Chapter 244: About the fact that the Emperor of the Underworld is an adorable loli who can sprain her ankle while walking
“Is… is everything okay?”
In that moment, those jet-black eyes lost their usual coldness, becoming somewhat dazed. The delicate small hand subconsciously gripped her own sleeve tightly, and her thin, unsteady body leaned against him for support. A faint fragrance mixed with the slight coolness of her skin drifted into the young boy’s nostrils.
He wanted to politely let go of the girl in his arms, but the close contact with the young girl made Noyoru Yokota’s heart begin to race uncontrollably, and his somewhat flustered hands froze in mid-air, fearing the girl might fall. In the end, he awkwardly held her in a strange position with one hand.
“Um, thank you.”
After letting out a cute whimper, Kazumi seemed to come back to her senses from the earlier incident. She glanced at Noyoru Yokota’s arm on her shoulder but didn’t pay it much mind. Instead, she lowered her head to look at her left foot and then lifted her head to look at the boy nearby, softly expressing her gratitude.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. How about you, Shimizu? Did you sprain your foot? Do you need to go to the hospital?”
The girl’s lifted head made Noyoru Yokota realize something. He awkwardly withdrew his left hand, taking a small step back, and asked the girl in front of him.
“No, I just zoned out and accidentally stepped wrong. It should be fine, uh—”
Hearing the inquiry, Kazumi lifted her left foot and turned it slightly, wanting to prove that she hadn’t been hurt from the earlier accident. However, her expression suddenly changed from one of indifference to one of pain, and she involuntarily let out a pained gasp.
“What’s wrong?!”
Seeing the girl’s pained expression, Noyoru Yokota, who had meant to step aside to create some space, immediately became tense. He hurried back to her side, squatted down, and looked at the small bruise forming above her left ankle.
“This…”
Looking at the striking bruise on the girl’s pale skin, Noyoru Yokota couldn’t help but frown. By all logic, given the girl’s weight and the extent of the fall, even if she did sprain her ankle, it shouldn’t be serious to this degree.
If that’s the case, it could explain that when he was pulling her earlier, in a moment of panic, he had unintentionally used his ability. Since his mastery over that ability wasn’t yet at an excellent level, it had resulted in unintentionally harming someone with a significantly weaker physique than ordinary people.
This is also a very important reason why students without a hero license are not allowed to participate in hero activities without guardians. In a sense, ability development isn’t particularly difficult.
Especially for talented individuals who have a good aptitude for using abilities, three years of study is usually enough to develop their abilities to a commendable level. It could be said without exaggeration that some third-year students, blessed with talent and solid abilities, could rival some professional heroes when it comes to destructive power.
However, destruction is always far easier than protection, just like how firearms are predominantly used for killing rather than for protection. As a professional hero, the most important thing is to be able to control one’s own abilities. The standards for energy control are among the strictest in the Hero Department.
In the early days of the Association’s establishment, there were too many tragic incidents. Those who prided themselves on their extraordinary abilities, calling themselves protectors, ultimately became the murderers of those they were supposed to protect.
For example, a physical hero with super strength could help crush buildings and fearlessly face falling debris; it does indeed seem powerful, but that power is only substantial for him alone.
What would it be like to catch a woman falling from dozens of stories high with arms as strong as steel?
Perhaps in an anime or manga, the conclusion would be that the hero successfully saved the trapped citizens and protected what he intended to safeguard.
But reality is far from that simple. The high-speed acceleration of gravity, the fragility of the human body, and the sharpened steel-like arms all come together with the conclusion: the fragile human body dismembers under the gravitational acceleration and the “iron blades,” while that hero, who attempted to aid and protect the people, would find himself deeply tormented by the tragedy he inadvertently caused, ultimately giving up his abilities and stepping away from the hero profession.
Such a simple example is merely a microcosm of the early “people’s vigilantes.”
The unregulated misuse of power is no different from murder; in the past, countless tragedies occurred due to heroes recklessly using their powers without controlling their abilities, sometimes resulting in casualties far exceeding the damage caused by the criminals they were pursuing.
This is why the conflict between ability users and ordinary people has always been irreconcilable. One side believes the other’s pitying help causes greater harm, while the other believes that their life-sacrificing protection is misunderstood, almost leading to escalated conflict between the already unequal sides.
Of course, the world’s development is ultimately moving toward a peaceful and stable direction. Through the efforts of ability users and non-ability users alike, and after countless sacrifices and painful trials, a set of societal rules has been explored and formulated suitable for today’s situation, along with rules that powerful individuals should follow for their abilities to learn and practice with the premise of “protection.”
This is also an important aspect that students in all the hero academies across the country need to learn and master as a qualification to enter the workforce.
You could argue that some heroes currently ranked on the Association’s hero ranking list may not have abilities that are powerful enough to hold a notable position among the national ability users, but you cannot deny that those who qualify to be ranked are indeed capable of using and controlling their abilities while placing public safety above all else, maintaining the safety and stability of this ability-based society.
Using his abilities to sense the state of the blood vessels around Kazumi’s ankle, Noyoru Yokota didn’t let go of the hand on her ankle until he felt her trembling slightly, standing up and looking at the girl in front of him with a hint of guilt.
“Shimizu, I’m really sorry. It seems I accidentally used my ability just now and hurt you. How about I take you to the pharmacy to get some medicine? A bit of ointment should help.”
Seeing the sincere apology from the boy in front of her, the girl nodded, her expression devoid of any blame.
“Yeah, you don’t need to apologize. I mistakenly stepped wrong, and you didn’t mean it.”
“Okay, just wait for me.”
“…….”
Meanwhile, where the two couldn’t see, the heel of the girl’s cute little foot hidden inside her shoe was slowly retracting a row of tiny, sharp teeth back into her sole, and the blood vessels that had been blocked began to gradually restore their normal flow speed.
(ps: The exam was a failure; I flunked the national test.)
