Lily simply laughed and explained that what she and her Blizzard group did was nothing, and she even tried to explain that it was someone else who saved City Z at that time. But Mizuki thought Lily was just being humble, so she didn't take what Lily said seriously.
Lily then realized that whatever she said in front of this tall and muscular woman who somehow managed to maintain a positive attitude and enthusiasm when discussing the events in City Z at that time would be completely pointless.
"I heard that you guys also got a rank increase. It's that true?"
"umm, well, you could say that, but I'm still below you, so it's not much."
"hahahaha, what are you saying, didn't your rank go up from 74th to 72nd, and it's right behind me."
After making such a cheery proclamation, Mizuki took a swig from her protein-rich drink. In the meantime, Lily, who was taken aback by Mizuki's bubbly nature, couldn't help but be silent and didn't know how to respond.
Mizuki thought to herself, 'what a poor girl. In the end, she's just a high schooler girl, all the hero assignments and popularity she gets must be weighing heavily on her,' as she began to sigh and slightly lower her excited spirits.
Mizuki, who could sense Lily's anxiety, told her to calm down while bringing the food and drinks they had ordered and placing them on the table. So after finishing half of the dessert cake in front of her, Lily seemed more relaxed now, to the point where she wasn't even bothered by Mizuki's direct and curious question.
"You should be proud and feel lucky because recently, it has been getting harder to increase your rank, especially if your rank is already high. At least that is what happened to me because I don't know how long my rank has been stuck at 71."
Mizuki, who previously always smiled cheerfully and actively now, suddenly became gloomy. Lily, who saw that finally realized something from what Mizuki had just said.
'What am I doing lately, really? Am I not the same as her? I always hope my stuck rank can also go up, and it isn't all this popularity I dreamed of. I even took the time after school to work part-time and be more active in the organization,' said Lily to herself, and with a slight smile, it was her turn to console Mizuki.
Mizuki, who had previously rested her head on the table lazily, suddenly woke up excitedly when she asked, "Hey, Lily, is it true that Fubuki has risen to class A heroes?"
When asked such a question, Lily was taken aback, but she managed to keep her composure and respond with a wry smile by saying, "It's just a rumor."
"Are you sure? It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that she has joined the ranks of the class A heroes given all the accomplishments she's racked up and the recent surge in popularity she gets."
As if she didn't want to go too far into the matter, Lily abruptly changed the subject by asking, "Have you looked at the Hero Association's website?"
Mizuki's expression was one of confusion as she asked, "What's wrong with that?" while slightly tilting her head to the side.
"Haven't you heard that the headquarters of the Hero Association recently opened registration for new professional heroes?"
"Oh, about that, of course I know, isn't that great. Many people want to become heroes to help eradicate monsters and evil in this world."
After giving Mizuki a nod to indicate that she agreed, Lily suddenly spoke to her in a low tone as if she didn't want anyone else nearby to hear what she had to say:
"But, Fubuki-sama told me that the professional heroes who signed up this time were not promising. Even though their numbers were large, the quality of the group was not on par with the previous batch."
As soon as she finished saying that, Lily noticed that Mizuki's expression changed, and as if she realized something, she quickly added, "of course, although what Fubuki-sama said has some truth, I don't really agree with that because, after all, having someone who would take taking risks as a hero is already a good thing, right?"
Lily waited for Mizuki's response with nervousness as she was aware that the tall, muscular woman sitting in front of her was the definition of a true hero, which was very different from herself and the other members of the Blizzard group.
Mizuki then relaxed her scowl, took a deep breath, and nodded as if she felt disappointed before saying, "Fubuki's opinion and yours are not wrong. Instead, I agree with you two."
'Because, regardless of how many professional heroes are newly appointed, if their quality is worst, they won't be able to help much... but, because I still believe in them, I am sure they will be able to save more people,' Mizuki said to herself, and after that, her disposition returned to being as cheerful as before.
"By the way, do you know Genos? A few days ago, it seemed that the mysterious cyborg also registered for the Professional Hero," remarked Lily as she opened her phone and showed Mizuki the information regarding Genos via the Hero Association website.
Mizuki's eyes grew slightly wider as she questioned, "B-class hero?" And Lily, who saw that, couldn't help but laugh as she explained, "yeah, even though he's still in the last rank, but for a new hero who just registered, this is very interesting, isn't it?"
"I guess that's only natural, huh, considering that he can defeat a threat-level Wolf all by himself, but I also find someone interesting as well. Do you want to know?" said Mizuki.
This time, the flow of their conversation shifted to the two women gossiping about the new Heroes who had just registered. In addition, they started showing each other the screens of their cellphones, and they commented on the Hero, such as praising their strength or commenting on how bizarre their uniforms were.
"Have you seen this bald man?"
"He looks like an ordinary bald man. What's so interesting about him?"
"Actually, after the incident in city Z, out of curiosity, I tried going there, and it's perfect that the Hero Association branch of city Z is opening up new hero registrations as well," Mizuki said as she explained, after pausing to take a sip of her protein drink, she continued:
"This bald man's name is Saitama, and although in the end, he registered as a class C hero, but during the registration process, I could see how he broke every physical test record so unexpectedly."