Chapter 5. Nah, no way. (3)
Chapter 5. Nah, no way. (3)
The reason superpowers are specially monitored is because, quite literally, superpowers are 'specially' dangerous.
However, that danger isn't just because they are treated similarly to knives or guns.
Of course, abilities that can set bodies on fire, explode things, or move objects can be dangerous in and of themselves. To put it simply, it's like people who are always carrying guns or bombs on them.
Since it's also physiological, there's no way to stop it other than self-control, so one could see it as dangerous in that regard, but......
The truly dangerous reason is that superpowers are abilities that can kill people 'without evidence.'
For example, let's say someone commits arson. In a normal case, there would somehow be evidence left behind. Fingerprints, footprints, or scraps of clothing from having visited the place, or the act of setting the fire captured on CCTV.
But what if it's an ability user who can create fire out of thin air?
Even if they appeared on CCTV, they were just standing still, so it would look like 'the fire started on its own.'
All that remains is circumstantial evidence. And with only that circumstantial evidence, it is generally difficult to get a guilty verdict under the principle of legality.
What would you answer to the question, 'Is there any proof that I did it?'
What if someone else with a similar ability happened to be nearby? Abilities are not unique to an individual. Fire-starting abilities are more common than you'd think among superpowered people, and someone who awakened too late might not even be registered yet.
After coming to this world and looking into it, I found that about a century ago, in the early days when these abilities first started manifesting, there were indeed people who slipped through the legal net like that.
If you assume there's an ability to lift something without any movement, couldn't there be someone who can see very far away and harass or kill someone without any restrictions? Aren't both sides unscientific anyway, they said.
The solution was simply to change the law.
Laws aren't scientific theories meant to argue about the laws of physics anyway. They run according to what people decide.
Research on superpowers continued, so laws were created here and there to somehow lock up superpowered people, such as the fact that the target of an ability cannot be that far away, or that such an all-powerful ability hasn't been discovered, and so on. It was still a law that could potentially create innocent victims, but what could you do? You couldn't just let them run loose, either.
Above all, there were far more people without superpowers in this world than those with them.
"......."
So, I can understand this kind of 'full-scale investigation.'
If the rumor I heard in the classroom is true, the culprit's ability would be something like telekinesis, which can harm people from afar without touching them.
"Hmm......."
Well, I have a very solid alibi, and I faithfully update the information about my ability periodically. There's no way they wouldn't believe me.
Click.
As I was organizing my thoughts in my head, the door opened carefully.
Soi looked at me through the crack in the door.
Seeing only half her face is a bit scary. It's fortunate that Soi's face isn't that scary-looking.
If it weren't, I would have pathetically gone "Heh!?" again.
"Hey, is it okay if I come in?"
"Yeah. It's fine."
Soi doesn't need to walk on eggshells around me in this house.
That would be too shameless.
She must have felt alienated as it is.
I know that Soi will awaken someday, and Soi's parents are certain of it too, but the person involved might feel a little different, right?
No, is this just me overthinking things?
Soi has never shown an atmosphere of caring about such things in front of me.
Soi entered the room and sat down next to me.
"It's been a while since I've been in here, too."
"......Was it?"
"Yeah. We usually stay in my room, don't we?"
Come to think of it, we do live mostly in there.
Or we're in the living room.
Whichever place we were in, I never really thought it was cramped. The house is so big, to begin with.
That's not to say I have no attachment to my room.
I didn't have any complaints about staying in Soi's room together, but once we become real adults later, we'll end up using different rooms anyway.
I'll be living in this house until I move out......
So, the layout of the room and the furniture were mostly adjusted to my taste. With a neat and simple design.
......Moving out, huh.
I haven't been adopted yet. There was talk about it a few times when I was young, but every time, I felt a little sorry, so I just kept putting it off with the excuse that I would think about it.
It feels like...... I'm the only one benefiting.
Considering what I've received, I couldn't even pay it all back, so it would be shameless to ask for more.
Even if Dohyun-ajusshi becomes my dad right now, I'm still scared of even hugging. Wouldn't it be bothersome to have a daughter like that by their side?
And it's a bit weird for me, remembering my entire past life, to act like a daughter.
Soi, who had been sitting next to me without a word for a moment, got up and looked around the room.
"Umm."
But there's nothing to find by doing that. I consume almost all my hobbies digitally. The only things here are probably classic literature.
"Nothing really happened, right?"
"Yeah. Nothing."
It's not a lie.
To be honest, it feels like something did happen, but I haven't heard anything myself.
"I see."
Soi, who nodded, hesitated for a moment as if she were worried about something, then soon went, hmm, nodded her head, and said.
"Hey, I just suddenly thought of this."
"Yeah?"
"You know that cartoon we used to watch when we were little? The, what was the title again."
"Uh?"
When I tilted my head, Soi clapped her hands and said.
"Right, that magical girl show. Remember?"
"Oh, uh......."
I nodded in confusion.
There were magical girl shows, and there were cartoons with little monsters in them. Soi in this world wasn't exactly an otaku, but even if you aren't an otaku, everyone has cartoons they liked when they were young.
But why is she suddenly talking about this?
"I really enjoyed watching it, too. Such a memory. Right?"
"Oh, yeah."
That's true, but.
We definitely watched it together and had quite a bit of fun.
When I was young, I couldn't say I watched it openly. Though when I talked to my friends later, it seemed like everyone watched it in secret.
In that regard, this position isn't bad. Whether you're a guy or a girl, if you're good-looking, liking cartoons isn't a flaw.
Still, personally, um.
Well, it's one thing if it's for little kids, but if it's media targeted at adults to some extent, it can be a bit embarrassing.
These days, phone games can look quite embarrassing even if they're just rated for 15-year-olds.
"So, anyway."
Thump.
Soi sat down next to me again.
She's close.
Soi's sense of distance toward me has always been close. Even though she suddenly came into our house and took up a position similar to family, and unnecessarily worried my parents and took their attention, Soi really liked me.
That was something I was truly grateful for—
If I were very young, it would be one thing, but now, having her stick right next to me like this is a little embarrassing.
I feel guilty, too. A feeling that I shouldn't be doing this, something like that—
"Recommend me a cartoon."
"......."
But at Soi's words, which I heard immediately after, the various thoughts that had been swirling in my head until just a moment ago flew away.
"Heh."
A surprised sound popped out of my throat a little late.
Creak.
I turned my head with a creak to look at Soi.
Soi, who was sitting stuck to my side, was smiling really brightly. Like, without any ulterior motives.
As if she were enjoying having this conversation.
"Oh, uh. Cartoon, recommendation?"
"Yeah. You like cartoons, right?"
"I, do......?"
I do like them, but.
Have I ever watched cartoons openly in front of Soi? Maybe when I was in elementary school, but not since before I came to middle school. Even if I watched them, I watched them secretly on my smartphone. At an angle where Soi couldn't see.
And among the cartoons I watched, there were naturally some with slightly embarrassing content.
If I had watched general weekly serial cartoons or webtoons, I could have recommended them confidently. Because they're just universal cartoons that many people watch normally.
But the cartoons I mainly watch are.
To put it nicely, school life, romantic comedy.
To put it bluntly, harem genre.
"Oh, uh."
I moved my mouth somehow and asked.
"Did you know?"
"Huh? We share the same room. We even use the same bed. We roll around together looking at our phones, do you think I wouldn't know?"
"......."
I tried moving my mouth a few times.
But no words came out.
My brain was only moving to judge the situation, so I guess even the area to vibrate my vocal cords had been entirely allocated to that worry.
Oh, wait a minute then.
By any chance, did she see me playing games, too?
I have a girl in a swimsuit set as my lobby screen.
I usually only did it when we were far apart or when I was in the bathroom for a little bit.
Did she see that too?
No way, right?
That can't be, right?
Nah, no way.