The next day, Aile said she would handle the problem.

Surprisingly, after that day, Niberna’s visits completely stopped.

It was clear she had pulled some strings, but I was just filled with joy that I had my peace back.

‘Finally, she’s gone…’

Bringing in junk and asking me to fix it was fine. After all, isn’t this an Everything Repair Shop? I was ready to fix whatever someone brought in.

However, the fact that she was coming not just to fix valuable items but rather to strike up a conversation—with the ultimate goal of inviting me to the Hero Association—was a bit problematic.

‘Why is this hero so persistent when I’ve said I’m not interested?’

There are always people like that. Those who consider sacrificing for the world to be the most important value, and who impose that belief on others.

What someone values most doesn’t concern me. I had no intention of controlling that. But it should only apply as long as they find joy in it themselves.

Forcing others to uphold justice wasn’t right. Not at all.

‘But I wonder why someone who wouldn’t take no for an answer suddenly stops coming?’

I was puzzled, but soon shook my head. Did Aile really go and do something drastic? She had a slightly gloomy, nerdy, and introverted personality, but she wasn’t the type to hurt anyone.

…Right?

“Uh, excuse me… is the boss here?”

“Oh—welcome.”

“Can you fix something like this…?”

“──Of course. This is an Everything Repair Shop, after all.”

And a little while later, as I greeted a customer, I completely forgot about Niberna. I only thought of her again when I saw her on TV news.

*

A-Rank Hero Niberna. To be honest, she wasn’t exactly a popular hero. With a plain suit and unremarkable abilities, she was strong but not overwhelmingly so. Critics would say she was more suited for a supporting role than a leading one in movies or dramas.

Of course, just like supporting actors, she had fans too, even if she was a minor hero. There were people who expressed interest in her, and she had her share of interviews with reporters.

But I can say for sure that even if you added up all the fans and reporters she had met in her life, none could compare to the number of eyes currently on her.

“Niberna! Look this way!”

“What do you think was the reason you were attacked by the Evil Magical Girl!?”

“What kind of conversation did you have with her?!”

A multitude of camera flashes invaded her sight. The intense beams of light made Niberna instinctively shut her eyes, realizing this expression would soon be circulating on the internet as a “hero humiliation meme.”

Yet, there was no time to worry about maintaining her expression. She was not accustomed to this situation at all.

‘W-why is this happening…?’

Niberna recalled how she ended up in this press conference. Living her usual life, she was suddenly attacked by a villain just the other day.

It wasn’t too rare for a hero to be attacked by a villain. The profession of a hero naturally draws resentment from villains, and even as a certified hero, the count of villains she had captured was in the double digits.

So, it wasn’t special for a villain to assault a hero. There was no reason for such attention just because she was attacked by a villain… but there was one special point.

The villain who attacked her was the Evil Magical Girl, known to operate only in H City.

She was the first hero to show any reaction to a Magical Girl.

Thanks to that, Niberna was receiving unexpected attention.

‘This is so uncomfortable…’

Now was not the time for this.

She needed to hurry to the Everything Repair Shop and build rapport with the shop owner.

She had to recruit him to the Hero Association as soon as possible…

Despite thinking this, Niberna answered the reporters’ questions politely and justly, like a true hero.

“It was merely a coincidence that I encountered the Evil Magical Girl. She seemed to have some grievance against me, but as it was our first meeting, I didn’t know what it was. It probably stems from some incomprehensible ideology unique to villains… We didn’t really have much of a conversation. There’s no need to chat with a villain.”

The reporters scribbled her words down, sighing in boredom. The Evil Magical Girl, whom corporations and countries around the world were interested in. If they could find a connection between her and Niberna, or uncover any unique traits of the Evil Magical Girl, they’d scoop up all the views of the world!

Ultimately, realizing there was nothing they could get from Niberna, the reporters twisted their questions maliciously to provoke her responses.

“Considering you were attacked by the Evil Magical Girl, aren’t you dissatisfied with the Magical Girl Association for taking no actions?”

“──The Evil Magical Girl is a villain. As far as I know, she isn’t part of the Magical Girl Association… It’s natural for heroes to confront villains.”

However, she answered meticulously based solely on her own observations and experiences, refusing to fall for the reporters’ leading questions. It wasn’t that she was particularly accustomed to public scrutiny or smart; it was simply her overly honest hero nature that helped her.

Seeing that they couldn’t get any fun from her responses or her own character, the reporters vanished a few hours later. Left all alone in the hospital room, Niberna let out a hollow laugh at the desolation.

In truth, she wanted to go back to hero activities right away, but she couldn’t. The fight with the Evil Magical Girl had completely wrecked her suit, and her injuries were still healing.

The thought made Niberna smile wryly.

‘Have I been too clouded by this city…? I never thought I’d be taken down like this.’

In other cities, it would be all too normal for villains to ambush heroes or take their family members hostage. That’s why heroes in other cities always gathered together, watching each other’s backs, and their families lived in safe houses.

But perhaps because she had spent quite a while in City E, where such incidents happened rarely—her mindset when she first became a hero had completely rusted.

‘Be careful, just be careful. So that I don’t die when I leave this city someday…’

“Niberna.”

While reminiscing about the battle with the Evil Magical Girl in her mind, Niberna opened her eyes at the sound of someone calling her name. She was startled. A figure she never thought she would see here stood before her.

“Boss? Why are you here…?”

“I saw it on the news. You were hospitalized after a scuffle with the Evil Magical Girl.”

“Oh, you saw? Quite a unique occurrence, right? It’s really rare for the Evil Magical Girl to show any interest in someone other than a Magical Girl…”

“I came to check up on you.”

“How did you know I was here…?”

“I asked the nurse at the entrance, and she told me.”

Suddenly, the shop owner of the Everything Repair Shop mumbled something about how he felt responsible for her injuries, then placed a fruit basket on the desk next to her bed.

“So, boss. Your coming all the way here means…?”

“Oh, I’m not here to become a hero or anything. Not at all.”

“Then why…?”

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“……Are you curious about the Evil Magical Girl too?”

After being harassed by the reporters’ questions, Niberna anticipated the owner’s query and preemptively asked. Did he want to know the same things everyone else did?

But the shop owner lightly smiled and shook his head.

“──I want to know why you became a hero, Niberna.”

“……Why I became a hero?”

“Yes.”

For the first time ever, someone expressed interest in her story that no one had considered before.

Niberna turned to see the shop owner, feeling a bit apprehensive, but the thought of needing to recruit him into the Association made her cautiously open her mouth.

“Honestly… I was a useless kid.”

“……Huh?”

He probably didn’t expect that heavy of a revelation from her first few words.

Niberna recalled the moment she decided to become a hero.

“A kid that nobody needed. A kid without talent, charm, or special abilities.”

Niberna had always been a supporting character.

Someone who needed to exist in the world but wasn’t special—a mere cog in the machine that kept the world turning.

A being that nobody needed.

“Living life like that… I suddenly thought, if I became a hero, maybe someone would need me. After all, the hero profession is one that isn’t very popular, right? Poorly paid, dangerous, and without a future.”

“Most heroes are like that.”

“Yet it’s a profession that’s absolutely necessary—someone had to sacrifice themselves.”

Coincidentally, she happened to have the abilities necessary for hero work. Not extraordinary, but sufficient for heroics. Her supporting character qualities reflected here as well.

Thus, she became a hero and somehow survived to become an A-Rank hero, yet the public still didn’t recognize her name. Just a minor hero remembered by a few faithful fans.

She was content with that status.

“I can sacrifice myself, and the whole world will need me. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“……You think that’s wonderful?”

“Just… it feels nice that someone needs me like this. That I can be of help to someone.”

The fact that even someone like her could be a significant presence in someone’s life.

That was what turned Niberna into a hero.

It was the reason she continued as a poorly paid, dangerous hero with no future.

Not driven by some noble sense of justice or thirst for revenge, nor by any spirit of camaraderie.

It was purely for her own self-satisfaction.

“Isn’t it pathetic? I can’t be seen as a hero at all…”

“No, I think it’s wonderful.”

“……Do you really think so?”

“Yes. What’s wrong with being a hero just for your own satisfaction? You’re not a villain.”

“Thank you. I’ve never heard words like that before…”

Niberna realized something was swelling up within her. It was her first time explaining why she’d become a hero; she never expected she’d receive understanding, praise, and empathy from someone.

But the shop owner in front of her was acknowledging those thoughts and praising them. As a result, an indescribable sense of fulfillment filled her from her lower abdomen to the rest of her body.

“──Niberna.”

“……Yes?”

“If you became a hero not out of a sense of duty or justice, but for self-satisfaction… would you consider doing anything, by any means necessary, for greater success?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you keep my identity a secret from the Hero Association— I will make Niberna the star of this world.”

The shop owner said this while pulling out a belt. It looked just like the hero suit belt she wore… without realizing it, she took the belt and strapped it around her waist.

[Transformation Ready]

“……Transformation?”

[HENSHIN]

With a sound that reverberated.

A wave surged from the belt and climbed up her body.

Moments later, Niberna realized she was donned in her hero suit.

“This is…?”

“How about it? With this, can you do what I say?”

“This—what on earth—”

Incredible technology beyond belief, but Niberna sensed it.

If she grabbed the hand extended before her now.

She could truly become the star of the world.

The protagonist everyone earnestly desires.

“I’ll— no, I will do it!”

“Great.”

“But is it okay to just accept something like this…?”

“It’s fine. I didn’t start this to make money.”

The scientist. To Aile, Niberna was broken.

Thus, this was just the Everything Repair Shop that started to fix everything.

Just an extension of that.

“It’s merely a side job.”