- My Pov -
That morning, I devoted my time to assisting Lily and her Blizzard Group in their mission to rescue the citizens of City A who were in trouble after the Vaccine Man attack yesterday.
Even though I had exerted quite a lot of energy over the course of these few hours, I didn't look tired at all and just sweating a little bit, so I decided to take a break after the sun had reached its zenith.
After that, I went to a vending machine that sold both hot and cold beverages, and once I got there, I purchased some cold coffee drinks for myself and some cold tea for Lily.
In the distance, I can make out Lily, who is still hard at work performing her responsibilities without pausing for a break. Occasionally, she wipes the sweat that keeps dripping from her forehead, and even her breathing looks like it's getting a little muddled.
When I got closer to her, Lily gave me a surprised look because she saw that I was not showing any signs of fatigue. However, after that, she simply said, "It seems like the right choice to let you help me," but she continued to ask inquisitively, "Are you also a hero?"
"No, I'm just a regular person," Lily gave me a suspicious look as if she was dissatisfied with my response to her question.
"How is it possible for someone to have above-average strength and stamina like you and not be a hero?"
"You can assume that I have an innate talent," I said casually. After that, I threw the can of cold tea in my hand toward Lily.
"here, you need to drink."
When I suddenly threw something at her, Lily seemed surprised. However, she caught it right away and looked at me with a confused expression on her face.
"for me?"
"Of course, who else would there be?" I laughed a little bit when I saw Lily's behavior, but after that, I went and sat down on a bench not too far from me.
"Would you like to sit beside me?" I said it in a low voice while looking at Lily and patting the empty space beside me at the same time.
Lily looked confused or rather didn't know what to do when faced with my frank attitude, but because she seemed to feel indebted to me, she ended up sitting beside me.
Without paying attention to Lily, I began to open the cold coffee can I held in my hand and began drinking it slowly while appreciating the state of the city, which was slowly recovering. Even the debris that had been blocking the road had also been removed.
The citizens of City A have begun cooperating with one another in an effort to return to their normal lives, even though there are still many homes and buildings that have been damaged.
I attempted to lighten the mood by saying, "I forgot to ask, what's your name," when I saw Lily holding the tea can with both hands with a nervous expression on her face.
"Lily."
"What a Cute name, it suits you very well."
After hearing my compliments, I could tell that Lily was feeling embarrassed. I could even see that her cheeks were turning a little pink. However, after that, her expression changed, and she appeared to be feeling a little down.
"But I think my name is a bit childish, especially in comparison to Fubuki-sama, who has a cool name that fits her appearance and aura very well."
"Fubuki-sama?" Naturally, I am aware of who Fubuki is that she refers to, but I am playing innocent and pretending that I am unaware of this information.
I could complete the mission given to me by the system to forcibly seize every female character in the One Punch Man world, but I have decided to take things more slowly for the time being.
-
Lily then apologized to me by saying, "Ah, I'm sorry," after she realized that she had said too many things that were not necessary.
It's okay, but this woman named Fubuki seems to be a great person," I made an attempt to coax Lily into being more forthcoming with me by asking her about the person she looks up to the most.
"Yes, Fubuki-sama is a wonderful person. She also has a beautiful face and an attractive appearance. Because she is so popular, many people respect and admire her."
As soon as I thought she was going to finish what she was saying, Lily continued, but this time her facial expression looked even more excited than it had before.
"Because Fubuki-sama is so powerful, she was able to quickly rise to the top of the class B rankings, and she also founded the Blizzard Group, which is now extremely well-known and influential."
"if you ask why Fubuki-sama maintains her place at the top of the class B rankings?"
"The reason for this is that she genuinely cares about low-rank heroes, such as myself. Because of this, she came up with the idea to establish an organization that can bring together low-rank heroes so that it can be shown that low-rank heroes can also be helpful..."
Because I was afraid that if I listened any longer, I might accidentally kill her, I quickly interrupted Lily and said, "Enough, and thanks for the explanation."
"You're welcome, and I'm sorry that I can't explain everything," Lily replied.
"I believe that everyone has their own set of strengths and weaknesses, and you are someone who deserves respect for the effort that you have put in," As I turned my attention to Lily, I spoke softly and with a smile on my face.
I am aware that my words sound cringe and cliché, but despite that, I believe that what I have said is sufficient because Lily, who is sitting next to me, immediately smiled shyly while her face was flushed.
"me?" Lily attempted to question me while pointing at herself as if she did not believe what I had just said.
"Yes, you Lily, because after witnessing how much effort you put into proving yourself, I have both respect and admiration for you."
"What nonsense are you saying, I'm just a B-class hero ranked among the bottom, I'm not as great as you think I am," With a wry smile on her face, Lily was attempting to explain something to me, but I didn't wait for her to finish.
"However, in my opinion, your doggedness and refusal to give up is even more admirable, and it far outstrips that of any S-class hero."