"Making your phone number public? There's no regulation against that," Captain Haiya said first, responding to Kobayashi's request.
Yomikawa Aiho shot him a startled glance through the rearview mirror. "Why would you do something like that? It'll be a huge hassle."
"But the fact is, someone did manage to reach me through that number to ask for help," Kobayashi replied calmly. "Besides, my number already leaked, hasn't it? Dark Side organizations—even illegal experiment facilities—have it. Meanwhile, the people who actually need help can't get in touch with me. Don't you think that's backwards?"
Captain Haiya clicked his tongue. "Nana-kun, what—are you trying to become Academy City's very own superhero?"
"With great power comes great responsibility," Kobayashi shrugged.
"Don't get cocky, you little punk!" Yomikawa Aiho snapped. "You're only Level 3! What kind of hero do you think you are? I could suppress an Esper at your level all by myself!"
Kobayashi just smiled. "Level 3 is enough. I'm not trying to save the world—I just want to help some unfortunate kids, that's all."
He wasn't being arrogant. After going through both Dark May and Talent Workshop, Kobayashi had come to a clear realization: the "violence" he possessed was already more than sufficient to deal with facilities like those.
They were, after all, research institutions, not combat-specialized Dark Side organizations. Aside from their hired security teams, their overall combat capability was severely limited.
As long as he didn't run into some bizarrely specialized Esper, his current combination of psychic abilities and "bullet time" was more than enough to handle things with ease.
And on top of that, he had Toumi as his partner.
Their damage output was already overflowing.
Unless he ran into an experiment personally overseen by a Kihara, things probably wouldn't spiral out of control. And even then, those Kiharas were cunning to the bone. They wouldn't leave themselves exposed to a so-called "hero" acting so openly.
From another angle, Kobayashi's proposal also had a strategic purpose: tying Anti-Skill to his side.
By making his number public and accepting requests for help, Anti-Skill would be able to monitor his calls and movements at any time. It reassured him,m and at the same time, it served as insurance for him.
If he really ran into something he couldn't handle, all he had to do was hold out a little longer until Anti-Skill backup arrived.
"You…" Captain Haya frowned. "You br, at don't push it too far."
After careful consideration, Captain Haiya actually found himself agreeing with Kobayashi's proposal.
Especially after personally "vetting" the boy and confirming how steady and reliable he was, the offer became even more tempting.
Anti-Skill had always struggled when it came to investigating and cracking down on illegal experiments.
No evidence meant no action, but without action, it was often impossible to obtain solid evidence in the first place.
Their organizational structure and personnel makeup also made undercover investigations extremely difficult.
It was a textbook deadlock.
And Kobayashi's proposal neatly solved a significant portion of that problem.
"Fine. If you really want to be a hero, we won't stop you," Captain Haya said at last, glancing toward the driver's seat. "Right, Yomikawa-sensei?"
"Tch. If you've already decided, why bother asking me?" Yomikawa Aiho grumbled. "But Nana-Kun, don't say I didn't warn you. This will be troublesome."
He nodded silently. Of course, he understood the consequences.
For one thing, once his number was public, he'd definitely get swamped with prank calls, harassment, and bogus reports.
And then there was the risk that actual illegal experiment facilities might use this as bait, trying to lure him out and eliminate him.
All of that was already within his expectations.
When the time came, leaning on Anti-Skill's authority,y borrowing the tiger's might would be enough to eliminate most of the trouble.
At its core, though, Kobayashi's decision had another purpose altogether.
It was to provide cover for Shokuhou Misaki.
In other words, ds to make good on the "lie" he had just told.
If people are questioning how Kizaki Mitaka got my phone number, he thought, then I'll just publish it outright. Flip cause and effect on its head. A little temporal sleight of hand—and future cases will all seem perfectly reasonable.
With no need to go through lengthy procedures, Anti-Skill moved swiftly. That very afternoon, a press conference was convened.
Facing dozens of reporters—and representatives from who-knew-what organizations Kobayashi steeled himself, kept his expression stiff, and spoke at length, delivering a version of events that had been revised so many times it was barely recognizable.
In this official narrative, Anti-Skill took center stage.
Kobayashi had learned abothe ut Talent Workshop through Yomikawa Aiho of Anti-Skill. Misaka Mikoto had chosen to call the authorities directly. It just so happened that Kobayashi, who harbored a deep hatred for illegal experiments, overheard the situation and rushed in ahead of time.
Anti-Skill, needing to mobilize personnel, arrived slightly later but successfully prevented the situation from worsening further.
This version emphasized Anti-Skill's initiative, while also retroactively legitimizing Kobayashi's independent actions.
Seasoned reporters could tell at a glance that this was a sanitized story—a unified, officially approved account.
As journalists who chased both headlines and "truth," they naturally weren't satisfied.
After the press conference ended, they found ways to corner Kobayashi again, pressing him for what really happened.
It was then that Kobayashi shared the same version he'd given Captain Haya and publicly announced his phone number, asking the reporters to help spread it.
Some veteran journalists still suspected that even this version wasn't the full truth.
But that was good enough.
For news reporting, having an official account and a "leaked personal version" was already explosive.
And Kobayashi's decision to 공개 his phone number,r declaring that he would accept requests for help from victims of illegal experiments?
That alone was headline-worthy.
Late that night, once the interviews were published, Kobayashi's phone began ringing nonstop just as expected.
Thankfully, the first wave was mostly curiosity calls. No real pleas for help. No false emergency reports.
By the next day, the calls shifted again, this time into messages of support and encouragement, almost like fan calls.
As the reports spread and more people learned Kobayashi's name and his number at last, a legitimate request came knocking.
(End of Chapter)
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