Piling Up Promises (1)
A message came in from Ida-in.
We'd now entered the point in the story corresponding to volume 2 of the original work. It was best to build a constructive relationship with Ida-in.
I sent a reply.
It wasn't a lie—dealing with Crusher's remnants had been incredibly tough. I'd been squeezing in hunts even during sleep time.
I sent the reply. Ida-in had a subtly fragile mentality, so I needed to give her these periodic pats on the head like this.
This role's not bad. It was something Villain Blank couldn't do—something only civilian Han Yohan could pull off. When I was in Han Yohan mode, positioning myself as her counselor felt right. Plus, I could use her as an informant on the side.
Maybe I can cover the manhwa's blind spots with this. The original comic only covered the big events. It didn't delve into the Hero Association's minor internal affairs. I could get all sorts of trivial info on the Hero Association from Ida-in.
"Blank...!!!"
From the pile of corpses of villains I'd thought I'd wiped out, bloodied villains suddenly started rising.
One villain who'd been hiding in the corner began manipulating the corpses with his hands glowing a sinister purple.
"Necromancer..."
A guy with a superpower for controlling corpses, huh. I grabbed a nearby weapon and eyed the charging corpses, then snatched up a jungle machete from close by.
Glancing roughly at the phone screen amid the texts, I slashed through the charging corpses one by one with the machete. As I sliced, I unleashed shockwaves to expand the cutting edge, bisecting the living corpses in huge sweeps.
Blank, this guy's pretty handy with just about any weapon, huh. Not just blunt weapons—he was incredibly skilled with swords too. My body instinctively remembered the detail of pulling the blade back toward me after a cut to amplify the force.
Blood splattered onto the phone screen mid-fight as I hacked away. Ugh, gross.
After butchering the corpses with the machete, I rapidly closed in on the villain trying to raise more. I fired a shockwave at his legs to shorten the distance, then smashed the machete into the back of his flailing head with all my strength, knocking him out. The durability of the machete, already on its last legs, snapped in two.
That finished off the last of the villains for real. Tough bastards.
Ida-in suggested meeting tomorrow afternoon. I had nothing scheduled then.
Ida-in pinned a location for a famous franchise café near the Hero Association.
It was past midnight—technically today—but I decided not to sweat the small stuff.
Tomorrow, I'd meet Ida-in. Ding. Then another message came in. From Snake.
Couldn't she just use the in-ear comm?
Right after the appointment talk with Ida-in, Snake brings up her own appointment. Do topics like this attract each other?
Where to go? Snake was a wanted villain with her face out there, so no legit restaurants in broad daylight. Somewhere around this slum?
Snake pinned coordinates in the southern part of District 23. There was a fancy-looking restaurant. Considering slum standards, its extravagance was even more shocking.
Leading on a date with a woman? No idea how, but I'd figure it out. Snake's reward was the date itself, so I'd wrap it up cleanly, settle things with her, and cut ties. That was my goal.
The next day, I headed to the Hero Association's city district in my fully disarmed civilian look, mask and all off.
"Yohan! Over here! Here!"
Far off, I spotted Ida-in. She was quite the beauty, drawing eyes inevitably.
"Ah, Ida-in. Hello."
"Hehe. Nice seeing you again. Feels like it hasn't been long, but also like forever."
Ida-in approached with a beaming smile.
"Let's go! They have a limited menu right now. Been dying to try it but never had the chance."
Saying that, she led me into the café.
At a window seat in the café, I had a plain Americano, while Ida-in had ordered a parfait that looked like a fortress topped with towers of toppings.
"They've got this limited parfait. Mmm, so sweet."
Ida-in aggressively scooped away at the ice cream towers, conquering them one by one.
"Oh, and guess what! I escaped apprentice hero status!! I'm an official hero now!!"
She declared it with gusto, rummaging in her pocket to pull something out. A license card marking her as a D-rank hero was laid before me.
"Whoa, congrats. You've finally taken your first step as a hero!"
This matched the original storyline. After the Starfield incident, Ida-in becoming a D-rank hero was unchanged.
"I'm gonna get stronger here and climb the ranks fast!"
Her motivated smile lifted my mood too.
"I'll be cheering you on."
In the original, I'd cheered for that honest smile too.
"Yes!! I'll do my best! If I ever get a fan club, I'll make you president, Yohan!"
Ida-in said it boldly.
"What an honor."
This comes with some heavy shoulders.
"Ahaha. I got ahead of myself. Embarrassing."
Her face flushed, embarrassed by her own words. It was incredibly cute how she got shy right after saying it.
After that, Ida-in spilled every detail of her Starfield adventure. I knew it all since I'd been there, but hearing it from her perspective made it fresh.
"By the way, Blank's such a weird villain. Why'd he help?"
The Starfield talk inevitably circled back to Blank. Ida-in seemed pretty bothered by his inexplicable behavior too.
"Yeah, no idea."
I brushed off the prickly comment with vagueness. That was my stance.
"Seriously, what gives."
Blank was clearly nagging at her mind.
Afterward, she rambled on about random work stuff and gripes. I mostly listened. About an hour in, as she scraped the bottom of the empty parfait cup, her face turned beet red with embarrassment.
"Ah... Sorry. I feel like I just talked nonstop about myself."
She was ashamed of chattering too much solo.
"No, it's fine. I enjoyed it."
It felt like seeing the human Ida-in, not the hero. Cliché, but true.
"Talking with you feels nice somehow, Yohan. You've got this talent for putting people at ease."
She clutched her cup, fidgeting her fingers, then blushed.
"N-not that 'nice' means... like..."
Her voice trailed off too low to catch.
"Anytime you've got gripes to vent, hit me up. Gives me material too, win-win."
Living the detail as a hero manga story writer, got it? Lies needed this level of polish.
"Yes!! I'll take you up on that!"
Ida-in beamed, looking much relieved.
I parted ways with Ida-in after. She had work, and I made an excuse about mine before heading back to my home turf, District 23 slums.
Once back in 23, I handled a few small gigs from Yongpali, then headed to the dinner spot with Snake.
Ida-in by day, Snake by night. Felt like I'd turned into some massive playboy. Reality differed, of course.
Snake picked her home turf for the meetup. It was the heart of the southern slums ruled by Yeomra. Less grimy than other slum spots, thanks to Yeomra maintaining order.
No gutsy gang dared fuck with Yeomra, so southern security was rock-solid. Peace held by an overwhelming top dog. Even had a semblance of admin structure for a slum.
Yeomra collected "protection fees" like taxes and kept the south pristine in return. Made it the safest slum spot. Booming nightlife and illegal casinos spilled into legit success, making it the richest too. Full coffers breed goodwill.
Slums drew villains, but the south saw daylight folk too. Rich young masters flocked for thrills unavailable up top. Black zone turned gray.
At a central south restaurant, two burly Yeomra goons stood guard. Massive builds. They clocked my mask and stepped aside.
"Snake's waiting inside."
"Ah, thanks."
"No weapons allowed. Appreciate it."
Enter unarmed? Unsettling, but refusing meant turning every Yeomra in the south against me. I handed over the bat on my back meekly.
Stripped of gear, I stepped into enemy(?) territory. Snake called it a simple date, but no way it was that innocent.
What scheme's she cooking?
Recalling original knowledge on Snake, I entered the restaurant, vigilance maxed.
On the lavish second-floor terrace, Snake waved from the railing.
"Babe! Over here. Here."
Snake, in a glamorous dress, waved me over friendly-like.
Alright, Snake. Your move. I ascended the stairs to the terrace cautiously, noting Yeomra goon numbers and positions. Just in case shit hit the fan.