<Lily>

 

 

 

Was this a dream?

Standing outside the school’s entrance, Lily felt her heart beating like crazy.

It certainly felt like it.

Bright, The Hero Bright, wanted her as a friend.

A faint blush spread on Lily’s face as she recalled the memory.

The softness of her hands, the gentleness of her gaze, the sweetness of her voice….

It was all so alluring she couldn’t bear it.

…But.

As amazing as this was, a silent fear was building inside of Lily. She had already texted her parents to be ready but she wasn’t sure it would be enough. This was Hero Bright they were dealing with. The future of the hero world and the next pillar of humanity. Her modest home would certainly pale in comparison to what she was generally accustomed to. Lily didn’t have butlers, maids, security or any personnel of the like. Her family was definitely more well-off than most, but they still lived pretty unassuming lives.

“Lily, this is a bad idea!” (S)

“I-It’s not…” (L)

“Have you seriously forgotten she almost ended your continued existence, twice!?” (S)

A phone flashed in front of Lily.

Her first meeting with Bright had been a little… spirited, but the more they talked, the more Lily was certain it had just been a misunderstanding. Bright was a kind, sweet and loving person. She wouldn’t have attacked Lily if she had known she was there. Lily made a mistake, and now Bright was paying the price of it, twice over.

She shoved Suie’s phone away.

“Delete that, please? A-And, it wasn’t twice. It was my fault for suddenly fainting….” (L)

Suie’s eyes furrowed.

Lily turned and look at her directly.

Her entire body practically begging.

“Ha, fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” (S)

“…You’re coming?” (L)

“Of course, idiot. I’m not going to let you die alone.” (S)

A finger flicked Lily’s head.

It was oddly comforting.

“…Thank you.” (L)

As the two stood waiting, a towering man approached them. He was dressed in a navy blue uniform highlighted by gold stripes. A characteristic distinct only to those soldiers from the hero district. He walked with a steady, confident pace—a quality only reserved for the strong. The closer he got, the more Lily felt herself shrink.

A person worthy enough to guard Bright.

There was no doubt he was powerful.

“Em, hey there.”

He gave a polite cough.

“May I borrow you kids for a moment?”

The soldier gestured toward the convoy of armoured vehicles—where Bright stood, her phone in hand, looking utterly expressionless?

Lily nodded, then turned to Suie, who, after a moment, nodded along.

“Right, let’s go.”

Walking to convey, Lily felt dozens of gazes bear on them.

Bright was always the centre of attention wherever she went. It was only then natural that, via association, they would be too. Lily was gradually getting used to it, but to say the attention didn’t tire her would be a lie.

‘How does she manage it?’

Reaching near Bright, a conversation was heard.

A voice smoother than butter tickled their ears.

"—Unless you'd like to talk to her yourself, I'd say those terms are perfectly reasonable. It's only a single day, after all. You weren't exactly lining up plans, were you? Consider this a gift."

“A gift? A. Gift. You can’t be serious! I’m paying for it!?” (B)

“Now, now. Don’t be like that.”

“And for your information! I am a very busy person who can’t just—” (B)

Seeing them approach, Bright abruptly stopped whisper-yelling and smiled.

“~Ahaha, didn’t see you there?~”  (B)

Her eyes locked with the soldier for a second before he looked away.

“~…Why are you here?~” (B)

“Ohoho, they’re finally here. Excellent work, man! Bright, switch to video right now!”

“W-What, huh?” (B)

Her phone started buzzing as a request to video call appeared.

She stared at it, momentarily confused.

A moment seized upon by the soldier who hit accept.

Bright’s hand immediately rushed to cover the camera.

“Really!? Is this necessary!?” (B)

“I need to see to believe. Move your hand or the deal is over.”

Bright made an expression not too dissimilar from when they first met.

She looked up at them, then back down at her phone, and then back to them again.

“…Could I take a quick video of you guys?” (B)

“S-Sure!” (L)

“Um, yeah. It’s okay.” (S)

Bright switched to the back cameras and pointed the phone at them.

“Wow, I didn’t think you had it in you, and so soon. Colour me surprised!”

“Spare me.” (B)

“Well then. I guess I’ll see you—”

The voice filled with genuine emotion abruptly cut as Bright hung up the phone.

“~So, how far?~” (B)

 

 

That was definitely Hero Sun, right?

Standing outside her apartment door, Lily tried her best to distract herself.

In this entire world, the only two people who could speak to Bright like that were them.

Her parents.

It appeared that even she couldn’t challenge them… at least, not yet.

Or, maybe never, considering how parents typically were.

“~Shall we head in?~” (B)

A soft voice called.

Bright tilted her head slightly and gave an inquisitive look.

‘S-So cute…’

Turning her head, Lily avoided Bright’s eyes.

She was still yet to recover from the walk here.

The apartment complex where her family resided was a district away from the school. This resulted in Lily walking to school every day. When Bright asked how far it was and Lily mentioned a thirty-minute walk, Bright took an interest in walking there herself. A fact that nobody on her security team took well. The entire convoy stalked them the whole walk, attracting unwanted attention, and almost followed them into the apartment. They were only stopped at Bright’s vehement behest.

“Lily… Bright has asked a question.” (S)

A hand waved in front of Lily.

Suie hadn’t spoken since they left school, but her mood radiated strong “I told you so” energy.

“Ah, yes. Let’s enter.” (L)

Shoving down her nerves, Suie pushed the door open.

A decent but unassuming apartment greeted them.

“W-Welcome!” (L)

The sound of hurried, muffled footsteps echoed across the house as Lily directed Bright to where she could leave her shoes.

“Get outta my way!”

“No, you move!”

‘Why are they home!?’

Childish voices bickered back and forth.

Getting closer with each passing second.

‘Their break isn’t until tomorrow!’

“W-We need to go!” (L)

Unfortunately for Lily, it was already too late.

Rushing out of the living room came two brown-haired kids—a boy and a girl.

“Sis, you made a new friend!?”

“Mom said you made a new friend!”

The kids, not paying attention to where they were heading, crashed directly into Lily.

“Where is she?”

“Yeah, yeah. Where is she?”

Sitting on the ground in a daze, Lily grimaced.

The duo of Finn and Ally weren’t typically hard to control. Due to Finn’s shy nature, it was mostly Ally who acted out alone, making it easy. But, when both of them got excited at the same time, the ease disappeared and worry set in. Control must be taken or retaken before things get out of hand fast.

Lily quickly got up, dusted herself and her siblings, then turned and faced them too Bright.

“This is Hero Bright. Say, Hello.” (L)

…And, no response.

It was no surprise, really. Kids tended to be big-time hero fans, and these two were no different. In fact, they might be what some would call obsessed. They got dozens of action figures, games and posters relating to heroes. Bright, the greatest of the new-gen, was predominantly figured all around.

They were meeting their real-life hero.

Lily lightly squeezed their shoulders.

“Say. Hello.” (L)

“H-Hello.” (A)

“…Hi.” (F)

Seeing the two before her, Bright let out a mesmerising chuckle.

She lowered herself, smiled a captivating smile and then spoke warmly.

“~Hello there, kids.~” (B)

‘Wow’

Her siblings froze at the kind gesture.

Lily couldn’t blame them; she did too.

Snapping herself out of it, she looked down at their wear.

 “Why don’t you go change out of your school clothes, okay?” (L)

They both nodded and silently left to their room.

“Sorry about that.” (L)

“~No problem. I love cute kids.~” (B)

As she walked into the living room, a tiny murmur caught Lily’s ears.

“Did they seriously forget about me?” (S)

She turned and gave a silent apology.

…Kids, right?

“Ah, dear. You are already back?” (m)

Lily’s parents sat on the couch with an assortment of snacks.

“Tired of sending cryptic messages?” (f)

‘Cryptic? What’s cryptic about ‘prepare’’

It was one of the codes she had discussed with them beforehand in case of such a situation.

Bringing home a friend was a big deal.

“So, where is this—” (m)

The words her mom was about to speak suddenly died in her mouth.

A natural reaction.

Bright had just stepped in.

…Some introductions were in order.

 

 

Focused.

That was the sole thing one could see watching Bright going to work.

Sitting at the dining table, the three of them diligently worked on practice questions in silence.

They were math questions because, contrary to popular belief, hero course students still learn the basic curriculum.

‘Ugh, this is not how you hang out with friends’

Lily knew Bright came to study, but she had desperately hoped their session would lead to chatting and a genuine friendship. Instead, they worked through question after question in a heavy silence, stopping only to check their answers against each other. It was nothing like the study sessions she saw in shows, where friends were supposed to study a little bit, then happily derail themselves with idle conversation.

Bright set her pen down.

She was always finished fast and with practised ease.

Glancing to the side, Lily saw Suie rushing to finish and decided to join her.

With them all complete, they decided to review each other’s work.

Suie’s and Lily’s work matched, but…

Going through Bright’s workings, Lily exchanged a subtle look with Suie.

They could hardly understand what she’d done. The answer was the same, sure, but the method was nothing like what they were taught in class. It was overly long and unnecessarily complicated to the point that understanding became moot. Frankly, with its execution, the work reminded Lily of what her own parents would do.

“Excuse me, Bright. What is this?” (S)

“S-Suie….” (L)

Why did she have to say it like that?

“…My work?” (B)

“I know, but—” (S)

Suie placed her book next to Bright’s own.

“Why?” (S)

Bright squinted at the book and then said plain.

“A different method, yes. But we got the same answer, no? Is there a problem?” (B)

Apart from her method being three times as long, not really.

…How did she manage to finish before the both of them, though?

“N-No problem!” (L)

With this question complete, they were done studying.

It was time to get up to friendship building.

“Let’s get some snacks to eat!” (L)

Suie rolled her eyes, but that was the end of it.

“Sure.” (S)

Lily got up to grab the snacks her parents prepared before excusing themselves to their room, but—

“~Ah, sorry. I need to be heading now.~” (B)

It was already over.

“Thank you for having me.” (B)

Bright got up from her seat, cleaned up her studying spot and was about to walk out of the room when she was confronted by the duo at the exit. They had been watching from the door since they started working in silence.

It appeared they finally got the courage after seeing Bright about to leave.

“Hero Bright, look!” (A)

Ally abruptly shoved a plushie into Bright’s hands.

“…Is this me?” (B)

“Yes!” (A)

“I didn’t know they made such stuff of me… That seller must be quite rich, huh?” (B)

The latter part was in a quiet whisper while Bright frowned for a split moment.

Lily could only imagine what someone as noble as her was thinking.

“T-That’s not all!” (F)

Beside Ally, their little brother raised his tablet to Bright.

Instantly, Lily came alive and snatched the tablet away from him.

“Finn! Mom told you to stop with that game!” (L)

“What’s that?” (B)

“O-Oh, it’s a hero game filled with heavy gacha mechanics—gambling basically. My mom says it's bad for them.” (L)

For some reason, it appeared Bright’s eyes beamed for a moment before she looked away and coughed.

“~I-Is that so?~” (B)

With a sweet smile, she continued.

“~Let me study it… so I best know how to dismantle such practices in the future.~” (B)

“Y-You going to play?” (F)

“~For research purposes. Yes.~” (B)

Did that mean…?

“You’re staying… what about—” (L)

“It can wait.” (B)

Bright took the tablet from Lily and motioned to the couch.

“Are you able to project?” (B)

Lily switched on the TV.