Became a Failed Experimental Subject-Chapter 44: A Strange Man

Was he keeping watch for other criminals?

Yu Hyena felt her face heat up at the thought—but then his next words froze her colder than the night air.

“Is Starlight not coming?”

“...You must’ve heard it from the locals, huh? That I’m Starlight’s younger sister.”

“They talk about it a lot.”

“She’s not coming.”

“Why not?”

“Because I told her not to.”

“Why?”

“My sister’s busy. Even an S-Class hero is still human.

It’s better for her to rest whenever she can, even if just for a little while, so she can save more people when it counts.”

“I see.”

Han Muryo nodded with a look of genuine understanding, leaving Yu Hyena at a loss for words.

Wait... was he not asking because he wanted to see Starlight?

Was he just genuinely curious why a sister wouldn’t come running when her sibling was in danger?

Yu Hyena suddenly felt guilty for snapping at him.

“I’m sorry... you helped me, and I didn’t even thank you properly.”

“If you’re grateful, add more meat to the soup kitchen menu.”

“Are we really back to talking about food? You really do love eating, huh.”

Yu Hyena chuckled lightly.

Han Muryo was simple to read—and that somehow put her at ease.

He was a strange man, sure, but not a bad one.

He didn’t hide ulterior motives behind a smile, didn’t approach with shady intentions.

All he wanted was to eat his fill and sleep soundly.

When they finally arrived at her doorstep, Yu Hyena bowed deeply, sincerely grateful he’d just happened to save her tonight.

“Thank you for helping me today. If you have time later, I’d love to treat you to a proper meal.”

It was the kind of phrase she was used to saying after years of volunteering at the soup kitchen.

She offered it without thinking—only to see Han Muryo’s eyes light up as he immediately stepped closer.

“You’re saying you’ll buy me food?”

“Y-yeah? Well, yes, technically...?”

“When’s ‘later’? This weekend?”

“Uh... no? I have volunteer work on weekends, so...”

“So, on a weekday. Good. I can eat my fill even on weekdays.”

“W-wait, could you not rush up like that?!”

Yu Hyena stumbled back in a panic, blinking rapidly as Han Muryo’s massive frame loomed closer.

He was so large that even just stepping toward her felt like he was about to scoop her up.

But Han Muryo, apparently too excited to notice, kept pressing forward with a gleam in his eyes.

“What day on the weekday? Saying ‘later’ doesn’t tell me when.”

“W-when you’re free, Han Muryo. Anytime that’s convenient for you...”

“Good.”

As soon as he said that, he suddenly sprang upward with a sharp WHOOSH and perched atop a nearby streetlamp.

Yu Hyena, stunned by the rush of cold night air after his departure, could only stare.

Han Muryo crushed the streetlamp under his feet with a sharp CRACK and leapt up to an even higher rooftop.

“W-wait, hold on! No goodbye?! Hey! Why are you breaking the streetlamp?!”

Where do I even start yelling at him first?

Yu Hyena hesitated in confusion, then shouted after the rapidly disappearing Han Muryo.

“Be careful on your way home!”

...Not that someone like him needed to be careful.

Embarrassed by her own words, Yu Hyena covered her burning face and hurried inside.

He really was like a typhoon—appearing in a gust, disappearing in a gust.

Just like when he had shown up in Zone 4.

And somehow, Yu Hyena had a feeling...

that the next time he showed up wouldn’t be far off.

She just hadn’t expected it to be the very next morning.

****

“What are you doing here?”

Early the next morning, standing in front of her house as she prepared to leave for work—

there he was.

Han Muryo, wearing the exact same clothes as last night.

“I’m hungry.”

His innocent voice made Yu Hyena instinctively slap her forehead.

Ah... right. This guy eats like a black hole.

She had told him he could come "whenever," after all.

Apparently, that meant now.

“I-I'm sorry, but today’s no good... or rather, not right now. I’m heading to work.

I’ll only be free after I finish for the day.”

“When do you finish?”

“Huh? Uh... around... 6 p.m.?”

As soon as she said it, Han Muryo raised a finger over his palm, turned toward the rising sun, and declared:

“9 hours and 11 minutes from now. Understood.”

“...How do you even know what time it is—wait, huh?”

Yu Hyena pulled out her phone to check—and froze.

It was exactly 8:49 a.m.

Her shift would end precisely 9 hours and 11 minutes later, just like he said.

Before she could even finish marveling, Han Muryo launched himself up onto another streetlamp.

With a loud SNAP!, he shattered the lamp just like the night before.

“Hey! Stop breaking the streetlamps!!”

Seriously, if he needed a foothold, couldn’t he have just jumped off the one he smashed last night?!

Why crush a perfectly fine one?!

Already drained before the day had even properly started, Yu Hyena rushed off to work.

“Ohana, can you reformat these documents according to the new guidelines? How long will it take?”

“I’ll have them all done by today.”

At work, Yu Hyena wasn’t Yu Hyena.

She was Ohana—disguised behind her Heat Haze ability to hide her identity as Starlight’s younger sister.

She worked for a civilian monster insurance company.

Her job was to review damage reports and insurance claims to ensure that payouts were handled correctly.

If she hit "approve," the money would go out.

If she hit "review," the payment would be delayed.

Among her coworkers, she had one of the highest approval rates.

“Ohana, sorry—Department Head wants to see you.”

“...Sigh.”

“Good luck.”

Maybe because of her approval rate, Yu Hyena was constantly being summoned by her boss.

“What the hell were you thinking, approving so many claims?!

You think you’re here to hand out charity or something?!”

“But sir, it’s—”

“Is it your money?! Huh?! Is it?! Wake up! Do you know how much you’re costing the company?!”

“But shouldn’t we at least pay the victims properly...”

“If you wanna hand out free money, go work at a damn welfare center! Why the hell are you even here?!”

After another scolding, Yu Hyena trudged into the restroom and splashed cold water on her ears.

“...It’s not even their own damn money.”

She had followed the rules exactly.

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The insurance payouts came from citizens’ wallets and government funds—not from the company’s profits.

They were supposed to go to the people who needed them.

Not to pad some executive’s bonus.

Sometimes, she seriously wanted to blow the whistle on the whole corrupt mess.

But if she told her sister, Starlight, it would explode into a media circus—

accusations of abuse of power, "using family connections," endless headlines.

Even reporting it directly to the government would lead to the same damn outcome.

She had worked so hard to escape the spotlight and live quietly as Ohana.

Yu Hyena didn’t want to ruin that now.

“...Sigh.”

Feeling stressed, Yu Hyena lightly splashed water on her face before heading back to her desk.

But before she could return, she caught sight of a long, faint trail across the sky through the window.

She moved closer to watch.

Once again, her sister was flying off to hunt monsters.

If an S-Class hero had to be dispatched, it meant the situation was disaster-level or worse.

Ironically, after Black Cat’s emergence, W-City had started treating disaster-class events as everyday occurrences, much like the hero-saturated cities of A-City and B-City.

But it was still a major incident, one that would inevitably cause massive civilian casualties.

"She’s working so hard... Hm?"

At that moment, across the street, a massive man suddenly sat up on a rooftop.

He rubbed his eyes like he'd been napping, then stared silently in the direction Starlight had flown before yawning and stretching.

“...What the heck? Is he napping up there?”

Yu Hyena pressed her cheek against the glass, squinting.

No way... is he really waiting for me just to eat after work?

As she watched in disbelief, Han Muryo, sensing her gaze, looked directly at her.

He made a motion across his stomach, gesturing that he was hungry.

Yu Hyena let out a hollow laugh.

Right then, Han Muryo suddenly started sprinting across the rooftops.

"Is he seriously going monster hunting?"

Moments later, Ohana was back at her desk—and a new alert popped up on her screen:

Another major monster attack had occurred.

At the same time, a furious shout rang out from the department head’s office.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Black Cat again?!”

For private insurance companies, news that Black Cat had taken down another monster was anything but welcome.

Unlike the government-run insurance program, which only cared about the extent of damage, private insurers had to offer special policies to attract customers.

Their payout model was based not on the amount of property damage, but on whether a monster event was classified as despair-class or higher.

Despair-class attacks were extremely rare—and even when they happened, most policyholders would be dead before they could claim anything.

It was a clever system, practically a goldmine for insurance companies.

At least, it had been.

Before Black Cat appeared.

“That damn cat bastard isn’t a proper despair-class! When the hell is the government going to pass that special exemption law?!”

In W-City’s private insurance world, despair-class insurance was no longer the "golden goose" it once had been.

“Can you believe people are claiming full despair-class payouts just because they saw Black Cat eating kebabs at a food stall?!”

****

“Ohana, are you heading out now?”

“Yes, thanks for everything today, team leader.”

“Take care! Good work!”

After a long, exhausting day filled with her boss’s ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) yelling, Yu Hyena finally clocked out.

As she stepped outside, she glanced nervously toward the rooftop where Han Muryo had been earlier.

Right then—THUMP!—something heavy landed between the buildings.

The sound triggered a flash of memory: That’s Han Muryo.

A few seconds later, Han Muryo appeared, trudging toward her with heavy, deliberate steps—bare-chested, no shirt on.

Panicking, Yu Hyena bolted away from the front of her company building.

Han Muryo immediately sped up, his footsteps heavy and relentless, and caught up right behind her.

“I’m off work.”

“O-okay, but could you not follow me right now?!”

“So it was a lie, after all.”

“It wasn’t a lie! I said I’d buy you food, didn’t I? Just—could you walk a little farther behind me?!”

“I’m hungry.”

“Argh, I get it! But seriously, can’t you at least put on a shirt?!”

“Clothes that fit are hard to find.”

Maybe I should’ve bought him clothes instead of promising food...

Yu Hyena hesitated, then glanced around to make sure no one from work was watching.

Quickly, she grabbed the waistband of Han Muryo’s pants.

“Come with me.”

Dragging him along, she led him into a nearby clothing store.

Inside, she hunted for the biggest sizes they had and started dressing Han Muryo in them.

In the monster era, people’s average body size had shrunk, since food supplies had dwindled.

But if you looked carefully, there were still clothes designed for physically-enhanced ability users.

Yu Hyena finally found a giant-sized sweatshirt and handed it to Han Muryo.

The moment he pulled it on, his entire impression changed—like someone who spent all day at the gym rather than a crazy person.

"Try this on too?" she asked, holding up pants.

"I like these pants," Han Muryo said stubbornly, referring to his battered firefighter trousers.

“Come on, they’ll look good on you. I’ll buy them for you.”

“No.”

Because of his stubbornness, he kept the shabby old pants, but just getting him into a proper shirt turned him from “weirdo” to “gym rat.”

At least now it won’t be so embarrassing walking around with him.

As she pondered where to take him for dinner, Yu Hyena glanced at Han Muryo—and realized something.

Wait a second... isn’t this kind of like a date?

Feeling awkward, she quickly fished a lipstick out of her pouch and applied it.

“You look like you smeared ketchup on your lips,” Han Muryo commented bluntly.

“It’s lipstick, okay?”

Yu Hyena sighed as Han Muryo stared curiously at the lipstick.

“Um... by the way, what kind of food do you like?”

“Soup rice.”

“...Soup rice.”

Why did I even bother putting on lipstick?

Yu Hyena felt her energy drain right out of her.