18 – Hero Stand (2)
Ruina, with a sunny expression, and her arms crossed.
I asked her, who was sticking too close for comfort.
“So why did you suggest we go together?”
“You know, it takes nearly an hour to get to work, right?”
“Almost, yes?”
“I just thought it was such a waste. Ehehehehe.”
“Ah.”
On reflection, it was indeed.
For me, a cog in society, even the commute was a work-related expenditure of time.
But for Ruina, who absentmindedly watched me leave, it was simply wasted time.
And that meant, even though my working hours were nine, in reality, I had to be away for about eleven hours.
What Luina wanted was to be with me for even an hour of it.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t consider that.”
“hehehe.”
Luina hugs my arm even tighter.
Because of her strength, it almost paints a picture in my mind of being arrested by a detective…
However, it seemed like people around us were almost envious enough to die of jealousy.
The passersby on the street.
Especially the men who were blatantly staring at our affectionate appearance.
Of course, it seemed like they were scanning Luina’s superior beauty more than me. Naturally, as a man.
Even I would have stopped to stare for a moment if a beautiful girl like Luina was nearby.
Who would dare to even think such a cute girl is a villain appearing on TV?
“……………”
I was conscious of a place further away than the gaze of the pedestrians.
No doubt someone was harboring such a thought.
Speaking of the large-sized aides of Team Leader Itaeseok, who were definitely sneakily following us.
“I understand the sentiment, but it’s too overprotective……”
I wasn’t happy about it, but I understood.
When would Luina switch back and retrieve the image of the previous extremely cruel villain?
From their perspective, they are staking their lives observing a volcano that has erupted several times before.
“Huh? What’s up?”
“It’s nothing. Just talking to myself. Thanks for walking with me to work.”
“I love spending more time with you too♡”
I carefully kept the sensation of her soft chest pressed against my arm to myself, and in many ways, we happily continued our walk to work.
* * *
If there’s a privilege to afternoon shifts, it’s undoubtedly the comfortable commute.
The rush hour, when everyone is rushing off to work.
The time right now, far removed from that time, was extremely quiet.
The streets are quiet.
Public transport is quiet.
Even the occasional trouble-making villains are quiet right now.
Most people passing by were elderly, far outnumbering those of our generation.
Even those respectable elders occasionally glance sneakily in our direction.
There, Louisna, tightly holding my hand, is full of happiness.
Already we have come as far as downtown, closer to the office than home.
“Hold on a moment, Yuria.”
I called Louisna’s alias, making her stop.
We prevent unnecessary misunderstanding by calling Louisna with her fake identity outside.
It was our own secret pact.
“Hmm honey, is there something wrong?”
“I think I need to drop by the bank for a bit.”
“The bank?”
“Not for anything special. Just thought of tidying up my bankbook since I have some spare time.”
Not that it’s something urgent for now.
In no time, a fortune beyond reach, will be added to my monthly salary.
10 million as special secret operation allowance for being a Hero Handler!!
Before or after tax. Such trivial matters were irrelevant.
Before accepting this large sum of money.
Wouldn’t you want to tidy up your bank records in advance and see the eye-spinning number of 10,000,000 printed?
“Heh heh heh…”
“You look rather devious… Well, I still like you regardless♡”
We headed straight to the bank.
The bank was relatively empty, given it was just past lunchtime.
“Everything is under maintenance…”
Standing in front of the ATM, I could quickly figure out why people were gathered inside.
Actually, tidying up a bankbook isn’t necessarily something that must be done at the counter.
But when the automated machines were useless, we had no choice but to go inside.
“Is there a problem?”
Ruina cocked her head and asked.
Ah, right.
It turned out well that things had come to this.
“No, let’s go inside.”
I entered the interior of the bank, where the air was warmly filled, with Luina.
And I stopped in front of a ticket machine that was right in front of me, for getting a queue number.
“Do you want to try to draw this ticket? It’s not a big deal.”
“Me? Can I?”
I pointed at the ticket machine with a polite palm.
“Um, then…. Eight.”
In such an insignificant way, Luina handily pulled out a ticket number written as 105.
“Look! I got it!”
Luina showed me the ticket with a bright smile.
She, who had been estranged from anything ordinary until now, could not have used the bank in such an ordinary manner.
Yesterday. Having briefly heard about her past, I wanted her to experience every bit of this ordinary life.
That’s why I dared to suggest even such a trivial thing as drawing a queue number.
I wished I could let her have more everyday experiences, but for now, Luina was pleased, and I was perfectly content with just this much for now.
“The number showing up front is 98… So we just wait until our 105 comes up?”
“That’s right.”
“hehehe. The bank is also no big deal!”
If someone overheard Luina’s confident words, they might think she’s a bit of a simple person.
But a societal system that is all too familiar to the modern person was bound to be foreign to her.
Because for a villain, a bank is not a place queued up for use.
It’s a place to demolish and rob.
Louis, like other villains, had a past case of robbing a bank.
I sat with her in the waiting area and brought up the past incident.
“Why did you rob that bank?”
“The bank? Ah, yeah, that case from about a year ago.”
“Strictly speaking, it was more breaking and stealing than robbing.”
Miraculously, the ancient incident had caused no injuries.
From Noble mtl dot com
The bizarre case where the villain Luiena unilaterally crashed into a random bank, smashing the vault and its contents and then fled.
Usually, villains rob banks for the money or other contents.
At the time, even professional villain profilers figured they couldn’t understand why Luiena did that.
“There was a rumor at the time.”
“A rumor?”
“About how the strongest vault wouldn’t open with any ability whatsoever.”
“Ah, that one. The bank you ransacked did have that as its catchphrase.”
＜Our state-of-the-art technology and materials have crafted the world’s safest vault!＞
It was indeed an apt tagline for this Superpower Era when villains could easily commit major crimes like bank robbery using their various abilities.
Thanks to this highly provocative advertisement, rumors circled that the bank had a positive effect, proclaiming, ‘This bank is truly safe!’
“So, I just wanted to test it out, if it really wouldn’t open.”
And the safe of that bank had been opened far too easily by Luina.
No.
Rather, it was reduced to a state where not even its shape remained.
“They were all bloody liars.”
“Ha ha….”
Everything was just as Luina, grinning broadly, had said.
Even if she was a villain, beyond normal limits.
In the end, the safe they boasted so much about was easily smashed into pieces by a villain.
Thanks to that, the number of the bank’s transactional accounts rapidly decreased, a rather pitiful ending to the story.
Anyway, that’s what happened.
Luina, who would not use the social system like others did…no.
Luina, who couldn’t.
Now she was quietly pulling a number ticket and waiting her turn.
“Knowing to take ticket and wait, how impressive.”
“Huh? Are you praising me for this? hehehe.”
At the unexpected pat, Luina simply squirmed with pleasure.
“Got about 20 minutes, I guess….”
In the meantime, there were fewer people waiting in front of me.
I still have about 20 minutes until starting work.
It was plenty of time to wait leisurely.
And time ticked on.
With the ringing of a bell, the number 105 popped up on the display at the counter.
“So Yuri, wait here. It will be over soon.”
“Okay~”
She smiled warmly as Louisina stood up from her seat and headed towards the counter.
Suddenly, BAMM!!!
“!?!?”
There was a sudden, deafening sound of shattering glass and an explosion.
I reflexively dropped to the ground where I stood.
“Everybody stay still!! Unless you want a hole in your head!!”
A group of men entered the bank, each one wearing a reversed mask.
In each man’s hand, there was a crudely made gun.
Incredulous, I thought,
“Bank robbers…?”
I never intended for Louisina to go through this kind of experience…!?