The world scoffs at how the Evil Organization can be seen as a villainous organization, questioning how they can be villains when they announce the time and date of their operations and openly reveal themselves.
However, some of the renowned named villains actually express admiration for the organization’s behavior. It’s impressive how they stubbornly adhere to their own aesthetic.
So for heroes, the Evil Organization became prime prey for gaining popularity. With the attention of citizens and villains drawn to them, it was a great chance to promote themselves while minimizing risks, even if they were lacking in skill.
“Yeeeee-!”
“Hail Evilussss!”
“That’s enough!”
Today too, the heroes appeared to confront the Evil Organization, which had arrived on time for their operation.
Recently, the Evil Organization had even specified the name of the executive on duty, making days like today—when Galm wasn’t following along—perfect for rookie heroes to gain experience.
“Uh, th-that’s to say! Hero S-Swing Ponedo…”
“Miss, take it slow. I won’t eat you.” (Foot soldier A)
“Hahaha—! You must be a newbie if you’re scared.” (Foot soldier B)
“Shall we take it easy?”
“…Eek! Swing Ponedo! Here I go!”
Unable to hold back her anger at the provocations from the foot soldiers, the newbie hero rushed in. Having debuted as a hero in a mere 10 months while being referred to as a prodigy, she was confident she could easily sweep away these ordinary foot soldiers.
Well, she had confidence.
Thud—.
“Uh—?”
“Miss, it’s not a job we can take lightly… Do you understand?”
Having barely blocked a punch from a mere foot soldier, Swing Ponedo was soon bombarded with countless punches and kicks. Despite being hit by the surprisingly strong common foot soldiers, she instinctively shrank back and sat down.
As she crouched down, the foot soldiers momentarily halted. No matter how much of a hero she was, they hesitated to inflict violence on a frightened woman.
Finally, exchanging glances and opinions, the foot soldiers nodded and tossed Swing Ponedo far away.
“Wahahaha—! You’re weak for a hero!”
“You can’t even compare to us yet! Get stronger and come back!”
Having flung Swing Ponedo away, the common foot soldiers immediately engaged in a scuffle with the other heroes who rushed in. Though they put up a decent fight, eventually, the heroes began to subdue the foot soldiers one by one.
Once they had dealt with all the foot soldiers, a suited elite soldier darted out, and watching the fight unfold between them and the other heroes, Swing Ponedo realized that being a hero didn’t quite suit her.
‘Ah…’
The talent necessary to achieve good grades was different from the talent needed to be a hero.
She realized that.
The next day.
Numerous wreaths and gifts were sent to the Evil Organization.
While walking down the hallway, Eight tilted his head at the sight of an organization member munching on what looked like potato cakes.
“What’s that?”
“Mmm—! Sc-Scientist! Hail Evilus!”
“Calm down. You’ll choke.”
“I-I’m sorry…!”
“So? What are you eating right now?”
The organization member, trembling like a private caught by a commanding officer, quickly swallowed the snack in his mouth before speaking.
“It’s a snack!”
“…So what kind of snack?”
“Uh, this is a— a snack sent to us by a hero we beat up not long ago.”
“Pardon? What does that mean—?”
“It’s a long story… Ah, you’ll understand if you read this.”
The organization member cautiously retrieved a letter from among the pile of gifts. After receiving the letter, Eight quickly opened it and began scanning the contents.
The content was truly absurd. The writer expressed their gratitude for letting them realize they lacked talent as a hero. They mentioned wanting to retire from being a hero and return home to do what they originally did.
It read more like something a grateful citizen would send to a hero who saved them than a hero’s confession.
“Huh…”
“We were also stunned by it. So when we asked if we could keep it, Galm told us not to worry and to eat it…”
“It’s fine. It’s not like it’s a bad thing to receive a gift from a hero.”
Still, what struck Eight as humorous was how easily this person gave up being a hero after just a few hits.
However, upon seeing the invitation attached to the letter, Eight understood why the writer had given up on being a hero so easily.
“The comeback solo recital of the genius violinist, Milk-a Pokato.”
“Ah…”
So there was a good reason for such a choice.
Eight chuckled softly, examining the invitation more closely.
A concert, huh—
“Can I take this?”
“Uh? Yes! Of course! It’s an honor!”
“Just an honor…? Anyway, thank you.”
He found himself quite intrigued by the music in this world.
What kind of feeling did this world’s music have?
He was genuinely curious about how much superpowers influenced the music.
* * *
City A.
Art Center.
As I arrived at the location written on the invitation, I was already feeling the suffocating silence of the atmosphere and smiled bitterly. I was relieved that I hadn’t called anyone other than Vira.
What would have happened if I had brought Ailena Levitan to a place like this? Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, Ailena would have fainted from a heart attack, and the normally noisy Levitan would have immediately broken the silence with her chatter.
I was glad I was here with Vira, the only one who was somewhat sane.
“…What are you staring at?”
“No, I just thought the dress suited you well.”
“Is that teasing? I know it doesn’t suit me very well.”
Vira said that while tugging at the hem of her dress. Thick veins were popping up on the back of her hands.
As she said, Vira’s body was not one that suited that dress. Despite being a woman, her muscular arms and thick legs painted a vivid picture. Thinking of a dress suited for delicate women, it seemed quite mismatched.
But her embarrassment over an ill-fitting outfit was adorable, so I just smiled and brushed it off.
“What’s the big deal? You look cute.”
“Cute? Who said that…?”
“You did, Vira.”
“What a bad guy you are.”
Feigning innocence, I wandered around City A with her. The concert was yet to start, so we needed something to pass the time.
Fortunately, the Art Center in City A was filled with various exhibits beyond just the concert. Literally, it was a temple of art. It was fun admiring music, paintings, sculptures, plays, and even bizarre structures I couldn’t even identify.
Wandering around the Art Center as if it were a date with Vira, I finally realized it was time and headed toward the concert hall.
“I can’t believe the supposed retired Pokato is making a comeback… My heart is already racing.”
“It’s been a year since her last performance, hasn’t it? I’m worried she might have lost her touch…”
“What do you mean—? What kind of family is the Pokato family? Even if she returned after ten years, her skill wouldn’t have diminished!”
The entrance to the concert hall was already packed with numerous audience members. They seemed extremely eager for this performance, and from their reaction, I could roughly guess how remarkable this Milk-a Pokato must be as a performer.
As I entered the concert hall, accompanied by the ever-vigilant Vira, a staff member was checking the tickets. Handing over the invitation, the staff member gasped in surprise and quickly called over another staff member to guide us to the VIP seats.
“Here’s where you’ll sit.”
“Here?”
“Yes.”
It was right in front of the stage.
It looked like a place where we could even have a conversation with those on stage.
Even more remarkably, it seemed that this seat had been specially pushed forward, as there were no other seats around, meaning plenty of envious gazes were directed at us who had claimed this spot.
‘…Did I come here for no reason?’
Just when that thought crossed my mind, more people started filling into the concert hall. As the start time approached, the lights swiftly dimmed, drawing attention to the stage.
Under that spotlight, the performer emerged, caught my eye, smiled lightly, then immediately began to play.
Despite beginning without any words, the overwhelming skill captured the audience’s full attention. To me, a total novice regarding this world’s music, it was incredibly pleasant.
‘Did they call her a genius…?’
Indeed, if she possessed such skill at this young age, it was entirely appropriate to call her a genius. Throughout the performance lasting one hour and thirty minutes, she showcased her extraordinary talent, dominating the concert hall.
As the performance concluded, for some reason, Vira, who should have been quietly enjoying the concert, was sweating profusely and gasping for breath, while Milk-a Pokato gently opened her mouth.
“─Thank you for coming to my concert today.”
A thunderous round of applause erupted.
The applause, praising the outstanding performance, filled the air for a moment before she quickly spoke again.
“Honestly, until recently, I was considering retirement.”
─What!
A shockwave of gasps ran through the audience.
However, Milk-a continued without concern.
“There is a benefactor who changed my mind… It’s these individuals sitting right here in front of me. They are the benefactors who held me back from going astray.”
At those words, cheers and applause rained down in our direction. Feeling quite embarrassed at receiving such overwhelming praise as someone who had only come to take an invitation, I quietly bowed my head.
Then, as if bursting with mischief, Milk-a cautiously asked me.
“Sir, how was today’s performance?”
“…You mean the performance?”
Immediately, a staff member rushed over and handed me a microphone.
As I took the microphone, I recalled the performance I had just experienced.
It was a performance that justified the term “genius violinist.” It stirred emotions within me, and the beautiful melodies echoed in my mind repeatedly.
It was an incredibly beautiful performance.
“It’s not anything special.”
However, it was too ordinary for a piece created in a world with superpowers. That was all I could say.
As soon as I finished speaking, gasps of disbelief erupted all around.
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