The Eodeokshini, Homebody, Hikikomori, and Reclusive Loner
“Ah, Manager!”
“I’m glad to see you. It’s been over a week, so it’s been quite a long time, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah…!”
Suddenly Batori sent me a text asking to meet, and after finishing the paperwork related to Saran, I told the Team Leader I’d be going on a business trip and came here to see her.
The place was the quiet cafe we’d met at last time.
Once again I ordered the same menu and sat across from her.
“Your face looks much brighter than last time. It’s really nice to see. Did something good happen?”
“Ah! T-that’s… I rose from 999th to 444th this time…!”
“…Really?”
“Yes!”
I was a little startled by Batori’s extremely bright smile.
Of course, her rank had jumped so dramatically.
Even I, who’d met quite a few heroes, couldn’t help but be surprised that she’d reached 555th.
I’d heard Batori had been working hard on her hero activities lately.
Whenever she got bored in chats, she’d send me texts bragging about how she’d swept through convenience stores, PC bangs, and caught some criminal somewhere, asking for unlimited praise.
So I figured she was doing well.
But in just over a week…
Just from the hypnosis I’d given her when we first met, adding a bit of self-confidence, she’d jumped over 500 ranks.
“That’s amazing.”
“R-really…?”
“Yes, it’s really amazing. Honestly, I was surprised too. Even if you received a little treatment, reaching the 400th range in E-class is something worth celebrating.”
“Hehe… hehe… H-hi…!”
I was genuinely surprised and genuinely praising her.
Although nearly all E-class heroes near the bottom, including those around 1500th, were still in the E-class, and the 400th range in E-class could be considered socially unremarkable.
Still, it was hard to deny her efforts.
Generally, it wasn’t common for an E-class hero at the very bottom to leap to the top ranks or for a newly debuted hero to climb ranks in an instant.
And as one of the Association’s staff, I was especially aware of how rare that was.
At this pace… I thought she might become a D-class hero within a month.
“How did you manage that? You only sent me a few texts about clearing criminals, right? Just one a day or so?”
In reality, Batori had sent me multiple messages every day.
During that process, she’d send photos of herself knocking out criminals one by one, tying them up, or subduing them.
She sent them almost every day, and that was why her enormous rank jump felt even more unbelievable to me.
How could catching one criminal a day turn 999th into 444th?
Unless those criminals weren’t actually dangerous, and unless she’d solved neighborhood-level incidents in advance, how was that even possible?
“Ah, t-that’s….”
At my question, Batori started looking extremely nervous.
I thought I’d given her quite a bit of confidence through hypnosis, but seeing her still act like this made me wonder if it was just her natural personality.
I didn’t know.
Still, since Batori’s situation was so surprising, I wasn’t too worried about it.
“Actually, the ones I sent you were only a few. In truth, I catch about four low-level criminals on the streets every day…”
“…Four a day?”
“Y-yes… hehe… t-that’s… I tried to only do one a day, but it turned out to be much… easier…? Much easier than before! So I just… did it…”
“Did it?”
“…It was too bloody to send you photos of the ones I subdued, so…”
“……”
“So I only sent photos of the ones that came out nicely…”
Um.
If she’d solved four incidents a day and done it every day for over a week…
Even simple calculation showed thirty criminal subduings.
And if she’d overwhelmed them so thoroughly that high evaluations were inevitable…
“…That makes sense.”
“Ehehe…”
Um.
The conclusion was clear.
She was still only E-class, not even D or C.
It was a surprisingly good result, but also a natural one.
“Congratulations. I really have to say that.”
“It’s all thanks to Manager! Ever since Manager helped me last time, I’ve felt so much lighter… People are okay looking at me even if there are three or four of them…”
“……Huh?”
Wait, hold on.
Three or four?
That’s barely even five people, and she’s bragging that it’s finally okay…?
“W-well, originally even two would make my hands shake…! Now I can even calculate at the convenience store normally… He… hehe…”
“……”
My head started throbbing suddenly.
No matter how introverted, difficult to interact with, and low on self-confidence someone was…
She’d still received that hypnosis.
The kind that pumped up her self-confidence a lot…?
Then how… was it only that much…?
As I watched the pure Eodeokshini girl sitting in front of me, I felt both pity and a sudden chill.
How much…?
“Haa…”
“W-why are you sighing…? Maybe you’re feeling sick somewhere, or…”
“…It’s nothing.”
Probably…
“Anyway, I’m sincerely congratulating you on 444th. I’ll do my best to support Batori as your Manager from now on too.”
“Ah, t-thank you…! Please take care, e-ex…”
“……”
She really seemed like she’d need continuous Manager support, like Saran.
When I first heard she’d reached 444th, I thought it was fine to stop being her Manager, but looking at her now… I didn’t think I could stop.
“Batori, is it okay if I touch your horns?”
“Huh? E-ehm? Since it’s Manager…! Hehe…”
“……”
Actually, the stories I needed to share with her were all finished, and I’d said everything I wanted to, so I was about to get up and head back to the office.
But I decided to spend more time with Batori just because I felt like it.
After all, there was nothing waiting for me back at the office.
Wasn’t this a rare chance to touch the goblin horns and pass the time?
I didn’t want to miss that chance and go back to the office to joke around with the Team Leader who was so down-to-earth.
“Batori, but….”
“Yes?”
“……Hmm. It’s nothing.”
We left the cafe and were walking down the street with Batori beside me.
Something… somewhere… just a tiny bit…?
“……”
Why did she seem taller than last time?
Of course, she was still much smaller than me, so it wasn’t a big deal, but it was strangely both odd and impressive that she seemed just a tiny bit taller.
Well, she was a twenty-year-old girl who was a year younger than me.
Her growth plates might have just opened a little, so she’d grown a bit.
I wasn’t too worried about it.
After all, she was still smaller than me!
“Fufu…”
“Why are you like that…?”
“Just because? Walking with Batori like this makes me feel really good.”
“R-really…? I, I like it too…”
There weren’t many adults shorter than me.
Especially by the time they were middle school third-years, girls had already finished growing.
Walking with Batori, who was genuinely shorter than me by almost ten centimeters, made me feel good!
I was tall.
Even if it was just average, there were people below average!
I felt a faint sense of superiority and joy without realizing it, and I wanted to relive my life at 180 centimeters all over again.
But that feeling faded like a dream in the middle of summer night.
“U-uuu…”
“…Why are you like that?”
“…There are too many people…”
“……”
…I had to comfort Batori when she triggered some kind of social anxiety the moment we entered a street with quite a few people.
She’d said she could only handle a few glances earlier.
It was true…?
“Shall we just go somewhere quiet?”
“Yes…”
“What do you like, Batori? Games? Reading? Or singing? Just tell me comfortably.”
…Originally I’d planned to keep walking around outside.
I’d thought about strolling down the street.
But since Batori was trembling beside me just from walking a street full of people, I couldn’t ignore it…
“Usually I just stay at home…”
“Ahaha…”
…She really was a homebody, hikikomori, reclusive loner.
It felt familiar, but since I was the type who genuinely feared being around people, I couldn’t force her.
After all, she’d started working hard as a hero despite that, so there was something to praise.
With Saran, it was just that she didn’t go outside.
With Batori, she couldn’t go outside.
I gently stroked Batori’s back to calm her, and in that process, I thought it would be nice to find a place where I could relax and pass the time without having to face people.
I could spend time comfortably and enjoyably… while also not having to deal with people…
PC bangs seemed too noisy, and karaoke… I didn’t think Batori had the self-confidence to sing herself…
Just like Saran at home every day, watching videos or cartoons on TV or her phone…
“…Ah. How about we go to a comic cafe?”
A perfect judgment that popped into my mind in an instant.
It was a choice so great that even the trembling Eodeokshini had her mouth slightly open in anticipation.
I felt like I was so amazing that she might cry.
Of course, it might have been because tears were about to come out for another reason…?