It’s Monday. Normally, the thought of going to school would weigh heavily on me, but today there’s something far more depressing on my mind—yesterday’s terrorist incident.
Apparently, when the hostages were freed, some people secretly took photos of me in my disguise and posted them on social media. Those posts spread like wildfire, and the internet has been abuzz since this morning.
I mean, I don’t really care, but isn’t it wrong to take pictures of someone without their consent and post them online? Sure, if they had asked in that situation, I’d have had to say no—it wasn’t exactly the time for a photo op. But still, posting them without permission feels wrong.
Because of that, the views on the video of the previous explosion incident have also been skyrocketing. I was aware there were security cameras in the station this time, but breaking them felt like crossing a line, so I left them alone.
That said, given how big of a deal this incident was, I’m sure the footage has already been seized by the police, the riot squad, or someone else. At least it won’t make its way onto the internet—that’s a small mercy.
“Hey, the new video’s up!”
“Oh, for real?”
“Seriously?!”
During lunch, while I was eating with Abe and Watanabe as usual, Abe mentioned that a new video had been uploaded. I quickly checked my phone and saw that the same person who had uploaded the explosion incident video had posted another one. The title read: “Hero Appears?! Saves 200 Hostages Without a Scratch!”
As always, I have no idea what to make of this uploader’s video titles. Also, isn’t this person somehow connected to the factory where the explosion incident happened? If that’s the case, the only ones who could’ve gotten the footage from the factory or the station cameras would be someone in law enforcement.
“What the heck is this?! Chains just came out of nowhere and bound all the terrorists!”
“Yeah, and look at this part. The terrorist holding a hostage just drops his gun and sits down for no reason.”
…That would be my binding magic and intimidation skill. Seeing it from a third-person perspective, it really does look like something out of a movie with CGI effects. And yeah, this outfit looks ridiculously suspicious. No wonder kids might mistake me for a villain. It’s probably the pitch-black mask that’s the most suspicious.
“Unlike the explosion incident, this video seems legit, doesn’t it? I mean, not that I think the other one was fake, but this time there are tons of eyewitnesses, and lots of people posted pictures on social media.”
“Man, a real-life psychic?! I’m so jealous! If I had powers like that, I could do whatever I wanted—make tons of money and live the dream!”
I thought the same thing at first, but making money in this world isn’t as simple as it sounds. Speaking of which, I wonder how Abe and Watanabe feel about what I’ve been doing.
“But he doesn’t seem like a bad guy, does he?”
“Of course not. He’s out there saving people—he’s basically a hero, like the video title says. Though, yeah, he looks sketchy as hell.”
“Yeah, I think it’s admirable that he’s using his powers to help others. And in a huge incident like this, for there to be no casualties—even among the perpetrators—that’s genuinely amazing. He looks super shady, though.”
Okay, okay, I get it. My appearance is suspicious. Let’s move on... So even the terrorists survived, huh? At least the two of them seem to support what I’ve done.
But I can’t forget that, unlike the explosion incident, my actions in this case could have made things worse. If the perpetrators had panicked because of me and harmed the hostages... well, it’s not impossible to imagine.
It worked out this time because I managed to save that brave boy and his parent. But the police and the riot squad probably had their own strategies. Acting on my own like this might not always be the best approach. Ideally, I’d coordinate with them, but that’s not realistic right now.
“Man, the idea of terrorism in Japan is terrifying.”
“Yeah, especially something on this scale. They say incidents like this are super rare worldwide.”
“I know, right? And it wasn’t even that far from here. Makes you scared to go out.”
What really scares me is going to another world.
“Yeah, but if you worry about stuff like that too much, you’ll never leave the house.”
“True. It’s like with traffic accidents—sometimes bad luck is just bad luck. No matter how careful you are, some things can’t be avoided.”
It’s not that I can’t see their point—it’s just not so easy to brush off.
Back home after school, I need to decide what to do next. For now, I’ll hope, like with the explosion incident, that no one figures out who I am from that video.
And I should probably avoid going to the other world for a while. I don’t think incidents this big will keep happening, but the thought of something major occurring while I’m away is unsettling. I’ll have to come up with a better solution.