Shall We Head to the Bedroom?
Because it was a luxurious house located in a high-rise building, Baek Eun-hwa's residence was quite impressive.
Various expressions came to mind—roughly "amazing," "lavish," "expensive"—a jumble of words that popped into my head.
Simply put, I could say it was extraordinary.
It wasn't because I had lived in a one-room apartment that I found it amazing.
Really, quite literally... it was an incredibly spacious house.
“Do you live alone?”
“Have you heard the rumor that A-class hero Baekyeou has a lover?”
“...Not exactly.”
Why would someone living alone need such a large house?
From what I could tell, it seemed to be around fifty pyeong.
Just by looking at the size of the living room after passing through the entrance and hallway, the scale of the house was already apparent.
What would it feel like to live alone in a house like this?
It would definitely be the opposite sensation from a one-room apartment, but I hadn't expected it at all.
“Car and coffee... Oh, there's juice too. What would you like to drink?”
“Um... Same as what Eun-hwa drinks.”
“...Really?”
“Yes, I don't want to bother the homeowner any more than necessary. Just treat me normally.”
“...Okay.”
We sat at the table and started talking slowly.
It was my first time visiting an A-class hero's residence, but... generally, no one visits heroes' homes, so I was a bit uneasy.
I had brought heroes to my own home a few times recently.
But this situation was completely new.
“...I was thinking of drinking cola.”
“...That doesn't suit you.”
“I know.”
Baek Eun-hwa offered me a cool glass of cola with a slightly embarrassed expression.
I was a bit surprised by her choice.
Coming to an A-class hero's house to talk, I hadn't expected cola to be served.
But looking at her expression and how the cola was in a pretty glass, it seemed she had genuinely wanted cola, and as a modern person who doesn't dislike carbonation, it made sense.
I just quietly accepted her hospitality.
“Honestly, I didn't think you'd go this far... I thought the story from that day wouldn't continue after that. I was going to casually mention it to the Association President...”
After drinking a glass of cola, I started talking.
Although I came for counseling, the atmosphere was awkward to jump straight to the main topic.
So, I started with small talk and gradually moved to the main subject.
“...It wasn't something that would happen immediately that day. To be precise, I had only lightly mentioned it to the Association President, as if passing by. She was quite proactive.”
“Aha...”
“I didn't expect you to come to the Association right away on the day I mentioned it.”
So that's how it was.
Probably, the sudden pull to the top floor that day was due to the Association President's overwhelming drive.
Of course, the immediate cause was the nine-tailed fox right in front of me.
Using the Team Leader's words, after presenting it, in just a few days, a position was created... It was just the Association President who was the problem.
Honestly, about half of it was... gambling.
No matter how much of an A-class hero and Association President, allowing a regular employee to come to the company all day without doing any work, only working from home and business trips, wouldn't be easily overlooked.
From the fact that she allowed that, and that I became the real special agent... it was a bit unbelievable.
“But why me, of all people?”
“What do you mean?”
“Ah, there are many people in the Hero Association's Welfare Bureau, right? Not just regular employees like me, but team leaders and quite a few others. Why did you go to the President to talk and proceed with the work?”
It was a surprisingly shocking decision.
At most, it was just listening to her complaints over drinks the day before, eating beer, skewers, and other snacks.
Actually, I was just quietly enjoying drinks while using Baek Eun-hwa's beauty as the snack.
I hadn't expected her to decide on me as the special agent.
I was worried, but I really didn't think it would happen.
Originally, there were other people who knew about the hero society structure besides me, so why choose me, who has a lot of work, and offer me the special agent position?
It was a quite astonishing decision.
“Well, it's because I need to keep things secret. If I choose someone else, more people will know about my problems and worries.”
“Aha.”
“And besides... I thought you were quite a good person as the special agent.”
“Oh?”
“I just didn't feel the need to choose someone else.”
“Oh ho...”
I hadn't expected such sudden praise.
It was quite a pleasant compliment.
Especially since it was from an A-class nine-tailed fox hero who was only complaining about her own hardships, and because she was too kind, it was even better.
“Moreover, it was said that her performance was quite good. Is there any reason to make another choice?”
“Hehe.”
“...Anyway, for those reasons, I chose you as the special agent.”
“Since you think so highly of me, thank you. It seems like I have even more reason to work hard for Eun-hwa.”
“I need to work hard.”
“That's right.”
As we continued talking, I took out a document from my bag.
Instead of calling it a document, it was more like a survey form containing some information about A-class hero Baekyeou.
“Eun-hwa, I've prepared this as best I could. Please take a look, and if there's any incorrect information, please correct it with a pen.”
“...You even prepared this?”
“Normally, the hero who requests counseling at the Welfare Bureau writes it themselves.... But since it's a special case, I just prepared it appropriately.”
“...I see. I hadn't realized the Welfare Bureau was rarely visited.”
“Haha, that makes sense. Upper-tier heroes are rarely met by us, after all.”
“Anyway, please read it slowly. It's not that much content, but it will help with future counseling or problem-solving.”
There wasn't anything particularly special.
She gently read the document I handed her.
I sat on the opposite side and slowly waited while drinking cola.
Even if the content was what it was...
[Baekyeou, A-class, Ability - Nine-tailed Fox Transformation]
[Age: 21]
[Height: 173]
[Issues: Burnout due to continuous deployments?]
This was it?
I hadn't written detailed content, just a very brief information about Baekyeou, Baek Eun-hwa.
The sources of this information were the Hero Association's hero database, news articles, Baekyeou's fan cafe, etc., so I think there probably won't be any major problems.
The only thing that could be considered unusual was that she was only the same age as me.
Well, it's not like it's particularly important?
“...Hmm.”
“What do you think?”
“It seems to have been prepared quite normally. Most of the content is correct, and it's a plain answer.”
“Haha, that's good.”
“So, why did you prepare this?”
“Before starting the serious counseling and problem-solving, I wanted to know more about Eun-hwa.”
“...Expressions.”
“Yes?”
“...Nothing. Please continue.”
I had spoken a little quietly, but anyway.
“Basically, it's my first time handling an A-class hero using the title of special agent and meeting heroes a lot. Normally, I meet once a week, or up to twice. Now that I can meet almost freely, it seemed good to know more details about the hero I was assigned to.”
Actually, the more accurate reason was... not for other heroes, but starting from the burden of being assigned to an A-class hero, but anyway.
She nodded at my words.
The person involved slowly developed the story after being persuaded.
“Based on the light conversation we had before, I prepared this, but before that, there was something I wanted to try once. Is that okay?”
“What is it?”
“Well, probably... you might have heard from the Association President, Team Leader, etc., about me, but my ability is hypnosis.”
I explained about the ability.
It was a longer explanation than usual, a bit more detailed.
After finishing the explanation about the ability, it was the real main topic.
“Through hypnosis, I want to learn about Eun-hwa's true worries and inner thoughts.”
“......”
“I won't do anything strange or suspicious. It's just a way to help Eun-hwa.”
It might not just be a problem of continuing to act as a fool.
It's not that the person is too kind, but there must be a reason, an opportunity, so just telling her to rest is too hasty.
That's why I handed over the results of this survey to Baek Eun-hwa and spoke in a gentle, persuasive tone.
Compared to Batori or Saran, the situation looked much simpler.
Still, the human psyche was thought to have a stronger influence than expected, and there must be something accumulated from before that led Baek Eun-hwa to her current situation.
I was inferring to some extent.
Was there something in the past that caused her to repeat self-sacrificing schedules like now?
Or perhaps just because her nature was too kind...?
“What do you think?”
“...Well, let's try it. If the special agent does anything strange to me... I can just attack. It's hypnosis, but it's not at a level to control that.”
“Hehe, that's right.”
“Then it's fine.”
Fortunately, Baek Eun-hwa accepted my words.
It seemed to be going well, so I was happy, and I immediately stood up from my seat.
“Then shall we head to the bedroom?”
“...Huh?”
“We need to make both body and mind comfortable. To do that, there needs to be a bedroom, right?”
And without hesitation, as if it was natural, I continued with the same words I used when applying hypnosis to Batori or Saran, asking where the bedroom was.