Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Meeting (4)
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"...What the hell just happened?"
Han Yu-ah recalled the man she had been facing off against just moments ago.
At the very end, she had unleashed her Heart Sword at full power in an instant, slicing right through his leg.
Any ordinary Villain would have collapsed on the spot, unable to do a thing.
It was only natural that they wouldn't be able to use their legs for a while.
'I definitely felt it cut...'
She broke out in a cold sweat as she remembered how he seemed utterly unaffected even after being struck by her sword not once, but twice.
And on top of that, his overwhelming power that was hard to even attribute to a human.
'Untouched by my blade, physical abilities at least A-Rank... Even as a physical fighter, the sheer destructive force he displayed means we could safely call him S-Rank...'
Why wasn't someone with that kind of strength and mental fortitude registered as a Hero, instead engaging in unlicensed activities?
That was what bothered Han Yu-ah.
It would make sense if he were operating as a Villain, but for him to be doing unlicensed Hero work instead of Villain activities was blatantly suspicious.
If he wanted to do Hero work, he would have registered and gotten his license ages ago.
"Is there some reason for it?"
She sheathed her sword and sank deep into thought.
'The order was definitely to subdue him...'
With that level of power, subduing him outright wasn't the play—recruitment or persuasion would have been far better. The fact that the official directive had been to subdue him was definitely odd.
"...Villain subdued. Target escaped."
Sword Fairy reported in, glanced around briefly, then kicked off the ground and leaped away.
The Villain would be taken into custody, so she had nothing left to do here.
'I'll have to check it out back at base.'
She hadn't paid much attention to the rumors floating around lately.
She'd just figured the protagonist of those rumors was the one the directive targeted, so she'd planned to subdue and bring him in as ordered.
But contrary to expectations, he was far stronger.
'Could I have even won?'
He was a powerhouse she couldn't confidently claim victory over even if she fought at full strength—a foe she couldn't even gauge how many strikes it would take to bring down.
......
She needed to look into him more.
"Haa..."
This is so frustrating.
'I thought this was the right approach at first...'
I never imagined the government and Hero Association would issue an order to subdue me.
I figured they wouldn't be all that fond of me, sure, but not to this extent.
'I've taken so much work off their plates... Wait, is that exactly why they hate me? Because I'm cutting into their jobs?'
Nah, no way.
I'm not the type who wants to flaunt my power anyway.
If I had my way, I'd register as a Hero, bust my ass doing Hero work, and rake in the cash.
I don't have any better way to make big money right now... My dream is to own a cafe, and Hero gigs are the best shot I've got at saving up startup funds at my level.
Pull in as much dough as possible, open a cozy little cafe, and live the chill life—that's the goal.
'I know way too little about this world...'
I did consider showing off my strength and claiming it was a machine glitch.
But in a world where machine-based power measurements are the norm, would brushing it off as a glitch really fly?
What if they kept bringing new machines to test me? Thanks to my Stat Cheat, I'd just come out as super strong physically with no special Superpower—still a Powerless on record.
And then what?
A Powerless with that kind of strength? I'd get dragged into all sorts of messes just for that.
Going public and operating openly isn't feasible either.
This world has way too many unknowns for me, and as a former regular guy, I don't want to get tangled in anything risky.
I don't even know how strong I am here, so strutting around without a care isn't my style.
That's why my best bet was to hide my identity, build up influence through activities, and make myself untouchable to the government and Hero Association.
I figured they wouldn't touch me officially, so they'd come knocking first—but I didn't expect this approach...
'They really don't like me much...'
At this rate, even if I keep operating, I doubt I'd get a Hero license.
So is sticking to this pointless?
"Argh, what the hell do I do?"
Should I just march into the Superpower Training Center, declare I'm Powerless but strong as hell, and demand they recognize me as a Superpowered individual?
No guarantee it'd work, but it's way more straightforward and cathartic than this roundabout crap.
Sure, it'd stir up some hassle afterward, but with my power level, they wouldn't dare dissect me for research.
Though I'd probably attract shady underworld eyes, so not totally safe.
Anyway, I was at my wit's end with all this brooding.
Why the hell do I have to live in hiding like this?
Is it so wrong to just do some Hero work and make bank?
"Whew."
Whatever. Looks like I'll have to lay low for a while.
I flopped onto the bed and closed my eyes.
"Then... let's begin today's meeting."
In the vast conference room, a man in a suit standing before a screen at the head of the round table where a dozen or so people sat spoke up.
"Today's agenda concerns the unlicensed Hero."
"Unlicensed Hero? Why should we care? That's not important enough to reach us."
"Yes, normally... but this case is different."
A photo soon appeared on the screen.
It was a profile on this unlicensed Hero.
"What's this?"
"Personal information on the unlicensed Hero from the rumors."
"The Hero Association's really gone all out. Didn't expect them to secretly investigate something like this."
"...That's not the point right now. Look closely—it says Powerless."
"What? Powerless?"
"Hold on, did you just say Powerless?"
"Yes."
The room began to buzz.
"I know about this famous unlicensed Hero making waves lately. But I heard he was a physical-type Hero. Doesn't that contradict?"
"Exactly. The prevailing theory is that he has a physical Superpower... but the measurement machine registered him as Powerless."
"Could the machine be faulty?"
"It was a brand-new unit, fresh out of the factory. Very low chance of malfunction."
"Hmm... that's intriguing..."
"...I see what you're getting at."
A silent old man narrowed his eyes and spoke.
"You're bringing up Seongsu Group, aren't you?"
"Seongsu Group? You mean that fallen conglomerate?"
"More precisely, a project they pursued. Am I wrong?"
"No... you're right."
The man nodded slightly at the question and switched the screen.
"Twelve years ago, Seongsu Group secretly launched a project. Proof that humans could surpass their limits without Superpowers. They aimed to create the ultimate army by granting artificial Superpowers to superhumans they engineered themselves."
"...The Paragon Project."
"Yes. The Hero Association caught wind late and rushed in Heroes, but..."
"The project was already scrapped."
"The investigation concluded it was a rampage by the test subjects."
Rampage.
Not certain, but the possibility that a test subject survived couldn't be ruled out.
That's why he wanted to say this.
"You're saying there's a chance that unlicensed Hero is one of those test subjects."
"Precisely."
"Isn't that dangerous? We don't know what he's thinking while doing unlicensed Hero work! We need to deal with him quickly..."
"Calm down. If he had bad intentions, he wouldn't be doing Hero work."
"That's right. If he's really a test subject, it raises questions why he's doing Hero activities."
"And... there are more than a few suspicious points."
The man responded to the old man's words.
"Yes. He has a past history that doesn't fit a test subject. Though as an orphan with no family ties, it's not conclusive..."
Silence fell over the conference room.
The old man steepled his fingers and asked,
"So... what do you plan to do?"
"The Hero Association and government already issued a subdual directive. Standard protocol for unlicensed Heroes, so it went out before this meeting. And a clash has already occurred."
"This is a headache... Who clashed with him?"
"A-Rank Hero Sword Fairy."
"Sword Fairy? Then he's already subdued, right? She's more than capable."
"No, Sword Fairy lost. Overwhelmingly... She admitted it herself."
"What?"
"That strong, huh..."
The opponent was at least A-Rank.
Possibly even S-Rank.
The room buzzed again at the unexpected power.
"So we need Thunder Emperor to subdue him?"
"Sending Thunder Emperor after one unlicensed Hero? That's overkill. The public would freak."
"Above all, we don't even know if he's a test subject for sure."
"...But we can't rule it out either."
The executives clamped their mouths shut at the old man's words.
Ignoring them, he unsteepled his fingers, raised his head, and continued leisurely.
"Let him do as he pleases for now. Minimize subdual efforts. We don't want to provoke him."
"...Understood."
With that, they moved straight to the next agenda.
But every executive's mind was filled with thoughts of that previous item.
It was inevitable.
Twelve years ago—the ultra-secret Seongsu Group project that had entangled the government and Hero Association too.
They never imagined that incident would resurface.