The teachers stood in line as the designated time of the assembly approached.
"STAND STRAIGHT! LOCK YOUR FEET! FOR THE GRAND ASSEMBLY SHALL START!"
It was the lively voice of an instructor. The trumpets sounded. The Heromaker's principal, Armin Kelon in his grey robe and cape made his entrance as he walk with confident strides.
He has gray hair evident of his old age and wields a three-meter-long wooden staff.
There was no flashy display, but the clamor of the students stopped at his arrival. The aura alone of the principal has far-reaching effects, as a result of his overly mutated powers.
"I welcome you to the Heromaker Academy, the place where we make Heroes!"
The suppressed crowd clapped with feverish fervor with the principal's starting words. This assembly is made for the new arrivals in the academy. This is the first time for many to be exposed to this kind of assembly, hence their uncontrollable excitement.
The principal raised his right hand, commanding silence over the crowd. He overpowered them with this hand gesture alone.
"Special Abilities have a tale as old as time. It made kings, monsters, and heroes. We don't know where they came from. Some claim it came from the ancient gods giving their blessings to humanity. Scholars thought of these powers to be hereditary, and in many cases, cause atavism that awakens an individual's bloodline powers.
"To a radical few, they see it as a curse, an invitation to humanity to proliferate evil. Lastly, there are the martyrs, believing that these powers are a gift of the world to spread goodness.
"The Hero Society is a place where heroes gather, not for a common cause but so that we can rely on someone in our most trying times. You see, we are a chaotic mixture of people— nobility, peasants, merchants, preachers— what we once were and what we will become.
"Through our differences, we fought evil in our own unique ways. Every individual is unique, and their intentions may differ, but there is always a tangent to their actions— to acknowledge good. The most simplistic goodness that we must expect of ourselves is this. Remember, goodness comes from within. Your intentions are what make you a good person. And the results of it are what make you a Hero."
...
(13th and Praised— a flashback of dialogue from the past.)
Hey, praised, how are you doing?" An emperor of the empire approached the busy peasant who was tinkering with his machines and minding his own business. The emperor swaggered as he showcases the tacky armor made of rare metals.
In Praised Peasant's opinion though, rather than 'approaching', the 13th Emperor is most likely here with the goal of 'disturbing' him.
"What do you want, 13th? Hmmm… Is that how an emperor should dress?" Praised Peasant asked in a criticizing manner, however, his attention was still on his machines, too busy to entertain the emperor.
"Hey, Praised!! Don't judge me, I am just trying to how I would look in our lovely Hero King's costume… Come on… What is up with the attitude? Can't I come just to greet you? To just say hello to you?" The 13th emperor complained like a child.
13th and Praised, a nickname that the two of them decided on. It was a little bit satirical, in a reminder of how peasants address their lords and vice versa… Such as, "Oh lord emperor, please let me lick your shoes." Or "You peasant! How dare you not lick my shoes?"
By omitting the words 'Emperor ' and 'Peasant', the two hoped to bridge their gap in status.
"You only come to me because you need something, right?" This time, it was Praised who complained.
"Ummm... Sure. It's about the costumes..." 13th guiltily looked away.
13th fidgeted like a child, making cute voices and the like… it was… weird, but Praised is already used to these mind tactics of his dear friend. If he was caught off guard and 13th was able to get inside his mind, Praised would definitely suffer with lots of overtime.
"You mean the gear? What? You don't like my designs." Praised frowned at the blatant disrespect to his craft.
"Whatever suits you… Costumes, design, gear… whatever… *Ahem-ahem-ahem! Just hear me, Praised. It ain't anything hard… You see, the costumes, they are not gaudy enough… Can you use striking colors and stuff?" 13th eloquently structured his words in a very nonchalant manner. Rather than eloquent, carefree is more apt to describe his attitude.
"No. It is my principle to prioritize function over appearance."
"You don't understand, appearance also has functions!"
"Like what? Unnecessarily attracting enemy fire?"
"That's the point!"
"???"
Huh? Like… Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh? Does that even make sense? Praised is starting to doubt himself. The 13th emperor must've hit himself in the head, Praised thought. Maybe noticing the doubtful look Praised is giving, 13th immediately explained.
"If the villains are focusing on the hero, didn't that mean more lives are being saved?"
At 13th's out-of-the-box reasoning, Praised became speechless.
"Your argument is... convincing." He reluctantly admitted, and 13th took great strides while holding in this chance.
"Right? And imagine the number of fanboys and fangirls contributing their wealth to our cause."
"You mean charity?"
"Yeah, whatever suits you."
13th gave that dismissal look to Praised as if he already have it in the bag. Praised struggled, should he do as 13th said or not? But that means he'll have to do more overtime!! 'Agh, shit. He got me.' In the end, Praised succumbed to 13th's eloquence.
"Sigh… You bastard, I am going bald because of overwork, I am still young! But… I'll do it anyway…"
"Yes! I knew it! You are my hero, man."
"Last week, you are asking me to improve the Radiophone by adding images to it. Even now, I am racking my brains as to how. Last month, you forced me to take 100% credits for creating the Hero Code. And now, you are making me do weirder stuff. Even Solemn is doing weird stuff under your instructions... What the hell is happening, 13th?"
"You see, I want heroes to be something more than what is expected from them... I want them to become a symbol... That even in the face of the greatest odds, people will remember their examples, the heroes' examples..."
"So you want them to be gods?"
"Gosh! NO! What's wrong with your head!? Praised, I don't want them to be worshipped, I want these Heroes to lead us. Not as rulers, but as an ideal. To become role models! Mmmmm...Models...looks like I have a new idea..."
"And how does that relate to the Solemn Saint performing and singing in these 'idol concerts' of yours? There are even handshake events..."
"..."
"..."
"Well, she's enjoying it actually... It's all for the bigger picture. One day, the Hero Society will be strong enough it won't be influenced by monetary gains, political maneuvering, and biased agendas."
"Fine, I will trust you."
"What? Excuse me? You will thrust me? That sounds dangerous. Wait… I don't swing that way, bro."
"Fuck you."
The two, 13th and Praised bickered.
Who would think, a friendship like this is actually possible? To the point they can banter like this… no one could imagine… The disparity of their status is too big of a hurdle already.
However the existence of the fore founding heroes says otherwise— Hero King, Solemn Saint, Praised Peasant, and 13th Emperor…
"Praised…" The 13th emperor called.
"What is it?"
"I want to tell you something."
"…"
"I am not from this world."