“Magical Girl Clara… Kraken, huh?”
The name of the legendary sea monster, though it had been hunted by Heroes many times in the past and vanished without a trace decades ago.
Some say it’s just hiding, while many others claim it’s already met its “true death.”
No one really knows the truth, so it’s become yet another legend.
“Maybe… it could be used as the name of a Comics protagonist.”
As a professional monster, Squire had witnessed too many atrocities committed by Heroes during work.
Whenever she looked at real-life Heroes, there was always a negative filter in her mind, making it impossible for her to draw a truly positive Hero…
This had led to her submissions being rejected time and again.
But if she herself became a Hero, maybe she could finally create a Hero that would be genuinely popular?
Ever since the attack from the Transformation Department, the inspiration in her Squid Brain had been gushing out uncontrollably, just like a fire hydrant bursting open during a battle.
“A legendary sea monster like Kraken transforms into a Magical Girl, then becomes active as a Hero… No, that plot’s a bit too clichéd… What if, to get revenge on the Heroes who hunted her, she chooses to approach them secretly as a Magical Girl, but in the end becomes friends fighting side by side with her former enemies?”
Mulling over the Hero name Fran had chosen, Squire was already piecing together a brand new Comics story in her mind as she took the elevator down to the first floor and walked out of the Nightmare Headquarters.
“Hoo—”
She exhaled a puff of white mist.
“So cold, almost winter now.”
It was already late at night, yet the downtown streets were still bustling. Some people moved in groups, others walked alone. So many different kinds of people, walking so close, yet never crossing paths.
For every person lost in the city’s dazzling nightlife, there was someone else still hustling to make a living.
The office buildings overhead still had lights on, and the corporate slaves who couldn’t go home at night were drowning in endless work.
“Man, it’s been ages since I got off work this late.”
One of the perks of being a monster for an evil organization was that you basically never had to work overtime. Even the work in the Execution Department didn’t require overtime.
Every day, it was just about robbing some Company’s experimental results or confidential data; sabotaging Enemy Organization plans or projects; or targeting some Hero, tracking them down and beating them up…
Or getting beaten up yourself.
The Execution Department worked five days a week, with two days off, and there was never more than one assignment per day. If things went smoothly, you didn’t even need a full eight hours. If there were no assignments, you could just slack off in the office until it was time to clock out, and nobody would bother you in your free time…
That’s exactly why she had plenty of time to chase her Comics dreams.
But there was still a problem.
People who had been transformed into monsters pretty much never looked human anymore.
It was said that in other evil organizations, monsters would be given shapeshifting abilities during the transformation, so after work they could turn back into human form. But Nightmare Headquarters’ Transformation Department didn’t have such a humane function.
With a slippery Squid Brain on her head and being just a low-level small fry monster, even though the salary was decent, the cost of living in Central City was high. Every month, she still had to send money back to her Old Home and Sister, so she could barely save any money for herself and could only afford to live in a Cheap Rental Apartment on the outskirts.
So with such unimpressive conditions, she still hadn’t managed to find a girlfriend in Central City.
But who would like a Squid? Someone from the deep sea?
Maybe if she went back to her Old Home, she’d have a better chance…
Gurgle—
Her stomach protested with Hunger.
“So hungry.”
Even though she was starving, Squire still dragged her exhausted body into the subway station.
No special reason—just that the late-night food stalls near the Cheap Rental Apartment were cheaper.
The high-speed subway ran at over two hundred kilometers per hour, and often the time spent stopped at the platform was longer than the time spent moving, so even living in the suburbs, commuting was still fairly convenient.
She entered the carriage—no empty seats.
But at just 1.5 meters tall, even if she stood on tiptoe, she couldn’t reach the hand straps on the overhead bar, and there was no space around the poles for her to squeeze in. If things kept up like this, she’d have to rely on her balance and presence to stay upright!
“Um, little Sister?”
The girl sitting in front of her tugged Squire’s sleeve.
“Eh?”
“I’m about to get off. You can take my seat.”
S-Someone just gave up their seat for her?!
The thirty-five-year-old corporate uncle inside was stunned, but if she didn’t sit down now, she might fall when the train started. So, thick-skinned, she sat down in the spot the girl had vacated.
“Thank you, Sister!”
He really went all out to say that line.
“You’re welcome~ So polite.”
The kind girl smiled and walked to the door. It seemed she really was getting off.
She was probably mistaken for a twelve- or thirteen-year-old brat, huh?
Speaking of which, just how old is Kamui, anyway?
Is there any way to adjust this copied height data?
The subway left the city center and emerged from underground, entering the elevated monorail section. Through the windows on both sides, you could enjoy the dazzling night view of Central City…
“Hey, look over there! It’s a new Hero from the Sigma Series!”
Next to Squire, two young women dressed in thin, cold-looking outfits leaned against the door, excitedly discussing something as they whipped out their phones to take pictures…
“I think the name was… ‘Pure White Storm’? What a slender figure! I’m a little jealous!”
Other passengers nearby also turned to look out the window.
A new Hero from the Sigma Series?
That Azure Cavalier she’d tricked earlier this afternoon seemed to be from the Sigma Series too…
With that thought in mind, she turned her head and saw a white figure with mechanical wings, trailing a dazzling tail flame, streaking past the window like a shooting star—flying even faster than the train itself.
Could the Ink-stained Staff’s propulsion mode reach that kind of speed?
“Well, it’s gotta be able to fly, after all!”
One of the women, phone in hand, explained to her companion, “I heard it uses lightweight Armored Exoskeleton, all to maximize mobility…”
Squire nodded as she listened. Compared to Azure Cavalier, Pure White Storm’s Armored Exoskeleton looked more like a skintight suit, but that breastplate and those mechanical wings still had the high-tech feel of the Sigma Hero Series.
“Wait, isn’t that a girl?”
“No, the data says it’s a guy.”
“Oh, stop it! The pilot must be a slender pretty boy, right? I wouldn’t mind that kind of type~~”
The heavily made-up woman suddenly cupped her cheeks and started fangirling.
Squire vaguely remembered—the Sigma Hero Series had been a project aimed at the female market from the very start, so there couldn’t be any female Heroes, or else it’d go against the original intent…
Still, being a Hero must be nice. Monsters never got any fans.
Well, maybe not never…
At least, small fry monsters like herself could never have any.
Not until Pure White Storm and the ground target he was chasing disappeared from sight did Squire turn back around and continue brainstorming her Comics story.
[Blue Court Station has arrived. Passengers exiting, please use the doors on the left side…]
“Ah!”
The door closing announcement sounded, and Squire hurriedly dashed out of the carriage. Since it was the suburbs, there weren’t many passengers left, or else she might not have been able to squeeze out.
In Central City, the population density was so high that even at midnight, you might not get a seat…
“Phew, almost missed my stop.”
Blue Court was a residential area in the southern suburbs of Central City. There were lots of old buildings here, and since it was far from downtown and the facilities were outdated, the rent was pretty cheap.
But the living experience in these old buildings was pretty bad, and most of the neighbors in this area were “shady” or “dubious” types.
But Squire was a monster, so living in a place like this wasn’t anything to be afraid of.
However…
She didn’t look like a Squid Monster right now.
She looked like a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl, walking alone at night on streets with bad security.
No matter how you looked at it, something bad was bound to happen.