Hermes felt strangely dissociated the whole day. The news of the attack on Department Manager Glace was the talk of the guild, and they were concerned about his welfare.
"Aparrently, Mr. Rewind from HR is taking care of him and said that he lost a lot of blood. They’re still looking for a donor."
"He’s unconscious. Do you think he will be under a coma for a while?"
"And he just returned from his vacation too. How awful."
"I wanna kill that beast who hurt him!"
He zoned out of these ramblings, just performing his usual task as an intern. Even the bullying and mocking did not bother him.
He felt as if his heart was made of ice. Because he soon realized...
The reason why he did not have any parents..... or why he was found near the Danger Zone... or why the elders constantly tell him to be good and control his emotions...
How can a monster be a hero?
He didn’t know what to do anymore. All his life, he wanted to be a savior...
And yet it turned out he was destined to be the opposite.
He walked like a zombie out of the office when his shift ended. Those words kept repeating in his head in an endless loop, and he couldn’t think of anything else.
He suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve.
He did not turn around immediately, expecting it was another security guard telling him to explain what happened. Or maybe it was the police, and they’re here to investigate.
It was actually Somner.
"So it’s really you, huh? The guy who stole my first kiss."
Hermes blinked fast in confusion. Wasn’t it this party animal who did that?
But he did not have the energy for this. So he just nodded, bowing his head. "I apologize, Director Somner."
Somner chuckled. "Don’t call me that. It makes me feel like some boomer like my dad. Just Somner is fine."
He has no last name, because the Somner family does not have one. They just pass the name Somner to the first male child, and then the rest can have different names and marry into others to have last names.
Why? Because for some reason, it was always the first male child who gained the Sirentone ability.
This Somner was the 100th of his line, and so there were great expectations for him.
And he delivered as expected, becoming the most well-regarded out of all of them. Somner C, as he was legally called, son of Somner XCIX.
"Alright... Somner. Do you need anything from me?" Hermes said, a little more harsh than he intended.
Somner pouted. "Don’t act like it was nothing! I’m the greatest S-class hero of our generation! You should be thankful that I’m even talking to an F-class like you."
"Greatest is debatable." Hermes continued walking. "And you are not required to talk to me. Good day."
"Hey!" Somner grabbed his hand. "Are you always this rude!? I thought you were such a sweetheart at first!"
Hermes stopped in his tracks, though he remained expressionless. "What do you know about me?"
"Uh..." Somner let go, turning a bit red. "Not much, actually. But you weren’t yesterday."
He looked at Hermes’ eyes with brows furrowed. "Are you... ok?"
An S-class being concerned about him. If he had been his usual self, he would have flipped and immediately come to worship this man despite all the grievances he had done in the past.
But he was a monster. Monsters could not have feelings.
Somner shook his head. "Tell me the truth."
He used Sirentone, and Hermes could sense it. Hermes did his best to fight back, but he still blurted out:
"I’m not fine. I feel like I deserve to die."
Somner’s eyes widened, then he gritted his teeth. "Idiot. Why would you say something like that? I didn’t need to know that."
"But you commanded me to." Hermes pointed out.
Somner stopped using Sirentone, frustrated. "This is the loser who got my first kiss? What bullshit."
He suddenly grabbed Hermes’ hand, dragging him somewhere. "Come with me."
Hermes frowned, but still followed anyway. He really did not have the energy to argue or complain.
Somner took him to his car. It was a hot pink sports car with no hood, and probably cost more than a fancy apartment’s annual rent.
"Get in, loser." Somner said. "We’re going shopping."
"Shopping?" Hermes asked.
"It’s when you walk around the mall and buy stuff." Somner explained, turning on the engine.
Hermes was dumbfounded by how slow he is. "...I know what shopping means. But why are we going shopping?"
Somner squirmed a little at the question. Was he... getting shy around Hermes?
Nah, someone like him probably doesn’t have a lick of shame in his body. His bum was probably just itchy or something.
"Why are you asking questions? You should just be thankful I’m doing this, dummy F-class loser! And it’s my treat too!"
He stepped on it and they whizzed past the many tall buildings in the city. Not caring about the speed limit at all. A bunch of cars beeped their horns at them.
They stopped at a members-only mall. The type that only lets rich folks that can pay for the subscription.
"When I’m sad, I often go shopping." Somner said as they got out of the car. "This is my favorite place. It helps me forget how shitty the world is because it’s just full of pretty things."
Hermes felt the ice in his heart thaw a little after seeing some vulnerability from this man.
He still doesn’t understand why he would show kindness in the first place.
Somner looked offended. "The catch? What, you think that I’m just using you for something!?"
But eventually, the spoiled brat caved in from his intense, penetrating gaze.
"D-Don’t look at me like that...Fine... I-I’ll say it..." Somner’s face was as pink as his car, and he took a deep breath.
"I... I was hoping to get to know you more and.... And that we’ll kiss again."