This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 133

When faced with phenomena that cannot be dealt with by human power, we often refer to it as a calamity.

And at this moment, a calamity in human form stood before me.

‘That is… a Special-Class.’

Have you ever seen a storm entirely made of pure lightning?

Of course not. It’s not something you see every day.

Up until a moment ago, I thought it was just another day… and now it was anything but that.

Did they ever consider ending this with just one step?

A series of azure light beams, as if embodied by the word “destruction,” descended upon the ground, and each time, massive objects came crashing down.

With each strike, the noise reverberated through the mountains.

That sound resonated not just once or twice, but repeatedly, making it impossible for the gentlemen lounging comfortably in the accommodations to ignore it.

Before long, several shadows dashed out from the evacuation facility.

The real action came afterward, but unlike those who were oblivious despite seeing a walking hint, those actively working seemed to catch on immediately upon seeing it.

If a villain had launched an attack, they would have rushed out with bravado, declaring they would take care of it, but now they froze in place as if they had seen a ghost—

“Hm, so there are five of you, huh?”

It was akin to witnessing an ambivalent predator outmatched by an unstoppable force.

“This way.”

As I held onto these frozen individuals, the others began to emerge like sweet potatoes popping out from a vine.

Perhaps they felt something was off since their people sent out earlier hadn’t returned; now, they were ready to charge out, but sadly, we had the upper hand in intimidation.

“Let’s see… fifteen in total, huh? Everyone’s here?”

Successfully gathering the heroes dispatched by the Association, Lightning Lady’s first action was to kick the convenience store bag that my senior and I had retrieved, sending it rolling toward the gathered heroes.

The bag tipped over, spewing everything inside without a trace.

There was no doubt the atmosphere, once precarious, turned deadly.

“What’s this? Didn’t you order everything because you needed it? Not taking any of it?”

Honestly, considering this person could be likened to a five-star general, seeing her visibly frustrated like that left everyone rooted in place, unable to move.

Everyone just stood frozen, darting their innocent eyes around, and witnessing it made me break out in a cold sweat.

“Oh, or maybe you ordered it just to take pleasure in us struggling?”

For the heroes gathered here, it had to be quite upsetting. Some were wondering why there was such a fuss over a mere errand, while the rest of the fourteen must have been ruminating on how it turned into something so ridiculous.

Maybe that’s why.

The eyes that had been meandering around converged into one spot.

Perhaps they quickly realized the truth of their own inconspicuous guilt.

The culprit began to shyly step back, but it was far too late.

The perpetrator had only just started moving, while Lightning Lady had already been in motion the moment the gazes shifted.

“Ah, so it’s you. The one who made me come here tonight.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Suddenly caught by the shoulder of the divine ‘Special-Class,’ the perpetrator trembled as if they were having a seizure, attempting an immediate apology, but—

“Why are you apologizing to me? Seems like you’ve got the wrong target.”

“Th-that…!”

“Oh, and you don’t need to apologize. You’ll only feel sorrier for yourself from now on.”

This was truly beyond absurd.

And then what happened was… well, the hero who made us run errands was apprehended.

How did they get caught? A helicopter actually showed up to take them away despite the weather!

I heard they had a ton of rumors circulating about them already, so now they’d undergo thorough investigation and receive disciplinary action appropriately. If anything turns up, they might be stripped of qualifications and deported out of the country.

Honestly, I didn’t feel a shred of sympathy.

That woman who sent me on the errand probably never expected a storm to sweep in so suddenly. However, the fact remains she had caused us to traverse a perilous mountain road that could easily lead to danger at night.

In any case, the perpetrator was whisked away somewhere, while my senior and I stayed behind to answer questions from the Association’s staff, disguised as welfare checks.

It was bewildering to think that everything stemmed from a single phone call, but I actively cooperated.

I thought it was the least I could do to prove the deliberate malice behind her actions.

While diligently answering inquiries tossed around by the Association’s personnel alongside my senior, there was one thing bothering me—

‘Why…’

It was the gaze of someone observing from the side.

They could have gone back, so why were they lingering and staring like that?

Did they think this was a chance to demand compensation for their efforts from the Association?

Since they stared so intently, I initially thought that was their angle.

But as it turned out, that wasn’t the case.

“Excuse me, Officer?”

“…Yes?”

“As I listened I’ve become curious, but isn’t there a compensation system from the Association?”

There’s no way they would jump in with such a question at this stage if that weren’t the case.

A compensation system from the Association.

If it were available, that would obviously be great, but to be honest, I hadn’t thought much about that.

Perhaps the reason was that I had been solely contemplating how to mess with that woman who was recently apprehended, not on the possibility of receiving some compensation.

And it seemed the ‘Officer’ we were conversing with hadn’t considered it much either.

“Um…”

The professional demeanor they had been showing melted away as they faltered, making me break into a wry smile.

At the same time, I thought,

Since this is happening, wouldn’t it be reasonable to see if we could gain anything?

It was hard to ignore that a Special-Class hero, of which there are only three in Korea, was here trying to look out for us.

If I couldn’t gain something from such a situation, wouldn’t that be foolish?

Of course, I didn’t butt in right away.

Instead, I maintained my silence while observing the situation.

“Usually, when a hero on our side causes damage, the Association intervenes to provide compensation. I distinctly remember that being the case.”

“That’s slightly… different, actually.”

“So, it’s not possible?”

“Well, regarding that aspect, I need to verify a bit more…”

“Hey, Officer.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you say you hadn’t checked the storage yet?”

There’s no way she went up there.

She probably hopped on a helicopter the moment she received the call, so how could she have checked that storage located near the foot of the mountain?

So perhaps—

Caught off guard by the sudden question, the lady called Officer couldn’t offer any answer.

“You can say that because you haven’t gone. Do you know what that so-called storage was like? It was barely holding together!”

“Ahem.”

“In a place like that, exposed to rain for hours, shivering in fear… and you can’t provide any compensation?”

“No, I mean, I’m not saying we won’t give any compensation; I just need to follow the regulations a bit more—”

“Honestly, that’s what it implies.”

“That’s not—”

“Let’s be real; if these folks decide to seek revenge and disclose today’s events to the media, how do you think public opinion would sway?”

It’s nice they wanted to help us, but I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable seeing someone so innocent sweating bullets.

So—

“Uh, could we consider doing something different?”

I tentatively stepped forward.

“If my memory serves me right, there should be a system where candidate heroes receive awards for contributing to social justice in specific situations…”

Thanks to that, every gaze from both the pursuers and the pursued turned toward me, but I continued without faltering.

“Would applying that system to the current situation be impossible?”