The Hero Association had sent Solar Flare and Sunray to conduct an investigation.
But Black Cell turned the whole thing into a full-blown public event and invited the press.
With cameras rolling the entire time, the hero and her Sidekick couldn't exactly make any aggressive moves.
After that, welcoming the two of them went smoothly enough, and the event was nearly wrapped up.
But this was a visit by top-prospect heroes to a major corporation, wasn't it?
In simple terms: a massive amount of eyes were watching.
And there were those who needed that attention very badly.
BOOM!!
"W-what is this?!"
"What on earth is going on?"
"…Please wait just a moment."
An explosion rang out from somewhere without warning, throwing everyone into a panic.
But almost immediately, a call came through to the security personnel.
[Mutants who appear to be villains are currently launching indiscriminate attacks at the main entrance.]
"Have any of our agents been injured?"
[The guards stationed at the main entrance sustained injuries while attempting to respond.]
At least they weren't spraying the place with gunfire, apparently.
I relayed the situation to Solar Flare and Sunray right away.
They flashed bright smiles and gave a thumbs-up.
"Leave this to us!"
"Solar Flare and I will handle it, so please evacuate to a safe location immediately!"
They carried themselves as though retreat wasn't even a concept they recognized.
Tragically, I had to go with them.
"You're coming along too, Maxwell?!"
"W-why would you—"
"Should the person responsible for this event hide in the back? And don't worry about me."
Thud! Thud!
Black Cell's special agents, who had been standing by nearby, stepped forward.
Solar Flare and Sunray blinked at the appearance of the imposing escorts.
"Black Cell does not waver over something like this."
That's what I said — but in truth, this attack?
Our Director had arranged it.
*************
Cover one issue with a bigger issue.
The simplest and most powerful play in media management.
On top of that, the villains had no guns.
The reason the special agents appeared so quickly was precisely because all of this had been planned.
Of course, I had absolutely no idea how the Director had gotten those villains to move.
When I said I'd be going with the escorts, the hero and Sidekick reluctantly agreed — but not without a warning.
"Maxwell, please stay behind us at all times. Do not come forward."
"Even with the escorts, you could get caught up in Solar Flare's ability if you're not careful, so please be cautious!!"
"I'll keep that in mind. Now then, let me guide you through the shortcut."
The reporters who had been listening to our exchange immediately evacuated into the building.
I led the hero and Sidekick toward the main entrance.
The state of the entrance when we arrived was genuinely bad.
The reception counter and every pane of glass had been smashed to pieces.
And there were those threatening the lives of civilians.
"P-please, help!!!"
"Aaaaaah!"
"Let me show you what despair really means!"
"It's time to prove just how powerless this city is!"
"Watch closely! Today's stars are us!"
The villains reveled in their destruction as though it were something to be proud of.
Their appearances, though, were quite unusual.
I'm not talking about masks or costumes.
'So the Director moved mutants.'
Wolves, rabbits — animals deeply familiar to humans.
And yet Liberty and Victory, who had nothing more than cute animal ears and tails, had still faced discrimination and persecution.
So what about mutants who resembled insects, reptiles, and amphibians — creatures that could inspire revulsion at a glance?
Some had only their eyes shaped after insects.
Others had faces that were half-frog. Their appearances were, without exaggeration, monstrous.
Just as I was beginning to understand why they might hate and despise the world—
"Sunray!!"
"Solar Flare!! I'm ready on this end!"
"Then I'm counting on you!!"
Flames erupted from Solar Flare's body as she launched herself forward.
At that moment, Sunray sprinted ahead and clapped her hands — and the fire pouring from Solar Flare's body scattered outward like buckshot.
Remarkably, the small fireballs targeted only the villains.
Solar Flare struck the villain holding a civilian hostage and pulled the person free.
Soon, flames were surging across the entire entrance at Solar Flare's direction.
Yet somehow, the civilians who had collapsed were completely unaffected by the fire.
"Solar Flare and Sunray, as expected."
"There's a reason they're top-prospect heroes."
"Maxwell, here — their information."
One of the escorts handed me a tablet, and I checked the data immediately.
[Hero Name: Solar Flare]
[Ability Type: Superhuman-type, Manifestation-type]
[Superhuman Strength, Flame Emission]
[Personality: Passionate]
[Sidekick Name: Sunray]
[Ability Type: Manipulation-type]
[Flame Manipulation and Amplification]
[Personality: Passionate]
Even from this information alone, the two of them were a perfect pair.
Even now, thanks to Sunray's flame manipulation, Solar Flare was using her ability without any restraint whatsoever — and with her physical enhancement on top of that, she was a complete hero in every sense of the word.
While the heroes held the villains at bay, the escorts and I worked to rescue the fallen employees and civilians.
The villains were no pushover, of course.
Mutants are fundamentally stronger than ordinary humans.
Even taking direct hits from Solar Flare's enhanced strikes and fireballs, some kept moving.
Others had the physical strength to shatter concrete walls and trees with ease.
But they had no choice but to despair.
An insect mutant with six arms swung the weapons in each of them — and Solar Flare didn't bother to defend.
WHOOOOSH!!!
"W-what is this?!"
"Fire can't have a physical form!!"
Unless her weakness was targeted, physical attacks simply didn't work on Solar Flare.
In her near-invincible state, Solar Flare earned the awe and trust of the civilians around her.
The rampaging mutants, in contrast, screamed in anguish.
"W-why!! Why is it only you people!!"
"We're living in such misery!!"
"Die!! Just die already!!!"
At the villains' despair-laced screams, Sunray's expression turned bitter.
The heroes understood the circumstances of fringe mutants well enough.
Solar Flare, too, appeared to be moving with the goal of subduing rather than destroying.
But burns are the most agonizing injury any living creature can suffer.
WHOOOOSH!!!
"AAAAAAARGH!!"
"GAAAAAAH!!"
"HNGH— HAAAAAH!!"
Engulfed in Solar Flare's controlled flames, the villains writhed on the ground in agony.
In the end, all the villains went down.
The one who appeared to be their leader was seized by Solar Flare.
He screamed his last defiance.
"We'll be back!! When your happiness reaches its peak!! We will return to bring it crashing down!!"
And with that, the one who had been born into guilt simply by existing was knocked unconscious by Solar Flare's flaming fist.
*************
Thanks to Solar Flare and Sunray's spectacular performance, the event Black Cell had prepared concluded successfully.
The moment the situation was under control, special police swarmed in to restrain and take the villains into custody.
Partly because none of them were named villains, and partly thanks to the guards who had held the entrance — some civilians had suffered serious injuries, but there were no fatalities.
Solar Flare also used the Rapid Recovery Drugs she'd received as a gift from Black Cell on the critically injured.
"Solar Flare, are you sure about this?"
"How could I call myself a hero if I can't save the person right in front of me? This is only natural."
"Hehe, that's our Solar Flare for you."
Acting without a moment's hesitation — and with Sunray showing not the slightest reluctance about using treatments worth hundreds of millions each — the two of them truly deserved to be called heroes.
After things settled down somewhat, I made a new announcement.
"Black Cell will be covering all medical expenses for those injured in today's incident in full. And… please accept these back."
I reissued the Rapid Recovery Drugs that Solar Flare had used, and the two of them were deeply moved.
"I can't believe there are people out there who criticize such a wonderful company without reason…."
"So the clickbait grifters really were the villains of society!!!"
"Ha ha ha, we're truly grateful that you think so highly of Black Cell."
As I spoke with the two of them, the reporters who had evacuated began filing back outside and started covering the story from every angle.
Naturally, Solar Flare and Sunray were immediately bathed in an enormous spotlight.
Watching the paid-off reporters come rushing toward me made my head throb.
And so, the eventful hero-welcoming corporate event came to a successful close.
Black Cell moved safely further from the truth.
Solar Flare and Sunray added a heartwarming story to their names — using treatments worth billions on civilians without a second thought.
The villains who had caused the commotion were taken away.
Everyone got a good ending.
And the Director, reading through the online articles, was very, very satisfied.
[Turns out Black Cell really was being wronged.]
[Malicious rumors and fake news — is this acceptable?]
[The people profiting off of hate.]
[Clickbait grifter hit with criminal sentence after past conduct comes to light.]
"The reporters we paid are churning out articles nicely. The public reaction seems overwhelmingly positive as well."
"Pfft. Just like you said — the masses really are sheep."
The Director cackled and heaped praise on me without restraint.
And then I heard something entirely unexpected.
"You're saying you'll let me command the escorts you deployed this time?"
"Yep! What do you think?"
"Absolutely not."
I refused with a grimace, naturally.
Why would she attach special agents to me?
It would mean the Director monitoring my every waking moment.
"You intend to use me as the public face of Black Cell."
"Hmm… it's a position everyone wants, so I didn't expect you to kick it away."
"Then I'll gladly yield it to them."
"I don't want that."
Still, since I made it abundantly clear how much I despised the idea, the Director put it on hold.
"In any case — did the Hero Association attempt any behind-the-scenes maneuvering this time?"
"No, with our group watching, it seems they just probed us a little, as expected."
I suppressed a sigh at the deeply disappointing news.
Well, I'd finished everything I needed to report.
Just as I was about to make my exit—
"Maxwell."
"Yes?"
"Aren't you curious where those idiotic mutants came from?"
"Curiosity killed the cat. A truly excellent proverb."
"Tch, no fun at all. Still, you really did well this time. I'll make sure your bonus is generous."
Stepping out of the Director's office, I felt the energy drain right out of me — but there was still work left to do.
***************
It ended sooner than expected, so I was able to make it in time for Gloria's dinner.
I dragged my exhausted body to her cell, and for once, she had gotten up from her bed and moved closer to me.
"Gloria?"
"…It's nothing."
Was she checking whether I'd been to see Liberty and Victory?
Gloria had been remarkably transparent lately.
Regardless, I brought in her meal tray, and she stared at me intently before opening her mouth.
"Those two — how are they?"
"You mean the heroes. Honestly, they didn't seem all that different from us."
"That's a little surprising."
Solar Flare and Sunray hadn't been heroes for very long, but watching them freeze up in front of the cameras made it clear they cared enormously about public perception.
If top-prospect heroes were like this, most heroes were probably the same.
I let out a quiet sigh and continued.
"Gloria — do you want people to praise and applaud you?"
"No… absolutely not."
Refreshingly honest, as always.
It was too late in the day to visit Liberty and Victory, though.
I'd told them I would come, but how would they react?
Tomorrow's version of me would find out.