The Entrance Speech (2)

Hmm. How come no one's reacting? Normally even if a speech is pretty mediocre, people still clap politely at events like this… Could it really have been so bad they won't even give me that?

Of course I never had the talent for the kind of speech that sets people's emotions on fire. That was a completely different skill from the one that let me play the part of the ideal hero like a seasoned actor. So I had simply done what the status window always demanded of me—spouted a bunch of righteous, correct words that were frankly boring as hell for middle- and high-school kids who had far more interesting things to think about. At the end I had just recited, in that trustworthy, heroic voice I was good at, the same stuffy oath that every newly licensed pro hero has to mumble in front of the Ability Management Bureau, the kind of thing doctors do with the Hippocratic Oath or nurses with the Nightingale Pledge.

…This is bad. I never expected the reaction to be this cold. Lavy did say entrance speeches were supposed to feel light, like a fan meet or a school festival. Did I make it too stiff?

But it was still a speech in front of juniors who wanted to become heroes. If I had loosened up and turned it into an actual fan meet, this damn status window would have started squeezing my heart again. So I figured ten minutes was short enough to just endure, and I filled the time with the kind of upright, righteous talk that matched my image. I never imagined the room would go this frigid.

It had been a good thirty seconds since I finished, and not a single person clapped. The entire auditorium was dead silent. Back in elementary school I had managed to become class president twice without even handing out snacks like hamburgers, so I figured that even if I wasn't some great orator, I at least had average speaking ability. A reaction this bad was honestly outside my expectations.

…Okay, fine, maybe the kids don't care. But shouldn't the teachers at least force themselves to clap? What are we supposed to do about this awkward atmosphere?

At the end I still had about two minutes left, so I had slowly recited the entire oath—from article one all the way to ten—that every pro-hero-turned-teacher in this room already knew by heart. Was that why they thought I was phoning it in? But what else was I supposed to do? Ten minutes isn't exactly short, and I'm not a professional lecturer. How was I supposed to fill that much time with pure improvisation and no script? Besides, this was an unpaid amateur speech. Couldn't they cut me a little slack?

Aaah… And since the status window isn't saying a single word, I still have no idea who might be useful as a successor. In the end I just wasted time—

Ding—!

…Right then, the familiar rectangular window blocked my vision.

Ding! Ding! Ding—!

Whoa…! Wh-what the hell…?! Why is there suddenly so much of this?!

An overwhelming flood of notification windows I had never seen before began to fill the entire vast auditorium around me.

.

.

…Huh? Wait a second. That kid named Ju Eun-ha is at one percent? She's the only one whose number is in a completely different league.

The voice that began speaking before the students was slightly different from the bright laughter they usually heard directed at civilians in the media. It was a solemn, weighty voice that seemed to savor every single word.

Hero Smile's speech had begun.

…Honestly, if you looked only at the content, it was not a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠particularly impressive speech. Every line was simply the "correct" mindset a hero ought to have. The material was so clichéd that if you wrote it down and handed it to someone to read, nine out of ten people would feel nothing. In fact, most people would never even finish reading something that boring.

…Yet not a single person present dared entertain such a blasphemous thought.

In truth, a public speech is decided less by the elegance of its sentences than by the speaker's voice and presence before the audience, by how much faith and respect that speaker commands, and by the attitude of listening that flows from that authority. It is more a matter of emotional contagion than logical persuasion.

And so, for the students who knew better than anyone what kind of life Hero Smile had lived, those dull, predictable words somehow rang out now like a great revelation descending from the heavens.

Most of the students—aside from the brand-new first-years—had already expected, the moment they heard that that Smile was coming, that this "entrance speech" would be nothing like the light, event-style mood of inviting a popular hero to loosen everyone up at the start of the semester. Even so, the atmosphere was far more solemn and heavy than they had anticipated, and the voice of the most respected hero who could so easily capture a crowd…

Every single upright "correct" word Smile kept speaking sank deep into the hearts of everyone present.

"Finally, this may be a little tedious, but… to those of you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who will one day become pro heroes, I will share a few of the principles I have always carried in my heart as a hero."

And the emotions of the students and teachers—

"Of course, I have no intention of forcing you to live by all of them. The times have changed since the chaos of the early days."

…reached their quiet climax the moment Smile slowly began to recite the official oath that every pro hero memorizes at least once.

"But I ask that you never forget this one thing: it is because we keep these principles deep in our hearts that people have granted us the name of 'hero.'"

Like a flame that burned coldly, the feeling climbed to its peak.

"One. You must swear that no matter the situation, you will always protect the citizens."

Jeong Hak-hyeon quietly shed tears inside as his former student recited the oath in a low voice before him.

"Two. You must never use the abilities you possess recklessly. You must swear to wield your power only for the public good, never for personal gain."

…In truth, no one in the room—including the first-years who had just entered—was unfamiliar with that oath. Even though half-celebrity heroes nowadays recited those outdated vows without much thought when they received their pro licenses, the words themselves were the very foundation laid in the earliest days of ability manifestation, defining what it meant to be a "hero."

"Three. You must always obey the law and ethics, and never yield to any terror or temptation that may come your way."

…Of course, because the oath was so meaningful, its contents were also ruthlessly strict. Even among the first-generation heroes who had operated purely on a sense of mission, very few had managed to keep even half of it. So if someone less qualified than Smile had recklessly recited it here, some students might simply have thought a mediocre old fogey was making a fuss. No matter how upright the aspiring heroes were, they were still young students, and the "correct" lectures of adults had never been easy for teenagers to accept.

"Six. Even if hardships too great to bear fall upon you, you must never show weakness before the citizens. Remember that the name of hero carries with it a heavy responsibility."

…Yet the same words carry completely different weight depending on who speaks them. There is a world of difference between an upper-class person who has lived in a greenhouse all their life saying that war must never happen, and a war hero whose entire ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body has been burned after losing every comrade on the battlefield saying the same thing.

"Eight. Remember that your existence can become hope for someone else, and put responsibility and sincerity into even the smallest of your actions."

…And the man standing before the students now was someone who had never once in his life broken the vows he was reciting so calmly—a man who seemed to be the living embodiment of the word "hero." When he spoke those words, a certain thrill ran through the hearts of every student and even the teachers present.

…And once again they realized why he was called the greatest hero. It was not simply because Smile was invincibly strong. It was because the conviction he carried inside was so bright and upright that he could recite the contents of that old-fashioned oath in front of others without the slightest doubt. It was because such a solid pillar of justice stood within the heart of the hero called Smile.

…Smile's average daily activity time had always been at least eighteen hours. He had maintained that for the past fifteen years without missing a single day. Even a superhuman with powerful abilities did not feel less fatigue than ordinary people. That was why people now marveled more at his astonishing mental strength than at his overwhelming combat power, unlike in the early days of his career. Probably not even an S-class hero would dare to proudly claim the title of "hero" in front of Smile. What lofty ideal could he possibly carry in that chest, to have never once broken such upright conviction over so long a time? Even Jeong Hak-hyeon, who had lived far longer than Smile, could not begin to guess. It was a extraordinariness that made it impossible to think of him as the same kind of human as themselves—something ordinary people could never hope to reach. That was why Smile was revered as a true hero.

"Ten. You must swear to engrave these nine vows deep in your heart and always put them into practice."

And the moment the entire oath was finished, hot tears welled in the hearts of everyone gathered in the auditorium. …No—those of a more sensitive nature could no longer hold them back, and some actually began to cry. That wave of emotion spread from person to person until the once deathly silent auditorium filled with choked sobs…

Clap clap clap!

Jeong Hak-hyeon himself kept applauding the proud disciple standing before him, then said,

"…Do Hyul. That was a truly fine speech. At my age it's embarrassing to shed tears in front of the students, but not crying now would have been even more shameful."

Snap—!

Without realizing it, he raised his right hand and saluted the great tree called Smile, the evergreen pine that had supported Korea through every season.

"…Excuse me? No, I think everyone's reaction is a bit much right now. More importantly, do you happen to know who the student named Ju Eun-ha is—"

"Everyone! Salute the senior who has supported Korea for the past fifteen years and who will continue to light the path ahead of you!"

They shot to their feet—!

"…Um, I don't know why you're suddenly making the students salute, but there's no need for that, so first could you just tell me who Ju Eun-ha is—"

"Ghhk…! My, my heart again…!"

A stir ran through the hall—

"Hic! Look over there! Senior Smile is so moved by our salute that he's—!"

"Khhnng…! I never thought he'd be so moved he'd clutch his chest…! I-I swear I'll become a hero who never embarrasses Senior!"

"Huuung! I…! When I become a pro hero next year, I'm going to donate half my income to orphanages!"

Clench—!

Damn it…! So who the hell is Ju Eun-ha supposed to be…!