Chapter 391: Little Kazumi’s Mother’s Class Begins
“Eh, why are you suddenly talking about this?”
Sato Shinichi on the other end of the phone was a bit surprised. The question his girlfriend asked was a bit serious, just like adults discussing current affairs.
“Hmm, say whatever you think. Consider it a test for you.”
The young girl propped her head on the table, grumbled with dissatisfaction, and poked the silly face on the screen with her finger, speaking with a smile.
If you really want to talk about the reason, it’s probably Kazumi’s interest. Anyway, their conversations were always nonsensical and embarrassing, so it might as well be about their views on this matter, which could also be a way to help Riku mature sooner.
“Ah, let me think… Kazumi, you’re referring to the agency model that the Association has been promoting in recent years, right?”
“I think it’s quite good. It refines work to a very precise level, providing more comprehensive and high-quality logistical support services for professional heroes, and it also creates more employment opportunities.”
He touched his chin and pondered for a moment, recalling some snippets he overheard when Hamano Tsukasa was chatting with his friends before, piecing them together in his own words.
“Hmm?”
The boyfriend on the other end of the screen looked at her with a blank expression. He couldn’t have imagined that Sato Shinichi would say these words even if he racked his brain. It wasn’t until the other party couldn’t stand Kazumi’s intense gaze anymore that he squeezed out a sentence that relieved the girl, “I heard the old man talking with his friends before.”
“Well… I also think it’s very good. Isn’t incorporating new things into the agency’s system a form of progress?”
He awkwardly touched his nose. It was rare for him to want to bluff in front of his girlfriend, only to be exposed. After Sato Shinichi finished sharing his thoughts, he felt a bit confused. Why would Kazumi ask him this way? Is this kind of progress not good?
“Mmm… If you were to visit once, you wouldn’t think so. The agency you plan to visit is still a traditional type, right?”
“Yes, I remember that currently, only a few newly established agencies are piloting this promotion. Other agencies in Kyoto are all very traditional.”
“However, Kazumi, did you see anything during your visit today?”
Recalling the information he had seen in the Association before, Sato Shinichi nodded and continued to ask.
“Mmm, the work content should be similar to what I imagined. In this case, the training effect would be very poor. If anything, it’s more like a company than an agency.”
The young girl pouted with dissatisfaction, tapping her fingers on the tabletop boredly.
“Company?”
“Yeah, when work content is subdivided to individuals, it becomes like this. Data collection, summarization, screening, and distribution all have different fixed procedural stages. I hate that.”
Her indifferent expression carried a hint of disgust. Based on the young girl’s understanding from her half-day visit, it wasn’t exactly the same, but it was enough for Kazumi to recall the painful office worker life of her past life.
“But is it that serious just by simply separating it, Kazumi?”
Sato Shinichi’s grades weren’t bad, but the content Kazumi was discussing already exceeded his experience, even though he had worked in the Association as a hero before. He continued to ask, half understanding and half not.
“Yes, it’s quite serious. Traditionally, logistical support staff would also be heroes or experienced employees. They would be responsible for coordinating overall logistical support, and sometimes they would even go to the scene to provide combat assistance. By following such seniors, you can learn a lot just by watching.”
Recalling the not-so-good visiting experience that afternoon, even though Ms. Nancy, who guided them, spoke very nicely, the young girl, with her past office worker experience, saw through the core of this so-called new type of agency at a glance. Looking at the young man who listened like a good student, a smile appeared on Kazumi’s face, and she continued,
“And if they are separated according to this model, it can indeed greatly improve the efficiency for the entire agency. However, each link and model is independent, so there is very little to learn, even if you go through all of them eventually.”
“Hmm… But as you said, Kazumi, this new model is not very conducive to individual learning and growth, but it is more efficient for the entire agency’s work. Sacrificing a little bit of individual benefit to help the agency’s hero activities, I think it’s acceptable.”
Chewing over what the young girl said carefully, Sato Shinichi lowered his head and thought for a while. Then he looked up and stated his own opinion.
“You… you can’t think so simply when you consider things.”
The young man’s expected answer made a helpless smile appear on Kazumi’s face. Or rather, given Sato Shinichi’s personality, it would be strange if he didn’t think this way. Shaking her head gently, she continued,
“From the agency’s perspective, your thinking is indeed correct, but Shinichi, have you forgotten the essence of being a hero?”
“The essence of being a hero?”
“Or let me rephrase it. In the past, was the work model of hero agencies focused on the heroes themselves, or on the operation of the agency?”
The young girl played with her short hair scattered to her fingertips, her eyes clear and transparent, even with a hint of excitement. Perhaps for someone like Kazumi, being a life mentor and teaching others something was indeed quite interesting.
“It’s… focused on the heroes?”
Looking cautiously at Kazumi’s expression, Sato Shinichi realized he might have said something wrong again upon hearing Kazumi’s words. While watching his girlfriend’s little face suddenly flutter with an inexplicable expression, he asked,
“A person who needs to have solutions for all kinds of emergencies, who fights to protect the safety of the people and for their inner beliefs, if they rely on data accurate to decimal places and various high-tech means for help, then are they a hero? Or are they working machines controlled by the agency’s machines?”
The smile on her face deepened. This method of slowly eroding the young man’s thoughts and forcing him to grow seemed more satisfying than Kazumi had imagined.
“Uh…”
The young, inexperienced boy stepped into the verbal trap set by the girl step by step. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the logical content of his girlfriend’s words seemed to leave him with no point to refute. He could only open his mouth in embarrassment, unable to utter a single word.
“But, for professional heroes, working in this profession should also… be correct, right?”
A small part of his ingrained beliefs was challenged, making Sato Shinichi feel a bit breathless at that moment. However, he could also understand Kazumi’s intention in saying this to him. The usually mature Kazumi always thought about things that people her age wouldn’t normally consider, but it was precisely these realistic and cruel facts that he would have to face in the future.
Although he had already agreed with the young girl’s statement in his heart, he couldn’t help but make a final struggle.
“That’s not right~”
The girl waved her slender, fair, and soft fingers in front of the screen. Her bright smile finally carried a hint of cruelty and pleasure, lightly breaking through the young man’s last defense line.
Like a devil tempting Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, she narrated the incredibly cruel reality little by little with a smile, dangerous, intoxicating, yet captivating.
“So-called professional heroes refer to people who have the ability and professional ethics to be heroes, not people who treat being a hero as a job…”
“In that case, do you still think it’s correct?”
