<Bright>

 

 

Something was seriously wrong.

Bright bites into his bacon.

Sitting at the dining table dressed in civilian clothing, he couldn’t shake the odd sense of déjà vu.

From the way Hero Sun rocked in his chair to the way Hero Yuki handled her utensils. It was all disturbingly familiar. Like they had done this before. The atmosphere at the table felt similar. Comfortable silence. Nobody was in a hurry to say anything.

Even the food tasted familiar.

But.

‘That’s not it….’

That was not what was seriously wrong.

‘How did they get my stuff here?’

Due to his life’s doctrine, Bright owned a unique assortment of things. He bought anything and everything under the sun if it slightly interested him. They ranged widely from poorly forged swords to taxidermised insects. It was because of this that he was able to instantly recognise them.

And now, somehow, all of it was in that room.

Bright felt anxious.

A lot of theories were running in his mind. But, out of all of them, he hoped against hope they hadn’t done that to confiscate the stuff. It had taken a lot of hard work to acquire those things. It wasn’t like they were exactly allowed by the government student housing. Some of it was kind of illegal.

He should’ve known they’d run a background check.

‘Are they trying to pressure me into confessing?’

That… didn’t feel like the right explanation.

A confession was unnecessary considering the evidence.

‘More importantly, how were they able to move it so fast!?’

It was about noon.

Three hours since Bright left home.

How did they find the time to not only take the stuff but also arrange it so neatly?

It wasn’t like Bright lived close by any means.

“How is the food?” (Y)

“Urp! Cough! I-It’s good!” (B)

Food still in his mouth, Bright almost choked trying to answer.

Hero Sun raised an eyebrow.

“You good?” (S)

“Yes!” (B)

Hero Yuki silently passed a glass of orange juice.

Bright chugged it down and then held the glass with both hands.

‘Keep your cool, man, damn it!’

The suspense was killing him.

He needed to ask.

“So….” (B)

Both heads at the table turned at once.

“I… I was wondering. A-About that room upstairs, do you happen to be a collector?” (B)

He chickened out.

“Ah, that room. It’s yours, isn’t it? Don’t you recognise your own weird stuff?” (S)

The face Hero Sun made asked, are you that stupid?

‘Ah?’

“M-My room?” (B)

Hero Sun sighed.

“Yes, it would’ve been rather inconvenient to have you commute here every day.” (S)

A nod of agreement came from Hero Yuki.

Like that, they both returned to their meals as though the matter was settled.

‘That can’t be legal!’

Picking at his food in bewilderment, Bright’s thoughts quickly sprawled.

There was nothing in the contract that stated he would have to work every day. In fact, it promised three days of work at most—unlike the typical five days. Hero work was commonly known to be scarily time-consuming. Horror stories of overworked heroes were the norm, not the exception. Schools, like the one Bright was soon attending, gave special allowances for hero course students for that exact reason. Having them take core classes in the morning and freeing up their afternoons.

‘These bastards!’

Not only were they trying to increase his workload, but they had even deprived him of his personal space without permission. Bright may be a lowly orphan now, but that did not mean it was okay to do this. What they’ve done was not nice. It was not nice to do this!

‘I won’t have this!’

Despite thinking that though, Bright didn’t raise an issue.

… Why you may ask?

10 million credits were still 10 million credits.

He couldn’t afford to jeopardise this opportunity. Playing along was still the best option here. Plus, it wasn’t like this situation was going to last forever. Bright would qualify to take the hero instatement test by the end of Highschool. A mere six years. In that time, he could rack up quite the healthy sum. So much money he wouldn’t be able to spend it all if he tried.

Bright closed his eyes.

It was fine.

 

 

As the meal came to a close, Hero Sun suddenly spoke up.

“You will start working immediately.” (S)

Bright tensed slightly at his words.

Another thing to worry about. When signing the contract, it was easy to focus on the prize. The actual work involved faded into the back drop. And now, realising this, a question was suddenly brought forward to Bright.

What kind of work would the top hero give?

“Make sure you are done before we get back.” (S)

So, he wasn’t going with them?

Hero Sun fished around in his pockets before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper and pen.

In a motion that appeared a blur to Bright, he wrote something down.

“Supplies are in the upstairs storage room.” (S)

The paper was set down as both heroes stood up to leave.

“See ya then.” (S)

“Wait!” (B)

Getting up from the table, Bright gave a light smile.

“Let me walk you.” (B)

It was polite for a subordinate to do that, no?

“To the elevator?” (S)

“…Yes?” (B)

Time and place, time and place.

Awkwardly walking the pair to the elevator, Bright tried to keep his smile.

“Take care!” (B)

Bright pressed the button. The doors opened.

Hero Sun nodded and stepped inside, while Hero Yuki paused, glanced at Bright, then raised her hand… and ruffled his hair.

She then stepped in shortly, and the doors closed.

Bright stared at the elevator doors for some time.

‘…Right’

Setting his hair back in place, he walked back over to the dining table.

Grabbing the paper, he quickly scanned its contents.

‘Dust the paintings, sweep the floors, clean the bathroom… . Isn’t this just a chore list?’

Thinking he had somehow picked the wrong piece of paper, Bright started searching around the table.

‘He doesn’t seriously expect me to do this!?’

Sitting down at the dining table after finding nothing, Bright reread the list a dozen times.

This had to be some secret code or something.

‘Upstairs storage’

Two words came to mind.

He needed to find some clues.

 

 

It really was just an upstairs storage.

Lying on old sheets in his new room, which was large enough to fit a family, Bright sighed.

He was feeling a little insulted right now.

Was him failing to even touch Hero Sun that bad as to relegate him to house chores?

Sitting up in his bed, Bright reread the list.

This was no work for a hero. Especially one with a future as promising as his.

He crumpled up the paper and threw the list.

‘Goddamn it!’

As much as Bright didn’t care about the nobilities of being a hero, he still wanted to be one. Being a hero was something of a pipe dream he used to have in his past life. A fantasy of sorts. And, who could blame him? Anyone given the opportunity to be an all-powerful saviour would likely jump at it. It was every kid’s dream at some point until reality hit.

Rolling off the bed, Bright picked up the discarded paper.

The contents of the list would take a regular person at least a day to complete.

It was a good thing he wasn’t.

Bright could crack this in thirty minutes. After which he could write a strongly worded letter to his mentor. And then, relax until he could deliver it later in the day. Maybe try a hand at some slots?

A rush of energy overtook his body.

With his early fatigue gone, this was going to be a piece of cake.

It was time to get to work.

 

 

Bright groaned.

He was finally done.

Staring at the shining toilet before him, he admired his work. All the previous stains, rings and grime were completely gone. The porcelain toilet gleamed beautifully in the bathroom light. Accompanied by the faint scent of disinfectant and lime.

It was good work.

At the acknowledgement, Bright threw his sponge away.

‘What the hell am I doing?!’

He was a hero. Not a bloody maid. If Hero Sun wanted a maid, he could hire the best in the business with his trillions. Fuming, Bright collected all the cleaning supplies lying around and started walking back to the supplies closet.

‘Actually… Yea, why do I need to do this?’

Where were the maids for this?

Reaching the supply closet, ready to put stuff away, Bright encountered a roadblock in front of the door.

‘Ugh’

It was the dumb Wonder pup.

Curled in and sleeping right at the door’s entrance.

Bright had completely forgotten about it after meeting the heroes.

In no mood to entertain, he tried to shove the pup aside.

“What the?! Bad pup, let go!” (B)

As if sensing his intentions, the pup's eyes immediately shot open.

It bit the broom Bright tried shoving it with.

“Dumb mutt!” (B)

A tag of war began.

One Bright quickly realised he wouldn’t win.

The broom was soon violently ripped out of his hand and snapped in two.

“Y-You!” (B)

Feeling uncharacteristically upset, Bright lunged at the fluffy white dog.

The supplies he was holding dropped with a loud thud.

‘Fast’

Missing the first grab, Bright swiftly reevaluated. He was dealing with the Wonder dog. Not a normal dog. Something evident by the way it tackled him earlier. He needed to put more effort into securing it properly. It was fast, but nowhere near Hero Sun. Bright could catch it.

The second grab missed as well.

Third too.

But.

On the fourth, Bright managed to secure the stubborn mutt.

Holding it in his grasp, he stared into its soul.

“Watch yourself, dumb—” (B)

The eyes of the pup glowed a frightening red.

Bright found himself lying on the ground of the first floor.

His body full of energy.

‘Laser eyes, how could I forget?’

Beating out the small flames attempting to devour him, he stood up.

That mutt needed to learn a lesson.

 

---

 

<Sun>

 

 

The house was a total mess.

Staring at the fallen chairs, overturned couch cushions and scorch marks littered around, Sun pinched the bridge of his nose.

Perhaps it was too early to entrust the house duties to a kid?

Unluckily for Sun, there weren’t many—actually none—who could accomplish this vital task. With Thunder’s unusual territoriality, it would be a task fatal for many. Without sufficient play every time beforehand, he would bother the cleaning staff.

A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his musings.

It was his dear, she was pointing to something.

Walking over to the couch, two bodies could be seen snuggled up together.

The perpetrators of the whole mess.

They were soundly sleeping.

Considering how late it was, it wasn’t all that surprising.

‘At least they seem to get along’

Picking up the two, Sun walked upstairs and laid them in bed.

A tiny hand grabbed Sun as he turned to leave the room.

“W-Wait….” (B)

Big, drowsy, doe eyes called to him.

“My money….” (B)

The demanding scarlet eyes were soon covered by cascading light blonde hair.

“Sleep well.” (S)

Gently pushing the hand aside, Sun tucked the young girl in.

He walked out.

“Tomorrow?” (Y)

“Tomorrow.” (S)

With how much buzz was already flying around due to Sun’s decision to take an apprentice, it would be better now to make the announcement and get all this drama one and done. Informing the person most affected by it would be ideal but see as she was already asleep, it could wait.

‘Ha, what a pain’

The rumour floating around and causing all the buzz was trending everywhere.

People were too nosy.

“Going in?” (S)

Sun gestured at the door.

Given what she did before they left, she might be more inclined to.

Yuki shook her head.

“Let’s go.” (Y)

They had to prepare for tomorrow while simultaneously taking care of business.

Truly, a hero’s duty never stopped.

Not even at night.