Chapter 17

1.

What is now an obvious statement, but I’ve become quite famous in Kiburatos. To the point where there are hardly any people who don’t know me.

My debut was in the battle against Kaiser PMC,

And since then, through various incidents and deeds,

I’ve reached the point now where my intense battles with Wakamo have made me well known.

Indeed, the accomplishments I’ve amassed in a short time in Kiburatos are unprecedented. Even when I think about how many events have unfolded, I myself wonder how it all happened. Through all of it, I struggled to maintain my public image as a ‘kind neighbor.’

In any case, this fame of ‘Silk’ is no longer confined merely to D.U., but has also spread to various academies across Kiburatos.

The way I found out about this fact was related to the broadcast of my previous fight with Wakamo.

How did that fight between Wakamo and I end up being broadcast as news? For some reason, the entirety of Kiburatos witnessed that battle between Wakamo and me.

Normally, it would be impossible for every district of Kiburatos to directly watch the broadcast, even if it were being transmitted via drones, given Sentum Tower’s current shutdown.

At least, that’s usually the case.

My method was simple. I used the restored wired communication network painstakingly revived by the reporting bureau of Chronos School and other public broadcasters.

Speaking of which, Himari, the self-proclaimed greatest fragile genius hacker from Millennium Academy, along with her club ‘Veritas’ led by her as the leader, helped me out. I had already approached her and her friends who were assisting me in tracking Wakamo, and once again asked for their help. As a result, in no time, they managed to hack into the entire wired network of not just Chronos but Kiburatos itself, broadcasting the content as I intended.

That’s the entire story.

“…What? What did you say?”

No,

I was just thinking that until a moment ago.

Until Himari revealed something even more shocking.

“Apparently, crime rates are dropping across the regions of Kiburatos. It seems the people must have watched Nanashi’s broadcast?”

“….”

“And Valkyrie has made an official statement. Once Sentum Tower is restored, they apparently plan to press the Black Market heavily.”

“Valkyrie is… getting involved…?”

“Hehe, I understand how Nanashi feels at this. But this time, it’s the truth indeed. After all, the one who made this statement is none other than Valkyrie’s Public Security Director, ‘Ogata Kanna.'”

“…”

It seems like the impact of this incident is far greater than I anticipated.

2.

While I was unconscious, sleeping soundly, so much happened in Kiburatos. The city, which always sees numerous incidents, experienced events this time that were truly unprecedented.

Firstly, Valkyrie, while securing and transporting the enemies from the site of my battle with Wakamo, managed to obtain a significant amount of information about the underworld.

Then, Wakamo, who was about to be transferred to the Correctional Bureau by Valkyrie, just like the games, escaped mid-process and is now missing without a trace.

There’s also the growing rumor that Sentum Tower in Kiburatos will soon be restored, or some villains who resisted the city’s newly positive vibe only to get soundly beaten by Silk’s followers.

And the most crucial point was…

“…Seriously, FOX Squad chooses now to create trouble?”

A small disturbance occurring at Sentum Tower.

There’s no doubt this was caused by the FOX Squad of SRT Academy. They likely rebelled against the news of SRT Academy’s possible disintegration. The reason why the rumor is being kept low-key is probably because the Student Council intervened.

The moment I heard about this incident, I immediately intuited that Shiranui Kaya was involved.

Kaya is the Defense Director of the Student Council. In the current situation where Sentum Tower is shut down and the Student Council President is missing, causing an anarchic state, security is the most critical concern.

Yet this security was breached by FOX Squad. And what’s worse, it happened at the exact moment when I couldn’t intervene.

Is this a coincidence?

At this exact moment, security was breached.

At this exact moment, FOX Squad moved.

At this exact moment, I was unable to act.

Is this… a coincidence?

“Spare me the nonsense.”

Kaya took advantage of the moment I was focused on my therapy. As a result, the entire matter was settled without my notice.

‘So it was that hard for you to let go, Kaya?’

What kind of person is Kaya?

She is the kind of person who doesn’t consider the means if it serves her goals. That’s who Shiranui Kaya is, according to my understanding.

And it seems that she hasn’t yet given up on her objectives.

Hmph, I clicked my tongue as I brushed my bangs.

It’s not pleasant to discover that events are being resolved without my knowledge in areas I don’t have access to.

‘There’s no helping it. If you’re not going to stop this coup with me active…’

I have to become stronger and suppress Kaya.

I feel compelled to immediately run towards Kaya and expose her true colors to the world, but without proper information or justification, it’s just a fantasy.

However, turning this fantasy into reality is straightforward.

I need to become stronger, gather more information, and that’s all.

To do that, I must train myself, craft various hero equipment, and most crucially…

‘Make money.’

Earning money through part-time jobs at convenience stores won’t be enough anymore. It’s obvious that I won’t even be able to produce decent equipment, let alone an Iron Man suit.

So.

“…Should I take genuine assignments?”

It seems the time has come for me to start my activities as a member of the Supernatural Special Task Force, something I’ve been delaying until now.

3.

At that time, in Millennium Seminar Room.

Yuuuka was resting her head on her desk, sighing to Noah.

“Wherever I go, it’s Silk, Silk. It’s all about Silk.”

“There’s no help for it. Didn’t we feel it too when watching? That she’s definitely not an ordinary person.”

“Haa, yeah, but still…”

It has been one day since the fight between Wakamo and Silk, and even now, in Millennium, both online and offline, the fervent discussions about ‘Silk’ continue to rage.

As a member of the student council, Yuuuka inevitably had to deal with all the information, making it a rather tiresome task.

Occasionally, mediating between the heated debates among students or handling the traffic overload due to excessive bait on the internet became another part of her responsibilities.

Without a slightly annoying junior who was usually absent, these moments made Yuuuka even more frustrated, but she could only sigh.

No matter how much she complained, the empty seat wouldn’t fill itself.

“So, Noah, what do you think?”

“What do you mean, Yuuuka?”

“I mean Silk. It doesn’t feel like she’s one of our academy students, no matter how you look at it.”

At that moment, the sudden questioning about the identity of Silk.

Seeing Yue Ka’s serious expression, Noah smiled gently and replied.

“Do you know, Yuuuka?”

“What?”

“That type of curiosity you’ve mentioned, those are the primary topics discussed in the communities that tire you out?”

“…”

Noah believed that beneath Yuuuka’s complaints of being tired from the heated sentiments, she was truly the one most interested in Silk’s affairs.

But, as Noah knew, pointing out this fact would make Yuuuka flare up.

Just like right now.

“That’s not the case! I was just expressing a reasonable curiosity!”

“Hu, I see.”

“It’s true, so believe me, Noah!”

Of course, I do.

Noah smiled easily, looking at Yuuuka’s beet-red face with affection.

Though apart from teasing, the doubt Yuuuka raised was something Noah also thought plausible.

“…Who knows? Maybe she’s much closer to us than we think.”

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“Hmm, nothing, Yuuuka.”

“…”

Noah left Yuuuka with her questioning expression, momentarily drifting off into a past memory.

A few weeks ago, in the seminar room, he saw a girl with white hair.

The length of the girl’s hair and Silk’s hair.

Silk’s blue eyes and that girl’s blue eyes.

Moreover, their appearance timelines.

“Hu.”

Noah smiled happily.

Apparently, there was another big secret hidden in their school that others didn’t know about.

4.

The scene is always noisy.

This was the general conclusion from many years of experience as a guard dog for Valkyrie.

This particular scene was no exception. The sounds from all around made it clear that this was the site of an incident.

However…

“Ho, this is hilarious.”

Unlike other sites, all the culprits were already tied up in pristine white spider silk in front of her.

The criminals, with their mouths covered by spider silk, unable to speak, merely grunted in rage with fury in their eyes. The wild dogs of Valkyrie, standing in front of them, smirked and looked up at the sky.

“…When did Valkyrie become solely responsible for cleaning up after vigilantes? Silk, I genuinely want to see your face once.”

Ogata Kanna.

The Public Security Director of Valkyrie, she recalled the masked girl who had turned the area into a mess and then disappeared.

From the day she appeared, disrupting the city, self-proclaimed and well-known hero vigilante, Silk.

When Kanna first learned about her, she hadn’t held any good feelings. All her actions were essentially private sanctions, illegal.

However, recently, her perspective has slightly changed.

Due to Kanna’s superior insight, what she could see through the broadcast this time,

The other side of the girl supposedly a hero during her fight with Wakamo, whose fragile side was clearly revealed under her intense gaze.

Kanna realized that Silk wasn’t just engaging in vigilante activities out of personal interest or private emotions. Because of this, Kanna found herself able to view Silk with a somewhat softer gaze than before.

And, since Silk helped uphold the city’s order in place of Valkyrie during this state of anarchy, it was indeed a fact.

“Once I catch you, I’ll make you join Valkyrie and train you seriously. Silk.”

It had reached a point where such a joke could be made.

Kanna, who grinned with her shark-like teeth, soon erased her smile and once again turned into Valkyrie’s wild dog, glaring fiercely at the criminals.

“Arrest them. Conduct immediate interrogations upon return.”

“Yes, Director!”

“Quickly clean up the scene and return. Everyone, let’s move.”

It was time for her to transform back into Ogata Kanna, Valkyrie’s wild dog.

“Hopefully, we can root out the bad guys through this opportunity.”

That was her sincere wish to serve the citizens.

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