A-Class Hero Valkyrie
For all her bold talk about stirring something up, Kim Sejin had gone surprisingly quiet.
And it didn't look like she'd been punished at home either.
She'd crashed the operation in a mask, wrecked the place, and even attacked Jumper and Iron Fist. I'd fully expected her to be grounded—or worse, get a few smacks from her father the Union Leader—but no.
While Kim Sejin went about her peaceful college life, Eun Seol and I were spending our days and nights busier than ever.
When I said we were busy at night, I meant clashing on-site as Kid G and Valkyrie. Lately, though, it wasn't just those encounters.
After reading that far, Seol went silent for a while before sending another message a few minutes later.
That was how things went between us these days.
When Seol had come to give me a death sentence after I got hurt, she'd already gotten my number through Kim Sejin. But after that, she'd never once contacted me privately. Just asking where I was whenever she needed to say something—that was all.
Lately, though, we were exchanging these trivial chats more and more. College classes, assignments, even pointless talk about other villains or heroes in the news.
I carefully avoided anything about the government so I wouldn't push her too hard, and she did the same. Before we knew it, our relationship had advanced so far that we almost forgot we were a hero and a villain—just ordinary friends.
"Master, is gossiping about others because you have nothing better to talk about? Badmouthing someone behind their back when you lack the courage to say it to their face is an extremely ugly, base, and inferior act."
Sitting at the table and shoveling Baskin-Robbins 31 ice cream for dessert, Eve puffed her cheeks like a squirrel with a huge scoop and ambushed me with criticism.
"Gossip?! I'd never do something like that, and I call out your poisonous tongue right to your face just like this. Wait a second. How do you even know what I'm texting while you're over there eating ice cream?"
"Have you forgotten who I am? I am a super powerful and capable superhuman, so wiretapping, surveillance, and even messenger chat contents are all available to me in real time within a certain range."
"Hey! I have privacy too! Stop looking at and listening to that stuff right now!"
"I cannot. This is part of my base specifications, so stopping would require me to consciously force an interruption, which is tiring."
Her shameless declaration that she'd keep invading my privacy without so much as a change in expression made me jump.
"Then consciously force it and stop!"
"Does Master consciously breathe? Do you consciously blink every time you close your eyes? Where is your tongue positioned inside your mouth right now? Telling me to stop is like telling me to live every day consciously doing those things. It's uncomfortable, so I refuse."
Suddenly hearing that made me hyper-aware of my breathing and blinking. And where my tongue was sitting in my mouth right now... damn it.
"...Is that how it is?"
"That is how it is."
"Haa... Fine. Even if looking and listening can't be helped, don't bring it up to me and make things awkward. Got it?"
"So I must not mention the dirty comics Master secretly viewed on his phone last night, such as Corruption Training! Pure Heroine Netorare Journal, or videos like The Hero Captured by the Evil Organization Succumbs to Carnal Desire...?"
"Yes, exactly, don't go out of your way to mention that—hey!!!!!"
"For reference, those comics and videos are far too exaggerated. Data learning results show that when the size is excessively large, women feel pain rather than pleasure, and if the act continues too long, both men and women have a high statistical probability of developing genital inflammation from friction. A twenty-hour nonstop sexual act like in the Corruption Training! Pure Heroine Netorare Journal Master watched is impossible, and even if it were possible, the man would have a considerably high chance of dying from exhaustion afterward. That is called death by overexertion. Data learning suggests even ability users would not differ greatly in that regard, so you may trust my words."
I covered my face with both hands and hung my head.
Having delivered that crushing shame, Eve finished her piece and went right back to shoveling ice cream with a huge spoon as if nothing had happened.
"Ah, and four days ago, in the video Master watched, I confirmed there was a woman with a red ponytail similar to mine. Following desire is fine, but do not attempt anything with me. I will cut that thing off."
"Ugh... black..."
A few days had passed since the massive exposure known as the "Kid G Scandal."
The government was still racking its brains over the fallout.
"Damn it...! Kid G that bastard is already a problem, but Nightingale too... She knew full well what kind of shockwaves her leaving the Union would cause...!"
"That bitch always seemed to do what she was told while quietly drawing lines. Turns out she was harboring other thoughts the whole time...!"
"Come to think of it, the signs were there ever since she refused our sponsorship offer back in her B-class days. We should have cut her loose earlier, but her public reputation was good and she made excellent propaganda material, so we left her alone and got spectacularly stabbed in the back."
"Have we been able to pinpoint where she went?"
"Not confirmed yet, but considering what she said in the previous meeting, we can't rule out the possibility she headed for Liberator."
"Tsk... If she really went to those anti-government thugs, it'll only give their public opinion war unnecessary momentum... Keep a close eye on Liberator for now. If it turns out Nightingale truly made contact with them... eliminate her."
"Nightingale is strong. Our direct units could take enormous casualties."
"Dimension Walker or Dreamweaver would be one thing, but given her ability's nature, she's not effective in multi-versus-one fights and is forced into close combat. If we carefully select only the fast ones from the direct units who can attack from range, we can eliminate her even if we take some losses. Ideally, of course, that unfortunate situation never arises."
They spent a long while discussing Nightingale's future moves and the follow-up measures for the Kid G Scandal.
Among the government assemblymen, the actual youngest man asked the others in an anxious voice.
"Um, Assemblymen. Wouldn't it be better if we issued a separate explanation regarding the contents Kid G exposed? We already distributed a press release saying it was fabricated, but that was just a press release..."
"Assemblyman Park, are you saying we need to take some kind of countermeasure?"
"Yes. If we leave it like this, won't citizen discontent explode?"
"Hahaha, Assemblyman Park still lacks experience in this area since he hasn't been in politics long."
The other assemblymen remained perfectly calm even at that.
"Assemblymen, as you know, it's complete chaos right now. Voices demanding truth and explanations are coming from every direction. If we keep ignoring them..."
"If we ignore them, then what?"
"Pardon?"
"If we continue ignoring those voices and stick to non-response, what exactly goes terribly wrong?"
"Uh..."
The young assemblyman hesitated, momentarily unsure how to answer.
"Nothing changes. No one takes action, and naturally nothing is different. So why should we respond?"
"But public sentiment right now—"
"Haha, looks like you're still a bit wet behind the ears. You'll improve with time. Ah, public sentiment, you said? Public sentiment is an illusion. The masses have no thoughts or opinions of their own. Do you know an animal called a lemming?"
"Lemmings? Those suicidal rats?"
The young assemblyman thought for a moment and answered; the others nodded.
"Yes, exactly those rats. The masses are lemmings. With nothing in their heads, they just scramble to follow the head of the pack... that is, the public opinion we lead. Didn't we just see it recently? With nothing more than a single report that Kid G was the mastermind behind the Myeongdong incident, public opinion split right down the middle that easily."
"But this time even the media got swept up in the scandal, didn't it?"
Another assemblyman clicked his tongue in irritation.
"That's right. Tsk... That damn Kid G made things complicated. Still, ultimately nothing changes. We've already ordered them to put on a show of investigating, and within a few days we'll hang out one of the celebrities who partied at the Freezing Moon Club—someone with no connections to us, no strings attached. Just put that guy's face and name out on the news, and the masses will focus solely on him and see nothing else. It's always been that way."
"And it doesn't end there. That idiot police chief will also be quietly handled as a suicide soon. Throw just those two out as sacrifices before the masses, and they'll conclude among themselves that all the guilty parties have been punished. Anyone who tries to bring it up further will get torn apart by the others for being exhausting. Then our work is done."
"Will the masses really not cause some major incident?"
At the young assemblyman's words, the others burst into roaring laughter the likes of which hadn't been seen until now.
The young assemblyman looked around in flustered confusion, wondering if he'd misspoken. Some of them were even wiping tears from laughing so hard.
"Hahahaha... Oh my, it's been ages since I laughed like this. The masses cause a major incident? If your intention was to make us laugh, that was truly excellent, Assemblyman Park."
"Uh... Do the other assemblymen think differently?"
"What could those things gather and do? Occupy a building and riot? March on the government complex with weapons? Or have unaffiliated ability users rise up in a group revolt? At best they'll hold 'peaceful' protests with candles."
"Isn't that a problem in its own right?"
"That is precisely the limit of the masses."
The veteran assemblymen sneered.
"Nothing has changed, yet they hoist candles, thrash around in peaceful protest, and pat themselves on the back like it's some enormous achievement. Looking around the world, there's no more ridiculous spectacle. Well, to begin with, that's the only method they can even think of."
"What kind of education do you think they received? 'No matter who the other party is, if you're going to punish them you must have them fairly judged by the law; trying to resolve things through illegal means makes you another criminal.'"
"Ah, the kind you often see in textbooks..."
"We've already shackled them with education from before they could even understand, and you think they'd dare try to free themselves? Absolutely not. Even if someone appears who wants to try..."
"'Violence can never be tolerated under any circumstances.' 'We have a history of achieving much through peace'... We've educated them thoroughly to think that way, and they're bound by it themselves, so they'll just beat down whoever sticks out among them and feel proud about it. Then we simply leave them to live like that. They're doing our work for us—we should be grateful."
The young assemblyman finally clapped his hands together as if understanding.
And he wore the same smile as the others.
"Indeed... Thinking about it that way, nothing will happen on this front. Haha... I was making far too much of a fuss."
"The masses of this country are nothing more than a collection of lemmings who have no power or plans whatsoever, yet truly believe that unconditional peace is the only correct means the moment someone says so. They're not worth worrying about. When they occasionally start making noise, just scatter a celebrity scandal article and it's over. Only for big cases like this do we need scraps to throw them."
"The real problem is Kid G. This one is confronting our methods head-on. Anyway, given how large this matter is, we'll need to prepare several diversions to draw eyes away..."
"As a first measure, how about proposing to the Union that they promote Valkyrie to A-class? We need to set up at least one well-behaved figurehead in the Union."
"Valkyrie...? Hmm, looking at her achievements so far, it wouldn't be insufficient... And with that Nightingale bitch having escaped, Valkyrie is the one who listens to us best. Her external image is good too. Raise her well and she can sufficiently fill Nightingale's void."
"Unlike Nightingale, who occasionally made strange acts of insubordination, Valkyrie has never once disobeyed. She's well-known externally as Kid G's greatest rival, so if Valkyrie is frequently shown confronting Kid G head-on, it will have the effect of reducing pro-Kid G public opinion as well. No one dislikes Valkyrie, after all."
"Then we'll go with that for the Valkyrie matter... Assemblyman Park will inform the Union. There's no particular disqualification and there's Nightingale's vacancy, so the Union side shouldn't have any reason to oppose."
"Yes."
"And the next agenda item is the bill on blocking detours to pornographic sites and regulating pornography... Tsk, people waste their time trying every which way just to look at that garbage. Let's discuss this matter now."
Five days after the government's large-scale regular meeting.
The news that Valkyrie had been promoted to A-class was announced through the media.