Event Story – Heroes with Dirty Faces, ch.19

[kozvme]

 

Lily: ーIt seems that you two were hard-pressed by work at the drop of a hat.
Guess it's still not these veteran heroes' time, huh? I wish the rookies would work as hard.

Jay: Haha. Then I'll continue to do my best if that will spur others to do the same.

Lily: It's hard to believe this is the same person that a while ago was moping around... contemplating quitting.

Jay: Urk...

Lily: By the way, Jay. What happened with your son after that?

Jay: Right. I was able to finally make some time yesterday, so I tried contacting him, not expecting much out of it.
And then we magically managed to meet and play catch in the park.

Lily: Oooh...! I'm happy to hear about that. Bet your son was happy, too?
Come to think of it, if you were able to meet him, you don't have to worry about breaking a promise last minute anymoreー

Jay: That's... Actually, my son made a declaration.

Lily: Declaration?

Jay: His goal is to become a hero, apparently.

Lily: Huuh!!?

Jay: He so happily... told me he wants to become a hero like me.
Well, I was kind of aware of it, but... I didn't expect him to tell me this soon...

Lily: You don't look so happy, though... Is it inconvenient?

Jay: T- That's...

Victor: Who his son is holding admiration for is Jay the "hero".
He feels as if he does not need Jay the "father" much. Correct?

Jay: Kh... Victor......



Victor: I said it on your behalf since you were hesitating. Was I wrong?

Jay: Not at all, it's just...
It seems he won't feel lonely anymore if I can't keep our promises because of work.
In fact, it's a proof of my active role as hero and it makes him proud or something...
He said all that while looking at me with the same sparkly eyes as the kids of this city... honestly, I feel conflicted.

Lily: Jay...

Jay: It seems the time to come to terms with it has come.
I've only shown him my helplessness as his father and family... but there's no way I'm going to betray those expectations.
I'm positive I have what it takes not to. As long as my body holds up, I'll keep being the hero my son looks up to.

Lily: Acting tough now?

Jay: I'm not a- acting tough... I was thinking of continuing to give my all.

Victor: Well, you should have known from the beginning that this would have happened in the end.
What matters now is that at his age he was able to make up his mind at last.

Jay: ......

Lily: Come on, Jay. What you need at times like this is good alcohol.
Victor and I are going to keep you company to the very end... Right?

Victor: Why am I part of this...

Jay: Thanks, you two. There's still a long way to go.
Aaalright, we can do it... Cheers!

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