Night Visitor (2)

“Keh-heugh!! That’s Smile for you!! No matter how strong a villain might be, there’s no way trash like that could ever stand against Smile!”

“Oh my god…! If what that villain said is true, then anyone who harbors even the tiniest scrap of selfishness would get hit by that ability for sure, right? Even for Smile, is it really possible that he doesn’t have any of that at all…?”

“You idiot! Maybe for anyone else, but this is Smile we’re talking about! He’s the hero who will protect humanity no matter what happens! How could he ever be the same as ordinary heroes?!”

It was terrifying.

More than simply the Invincible Hero—it felt like staring up at a god in the heavens.

The way the people screamed in fervent excitement, clinging to something absolute…

…to the girl who had just witnessed the fragile sight of him collapsing in a place without even an enemy, unable to breathe properly only moments before,

it was unbearably, intolerably frightening.

…Even if he fell any number of times, no matter how broken he became, he would always rise again in the end.

And even if the day came when both his knees and ankles were shattered and he truly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could not stand—

this hero would still hide those missing legs somehow and force himself upright once more, spreading that broad back wide enough to carry everyone, declaring that so long as there were people he had to protect, he would never fall—

soothing them all with that outrageous lie.

…But the truth was that he was in a state where it would not be strange at all if he suddenly lost the light that illuminated everyone and simply vanished from this world.

And so, to the one who knew that cruel truth completely, everything that had happened this morning…

…was simply too frightening.

The terrifying future where he might suddenly stop breathing and leave her side forever…

even compared to a future where she was hated by him and could no longer stand by his side as she did now—

it was thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of millions of times worse.

I hate that… I really, really hate that…. Smile, if you’re not here, how am I supposed to live…? Without you, I’m nothing at all.

That was why she finally could not endure it any longer.

With a pathetic face where the memories of him melted into tears that fell one after another from her eyes,

tap, tap, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tap—click—

she quietly knocked on the door, then opened it without waiting for permission.

All her usual embarrassment had vanished as she leaned her body against that chest which felt so solid and yet somehow as if it might shatter at any moment.

If their bodies were not touching like this, she was afraid he might scatter into dust right then and there.

“I don’t want it…. You can stop being a hero already…. You’ve protected everyone more than enough by now. Just how much longer are you going to keep working yourself to death…?”

And so, looking at Smile’s flustered face,

in the quiet night where only the sound of the wind could be heard,

with a voice so hard to understand because of the tears that had just fallen,

she forced the words out with real difficulty—words that might have been even harder than confessing that she liked him—

…no, words that were clearly far more difficult than that.

“So… so please just quit being a hero. I’ll work hard enough for both of us…. I’ll really try somehow, so please just stop….”

Even knowing full well that he would never accept it, she still voiced that unreasonable request.

…Ah, things suddenly got incredibly complicated.

I had wondered what was going on when Lavy showed up in the middle of the night,

…but just how badly had she misunderstood? She was making a request like that with a sad face whose tear tracks still hadn’t even dried on her cheeks.

Anyone watching would think I was about to drop dead any second.

Well… if someone suddenly collapsed while eating, even I’d be shocked….

It was a misunderstanding born from the flood of stat points that rushed in all at once after I sent Eternox to the afterlife. Back then I had the far more urgent goal of adapting to that power right away,

…so I just left it alone, figuring it would sort itself out with time. Instead of getting resolved, though, it had ballooned even bigger thanks to this whole matsutake mushroom incident.

Ah, maybe I really should have found some way to properly explain everything to Lavy once today’s work was done instead of just letting it slide…?

But honestly, how was I supposed to clear this up at this point…?

Should I say that I actually have a mushroom allergy and my body hurts so badly I can barely breathe if I eat them wrong?

Then why did I pick up and eat the mushrooms Lavy grilled for me in the first place, and how do I explain the track record of shrugging off villain attacks loaded with enough poison to drop an elephant?

Or that the restrictions on my ability are actually extremely unique, and I collapse if I eat expensive things like matsutake mushrooms or Korean beef?

I’ve already stuffed myself with tuna sushi and lobster to my heart’s content from the buffet Lavy set up on the first floor….

And that the reason I collapsed earlier at Incheon Central Prison wasn’t because I’d gotten weaker,

but rather because I’d gotten so much stronger that my power had gone completely out of control?

…Even though I’m considered one of the heroes most skilled at handling superpowers in the entire world, better than every other hero combined,

these days if I carelessly throw a punch with a little “oops,” this planet goes poof! and vanishes, so I’m carefully, carefully restraining myself while I work?

Yeah, right. As if anyone would believe that.

They’d just think Smile had worked so hard that not only his body but his mind had finally broken,

and I’d be lucky if they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn’t start treating me like a dementia patient who’d missed his medication time.

…No, even if I somehow got her to believe all of that, what kind of stunt would that damned status window pull on me if I actually spelled everything out?

That bastard was already gearing up to squeeze my heart just because Lavy was sad.

Haa…. This is a real headache no matter how I look at it…. Even if I try to say I’m not hurt, it won’t land for a second in this situation….

So, to Lavy who had climbed onto my chest and was staring at me with those sorrowful eyes,

I had no choice but to spout more “heroic” lines again, even though the truth was that I wanted exactly what she was asking for more than anything.

Even so, right now, this was a request I absolutely could not grant.

“…I can’t do that, Lavy. Even if the day comes when my body can no longer move. As long as I can still see someone in need right in front of me, I have no choice but to run again.”

“Hic! Why… why do you have to go that far…? You’ve already tried hard enough. You could just tell people the truth now and say you can’t protect them anymore…!”

Why? Because of this damn status window, of course.

If I could quit being a hero, I would have thrown it all away this very second.

…But saying something like that here would only make my heart clench again and create an even bigger misunderstanding,

so I lowered my voice more than usual and piled on the “heroic” lies that the system still allowed me without issue.

“…No. A hero can’t do that. As long as my heart is still beating properly, I have to remain the invincible ‘hero’ for them at all times.”

And once again I spat out that shameless falsehood.

Grit—!

“No, no nononono…! If you die like that, what happens to me…? If you’re not here, I’m just a little kid crying in the middle of a fire. I’m not a hero or anything else anymore.”

…Ah, this is getting more and more painful. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The only lies I’m good at are ones like this.

I kept laying them on thick for now….

But watching Lavy cry like that kept bringing back the image of her when she was still called “Seo Su-a” instead of her hero name—

…that little kid from back then—and even though I hadn’t really done anything wrong, a strange guilt made my heart complicated.

Haa…. I wouldn’t die even if the sun exploded right in front of me, but it’s not like she’d believe me if I said something like that.

Pat, pat.

…So I carefully sat up and gently stroked the head of Su-a, who was now bawling on my lap.

She always pretended otherwise, but ever since she was little,

whenever her emotions got too intense, stroking her head like this made her feel better.

“Hic! Sob! I don’t want it… I absolutely don’t want you to die, Smile…!”

“Lavy, as you know, I’m an incredibly stubborn man. Once I’ve decided to protect something, I have to see it through to the very end or I can’t rest easy.”

Pat, pat—

“…But the one thing you fear will never happen in the process, so you can rest assured. That much I can promise you for certain. As I always say, a ‘hero’ never, ever breaks a promise.”

“Hic…! Liar, that’s a lie…! You’ll say that and then, when the critical moment comes, you’ll casually throw your life away just like always…!”

“No. This is absolutely not a lie. No matter what kind of crisis comes, I promise I will never die. The only day I will be able to close my eyes in peace is the day a smile is painted on every single person’s face. If that makes you this sad, then I will never die.”

And so, while I patted the back of Su-a as she buried her face in my chest,

I imagined the day when I would finally escape this damned curse of mine and repay this soft-hearted little kid for everything.

The day when I was no longer a “hero.”

When everyone else would be mourning my retirement under all kinds of strange misunderstandings, that one little kid who would be the only one happy about it—

the real “hero” who was currently crying that without the fake “hero” that was me, she was nothing—

…for now, even a fake like me could at least say something that might comfort her a little.

“Haha, I thought you’d grown up, but you’re still crying like a little kid. But if this makes you feel better, then for today it’s okay to be a child.”

Pat, pat.

“But once today is over, go back to being the usual Lavy. Because among all my juniors, you’re the one I cherish and trust the most—the coolest hero of all.”

.

.

.

…And the moment Lavy’s sobs finally quieted after hearing Smile’s words,

once again, just like before, the square notification window appeared without making a single sound.

Quietly, so that no one else could see it.

Once more, it floated that notification behind his back.