Mentoring
Saran and Batori's mentoring sessions seemed to be going even better than I'd expected.
At the end of the day, they were both heroes. Whatever differences they had in personality, whatever private struggles each of them carried, they shared the same profession. There were some differences in approach, of course... but Saran would pass along her own hard-won know-how, and Batori would nod along with fierce concentration, soaking up every word. It was a pretty nice thing to watch.
As for me, all I did was sit on the sidelines and cheer them on. I'd figured I wouldn't need to stick around after the first half, but both of them insisted so hard that having me there was definitely better... so I didn't really have a choice.
"You got this~"
While I was cheering, Batori — who stood just a tiny bit shorter than me — launched herself at the two mannequins stationed in front of her, driving a palm strike into one shoulder and slamming her opposite leg hard into the other's solar plexus. It wasn't just the technique. The whole sequence happened so fast I actually jumped a little.
No matter how I looked at it... even without growing taller than me the way she had last time, she was plenty strong. At this rate, she'd comfortably claim a spot in the upper ranks of E-Class heroes. And if she grew even taller than she had that time... she probably wouldn't have any real problems when it came to unarmed combat.
It wasn't a flashy style, but then again, this was fundamentally about fighting living things. Superior physical ability was always going to be effective, and Saran, watching Batori work, seemed to think it wasn't half bad either.
"How is she?"
"Not bad."
"I don't really know much about this kind of thing, but from your perspective, Saran... do you think she could make C-Class?"
I asked it casually. I'd met plenty of heroes, sure, but that was a different matter — I wasn't exactly in the personnel department that decided hero rankings. Saran wasn't on the official ranking charts either, but she'd seen her share of heroes. The question came from the thought that she'd have at least a better idea than I did of how far Batori could grow.
"Hmm... well, it's possible, I guess. But she needs more real combat experience first."
"Real combat? Like what?"
"I mean she needs to fight villains. Not just some random mugger."
"I figured as much."
"Unlike E-Class, once you hit the upper ranks of D-Class and C-Class, you're facing real villains. She needs to experience fighting other Awakened."
"Hmm..."
She was right. The people Batori had been dealing with so far were mostly ordinary petty criminals — just robbers hitting convenience stores or restaurants. It'd be better for her to start facing other Awakened like herself.
"Speaking of Awakened, I've been a little curious... what exactly are your abilities, Saran? I can see some of the snake features, but..."
"......"
"Ehehe, was that a bit too personal? I just have a huge interest in people like you, Saran."
A casual follow-up. Mutant Type Awakened tended to have pretty varied abilities, after all. Well, Awakened of every classification had wildly diverse powers, obviously... I just didn't have much interest in anyone who wasn't a Mutant Type or Transformation Type. What kind of abilities a snake Mutant Type like Saran actually had — I couldn't help being curious.
"...I'll tell you."
"Wait, really?"
"It's not like it's a secret. Hmm... you're staying in the training hall until we're done for the day, right?"
"That's the plan?"
Saran accepted my request far more readily than I'd expected, then asked that. Of course I had to stay in the training hall. They'd both asked me to stay and watch in the first place, so I didn't have much choice... I'd be spending the rest of the day here until it was time to clock out. Which meant I'd had to knock out pretty much all my work that morning, so things had gotten a little — okay, a lot — hectic. Still, sitting here watching them was actually pretty fun, and since I'd already finished everything, I had time to kill. It wasn't a real problem.
"Alright. I'll show you, then."
"Hehe, okay. So what can you do? I've never met a snake Mutant Type Awakened before, so I'm really curious. Better agility and flexibility are probably a given... but what else?"
"Stay still. It's not like it's dangerous... yeah, no."
"Huh?"
Dangerous?
Saran's words sent a little chill down my spine, but she wasn't a bad person, and she wasn't the type to do anything bad to me. So I just... stayed still, sitting properly. What was she actually planning to do? I watched her quietly and waited as she came closer.
And then.
"Hahp."
"Hagh!!?"
Saran suddenly bit my hand — lightly. I felt her fangs sink into my skin, very, very lightly, and then something flowed in, the way a syringe delivers its contents. Don't tell me what she'd mentioned was...
"Venom...?"
"It's not lethal. Just a tiny bit of paralysis. I even adjusted the amount and concentration so it'll wear off in five minutes."
"Eh, th-that's..."
I felt it the moment she finished speaking. Paralysis. The strength slowly drained from my body, then gave out completely, and I started collapsing to the floor. It wasn't like I'd lost all sensation. I just couldn't control my body properly, the way you can't when you're drunk.
"Eh..."
"How is it?"
"Uh, abubu......"
Saran had called it a very mild dose, but I could tell immediately — this was dangerous. I wasn't in any real danger right now, but if Saran's venom ever went into full serious mode, she could probably take someone out without much trouble. Granted, if she had to inject it through a bite like just now, it might be a little harder. From what she'd just said, though, I could infer that she could control the type and composition of the venom however she wanted. I was certain that just spraying it — without even needing to inject it — would be a lethal attack.
"How was it?"
"Uh, it's an incredibly... amazing ability...! You can actually use venom just like a real snake...? I had no idea."
Five minutes later, once the paralysis had completely worn off and I was back to normal, I was genuinely impressed. I mean, she was literally like a snake! Up until now, the only things that had made Saran feel snake-like were her appearance — her eyes, her tongue, that kind of thing. I'd had absolutely no idea she could use venom too, so I couldn't help finding it fascinating.
"Could you do it one more time?"
"...Huh?"
"A slightly different kind of venom would be nice too. Just once, maybe...?"
"...Want me to show you something else instead?"
Wait...
There's more!?
I couldn't help staring at her with my eyes wide. I'd already been blown away by the venom, and now there was something else...? Just how much more was she planning to surprise me, Saran?! I nodded like a madwoman at her offer.
"Hmm... ah. If you go outside the training hall right now, there should be two people in the hallway."
"...What?"
"Go check. Quickly."
"Uh... okay?"
I nodded at Saran's words and stepped out of the training hall for a moment. I opened the door, turned my head — and there they were. Two employees walking by with coffee. I immediately ran back to Saran and could only gaze at her in awe.
"How did you know?"
There was a fair bit of distance, and the training room was soundproofed against outside noise. So how on earth...? My heart was seriously racing from the shock, but I tried to switch over to rational thinking, worked through it... and the answer I came up with was...
"Heat sensing...?"
"Yeah."
"Woooow..."
That thing some snakes have — even that was part of her abilities. It was genuinely amazing. An ability so fascinating it reminded me all over again why I liked Mutant Type ability users so much. Enhanced physique, venom from her fangs, and heat sensing.
"That's increeeedible..."
"Cool?"
"So, so cool..."
I answered Saran's casual question with complete sincerity. Lately, being in charge of both Saran and Batori had left me short on time and running around like crazy, so I'd been getting a little worn out. Just getting to see Saran's abilities properly was enough to make my motivation grow right back.
"Saran, um... the venom, just one more time...?"
"...Don't say weird things."
"Aww."
I'd wanted to experience it one more time. A little disappointing.
"...Ms. Handler, how long are you going to, um, keep talking with Saran?"
"Ah."
At which point Batori, who'd been fighting the mannequins all by herself, brought us naturally back to focusing on the mentoring. Originally we'd just been having a light consultation about Batori's progress, like a visiting tutor going over a workbook. I wasn't sure how the conversation had gotten this far. But the mentoring project was still underway, so Saran and I both turned our attention back to Batori and spent the rest of the time focused on her...
"Haaah... today was so hard again..."
"But you looked so good giving it your all, you know? And everything you've been learning is actually useful when you fight, right?"
"Th-that's... true..."
"Hmm."
After the mentoring session ended, I clocked out, and we all ended up going to get a meal together. Saran and Batori had invited me to dinner before, since the mentoring always ran until quitting time... but I'd always had a little leftover work to finish. Which meant we'd never actually spent time together like this after a session. Today, though, I'd knocked out every last bit of work that morning, smoothly and completely, so here we were, heading out to eat.
Unlike our counseling sessions or the casual conversations we sometimes had, this was just a chance to wrap up the day cleanly. And, well, a chance for Saran and Batori to get a little closer too?
"Hmm..."
That said, taking the two heroes I was in charge of out to dinner like this. Could I put this on the company card?
I thought about it seriously.