The Police Notice: The Seventh "Villain" at Large

An amusement park.

As the name suggested, it was a place for people to have fun.

And since it was a place for people to have fun, it naturally needed enough rides and settings to entertain them.

Uraraka Shige, his older sister, and their parents were all together on one such ride.

A ride called a merry-go-round.

In fact, people who often visited amusement parks probably knew that they had all sorts of rides and attractions. Almost every park had bumper cars, roller coasters, merry-go-rounds, haunted houses, and the like.

These attractions had practically become synonymous with amusement parks.

Among them, merry-go-rounds offered the least in the way of thrills and excitement, while roller coasters and haunted houses offered the most.

Humans were born with plenty of curiosity and a spirit of adventure, and Uraraka Shige was no exception. As such, the haunted house was the attraction that interested him most at the amusement park. He really was curious about how a haunted house in this world, a world with "Quirks," would differ from one in his previous life.

Shige also knew full well that a haunted house was merely a man-made attraction, or rather, a man-made place. The fear humans were born with, which accompanied their innate curiosity about the unknown, would not make him shrink from it.

But that didn't mean Ochaco, who was his older sister but was actually seven years old just like him, wouldn't be scared.

In fact, the reason all four of them were sitting together on the merry-go-round now was that Ochaco, who had been scared of the crowd of strangers at the park entrance earlier, had suggested it.

But as far as Uraraka Shige was concerned, a slow ride like this was, honestly...

"So boring..."

Uraraka Shige had quietly used his Quirk to keep himself from falling off. He held the vertical metal pole in front of him with one hand and slumped on the wooden horse's seat like a salted fish dried out in the sun. Though he hadn't said a word, the aura of salted-fish-like boredom surrounding him made everyone around him laugh.

It really was behavior befitting his body's age, letting people see what he was thinking at a glance.

Perhaps some of them were even thinking to themselves,

That's kids for you...

Or something like that?

The merry-go-round slowed, gradually coming to a stop. One group got off, and another got on.

Uraraka Shige and his family of four were naturally among those getting off. They had already spent some time at the amusement park, and the things they had tried held little appeal for Shige. After all, his experience wasn't truly limited to the age of his body. In his previous life, at least, he had spent plenty of time wandering around and enjoying small amusement parks like this one... though usually by himself.

So when Uraraka Shige got off the merry-go-round, he naturally looked utterly bored, his whole body giving off the air of a salted fish. His face practically had "I'm so bored" and "I'm so listless" written on it.

And such an obvious hint... no, it was practically an outright declaration.

Naturally, his parents noticed that blatant declaration.

"Shige? Why do you look so bored? Didn't you like any of the things we did earlier?"

Shige and Ochaco's mother, a beauty with long, shoulder-length brown hair, wore a look of feigned shock as she asked.

Their father played along with their mother, wearing an equally exaggerated expression that couldn't have looked more fake as he echoed her words...

Perhaps they thought that since they were out having fun, everyone ought to enjoy themselves?

Or perhaps it was simply a strange sort of mischievous impulse...

"I was only forcing myself to keep the family company. Would you actually like those boring things?"

Seeing his parents like this, Uraraka Shige felt helpless, and the corner of his mouth twitched. He didn't remember his parents in this life being the goofy type...

But he didn't ask that question aloud. After all, he didn't think making his parents too embarrassed would do him any good, so he could only let out a long sigh.

"Alas..."

With an expression that seemed to say, Are you two trying to fool a child? Clever me saw through everything ages ago! I'm so tired. I don't think I can love again... he lowered his head and secretly looked up at his parents in this life, as though he were looking down on them in great haughtiness.

It left the suddenly goofy couple feeling just the right amount of embarrassment.

Yes, the kind of feeling certain people who liked shame play would secretly savor afterward.

Beside them, Ochaco watched her usually steady parents having a friendly interaction with her younger brother, whom she considered very mature. She tilted her head, seemingly pondering their conversation. Then, as though she had suddenly thought of something, she clapped her small hands together in front of her completely undeveloped, flat chest.

"Hey, Shige, are you craving ice cream again?"

Her expression said, I've figured out exactly what you're thinking! and You really are such a helpless little cutie...

If certain lolicons saw that, they would probably be calling for a pretty young medic again... even though those wounded soldiers needed their help and treatment more.

For something as trivial as losing too much blood to an attack of cuteness, couldn't they just go to the hospital for a transfusion themselves?!

In the end, it was just an excuse to look at kind, pretty young ladies after getting their fill of adorable little lolis!

Hmph, fickle fellows...

As for his sister's misunderstanding, Uraraka Shige wasn't quite sure how to respond. Come to think of it, this wasn't a misunderstanding at all, was it...? Ochaco was clearly the one who wanted ice cream!

Just then, the mobile phone their father carried suddenly rang.

"What?!"

Their father, usually mature and steady, gentle yet dignified, suddenly wore a look of genuine shock, entirely unlike the one he had put on earlier. His voice grew urgent.

"That 'villain group' was made up of seven 'villains'? And one 'villain' still hasn't been caught?!"

On the other end of the phone, the officer notifying their father wore a helpless expression at his startled voice and had to speak up to reassure him.

"Yes, but there's no need to worry. The truth about your child's involvement in the incident hasn't been made public, so that 'villain' doesn't know your child was involved. You have absolutely no need to worry about retaliation from that 'villain.'"

The officer tried to restore their father's trust in the police with his words.

"We're contacting you separately this time only because we hope you'll stay a little alert. If you happen to spot that 'villain,' please notify us as soon as possible. We've already added that 'villain's' identifying information to the public security wanted list."

However, this attempt naturally had little effect.