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It didn’t take hours to get from Heros City to Busan—barely even an hour.

I guess I’m just not used to flying often, so I miscalculated the time. Because of that, I failed to update my game high score stuck on the airplane seat.

But even if I had plenty of time, I probably would have failed to update it anyway.

The game is just brutal. Even cranking up my eyesight and reaction time to the limit with some drugs wouldn’t help me keep up.

The guy who set the high score must be using some sort of time freeze or something.

Lost in those strange thoughts, I finally arrived at Busan Airport. The kids were too busy squealing with excitement right after we landed, but not everyone was the same.

“After seeing the horrors of the final exam, I really wondered how they’d fix this place…but looks like they’ve managed somehow.”

Yeonhwa looked around at the airport, which felt a bit crowded, and seemed to be deep in thought.

“It’s been 50 years since that incident. It’d be even weirder if they hadn’t fixed it in that long.”

“Still, if it was that badly destroyed, wouldn’t there be at least some traces left?”

Yeonhwa and Jinhyeon didn’t seem so much happy as they were reminded of the aftermath of the final exam. Honestly, I was also a bit surprised.

Busan, seen from above, looked surprisingly intact. I expected to see some signs of damage, but there were none at all, which was remarkable.

“If you look closely, there probably is at least one trace left in every alley. Not that we should go digging for it.”

“I agree with Seolhwa. The city seems to be running fine, so it’s probably okay, right?”

Seolhwa and Minho were expressing their opinions, both appearing quite satisfied with the situation.

“I-I heard my grandma and mom worked really hard in Busan.”

When Lapiz quietly chimed in, the others suddenly went, “Oh, that’s why Busan looks fine!” and seemed to accept it immediately.

Even just the ability of Lapiz, who inherited one-eighth of dragon blood, is impressive, so the stronger older generations must be even better.

Plus, some of us had directly met them before.

…Though we didn’t see them using their powers, it was obvious they were not ordinary people just by looking at them.

You could tell at a glance that this person could kill me with just a flick of their wrist.

“So that’s it. Indeed, no matter how advanced technology becomes, it seems like… uh, hum. It cannot completely replace humans.”

Ageha was unconsciously trying to say “humans” but quickly glanced at me and Lapiz, barely managing to change her wording.

It’s not like I cared, but it felt like she was overly conscious about it.

“Well, using humans is definitely cheaper and more convenient. If the results are the same, it’s better for companies to use the cheaper method.”

“That can’t be denied. But look at the sky, everyone. Isn’t it nice to see it so clear without a single cloud?”

“It’s pretty! But…”

“It’s hot!”

Ageha quickly shifted from a heavy topic to a light one.

We had just stepped out of the airport into the blazing sunlight.

She probably didn’t want to dive into heavy discussions even while on vacation. If that’s the case, I should respect that. I started spraying water on the kids like a mister since they were all complaining it was hot.

Initially, the kids that enjoyed the first couple of sprays quickly turned to chaos, moaning about how it was hot and humid.

Eventually, Seolhwa spoke up, and it wasn’t until Lapiz was begging that they wanted me to stop that the kids’ complaints settled… not really, but at least calmed down.

Just when Justitia thought the bus should have arrived by now, she contacted someone and suggested we wait in the shade since it seemed like it was going to take a bit.

“It feels a bit uneasy that things are going sideways from the start…”

“Oh, come on, could anything really happen, Miss Blanca? No need to worry too much. Even if you drag accidents with you, you can’t expect it to happen again this time, right?”

And saying that always triggers something weird, Ageha.

But I couldn’t openly call her out on it, so, honestly, I was hoping nothing would happen this time, so I just said it’d be great if that were true.

“Definitely! And this time, we’re not worried about things happening like last time, and besides, everyone has gotten stronger. So, Miss Blanca will be safe too!”

That… might be true?

But who knows…

As I happily cooled down under Ageha’s wind magic, a sudden thought crossed my mind.

If the Mimic who ripped off my control device back then was still alive and kicking.

If that creep was still hiding in society, swapping from body to body, alive and well?

…Not like it concerns me all that much.

After passing some time, a bus finally rolled up in front of us, and an unexpected figure jumped out.

“I-I’m so sorry!!! There was a sudden brawl on the road…!”

It was Zion from the Hero Association in Heros City. Changwon seemed just as curious, asking why she was late rather than why she was here.

“Huh? Uh… I came out to meet you all! Since the future hero candidates are training, we have to move too, right?”

Doesn’t that sound a bit flimsy as a reason?

Honestly, it sounded way more believable that the Hero Association lost some shady power struggles with the Heros Academy, which is why they were doing things this way.

And the reason the Association might have lost would likely be because of me. Probably.

After all, both organizations don’t meddle with Heros Company since that’s their bread and butter.

It’s all just speculation, but it was too hot to care, so I asked if we could get on the bus.

“Yes! Sit wherever you like!”

I practically threw my luggage into the storage compartment and snatched the back window seat.

I chose the direction away from the sun to avoid heating up right away. Adjusting the air conditioning to hit my head and neck, I was ready to close my eyes and chill.

The kids suddenly started playing rock paper scissors to decide who would sit next to me.

It was kind of fun just to watch, so I let them do their thing. In the end, the champion was Jinhyeon, who ended up bringing Lapiz to sit next to me in shock.

Jinhyeon clearly looked disappointed, but in this scenario, I was the boss, so his only option was to sit with Yeonhwa.

Lapiz was bewildered at suddenly being seated next to me, trying to yield her spot back to Jinhyeon, but I stopped her by firmly pressing her tail down.

“Hiyah?!”

Lapiz made a strange sound, almost jumping but then sitting back down on my hand like she was about to break it, but thankfully, it didn’t seem to break.

“Just sit next to me, Lapiz. Please.”

“I-I got it, I got it, but the tail…! Hii?!

That seemed way too much stimulation for her; Lapiz was practically begging me. Was I too rough? I might’ve pulled her a bit too hard due to my impatience.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you…”

Lapiz seemed to accept it, showing that sitting next to me wasn’t totally unbearable.

“P-please take care with my tail…”

…So she didn’t want me to touch it at all?

Seeing Lapiz’s blushing face gave me a strange sense of dread, but since I’d gotten through the immediate crisis, I figured I was fine with it for now.

In the end, Ageha sat in the middle of the back seat, with Seolhwa by the window and Minho between them, and that settled everything.

Latecomer Lucia had come looking for her spot only to turn away disappointed.

Jinhyeon’s complaints quickly faded as the bus ride was under 30 minutes.

“Thank you for waiting! This is the Busan branch of the Hero Association! And for the next two weeks, it will be your training ground for refining your abilities!”

So we were training at the Hero Association building. My hypothesis that they were losing the power struggle from the academy and were basically just letting us take advantage of them seemed to gain more weight.

“But… how do we refine our abilities?”

Before getting off, Alice, who had sat next to the unremarkable guy from Class B, raised her hand to ask.

“Good question! There are two main methods. One is to address your shortcomings and reduce your weaknesses, while the other is purely to grow your abilities themselves!”

“So, refining our abilities means…”

“You all know the principle behind muscle growth, right?”

“Yes? Ah, yeah. Muscle fibers tear, and as they regenerate, they become stronger than before.”

“Yes, exactly!”

“…What?”

At this point, the playful atmosphere quickly dissipated.

“It’s quite literal. Your abilities will be pushed to the brink of overload. Since the growth of your abilities follows the same principle as muscles, you’ll have to undergo the same process!”

Zion was smiling without any malice, but that grin was enough to make the kids forget about the summer heat for a moment.

Or maybe, the air conditioning was just way too cold.

– – – –

“That concludes our regular meeting. Everyone, please do your best in your respective places.”

Listening to the results of the meeting held by those made of dough, I began to wonder what body I should use next.

I was feeling the urge to switch bodies soon.

I really wanted to switch into one of those kids’ bodies from last time.

Especially that Blanca… was it?

She had even overpowered her own kind while accepting them into her body.

Is she in Busan by now?

If I were to switch into her body, wouldn’t it be fun?

 

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