"Hoooooooo... Moon Breathing, Fourteenth Form: Catastrophe, Tenman Crescent Moon!"
The air was filled with a layer of massive crescent-shaped slashes that overlapped and spread, shredding the surrounding villains. Michikatsu Tsugikuni—Hero Name: Kokushibo—watched them fall. Ever since the President of the Hero Public Safety Commission had been replaced and the personnel connected to the old regime's corruption were purged, he had been told that lethal force was no longer strictly necessary. However...
"One must not... leave room for future calamities..."
So he spoke, taking the lives of any villains or corrupted Heroes who committed heinous crimes.
"To exist is to be a blight... Die."
With a final stroke, he decapitated the last remaining villain. Flicking the blood from the blade of Kyokuseibo, he sheathed it into his palm and exhaled.
"Boring..."
Tucking his power back into his body, he pulled an archaic-looking flip-phone from the folds of his kimono and dialed a number.
"It is I... Have the cleanup crew here within three minutes."
Without listening to the flustered protests of the person on the other end, he stated his business and hung up immediately.
"You're still as rude as ever, aren't you, Kokushibo?"
"...Do not look to me... for such trivialities... Nagant."
Lady Nagant offered a bitter smile at his dry response, her mind drifting back to the events of a month ago.
The official statement regarding the former President's death was that he had been killed during an unprovoked villain attack. The current administration had chosen to ignore Michikatsu's 'crime.' Between the existence of the shadow assassination squads—the Commission's dirty secret—and the mountain of evidence involving corruption and the kidnapping and assault of the Yaoyorozu family's only daughter, the Commission would have been dismantled had the truth come out. It was easier for everyone involved to sweep the entire incident under the rug.
There was one detail omitted from the reports, however: the former President had technically killed Momo. That part of the story had been rewritten as a 'severe injury.'
Lady Nagant had kept her mouth shut about Momo's resurrection as a Demon. When Momo finally woke up after a week of 'recuperation' (the official story was that she was suffering from psychological trauma), Nagant had confronted Michikatsu as he reported to the Commission after school.
She demanded an explanation for what she had seen. Under her pressure, Michikatsu had confessed.
He told her he was a Demon, and that by sharing his blood, he could turn others into the same species.
At first, Nagant had thought he was insane. But Momo—who had been injected with his blood and immediately regenerated with unbelievable speed—was living proof. Michikatsu had bowed his head and asked Nagant to keep it a secret, fearing the chaos and the danger to his loved ones if the world knew the truth. Nagant had simply nodded.
"Anyway, I've been curious about something for a while... Can I ask?"
"What is it...?"
"They say Demons eat humans... Do you?"
At her question, Michikatsu sighed as if her inquiry was beneath him.
"I... do not eat humans. Such an ignorant question."
"What?! I was genuinely curious, you know!"
"........."
"Don't give me the silent treatment! Don't look at me with those 'how pathetic' eyes! It hurts my feelings! Besides, aren't I older than you? Show some respect for your senior!"
"You are a pitiful woman..."
"Gah...!"
Nagant felt her soul sink. The current Michikatsu was such a jarring contrast to the grim image she used to have of him that it was simply bewildering.
"...Hmm..."
"W-What? Is there something on my face?"
Nagant flinched slightly under his gaze, but Michikatsu's reaction was flat.
"Lately... you have become quite childish."
"Wh-What?! That's so mean! I'm your senior! Your mentor! You can't just say things like that to me!"
"Is that so...? Then it was a lapse in judgment... I apologize."
Seeing Nagant on the verge of actually sulking, Michikatsu reached out and patted her head, treating her the way he usually treated Himiko or Momo without thinking.
"Eh? Wait... wha—?"
"Ah... forgive me. That was a lapse in etiquette."
"W-Wait!"
Nagant caught Michikatsu's hand as he tried to pull it away from her head. She gestured for him to continue. Michikatsu looked genuinely taken aback by her request.
"Are you... not going to keep patting me?"
She looked up at him with wide, slightly wounded eyes—resembling a puppy caught in the rain. Michikatsu felt a wave of confusion.
"How perplexing..."
Nonetheless, he continued to pat her head. Only then did Nagant smile happily, her cheeks flushing. Michikatsu wondered how a hardened assassin had ended up like this.
"It's because... you saved me too."
"Hmm?"
"N-Nothing!"
With the former President gone, Kaina Tsutsumi—Lady Nagant—no longer had to kill. She didn't have to stain her hands with blood anymore. For years, she had been trapped between blackmail and empty promises of retirement, forced to do the state's dirty work. Now, the burden was gone.
She was finally free.
"Kokushibo... no, Michikatsu... just a second."
"Yes? What is it—"
Kiss.
Kaina stole his lips.
"I like you. ♡ I love you, my savior. ♡"
Caught off guard by the sudden kiss, Michikatsu found himself momentarily paralyzed, unsure of how to react or what to say.
"Whew~ Things are getting spicy here, aren't they?"
As if on cue, Hawks arrived with the cleanup crew, watching the two of them with a grin.
"Nagant-senpai, did you finally find 'the one'? We should definitely have a celebration party for this!~"
"H-Hawks?! No! I... it's just..."
Flustered by the intrusion, Kaina tried to scramble for an explanation. But then, Michikatsu took her hand, looking at her with a deadly serious expression.
"Are you truly... certain about me...?"
"Eh? Michikatsu?"
"I already have Momo... Even so... is it acceptable to you...?"
"Seriously? I should be asking you that. Are you really okay with a woman like me?"
"How could I ever... cast you aside?"
In truth, Michikatsu had intended to build a harem of the world's most impressive women from the start. He had always liked the mature charm of Kaina Tsutsumi, so his answer was a natural "yes," but Kaina—ignorant of his grand design—thought he had simply chosen her in spite of her past.
"I am... not the kind of woman you think I am..."
"Is that what the woman who just stole my lips... has to say?"
"Ugh (///////)!"
Kaina turned her head away in embarrassment, but Michikatsu reached out and gently tilted her chin back toward him.
"This much... I can promise you..."
"?"
"I shall not disappoint you."
At those words, Kaina lunged forward and hugged him, rubbing her face against his chest.
"Yeah... I'll be in your care then... Darling. ♡"
"Very well... Kaina."
"Ugh... so sweet I'm going to get a cavity..."
Hawks, still very much single, watched the two of them with a look of pure exhaustion.