The Hero Suit
"First, I'd like you to hear me out, Miss U Haru. That suit might look a little tasteless—"
"A little?"
"...All right, it might look insanely tasteless. But performance-wise? It's goddamn incredible. I'm not just blowing smoke here—this is the real deal."
"......"
Apparently my first impression had rubbed her the wrong way, because her expression showed no signs of softening.
But... it isn't over yet...!
"First, about the material the suit is made of... Naturally, it incorporates Dendrobium."
"...Dendrobium?!"
As a former hero, U Haru couldn't possibly not know what Dendrobium was—her eyes shot wide open.
Yes... that's the one...
The best-performing material available for hero suits, and yet so obscenely rare that its price was flatly insane... Hngh...!
"Since the entire suit is woven with Dendrobium, it boasts durability strong enough to take a direct hit from most Entropy attacks without so much as a scratch. Its shock absorption is also superb, giving the wearer an unmatched sense of stability."
Though it cost a shitload of money.
"And Dendrobium isn't just rigid, either. Press into it and you'll feel it—it snaps right back. It has incredible elasticity."
Though it cost a shitload of money...!!
"And then there's that mask."
This time I pointed at the mask she was wearing.
"Half of everything I've saved up until now went into that one piece."
"...?"
"You probably can't appreciate it yet, since you still don't know who I am. But when you find out, it'll knock your socks off."
Only then did I see U Haru's expression shift slightly.
Just for a single mask...?
Her eyes were full of that skepticism.
"Just who are you, that you can afford such a...?"
"That's not important right now."
I cut her off calmly.
"That mask contains sensors that monitor your throat's condition in real time, Miss U Haru. It automatically synthesizes data like your current body temperature, humidity, breathing patterns, and blood oxygen levels to maintain the optimal environment for you."
You could reasonably call it a hightech gas mask built on the latest technology.
"......"
"It's also equipped with a biomedical nanosystem, so the moment it detects anything that could strain your throat, it sends an immediate warning and even helps you recover."
I tapped my own face with a finger as I gazed at her mask.
"In a nutshell—it's custom-made, dedicated equipment designed so that Miss U Haru can keep singing for as long as possible."
"......"
"So don't judge it too harshly on looks alone."
A brief silence followed.
U Haru was still looking down at the suit she wore with a disapproving expression. But I could sense that the way she was looking at it had subtly changed from before.
"...You really... made this for me?"
Why ask something so obvious?
Well, technically I paid someone to make it, so it wasn't my handiwork.
"Of course."
And then, after a moment's thought, I added:
"Also because I wanted to see it on you."
"......"
U Haru's expression soured all over again.
What, so, what.
What are you gonna do about it.
"But it's a badass suit, right?"
"...That much I'll grant you. If what you say is true, then it surpasses... any hero suit I've ever seen."
She paused briefly.
"But...!"
"...?"
"How on earth am I supposed to sing in front of people looking like... looking like this?!"
"Ah."
...Yeah, that hadn't occurred to me.
Hm.
"Miss U Haru."
"What."
"Shame is, surprisingly enough, a highly volatile emotion?"
"...?"
"I'm saying you'll get used to it."
"That's completely absurd—!"
"If it bothers you that much, feel free to put the rotor back in and spend all day tied up again."
"...Hnn—!"
U Haru, who had been about to say something, clamped her mouth shut and glared daggers at me.
Haha, what's glaring going to accomplish?
Still, once you've tried it on, it'll blow you away.
Surrendered to the performance—! and all that.
"Anyway, would you like to sing a song for me?"
"...Right now?"
"Well, when else? Later?"
"But... my throat is..."
"Oh, right. Come to think of it, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday, have you?"
"......"
"...?"
I breezily ignored the look she gave me—that classic so much to say, so little time glare.
"Even a single verse will do. Give it a try, Miss U Haru. No—Lovebell."
"...!"
"Cowering in fear won't change anything, you know?"
"Tch...! When did I ever say I was scared...!"
It might seem laughable that someone whose life's calling was song would be afraid of singing. But if there's trauma involved, the story changes entirely.
Just like the U Haru standing before me now.
"Then sing."
"Like I couldn't if I wanted to!"
"But first, try saying 'Live Mode: activate.'"
"Excuse me?"
"Go on."
"L-Live Mode... activate...?"
Live Mode has been activated.
"Hck?! Wh-what's that voice in my ears...?!"
"It's just a simple AI built into the mask, so don't be alarmed. From now on, whenever you sing, it'll automatically adjust things as if you were singing into a microphone."
"......"
And so, U Haru's song began.
The live, unaccompanied performance of Lovebell that I had only ever heard as game audio.
... ... ...
Needless to say, there's a reason they say experience exudes its own aura.
Long retired as she was, U Haru's singing was genuinely beautiful.
Even I—an utterly tone-deaf music ignoramus whose usual playlist consisted of anime openings and the occasional Let It Go—could tell that much without a doubt.
But... perhaps her throat, startled by its first real vocalization in so long, had its own reaction.
"Koff—khrr...!"
Midway through the song, U Haru suddenly clutched her throat, hunched over, and broke into a fit of coughing.
Hmm... so she couldn't quite finish a full song?
Just then, a fresh green light shimmered briefly across her mask.
Administering recovery sample.
"...Huh? My throat... it feels fine now...?"
"The mask is working perfectly. What did I tell you? The moment your throat condition worsened, it would step in to help."
"Oh......"
This was... closer to the concept of assistance than treatment, really.
If it were truly technology capable of curing her throat, the Association would never have failed to treat her first, after all.
Moreover, this mask wasn't something I had newly invented, either.
It was a rip-off—borrowed wholesale from the dedicated armament Lovebell originally wielded in the game.
In the game, every hero possessed a unique signature weapon.
Equipment designed around each hero's individual abilities and characteristics, it dramatically boosted that hero's combat performance simply by being worn.
And the name of the armament granted to Lovebell was:
The cutting-edge multipurpose biomedical assist mask.
Grandiose right down to its name.
On the surface, it looked like nothing more than a stylish, badass cosmetic mask.
But within it was woven advanced technology that analyzed the wearer's condition in real time and assisted the throat accordingly.
It was especially optimized to minimize strain on Lovebell's greatest weakness—her throat and vocal cords.
Which meant that this was...
Not a device that would restore her ruined voice to what it once was.
Merely a tool to modestly extend the shelf life of the hero known as Lovebell.
"Let's stop here for today, shall we?"
"What? But I can still sing mor—"
"Tsk."
"...Tch."
"You can't. Understood?"
"......"
Ugh, don't make that sullen face—it's making me feel guilty.
"The mask is still a prototype and needs calibrating. That means I have to refine it based on the data we collected today. Understood?"
"...Yes."
"Good."
"B-but... I'll keep wearing this suit. The suit doesn't hurt anything, right?"
"...True enough. And here I thought you hated it so much before?"
"...It's better than being naked, isn't it?!"
"Ah."
At the sound of her shrieking hyah—! it finally dawned on me.
...Should I ask the secretary noona where she sold off U Haru's clothes after stripping her?
Hmm... knowing her, she'd probably already disposed of them ages ago.
"Come here. We need to put your restraints back on."
"...Can I not? I won't run away. I can promise you that."
"Well... if you can give me somewhat more assurance than that, Miss U Haru, I suppose I could consider it."
"...What kind of... assurance?"
"Hmm... let's see."
I pondered for a moment, and then a wonderful idea came to me.
"All right. Miss U Haru, do you happen to know what a 'handjob' is?"
"...?!!"
Ohhoho. Judging by that shocked expression, she does know.
Well, it would be genuinely alarming if someone her age didn't know what a handjob was.
"Wh-why would you bring that up all of a sudden...?"
"You really don't know?"
"......"
"I want a handjob from you, Miss U Haru. With those hands of yours. Directly."
"......"
"...Could you do that for me?"
It was not a command, but a request.
I was offering her a choice.
To her—the idol once beloved by countless people—I was asking: could you take my cock in your own hands, yourself?
U Haru's face was gradually turning red.
A markedly different reaction from the previous day, when she'd shown nothing but disgust and contempt.
Which probably meant that the image of me forming inside her was tipping—just a fraction—from the negative side of the scale toward the positive.
Well, of course it should. I'd dredged up her past on purpose to stir her emotions, and even handed her a state-of-the-art hero suit free of charge.
Anyone with a conscience would warm up to that...! Rawr.
U Haru stayed silent for a long moment, and then, ever so slowly, she lifted her eyes to meet mine and——