundles of banknotes.

(Ahhhh!!)

Amidst the chaos, cutting through the smoke, Hero Snow Flower soared into the sky.

“…”

And looking down below, surveyed the situation.

“Over there!”

On one side of the bank, police officers from both his own team and the headquarters were all collapsed in the opposite direction of the siege line, and the robbers were rushing towards that area.

(Ahhh!)

Hero Snow Flower, having located the position of the robbers, flew towards them.

“Hey! I’ve noticed!”

The headhunter, having confirmed Hero Snow Flower flying towards them, said to Arthur.

“Shall we start Part 2 then?!”

(Tadadadada!!)

The running robbers, upon hearing Arthur’s words, stopped and shot at Hero Snow Flower.