Deranged Writer's Afterword

I look out the window of the car that I was currently in. After the secretary had told me that I would be having lunch with the chairwoman, I was shocked momentarily as the chairwoman was a very busy person and also because she was one of the strongest humans currently living on Earth.

Diane Creed, the chairwoman and the hero that was currently 4th in the hero rankings. Based on the fact she was the chairwoman, it might feel pretty self-congratulatory for her to come out on 5th in the rankings that were published by the Hero Association, but her strength was the real deal, her hero name was ' Valor' and right now I was going to meet her.

After I was informed that I was going to eat lunch with her, I was given a suit to wear and was currently in a car that was driving towards her quarters. After almost 30 minutes the car stopped and the driver opens the car's door for me. I get out of the car and gasp at the size of the chairwoman's house... no it would be better to call it a mansion. Due to the windows of the car being completely blacked out, I had not seen anything. But her house was so huge!

A butler comes to greet me, he was slightly stroking his mustache while talking to me.

'' Good day, sir.''

I nod my head and give him a slight smile.

'' Please follow me.''

The butler leads me to a huge ass dining room, He makes me sit on a chair and says,

'' Please wait for a moment, the madam and sir will be with you shortly.''

''Okay.''

After the butler leaves, I wait for about ten minutes and soon after that a group of people comes in and places a variety of dishes and foods on the table. My mouth waters slightly at the sight of the food but I control myself as the hosts of the meal hadn't arrived yet.

The food here looked even better than at the association.

Suddenly two people, a man, and a woman enter the dining hall through the door. The man was someone that I was familiar with, Dr. Ken. So it was clear that the woman who was beside him was Diane Creed, I gulp involuntarily as I saw her. Even though she was very old, her entire body exuded strength. Her hair had started graying, her red eyes were like a fire that dared you to come close, just so that it could burn you. Her abs were so prominent that it was visible even through her clothes. Together they made a stunning couple.

As soon as she saw me, a kind smile blooms on her face.

'' You must be X.''

I nod my head and return the smile,

'' Yes, ma'am.''

As soon as she hears my reply her eyes display shock.

'' Ma'am !?. Preposterous. I'm just a young maiden!. Isn't that right, Ken ?''

'' You're 59 years old, Diane.''

Diane makes a tearful face and looks at me.

'' Am I that old ?''

I wanted to say yes but chose not to.

'' No.''

Hearing my reply, she starts smiling again and says in an enthusiastic voice,

'' Then you can call me Diane.''

I nod my head and say,

'' Okay, Diane.''

'' Great, then shall we eat ?''

~~~~

Dinner went okay.

There was a lotta food but very less time.

We talked about normal things like the weather, school, and stuff.

The both of them mentioned nothing about as to why exactly they called me here.

But I remained patient.

After we finished eating food, the desserts came, ice cream shakes and all that stuff. I devoured everything like I had not seen food ever before but they didn't seem to mind. After finishing the dessert, they dragged me to their fireplace and all of us sat there.

The warmth radiating from the fireplace made me feel sleepy, holding the bulge in my stomach from the food I had eaten, I rest my eyes for a second.

'' You have a very unusual name.''

I open my eyes, Diane was looking at me curiously.

'' Is there some kind of story behind it ?''

Her eyes were sparkling with curiosity, internally sighed, as I'm often asked this question I tell them the story behind my name.

'' Hahahahahah''

Shortly after my narration, Diane's laugh rang out throughout the room. I even managed to make Ken smile a little.

After that, an uncomfortable silence descends on the room. None of us speak for a full minute. Then-

'' X.''

Diane has a serious look on her face as she looks at me. Suddenly she jumps from her sofa and bows her head at me,

'' I'M SORRY.''

'' huh ?''

Her apology confuses me, looking up and seeing my confusion Diane continues,

'' As you know I'm the chairwoman of the Hero Association, Mark Lauder was an employee of the association before he retired. We were the ones who recommended him for the position of caretaker because he appeared to be an exemplary hero and employee. We are the ones at fault for your pain.''

'' I wasn't the one in pain, Diane. Lecia was...still is.''

Diane looks a little stunned at my response but I pay her no mind.

'' Y-you're right.''

'' Is that the reason why you called me here today ?''

At my question, Diane avoids my eyes and looks at the ground.

After a short moment of silence, Diane stops staring at the ground and looks at me.

'' I'm ashamed to ask this of you..... but we don't want this 'incident' to become known to the public... As you know, the people's belief in heroes plummeted since the previous No. 1 hero became a villain... we can't let the people's opinion about heroes go down even further.''

Ah.

There was that. But let's focus on this conversation for now.

'' That isn't our decision to make, it's Lecia's decision, and what about the other people who got abused by Mark?''

Diane makes a shocked expression '' You knew about them ?''

'' I guessed.''

Hearing my response, she lets out a sigh and says,

'' They've been.... compensated.''

'' I see.''

'' We'll compensate you as well, plus we'll also look after Lecia as well.''

She looks at me expectantly,

I think for a moment, what she was offering was good, but-

'' I'll take the money but you don't have to take care of Lecia. I'll take her to the public hospital. I don't think the Hero association is trustworthy...''

Diane looks like she'd been punched in the face.

'' She won't get the necessary care there.'', Dr. Ken finally broke his silence and spoke.

'' That's alright.'', I say nonchalantly.

If looks could kill, I would be dead by now. Dr. Ken's glares made me a little uncomfortable, but I choose to ignore him and focus on Diane, who had a sad expression on her face.

'' I should lea-''

Before I could complete my sentence, Dr. Ken cuts me off and says,

'' What if there was a way, to get the money and to get Lecia the help she needs without the help of the association, would you accept that?''

Both me and Diane and I get surprised at his words, I ask Ken

'' Sure. But what way would that be ?''

Dr. Ken takes in a deep breath and says.

'' We could adopt the both of you.''

'' Huh?''

'' Huh?''

~~~~