Please Take My Place
"Please take my place."
…Ju Eun-ha, was it? This little kid with the hair and eyes that sparkle nonstop?
In the pure luck of running into the very person I'd been searching for during today's speech, in a place I'd never expected, I kept signing autographs with the pen in my hand while my mind raced.
…Right. This world has so many weird hair and eye colors that I just glossed over it, but looking closer, she even has that main-character vibe, doesn't she?
No—if this were a comic or an anime, she'd be the unmistakable protagonist. That glowing golden hair was one thing, like she was her own light source, but those eyes had clear star shapes stamped right into the pupils.
I didn't remember any character looking like that in the original game I'd transmigrated into—but then again, I'd only played that mass-produced defense game for about half a day. I hadn't memorized every single hero unit, so it wasn't strange. What was strange was that I'd written off this eye-catching appearance as just some quirk of her ability until now.
"…Ahem! Still, to stay this bold after what just happened—I'm impressed. Are you a graduating student set to turn pro next year?"
"Ah…! No, Seol-a and I are both still third-years! Hehe…! G-getting complimented by Smile makes me all… kinda embarrassed…! Heheh…."
…Third-years? That makes them just seventeen. Thirteen years younger than me.
Hero generations were usually divided in roughly fifteen-year chunks. Unlike Lavy, who was only five years younger, even the age gap made this girl feel perfectly "successor-like."
"I see. You said just now that you wanted to become a hero who wouldn't embarrass me. May I ask what made you decide to pursue hero work?"
"Ah…! Yes!! Ever since I was little, I watched heroes on screen—especially you, Smile-sunbaenim—and I admired them…! Then when my ability awakened in the upper grades of elementary school, I decided I absolutely had to become a cool hero who saves everyone from danger!"
Mmm, good. Her mindset passed for now. She might be lying to my face, but I didn't have mind-reading powers, so there was no way to know immediately. Assuming her words were true…
The system's condition for my retirement was "discovering a true hero of the next generation who can succeed me." Dreaming of becoming a hero who saves everyone because she admired me was the perfect motivation.
And she only figured out what her ability was in the upper grades of elementary school…
That was good news in its own way. A later awakening didn't mean a weak ability. Looking at the overwhelming Successor Suitability this Ju Eun-ha already had (compared to everyone else), the fact that she'd racked up a number dozens or hundreds of times higher than the other students despite having less time to train her ability meant either her hidden potential was on another level, or her growth rate was absurd. Either way, it was a great sign.
Mmm, I'd love it if it were both. I got transmigrated into a game, but the main characters who inherit the previous generation's strongest spot in comics are always overwhelming in potential or growth speed, right?
Of course, knowing the system's track record, a "true hero" wasn't just about being strong. But to take my place, overwhelming power that could one-shot villains was still mandatory.
Well, looking at how easily that villain took her down earlier, her combat power seems a bit lacking—but she's still young. Better to watch her grow slowly.
And if I looked at it positively, she was already at 1% Suitability even though her skill level was only enough to lose to a low-tier S-class villain (by Chaos Era standards). The big guy currently slumped unconscious over my shoulder? Even Lavy at 0.04% Suitability could have handled him one-on-one just fine.
No, wait—when Lavy's emotions really spike, those flames hit upper S-class level, so she's not a clean comparison.
Anyway, posting a number like that while still this weak meant the Suitability would keep climbing fast from here on out.
"Haha! Well, from what I can see, both of you are going to make excellent heroes. I'll be off, then."
"Y-yes!! Hwaaaa! Eun-ha…! I-I just got told by Smile that I'm going to be a 'good hero'!!"
"Hnn… He remembered… After so many years…."
I bid farewell to Ju Eun-ha, who was hopping in place like she didn't know what to do with herself, and to Lee Seol-a muttering to herself beside her.
"Kuheok…! N-no…! S-Smile is coming! That monster's here to kill me…!"
…Why is this guy sleep-talking on someone else's shoulder? Did I go too easy on him?
Tok!
"Gueeeeh…!!"
I flicked the villain—who was twitching on my shoulder like he was in rigor mortis and spouting nonsense—with a light forehead flick and put him back under. Then I decided that when I got home tonight, I would definitely call my sunbae, the current principal, and dig up everything I could on Ju Eun-ha.
I kicked off the ground and soared high into the sky once more.
…Alright. The second today's work is done, I'm calling. Grilling the person herself right here would look a little weird.
—Ah! Ju Eun-ha, you mean! An outstanding student, that one! When she first enrolled she was completely unremarkable, but now she's grown so steeply that even most of the teachers have to go all-out just to keep up with her!
"Oh? Is that so? So that's why she stayed so calm in a situation like today's. Then… would it be possible to learn what her ability is? When a junior is that excellent, even I get curious."
.
.
—So, in my personal opinion, she might very well become our school's greatest pride after you—surpassing even Su-a, currently the ninth-ranked S-class hero. Heh. Though comparing anyone to you is rather harsh on young Eun-ha, of course.
"Haha, you're too kind. Well then, I'll be calling like this from time to time. Sorry for phoning so late tonight."
—Haha! Nonsense! Any call from you, Do Hyul-gun, is always welcome!
Somehow I managed to scrape together today's hero activity quota, and with a convenient excuse ready, I called my sunbae as planned. After casually digging up information on Ju Eun-ha, I finished the call while cheering inwardly at everything I heard over the smartphone.
…She barely scraped into the academy dead last in her year, then in just two years rose to roughly teacher level?
Anyone could see that was classic shonen-manga protagonist material. Hero academy was a five-year program. If a girl like that got three more years of education and then debuted as a pro hero… just how monstrous would she become?
She would absolutely grow into the strongest kind of hero—the kind who could wipe out the trash villain from today with a single gesture. No, if luck was on her side, she might even hit upper S-class level while still a student.
"…Nice. So even if I stretch it, my retirement is only three or four years away? Heheheh! I've already done this crap for fifteen years—what's a few more?"
Of course, if I could intervene and speed her growth even more, that would be ideal… but I wasn't that lacking in self-awareness. What method did I even have to help this Ju Eun-ha girl? Her ability type and circumstances were completely different from mine.
From the moment I transmigrated here, I was basically already at a level where I had no real enemies…
Sure, when I first arrived I received some training from Jeong Hak-hyeon sunbae—who was still active under the hero name "Blade"—but the only thing that truly helped me was the technique for controlling ability output: how to hit just hard enough to knock a villain out instead of exploding their head… that kind of fine control.
…And even that, my body adapted to this ridiculous power almost immediately because the talent was so absurd.
Considering my position as the number-one S-class hero, meddling would only be poison. If I gave some half-baked advice that Ju Eun-ha took as gospel and it actually slowed her growth… what if her current 1% Successor Suitability dropped instead?
For someone who could gently swing a fist with a soft "yap" and put a villain to sleep, or stomp the ground a little harder with a "pat!" and take off into the sky, teaching talent was obviously nonexistent.
"…Plus this 'Suitability' thing doesn't seem to rise just because I throw a couple of encouraging words around."
If it did, Ju Eun-ha's number should have gone up the same way Lee Seol-a's did when I signed for them and gave encouragement earlier.
Seol-a's number probably only rose because of the connection we built when I saved her ten years ago.
…So what I needed to do right now was simply watch quietly. Keep an eye on Ju Eun-ha—whose motivation for becoming a hero looked solid and whose potential was already proven—as she grew step by step, and pray she eventually evolved into that "true hero" who would guarantee my comfortable retirement.
As for all the various education she would need along the way… well, the teachers at the hero academy were actual experts at raising heroes, unlike me. They would handle it just fine. As someone completely clueless about teaching who barely had time to sleep, there was zero reason for me to stick my nose in clumsily right now.
"Heheheh! Alright then—to celebrate my almost-confirmed retirement, maybe I'll splurge a little tonight? I'll buy tuna kimbap and sausage from the convenience store up front and eat them with ramen!"
Filled with the happy expectation that things would work out even if I just left them alone, I quietly left my tiny goshiwon room. I was going to raid the precious five thousand won I'd carefully saved in the tin can under the bed—money I'd been saving for a special day like this—and treat myself to a meal so grand my stomach would burst before bed.
Heheheh, if I run into someone while eating alone in the shared kitchen I might have to share the good stuff… so I'll hurry and buy it now while no one's around!
.
.
"Hm? Smile-ssi, don't tell me you're going out again this late…? You already arrested a whole pile of villains today. You really should rest at least a little…."
"…Hahaha! The worst criminals tend to move more on nights like this. So I thought I'd just do a quick patrol of the area."