The Monster Aspires to Be a Hero!

While I didn’t have a hero suit yet, the badge on my chest was proof of being a hero.

Can you hear me?
“Yes, President.”
With support like this as well, I truly felt like a hero.
“Thank you, young man.”
“Not at all.”
Still, what I was doing was merely an extension of volunteer work.
Villains and monsters don’t appear every day.
And when they do appear, the closest hero or office is first notified.
Seoul is small yet vast, so ordinary incidents rarely involve me.
To accumulate achievements, hero offices employ many heroes to patrol by district.
When an incident occurs, they rush in to handle it and record the achievement.
The heroes who arrived a bit late when I subdued that Insoo student were probably those kinds of heroes.
“Oh, young man. Please take this too.”
“Ah, thank you, aunty.”
“No, I should thank you!”
I had helped an elderly woman struggling to carry her goods from the nearby market.
Yesterday, I helped someone who had spilled their belongings after tripping and dropping their bag.
The day before that…

Is this a hero? What I had envisioned is completely…
Greed shouted that this was merely being a porter for the masses, not what he knew as a hero.
Feeling aggressive like a monster, he seemed to crave a more stimulating life.
But the hero I envisioned was one who helps those in need like this.
Occasionally, incidents do occur too!
“Thief!”
A woman’s shout rang out, berating a man on a motorcycle.
I instantly used my abilities to kick off the ground and grab the rear of the man’s motorcycle.
“Uhk!”
The man riding tumbled forward, falling back-first onto the ground like being thrown over in judo.
Since he was wearing a helmet, he likely wasn’t seriously injured.
I tapped my earpiece twice to call Yuna, then firmly restrained the man with both hands.

What’s the matter?
“I’ve apprehended a pickpocket at the scene.”

Ah, I see. I’ll contact them right away.
Although technically a shell company’s president, Yuna was unexpectedly competent at handling tasks.
Among pickpockets, there are often ability users as well.
So after properly restraining them to prevent escape, the police must be called – having someone contact them on my behalf was truly convenient.

In the past week, you’ve finally done something heroic.
That’s right.

Still, it feels more like being a cane for the masses than a hero.
This brat…
Constantly insulting those diligently serving citizens as “canes for the masses” or whatnot… tsk.
Well, he is a monstrous being after all.
Within 5 minutes, the police arrived and took the apprehended perpetrator to the station.
Leaving with words of gratitude for my hard work, the owner of the handbag I had recovered bowed thankfully to me.
Dusting off my hands, I smiled and shook my head.
“I simply did what was natural. Are you injured anywhere?”
I distinctly recalled her falling after that pickpocket snatched her handbag earlier.
“Ah, I’m fine…”
The woman, appearing to be in her late 20s or early 30s with a glamorous demeanor, waved her hands claiming she was alright.
However, her palms were slightly scraped and bleeding.
“One moment, please.”
In case of such incidents, I had brought a first-aid kit.
I disinfected her hand with an alcohol-soaked cotton pad and applied bandages.
Just in case children were injured, the bandages featured cute character designs.
“Oh my… heheh.”
The woman softly laughed, perhaps finding the cute design too childish for an adult.
“I should repay you for this…”
The woman gently took my hand as she said that.
“It’s alright, I’m a hero. It’s only natural.”
I gestured towards the badge on my chest as I spoke.
“Oh… is that so? Do you happen to work around here?”
“Yes, at a place called the Hawk Eye Hero Office over there. Feel free to contact us if you ever need help.”
“I see… alright.”
The woman left with a smile.

…Seems to be a severe case.
Of what?

Of being a monster ignorant of human feelings.
No, seriously, what are you talking about?
Now surpassing ordinary humans in intelligence, Greed occasionally says nonsensical things that give me a headache.
After that, nothing particularly special happened.
Wearing the temporary armband used by those without hero suits, I simply walked around.
People who recognized me as a hero occasionally asked for help, which I provided.
Just as the day seemed to be ending routinely, a call came from an unfamiliar number.
“Hello?”

Are you perhaps… the hero Lee Jinwoo?
“Yes, that’s me. Who is this?”

I’m the mother of the child you recently helped.
That child…?

Insoo…
“Ah, aaah~ yes. Hello, mother.”

Would you have some time available?
“Yes, of course. Where should I go?”

No, I’ll…
“No, I’ll come to you.”
The person who called me was the mother of Insoo, the victim of the “Monster Slaying Game” bullying.
After informing the hero office, I returned there.
“You worked hard today.”
“You worked hard.”
“Jinwoo, you worked hard.”
“Yes, you too Hawk Eye. I’ll go in first.”
Leaving the office, I headed to the arranged meeting place with Insoo’s mother.
After that incident settled down, I had told Insoo to contact me if he needed help, and this call came.
Could it mean another incident had occurred?
Insoo’s case had been resolved properly.
While physically disabled, modern medicine advanced through abilities could fully treat Insoo’s body.
Of course, the cost was astronomically high, but remarkably, Insoo was able to undergo the surgery.
After Insoo’s story was featured online and on TV, a fundraising campaign was launched.
It was an extraordinary occurrence.
There were people criticizing and cursing Insoo.
People who bullied those with disabilities like Insoo.
Yet there were also people donating immense sums for his treatment.
That’s… what it means to be human, I suppose.
As far as I knew, Insoo was currently hospitalized for treatment.
Insoo’s mother was waiting at a coffee shop near Eunsung Hospital.
“Ah, Teacher.”
“As I said before, I only did my natural duty as a hero. No need for ‘Teacher’…”
Although I asked her to address me casually since I had simply done my duty, Insoo’s mother was quite adamant.
Sensing this could go on endlessly, I decided to proceed to the main topic.
“So what is the matter?”
“Well… Insoo said he has something to tell only you.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Could you meet with him?”
“Of course.”
I accompanied Insoo’s mother to his hospital room.
Upon entering, Insoo noticed me from the bed and tried to get up.
“It’s okay, stay put.”
When I told him to remain lying down, Insoo hesitated before relaxing his body again.
“Mom will step out for a bit, so talk with him.”
“Okay, got it.”
After his mother left, Insoo slowly bowed his head towards me.
“Thank you for saving me, Hyung.”
“It’s only natural as a hero.”
The surgery seemed successful, as Insoo would likely be discharged soon and able to walk.
“That’s a relief.”
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Hyung.”
Insoo kept trying to bow his head despite his inconvenienced body.
“It’s alright. This is my duty.”
“Still…”
“I said it’s alright, so…”
Hearing my words, Insoo softly smiled before hardening his expression again.
Then he began surveying his surroundings cautiously.
Insoo’s current room was a quad suite.
However, no one else seemed to be present at the moment.
“There’s something I can only tell you, Hyung.”
Insoo spoke with a very serious expression.
“Actually… my abilities didn’t manifest suddenly.”
“What do you mean?”
“I… received my abilities.”
“Huh?”
“At first I couldn’t use abilities either, but it seems that person must have given me abilities.”
“What is this about…”
Insoo recounted the story from that day which I couldn’t grasp through psychometry.
The Monster Slaying Game.
When news spread of a monster capable of disguising itself as human, a bullying trend began.
Due to a childhood accident leaving him physically inconvenienced, Insoo became a victim of that Monster Slaying Game.
Enduring such daily torment, Insoo wished for death.
A man appeared in that situation, he said.
“That person said having abilities would make everything better.”
In his utterly agonizing days, Insoo had impulsively reached out after hearing those words.
Having abilities meant becoming strong.
The strong aren’t bullied.
His body moved based on that simple logic.
“He said it would come true if I desperately wished for it.”
While saying this, Insoo mentioned not remembering the man’s face.
Only recalling a tall man with a deep voice.
Originally, he had considered mentioning it during questioning, but was too scared of those around him, so he had simply apologized and admitted wrongdoing.
I thanked Insoo for mustering the courage to speak up.
For his face to be unremembered despite such an odd encounter, did it mean Insoo was that traumatized?
Or else…
“On that day, the day of the incident… he said to be prepared if I didn’t show up…”
Typically, such violent individuals periodically extort money too.
However, they didn’t need to resort to that.
They were simply trash deriving satisfaction from venting academic stress onto others.
Insoo said he wished they would die while being assaulted.
Then a surge of vitality coursed through his body, and when he came to, one was unconscious while the other two were embedded in the wall, bleeding.
“I was so scared…”
He had thought he killed people.
When the disturbance from his rampaging abilities drew attention and people gathered to take photos, the urge to flee arose, he said.
“Thanks to you, Hyung. Originally if I had fled…”
It seemed Insoo knew the potential outcomes if the situation had escalated.
“I’m truly grateful, Hyung.”
Insoo bowed his head again in gratitude.
“No, I’m relieved you kept your composure too. It must have been difficult, but you persevered well.”
I gently patted Insoo’s shoulder.
“Hyung.”
“What is it?”
“Hyung, what’s your hero name?”
“I haven’t officially debuted yet, so I don’t have one.”
“Then… could you give me an autograph?”
“An autograph?”
“Yes. I want to be your first fan.”
Insoo scratched his nape shyly as he said that.
“That much is easy.”
I carefully autographed the paper Insoo provided.
“Thank you, Hyung!”
After shaking hands with Insoo and bidding farewell to his mother, I left the hospital.

Something seems to be happening.
As Greed said, indeed.
Ordinarily, abilities manifest suddenly without any precursors.
According to Greed, it’s the energy dispersed from a dying monster adapting to the human body after a monster appears in this world.
While living in the same world, some awaken while others remain ordinary.
We understand the general cause, but the difference between those who awaken and don’t is still unknown.
Yet that premise was shattered today.
According to Insoo, there exists a being capable of forcibly awakening or bestowing abilities.
…An ominous premonition arose.