Praise Me
The official debut of Pax Corporation’s new hero team, The Paragon, proved far more successful than intended.
—[Metropolitan Museum of Art hostage crisis, successfully neutralized.]
—[Great America—who is she?]
—[Pax Corporation unveils America’s—no, humanity’s—strongest hero team.]
Countless media outlets covered their debut, and countless posts flooded SNS and online communities with photos and commentary from the scene. As a result, their official debut announcement was moved forward, and a group interview was scheduled for the near future.
“…I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
“Jun will not be participating in the interview. He specifically requested it.”
“Where is he right now?”
“No idea. We offered him proper housing, but he insisted on finding his own place. He’s probably out looking at real estate as we speak.”
“…”
Ryu Hajun, unfortunately, would not be joining the group interview.
“Why did he refuse to participate?”
“Ah, yes. He left a message.”
Vender stroked his beard as he answered Great America’s question.
“He said, ‘The hero the American people truly want to see isn’t himself—it’s Great America, the symbol of America.’”
“…”
“From my perspective, he’s quite the sensible fellow. Having you monopolize the media spotlight will be far more beneficial for our stock price anyway.”
Great America frowned at Vender’s words.
“But wasn’t it he who commanded and resolved the situation on-site?”
There was no denying that Ryu Hajun had played the largest role in handling the scene. Was it really acceptable to leave him out?
“Haa… What the public wants is the image of a powerful, golden-haired symbol of America punishing the terrorists.”
Vender wrinkled his nose in irritation and continued lecturing her.
“But standing right beside her, an Asian contractor who’s only been with us for a few days, sharing the spotlight? Does that make any sense?”
“…”
“Great America. You must be perfect. I won’t deny that his abilities exceeded expectations. But never forget that the face of The Paragon is you.”
Vender waved his hand, signaling for her to leave.
“…Understood, Mr. Vender.”
Great America obediently followed his instruction and exited the office.
—Click.
The moment the door shut, her expression turned ice-cold.
‘…How absurd.’
She was perfect. There was no room for argument on that point. Ordinary people were no different from insects, and even among ability users, most were beneath her. And yet—
‘He is different.’
Ryu Hajun—Jun—was different. Even if his physical abilities were inferior to hers, he possessed something she lacked: insight. And yet these Pax executives failed to recognize his value.
‘…Vender may still have his uses, but the rest are no different from the others.’
They were nothing but nuisances. In the end, only she truly understood his real worth.
“…Haa.”
With a sigh, she arrived at the now fully repaired conference room of The Paragon.
“Oh, you’re here. The interview order’s been decided.”
Only Napalm was there, lounging as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“…Where are the others?”
“No clue where that Jun bastard went. The rest are in the dressing room.”
“I see. So, what’s the interview order?”
“Ah, that? I’m first, then you. I guess I’m still more recognizable, so they put me up first—”
“—What?”
Great America’s fury ignited instantly at Napalm’s words.
“What did you just say?”
“I said I’m first. You deaf?”
“How dare you, you little—?”
“? I literally just said it’s because my face is more well-known—”
“—No. No, that won’t do. If it can’t be Jun, then it has to be me first.”
“What kind of bullshit—”
—Whoosh———!
Great America folded space in an instant and appeared before Napalm, seizing her by the throat.
“Jun said that I am the face of The Paragon. And what? You’re taking the first interview slot?”
—Crack…!
Napalm’s superhuman durability kept her neck from snapping, but the pain was excruciating. She couldn’t even breathe properly.
“Kuhak…! Krgh…”
Tears welled in her eyes as she stared up at Great America.
“Change it. No matter what it takes. You will. You must!!!”
—Boom——!!
She hurled Napalm to the floor and turned to gaze out the window.
Jun had said it. Not himself, but she was America’s symbol. Therefore, she had to become exactly that. She had to prove he was not wrong. She had to make it clear to these insects that he had chosen her.
‘…Jun. I’ll do as you said.’
She would become the face of The Paragon. No matter what.
*
The moment the incident was more or less wrapped up, I immediately began skipping all of Pax Corporation’s scheduled events. Not that Pax seemed to mind—in fact, they probably preferred it.
‘In my previous life, I didn’t contribute much to the incident, so only my face got attention. But now…’
If I participated in everything, excessive spotlight would fall on me. So the moment a schedule was set, I informed Vender that I wouldn’t be attending.
—…As an apology for the previous housing arrangement, we can provide a rather nice residence—
—I’ll handle that myself.
After telling them I would find my own place, I left Pax. The residence I chose was a run-down studio apartment on the outskirts of Queens, New York. Honestly, it was worse than what Pax had offered. The area was full of immigrants, the nights would be noisy, and the hallways carried a strange, stale smell. But—
‘It’s a twelve-minute walk to the subway, and there are no surveillance cameras.’
It wasn’t bad at all.
“…Hmm. I’ll need to bring in some furniture and get everything ready.”
Still, the place was completely empty. It didn’t feel like somewhere someone actually lived yet.
‘Now it’s time to make some money.’
I needed to secure some cash. Pax paid a generous salary, but—
‘It won’t be nearly enough for what I have planned.’
Compared to what I needed to accomplish, it was a drop in the bucket. So the obvious solution was—
“—Bulls Construction. Hah, I can’t believe the stock price is still this low.”
Stocks. Especially Bulls Construction, whose explosive rise was infamous. ‘I need to buy everything right now.’
I dove straight into the stock market. Whenever the price hit the peak I remembered, I sold without hesitation.
—[Aegis Industries collaborates with Pax Corporation… A new wind blowing through hero suits?]
Using memorable news articles and the stock prices I recalled, I continued day-trading relentlessly, all day long.
After a week had passed, my entire fortune—once $38,000—had become—
—[$ 410,000]
$410,000.
.
.
.
“…Hah, good thing I skipped all that deployment nonsense.”
I let out a satisfied sigh as I stared at the balance in my account. There was still plenty of room and time to grow my wealth, but for now, having immediate liquid capital was enough.
“I need to get proper equipment. Compared to my last life, this is pathetic. Right now I’ve got nothing but my body.”
For the moment, I decided to be content with this. At the same time, a news article caught my eye.
—[Pax Corporation’s new team, The Paragon. Exclusive RNN interview!]
“…Ah, so it’s today.”
The interview I’d refused to attend—the one I’d told them to handle without me—had been scheduled. I’d been so focused on stocks these past few days that I’d lost track of time. Apparently, it was already happening.
—Click.
I immediately opened YouTube to watch the live broadcast.
“…Huh?”
Something felt off.
On screen, Great America sat before the interviewer. Beside her, Napalm looked strangely unwell—almost as if Great America had roughed her up. That much, I could understand. But then—
—[Among the members of The Paragon, there’s Jun, who was also present at the scene. He didn’t participate in the interview. Is there a reason for that?]
Under normal circumstances, it would have been a meaningless question. A simple topic change, or a polite mention of the absent member. Vender had probably prepared a safe answer—something like “Jun focuses on internal command,” “He has other duties,” or “He has a personal schedule.”
However—
—[He said this.]
Her red eyes slowly turned toward the camera. It felt as though she were looking directly at me through the screen.
—[The hero the American people truly want to see isn’t himself—it’s me, the symbol of America.]
“…?”
The air at the scene seemed to chill in real time.
—[That’s why I’m standing here.]
But Great America didn’t stop.
—[To prove that he was not wrong.]
The corner of her mouth slowly curled upward.
—[To prove that I am the perfect symbol of America whom he chose.]
At that moment, the chat exploded.
“…What the hell.”
And then, finally, she looked straight into the camera and spoke.
—[Are you watching, Jun?]
“…”
—[You’re even more remarkable than I thought, Jun.]
…Just like a child begging their parent for praise, her face lit up with a bright, cheerful smile.