Miles froze. His throat felt dry, and one voice in his mind told him, No, this isn't right, while another told him that Peter had a point.
No one else had done it, but he had. That made him a hero by rights. He hadn't stolen it or taken it by force; he had faced danger and earned it through his own ability. Why shouldn't he accept the praise?
"But that feels a little shameless," Miles said. "Can someone still be called a hero if they aren't making a selfless sacrifice?"
"Demanding that heroes make selfless sacrifices is the greatest evil," Peter said. "Noble people all strive to become gods, but if you want to be an ordinary person, that isn't wrong either. The world needs ordinary people too."
Miles swallowed, and Peter continued, "Actually, material motivation is more stable than inner motivation. No matter what, there will always be people who admire you. Take me—even though the third generation Spider-Man doesn't have the best reputation, I still have a group of loyal fans."
"But unfortunately, I'm not the kind of person who gets tremendous motivation from other people's admiration. I'd rather follow my heart and save more people through the goodness inside me. That was the main reason I gave up being Spider-Man and became a researcher instead, because that way I could save more people."
"But the identity of Spider-Man is important too." Peter repeated what Amazing Spider-Man had once told him. "Someone has to create a better tomorrow, but Spider-Man only wants people to live to see tomorrow."
Miles's eyes seemed to grow damp. "So it isn't shameless, right?"
"As long as you truly do it, it is noble."
Miles took a deep breath. His fists clenched so tightly that the backs of his hands nearly lost