Hero, Heroine
“H-heuk…! Be honest with me…! Just how hard did you push your ability in that fight just now?! No—before that…! How long have you been overusing your power like this…!”
Ding! Ding—!
A Hero must never make another person sad enough to cry.
Furthermore, a Hero does not slump carelessly onto the ground in an unseemly manner.
Guh…! Shut up, you damn rectangular bastard…! You think this is the time for your nonsense lectures…?!
Simply sitting down on the dirt for a moment, or Lavy mistaking something and tearing up a little—honestly, the pain that hit me wasn’t that severe. Even so, right when I was already focusing every scrap of my senses to get used to the overwhelming power flooding my body…
My heart clenched with about half the intensity of when I had eaten Lavy’s Korean beef bento before. And though I was the very cause of this situation, I still shot a secret glare at the damn status window that kept nitpicking me through it all.
First I had to erase the cold sweat of pain and tension from my face in front of Lavy, who was clearly panicking at the sight of me suddenly collapsing onto the ground. Managing a smile that looked almost normal, I answered.
“…Haha, I’m fine, Lavy. I just felt like sitting down for a short rest before the other heroes arrive. I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding you’ve gotten into, but there’s absolutely no reason for you to worry.”
Grit—!
“…Don’t lie to me, Smile. Tell me the truth about your condition right now.”
“Hahaha! What are you talking about, Lavy? I just told you—I’m simply resting a little. Even I get slightly out of breath after a fight that intense.”
…It was a lie.
To ordinary citizens and even to fellow heroes like her, a hero was supposed to be the one who always put everyone at ease. That stubborn, idealistic definition of justice was something he had upheld so obsessively that he had never once shown a single moment of weakness.
The invincible hero whose mere voice could reassure anyone—the strongest ability user who had always stayed high above the distant clouds, the hero of heroes—had just collapsed right in front of her eyes, limp as a patient whose strength had completely left him.
Ugh, this idiot! Anyone can see his face is full of pain…! If you’re going to lie, at least make it halfway believable…!!
…As always, this fool was terrible at lying.
When she thought about it, it wasn’t even that strange. After so many years of watching him, the public had half-forgotten the truth: no matter how perfectly he embodied the ideal hero, Smile was still only human.
And a human could never be a tireless, invincible superhuman.
No matter how skilled an ability user became, prolonged use of a powerful ability always brought side effects from each person’s unique “restriction.” That was an unchanging rule no ability user could escape. The size and type of the side effects varied with talent, effort, and the nature of the power itself, and someone like Eternox with “Regeneration” could push further by offsetting the damage… but if you kept using your ability without any time to recover, strain inevitably piled up until the body broke down.
…And yet this man, so foolish it almost inspired awe, had endured all of that for fifteen long years without ever letting it show. He had maintained such a grueling pace that people sometimes wondered whether he was even human at all, until the entire nation believed:
Other heroes might fall, but Smile never would. He was the tireless “invincible superhuman” who always appeared the moment citizens were in danger and saved them.
…That dreamlike illusion was something he himself had planted. Because of the invincible-hero image that villains, heroes, and citizens alike now took as absolute truth, the national crime rate had dropped noticeably. People who once lived in constant fear of the next villain attack now carried hopeful smiles on their lips—smiles born from the quiet reassurance that no matter what, Smile would come and save them.
…And so, even while he sat on the ground right now, face twisted and cold sweat dripping, this fool who was so bad at lying still insisted with complete sincerity that he was fine. He had turned that stubborn “lie” into “fact” for everyone else’s sake—a foolish miracle.
She had sworn she would never fall for that image, that when the day came he finally staggered from exhaustion she would somehow help carry the burden with him… and yet in the end all she had done was force that same foolish promise on him: “Come back without getting hurt.” Truly the act of an idiot.
I’m sure of it… even in that last fight, he overused his ability just to make me feel safe… Even for Smile, that display was overwhelmingly powerful…
…Ah, why was this idiot so stubborn that he made her feel so wretched for having demanded such a useless promise?
“…You were already close to your limit back when you nearly choked while eating the bento I gave you, weren’t you…? You swore on your name that you were fine, so even though it felt suspicious I let it slide. I shouldn’t have.”
And when she asked that question with absolute certainty—
“…Haha, what are you saying, Lavy? I really did just choke that time. Ahem, look. I’ve rested enough and I’m standing up just fine, aren’t I?”
Only when the other heroes who had received the support request came into view far off at the prison entrance did Smile finally stagger to his feet.
“…Fine. If you’re going to hide it that badly, I won’t say another word about this.”
She looked straight at the hero who looked ready to collapse at any moment… and decided to stop pressing him.
After all, she still had no right to make him abandon the ironclad conviction he had protected through every hardship of the past years—not when she was still just one more person who could only be protected from behind his back.
…Even so, if you’re going to be that stubborn, I won’t just sit and watch anymore either.
Yes. If she left this justice-obsessed fool alone any longer, he would keep abusing his body to protect everyone, smiling good-naturedly without ever asking for anything in return. He would stay by himself and foolishly endure the pain alone, just like now.
…So at the very least, from now on she had to take care of him herself. Even if her hero never wanted that kind of consideration.
Just as Smile had once stayed by her side when she was little so she wouldn’t fall, she would stay by his so he wouldn’t either. Until the day she finally confessed the feelings she had carried for so long, she would never allow herself to watch him collapse.
…If what that disgusting trash Eternox said is true, Seoul is about to be flooded with villains hunting Smile’s power. The strength he spent years forging is so overwhelming that no one can hope to match it… which means the “fruit” will look that much sweeter to them.
Compared to Incheon—where, after Strong’s capture, there were no particularly high-risk villains left—it wouldn’t be that difficult for her, the city’s only S-class hero, to request a transfer of jurisdiction to Seoul.
…Besides, even though Smile had never mentioned it himself, she already knew the address of the place he lived.
It was information he kept carefully hidden: the Minister of Ability Management, respecting Smile’s noble decision to accept no monetary reward for his hero work, had personally visited the owner of that tiny goshiwon building, made him sign a confidentiality agreement, and even requested that no one drop by just because they wanted to see Smile and accidentally expose the location to fans who might send expensive gifts. Still, for another S-class hero like her, learning it hadn’t been especially hard.
…Huu. Until now I left you alone because I was afraid you might hate me for it. But I absolutely won’t just watch anymore.
If you—who truly believe that the only reward needed for doing the right thing is the smile of the person you helped, like some saint standing on the clouds—refuse to leave that miserable building and live comfortably in my place…
Then I will simply go there myself, forcibly renovate the entire place into something decent, and give you an excuse you can’t run away from.
.
.
.
…And the moment Lavy’s jewel-like red eyes darkened into a deeper crimson than usual—
Flame Witch Lavy (Seo Su-a)’s affection has reached maximum.
Without the usual cheerful “ding!” that always accompanied such messages, and without appearing right in front of Smile’s eyes the way the square notification windows always did as if demanding to be read immediately—
this time the window quietly manifested behind him, carefully placed where he would never notice it while he poured every scrap of concentration into taking baby steps that wouldn’t shatter the planet.
The possibility of this hero becoming a Successor has been permanently revoked.
Current Heroine Suitability for Seo Su-a:86.9%
Step. Step.
Guh…! Great! Walking’s roughly under control now! Next I just have to think of my body as a limp piece of seaweed drifting in the ocean and try a slow run!
…No, wait. Seaweed’s still too strong. What’s weaker than seaweed?
Right—imagine bonito flakes…! Picture the ones that flutter even when there’s no wind, sitting on top of a taiyaki…! Run while thinking of those!
How much time passed after that? True to a body whose talent for controlling power was so outstanding it inspired awe even in me, I soon managed to move in a way that no longer looked glaringly unnatural to anyone watching.
…When I considered that the tiniest failure in force control would mean my foot wouldn’t just stamp the hard prison floor but punch straight through Earth’s crust and leave a footprint in the glowing mantle underneath… the progress I had made in such a short time was truly impressive.
Huu… Still, Lavy’s expression keeps looking dark. Has the misunderstanding still not cleared up…?
…Well, for the moment, even if I couldn’t yet move as freely as before, the most important thing was getting used to this power enough that I could resume hero work today. Lavy’s side could wait until later.
…Once I started doing hero activities again as if nothing were wrong, her weird misunderstanding that I had overused my ability and strained my body would resolve itself on its own, right?
Damn it. Either way I have to keep practicing force control all night, so sleep’s completely out of the question…!