Han Sen hadn't had time to correct the young female clerk's misconception when a voice of agreement suddenly rang out beside him.
"I-I heard it!"
A startled diner, who had just crawled out from under a table, pointed at King with a trembling voice and excitedly exclaimed, "It's...it's the sound of the Emperor Engine!!"
"That's right! It's that sound! That reassuring roar, like a war drum!"
"It's the Emperor Engine...I know! It must be the legendary ultimate technique—the Purgatory Unparalleled Exploding Heat Wave Cannon!!"
"Lord King!"
"So strong!"
"I couldn't even see how he attacked! The Monster was just gone!"
"Is this the power of an S-Class Hero? Terrifying!"
The diners seemed to instantly forget their fear, their eyes gleaming with fanaticism as they crowded around, praising King in a cacophony of voices.
Some even began to "logically" analyze, saying that Lord King's attack speed had surpassed the limits of human vision, and that the silent annihilation was the best manifestation of his absolute control over power!
It was simply like art!
Han Sen: "..."
(ー`´ー)
Looking at these guys, who were bruised and bleeding but still fanatical, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Heh heh, it was truly superfluous to save you all!
King was surrounded by the crowd, cold sweat pouring down his neck, his mind frantically complaining.
—No, these guys...do they actually believe something so preposterous?
Σ(°△°|||)︴
He knew that any explanation now would only make things worse.
He could only force himself to maintain that perpetually indifferent strongman's face, letting the Emperor Engine in his chest rumble faster, "thump-thump-thump," due to his nervousness.
Occasionally, he would even nod symbolically, accepting the crowd's enthusiasm and adoration.
It took a while for the crowd's fervor to subside slightly, and King knew that he wouldn't be able to eat this bowl of ramen today.
He calmly walked to the counter to pay, and the ramen shop owner excitedly declared that the hero's rescue meant the meal was on the house, but King rejected him on the spot with a fearsomely cold gaze—which was actually an eager gaze to quickly escape.
"Excuse me, I have important matters to attend to, please make way."
The gruff voice, capable of stopping a stream of urine mid-flow, combined with that fierce, hardened face that could make a child stop crying, formed an unassailable aura of a strongman. The onlookers involuntarily cleared a path, watching King's hurried figure disappear around the street corner.
Under the mixed gazes of awe and adoration, King left the ramen shop at the fastest speed of his life, only wanting to quickly go home and play a few games to calm his nerves.
This even caused many fans to shed tears.
"King-san, he...is truly too kind...!"
"He is definitely the strongest, most selfless, and most protective S-Class Hero of the people!"
"Strongest on Earth...Saikou!!"
"King!"
"King! King! King!" × N
Han Sen: "..."
Watching King's almost panicked escape amidst the crowd, Han Sen was speechless, a subtle glint flashing in his eyes.
"A born Monster magnet physique? This point seems like it can be put to good use!"
Although it seemed somewhat mystical, Han Sen's guess was not unfounded.
After all, the Monster that attacked King today appeared to be just a Tiger-level ramen Monster, but in reality, there were...
...two Monsters present!
...
...
"Phew...that was close! I almost died!"
About a street away from the ramen shop, King finally slowed his pace on an empty park path.
The trees here cast dappled shadows, and pedestrians were few.
The simple escape had already drained his stamina bar, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he leaned against a park bench railing, panting for a long time before straightening up.
"Good thing the Monster was taken out by an attack from who knows where, otherwise, I really don't know how I would have handled it!"
"But at least for the next year, I won't be eating ramen!"
Calming his disordered breathing caused by excessive exertion, King, with his hoodie hood pulled over his head, sighed, "Next time...I'll just order takeout. Going out is really too dangerous!"
"Speaking of which, the latest 'Heartbeat Series' Galgame seems to be releasing soon. By then, the 'Summer Love Song' series should also be fully completable with all routes. I'll buy it immediately then, I'm really looking forward to it..."
Just as King was fantasizing with a longing smile on his face, a magnetic, pleasant male voice suddenly came from his side: "Oh? So S-Class Heroes also like to play Galgames? I thought you only played hardcore action games."
"It's fine," King replied without thinking, "Anyway, it's something I play alone in my private time at home, and I always wear a mask beforehand when I go to buy discs, so no one knows...Huh?"
"Eh—!"
King startled.JPG
The man who suddenly appeared beside him startled the unprepared King, almost scaring out the Emperor Engine that had just calmed down.
"Thump-thump-thump-thump...!"
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
Han Sen (tilting head): What kind of noise is that?
However, when King saw that the person was a handsome young man, even more attractive than a popular idol star, and not a stalker or a Monster, King finally breathed a slight sigh of relief, though his heart was still pounding like a drum.
—Hmm, I feel like I've seen him somewhere before? Could he be a new idol who just debuted on some variety show?
Suppressing the doubt in his heart, King made a fist and placed it over his mouth, pretending to cough, attempting to save face: "Cough, cough, you misheard me. Actually, what I just said was 'Galaxy Mech Series,' a hardcore action game, it really tests your skills!"
When he looked at Han Sen again, he had smoothly switched back to that cold and ruthless tough guy's face, his gaze sharp and piercing: "If you want an autograph, please be quick. I have important matters to attend to."
Tsk tsk tsk, this acting, it's a waste not to win an Oscar.
Han Sen sighed inwardly, no wonder King could be ranked as an S-Class Hero with a mortal body.
A fierce, expressionless face combined with innate acting talent, coupled with the passive ability to automatically summon the Bald Great Demon King for protection in critical moments...
It was as if God was chasing after him to feed him.
"Yare yare, no need for an autograph."
Han Sen put one hand in his pocket and shook his head leisurely, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
Seeing that King truly had no recollection, he couldn't help but lower his voice, speaking like a devil's whisper: "However, Mr. King, have you forgotten so quickly?"
"...Eh?"
King looked puzzled, but his expression changed and his pupils constricted at Han Sen's next words.
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Han Sen."
"I'm the one who took care of the ramen Monster just now, you know~"
As he spoke, Han Sen casually raised his right hand and flicked his finger at a decorative rockery in an unoccupied part of the park.
A faint, Blazing white light flashed and disappeared from his fingertip.
Bang—
With a muffled thud, the half-human-tall rockery instantly exploded, sending shattered stones flying!
Although it was an instant Scorching Heat Bullet with its power reduced to the lowest setting, its destructive power still made King's eyelids twitch wildly.
"Gulp..."
At this moment, King suddenly recalled the fear of being dominated by the ramen Monster, and that scorching white light that instantly killed the Monster!
"It-it was you..."
Recalling the eye contact when he walked into the ramen shop, and the identical attack method just now, King suddenly understood.
Combining the superpower he had just demonstrated with the state of the ramen Monster's death, he was certain Han Sen was not lying.
It was this handsome young man, who was even taller than himself, who had saved him at the last minute!
Amidst his gratitude, King suddenly fell into deeper entanglement and panic, unsure how to speak.
After all, he was the "Strongest on Earth" in people's eyes, and how could the strongest need others to save him?
If this got out...
King didn't expect that in the next second he wouldn't have to struggle, and the words spoken by the smiling opponent sent a chill down his spine, his mind a blank.
"Actually, King, you're just an ordinary person with incredibly good luck, aren't you?"
"The so-called combat form 'Emperor Engine' is just the sound of your violently pounding heart, triggered when you're too timid and scared to the extreme."
"As for that 'Purgatory Unparalleled Exploding Heat Wave Cannon'...it's even more baseless, purely a figment of the public's and the Hero Association's imagination. It's a false urban legend you've never possessed. What I'm saying..."
Han Sen leaned slightly forward, looking directly into King's fear-widened eyes, and said clearly, word for word:
"Should be right, shouldn't it?"
King: !!!
∑(ΦдΦlll
—Oh no!
—My secret...how does this man know so clearly?!!