16 – One day, not a false peace,
“-Who are you?”
-Well, I don’t know. Who should I say…
Han Seok-hoon, a former hero who chased the villains into the alley, frowned and glared at the cell phone he was holding.
-Would you say he is an ordinary information merchant?
“…Ordinary? “Have you seen all the ordinary kids these days?”
The noise-filled voice sharpened his nerves, but the relaxed tone made him feel even worse.
“Are information merchants these days trying to contact people who have no intention of buying information? And in this way? “Are you a stalker?”
There is no possibility that he is just an ordinary information merchant. What kind of ordinary information merchant calls the cell phone that one of the fallen villains dropped and then has the call answer on its own without him even touching it?
-It was just tracking the location. Would you say this is the basic training of an information merchant?
“Crazy bastard.”
The owner of the mysterious voice who acts as if he knew he would come here or as if he was being watched from somewhere. Normally, I would have completely ignored it and passed it by, but this time it was impossible. Of course, how can you do that when you control your cell phone to force it to answer calls?
-It’s understandable to be so annoyed. Even I would be suspicious if you tried to contact me this way. I know very well that my approach is wrong. I apologize for this.
“If you’re going to apologize, do it face to face. “You damn bastard.”
-Then you don’t plan on arresting me right away? Although he is not a villain, he is still not an honorable person.
“I know. “If you go to the police station right away and turn yourself in, they will take care of you.”
The war of nerves continued, but contrary to what he said, Seok-Hoon had already given up on catching that guy. You may be able to track the author who contacts you via cell phone, but it will be difficult to find if you have the hacking skills to know exactly where you are and force you to answer the phone at the right time.
-Well, enough of the joke. Hero Judgment. I came to see you here at the request of my client. So, if you said I contacted you so urgently-
“Don’t be damned.”
-It will be like this. Well, it can’t be helped.
From Noble mtl dot com
A request from such a suspicious person? It’s not worth listening to. Seok-Hoon threw the cell phone he had picked up on the floor and tried to chase the other villains once again, but-
-Justice Hero Academy. Korea’s only hero sanctuary where you are the principal.
“There is no work. Go away-“
“The evil brigade is attacking now.”
I immediately froze at the words I heard.
“…Ha?”
-You heard correctly. If you don’t believe me, call me directly.
If someone else had said it, it would have been dismissed as nonsense. However, he said that the man who spoke to him was ‘a request from a client’, and although the author was suspicious, he was not someone who would act just for the sake of playing a prank. He took out his cell phone from his pocket and made a call, just in case.
“…f*ck.”
When he didn’t answer the phone, he realized that everything he said was true.
-Now you finally believe me.
“…What are you?”
-I am an ordinary information merchant.
“No… Ha. Okay, let’s say so. Then – who is the client who made you tell me this?”
Not a hero. If it had been a hero he would have called him directly. However, to be called a villain, there is no such thing as a villain who struggles to confront the evil brigade. So – is it a third party?
-I can’t tell you. For information merchants, trust is vital.
“…What does the client want by giving me this information?”
-Surprisingly, no compensation was requested.
But that’s not even it. There is no way that anyone would pass on this kind of information without any compensation, especially through a very suspicious author.
“-It’s done.”
I had a lot of questions, but I decided there was no point in asking more. Anyway, he’s done his part, he’s heard the information he needs, and-
-Good luck. Former No. 1 Hero. If you don’t go fast, you’ll be late? hahahaha.
“Next time, I will definitely catch you too. “You damn bastard.”
-That’s… Really scary. I’m looking forward to that day.
I just threw my phone on the ground and ran towards the academy.
But-
“…It’s just as he said.”
When he arrived – it was already late.
He arrived as quickly as he could, but nevertheless he arrived too late. Because the situation was already over by the time he arrived.
Students crying in pain and a collapsed school building. There were no deaths among heroes or students in the hero department, but there were casualties among students in other departments.
If active duty and reserve heroes had not stepped forward, there may have been even greater damage. He sighed and started moving to clean up after himself.
First, we cleaned up the remains of the buildings, then we received harsh looks from the teachers, then we apologized to the students, and then we moved for the press conference.
It took a full month for all the various procedures to be completed. He took responsibility and tried to resign from his position as principal, but was held back as principal of the academy against his wishes.
After over a month of follow-up, the only thing that had changed was the students’ perspectives. He smiled bitterly at the students’ glares, but did not pour out any complaints.
That is natural. Even a child who watched the news would know that the evil brigade was attacking him while he was outside. This is entirely his responsibility. He wasn’t so incompetent that he didn’t know that fact. Because he was the No. 1 Hero to begin with.
But in the end, everything was over, and the evil brigade could attack again while he was in office, so can we say it’s a good thing that he didn’t feel bored?
“…Hmm.”
It wasn’t like that. The whole thing wasn’t even over in the first place.
“Ha, Mr.”
They said they apologized to all students, but there were still some who remained.
“Why am I so nervous just entering the students’ classroom, really…”
None other than the students of the Hero Department. Even if the 1st and 2nd graders were still rookies and didn’t get hurt by coming forward, and even if they heard a sincere apology along with the other students – the 3rd graders, who are now called the golden generation, were hospitalized in the hospital at the time and couldn’t visit them.
The students were discharged from the hospital only four weeks after the incident. He was now standing in front of the door to the classroom where they were attending school for the first time since being discharged. It probably wouldn’t have been strange if I got slapped as soon as I entered, and I wouldn’t have anything to say even if they clamored to quit being a hero. Having to deal with the evil brigade several times, and being caught up in such a major terrorist attack – it was too much for the students to bear.
“Oh, I don’t know.”
He lingered in front of the door, scratching the back of his head, but soon his expression hardened, he opened the door and entered-
“-Principal.”
“Ah, you have come!”
Contrary to his expectation that he would look at him with hatred as soon as he entered, he was taken aback when he saw students looking at him with enthusiasm.
“…Uh, um.”
“What are you doing? Without coming inside. “Then everyone, please listen to class well.”
Seokhun stiffened as soon as he came in. The teacher in charge of them, Hero Handsome, smiled and passed him by –
“…I told you so. “Not normal kids.”
After quietly muttering to Seokhun, he went outside and closed the door.
The students were still looking at him, and Seok-hoon somehow moved his steps and went up to the lecture table.
“…I should apologize to you guys first.”
“What is an apple? “There is no need, teacher.”
First of all, I should apologize. Even his move to lower his head while thinking that was blocked.
“…You don’t even have any resentment?”
“If you were going to blame me because the hero wasn’t around, if you were going to blame me because we got hurt – I would have run away when I was a freshman in the first place.”
“So. “Isn’t that when the evil brigade first attacked?”
Seokhyeon smiled bitterly and asked if he was blaming him, but the students instead waved their hands and shook their heads.
“And in the first place- this was the villain’s fault, it’s not something the teacher should apologize for, right? Of course, if he had stayed at school, there would have been fewer victims, but you can’t complain about why other heroes didn’t show up later when you were working as a hero. Therefore-“
Remembering what they can do-
“What we have to do is become stronger than we are now. Even if something like this happens, so that we can confidently block the villains.”
Once again, I strengthened my resolve.
“…So that we never lose our precious people again.”
“…I see.”
Don’t lose your precious ones. After hearing those words, Seokhyeon quietly closed his eyes.
He also knew what happened at the academy. How their original homeroom teacher died, and – how their close friend gave up being a hero and is now being chased as a would-be criminal, no better than a villain.
I remembered the look in the eyes of the students who spoke calmly without even complaining. Is the enthusiasm in their eyes a passion for themselves to become stronger and a promise not to lose it again?
“Was it Hyunwoo? “I already heard about your friend.”
Seokhyun opened his eyes again and opened his mouth. The students who heard his words opened their eyes wide.
“We have known for a long time that he was cornered by the evil brigade and became a fugitive, and the unidentified villains who appeared this time – no. “I heard the latest news from those hypocrites whose identities have now been revealed.”
The students clenched their teeth as if they were indignant, but then looked at the girl who quietly lowered her head with worried eyes.
Choi Ji-hyeon was Lee Hyun-woo’s childhood friend. Her sense of loss will be even greater. Even more so if she had heard of Hyunwoo’s fate directly from the red-haired villain.
“…Hey, you. Are you okay?”
Seok-hyeon also looked at her and asked how she was doing, but-
“Yes.”
But- Ji-hyeon’s expression didn’t change much as she raised her head and responded to Seok-hyeon’s words.
“I’m fine.”
No, exactly-
“…Really.”
It should be said that he was rather calm.
Other students thought she was hiding her sadness and pretending to be fine, so her expression became darker and darker –
“-So that you never lose something again. On the contrary, I heard your promise to become stronger so that you can protect it.”
Seokhyeon, who was looking at her closely, soon turned his head and looked at her students and grinned.
“However, if we continue with the current curriculum, there will be limitations. “Honestly, I would say that this academy is a bit complacent about peace – it’s a bit on the soft side.”
“…Then-“
“But the story is different from now on.”
He could know. The No. 1 Hero’s shrub has not rusted even after retirement. Choi Ji-hyun’s expression, those eyes – the eyes of someone who knows something.
“Actually, you had no intention of doing anything as principal? However, this incident changed my mindset a bit. No, more accurately – I should say that I changed my mind after seeing you guys just now.”
“Yes…?”
“I will train you myself. “I know best how to improve your skills.”
What on earth do you know that makes you look like that? He thought about asking her directly, but she quickly shook her head. She works under the name Snow Woman, and although she is a student, she is already gaining recognition among her citizens. The fact that she didn’t tell her heroes means that she is still at the level of prediction. She will have no intention of hiding it from others –
“Even though it’s like this, I’m still the No. 1 Hero. There will be no one better suited than me to teach heroes. So – from now on, throw away all your textbooks.”
He believed that and erased all the distracting thoughts, and the students who were swallowing dry saliva-
“What a hero is, how to fight, how to protect – I will hit you on the head in real life.”
He declared that he would make him a hero.