A Bloody Discovery
After heading to the Hero Association's central headquarters like that, we walked and walked until we stood in front of a door. 'Room 677.' This was where that guy, still the Area 7 representative, was. The central headquarters only went up to Room 57, but on the seventh floor alone, they'd changed the numbering so that Room 57 became Room 77. Originally it should have been Room 657, not 677, but it seemed they'd also renumbered the sixth floor to 77 when they moved the rooms. If he liked the number 7 that much, he might as well have made it Room 777-7. The reason it wasn't Room 777 was probably because he'd either given up the spot or had it taken by the newly appointed representative this time. Knock knock knock— "We'll be coming in." Mari knocked on the door before opening it. Because I was short and standing behind her, I couldn't see inside the room, but the sour smell wafting out and the flashing lights confirmed he was definitely here.
"Oh. You got here quick." His voice came from somewhere in the room as he popped out. Hero name 'Seven.' Shortened to Sevens. Golden hair and sunglasses even indoors. A flashy fur coat forced onto his muscular upper body like he was desperate to show it off, paired with white pants that looked two sizes too small after a botched wash. He looked more like a mid-level boss at an illegal casino than a hero, but despite appearances, he was actually a pretty diligent hero. Probably.
"By the way, who's this lady? Did he get married? That can't be his type..." Sevens crouched down to meet my eye level and asked Mari who I was. Even though his tone was soft, his actions and looks made the question feel sleazy. Yeah. He really was the kind of guy who made you disappointed that someone like him was a hero.
"Well... he hasn't gotten married. He hasn't even started dating yet." Huh? Was he picking a fight? Maybe it was because I'd gotten younger, but I felt my blood boiling and like I might turn aggressive at even that. But I was a hero! I had to hold back.
"Then... Ah! Is this for the new H.T.K.? The one they're adding? Makes sense, Area 4's been getting pretty rough lately." "No, that's not..." Mari tried to cut in and correct him as Sevens jumped to his own conclusions, but I tugged on her sleeve. "What's the matter?" She leaned down and whispered, thinking I had something to say to her. "No, get behind me." "Huh?" I pulled her wrist again and moved her behind me. Now I was standing in front of Sevens.
"Oh, our lady here is about to—" Thud—! I kicked him in the shin with the tip of my shoe. He wasn't exactly innocent, and the citizen thing was ambiguous, so hitting him was fine. "Oh! Feisty little miss. Area 4 really does have some talent, huh?" Even after getting kicked, he just laughed it off with a hearty chuckle. Damn. I'd kicked pretty hard, but it didn't seem to do much damage. Maybe I should've stomped with my heel instead.
"Whatever. Let's just go inside. We have things to talk about." "Haha! I'm curious what brought you here." We sat facing each other on two sofas. Mari, perhaps trying to project a professional aura even now, stood properly beside me instead of sitting. I almost fell for it, but knowing her previous self, it didn't work on me. I told him about this body transformation I had no solution for. I also mentioned that I'd eventually return to normal, but that there would be a vacancy in my position until then.
"Ahaha!! That's a bigger problem than I thought." "...Why do you look so happy about it?" "I did think your hero name was cute, but to think that macho big guy turned into this adorable little kid. Isn't this your real form? Hahaha!" He kept eating lemons from the table one after another while listening to my story and laughing. I was about to tell him to eat slower, but seeing him eat even the peels, I figured he wouldn't care and swallowed the words. I picked up a lemon from the table too. Then I bit into the rind with my canines. Crunch— crunch—.
"Do you think every story involving me has to go into the H.T.K.?" "Well, they put just about anyone in there. Even Mari over there is from there." Sevens pointed at Mari sitting beside me as he spoke. She straightened her shoulders and put on a proud expression, as if it were something to boast about. "Is that really something to be proud of...?" "At least it's not embarrassing, right?" Both he and I were taken aback by that. I was pretty sure people used to tease her about it back in the early days. "Yeah..." "I guess so." Well, if the person involved said so, then so be it. Seeing Mari chewing only the peel without peeling the lemon, Sevens seemed annoyed and held out his hand. I placed the lemon I'd been munching on into her palm, and she started peeling it with her nails.
"By the way, are you sure it's okay that you didn't finish your seven years?" "Nah, I'm not that crazy." He leaned forward with a rather serious expression. If an ordinary person had said that with such determination, I would've just gone along with it, but this was the guy whose hero name was 'Seven,' the one who became the seventh representative hero of Area 7 because he liked the number 7 that much. "What did you say was the reason you became the district representative again?" "They said this would be the 77th representative for Area 7, so..." "Take out your wallet. I bet it has exactly 77,000 won in it." "W-well, you see..." He pulled out a wallet with a chain-like pattern made of 7s from his pocket in a crawling voice. When he opened it, there was a single check and several cards inside. He took out the check and showed me the amount—7,777,777 won. There were probably seven cards too. Looking at him like this, I thought even I, who'd become a woman, could declare myself the most normal one without issue. I grabbed my throbbing head and asked him again. "Alright, say what you said earlier again." "I guess I am crazy." "Good."
Sevens closed his wallet and put it back in his pocket after hearing me. With how fast the generational shift was happening these days, maybe that was why there were so few sane ability users. It was lucky if they didn't become villains. "Well, it doesn't seem like a big problem. I'll just do my part and head out." "Yes." He straightened his posture and sat properly, and I stood up from my seat and composed myself. Even though one of us had a similar ratio of covered and visible parts while the other wore a fluttering suit, neither of us looked particularly proper, but since there was no one to point it out, it was fine to continue. Ah. I loosened my neck once. "I don't plan on appearing in public yet, so just say you gave advance notice." "Yes!" I recited the words I'd said countless times when heroes rose to or stepped down from the representative position. Some said it was just for show and lacked sincerity, while others said it was consistent and good. But since every single one of them had been an excellent hero in my eyes, I had no choice but to say the same words. "In the name of the heroes who have protected Area 7 for the past six years, I offer my praise for your hard work..." "..." "...?" "Uh... aren't you going to continue?" "What are you talking about? The rest is for the new representative." Normally I would've gone all the way to 'blessings upon the new Area 7 representative who will carry on your role,' but due to the circumstances, since the Area 7 representative was someone else because I'd arrived early, I'd planned to split even the single sentence. "Got a problem with that?" "No. If I'd heard the whole thing, I probably would've felt so weird I'd have cried, so it's actually a relief." "Good. I've done everything I needed to do." I walked back to the sofa and threw myself onto it, practically lying down. Then Mari, who'd finished peeling the lemon, placed it in my hand. Munch— munch— Mm~ There was more juice than I'd expected. With my mouth full of lemon, I spoke to him. "Don't get too lax just because you stepped down from the rep position, and don't use your ability too often either." "Please finish what's in your mouth before speaking..." "Mmmph." Mari came up behind me and wiped the juice from around my mouth with the back of her hand. My mouth moved this way and that making strange sounds, but what bothered me more was how her clumsy touch ended up smearing the juice all over my face. In the end, I pushed her hand away with my own and wiped my face on the inside of my coat. At times like this, it was good that it didn't have waterproofing. It might smell a bit, but since it was lemon, it'd cover up any other odors. "Looking at that slot machine over there, I guess I don't need to worry." "Haha..." I pointed at the slot machine in the corner of this Room 657... no, Room 677. One slot machine with cherries, bombs, and jewels on it. Sevens' ability was Great Fortune—not the 'great' as in big, but the 'fortune' as in borrowing. Not that he was lucky, but that he could borrow or pool his luck. It was the superpower that had turned his life around, the turning point that had taken him from drifting between gambling dens. "Don't pour all your ability into dating either." "I'd rather start gambling again than pour all my luck into that." Incidentally, he was the one who'd triggered the creation of the law prohibiting ability users from gambling before obtaining a license by hitting the jackpot seven times. It wasn't that he'd come to his senses and decided to become a hero—he'd just made enough money and quit. That aside, he probably couldn't even enter places with a black mark now, so where'd he get the slot machine? I scratched my head and stood up. While we'd been talking, the time had somehow become 11:07. I could feel people starting to arrive, so now I needed to go give the remaining half of the blessing to the hero who would become the new Area 7 representative and head back. "I'm heading out now." "Yes, see you next time, hyung-nunim." "Next time, just call me hyungnim." As I turned and walked away, I popped the remaining lemon piece in my hand into my mouth. Only then, with empty hands, did I wave the back of my hand at him. Thud— "Alright, let's go to Room 777 now." "Yes."
Fortunately, no one recognized either me or Mari on the way up. Was there any point in wearing the suit? If I'd worn a dress or something lighter instead, people would've just thought I was some VIP because of Mari beside me, but wearing the suit made the whole look weird. I'd had it altered so it didn't flutter like before, but the size difference was so severe that it still did. Knock— knock— ... Knock knock knock— Mari knocked several times, but there was no answer. It was three hours before the decisive match, so it didn't make sense that she hadn't arrived yet. "Are you there?" Knock knock— Still no answer. More than that, there was a smell. I pulled Mari, who had been knocking, behind me again and placed my hand on the doorknob. "You should probably stay out here if you can." Creak— When I opened the door, the inside of the room was horrifically messy. Blood was splattered everywhere, a massive spear and shield lay discarded nearby, and the hero who would become the new Area 7 representative was slumped against the wall clutching her stomach. As far as I knew, her ability was Counterattack—she could store attacks she received and return them to the opponent. The fact that she'd been beaten this badly despite having that ability meant the attacker was skilled enough to do this in a single strike. On a day when countless heroes had gathered for the decisive match, someone had done something like this. Judging by the boldness and skill, if we didn't catch them now, it would become a huge problem. "Mari, call someone from the recovery type!" "Yes!" I'd heard that a bunch of recovery-type ability users had left last time for some reason. Hoping at least one was still around, I approached her to do what I could, shaking her shoulder and asking, "Hey! Snap out of it. I called for help, so you'll be fine soon. So tell me who did this to you!" "...Ah... this... that..." Maybe she'd come to her senses from my shouting, because she said something quietly. I leaned closer and put my ear to her lips. "...to charge..." "What? Speak clearly!" "To charge..." "...Charge?" "...I was charging my ability, so I hurt myself a bit—" "..." I wondered if becoming a woman was really the problem.