Nightmares of the Past, Warnings for the Future
‘Where... am I...?’
She couldn't recall her previous memories.
But the scene before her eyes was anything but unfamiliar.
It was a landscape she knew all too well.
All sorts of aphrodisiacs.
And an array of tools designed for sexual torment.
Even bondage gear...
Shelves lined with objects that gave off an ominous vibe.
‘No way...’
Before she knew it, a gag had been stuffed into her mouth.
‘This isn't happening... right?’
But seeing the man approach made her uneasy premonition feel all the more real.
“Mary sis.”
He approached her again with his signature blank expression.
“You thought you could escape?”
He stared at her with that same impassive face.
“Ready for your punishment?”
…
…
“Hiiik...!!!”
She jolted awake with an unusually loud cry today.
Huff... huff...
Panting heavily, she looked around and found herself in the soft embrace of her bed.
The only discomfort was the sweat soaking her body.
“...You're soaked, huh?”
Of course, it wasn't just sweat.
Like clothes dampened by a drizzle, the conditioning she'd endured had already all but demolished her sexual defenses.
It had conditioned her to leak arousal even in moments of utter despair.
‘No matter how I think about it, escaping was the right call.’
The greatest fear and threat she'd ever felt.
Terrified of what she'd become, she'd abandoned even the path to becoming the boss's wife and fled.
No regrets...
“But why the hell is he there of all places...?”
That sly, teasing voice overlapped with her trembling, anxious one.
She never imagined she'd run into him of all people, and at the Hero Association no less.
‘I picked the one place he was least likely to show up!’
There had been a condition against joining enemy organizations, but non-hostile groups were fair game.
Still, she'd chosen heroes purely to avoid one person.
A guy who was just too much on a human level.
She never dreamed that guy would turn out to be the young master.
‘Wait a sec...’
Then, a fact she'd overlooked in the shock of the sudden encounter hit her.
The young master was joining Nova as her sidekick.
‘She's taking on a guy like that as her sidekick?’
She'd always seen Nova's personality as polar opposite to hers, but she never thought they'd clash over this.
“H-Hello?”
“...Hic!”
Rose let out a small scream at the sound of the young master's voice.
“Oh, Mary sis? Should I call you Rose now...?”
“H-How did you get this number...?”
“Just asked a Hero Association staffer to pass it along after introducing myself. They gave it right up.”
She covered the phone's mic.
And spat out a curse.
“Fucking Hero Association bastards...”
She vowed to storm back in later and trash the place.
“B-But why...?”
“Just checking if you'd blab about who I am to anyone around.”
Hmph.
Rose flashed a light smile.
She and Kylun had no ties anymore.
If anything, didn't she have the upper hand now, with his weakness in her grasp?
“Oh, who knows~?”
“I'd appreciate it if you kept quiet about my dad and the organization, unless you wanna deal with that.”
“And if I did? Just kidding—”
“Then I'd use my dad and the whole organization to drag you back, sis.”
‘D-Drag me back?’
She swallowed hard, tension spiking.
Then, mustering her old organization poise, she replied firmly.
“Young master, that won't happen~ Ahaha...”
“Good to hear.”
‘Good my ass...! If I talk, he'll kidnap me and do all sorts of things again...!’
Of course, Rose knew Kylun's temper well enough not to test it.
“Right, young master. You should get ready too. Rest well...”
The call ended.
“...”
Rose steeled her resolve.
“Letting a dangerous guy like that into the heroes?”
Rich coming from her, an ex-organization girl.
Heroes really lacked self-awareness.
“I have to stop that no matter what.”
For now, even heroes moved to block threats like him.
The usual Hero Association.
But today felt different.
Organizations flipped out over one pissed-off boss; today, two S-ranks were locked in a staring contest, making the whole place tense.
“The sidekick you're taking on—Kylun, right?”
“I told you not to meet him!”
Nova yelled her warning at Rose, who'd ignored her.
How much had he tormented her childhood friend already?
Worries about that naive guy getting his spirit crushed turned to rage.
But Rose didn't flash her usual smirk this time.
“We just met. I didn't do anything, really.”
“Wh-What? Why so serious?”
Nova blinked at Rose's unexpectedly grave demeanor.
But Rose switched to her sly vibe, deeming pure seriousness counterproductive.
“Didn't know you were so desperate to save people~?”
“What the hell, you bitch?”
“Taking a guy like that as your sidekick?”
“Who asked you? You think you know him?!”
“Don't I~?”
But she couldn't spill the past.
Even whispered as a secret, this idiot wouldn't keep her mouth shut.
If word got out...
One day, she might wake up in the young master's playroom for real.
“I've been in the organization life a long time~ Oh, secret?”
“...So?”
“I can spot dangerous types just by looking.”
“N-No way!”
But it hit the nail on the head, in a way.
Even in the USB video warning her darkest moment, he'd shown that malicious glint.
Nova, who'd watched it daily like a side dish, couldn't be clueless about Kylun's danger.
If anything, that's why she'd recruited him.
A masochist's dream: someone to treat her rough.
So Nova defended him.
“K-Kylun's my childhood friend. I know him better than anyone.”
And so far, he'd caused no issues.
Her defense worked, thanks to the childhood friend card.
The woman before her, scarred by experience, wasn't buying it.
Rose—formerly Mary—knew exactly the brutal things Kylun had done under the guise of control.
To her, every action toward his childhood friend was just another mask.
“...He wouldn't do that to a childhood friend.”
“What?”
“N-Nothing. Just a bad feeling. Can't trust my gut?”
Nova glared at Rose.
“Who'd think you hit S-rank on vibes alone.”
“He's dangerous, period!”
For Rose, she had to block this.
‘Becoming a hero means gaining power.’
Even back when he was weak, he'd done those things.
‘If he learns to fight properly...’
It'd be like handing a habitual brawler a blade.
His old consensual sadistic games could turn into forcible overpowering.
Shiver... ♡
Her masochistic walls tingled faintly, but instinct screamed danger.
At least, that's how Mary—now Rose—saw it.
‘I gotta raise him strong enough that bitches like her can't interfere.’
‘I gotta raise him right, so he at least hides that side.’
Nova's and Rose's thoughts seemed similar yet worlds apart.
One wanted Kylun powerful, merciless to women when needed.
The other wanted him to bury that nature.
Meanwhile, at the Hero Association.
To properly gauge Kylun's abilities, they'd called in a mechanic type.
“So, fixed the broken part?”
“Wasn't broken.”
“But the results were weird?”
“Then the hero's power is weird. Machine's fine.”
The giant machine whirred as he emerged from underneath.
“Machine's good to go, at least.”
His mechanical left arm displayed parts and photos.
“Can't trust an S-rank hero?”
“F-Fine. But the measurement came out like this.”
“Sigh, gimme.”
The hero, looking more engineer than S-rank with his dark circles, snatched the printout.
He squinted harder at the results.
“Hmm...”
“See? It's busted—”
“I'll tweak the explanations better. Remeasure.”
“Oh, and the AC's busted—”
“Call a real repair guy for that!”
Anyway, time for Kylun's ability test rerun.
Results would kick off his apprentice training and ops right away.