[Do not engage with them, it’s better not to make contact.]
Nyx advised in Clara’s mind.
[Although the higher-ups of “Nightmare” won’t make a move against you, if your actions expose the existence of the undercover division, the Grand Leader will hold you responsible. Always remember your special status.]
“Eh, it should be fine, right? I mean, I’m just bringing along a rookie who joined after me… I’ve never even met that dinosaur, but since he was sent here as a practice dummy, he must be the bottom of the barrel from another group… After beating him up like that, it’d feel wrong if I didn’t at least say something.”
Their figures reminded Clara of her own past, leaving her with complicated feelings.
[Maybe it’s because you brought them in that they turned out to be bottom of the barrel.]
“Hey! That’s way too harsh, you know?”
Even with Nyx’s objections, Clara strode into the medical tent. She’d thought about bringing a fruit basket or something, but there wasn’t time to buy one.
There were several tents, but this one was reserved for injured monsters and combatants, separated from the civilians’ tents, and there weren’t any medical staff inside, which made it seem a bit pitiful.
Only two medical robots were working here. These soft, humanoid machines could handle emergency care and bandaging even without medical personnel present. Squealer, once a monster himself, always felt a certain kindness toward them.
Though expensive, the cost was covered by the company, so it didn’t matter.
Even after entering the tent, Clara stood awkwardly at the entrance, looking at the monsters and combatants lying limp on the beds, unsure what to say as she fidgeted uncomfortably.
It was like a tadpole turning into a frog—once it had left the water, it could never return. As a hero, Clara couldn’t quite adjust to the atmosphere here either.
Finally, the one wrapped up like a zongzi on the bed—the ink-black roast chicken—was the first to shout.
“Oi! What’s a magical girl doing over here? Come to throw some insults? Don’t go too far! You looking down on us? Huh?!”
That chicken-like squawk made Clara rub her ear.
The mission had failed, and the battle was over.
The crimes committed by the monsters would be attributed to the company. Now, they were just ordinary citizens. The uninjured combatants had already settled their wages with the foreman and clocked out.
So even Clara couldn’t do anything to them here… At least, not legally.
But in reality, the monsters and combatants still couldn’t avoid being looked down upon.
Clara gathered her thoughts, put her hands on her hips, and said, “I’m off work too, you know? Just visiting the injured I happened to create, as a normal person—surely there’s no problem with that, right?”
“You haven’t even undone your transformation—what kind of off work is that? Get out, now!”
Chicken-bro snapped in frustration, but the only one who could still sit up—the sloth, “Lightning”—said:
“Magical girl, you… you went easy on us, didn’t you?”
“Hm? Why do you say that?”
“I watched your debut fight, I saw that move of yours. If you’d used that level of firepower, Chicken-bro and the others would’ve been blasted back to the Abyss by now.”
The sloth was quite observant. It was a pity his strength as a monster was mediocre. Maybe he’d be better off in the Strategy Division than the Operations Division.
“We’re all just workers, right? You low-level monsters don’t have it easy either. Even after being remodeled, you’re not much stronger than the combatants, and if you don’t complete your missions, you don’t get another chance at further upgrades…”
Clara said this to draw closer as a “fellow worker,” but her words about their hardship made Chicken-bro uncomfortable.
“Little miss, is this a hero’s pity?”
Clara shot back, “Do I have to keep thinking about heroes and monsters after work? I’m off the clock too, you know. If you could get up, I’d even go grab a drink with you…”
She said this, thinking of the team-building events in the past, only to get laughed at.
“Ha! You’re not even old enough to drink, are you? You’re a hero and you’re comforting monsters—what a weird magical girl. Must be new, huh? Don’t know the industry’s unspoken rules yet?”
Of course Clara knew, but since the conversation had started, she went along with Chicken-bro’s words:
“Oh? Why don’t you tell me about those unspoken rules?”
At that, the sloth explained: “If heroes are seen hanging out with monsters like us in private, people will talk. It won’t do you any good.”
We appreciate you going easy on us, but you should really leave.
The sloth was an honest monster and knew Clara was a hero with a bright future, so his advice was entirely out of goodwill.
He had no idea that his boss had already worked out a deal with Clara from the start.
That was why Clara wasn’t worried—if anything, the clueless monsters were worried for her.
“What an interesting little hero. Got guts.”
The big-browed, sharp-eyed dinosaur man finally spoke up, smacking his lips. “Tsk tsk, I think I’m starting to like her. You two, want to become her fans with me?”
“Huh?”
It wasn’t just Clara who was surprised; both Chicken-head and the sloth were stunned by the sudden suggestion and turned to look.
“What’s with you, oi, is your head okay? Did you get hit too hard or something?”
Chicken-bro questioned, and the sloth added, “We’re monsters, how could we be fans of a hero? Even if we wanted to support her, there’s not much we can do. We might even get her in trouble…”
But the dinosaur man kept persuading, “Have you ever met any other hero who’d go easy on us low-level monsters? Supporting a hero like her would be a good thing for the industry! Don’t you agree?”
He even tried to convince the combatants in the beds opposite. Clara’s mercy had indeed won their favor, and they nodded subconsciously.
After all, once combatants took off their suits, they were just regular people. Their prejudices against heroes weren’t so strong. In fact, some combatants were already fans of certain female heroes—working part-time just for the chance to get beaten up by their favorite, or even have some physical contact.
So, after getting beaten up by Clara, becoming her fan also seemed perfectly reasonable.
“Getting beat up and then becoming a fan—doesn’t that sound kind of dumb?”
Chicken-head muttered, then looked up and met Clara’s eyes.
…Then I’ll be dumb just this once.
To Clara, these impromptu fans in the tent were an “unexpected bonus.”
Even Nyx hadn’t seen this coming.
[Looks like buying a fruit basket for the monsters you injure after every battle is another way to build your fanbase.]
No way!
Don’t you dare take this as an example to follow. No matter what, I am not going to seek out monsters from other organizations. The consequences would be disastrous!
Clara grumbled inwardly, then looked up at the monsters lying in their beds.
“I’ll get going, then. Wishing you all a speedy recovery—and hopefully, next time, we won’t have to meet during a mission… For the ink stains, just take a hot shower and they’ll wash right off.”
With that, Clara left the tent, feeling much lighter.
“See? Good things do happen sometimes~”
She said this to Nyx.
I think that phrase is supposed to be toads, frog swim just fine.