"You really are a true Hero. Just like everyone says on the forums, you are such a reliable and adorable girl."
In a courtyard lush with vibrant plants and blooming flowers, a hunched old woman smiled warmly at Alice, who had just rescued a kitten from a nearby tree.
"To tell you the truth, my grandkid is a huge fan of yours too."
"Being loved and trusted by everyone is what makes Alice proudest of being a Hero!" Alice beamed, handing the grateful little cat back to the elderly woman. She accepted the praise wholeheartedly.
"I heard you've been keeping busy around the city these past couple of days. Mrs. Uehara from next door brings you up all the time. For an S-Class Hero, it's amazing how much you care about the little things—things most C-Class Heroes wouldn't even bother with."
The old woman cradled the kitten in her arms, gently and carefully stroking its back.
"Whether it's dealing with monsters or anything else, as long as it brings smiles and happiness to everyone, this Hero will give it her all!" This time, Alice didn't boast.
After all, she was simply doing what she was supposed to do.
"So that's how it is, haha. Oh, right, would you like to come inside for a cup of tea? Grandma just boiled some hot water. My grandkid and the neighbors absolutely rave about my herbal tea."
"Wow! A quest reward! Then Alice won't be polite!"
No reward made her happy, but a reward made her even happier—such was a Hero's attitude toward quests.
But the joy didn't last long. Before they could even step through the front door, a sharp, siren-like ring echoed from Alice's pocket.
It was the Hero Association's ringtone, a specific tone reserved strictly for the emergency channel.
Under the old woman's bewildered gaze, Alice immediately pressed the answer button.
"Hero! The Hero Association has an emergency mission and we need your help!"
"Mr. Yamada? What kind of mission is it?" Alice hadn't expected to hear a familiar voice on the other end, but given the urgency of the situation, she pressed for details immediately.
"A disaster that the A-Class Heroes can't handle has just broken out in J-City! The threat level has been assessed as Demon."
"Puri-Puri Prisoner was supposed to be handling it, but the situation remains unresolved. It's highly likely he's been defeated! The newly appointed S-Class, Genos, is already on his way!"
Yamada's words rushed out at breakneck speed. "Hero, we might need your strength alongside Genos! There are still many citizens who haven't evacuated yet. We need you to head there and provide backup as soon as possible!"
With one S-Class already down, sending a second to join forces was clearly the safer bet to handle the threat.
The moment he finished speaking, the loud slam of a door opening echoed through the transceiver to Alice's side.
"You idiot! How could you send Hero to a place like that?! Who's going to take responsibility if something happens to her?! Don't forget! Tatsumaki has already submitted a request to put Hero under her supervision, you can't just...!"
"Is this really the time for that?!" Yamada roared back. His voice grew muffled, sounding a fair distance away from the microphone, but he quickly returned to the line. "Anyway! We're counting on you! Hero!"
"Leave it to Alice!"
Without wasting any more words, Alice gave her solemn promise and hung up. She then turned to the old woman with an apologetic look.
"I'm so sorry, Grandma. Alice has something very important to take care of right now!"
"Hero work, right? Don't you worry about it. Go where you're needed most, little Alice." The old woman naturally didn't mind. It wasn't as if Alice was breaking a promise on a whim; she was off to protect people.
"And now, Hero Alice—moving out!"
The young girl dashed out of the courtyard onto the main road, then leaped powerfully into the distance.
"What's the situation now?!" Yamada demanded, turning to the staff beside him.
"Hero is moving at incredible speed. According to the GPS tracking, if she maintains this pace, she should arrive in about eighteen minutes!" the monitoring technician replied. "As for Genos... he hasn't activated his Hero App's location tracking system... so we can't determine his position..."
"Can't determine it?!"
The fog of uncertainty made Yamada grit his teeth.
The Hero App's location tracking wasn't constantly active; it only functioned if a hero chose to turn it on.
However, most heroes who kept it on were those lacking confidence in their own strength, hoping they could be rescued if a crisis struck.
After all, normal people didn't like having their real-time location monitored, as it felt like an invasion of privacy, like being constantly watched.
Among the current S-Class, the only ones who actually kept the tracking feature enabled were Hero and Child Emperor.
But Child Emperor was just too far away... and besides, he was currently in the middle of school hours...
Hero... Genos... the safety of the citizens rests entirely on your shoulders!
In the distance, rain was pouring over the city.
Moving at high speeds, Alice easily spotted the incoming storm clouds. She didn't particularly enjoy working in the rain, but now was not the time to care about that.
Plunging headfirst into the downpour, Alice quickly scaled a high vantage point to gather as much information as possible. However, as a bustling metropolis, skyscrapers were everywhere, and even from her elevated position, numerous buildings still obstructed her view.
Even so, she could see down into the distant streets. Scores of citizens who hadn't managed to evacuate in time were fleeing, pursued by all sorts of seafaring monsters.
Although most of the seafood monsters were clearly low-level threats, their sheer numbers were overwhelming.
"Light——————!!!!"
A brilliant blue-and-white beam scorched a charred mark across the earth. The fleeing crowd only saw a flash of light arc over their heads from afar, striking the ground right behind them with a thunderous explosion.
The unmistakable visual effects of the attack immediately made them realize which hero had arrived.
And the figure that dropped down right in front of their eyes confirmed their suspicions, leaving them frozen in a mixture of shock and sheer relief.
"It's Hero! Hero Alice!"
Generally speaking, a hero's alias was used far more frequently than their birth name.
Not only did colleagues refer to each other by their hero names, but public relations and media promotions used them exclusively.
But because Alice constantly referred to herself by her own name whenever she spoke, her real name was just as widely known.
Genos, on the other hand, was still referred to by his actual name simply because he had just joined the Association and hadn't been assigned an official hero alias yet.
"Don't worry! Alice will protect everyone!"
The girl was naturally petite, and the relentless rain had completely soaked her long hair and clothes, making her look almost as fragile as a porcelain doll.
Yet, her high-spirited, unwavering voice wasn't muffled in the slightest by the heavy thrum of rain hitting the pavement. The confidence shining in her eyes left no room for vulnerability.
Even if her appearance didn't scream raw power, at this very moment, she provided the citizens with an indescribable sense of security. In their hearts, she left an indelible impression that transcended mere cuteness—the true mark of a Hero.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL