63
Ch.63 Embarrassing
Not long ago, after scolding a strange woman who seemed to be an S-rank hero, I found myself lost in thoughts I couldn’t resolve alone.
What exactly is a hero?
If someone kills a few humans but saves many more, does that make them a hero?
Starlight doesn’t seem to think so.
Objectively speaking, from the perspective of a hero who must hunt me down, her judgment is correct.
But Starlight would never do such a thing.
Because she’s a hero who protects humans, she doesn’t harm them.
So why did Starlight stop me from killing that woman, not once, but twice, even though she is a hero who used her powers on civilians and even tried to kill them?
She throws punches at me at the slightest suspicion, yet insists that the electric girl must not be killed.
Probably because, unlike me, she’s human.
Judging who is unworthy of being human is solely my standard—humanity’s standards must be different.
A hero is a superpower human who protects humans and kills monsters.
Even bad humans are still humans; no matter their crimes, they are protected.
They are punished by human laws, not by the heroes themselves.
Starlight did what she had to do.
She saves people without distinguishing between those worth saving and those who aren’t.
Because that’s what a hero is supposed to be.
Her circumstances are different from mine, a monster.
"Krrr…"
"H-Hiiik… L-Liar… They said the Black Cat doesn’t hurt people…"
Munch, munch. In the darkness, I chewed on a human arm and stared silently at the sniveling man.
A villain—a human who isn’t human.
No matter how many I eat, they keep appearing somewhere. So whenever I see one, I deal with them appropriately.
Today’s villain was a man who, while I was busy subduing a Crush-class monster, tried to kidnap a child who had lost their mother in the evacuation chaos.
Given how smoothly he moved, this guy—who had the ability to turn invisible, wasn’t new to this kind of crime.
How much of this child kidnapper should I eat?
I’ve already eaten an arm—should I eat a leg too?
No… maybe it’s better to just kill him.
"The Black Cat is scaaary…"
Oooong. As my killing intent spread, the child clinging tightly to my foreleg emitted a sweet scent of terror.
Suppressing my bloodlust, I lifted the child with telekinesis and placed them on my back.
"The Black Cat is nice!"
Despite crying just moments ago, the child now seemed excited, gripping my fur tightly.
Using my Medusa’s Eyes—an ability that immobilizes those I stare at—to prevent the villain from escaping, I gradually withdrew my power as I sensed heroes approaching.
Across the street, two heroes who had dismounted from their motorcycles rushed over urgently.
"Black Cat spotted. Crush-class monsters—all subdued."
"The kid… Uh, seems to be playing with it? And someone is caught there?"
"Wait, isn’t this guy a villain? I remember seeing him on a wanted poster."
"Damn it!"
"Restrain him!"
When I handed the villain over, the two heroes fully subdued him.
One pulled out a syringe gun from their pocket, and the villain collapsed limply after being injected with a powerful sedative.
"This bastard… He’s a child kidnapper."
"What? This is that guy? Finally caught the damn scum…"
With the villain dealt with, I prepared to hand the child over. Lifting them with telekinesis, the kid—still gripping my fur tightly—ended up doing a handstand.
"Ahahaha!"
"Oong."
"Whoa, that’s dangerous!"
Come and take them. I signaled with a low growl, and the heroes approached to take the child.
Well, my business here is done… Just as I was about to disappear, one of the heroes suddenly called out to me.
"H-Hey! You gotta… You gotta do the thing!"
"Ah…! Thank you, Black Cat. Thanks to you, we saved the kid and took down the monsters…"
"Idiot, you’re supposed to say, ‘Thanks for killing the monsters, you’re so cool and cute!’"
What kind of nonsense is this…? A sudden thank-you?
I mean, I appreciate it, but is it really okay to thank a monster for help? This reaction is different from the usual awkwardness.
As I bristled at the unfamiliar response, one of the heroes pulled out meat from a bag on their back.
"Hurry, take it out! We gotta give it before it runs away."
"Owao?"
What? They’re giving me meat?
Given the dynamic between monsters and heroes, it’s rare for heroes to offer me meat.
About to leave, I paused and accepted the meat, eating it.
"Waoong…!"
Sluurp. The tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture—this is high-quality beef.
Chomp, chomp. After finishing the meat, I licked my lips clean.
"Uh… Does it want more?"
"Sorry, that’s all we have."
"Waong."
Pleased, I sank into the shadows.
Mmm, that was delicious… Such tasty beef today—I must be lucky.
***
And the next day.
While lying on the grass in a park, cleaning up a swarm of Terror-class monsters emerging underground, heroes came running toward me.
"I-It’s really the Black Cat! The alert didn’t go off?"
"Maybe it’s just napping, so the alarm didn’t trigger? Where’s the meat?"
"I didn’t bring any…!"
"Ugh, seriously! You’re hopeless—you were supposed to bring it!"
"No, we only bring meat when there’s a Black Cat alert! How am I supposed to carry it around all the time?"
"Just give it this for now."
The C and D-rank heroes offered me sausages while I focused on manipulating space to deal with the monsters.
I snatched the sausage waved in front of me and continued lying there as the heroes rushed off somewhere.
"Hey, hurry to the mart and buy some meat! The seniors will cover the cost anyway."
"Black Cat, wait right here!"
"Huaaam…"
Yawning, I refocused on the underground, tearing apart the Terror-class monsters one by one.
It was like a giant ant nest—monster ants the size of human legs were trapped, unable to escape, and slowly dying.
Now, what ability should I use next? Fire, ice, lightning…
Hmm… This is fun.
After killing all the ants, a Death Worm approached to swallow their tiny cores.
Perfect timing… I was getting tired of collecting each core with spatial manipulation.
Leaving it be for now, people relaxing in the park started approaching me.
"See? I told you the Black Cat was here!"
"Wow, it really is!"
"They say the Black Cat naps here during the day!"
"Whoa! It’s the Black Cat!"
"Got any food? I heard if you feed it, you can pet it."
"Careful, or it’ll slice your wrist off if you touch it randomly."
The civilians tried to share food with me.
Having used a lot of energy, I was hungry, so I gladly accepted whatever they offered.
"Hey, I was feeding it first—wait your turn."
"The Black Cat’s stomach isn’t a trash can—stop throwing random stuff at it."
"At least stick to proper food!"
At first, everyone gave similar food or things that tasted good even when mixed.
But as more people gathered, the food became increasingly chaotic.
"What, do monsters even care what they eat?"
"Now we don’t just rely on them to kill monsters—they even take care of food waste. The Black Cat’s the best."
Adults brought lunchboxes and dumped leftovers straight into my open mouth.
Mmm… Sweet, sour, spicy, salty—an indescribable flavor.
Even for me, this is too much.
Spotting someone who even threw in paper foil, calling it food waste, I walked over and spat the mess onto their head.
"Eeek! Y-You little—!"
"Kyaaak!"
Splat. Covered in garbage, the man tried to punch my nose, but I lifted him with telekinesis and shook him up and down.
Along with the filthy sludge, the wig hiding his baldness plopped off.
Then, heroes carrying armfuls of meat came running.
"Huh? This isn’t allowed—the meeting said to stop stuff like this."
"What’s going on? Why’s the Black Cat holding that guy up? Hey, what did you do to it?"
"I’ll handle this guy—you just feed it."
"Alright, alright! No approaching—no feeding the Black Cat!"
"Huh? Then what’s with that meat? Aren’t you gonna give it to it?"
"Civilians aren’t allowed to feed the Black Cat."
"Since when? Heroes get special treatment?"
Amidst the complaints, the heroes gave me the meat.
Mmm, delicious pork and beef… No specific cuts, just randomly thrown at me.
It’d be better grilled, but since it’s not Starlight, that’s probably impossible.
Heroes don’t carry around portable grills.
"I wanna feed the Black Cat too! Black Cat!"
"Here, my candy!"
"No! I said no—ah!"
"Oong."
After filling my stomach, I even accepted candy from kids as dessert.
Thinking today was another lucky day, I left.
***
And the next day.
After working all night cleaning the underground and finishing off the evolved Death Worm, I perched on a rooftop with the core of a Disaster-class monster in my mouth.
Chewing the core lazily, I yawned—only for another hero to show up.
With meat in hand.
"So… Black Cat, you’re really cool… And thanks. For protecting W-City."
"Krrr…"
"Ugh, what am I even doing… Praising a monster? What’s the point if it doesn’t even understand?"
Baring my fangs at the A-rank hero floating in the sky—an aerokinetic superpower—the man sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Just eat the meat… I don’t even know why I’m feeding you…"
"Urrr…"
"You really do eat it quietly. You’re such a weird monster."
Oong, krrr. I made a noise mixing wariness and gratitude, eating the meat while perking my ears.
I ate it, but… Something feels off.
Even I can tell this isn’t just luck anymore.
Sure, there were heroes other than Starlight who secretly gave me meat, but never to this extent.
Did some trend start among heroes about feeding me?
"Yeah, eat it where the camera can see. I need to film this."
Film? Why film me eating meat?
A strange discomfort and wariness rose in me, and I sank into the shadows to avoid the camera.
I mean, I’m happy to fill my stomach, but everyone suddenly feeding me is unsettling.
Did they poison it? Doesn’t taste like it.
…Weird.
***
"B-Black Cat!"
And then, the next day.
As I was eating Crush-class monsters, Starlight appeared before me.
With meat in hand… Starlight has thrown meat at me before.
So it’s not strange, but… Why? It smells different today.
Her anxiety and urgency are palpable, making her unpredictable.
Is something going on among the heroes? Why is everyone acting weird all of a sudden?
"Wait, I need to talk…!"
Though suspicious, I backed away as Starlight approached.
Starlight has attacked me twice already.
I don’t resent her for it—heroes hunt monsters, after all—but her abilities hurt.
Not wanting to be attacked again, I warily sank into the shadows.
"Ah…!"
***
After fleeing from Starlight, a while later…
While playing with small fish in a deserted riverside clearing, testing different ability combinations, another hero appeared.
"Oh? It really is the Black Cat. From the bushes, I thought it was just illegal dumping."
"See? I told you it was the Black Cat! Who’d dump something this big here?"
"Well, should we give it some meat?"
"Waong?"
The heroes pulled sausages and meat from their bags and offered them to me.
More meat? Wary at first, I checked for poison before eating.
"Wow, this feels so surreal. It’s really eating it."
"I’ve always wanted to feed the Black Cat too."
"Didn’t your senior say his little sister survived because of the Black Cat?"
"Yeah, thank you, Black Cat. Never thought I’d live to see the day I’d say this…"
"Ooong…?"
A thank-you…?
From a hero… To a monster?
They never did this before.
Finishing the sausages, I licked my lips, feeling strange, when one of the heroes carefully patted my head.
"Ooh, wow, so soft."
"Want me to take a photo?"
"Ah, yeah, please. We need one for the report anyway."
The hero, hugging my head, grinned widely.
Confused, I let another hero take a picture with their phone.
A report photo? What’s that about?
What’s with these guys? Why are they acting like this?