15. Gossiping
15. Gossiping
After finishing a short and intense meal with Akiko, I drove my car back toward the familiar hell—my neighborhood, The City.
All the while driving on the massive bridge connecting Skyscraper City and The City, I glanced in the rearview mirror at the dazzling skyscrapers fading into the distance.
Beyond the front windshield, the skyline of my gloomy hometown, The City, soaked in smog and fog, was approaching.
My hands tightened on the steering wheel without me realizing it.
Because the farce I'd just experienced at the Japanese restaurant suddenly made my annoyance flare up.
"Honestly speaking, Ultra Girl has a pretty big share of the blame for our neighborhood turning into a total shithole."
I grumbled, pouring out my thoughts to myself inside the empty car.
"Sure, I know she's the strongest in humanity and a perfect hero. But what do you expect to happen if you turn Skyscraper City into a paradise like that? All the third-rate gangs and crazy villains who lost their meal tickets over there are crawling into The City like a balloon effect. That side is a bright and beautiful utopia, while our neighborhood has become a dump where bullets fly and lunatics set off bombs every night. Ah, it's so unfair."
No matter how I thought about it, it was an infuriating unfairness.
The back alleys of The City, where my laundry shop is, are a demon's den with a level of public safety where people would just shrug if I were blown up along with my shop right now.
It was the very moment I spat out those words.
Tsupat-!
Suddenly, a cheerful friction sound, as if tearing through the air, came from outside the passenger side window.
Someone floating in mid-air, perfectly matching the speed of my car traveling at 80 kilometers per hour, knocked on the window.
"Did you happen to call for me?"
The woman with bobbed hair swaying, grinning good-naturedly, was the strongest hero in humanity, Ultra Girl, who had just subdued the Triad members like toys at the restaurant.
"Waaaaah!"
I almost swerved the steering wheel and crashed into the bridge railing.
As I barely managed to hit the brakes and pull over to the shoulder, Ultra Girl landed lightly on the ground and stood next to the passenger door.
"Ah, sorry for startling you. Since I have super-hearing, I accidentally overheard you badmouthing me inside the car. Can we talk for a moment?"
"...Am I going to die?"
"No way. I just wanted to have some time to explain. If you don't want to talk... you're free to just go."
"...Get in."
"Thank you. I'll impose on you for a bit."
She hopped into the car.
Clunk-! Screeeech!
The moment she planted her butt on the passenger seat, the right side of my car screamed, and the chassis tilted sharply toward the passenger side.
"Oh my, oops. Sorry!"
Ultra Girl blushed and made a slightly embarrassed expression.
Then, her butt levitated just slightly, about 1 millimeter, off the seat.
The car body regained its balance as if nothing had happened.
She looked like she was sitting normally, but in reality, she was doing an air chair while floating in mid-air.
'...She must weigh a ton.'
Without noticing my blasphemous thoughts, Ultra Girl scratched her head, looking embarrassed.
"You're a citizen from The City. Everything you said earlier is correct. I fully understand the resentment that public safety in The City has worsened because of me. Actually, I also secretly want to solve all the problems in The City."
She said, drooping her shoulders as if truly sorry.
I struggled to compose my bewildered feelings and asked back.
"If you think that, why don't you do it? With your level of power, you could wipe out the criminals in The City overnight."
At my question, Ultra Girl let out a small sigh and held up three fingers.
"There are three problems with that. First, I'm not an Earthling, you know."
She folded her first finger and smiled bitterly.
"If I show myself controlling and solving all the problems in both cities with overwhelming power, people will split into two extreme groups. Fanatics who worship me as an omnipotent god, abandoning their own will and trying to dump everything on me. And conversely, people who treat me as a terrifying alien demon threatening the survival of humanity and try to ostracize me."
I nodded silently.
It was a very classic and realistic dilemma of hero comics.
To the extent that there's a villain who chases her around trying to kill her just for this very reason.
"I'm neither a god nor a demon. I'm just a neighbor who wants to live an ordinary daily life while doing good deeds I can with a good heart. But if I intervene too much, people won't leave me alone. So I decided to limit my power and range of activity to some extent."
"I understand. Then what is the second reason?"
"The second reason is a realistic limitation."
She folded her second finger.
"Even I can't stay awake 24 hours a day. Just perfectly protecting Skyscraper City alone reaches the limit of my abilities. If I were to push myself to protect The City as well, I could do it, but in the end, fatal security holes would open up in both cities. And, to be honest......"
Ultra Girl glanced around and lowered her voice.
"Hero work is, after all, unpaid volunteer work I do out of goodwill. I have a main job I need to earn a living from, and a separate daily life where I want to watch Netflix and rest after work."
At that honest answer, I burst out laughing without realizing it.
"I totally relate. People these days seem to keep forgetting the fact that heroes act while risking their lives out of goodwill. There are too many jerks who think it's their right."
"Exactly! That's what I'm saying! You're very easy to talk to. What's your name?"
"My name is Kang Jin-woo. I run a laundry shop in The City."
"So you were a laundry shop owner! That's fascinating."
Ultra Girl fiddled with her last third finger with a much more relaxed expression.
She hesitated, lips twitching as if it were a bit awkward to talk about, then carefully brought it up.
"The last, third reason is...... um, our ghost lady, Nocturne, hates it very, very much."
"Nocturne?"
"Yes. Unlike me, Nocturne is a native who was born and raised in The City. She has such a huge attachment to that city that she wants to control and protect the crimes of The City entirely with her own hands. I also cooperate with Nocturne occasionally in major crisis situations, so I have to respect her territory and opinions. And, this is gossip that's really a secret from Nocturne."
Ultra Girl leaned toward me even though we were inside the car and whispered secretly.
"Nocturne herself is like a giant lightning rod that attracts villains, but she herself keeps forgetting that. More than half of the A-class villains causing chaos in The City gathered there just to catch Nocturne. Don't you think?"
At her words, I felt a chill run down my spine.
Just yesterday, the face of the crazy villain, Cheshire, who visited me and threatened to tear my mouth open with a joyful smile, flashed through my mind.
The reason Cheshire roams the back alleys of The City so much was also solely because of her fanatical obsession with Nocturne.
"...Nocturne is, um, like a prostitute walking around naked inside a prison full of sex offenders."
"I didn't mean to say it that harshly..."
Ultra Girl gave a bitter smile as if embarrassed.
"Anyway, it was a really enjoyable conversation meeting someone I can talk to for the first time in a while. I feel like a burden has been lifted from my heart. Well then, I'll be off to patrol!"
It was the moment she waved lightly and was about to open the car door and get out.
I suddenly remembered the face of the kid who was sitting on my house sofa yesterday with a swollen face, crying, and urgently grabbed her.
"Excuse me, Ultra Girl-nim. Wait a second."
"Yes?"
"A kid hero has started operating in the back alleys of our neighborhood. She's a friend who treats you as her mentor and role model and tries hard until she's bleeding every day...... If you have time later, could you please help her or give her some advice?"
At my sudden request, Ultra Girl widened her eyes for a moment, then soon smiled a bright and beautiful smile like a blooming sunflower.
"Oh my, me as a role model? My goodness, that's a total honor. Of course! I'll gladly help anytime. What's that friend's hero name?"
"Her name is Spark. She's a friend who emits current from her palms and sticks to walls using the principle of static electricity."
"Spark... I'll keep that in mind."
She winked pleasantly, then soared straight into the sky and disappeared beyond the clouds in an instant.
I looked at the contrail left in the air and smiled lightly.
Somehow, the gloomy sky of The City looked a little clearer today.
I started the car and grabbed the steering wheel again, heading toward the villains' den.
At the same time, inside a certain hero's secret base.
"...Why do I get badmouthed so often?"
Nocturne, who had been eavesdropping on this entire conversation and was secretly hurt, let out a deep sigh.