The silent shop seemed to have a much more pressing atmosphere as Adam sat down in front of them. With Fubuki sitting next to him, the two faced people sent by the Hero Association. Their purpose? It was obvious.
'They are finally here.' Fubuki had tried to get the read of the pair of black-haired man and woman for hours now. She couldn't get much of anything from the guy named Sekingar, but the woman named Shizuka was a different matter.
Yet, deep down both of them felt the nervousness regarding this task.
'This pressure… it is incredible. As expected their words weren't a lie.' Sekingar faced the oppressive aura from Grayfia in the back, but that was still outshined by Adam. Yet, he just sat there with a small smile, they had to do this quick. He looked at his partner had her eyes glued to Adam's face. She had lost the memo already.
'Isn't he like… too good-looking?' Shizuka's head had filled with a flower field for some strange reason. The reason? Adam was her type.
"The reason we have come here today is to include Adam-Sama and Grayfia-sama into the Hero ranking. Although there are a lot of rules and regulations, we can skip them as your induction would be in Class S who operates independently." Sekingar bit the bullet, but he got no response from Adam.
In his stead, Fubuki showed her surprise. Everyone who became a hero dreamed of reaching Class S in their lifetime. There had never been an exception as it was the peak of Heroes. For someone to skip ranks and get Class S from the get-go, it was a thing out of dreams. That's why it could lead to a truckload of problems too.
"You do know what this can do to our image right?" Fubuki's concern became clear with this proposal.
If they go through with it a lot of fingers will get pointed at both Adam and Grayfia. So far they had no social presence or record of actual battles to prove the ranks they'll get. Their fellow heroes won't let them have peace, let alone the general public who loves drama. And if her partner gets questioned her reputation would also come under scrutiny.
'Is it the Hero association's plan to trap us?' Fubuki's intense gaze seemed to have scared Shizuka out of her trance.
Sekingar also noticed that and he did expect that type of reaction. After all, there weren't many conclusions to draw from this. The only reason he decided to stop at that point was to see how they'd react.
'It seems that outside of good connections, she also had a good head on her shoulders. With her loyalty, there shouldn't be an issue with their internal workings.' He felt a bit relieved that these two partners had such a close-knit relationship. Close enough that they'd think of the other and get angry on their behalf.
This, this was the type of people the Association needed the most! With all doubts in his mind gone, Sekingar spoke of the real plan.
"If we included the two of you into Class S with several testimonies from other Class S heroes attesting to your strengths, it wouldn't be an issue. We'll also release the video of Grayfia-Sama defeating the villain in M City along with eyewitness reports. We'll do everything in our power to not let anything tarnish your reputation." Sekingar had sincere intentions.
"And in return, you ask for nothing?" Fubuki raised a brow.
"We only hope to maintain an amicable relationship moving forward." The words almost made her scoff, but all in all, it wasn't bad.
They still expected something out of them and that was natural. But, the neat part now was that they still had room for negotiations instead of direct demands. If they play their card right they'll get the upper hand. Fubuki turned her gears to get a hold of some way she could protect their reputation and turn away any malicious attacks through the news and the internet later on.
These were the things Hero Association had under their control. So if they tried to pressure them by turning the public opinion, it wouldn't end well.
'I need to figure this out soon.' She thought as Shizuka sitting across the table thought back on the interviews they had already acquired.
It had seriously run them thin and took time. But Sekingar said that they had to prepare everything in advance to not mess this up. And that was what they did. Currently, they had interviews with three Class S Heroes in support of Adam and Grayfia's addition to Class S. In addition, they gathered the eyewitnesses and had them redo the interview with prepared questions to showcase their abilities the best they could.
However, even Sekingar and the Hero Association didn't expect the answers that came from the Class S Heroes.
Big Brother Adam is as smart as me when it comes to tech. And Big Sis Grayfia is kind and strong, don't mess with her. —Child Emperor (Isamu)
…She is dangerous, that woman. Thankfully he is with her. About him? Adam is a good man. —King
The lass. She is strong. But, if you don't overstep your boundaries you'll live. —Bang
They never expected such high praise from three different heroes, but the most striking answer came from Bang. It was when he talked about Adam.
About his strength? I have no idea. It is not that I haven't tried to find out. After so many years, gauging your opponent's power becomes second nature. But, even with my experience and eye, I can't see his limit.
Before they could ask anything more Bang went his way.
Those words drove the Association into a frenzy. That led to them trying to build a strong rapport with these individuals, especially Adam. Bang wasn't an ordinary Class S hero. If even he couldn't see someone's true strength. Then, that person had to be formidable.
'Even King's answer about him was weird. He told us that Adam is a good man. To think he'd hide such deep meaning even in such a situation.' Shizuka and Sekingar had put their brains together to understand the meaning behind those words. And after a three-hour-long brainstorming session, they finally understood it.
'It is a warning to the Hero Association. Even King has had enough with the corrupt officials.' King wasn't interested in politics and agendas. That's why people referred to him as a true hero who only lived to save others.
But, even he spoke up this time. If the Association messes up, the chance that he'd take up arms became a real possibility. No one wanted that. No one wanted to hear the King's engine as an enemy.
Yet, they didn't know the real reason King called Adam a good man wasn't that deep. It only came out because Adam made one of King's favorite Special (Matcha on the Rocks) even if it wasn't on the menu that day. Grayfia on the other hand, glared at him till he became a living Popsicle.
'And I can understand why he called her dangerous.' Sekingar wiped the sweat from his brow while glancing at Grayfia.