NOVPUBThe Miongpa forbade people from touching Black Cat, taking photos without permission, or even calling him cute.
The Black Cat Mom Café members rejected the Miongpa for their fundamentally different beliefs, but there was one thing they couldn’t deny.
[Miongpa’s merch quality is insane...]
[Since the Miongpa members clearly put their faith into making these, the goods aren’t shoddily produced!]
[They’re literal works of artㅠㅠㅠ.]
[Are there any more of those Black Cat mosaic tiles? I don’t care if they’re secondhand!]
[Looking for Miongpa mugs!]
[When is the next batch of Miongpa’s Black Cat sculpture accessories?]
The D-City refugees, having honed their DIY skills in a harsh environment, found a way to earn money in W-City, and the W-City citizens finally got their hands on the Black Cat merch they had always wanted.
Over time, the Miongpa and Black Cat Mom Café developed a symbiotic relationship — not too close, but not too distant either.
“Believe in Black Cat~! The one and only savior of this era! Believe in Black Cat and it’s heaven! Don’t believe and it’s hell~!”
“Free Black Cat! Dissect Black Cat!”
“Let’s protect our Black Cat! Let’s cherish Black Cat!”
And so, the three-way conflict continued in W-City’s park.
The heroes, monitoring the escalating situation to prevent clashes between citizens, exchanged glances.
“It’s a total madhouse.”
“How the hell did W-City end up like this...?”
As I continued practicing the surveillance cat creation, I started to gain more insight into the division ability.
The high risk that if a divided part of me dies, I lose that portion of my power permanently.
To minimize that risk, I began creating very weak monsters.
Even if they weren’t at a Kill-Class level, they could still share vision with me.
Monsters no different from ordinary cats.
If I sent these creatures outside the range of my ability and they returned, I could still gather information from them.
There’s no better ability for scouting dangerous areas.
“Myaaong.”
“Myaoong.”
Now that I could create two cats simultaneously, I sent them running in opposite directions.
One toward Zone 4, the other toward Zone 0.
Where Starlight was and where Gu Seoryong would be.
Though they looked like ordinary cats, these two creatures dashed tirelessly, quickly reaching their respective destinations.
If I slightly coupled space manipulation to them in this state, I could instantly teleport to where the cats were.
“Myaa~”
The cat heading to Zone 4 sniffed around like a dog, following the scent from its memory, searching for the place where Gu Seoryong was hiding.
It arrived at the orphanage in Zone 4, where Gu Seoryong was chasing after Sagugu.
“What did you just put in your mouth?! Get over here right now!”
“I-I didn’t bite anything! Gulp...!”
“Right now...! Hey! Gu Gu, do you want to get your stomach pumped again?!”
“No! Oppa! Oppa!”
“See?! I knew it! The moment you’re quiet for a second, you cause trouble!”
“Waaahhh!”
Gu Seoryong jabbed her finger into Sagugu’s throat, and a bundle of gloves popped out of Sagugu’s mouth.
“You’re nuts! Why the hell did you eat the kitchen gloves?!”
“They smelled like meat....”
“I cook for you! I grill meat for you! You could just eat what I give you! Haah... All this because I was three minutes late for mealtime.”
“Nyaa.”
Gu Seoryong grabbed Sagugu by the back of the neck and plopped her onto a chair. Sagugu drooled and swung her legs as she sat.
“Eat.”
“Woongnya nya nya.”
“Tuck your ears in and eat. How can you still not maintain your human form? CXI... Well... I guess he’s the weird one.”
“Nyaung.”
Standing behind Sagugu, Gu Seoryong lightly tapped her head, and the cat ears that had popped out slowly retracted.
At that moment, as Sagugu chewed on the meat, she suddenly locked eyes with me.
To be precise, with the cat that was sharing my vision.
“It’s Oppa!”
“What? Where?”
The sensation of the ability’s wavelength intertwining — Sagugu had identified me based on the faint trace of the cat’s wavelength and came toward me, holding a piece of meat in her hand.
Gu Seoryong, who was looking for me, finally noticed the small cat and crouched down in front of it, a knowing smirk on her face.
“Oh my? What’s this, baby? Is this you?”
“Oppa got smaller!”
“Nyaa.”
“The wavelength definitely matches Black Cat’s. Did you get a new ability from that thing you ate? Were you spying on me with this?”
At that moment, Gu Seoryong grabbed the back of the cat’s neck and pulled at the strap of her underwear, showing it off.
“Naughty~ If you’re into peeping, you should’ve just said so~?”
“Unyaa?”
“Ah! Hey! How many times did I tell you not to mess around and tear my clothes?!”
“Hyak!”
Next to her, Sagugu also grabbed her clothes and pulled them off, lifting her hands over her head and tearing them apart.
Once again, chaos erupted as Sagugu fled and Gu Seoryong chased her, both of them sprinting through the orphanage.
They seem to be getting along better than expected.
I let the cat wander around Zone 4 on its own and shifted my focus to the cat that had reached Zone 0.
There, the cat’s vision was fixed on a government building.
With a loud rumble of thunder, lightning struck the rooftop of the building.
The cat climbed the wall, digging its claws into the surface to ascend.
On the rooftop was a woman brushing back her hair, which was standing on end from static electricity.
Brown skin, blonde hair, scars covering her body, an aviation jacket, and leather gloves.
“Kuhm, ahem....”
After meticulously smoothing out every wrinkle in her leggings, the woman cleared her throat, and at that moment, the rooftop door burst open, and heroes rushed out.
“Oh, it’s Electrice.”
“Damn it, scared the crap out of me. What the hell? You’re way ahead of your scheduled arrival time.”
The A-Class and B-Class heroes, who had rushed out thinking a monster had attacked the building, scowled when they saw Electrice and turned to leave.
Electrice glared at them, then shook the small bag she was holding.
“I came all the way here personally at W-City’s request, and that’s how you greet me? Hmph, if we were in A-City, you wouldn’t even be recognized as heroes.”
“Ah... Yes, thank you. Sorry about that.”
“Take it and get lost. The red case has biological brain culture fluid. The blue case contains the mechanical implants. Deliver them properly.”
“Y-Yes.”
Exchanging cold, resentful glances, the heroes took the bags and turned to leave the rooftop, leaving Electrice behind.
But Electrice called them back just before they could go.
“That Iron Fight or Knight or whatever the hell his name is — where is that bastard? Did he quit being a hero or something?”
“Uh... he’s currently out on patrol.”
“The patrol just ended, didn’t it? Isn’t he in the operations room now?”
“You all get lost. Tell him to come up here right now.”
“...Why?”
“What’s it to you?”
Crackle, crackle — the sound of electricity sparking echoed as the heroes descended the stairs with sour expressions, muttering among themselves.
“She’s doing this for revenge, isn’t she? For that time we spilled the drink on her.”
“God, she’s relentless.”
“Oh, wait, he was coming up.”
“Hey, be careful. Electrice seems like she’s gunning for you.”
“If she attacks, call us. We’ll help.”
“With three A-Ranks and five B-Ranks, we might be able to handle an S-Rank somehow.”
A moment later, Iron Might opened the closed rooftop door and stepped out.
Electrice exuded a strangely tense scent as the footsteps below faded away.
Iron Might hesitated, glancing at Electrice, and then finally spoke.
“Uh... um, about last time...”
“Last time was a mistake. Is that what you came here to say?”
“Ah... y-yes.”
Electrice crossed her arms and spoke with words as sharp as barbs, and Iron Might gave off a complicated, bitter scent.
“You didn’t go around spreading rumors, did you? Like how you supposedly did something to A-City’s S-Rank hero, or some trashy bragging like that.”
“Why °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° would I spread a rumor like that?”
“That’s exactly the kind of inferior game those W-City trash would play, isn’t it?”
“That sounds more like something A-City would do — people who are so soaked in superhuman superiority that they think they can do anything just because they’re strong. As I said before...”
“A-City doesn’t do that. And what’s wrong with superhumans being worshipped by the inferior masses? We’re using our power to protect them like loyal pets; they should be grateful.”
“You’re calling citizens dogs...?”
“What’s the difference? They bark loudly, show their teeth if not properly trained, refuse to obey without discipline, and take the food they’re given for granted.”
“Forget it. Talking like this isn’t going to help us understand each other.”
“Fine. I don’t understand you either. Hmph... Why the hell did I even do that?”
The air around Electrice was thick and bitter, like a lingering, unpleasant taste.
As she prepared to storm off, she tapped her foot against the ground repeatedly.
“For you, it must have been a stroke of luck upon luck upon luck... A mere A-Rank, getting a lucky break by taking advantage of an S-Rank hero’s moment of weakness. You must be grateful to Black Cat, right? You should consider it the glory of your lifetime.”
“What kind of garbage... Is that what people in A-City are like? Do they all go for the throat whenever an S-Rank hero shows even the slightest sign of weakness?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Superhumans must always be perfect.”
Electrice shrugged, and as she was about to open the rooftop door to leave, Iron Might stopped in his tracks.
“Strong superhumans deserve respect. Weak superhumans don’t deserve anything.”
“...Then who’s going to look out for the superhumans who get hurt and lose their strength?”
“Why should anyone look out for them?”
“Because a superhuman is just a weak human who happens to have abilities.”
“Hah, so that’s what they think in W-City? Or is that Starlight’s idea?”
“Does it matter whose idea it is? Whether it’s someone’s opinion or not, whether it’s weak or strong, if you don’t like the person, you reject it. If you do, you accept it.”
“The world’s rules changed because of monsters, didn’t they? So, the words of the strongest superhuman are the law.”
“Then should everyone just bow down and obey the strongest superhuman?”
“You sound like one of those idiots spreading baseless rumors — are you also caught up in the fantasy that I did something to Cage and received some kind of special training to become S-Rank?”
“What the... No... I was just curious. Whether it was really a mistake, or just a whim during a moment of weakness, or... something else.”
“I told you it was a mistake! I am S-Rank Hero Electrice! I... Hiiik?!”
Wuuung — Electrice’s body was glowing as she activated her ability, but then she suddenly jumped back as if startled, her eyes catching sight of me in the corner of her vision.
Crack! Electrice fled at high speed, hiding behind Iron Might’s back.
“W-what the hell?! Why is that cat here?!”
“Huh? How did a cat get up here...?”
“Hurry! Get it away! Get it away!”
“But... it’s just sitting there. It’s not doing anything.”
Iron Might, looking down at Electrice, who was clinging to his waist, let out a small laugh.
“You’re such a great S-Rank hero, huh? And you’re scared of a cat?”
“I-I’m not scared! I’m totally fine!”
“Oh, and all those times you asked me to drink with you in A-City because you couldn’t sleep....”
“What do you think I am, really?! Do you think I do that with just any guy...?”
“Huh...?”
“Get, get lost!”
A sharp, prickly scent — Electrice shot up into the sky, avoiding both me and Iron Might.
“W-City idiots are so annoying! I don’t get it! Why do they try to be nice just because someone looks weak?! Idiots! Morons! Weaklings!”
Flash! Electrice disappeared in a streak of lightning that carved through the sky.
Iron Might watched her leave, his face a mask of complicated emotions.
“Is it that people aren’t honest, or that the world doesn’t let them be honest...?”
Then, Iron Might bent down, picking up the cat that had been silently watching everything from the rooftop.
“So, how did you really get up here? Did you climb the wall...? You look like a kitten.”
“Nyaa.”
“Were you stuck up here because you couldn’t get down? I’ll take you down, but don’t climb back up again, okay?”
Iron Might carried the cat off the building and set it down outside.
A few moments later, Electrice, now back outside the building, returned with a flushed face.
“I-I’ll be back in a few days... Whether you want to see me or not.”
“Oh...”
“Meister escort! Didn’t Starlight say anything?! She said she wanted to see Black Cat or whatever and asked me to escort her personally!”
Electrice, having returned just to deliver the message, shot up into the sky again with another flash of lightning.
“...I already received that report.”
Muttering to himself, Iron Might watched as the cat he had just set down slipped into the shadows of an alleyway and returned to me. n𝚘𝚟𝚙𝚞𝚋.𝚌o𝚖
