Chapter 379: I Don’t Need It Anymore. (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 379: I Don’t Need It Anymore. (1)
“…Are you telling me to actually believe that?”
It was a strange thing.
I figured the cleanup would take too long, so I’d stopped by briefly just to give Cheon Yu-hak the Airgetlám. Yet, for some reason, even after hearing my kind explanation, he just stared at me as if I were speaking nonsense, refusing to take it.
“Hey, just take it already. I’m busy.”
“…If someone tossed a myth-grade artifact at you and said, ‘Oh, it’s nothing special, I just snatched it on my way here,’ would you be able to just accept it?”
“Why wouldn’t you? I told you I’d wrap things up if you just waited a bit.”
“That ‘bit’ was far too short. Who waits ‘a bit’ and then returns in less than five hours—not even a full day—having wiped out a horde of villains? You even took down an S-rank hero and brought back his artifact?”
“Oh, is it because it’s used? I washed it thoroughly, so it’s fine to use.”
“Don’t try to dodge the point. You know exactly what I mean.”
Man, this guy just won’t let it go.
“I don’t have the right to accept this.”
“The right?”
“I couldn’t keep my promise, and I forced a guy who just barely recovered to overexert himself again. How could I possibly have the nerve to take this?”
“Then take it and pay me back.”
“…What?”
“If you don’t want it for free, take it and pay me back later.”
Normally, I would have engaged in a more delicate conversation for his sake, but unfortunately, I really was quite busy right now.
The Association had sent a summons for me to appear.
Everyone else had tried to stop me, saying there was no need to go, but I eventually managed to convince them by promising that I’d truly rest after this one trip.
“…If I take something like this, how on earth am I supposed to pay you back?”
“How else? Pay me back for the rest of your life, with interest. Think long and hard about how you can settle the debt. You’re good at that kind of thing.”
In truth, I wanted to tell him not to feel burdened—that it was a token of gratitude for going to rescue my sister—but unfortunately, Cheon Yu-hak wasn’t the type to be convinced by such words.
So, this approach was better.
Since he was as strict with himself as he was with others, he would agonize over it and eventually come up with a decent answer.
“…Thank you.”
Leaving his gratitude behind, it was finally time to head to the Association.
* * *
“…Do you really have to go?”
“Yes, I have to.”
Inside the limousine heading to the Association, my sister asked the same question again.
I’d lost count of how many times she’d asked by now.
The atmosphere was already suffocating because of the awkward seating—her in the passenger seat and me at the far end of the back seat—and the lack of conversation made it even worse.
…Well, I was the one who asked the others not to follow so I could talk to her, but I didn’t expect it to be this awkward.
Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one feeling the tension. My sister was the first to break the silence.
“The Association is far more rotten than you think. You won’t see anything good by going there.”
“Mhm, probably. I expect they’ll exceed even my worst imaginations.”
Their honor has fallen to the earth, their benevolence has withered away, their salvation is soaked in madness and lost its essence, and their justice has vanished.
You don’t even deserve to be called heroes.
Those were the words a villain once said while judging them—the same villain who had joined hands with me to tear down the Association.
It was a bit dramatic, but personally, I thought it was spot on. Back then, there wasn’t a single part of the Association that functioned properly.
“…The Association will try to test you. And after the test, they’ll try to put a leash on you.”
“I think that’ll be hard, considering my leash already has three owners.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I mean they’ll try to deceive you with plausible words, encroach on your rights, and subtly try to control you. Do you understand?”
Right, that was the Association’s specialty. Subtly exploiting a person’s good nature, gaslighting them, and making it seem like not following their lead was selfish, until they finally forced a leash onto them.
They even made the person believe they had put it on themselves.
In exchange, the superhumans would receive the empty title of ‘Hero,’ but naturally, I had no interest in such vanity.
“This isn’t something to take lightly. If they feel like they can’t manipulate you as they wish, they’ll use every means and method possible to tear you down…!”
It seemed my sister was truly, deeply unhappy about me going to the Association.
Even though she’d heard everything about how I resolved this incident, I wondered why she thought those Association bastards were any match for me.
“It’s okay. That’s the limit of what those guys can do. Their image is terrible right now, so they won’t be able to act too aggressively.”
“…I still hate it.”
“Pardon?”
In the past, I would have been frustrated by her silence after asking what she hated, but now, even without wanting to, I could read the strong thoughts of the person I was facing.
‘The mere thought of those people judging you however they please and thinking they can pull your strings makes me sick. If I could, I’d flip the whole place upside down.’
…She really worries about me more than I thought.
I felt a bit touched.
‘I haven’t even gotten to do anything with him yet, so who do they think they are?’
I was touched. Why does she always have thoughts like that right when I’m about to get emotional?
I let out a laugh, and my sister, who had been avoiding my gaze by staring straight ahead, turned around with a slightly annoyed expression.
“What is it?”
‘Why is he laughing? It’s making my heart flutter.’
Man, I really can’t get used to this.
“If I don’t go, you’ll have to explain the whole situation by yourself, Sister.”
“…I wouldn’t be alone. There are other Starlight members who didn’t betray us.”
“Since the game is rigged, they’ll eventually pin the responsibility on you and try to summon me anyway. Even if I ignore them, they’ll think it’s a win for them if Father takes a humble stance just to avoid responsibility.”
“Even so…”
‘It’s much better for me to endure it alone than for you to get involved with those filthy bastards.’
“No, it’s nothing.”
‘Even if he’s become stronger, it doesn’t mean it’s okay for him to see such filth. Even if I can’t protect him from threats, I wish I could at least do this for him. Why won’t he listen?’
It was absurd to think she’d been having these thoughts while looking at me with that usual grumpy face.
I realized my sister really liked me in many ways, and I wondered how embarrassed she must have been to never utter a single word of it aloud.
“Don’t worry. To be honest, I’m going because I have business with the Association too.”
“…Business?”
“Yes, business. I’m definitely not going there just to be a victim, and I’m not stupid enough to be tricked into wearing a leash.”
“…Really?”
“And this will probably be the last time I ever step foot in the Association.”
When I said I wouldn’t have to come back anymore, my sister’s expression brightened slightly.
“But Sister, I’m asking this now, but…”
“Yeah?”
“Do you have any intention of quitting the Association and becoming a private hero?”
“…Huh?”
Well, I was likely going to declare a break with the Association today, and it would be bad if she suffered consequences just for being my family, right?
“I’ve wanted to quit if I could, but…?”
Fortunately, the answer that came from her lips was quite satisfying.
* * *
The Hero Association building looked like an ordinary office building, at least on the outside.
However, to prevent external intrusion, they had installed a ton of artifacts that interfered with teleportation, along with various other defensive artifacts.
Well, the ground floor wasn’t that important anyway, so I ignored it. The basement, where I was headed now, was the true essence of the Association.
An employee, after verifying my sister and me, called the elevator and pressed the floor buttons in a specific sequence, causing a new button to appear on the wall.
…Seo-ha said she added this kind of theatricality because she liked it, but honestly, a truly dangerous villain would just smash their way in, so I wondered what the point of such concealment was.
Descending deep underground, we reached the somewhat unrealistic depth of the 50th basement floor. There, the hallway leading to the Association’s pride—the ‘Interrogation Room’—appeared.
For the record, walking down a hallway with sparse lighting in a dark space tends to make one feel strangely uneasy.
This wasn’t just due to psychological factors; there were actual artifacts installed to induce anxiety.
I think they said they made it this way because negotiating with an anxious opponent is easier and simpler.
Anyway, as we walked down the hallway while under the mental attack of the artifacts, a massive door appeared at the end.
After waiting for a moment, the door finally opened, revealing the interrogation room.
The scene hadn’t changed at all from my past memories.
Five massive pillars stood there, with flames of different colors flickering at their tops.
The theatricality of acting like they were something special was still laughable, but to someone whose mind had been affected by the psychological attacks on the way here, it would probably look quite intimidating.
“Ugh…!”
In fact, it seemed to have worked quite well on my sister, who didn’t have much immunity to hypnosis.
I lightly tapped her shoulder and shared some of my energy. Freed from the pressure, she looked at me with a surprised face.
Don’t mention it. Breaking this kind of primitive intimidation is nothing to me now.
[Indeed. First, we thank you for answering our summons.]
Ah, damn. This was bad.
A crisis had arrived from a completely unexpected place. I felt sorry for the Association President, who was speaking in a deeply lowered voice, but remembering that his real face was just that of an ordinary middle-aged man made me want to burst out laughing.
I didn’t expect this kind of ambush.
[First, it is only right that we offer our thanks and commend your achievements.]
Another light flickered as a different voice spoke.
…So I have to see this farce again.
Each of them represented the four official factions within the Association and the fifth faction that worked in the shadows. Honestly, my opinion was that none of them, including the President, were sane.
They were already insignificant, but perhaps because I had recently met actual gods, they felt even more trivial.
[The feat of dealing with the villains who occupied Alcatraz with a small force and rescuing the Starlight team is very great. There must be a fitting reward.]
For the record, that ‘fitting reward’ probably referred to points issued by the Association. To put it bluntly, it was like a gift certificate that could be used at department stores or Association subsidiaries.
They monopolized every scrap of information about truly important artifacts or treasures, sharing them only with heroes they fully trusted as their own.
Prime examples were the Airgetlám used by Flash and the Claiomh Solais.
Points weren’t entirely useless, but they weren’t a reward enticing enough to pique my interest.
[Of course, the honor of contributing to the safety of the citizens is a greater reward than anything material, and the voices of gratitude from the citizens are a more precious treasure than anything else, but…]
I listened to their empty praise, wondering how far they would take the nonsense, until they finally got to the point.
[However, one cannot say that everything was perfect.]
Right, this is more like the Association.
Disorienting a person’s mind with hypnosis, puffing them up with hollow words, and then tearing them down to turn them into a well-behaved dog.
It was a nauseating method, which made me feel right at home.
[First, you arbitrarily labeled members of the Starlight team—whom you might have been able to save—as defectors and eliminated them.]
[Second, no matter how fierce the battle with the villains was, you partially destroyed the Alcatraz prison, allowing some villains to escape.]
[Third, you drove an S-rank hero, who was incredibly valuable in terms of ability, to his death and took possession of his artifact.]
[And finally, fourth, in an attempt to take all the credit for yourself, you submitted a false report claiming that the S and A-rank heroes who accompanied you did nothing.]
…Hmm? I didn’t expect that last one. Well, I suppose it could look that way to them.
The fifth pillar only had its light on, and there was likely no one there, so I didn’t feel the need to listen to their nonsense any longer.
[Do you have anything to say in rebuttal?]
“No.”
Satisfied with my reaction, the light representing the President started spewing more nonsense.
[Then, as there is a procedure, we shall start by having you return the artifact used by Flash…]
But, you know. Honestly, I’ve listened long enough.
“Ah, hold on a second. I have something to say too.”
[Hmm?]
Man, seriously. I almost lost it trying to hold back my laughter. If I’d laughed, I wouldn’t have been able to shout this out so satisfyingly.
“I’ve heard enough of your bullshit. I’m going to ignore every request you make anyway, so I’d appreciate it if you’d stop wasting your breath. It’s fucking pathetic.”
Hmm, no reaction?
“I came here just to say that. You morons.”
When I poked them again, the lights at the tops of the pillars finally began to flicker violently.
So what if you’re flickering? What are you going to do about it?
Huh?