Eight Seconds

After sending the girl to the hospital, Haru went to the nearby convenience store to buy a cigarette since he needed to calm down. He felt that the energy in this world was so intense and it tried to enter his body forcefully which made him need to watch out.

'Are these HI-ERO particles?'

Haru could feel that when he stayed in this world, he became very strong which made him curious what HI-ERO particles were. He also recalled the huge robot which he had seen before, one with a very large left hand and a small right hand, the other one had a shape of penguin which made him know instantly that the penguin robot should be a robot from the Penguin Empire.

One of his quests told him to seek the purpose of the Penguin Empire in this world and from his observation, he could tell that the Penguin Empire was the villain in this world, and at the same time, he was wondering what kind of villain the Penguin Empire was.

After his quest on Toshinori's world, he had seen various villains, but the villain in this world might be quite different.

Haru wanted to do some research, but he wasn't in that mood right now. He lit up the cigarette and smoked it right outside of the convience store. It just happened to be raining so he needed to take shelter for a while.

Haru knew that smoking was bad and it would make his tongue dull, especially when his tongue was very sensitive, but he could clean it easily by using his ability.

White smoke was released from his mouth and somehow it made him quite lonely, especially when he saw the deserted street in front of him. It might be because of the rain or it might be because of the fight between two giant robots before everyone decided to stay in their houses or shelter so the street was very deserted.

In this world, the first thing he needed to do was to find out what Beauty Salon PRINCE and Penguin Empire were.

Once he found out about both organizations, it would be easier for him to find out about HI-ERO particles, Penguin Empire Robot, and Super Sound.

'And what the heck is that weird robot?'

Haru remembered the robot with a strangely large left arm and a small right arm. He felt that the design of that robot was very weird and it was off balance, wondering what the heck was on the mind of the creator of that weird robot.

Within the shelter, he opened his palm and tried to gather the pink particle which tried to enter his body before, but when he tried to gather it....

*Shatter!*

The pink particles suddenly scattered away and he couldn't gather them again.

Haru frowned since he didn't expect that it would be hard to control this energy, but at the same time, he knew once he was able to control this particle, it would make him several times stronger.

"HI-ERO particles...."

Haru looked toward the raining sky while letting out another white smoke.

"You...! The high school student, over there! How dare you smoke in public!"

Haru didn't wear a uniform and thought that it was someone else, so he decided to ignore this remark, but then his cigarette was taken and thrown away.

"........"

Haru turned and saw a quite beautiful woman with brown twintails hair.

The woman wore a pink panther sweater and a short black skirt, staring at him with a strict expression.

Then he lowered his gaze slightly and had to admit the breast size of this woman was very big.

"You're a high school student, right? How dare you smoke right in front of the convenience store!"

"......"

Haru smiled and said, "I might not be a high school student."

"Huh?!" The woman seemed surprised and shook her head. "No. You're a high school student."

Haru felt this woman was a bit funny and asked, "How can you be so sure?"

"It's my instinct as a guidance counselor." The woman stared at him and said, "I can tell that you're a high school student."

"....."

Haru was a bit speechless since this woman could tell that he was a high school student by her instinct which made him not sure what to say for a moment.

"I'm not a high school student," Haru said with a helpless expression.

"No, you're a high school student!" The woman folded her arms and looked at him angrily. "You know, I have seen a lot of guys like you!"

"Oh? Really?"

"Yes!" The woman nodded and reprimanded him. "You're trying to act like an adult by smoking and doing something bad to rebel against your parents, but you need to know that even if you smoke, you won't become an adult! What you need to do is to study...."

Haru smiled and listened to her words while nodding then took another cigarette, but when he was about to light it up, his cigarette was taken and was thrown by her again.

"You bastard?! Did you listen to me?!" The woman seemed very annoyed by Haru's act.

"Yes. I listen to you, Sensei, but I'm not a high school student," Haru said patiently.

"No! You're a high school student! I'm sure of it!" The woman stared at Haru with a serious expression.

"......."

Haru sighed and said, "Yes, I'm a high school student, but I'm not a student in your school." He gave up since somehow this woman reduced his loneliness.

The woman nodded and showed a triumphant expression when she heard that he acknowledged himself as a high school student.

"Then I'll go now."

Haru said goodbye and decided to do his research, but then his shoulder was being held.

"Wait!"

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Haru looked at the woman curiously.

"You...! You're going to smoke again, right?" The woman asked.

"I'm not." Shaking his head, Haru said, "Please believe me."

"........"

The woman stared at Haru for a full eight seconds without saying anything.

Haru had heard a saying that when a woman and a man stared at each other for a full eight seconds, they would fall in love with each other, but he hadn't confirmed whether it was true or not.

"Follow me," the woman said without hesitation and pulled his hand somewhere.

"Wait! Wait! I'm all wet from the rain!"

"Just bear with it! My home is nearby!"

"........"

Haru came to this world only for almost an hour, but he was invited to enter the room of a beautiful woman which made him speechless.

---

Inside the headquarters of the Beauty Salon PRINCE, everyone received a report that their pilot, Kiriko Kiyuna, was being brought to the hospital by someone, but more than that they didn't expect that the one who brought her to the hospital was...

"Is he the one?"

"It should be."

"From our observation, he should be the one who caused that HI-ERO particle explosion."

"......."

If Haru was here, then he would be surprised at the speed of the organization in this world to find him quickly.

Everyone stared at Haru for a full few seconds and had to admit that this guy was very handsome.

"Is he a human?"

"Yes. He's human. You can see his information on the screen."

It was very easy for Haru to forgo his identity and he had forged it when he walked to the hospital before.

"I see... an orphan, huh?"

"But this guy is very handsome."

The female members of the organization nodded at the same time.

"Hmm...." The man, who seemed to be the leader of this organization, nodded and made his decision.

"Sonan Kyouko!"

"Yes, Sir!"

The man stared at his subordinate and said, "Bring him here. We need another pilot to defeat the Penguin Empire!"

"Yes!"

Staring at Haru's face on the screen, Sonan Kyouko had made up her decision.

'Penguin Empire... I'll defeat you no matter what!!!'