"Boss, are you really going to become a hero?"
"I heard you have to fight monsters every day. It's way more dangerous than being a delinquent!"
"Yeah, Auntie needs money for her illness. Can't you just find another boss?"
"You ruled Hot-Blooded High School for three years. The Ryumon Group, Fierce Fist Gang, Dragon Gate—you could take your pick!"
"Right, we could go with you too. They'd definitely value us!"
It was a little after six in the morning.
The weather was decent. There were some dark clouds, but it was not too gloomy, and the cool temperature was pleasant.
Kuro had just turned eighteen. Though he had already graduated, he was still wearing his black school uniform.
He walked with the crowds of K City toward the headquarters grounds of the Hero Association.
At that moment, his mind was filled with the things his brothers had said to him over the past few days.
They had all meant roughly the same thing.
No one understood why he had come to take the Hero Association's hero examination.
As the most outstanding graduate of Hot-Blooded High School that year, he clearly had a bright and promising future in the underworld.
But Kuro knew full well that those gangs might lend him money, but when it came time to repay it, money might not be all they wanted.
By comparison, becoming a professional hero meant he could earn clean money.
More importantly, the income seemed quite high.
He had also always regarded Mumen Rider, the Hero Association's top-ranked C-Class hero, as his idol.
That was a secret Kuro kept hidden in his heart.
After all, most people only admired powerful S-Class or A-Class heroes.
But what he admired more was Mumen Rider's courage—the courage to face monsters without retreating, despite possessing only