episode_0078
by fnovelpia“I can finally put an end to this tiresome fight with the villain!”
The one with the big arms crossed and the bold words is the 8th ranked hero.
It was the big-armed hero, Gangwan’s Brachyum.
“Oh my gosh. Woohoo.”
The woman covering her mouth and smiling softly is in 4th place.
Snowstorm Hero, Extreme Glacia.
“A nullified hero. You’ve found a great talent, Mr. Draconius?”
And this jangling voice is in 6th place.
Rocket Hero, the super-speed Rackete.
There were five heroes around me, sitting there, all tense and nervous.
Even though they are unofficial, they are all top rankers.
It was a gathering of the strongest and most famous heroes in the land of the present Republic of Korea.
“Hahaha. Don’t be so nervous. Handler.”
Bang bang bang.
Ranked 5th.
The large palm of the dragon Draconius patted my back.
I feel sick right now, so I wish you wouldn’t beat me up like that…
“I made another great connection without knowing it… … .”
And there was a woman across from me with a dumbfounded expression on her face.
It was Shi-Eun, the Blaze of the Island Flower who had previously captured SS-class villains and risen to 9th place in the rankings.
This is a hero gathering hosted by the kind-hearted Draconius.
I was invited, even though I didn’t deserve such a prestigious position.
How did this happen? I had to turn the clock back about a week.
* * *
After dinner at the hot springs.
Team leader Jang Se-hee, Ruina, and I were putting our heads together.
Of course, we’re not physically meeting heads.
We were just sitting with each other at the table in the middle.
If I really butt heads with a woman other than her, Ruina won’t stay still.
“Meeting. Should I go?”
“I absolutely hate it.”
“I think I should ask Senior Lee Tae-seok… … .”
A sigh escaped all three of us simultaneously.
Draconius invited me to their gathering.
It’s a gathering where only the top heroes gather, and just hearing about it makes hero otakus’ hearts race.
But that was only when I heard it as a fan.
I was invited as a hero handler, so I was at a loss in many ways.
Of course, if I consider my vision as a true hero, this opportunity would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, like giving wings to a tiger.
Unfortunately, my hero license was just a fake identity I created to control Ruina.
Since I knew my abilities well from the beginning, I knew a long time ago that I couldn’t function properly as a hero.
“Why don’t you just not go? You can just ignore that.”
Ruina clung to my arm and came up with a very simple solution.
“Um… … .”
But it wasn’t enough that the top-tier hero had taken care of this and that, he had desperately wished for it to come.
Even if he was a hero in name only, it wasn’t easy to just throw him away.
Team Leader Jang Se-hee, who was there from the beginning, just stood there dumbfounded and watched the promise between me and Draconius.
“Yeah, I’ll ask my senior… … .”
I looked at Team Leader Jang Se-hee silently, and as if she had been stabbed for no reason, she picked up a familiar walkie-talkie.
Finally, she turned away and muttered softly into the radio.
[Haaah… … Team Leader Jang Se-hee… … .]
Immediately after that, what was heard through the radio receiver was, as expected, a heavy sigh.
Even a person like a stone Buddha would tremble at the poor workmanship of his successor.
[Prepare to immediately support the handler.]
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
However, at the command from Supervisor Lee Tae-seok that was immediately heard, both I and Team Leader Jang Se-hee let out dumbfounded voices at the same time.
“No, no. Are you telling me to join the heroes’ meeting now?”
[Please listen to me first, Handler.]
As I started to speak flustered, Supervisor Lee Tae-seok’s voice returned calmly as if trying to calm me down.
[Even for our strategic crisis response team, it is difficult to sneak in among the top heroes. It doesn’t make for a good picture.]
“If you really want to get involved, why don’t you just ask the person in 3rd place?”
Naturally, a legal loli with a calm expression appeared in my head.
But Team Leader Lee Tae-seok seemed to have known that I would say that, and immediately started refuting my claims.
[That’s exactly the plausible picture. Wouldn’t it be strange if Ex-Machina, who never shows up even to his long-time colleagues, suddenly joins the gathering?]
“Ugh… … .”
Now that I think about it, it seems like that might be the case… … .
[This is a good opportunity, Handler. Just like the last committee incident, this is a great opportunity to figure out if the heroes are up to something sinister.]
“Well, even if you say so… … .”
Team leader Jang Se-hee, who had a very worried expression on her face, just like me.
And then I looked at Ruina, who was looking up at me intently.
[Please think of it as the Handler’s efforts to ensure that Ruina and I get along without any problems.]
Here you are going to trip up Ruina… … .
“… … … … Okay, okay.”
I ended up accepting Inspector Lee Tae-seok’s request.
Yeah, yeah. Rather than getting hit with an unexpected blow like last time, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to just push ahead and check if there are any problems.
If you do anything, the hidden black suits will help you out in some way.
“Are you really going? To that kids’ gathering?”
Ruina asked, grabbing my arm even tighter.
By the way, those guys are talking to heroes.
Maybe it’s because you’ve suffered so much, but you’re being hostile from the very beginning.
“It’ll be okay. This time, we won’t be going in with a hostile stance.”
I reassured her by stroking her head.
“If I really do something wrong… … .”
For a moment, a cold aura swept over Ruina, who had been giving off a sentimental vibe.
“I’ll destroy all heroes and everything.”
[We promise to provide the best support and safety guarantee to prevent that from happening. Ruina.]
Of course, both I and Supervisor Lee Tae-seok know that what she said is 100% sincere.
That’s probably why Inspector Lee Tae-seok’s boast came back to haunt him.
Will I be able to survive the next week without being crushed by the power of the heroes?
* * *
I spent a week thinking like that.
All such thoughts were useless, because right now, the tension in my whole body was making my mouth smell sweet.
It’s a little better because there are some familiar faces, Sieun and Draconius.
Other people are ranked 4th, 6th, and 8th.
There are as many as 4 people I could only see through the screen.
I couldn’t help but be nervous.
“Here’s the water.”
“, thank you… … .”
Si-eun handed me a cup filled with cold water.
I quickly put it in my mouth.
“Mr. Draconius asked me to come because he met a great hero, but I didn’t think it would be you, Seonghoon… … .”
“Ahahaha… … .”
As I was talking to Si-eun, I felt like my tension was slowly easing because of the naturalness.
“Handler. Did you know Blaze?”
“Yes, yes, what.”
“He and I were in the same year at the Hero Academy.”
“Oh… … . As expected, it was an unusual relationship.”
Draconius clapped his hands and showed a satisfied expression.
We just happened to meet by chance at a rest stop without really thinking about it.
I didn’t know it would turn out like this.
It really is an unusual relationship.
By the way… … .
The moment a thought occurred to me.
Again, a sense of unnecessary tension began to creep into every part of my body.
I was worried about the discrepancies in my information now.
“By the way, when did you get your hero license? You must have had a lot of time while working as a civil servant?”
As I said, Si-eun only knew me as a civil servant.
“Is that so? This is the first time I’ve heard that you’re a civil servant.”
On the contrary, Draconius knew me as a hero handler.
As expected, it was as expected.
The information that was already known to others about me was starting to go wrong.
“What is that? I have a lot of things to do… … . Hahaha.”
I quickly covered it up with a laugh.
“By the way, how are you and Yuri?”
“By the way, your sidekick and girlfriend didn’t come with you.”
“Huh? Sidekick? Yuri?”
iced coffee…….
They say that after one crisis, there is another crisis… … .
“That, that’s because Yuri is also a strengthening ability user… … . I guess he ended up becoming my sidekick… … . And that friend has something personal to do today… … .”
I made excuses here and there and barely pieced together the disparate information.
Don’t listen to Inspector Lee Tae-seok and just stay home and play with Ruina…
Belated regret came crashing in like waves, but it was already spilt milk.
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