In proportion to this, the temperature and intensity of the flames that burst forth grew hotter and larger, but the man with silver hair only wore a dissatisfied expression lately.
-It's still not enough... I guess it needs a few more improvements.
Though I couldn't hear it from inside the room, I could read his lips through the transparent wall and knew he was saying this.
The burden on my body, as per the man's instructions, increased, and sometimes I couldn't move for a while even after receiving treatment.
Each time, the man with silver hair would click his tongue and leave, and the other man would be left alone, gazing at me lying in the room.
Then, I would muster all my strength to crawl to the wall and knock on it a few times.
It was a signal to him, asking him to tell me a story.
[...Do you want to hear a story from Uncle today?]
I couldn't even nod, so I lay on the floor, blinking to indicate that I did.
[What story should I tell today...]
The man who always made me feel better, 'Uncle,' had started telling me various stories whenever we were alone.
He often told me about the world beyond the transparent wall of the room I lived in, a place called 'outside,' which I found very interesting.
At first, Uncle would tell stories unilaterally, but at some point, I began to look forward to these times when we were alone, eagerly waiting to hear his stories about the outside world.
Uncle seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking.
[There's a place called an Academy outside. It's where kids with exceptional abilities like you go. They train to become heroes who protect people, a wonderful place.]
Hearing that it was a place for people like me, I imagined a small room filled with people.
I tried to imagine what that would feel like and blinked hard to ask for more.
[What, you're interested? Alright, I'll tell you more.]
After a while, Uncle told me this story.
[Number 10, I wish you could become someone who can protect people...]
Though I didn't fully understand his words, I wanted to listen to Uncle.
I closed my eyes for a long moment and then opened them.
It meant I understood.
Uncle's expression twisted.
-...I'm sorry. Really.
Uncle said this from a place I couldn't hear.
*
In this world, people with special abilities walked the streets openly.
From those born with superpowers to those who learned various magic and could use them.
Not all of these people became heroes, and some used their powers to commit crimes.
A world where one had to protect people from appearing monsters, and where a criminal might emit flames from their hands, threatening everyone.
Naturally, the role of the police in this world was taken on by heroes.
Today was the day for a field experience at a place where such heroes worked, to see them in action.
As the students arrived, they were burning with enthusiasm to catch criminals threatening the city.
The first-year students from the Academy, who had come to the city's security bureau, were experiencing the work of the heroes they had expected.
“Gah! I hate paperwork! I thought Flone would be out catching bad guys today!”
“Flone, this is important too, so stop complaining and learn properly...”
Marine scolded Flone, who was shouting, though her own expression was full of boredom.
The other students holding the paperwork didn't look much different.
When they first came here under the guidance of their homeroom teacher, they were filled with anticipation, but now they all held the paperwork with dead eyes.
Seeing their expressions, it made me wonder if they found paperwork more difficult than fighting monsters.
The students occasionally sent pleading glances to the man standing at the back, checking if they were filling out the paperwork correctly, but it seemed hopeless.
-Hello, students. I won't say much. Since you're in the Academy, I assume you all have some combat skills. However, to maintain the city's security, you need to know how to do other tasks. That's paperwork. Every solved case must be recorded in paperwork. Understand? Those who can't do this and pass it off to others can't be called heroes.
The man with sharp eyes, who had been standing behind us, spoke in a cold voice as soon as we arrived at the security bureau. He then taught us the format for filling out paperwork.
Next, he gave each student a stack of paperwork from the mountain on the desk, and for the past hour, he had been silently watching us work.
It was almost a repetitive task, but most students preferred physical activities to sitting and doing paperwork, so they were clearly restless.
But I was used to repetitive tasks.
Weeding, fort maintenance, sweeping leaves, and the worst was snow removal.
Thinking of the terrifying memory of clearing snow only to see it pile up again, I filled out the paperwork mindlessly. Suddenly, the man watching from behind clapped his hands and said,
“Alright, time's up. The top 10 most diligent students will join me on the next patrol. The rest will continue with the paperwork.”
“No way!!!”
“Ah, no way!!!”
Flone and Daniel's screams echoed as the students pulled their hair in frustration.
“You shouldn't find this level of paperwork difficult.”
“Those idiots, they should have worked harder from the start.”
Sylvia and May, who seemed likely to be among the top 10, looked at the struggling students with pity.
By the way, I was naturally among the top 10.
Even though I was in a girl's body now, don't underestimate a veteran.
*
The patrol group included me, May, Sylvia, usually diligent Andre, Yun Siwoo, who had been dazed and working on paperwork, and four other students from Class B.
Surprisingly, Marine was left behind, distracted by Flone sitting next to her.
We lined up outside the building, waiting for a moment when a short-haired woman in a fluorescent vest came out and laughed when she saw us.
“Are these the students going on patrol with me? Ahaha, the others must be suffering because of some grumpy person!”
The man with sharp eyes, who was going on patrol with us, glared at her sarcastically.
“If someone hadn't been passing off paperwork all the time, we wouldn't have to do this.”
“Oh, it was my fault! Sorry, guys!”
The woman, who seemed to be the one who couldn't handle paperwork, smiled awkwardly and cupped her hands to shout at the building.
Even though they couldn't hear her, the students doing paperwork inside must have seen her apologize, as Teacher Eve, who had come to see us off, chuckled.
The short-haired woman waved at Teacher Eve, who was laughing, and then introduced herself to us cheerfully.
“Nice to meet you, guys! I'm Rea, your senior by five years! Since you're still first-years, this is probably new to you, right? Let's get started! Honestly, there's not much to explain about patrolling!”
Rea, who introduced herself, smiled and walked confidently ahead.
We followed her like ducklings.
The woman in the fluorescent vest, marked as 'on patrol,' and the 10 students in school uniforms following her were a noticeable sight, so passersby often spoke to us.
“Are you on patrol today? Oh, those behind you are students, I see. Thanks to you, I can walk around with peace of mind. Thank you.”
“Ahaha, no problem. It's our job.”
Despite the potential for annoyance, Rea answered each passerby.
When someone asked why, she smiled and replied,
“Patrolling is not just about looking for incidents but also about letting people know we're always here to protect them. If a few words can make people feel safe, it's a good thing, right?”
Someone exclaimed, “Oh, I see.”
They probably thought she was just someone who passed off paperwork to others.
Rea laughed, a bit embarrassed.
While patrolling, Rea talked non-stop.
She discussed what to pay attention to while patrolling and chatted when there was nothing specific to say.
The students quickly became friendly with her.
“By the way, does Teacher Eve still scare you on the first day of class, saying you'll die if you don't get stronger? She cares a lot about the students, but she pushes them so hard that you might think she's serious. She looks cute but is incredibly scary.”
“Thanks to her, I feel like I'm going crazy in her class.”
“But did you know? The scariest thing about Teacher Eve is that she never changes. I was surprised today! How can she look exactly the same as when I first met her? I heard she looked the same even when the seniors before me were here. She must be using an illusion spell to hide her true appearance.”
While listening to such trivial stories, we were patrolling when a beeping sound rang out.
Rea, hearing the sound, took out the radio from her waist.
A voice came from the radio.
[Rea, there's a report of a superpowered individual destroying an empty store and fleeing. No casualties, but we need to capture them to prevent further damage. They probably haven't gone far. I'll send you the location of the first incident.]
Rea, hearing this, looked at the students following behind and asked,
“The students are in the middle of a field experience. Is it okay to bring them along?”
[It should be fine if nothing goes wrong. It will be a good experience for them.]