Responsible man

The shock brought by the information about Danjuro Tobita made Ibara feel weak, and her face was extremely pale.

Mineta held her hand and brought her to the nearby bench to rest.

Ibara didn't let go of his hand since only his hand could give her comfort now.

Mineta sighed and thought living as a good person in this world was hard. It was also the reason why he hesitated to become a hero since he didn't want to die, but he knew if he wanted to grow, he had to become a hero.

In this country, there was a saying known as "unnecessary kindness."

There is even a story about that saying, and that story started with someone who wanted to help someone who was troubled by a bug. This person wanted to help that someone by throwing a stone to kill the bug, but instead of helping that someone, this someone injured that someone, causing bigger trouble.

Frankly, everything should be simple since what Ibara wanted to do was just to help people.

However, this "Quirk" society made everything so complicated.

If they lived in a normal world without a superpower, Mineta wouldn't be this cautious. Unfortunately, they lived in a world where a superpower existed in everyday life. They had to watch out since one wrong action would ruin one's future.

Fortunately, there was a hero, so in case a similar situation happened, the hero would help them.

However, a hero also couldn't help with everything since a hero would only appear in a place with a lot of traffic.

In a place where the traffic was light, like the countryside or a small island, there might only be one hero, or there might not be any. After all, a hero needed to have popularity so they could eat.

Still, Enoshima wasn't a place with light traffic. Instead, the traffic was quite good, and there must be a hero around, so there was no need to help that person before, especially in this commercial area.

In case damage happens, who would be responsible?

Ibara?

Mineta wouldn't be surprised if her parents might go bankrupt directly.

In conclusion, Mineta decided to stop Ibara since he didn't want to gamble whether she could be successful or not. He also wasn't rich, so he couldn't help her if she had to pay for the damage caused by her actions.

After all, the world wasn't as kind as one imagined.

Even if Ibara wanted to help, the people around them might try to cheat this innocent girl, even if what she wanted to do was to help people.

If she had used her "Quirk" in public before, without any permission, without a doubt, no matter how good he tried to excuse herself, they would be wrong.

While their ages might help, considering people would say that everything they did because they were young, he didn't want to underestimate the vile in human beings.

After all, even a hero wasn't immune to this problem. Many of them often had to pay for the damage caused by their actions. However, they were lucky since they had money.

Unfortunately, Mineta and Ibara didn't have money.

What was scary wasn't a villain who was caught by the hero every day. Instead, it was a villain dressed as a kind person, harming people in the name of justice.

Mineta had invited Ibara out on a date, so he had to be responsible and protect her.

"Are you alright?"

"...I might need time to rest, Mineta-san."

"Here's the water. Drink this to calm yourself."

Mineta bought water from the vending machine right on his side and gave it to Ibara.

"Thank you, Mineta-san."

Ibara didn't reject it since she was scared by the previous information.

"Calm down. I have never said your action is wrong, but no matter what using your "Quirk" without authorization is wrong. If you want to help people, you should do it without your "Quirk." Even if you want to use your "Quirk," you should do it quietly when there's no one or no one notices."

Mineta rubbed Ibara's hair gently and felt it was quite prickly, considering there were thorns in her hair. Still, he was glad that she sat down on the bench. If she stood up, it would be impossible for him to do this.

However, he knew his words were quite strange since in a world where a superpower had become something akin to limb, wasn't it odd for them not to be allowed to use them?

Instead, this country, society, and even the world were strange since they forced everything to stay how it used to be when everything had changed.

However, he couldn't say it was wrong, but he couldn't say this world was right either.

If he had to say, everyone hadn't just found the right way for people to live in this world where a superpower had become something every day. The government also followed the previous way of governing the country since it was the most stable way for one to govern the majority.

While they might sacrifice the minority, if the majority were in unrest, they wouldn't have stability, and no one would be able to work, produce, or live well in such a country.

However, he wondered whether this was alright.

Still, he shook his head since this matter was too far away. He was just a young man in his last year of middle school. He shouldn't think about the world or country. Instead, he should think about how to make this girl right on his side fall for him.

"Thank you, Mineta-san..."

Ibara blushed and felt shy. However, she must admit that his presence made her feel comfortable, warm, and dependable. She felt she could rely and depend on him, which made her restless heart quickly calm down.

"It's okay. I am the one who invited you out, so I will be responsible for you and protect you."

Anyway, Mineta knew it was his chance to make her heart flutter and fill her heart with his figure. He didn't want to miss this chance.

As expected, Ibara blushed and subconsciously moved closer since his presence gave him comfort.

"You know this person is pitiful. He just wants to help, but in the end, his future is ruined, and most of the people, except for his parents, everyone will forget him."

Even Ibara must admit this person, whose name was Danjuro Tobita, was extremely pitiful.

"However, I will remember him since his story will teach us to be careful so we won't make a similar mistake. In other words, he has become our hero."

Ibara smiled and said, "You sure have ways with words, Mineta-san."

"That's right. My tongue is so sleek." His expression was quite subtle when he said these words.

"Still, how did you know all of this, Mineta-san?" Ibara asked curiously after she calmed down.

"When you asked me to become a hero with you, I did the research for so many things. After all, I don't want to make a decision based on a half-baked feeling, and since I have decided to become a hero, I want to see this through to the end."

His words were calm yet full of conviction, but Ibara didn't know everything was because he wanted to get a reward from the system.

However, his answer caused Ibara to feel down. "I-I wonder whether I am suitable to become a hero."

"What's wrong?"

"Because... Because I have never thought too much when I have decided to become a hero..."

Ibara had never thought too much when she decided to become a hero. Her reason for becoming a hero was that she wanted to punish bad people like how her religion taught her.

Being a hero gave her that opportunity.

However, everything was more complicated than she had thought.

Even though she just wanted to help people, everything became so complicated because of the law.

Mineta also wanted to say that helping people had become a profession, and if everyone had helped each other, then the heroes wouldn't have had any work.

Still, he didn't say that. Instead, he said, "Really? I think you're more suitable to become a hero than me."

"Huh? Why?" Ibara was confused.

"When everyone decided not to get involved and left everything to the hero, you were the only one who decided to help that woman and catch the robber. Having that intention in your heart, showing that you're suitable to become a hero."

Mineta showed a gentle smile and said, "So Shiozaki-san, let's become a hero together." While he knew he wasn't that handsome, he felt he was handsome now.

"...."

Ibara was in a daze, but she felt her heart beating so fast, and her face was so red, yet her smile was so bright.

"Yes, Mineta-san!"

"Anyway, it's a rare chance for us to be here. Let's continue to have fun here, Shiozaki-san."

Mineta stepped down from the bench and was ready to continue their trip.

"Yes, Mineta-san."

Ibara naturally held his hand and felt the flowers bloom on her heart. She glanced at her side, watching his figure, making her smile, knowing he was right beside her.

Watching her smile and how she took the initiative to hold his hand intimately, Mineta knew that his date was successful, making him smile, too, since he knew they had become closer.