A World in Upheaval
“…Ravi? What are you doing here? …No, more importantly—how the hell did you find out my address?”
There she was, perched on the bed I had neatly folded the blankets on before heading out at dawn. Wearing everyday clothes I hadn’t seen her in for ages, her pale legs crossed, a vision of beauty. Looking at her, I finally understood that every impossible thing happening outside wasn’t some ghost’s prank—it was all Ravi’s doing.
…And now that I looked closer, even the ceiling had an air conditioner and air purifier installed. I asked her about it.
“As for the address, I just asked the Minister of Management a while back. When I suggested you move in with me before, I told you, didn’t I? You think I don’t know how hard you’re living?”
“…A hero’s residence is supposed to be strictly confidential if they don’t want it public. And they just handed it over that easily?”
“Hmm, well, when I said I’d quit being a hero if they didn’t tell me, they spilled it right away. Of course I never actually planned on quitting.”
…Oh, damn it all! That bald old coot!
I knew it ever since he started blasting disaster alerts for the tiniest things whenever he got the chance! After all the hundreds of thousands of cases I’ve cleaned up for them, this is how he stabs me in the back…!
Ugh! Looking at this, it’s obvious Ravi tore this whole building apart thinking of me, but if she pulls stunts like this, that Status Window bastard is going to…! Huh…? Wait a second—why isn’t my heart hurting yet…?
…I glanced uneasily at my heart, which could clench up at any moment, feeling something off about the Status Window that refused to ding and pop up like usual. Meanwhile Ravi, cheeks flushed red, kept grumbling in her usual way as she continued talking.
“…Just so you know, in case you’re wondering—this isn’t because of you, so don’t get the wrong idea. With the Eternox incident, my jurisdiction switched to Seoul, so while I was looking for a place to live I just bought this building as an investment.”
“…Investment? What on earth are you talking about?”
“Well, a building where Smile is staying is the safest place from villains, right? Zero chance of it getting demolished in a terrorist attack, no need for disaster insurance either. So just keep paying the same rent. It’s not like I renovated it for you or anything.”
“…No, but even so, the facilities have changed way too much. And what’s with that restaurant downstairs?”
“Hmph, this is where I’m going to live now—can’t I spruce it up a little? And the restaurant is just a strategy to attract tenants. I told you, I bought it as an investment.”
…That was complete nonsense. Just one day’s worth of food prices downstairs would easily blow past a week’s rent from the residents here.
Yet Ravi kept spinning those ridiculous excuses that anyone could see were pure sophistry. Twirling a strand of hair by her ear with her finger, she went on in a voice that almost sounded regretful.
“…Aaah, but if you were to move out, I’d have to rethink the whole investment. Then all the people living here would lose every benefit they just got, wouldn’t they? All because of one stubborn, greed-free hero.”
And then Ravi mentioned how happy everyone in the building had looked today. From today on, she planned to remodel the rooftop room on the roof and live there herself. So unless I was moving out right this second, she’d take it that I was staying in this building from now on. Even as she finished saying all that…
That damn Status Window, which normally couldn’t stand to see me happy for even a second, stayed completely silent—no notifications at all, unlike usual.
Wait…! Don’t tell me this rotten square-window bastard is keeping its mouth shut for once because if I refuse, everyone else gets hurt too?
Heh—
Khuhuhu, that’s right…! Taking something away after someone’s already received it is just too sad! Of course a hero couldn’t do that! Same as with the reinforced suit earlier—surprisingly flexible of you, aren’t you?
…Of course, to be perfectly honest, even if I did move out, there was no way Ravi would actually snatch back every benefit she’d already given the goshiwon residents. The luxury restaurant on the first floor was one thing, but the air conditioners and purifiers now installed in the ceilings, the renovated modern bathrooms and showers—facilities that cost serious money to maintain regularly—she’d definitely keep those running after I left.
I might be working for free, but originally S-class heroes are celebrities who rake in so much money that little things like that barely register. And more than anything, even though we’ve known each other since we were kids, Ravi’s soft-hearted personality means she would never want to do something like that to me after going this far.
…But that was only my guess based on her personality. The person right in front of me was talking like she’d yank every invested facility the second I moved out. And thanks to that, the cursed Status Window was sitting quiet without a word…
…In this situation, what I had to say was already decided, wasn’t it?
Hehehe! Ravi’s always tried to look after me in little ways, but I never imagined she’d go this big!
Honestly, all I’d ever done for her in the past was save her life a few times (which I do every day anyway) and share a few of the organic potatoes I grew up in the mountains…
…And yet she was repaying that kindness this extravagantly. At this level, even the swallow that brought a gourd or the crane that wove cloth from its feathers would have to take a back seat.
Aaah, my organic potatoes have grown this huge and come back to me…!
…So I had no choice. Pretending I’d been thoroughly outmaneuvered by Ravi’s scheme, I lightly covered the smile that threatened to stretch ear-to-ear with my usual “heroic” smile.
“Hahaha! Alright. I understand. If you’re going that far, I’ll set my stubbornness aside for a bit.”
I forced down the urge to leap up and hug her right then and there, hiding how ridiculously happy I was.
“Of course, the only reward I need from hero work is people’s smiles. But I can’t let my stubbornness cause them harm.”
…I said it with deliberate calm composure so the Status Window bastard wouldn’t find any weird excuse to nitpick.
“Heh, what? You’re not even that mad. Then I’ll swap out the bed completely in the next few days, just so you know.”
“Hmm? You did this out of kindness for everyone. Why would I get angry? But you’ve gotten craftier since we were kids, and the scale of your schemes has gotten huge. I never thought you’d buy the entire building to pull this off.”
Pat-pat.
“Hup…! W-What are you doing! I told you not to pet my head…! P-People will get the wrong idea if they see!”
“Haha! Who cares? There’s only the two of us in this room.”
“Ugh! A-Anyway! If it were up to me I wanted to buy the commercial building next door and expand, but I held back because some of the tenants living there might get hurt!”
Pat-pat.
“I-If I did something like that… you’d really hate it…”
And in my mood that felt ready to take flight, I ended up ruffling the hair of this Ravi who had cooked up such an adorable scheme so thoroughly that I messed it up completely. Maybe because there was no one around to misunderstand…
Unlike before, she quietly offered her head just like when we were little, as if she didn’t mind that much…
“…W-What! This isn’t for you—it’s purely an investment, okay!”
She soon huffed lightly like always, spouting a lie no one would believe while her face turned red. And on the face she tried to hide by turning away, a faint smile she couldn’t quite conceal lingered.
Really, whether she was a little kid or now, she’s consistently adorable.
…On top of that, after doing all these wonderful things for me, why was she the one looking even happier? Even as a hero, I can’t understand how a person can be this good.
Most people would have completely forgotten a few small kindnesses from childhood after more than ten years had flown by.
“H-Hmph! So make sure you bring the rent on time without falling behind…! I-I’m busy too so I’ll hire a separate manager, but for yours, Smile, I’ll collect it myself…!”
Pat-pat.
“Haha! Sure. I’ll be careful. We’ll be seeing each other’s faces more often now, so it’d be a disaster to get on the landlord’s bad side.”
Meanwhile, at that same moment—
In a back alley of New York’s Lower Manhattan.
Unlike Korea, the sun was slowly beginning to rise. In this place that had once been counted among America’s greatest cities, something truly enormous happened—something that could transform the world in a single instant, on a scale equal to… no, perhaps even greater than the Eternox revelation incident a week ago.
“Kyahahaha—!! What is this, what the hell! Even this monster isn’t a match for me! Aaah—! Incredible! Once I devour you, how much stronger will I get!”
“Cough…! For such power to be given to a childish brat drunk on his own ability… How can the gods be this cruel… Cough!”
“Khuhuhu! Shut up, old man. You’ve lived long enough—crawl off to the underworld already. I’m going to eat you, head back to my hometown, and get my revenge on that bastard.”
Thud—!
“Guh…! Please… please let him stop this terrible calamity…”
In the middle of a skirmish with a petty criminal who hadn’t even had a proper villain name until four days ago, the eternal No.1 Hero of America, Justice—his entire body riddled with puncture wounds as if skewered by giant nails—fell in the line of duty.