Asahi sat down to take the test inside a small room with four security cameras pointing at him from each direction. The pen in his hand felt rather strange.

‘It’s been so long since I held one.’

(I use it daily to fill up my diary.)

‘You have a diary?’

It was his first time hearing about Klyscha’s diary. He always thought she noted things on her laptop. Apparently, she kept a diary hidden from him.

(Ahem, I write down all the things that make me giddy.)

‘For example?’

(Like… Every time my love thinks about me. Every time my love imagines patting me and loving me. And, and, I also write about what you do every day… just summaries of all the events! I am ascending to the Goddess of Memories;)

He could imagine Klyscha in a dark room, writing stuff with a yandere smile and eyes glowing. The scene inexplicably turned him on, so much so that he had to use his Eromancer’s skills to calm down.

(Ufufu.)

As his wife, she felt glad to provoke such a reaction despite being surrounded by beauties.

While entertaining Klyscha, Asahi finished the written test within a couple of minutes. He waved the sheet of paper at the security camera.

“Done.”

The door slipped open moments later and Sekingar entered, taking the test and giving it a look over. “Sharp handwriting. Can you wait for half an hour? We’ll contact you with the result of the test.”

“Half an hour? It’s just a small test. Check it in ten minutes.”

Sekingar almost buckled under his dignified tone. “I-I’ll try.”

Asahi sat back on the chair and closed his eyes. His regal posture kept anyone from approaching him. In fact, he was probing around the place with his senses.

***

In another room, a man with pale blue hair replayed Asahi’s casual destruction of the Hero Association’s finest examination equipment. He was the handsome Amai Mask, one of the most well-known heroes for his regular concerts and fame among ladies of varying age. He donned a mask and became the hero of justice in his early days. When the mask cracked, however, he set the world on fire with his charm.

“He is strong enough for the S-Class and he possesses beauty like me.”

Yet Amai Mask couldn’t pull the trigger on Asahi’s S-Class promotion. He felt a bit off about the man almost asleep on the screen. Asahi’s sudden appearance raised questions, and his unknown background strengthened it.

“I might be overreacting,” he said, spinning a pen. “It’ll be an injustice to stop his promotion without a reason.”

Amai Mask hated everything that went against justice, with ugliness being the pinnacle of evil.

He dialed Sekingar’s number. “He has my approval.”

He hung up after his statement. Pushing back his chair, he got up and gave a last look at the screen. Asahi opened his eyes and seemingly peered into Amai Mask’s eyes.

“I don’t need your approval.”

Amai Mask froze, and Asahi smiled as he said, “I don’t need a monster’s approval.”

Amai Mask slipped down from the chair and his heart rate soared. His muscles tensed up and his breathing hiked uncontrollably. Just the thought of his identity being discovered triggered a fight-or-flee state.

“You aren’t talking to me.”

Asahi shook his head. Before Amai Mask’s horrified eyes, he left the room.

***

Now roaming the corridors, Asahi couldn’t help but chuckle. “He was so scared.”

(You are so naughty, my love!)

‘It was a harmless prank.’

“I don’t understand what happened.”

‘My future dragon wife is always clueless.’

(Hahaha.)

Asahi slid open the door to the room where the second hero currently resided. A young boy was mashing a keyboard in the room. His brown hair and the backpack on his back bobbed at the intense typing. He was so engrossed in his computer that he failed to notice Asahi.

A bespectacled man with brown hair stood behind the boy, observing every movement on the screen.

‘He must be Child Emperor. What’s he doing here?’

Child Emperor was ranked quite high in the S-Class for his innovative gadgets and strategic mind. He also packed decent strength in his youthful body, more than the A-Rank heroes by Fubuki’s side.

Bored and with nothing else to do, he decided to stay. He walked up to Child Emperor and observed the lines of programming codes running on the screen. He could understand each command.

‘Never thought programming languages counted among mortal languages.’

The skill ‘Gift of Tongues’ allowed him to comprehend any mortal language.

Child Emperor threw his hands in the air and rocked his chair. “The A.I. base for Okame-chan is almost ready! I’ll be able to scan the heroes and quantify their powers.”

“Oh, nice,” Asahi said with a nod. “Anyway, this command here should be different.”

Asahi pointed at the lines of codes that referred to the maximum limit of the device called Okame-chan. Okame-chan used the word ‘undefined’ for every hero having power in its range.

“Wait, you are right,” Child Emperor fell into deep thoughts before he looked over his shoulder. “Why is there an idol in the Heroes Association? Are you Amai Mask’s friend?”

The bespectacled man also turned to Asahi, carrying an inquisitive look. “I know you. You’re Asahi Marikawa, who sparked a debate in the higher-ups. I’m Jinzuren. It's a pleasure to meet you in person.”

“Asahi Marikawa? I don’t know him.”

Child Emperor was clueless so Jinzuren relayed the information about Asahi.

“You killed a Dragon-level disaster,” Child Emperor, a hint of shock in his voice. He unwrapped a lollipop candy and shoved it in his mouth. “I also won’t lose against them.”

“Moving on, let’s talk about this pet project of yours.”

“Uh uh, what do you want to talk about?”

Jinzuren’s eyes widened. Child Emperor rarely took suggestions from others in his research as he was the best in his field, nearly rivaling the Metal Emperor.

“Your device sucks.”

Child Emperor crunched the candy in surprise. “What? How do you know?”

“You can’t completely record someone’s fighting ability. There are so many factors in play like compatibility, fighting experience, who has more composure et cetera. It’s impossible to record all that in one number. On top of all that, you can’t measure someone’s mind powers like telekinesis.”

His experience with his system taught him that levels weren’t everything.

“Those are valid concerns. I’ll use Okame-chan for a general idea of someone’s abilities. I won't completely rely on it.”

Despite being a ten-year-old, he was a genius.

Sekingar entered the room and handed Asahi a paper. Asahi ignored everything else and focused on the bold letters that said S-Class Rank 17.

He accomplished his first goal in this world within a day.

Child Emperor hopped off the chair and gave a toothless grin. “Looks like a resourceful hero joined the group. Welcome to the club.”

“Haha, sure. Child Emperor.”