Bab 86: Outsider's Perspective
_________ POV Narration_________
"Wait, so she just took all of that without complaining?!" Asked Lady Nagant with a confused expression.
Her previous downtrodden expression was replaced quite quickly. She was currently speaking to Beru casually as the two of them sat down on the grass.
"Obviously~ If she steps out of line~ She will be breaching our contract~ And that wouldn't be too good for her~" Beru's confident words gave Lady Nagant quite a bit of clarity.
She had been somewhat confused at the way he talked about the Public Safety Commission.
But it seemed that the young insectoid didn't even see them as a threat. Rather, it was the other way around. Oyama, the current chairman, was the one basically walking on nails while around him.
They had signed a contract, but they didn't hold equal power at all. At least not in reality.
Oyama must've realised that after signing it. Because there was simply nothing she could do to make Beru do anything.
He had gotten his payment upfront. And taking back their words if he was to breach his contract would completely ruin any credibility that the commission had.
Beru had completely played the government-funded organization. And they had no way of doing anything about it. They were simply forced to accept any whim that Beru might have.
Just like how Oyama couldn't complain when Beru brought her a few encyclopedias worth of documents to look through and find actual blackmail material.
This entire situation was making Lady Nagant quite happy. To see that the commission was being somewhat undermined after everything they made her go through was somewhat cathartic.
"You should've seen the look on her face!~ She was trying so hard to not let her cold face crack~ She didn't even look me in the eye!~" Beru said while laughing and holding his abdomen.
"I can somewhat picture that." Lady Nagant said with a smile. One that she immediately suppressed.
For a moment, she managed to forget all of the things she had done. All of the people she had killed, the fans she had disappointed.
For a moment, after such a long time. She was able to momentarily enjoy herself. All because of someone very similar to her.
Then, a question arose in her mind.
"How do you do it?..." She asked while looking at Beru.
Beru immediately stopped laughing and looked back at the former pro hero.
"How are you so cheerful after taking so many lives...?" She had a hard time wrapping her head around the situation.
She knew what Beru had gone through, 'All for One must've made him kill people quite often.' That was her train of thought.
She wanted to know, how exactly was Beru different from her? How was he able to be so... Happy? So glad to be alive. There weren't any traces of insanity in the mutant quirked young man.
"... Well~ That's difficult~ It depends, I guess.~ Most of the people I killed deserved to die~ They don't even cross my mind a second time~ But there are a few innocent people that I killed~"
Beru's words made Lady Nagant widen her eyes in shock.
His perspective was tinged with a strange sense of melancholy, one of a man that had seen many things. One of regret and acceptance. Not something that a 17-year-old should've been capable of showing.
"Villains, Kingpins, Gang Members, Criminals in general...~ My sympathy doesn't extend to them, except for a few rare cases~ But, the faultless ones, innocent people that died because of me or were killed by me~They are the ones that weigh on my mind.~"
Beru gazed into the forest with a wary gaze. His eyes narrowed and as some steam came out of his mouth.
Lady Nagant was simply left with no words.
His words kept appearing in her mind. To not care about their lives at all... Was she truly capable of that? She had a hard time keeping the facade of a hero while taking all of these lives.
But she didn't know if she was actually capable of taking human life and not caring at all... She had lied to her fans, to the people that looked up to her. She pretended to be someone pure, a righteous hero. But she was actually a murderer.
"I don't know what you've gone through~ But I want you to remember~ So long as your gun isn't pointed at those you're supposed to protect, then you're not doing anything bad~" Beru's words made her break out of her self-pitying spree.
She looked at Beru, her lips trembled a bit as she started speaking once more.
"I-I've killed people... Hundreds of them... While working for the Commission, I was their enforcer." Lady Nagant slowly started venting out to Beru.
She told him of how she simply couldn't take it anymore, and that the old chairman's threat to her was simply the last drop in the bucket for her.
She told him of how she could no longer face the children that were idolizing her. Of how ashamed she was of who she had become.
And of how mad she was at the fragility that Hero Society had created. Its foundation was built on hopes and dreams.
And people were endlessly suffering to make sure the illusion wasn't broken to the rest of the public.
"I see...~ Heroes have always been a strange topic to me~ When I heard of them at first, I thought that the concept sounded quite nice~ But then realised that most of them were just walking billboards.~ It was strange.~"
Lady Nagant also stared into the forest as she listened to Beru recounting his experience with the title of 'Hero'.
"Then I learned more about them~ And it became somewhat clear~ Most heroes just go on to become idealistic 'puppets' that dance for the press.~ They exist to calm down the public and to give an illusion of 'peace'~"
Beru's words seemed to have some sort of effect on Lady Nagant, she was somewhat aware of how bleak things were. But it was weird to hear it from another man's perspective.
Beru was speaking as if he was an outsider looking in. And, in all fairness, he is exactly that. He wasn't originally a resident of this world.
He was observing things from a different point of view.
It was as if a person that lived in a democratic state moved into a communist dictatorship(to give an example). They would obviously see things differently from the natives there.
"Well~ We can't really act all gloomy about it~ This world has a lot of beautiful things~ This shouldn't completely invalidate it~ No matter how you put it, heroes are still there to protect people~ And that's what matters in the end~"
"Hmm... You have a strange way of speaking... Are you truly a teenager?" Lady Nagant couldn't really help but ask that question after hearing Beru speak in such a manner.
"Meh~ Don't think too much about it~" Beru's response seemed awkward. But Lady Nagant decided not to inquire too much into it.
"Well~ This has been quite interesting~ It's honestly been a pleasure to get to talk to you~ I'd have to leave now though~ I'm sure we'll meet again though~" Beru slowly got up.
The former pro hero also got up with him.
"Indeed... It's been a decent talk. I think I needed someone to vent to. Thanks for listening, and for telling me about your experience too." This time, Lady Nagant spoke with a smile, one that she didn't really bother to hide.
It was a bit strained, it wasn't completely natural, but it was there. And it was a beginning. That much made Beru happy.
"Till next time~ Take care of yourself~" A purplish mist seeped out of Beru's body, it slowly started swallowing him.
"You too..." Said Lady Nagant as she watched the young hero disappear.
After he left, she continued walking through the forest. Not long before she heard a few bangs.
Looking in the sky, she could see the fireworks from the nearby festival. Her eyes glowed a bit, as her smile became a bit more natural.
_________ POV Beru_________
Damn, I wasn't expecting Lady Nagant to be such a troubled individual.
But I guess I should've expected that to some extent. Not everyone is absolutely comfortable with killing people, even if they're criminals.
Still, the state she was in at the beginning really made me feel bad for her. It makes me want to help her now.
Problem is, I don't really know who to reach out to if I am to do such a thing...
Well, Nezu might be a safe option. But I've kinda been reaching out to him every time I have an issue... And I'm starting to feel a bit ashamed about it...
I guess I can look for other ways to help her. Not like Nezu is the only person I know...
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