Later that afternoon, the section chief of the crime division summoned me.
"Team Leader 5."
"Yes, sir."
"I'm always proud of you."
"Thank you."
"Yes. Once again, you did a great job taking down the bank robbers quickly, and you deserve a hundred thanks for that. And no civilians were harmed in the process."
So far, so good.
But I know.
When the section chief really wants to praise someone, he doesn't call them into his office. He goes to them first.
And his tone of voice isn't normally that formal.
"By the way, Team Leader 5. I'm really curious."
"What do you mean?"
"With your level of skill, you shouldn't have to use this much force, shouldn't you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do I have to lay it out for you to understand?"
"......"
Ah, the tone is back to normal.
His brow furrowed even more as he resumed his usual tone. Oh, he's going to get more wrinkles.
The chief turned to his monitor and gestured for me to look. It displayed the CCTV footage from this morning's robbery of the Golden Light Bank.
I couldn't believe I was about to see myself slamming the robber's head into the floor again and again.
"Was it necessary to do this to a man who was already unconscious?"
"Sir. He was still conscious at that point..."
"What about here?"
He fast-forwarded the video a bit, and now we're looking at when I punched his stomach.
Hmm, he's definitely not moving at all.
"My judgment was that he was still pretending to be unconscious."
"Right, so he's going to pretend to be unconscious and then attack you, catching you off guard."
"Exactly, sir."
I nodded immediately.
That's the chief, seemingly reading my mind.
"Hmm, but it looks to me like he is not unconscious, just dead."
Hahaha, no way. There's no way an A-class Awakener, let alone a body enhancer, would die from a few hits.
"The hospital he was transported to just called me a while ago. They barely managed to save him."
"......"
"The doctor wanted to know what kind of monster he was attacked by, to put an A-Class Awakener into that state."
"A monster, that's too much."
"Yes. That's why I couldn't tell him that the monster is our Team Leader 5."
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The chief drummed his fingers on the desk again and again. It's a habit when he's thinking.
"Team Leader 5."
"...Yes."
"I don't say this to the other team leaders because our job is dangerous, with a lot of near-death experiences. So, I tell them to use all their strength when dealing with criminals."
"That's true."
"Honestly, including my self-interest, why should we go easy on a criminal, especially an Awakener, when I'm risking my own life and the lives of my colleagues?"
"That's right, you're the one who understands...."
"But not you, Hye-Rim."
"......"
Calling me by my name, the chief said, "You need to hold back your power. After all, unlike heroes, our association deals with people, not monsters. There's no need to kill when you don't have to, right?"
"......Yes."
I lowered my eyes, giving him an apologetic look, and he sighed.
It's true that I intentionally beat that helpless guy like a dog to take out my frustration. I'm not in a position to argue.
I secretly glance at the chief's expression and realize he's not angry. Safe.
"Honestly, I don't want to make a big deal out of this. It's true that you did a good job, and it's good to have someone of your caliber in the department."
"Thank you."
"Anyways, that's what I was trying to say. Even if he is a criminal, there's no need to punch him like a punching bag when he shows signs of surrender. We're officials of the Association, so we need to be extra careful. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes, sir. From now on, I'll be mindful of my position and only use enough force to knock him out."
".....Okay, that's fine."
He smiled, a little unhappily but satisfied nonetheless.
Finally, the nagging was over, and now I had to get out of there...
"Where are you going? Come back."
"Yes? Aren't you done with what you were going to say?"
I was about to leave the department when the chief called me back.
"What are you talking about? I was just giving you advice as a supervisor. I'm about to tell you the real reason I called you here."
"......"
"Don't give me that look of obvious displeasure."
Damn. Still not done yet?
But the real reason he called me? I can't figure it out. But I've been doing pretty well lately, haven't I?
Just as I was racking my brain to see if I'd done anything else wrong, the chief's ballpoint pen flicked to the monitor.
The CCTV footage was still playing.
"These are the ones you smashed."
"Ah."
He pointed to the smashed floors and walls.
"I received the invoice for this."
"No, I-"
"You broke the marble floor so beautifully. I think you were bored, so you even drilled holes in the walls?"
"I don't know about the floor, but the wall was smashed because I kicked the robb-"
"Hye-Rim, no, Team Leader 5."
"......"
Ah. He's angry.
"Please, relax a little!!!!!!"
Damn. There's no point in doing good things.
I stopped the robber from breaking into the safe; the least they could do was pay for the repairs themselves. Sending a bill to the person who saved them from a robbery, even though I may have broken a few floor tiles and a wall in the process... it just doesn't seem right.
Damn it. Being a government employee must make me look like an easy target. But then again, it's my fault for choosing this job.
"Sigh..."
"What's with the sigh?"
As I lamented my luck on my way home from work, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
There's only one person at work who would touch me like this.
"Team Leader 1."
"Feel free to call me by my first name, Hye-Rim."
Yoo Mi-Young, the team leader of the same crime division, has long black hair, dark eyes, and stands about one cheek taller than me. She's quite beautiful and unusually friendly to me.
I get it. We're the only women among the team leaders in the crime division. It makes sense that she would want to be close to me.
But I'm a guy.
"You have a pretty face; why are you frowning like that? You're going to get wrinkles like the chief, you know?"
"...."
That can't happen. Me becoming like the chief? That's not something you should say to people.
"Hehe, I heard that you've been lectured by the chief again today?"
"I mean, Team Leader 1. Does this make sense? I just stopped a mugger from robbing the bank, and now the bank is invoicing us for money."
"That's a little harsh. But..."
"But?"
"I'm actually kind of relieved they didn't bill us for the hospital bill."
"Hospital bill?" I asked curiously, and a small voice replied, "Psychiatric hospital bills."
"It must have been pretty traumatizing for them to witness that."
"......"
"I was out of town, so I only heard what happened this morning and saw the video, but that... was pretty bad."
So it's something that would be traumatizing to a normal person, is what she's saying. Enough to require counseling.
They're not traumatized by the robbery but by the team leader who saved them.
Hmph!
"But I thought you were on my side, Team Leader 1. That's disappointing."
"Oh, no! I'm on Hye-Rim's side! It's weird to show mercy to criminals!"
I couldn't help but laugh at the team leader's comment.
"I'm just kidding. Honestly, I think I went too far. I was in a bad mood today, and I was so eager to find the perfect punching bag."
"You were in a bad mood? Are you okay now?"
"No. It's worse."
I got reprimanded by the chief for two hours. It would be strange to be in a good mood.
I hope there's another robbery tomorrow somewhere. Tomorrow, instead of beating them to death, I'll control my strength and keep beating them until they want to pass out.
"Yeah? Well, if you're feeling down, a drink might help. Do you want to go for a drink, just the two of us?"
"Sure. Shall we go to our usual skewer place?"
"Yeah!"
Team Leader 1 threw her arm around me, and we started walking closely together.
I think it's a little too close. Is it normal for girls to be this close? Hmm, maybe it is?
I don't know much about women's sensitivity, so it's hard to judge.
"Cheers~!"
"Good work today."
Team Leader 1 and I clinked our beer glasses and laughed.
After all, beer is the best after work. This has been true since before I came to this world.
Drinking the beer to the fullest, I moved my hand to the chicken skewers. The skewers at this restaurant, which Team Leader 1 and I frequent regularly, suited my taste.
"Yum! So delicious! Hye-Rim, try these cartilage skewers."
"Thank you. I'm glad we have similar tastes."
One thing I've realized after working together for a long time is that Team Leader 1's taste is quite similar to mine.
Therefore, I eat whatever she recommends.
"Hey, Hye-Rim."
"Yes?"
"We're not at work anymore, so why don't you just call me by my name when we're alone?"
"Uh, by name?"
"Yeah!"
Her eyes light up as if she's begging me. Those eyes are too much for me.
I don't mind calling her by her name. But the problem is the age difference between me and the team leader.
She's 24, one year older than me, which means I have to call her "unni" after her name.
Five years after becoming a woman, I still haven't gotten used to it. Even more so, because I rarely had the chance to say it.
"I'll decline."
I said no right away.
"...You don't want to have a closer relationship with me, do you?"
"No, why would that be? It's just a name."
"But I call you by name, and you don't call me by name."
And in a situation like this,
Team Leader 1 puffs out her cheeks in frustration, which makes me giggle because it's so cute.
"I'm sorry, but it's my personal reason."
"Are you that embarrassed to call me Unni?"
"......"
Team Leader 1 knows what I don't like.
After knowing her for a couple of years, it seems like she's naturally picked up on it.
"You're too shy to be embarrassed about something like that. Say it after me. Mi-Young unni~."
"Haa..."
"Don't just sigh; if you say 'Mi-Young Unni', I'll be so happy."
Team Leader 1 continues to encourage me with a glint in her eye. It's going to continue like this until we go home.
I guess there's no choice.
"Uh, Mi-Young......"
"Yes!"
"Mi, Mi......"
You're crazy; stop it!!!
I almost screamed, but I managed to stop myself.
"Mi-Young."
And I just stopped. Let's just call her informally.
"...Huh?"
The team leader froze. Speaking informally to someone a year older than you, no matter how you slice it, is too much.
I quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked to you informally."
"Huh? Oh, no, no! I was at fault for pushing you. You don't have to push yourself. I'm sorry too."
As I apologized, the team leader waved her hand dismissively.
"Hmm. That was better than I thought."
She mumbled something afterward, but I don't know what she meant.
We continued to drink beer together, and before I knew it, I had emptied my second draft beer.
"By the way, Hye-Rim, I've been wondering about this for a while."
"Yes."
"Why did you come to the Awakener Crime Division?"
"Yes?"
I asked, unable to grasp the intent of the question.
"Well, I mean, I honestly don't know why you're doing this government job. I think you could make more money doing something else."
"What other work?"
"Hmm... like that?"
I looked over to where Team Leader 1 was pointing, and there on the TV screen was an idol dressed in colorful clothes, singing and dancing.
I recognized her.
Alice, a hero and a magical girl idol. Many heroes are in the entertainment industry like that.
As much as I liked magical girls, I also enjoyed watching manga with magical girls like that idol.
But….
"You want me to be an idol?"
"Doesn't that look good?"
"That's disgusting."
That's definitely not something I want to do. I was genuinely disgusted, and Team Leader 1 laughed lightly.
"I'm kidding, of course. But I think you'd be popular as a hero. You have a pretty face, and you're incredibly strong."
"Hmm. I haven't worked as a hero, but I used to make money catching monsters before I joined the department."
That was when I was new to this world. As a minor and an orphan, I used to catch monsters and sell their carcasses to make money.
It was pretty lucrative because monster carcasses are more expensive than you think.
"But I don't want to be a hero."
"Why, because you have to be part of the entertainment industry?"
Most heroes combine monster-slaying with the entertainment industry. It's not like monsters show up all the time, so they have to show their faces to people at other times to build up their publicity.
Team Leader 1 thought that I didn't want to be a hero because I didn't want to do things like that. But that's not the only reason I don't want to be a hero.
Being a hero would make me a lot of money. Money from monster carcasses. Money from being an entertainer, even though being an entertainer isn't necessary. There are many other benefits.
To others, being a hero may seem like a privilege reserved only for the Awakened.
But I know better. Being a hero is a trap. Because the Hero Society has protagonists.
"That's part of it, too. It's just that there's a lot of work that comes with being a Hero. I might make more money, but I don't want to be bothered. I'll just stay quiet in the criminal division and collect the money that the government gives me every month."
"Same reason as most government employees."
"That's right; it's a simple reason."
I would be crazy to work with the main characters. The protagonists are like Conan and Kindaichi; there are incidents everywhere they go.
Knowing the future through the manga, I decided that I should never be a hero, just a quiet civil servant earning a salary.
There's also a reason why I chose the Criminal Division among the civil servants.
It's true that they pay me a lot of money to do dangerous work compared to other civil servants, but...
"Team Leader 1. One day, you'll be so glad you came to this department."
"Huh? Why?"
No matter what monsters appear in the future or what villains appear, they'll all be taken care of by the hero's harem party.
I know the future. I've seen it with my own two eyes!
The hero generally only fights monsters. It's up to us to deal with the Awakened villains.
But would a manga hero let the villains pass by? They'll take care of them before we do.
That is, in a few years, when the main character is fully grown, the main character's harem party will do all the work for us!
From then on, I'll only have to deal with the occasional mugger like the one I saw this morning. It's that easy, folks.
Even if I don't do anything, they will catch criminals for us. There's nothing easier than this.
"Team Leader 1."
"Eh?"
"Long live the Awakener Crime Division."
"...Huh?"
"Awakener Crime Division is invincible."
I imagined the future a few years later. Sitting in my office, getting shoulder massages from Oh-Jin, eating ice cream from So-Young, and just by filling out simple paperwork, my paycheck will roll in.
"Long live the Awakener Crime Division."
"Hye-Rim, are you drunk already?"
Long live the Awakener Crime Division! Long live the protagonist party!
I've already invested everything in the Awakener Crime Division.
Only I know. This stock will rise! Guaranteed!
It's going to the moon~!