Chapter 89: Saori Saiyonji longs to become a hero

Saori Saiyonji opened the door to her one-bedroom apartment, tossed her shoulder bag onto the entryway, and poured herself a glass of water from the kettle on one side of the hallway.

She gulped it down.

She casually took out her disguise phone—originally her personal phone—and as her pale blue eyes focused, she noticed a missed call.

It was marked as “Mother”.

Her fingertip hovered over the screen for a long time without dialing back.

She slid open the glass door to the balcony, letting the evening breeze fill the room, and leaned against the railing. After much hesitation, she finally pressed the button.

“Mother…”

“Little Saori.”

Her mother’s voice was somewhat urgent, feigning a sense of intimacy.

“How have you been lately?”

“Mm, the usual.”

Saori Saiyonji felt tonight’s wind carry a bone-chilling cold, and she pulled her collar tighter.

“I heard from relatives that Superpower Users make money, is that true?”

Her mother’s voice was deliberately slow, as if avoiding her true intention.

Couldn’t even hold it in for one sentence?

Saori Saiyonji pressed her lips tightly, resting her forehead on her hand against the railing.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, that’s good… Uh… I heard that Superpower Users make good money on TV these days?”

A trace of impatience flashed across Saori Saiyonji’s face, her tone tinged with anger.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“It’s not easy for Mom to raise your Younger Sister, you know? She’s about to start middle school, and we need money for food and clothing at home. So, can you…”

“No.”

Saori Saiyonji refused coldly.

“You ungrateful brat! Can’t you appreciate your mother’s hard work?”

Her mother’s voice trembled, a hint of hysteria in it.

“Hard work?”

Saori Saiyonji let out a bitter laugh.

“The money Father left is enough for Younger Sister until she gets married. I haven’t taken a single yen!”

“But you—joining a Cult killed Father, and now you’re addicted to gambling—what right do you have to say that? Huh?”

“Your Father… He had nothing to do with me… Please, just a little more money, I swear I’ll win it back, and I’ll never touch it again!”

Her mother pleaded earnestly.

Saori Saiyonji no longer believed a single word from this woman.

“Not a single yen. Don’t even think about it.”

A shrill, broken scream erupted from the other end, but Saori Saiyonji hung up directly, forcing down the anger boiling inside her chest so she wouldn’t throw the phone off the balcony.

“Heh…”

Saori Saiyonji sat down at her desk, spacing out for a while, then untied the bun behind her head, letting light blue hair fall across her neck.

She pulled a bag of envelopes from between the books on the shelf—inside was the 100,000 Japan Yen subsidy from the Tokushu Jishou Taiou Honbu—untouched for now.

On the bookshelf, within a torn photo in a picture frame, a weary Father rested his hand on her younger self’s shoulder, smiling at the camera.

It felt as if he was watching over her.

Her gaze slowly returned to the envelope in front of her, and Saori Saiyonji breathed out.

From now on… I won’t do such things anymore.

She dialed a number with no contact name but frequently called.

“Manager, I won’t be coming anymore. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Eh, eh, eh? Saori, wait!”

Blasting music echoed from the other end, but she could hear the other party quickly moving away from the noise.

In a quieter place, the man on the other end panted and asked softly:

“Did something happen at home? If you need money, you can tell me.”

“No, I just… don’t want to do that kind of thing anymore.”

A trace of embarrassment flickered in her pale blue eyes.

“Umumu, but Saori, you’re our shop’s star. To achieve so much as a part-timer, the future is promising, isn’t it?”

The man began painting grand promises.

“When you become an adult, our shop can invest resources in you. By then—”

“Sorry!”

Saori Saiyonji cut him off, her slender fingers gripping the edge of the desk tightly.

She took a deep breath.

“I really… don’t want to do it anymore!”

“Thank you for nurturing me, Manager.”

“Wait! Wait! Is another shop trying to poach you? Is it that bastard Momose? Wait! Don’t hang up…”

“It’s not about anyone else. I’ve decided my own path.”

Saori Saiyonji’s gaze locked onto the picture frame.

Father, you wouldn’t want me to do those things, right?

He used to say all the time—Saori, you must become someone amazing in the future…

But Saori Saiyonji never knew—how amazing did she have to be to count as “someone amazing”?

Ranking among the top in class, getting into a nationally renowned high school, giving a speech as an outstanding freshman… do those count as amazing?

Am I worthy of being called “someone amazing” by Father?

Father could no longer answer her questions—only the tired yet gentle smile remained in the photo.

She couldn’t answer herself, either.

After that day—the accident in Roppongi—her hollow self could never be called “amazing”.

Until… that day.

Wandering like a lost soul through Roppongi as always.

A sudden golden flash told her—Yuki Asahi was truly amazing.

Saori Saiyonji aspired to become a hero like Yuki Asahi.

Starting with the Cult she hated most.

“Thank you, Manager, for reaching out to me in the darkest days of my life. But now, I have to move forward. Thank you again for your care.”

The man on the other end fell silent.

Saori Saiyonji ended the call, exhaled, and slumped over her desk as if all her strength had drained away.

Looking at the cosmetics crammed into the corner of her desk alongside the books, Saori Saiyonji braced herself and gathered them all into a cardboard box.

And those… women’s clothes in the closet.

***

About ten minutes later, under a riverside bridge, Saori Saiyonji flicked a spark, igniting the stockings covering the box—and the whole box quickly caught fire.

Goodbye, my filthy old life…

Bang!

Something—maybe a cosmetic—exploded, startling Saori Saiyonji into jumping back.

She stared pale-faced as a flying spark set the riverside grass ablaze.

It’s over, it’s over!

Kids, don’t play with fire~

***

Daizai Saitou held his phone, taking a long time to recover from Saori Saiyonji’s words.

“What was that? A life lesson? Damn it!”

At the entrance to the bathroom, a crew-cut delinquent walked in.

“Boss, what’s wrong?”

“That Saori guy wants to wash his hands of everything. FXXK!”

Daizai Saitou slammed his fist on the marble counter, then shook his hand, cursing.

“Does that little punk really think we’re a charity?”

“Saori… Oh, that guy…”

The crew-cut youth suddenly remembered something.

“He’s a Superpower User.”

“How do you know?”

“Oowada—the super cocky Oowada these days—told me our shop also had a Superpower User…”

Smack—

The crew-cut youth was slapped senseless.

“You idiot! You only say something this important now!?”

“I… I thought Boss already knew…”

Daizai Saitou stared at his reflection in the mirror for a long time.

Then, a grin slowly spread across his face.

“Superpower User… Such an awesome brand can’t go to waste~”