"What's that commotion?"
Inside the House of Evolution, Armored Gorilla was eating a banana when he suddenly felt a strong tremor from the ground. Out of an animal's instinctive reaction to danger, he felt somewhat uneasy.
"Could it be that madman downstairs is acting up again?"
The Mole was also trembling, his eyes filled with fear.
The next second—
A blade qi instantly grazed Armored Gorilla's arm, slicing it. The smoothness of the cut made it seem as if the armor on his arm hadn't existed at all.
Armored Gorilla looked at his bare arm and silently took another bite of his banana. Then he suddenly burst out.
"This isn't a dream! Ah ah ah ah ah ah~!"
The Mole quickly dug a hole, thinking he could avoid the attack by hiding underground. As a result, he accidentally dug through the underground cage. Before he could even feel scared, he saw the madman—Carnage Kabuto—split in two, his corpse sprawling on the ground.
"Holy crap, this is a hundred meters underground! It's terrifying. Absolutely terrifying."
The second blade expanded its range, halved the distance, but the damage was still immense.
Mr. Akira threw away the iron spike and looked up at the sky. Just now, he had noticed dozens of prying gazes. But as far as his eyes could see, he didn't see anyone in the sky—though there were many birds.
Just then, Mr. Akira's phone buzzed.
"Hello, may I speak with Mr. Akira?"
"Yes."
"This is the Hero Association Headquarters. We'd like to invite you to the Hero Association Headquarters to discuss something. Would that be convenient for you?"
"Hmm, I'll go over now."
"No need, Mr. Akira. Our helicopter is already on its way."
Mr. Akira immediately understood: those gazes weren't from people or living beings. They were from the satellites orbiting the planet.
"Alright."
He hung up the phone. Mr. Akira looked at the iron spike he had casually thrown away. The next moment, the spike seemed to be pulled by an immense force, shooting toward him. He caught it with his hand, played with it a couple of times, and found it quite amusing.
Judging from the trophy [All-Rounder], the fifty-point mark in basic attributes should be the watershed. Earlier, when facing the Deep Sea King, with the boost from the power pill, his strength had broken through fifty, and he had felt blade qi. He hadn't been sure then, but now it was confirmed.
In terms of overall strength, he should now be considered upper Dragon-level. Calculated by instantaneous burst, probably city-busting? After all, he could move quickly and unleash thousands of slashes in a very short time.
Blade qi appeared in his strength. In agility, Mr. Akira's speed surged, allowing him to be thousands of meters away in the blink of an eye. Endurance was unknown—he hadn't run out of energy yet. Spirit: psychic power had already appeared, but Mr. Akira couldn't yet determine its magnitude.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~!
A roar came from the sky. There was more than one helicopter—several of them, and some even carried weapons. The noisy sound interrupted Mr. Akira's thoughts.
Tsk. These aren't coming for me, are they?
Soon, his doubts were answered.
On the other side of the mountain, there was a building he had cleaved in half with a single strike. Except for the helicopter coming to pick him up, the rest were flying toward that location.
The House of Evolution was incorporated by the Hero Association. Under the might of Mr. Akira's single strike, they were like terrified sheep—raising their hands in surrender at the sight of anyone.
After passing through various checkpoints, Mr. Akira appeared in the conference room.
"Mr. Akira, we meet again."
Atomic Samurai had already witnessed Mr. Akira's sword swing, but this time, it still greatly shocked him. Although his Atomic Slash was powerful—instantly cutting objects—its range was limited and simply couldn't compare to Mr. Akira's slashes. Out of respect, he stood up directly.
"Yes, we meet again. I wonder why you called me here this time."
"Teacher Akira. My name is Genos, and I deeply admire Teacher Akira's strength."
Genos bowed slightly. "If possible, could you please—"
"Stop~! I have nothing to teach you."
Although he did have some martial arts skills, what was the point of having a third wheel constantly by his side as a Butter Player?
Flashy Flash nodded to Mr. Akira in greeting. "Hello. I am Flashy Flash."
"Hello."
He was the same generation as Speed-o'-Sound Sonic, but Flashy Flash felt stronger than Sonic in terms of power.
"I am Tatsumaki. If you dare call me a middle schooler, I'll blast you away right now."
This statement surprised Mr. Akira a bit—she could already anticipate answers.
"Alright. I am the supreme leader of the Hero Association. This time, we invited Mr. Akira here."
"Actually, we want to invite Mr. Akira to join the S-Class Hero group."
"Okay."
Anyway, Mr. Akira had a lot of money now—more than he could spend—so he didn't care about salary at all. Joining the Hero Association would also put them at ease and prevent them from monitoring him. Moreover, he already knew from the future that he would be the sixth seat of the S-Class Heroes, so there was no need to contend for meaningless things.
"Uh… Mr. Akira, do you have any requirements?"
"Of course I have requirements. First, don't investigate me—or don't blame me if people die. Second, I won't be on duty at night. Finally, I want the sixth seat."
That's it?
That's it!?
The person in charge was stunned. These requirements were not troublesome—they were almost negligible.
"Mr. Akira, do you have any requirements regarding salary?"
"No demands. Money means nothing to me. I don't like money."
The person in charge's face darkened. If it weren't for Akira's file, which estimated his net worth in the trillions of yen, he might have believed him.
"Alright. The Hero Association will pay you the normal S-Class Rank 6 salary. As for your other requests, I, on behalf of the Hero Association, agree to all of them."
"Hmm, so it's settled. I have other things to do, so I'll be heading back now."
Akira turned and left after speaking. Arriving at the skyscraper where the Hero Association headquarters was located, he was reminded not only of his immense wealth but also of his properties, whose infrastructure was not yet complete. Now, he was going to inspect his domain.
After the door closed, everyone in the meeting room exchanged glances.
Atomic Samurai had originally wanted to get closer to Akira and admire his swordsmanship. But judging by Akira's firm refusal of Genos, it seemed he could only learn from that video recording.
Genos didn't lose heart. He felt he might not have met Akira's requirements yet and planned to redouble his efforts.
As for the remaining two, they offered no comment on Akira. Flashy Flash and Tatsumaki felt they weren't in the same system as Akira and had nothing to discuss.
The meeting—which was expected to be chaotic and tense—ended abruptly with Akira's simple statement: "I have other things to do, so I'll be heading back now."
Only then did the person in charge remember, and he quickly notified his subordinates: "Akira becoming S-Class Rank 6 should be entered into the system now, and the public will be informed this afternoon. Additionally, notify the relevant S-Class Heroes about the change in S-Class rankings."
Buzz buzz buzz~!
Yukinoshita Haruno saw her mother's call, and her furrowed brow relaxed slightly.
"Mother, is there any news?"
"Yes. The owner of the ten floors our company leases has changed. I just found out that the other party is a young man named Akira—eighteen years old."
"Mother—eighteen years old?"
It was no wonder Yukinoshita Haruno was surprised. This was a financial center, where every inch of land was precious. Even if the Yukinoshita family used all their assets, they could only buy three floors in this building. And even if they wanted to buy more, there was no way to do it. What kind of terrifying background did this eighteen-year-old possess to be able to buy these floors?
"Yes, eighteen years old. Haruno, go get the lease agreement signed within three days."
"Yes, Mother."
Yukinoshita Haruno hung up the phone and received a text message. The message contained some simple information about Akira.
Seeing Akira's photo, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of extraordinary background and means such a handsome young man possessed to have acquired floors 80–110 of Skyscraper X all at once.
Memorizing Akira's appearance, she began to simulate their first meeting, envisioning how to make the lease renewal go smoothly.
However, when she looked up at the scenery, she spotted a young man she had just seen in a photograph. She quickly took a sip of coffee, tidied her hair, then pulled out a small mirror from her handbag and began to touch up her makeup.
Then she hurried a few steps, appearing before Akira just as he entered the building.
"Hello, Mr. Akira."
Yukinoshita Haruno was in college and also helped manage her family's company. In her early twenties, she was already quite seasoned. Her sudden appearance before Akira at this moment was perfectly timed—not at all surprising.
Akira looked at the slightly familiar face, somewhat puzzled. Outwardly, he had no connection with this young lady.
"Hello. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Mr. Akira, my name is Yukinoshita Haruno—a department manager at Yukinoshita Company. I'm here to discuss matters related to lease renewal."
Lease renewal?
Glancing at the building in front of him, Akira generally understood.
"Oh~! Which floors do you rent?"
"Floors 90 through 100."
"Alright, I've noted it. Let's exchange numbers and talk later. I have other things to do right now."
"You're going up to check the condition of the various floors, aren't you? I happen to be going up as well, and I also have some knowledge about the dozens of floors above and below. How about I be your guide?"
Today, Yukinoshita Haruno was dressed in a pristine white cocktail dress—like a wedding gown. Her short hair was exquisite and capable, yet it didn't conflict with her lively temperament.
Hmm. If this were to happen on the tram later… ahem, that only happens in movies.
Playing too much Eroge… no, wait—isn't Eroge also reality!?
After this sudden realization, Akira suddenly found the whole world different.
The Yukinoshita family had achieved some success in business, which was perfect for helping him manage his assets. Without aiming to make it bigger and stronger, managing floor rentals and such should be well within their capabilities.
"Alright, then I'll trouble Miss Yukinoshita."