"Wow~~ This hot spring is so good~"
They entered the same tub together, but Kana didn't mind and stretched, revealing her body generously.
It's like being treated casually by someone of the same sex... Damn, is that really acceptable?
"Hey, I worked so hard all day... ...Sometimes you need a break like this."
"It's good to enjoy the bath, but be careful not to take off the towel."
I tried to grab the towel that was about to drain, but I thought even that would be dangerous, so I withdrew my hand without realizing it.
Her slender body was precariously hidden in a towel.
Worried that something might be wrong, Kana placed her hand on my chest and said, as I adjusted the laces of the towel covering my lower body.
"I know the atmosphere of the hot springs here comes from my culture, but it's rude to use a towel while bathing."
"Isn't it acceptable for a man and a woman to take mixed baths?"
"What can you do? It's between the two of us."
"Heh heh, what the hell is this relationship between us?"
"Um... a father-daughter relationship?"
"It's the relationship between employer and employee. First of all, my only family is my daughter, who is now alone at home."
Even if it's a cover, my family currently has only one boss.
Calling him father like that is just a joke, and if we really found out, it would be difficult for both of us.
"You seem to love your daughter very much."
Kana smiled strangely at my words.
I responded to that laugh with a calm voice.
"You must. Because that's what family is."
"I'm jealous. I don't have a family like that."
"... ...hey."
You son of a bitch, I'm going to use the angle that will make me feel disgusted here.
Normally, I would have spat out an apology because I felt uncomfortable, but the face I looked back at wasn't just a smile.
Complexity was evident in the eyes that stared into my hands filled with thermal water.
"... ...What are you worried about?"
"Worried?"
"Are you saying you came here because you have something to say?"
"Oh, what? We can just talk a little between us."
I don't think she has a concept of chastity enough to let me fix her panties, but I don't think she's evil enough to show her naked body to someone who has no blood for no reason.
Come to think of it, there have been a lot of awkward things since our first meeting.
The only thing we have in common is fighting together once, so it would make sense to take on the role of a helper, but as a manager?
"... ...sir."
Yes, the trust she had in me was very unusual.
As if the battle at that moment had somehow spurred her on.
"Can you teach me?"
Maybe now is the time to find out why.
Sensing intuition in her deeper-than-usual voice, I looked at her.
"Teach me what?"
"How to become a hero."
"... ...What?"
"I asked you to teach me how to be a hero."
Spiritas gave me a firm look and asked me with a serious look.
But I couldn't figure out how to respond to those words.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course. Was there a lie in what I said?"
Sure, he joked a lot, but he never lied.
In truth, being honest is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Moreover, judging by the atmosphere, it was difficult to treat the current word as a joke.
"Heh heh, seriously. What does an S-Class hero want to teach anyone now?"
"If everyone can become a hero just by being strong, then heinous criminals are also someone's heroes."
"...."
"… …sir?"
"Don't talk nonsense."
Damn, late reply.
That the person in front of me said that so flippantly would be considered absurd to me.
No matter how many people there are, villains are just villains.
Society doesn't need to understand their story, and malicious people should never expect anyone to understand theirs.
"… I'm sure it's too much of a joke right now."
With these emotions running high, Kana smiled bitterly and looked back at the hot springs.
Silence, only the sound of the water rumbling.
Feeling the heat of that place, Kana's mouth began to open again.
"It sounds strange, but... ...I haven't even realized I'm a hero yet."
That's not what someone who's ascended to the level of an S-Class hero would say... ...
You might think so, but unlike other heroes, she was a supernova who reached S-Class from the start.
She was born with great power from the start and received a lot of attention.
For this reason, she's an existence who has no choice but to take on such a huge responsibility compared to her experience.
"In front of my uncle."
And from now on, it was about how a newcomer became an S-Class hero.
"I was originally an F-Class. An incompetent person who lost her parents and her home to villains and ended up in an orphanage..."
The beginning was a very common story.
Billions of people live on the continent united after the cataclysm, and the scale is so great that there are many places the government cannot reach.
Wherever there are prosperous places, there are also places where all kinds of injustice and crime prevail. The number of children who have lost their homes also increases countless times in a single day.
Is it surprising that the S-Class hero's place of origin was a collection point for these children?
"At the institution, after I reached a certain age, I enrolled in the military academy. I don't have much skill, but if I had become a police officer or a soldier, maybe I could have avoided some of what I was going through. Maybe..."
Could the body that was trained as an idol have been influenced by that era?
Obviously, the body you see now wasn't naturally created by dancing or body care, but it was also evident at first glance that he had received special training.
In particular, the rough skin on his hands, which he always wears gloves, couldn't be erased, even when he was soaking.
If you look at this far, it's a pretty common story. A path an incompetent person who didn't become a hero could follow, the only way to seek justice...
"But who would have thought that effort would be rewarded this way?"
The difference is that she worked harder than the others.
It must have been because such efforts were well-suited to the situation and turned into an opportunity.
"Is it possible someone else gave you the power?"
"It's hard to believe, isn't it?"
"...No, because there are many things I've never considered a gift."
like the stars in the sky.
Recalling the analogy the boss had made, I realized in that moment that all her guesses were true.
Yes, after all, she was the heir to the Heavenly Demon.
It was said that he had such strong power due to the "inheritance" ability he possessed.
"The person who passed the ability on to me called your talent a 'gift.'"
However, the name of the ability Kana mentioned was completely opposite to what I had imagined.
It's a gift, not an inheritance.
Isn't that what a person who bestows great power would say?
"From person to person, it's said that it's a gift for a child who will become a hero after me."
But it's she, not I, who knows this person's true nature in the most detail.
Kana burst out laughing and continued speaking while stroking my wet hair.
"Yes, this power originally had a different owner. Suddenly, I got lucky and inherited this power... …But what was I aiming for as a hero from the beginning?"
He hadn't intended to become a hero, but suddenly he became one.
Of course, she had a different mindset, so she would have to worry more about being a hero than the others.
"Unfortunately, back then, I had never been helped by a being who was a hero. The reason I lost my home and family was because the heroes arrived late.
There were heroes who occasionally came to perform at the venue, but... It was more about coming to the show than about delivering justice."
Instead, I feel skeptical about the existence of a hero.
As the thought slowly crept onto her face, she began to look at her clenched fists.
"But to me, the person who gave me power said: Even if it seems funny, being on stage is also necessary for a hero. Just to fend off the enemy. Just a fighter, a hero should be the envy of many."
Was his gaze fixed on himself, who had become an apostle of justice?
Or was it the face of a teacher we will never see again?
"So he... You've always emphasized individuality and image to me. If you inherit my power, you'll have to perform in front of many people. Imagine the image of when you become a hero. Who was the person you called a hero, who warmed your heart and made you feel warm? How will you connect that..."
I wanted to gradually build strength in those fists, but even that strength was soon released.
She simply extended her outstretched hand toward the sky, as if covering the moon floating above her.
"...So you thought about being a magical girl?"
"It was all I saw when I was young."
Soon she lowered her hand and spoke with a wry smile.
"Right. Before I became a hero, that was the only hero I knew. Simply brilliant, sweet, always smiling, knowing how to smile and extend a hand to anyone who came to visit..."
A gentleman with the innocence of a child.
It was all the hero had for the supposed hope of the next generation.
Knowing only this, he produced such an image, but he did his best to ensure that even that image wouldn't seem wrong to others.
"...How can you call a newbie a hero who only imitates something like that?"
I could understand just by looking at such skepticism. Why she didn't display the "comfort" she'd been called the strongest, the kind she displayed to the strong men I'd ever met.
Since she became a hero in her inexperienced state, there are no tricks, and she always does her best to avoid seeing such shortcomings as flaws in the eyes of others.
That way, it's not strange when he collapses... A great star everyone admires is one such existence.
"So, sometimes I think about it. Maybe there wouldn't be anyone who could handle that power, if it weren't me, but someone else who inherited it..."
After learning the truth, I realized why she looked at me differently.
Even if it was a coincidence, I met someone who helped me through my struggles.
I met someone who was weak, but bolder than me in taking the field.
Although he's acting, unlike him, he perfectly rescues the victim in front of him...
Such a person might have seemed "real" to her, who wasn't aware of being a hero.
"For example, if someone like you..."
Hearing those words with even more pain, he reached out to her.
To shut that wretch up.
"Exactly!"
But when I snapped my finger, it was mine, not her ass, that broke.
Seriously.
Why did I break my finger when I hit her?
"Oh, I'm sorry. My hair is stiff... ...is everything okay?"
"It's not okay."
My finger is broken, I can handle it.
The pain was in my mind, not my body.
Damn it, no matter how surprising the attack, he's an S-Class and I'm an E-Class, right?
"I'm sorry. I looked weak."
But I wasn't the only one affected by the strangeness.
It seems the reason I reached out was because of me. As if I thought I, who should be everyone's idol, would disappoint myself.
"You thought you were pathetic, didn't you?"
I didn't deny that idea because I wasn't entirely wrong.
Yes, I was disappointed in her at that moment.
A hero considered the hope of the next generation who achieved nothing but justice...
Then, as a villain who wants to rebuke this world, I might be dealing with her, and the person who should be a "friend" beyond mere antagonism is such a weak and incompetent person.
"Yes, don't worry."
Maybe it'll be the same if other executives take my place.
What they want to do isn't just reckless destruction and looting.
It's to prove the justice that colored this era wrong, shattering the hope of the era everyone deserves to admire and breaking the opponent in the best condition.
"Anyone would find it pathetic. Watching him grunt as he tries to take responsibility for everything he can't handle alone."
"... ...yes?"
Kana feels doubtful about the words that reveal her innermost feelings.
I placed my hand on Kana's head and looked up at the sky in silence.
"It's because I don't know if you're an adult yet."
He simply spoke without making eye contact.
Just stroking the hair of an inexperienced woman who forced his childhood yearning.
"Originally, justice is... not as great as you thought."
I knew him as a villain.
Just to explain what the definition is in my opinion.