I Became a Police Officer in a Superhero Genre

Sometimes, while watching comics, movies, or reading novels featuring heroes, I had a question.

There are often scenes where a superhero defeats a supervillain, and then the police transport the unconscious or neutralized villain to the police station.

What I’m curious about is this: What happens to the police officers who responded to the scene after that?

When some vigilante beats up a criminal and neatly hands them over to the police, do the police just say, “Oh, thank you,” and take credit for it? Is that the end of it?

If that’s the case, even if the higher-ups don’t know, wouldn’t the officers on the scene just say, “Oh, thank you,” and take custody of the criminal no matter what the illegal vigilante does? Is that okay?

Honestly, I was curious, but in my previous life, I wasn’t a police officer, and superheroes didn’t actually exist in the world. So it just remained a simple curiosity.

But- fortunately, in my second life, I’ve been able to get an answer to that question.

What happens to police officers who take custody of villains defeated by heroes? The correct answer to this question is that they get severely reprimanded and have their pay cut.

“You crazy bastard! I sent you to catch criminals!! And you end up getting help from some pervert in tights! You completely destroyed the redevelopment area?!

How does something sent to check what’s going on end up with everything being destroyed?! Don’t you know about secret investigations?! Secret investigations!! You’re getting a 2-month pay cut, you bastard!”

“Yes, yes.”

Do you think I’ll listen when I’ve even had my pay cut? I caught the phone the enraged leader of the Supervillain Specialized Special Investigation Team threw at me.

At the same time, words like “Do you think I wanted to cause this mess?” rose to the tip of my tongue, but being an adult, I kept my mouth shut and checked the screen of the phone he had thrown.

What was visible on the screen was breaking news, and at the very top was an article titled ‘Hero New Hope! Subdues Supervillain Sikgwi!’ with a large photo of New Hope,

Scrolling down a bit, there was an article saying ‘The Tragedy of Gangdong-gu. Even the Supervillain Special Task Force Couldn’t Do Anything Against Sikgwi. Is the Police Force Alright Like This?’ along with a photo of me with my head cracked open and bleeding.

While New Hope was single-handedly mowing down Sikgwi and his thugs, naturally, as befitting the most unlucky detective who always ranks first when asked to pick the most unfortunate detective, I alone ended up with a cracked head.

To be precise, unlike the original story, when Sikgwi’s strength was depleting during the battle, he tried to eat his own subordinates instead of police officers to replenish his strength, and I got unlucky while trying to prevent that.
It’s a miracle that the incident ended with just one injury and no fatalities, but- since no one cares about that anyway, let’s ignore it.

Since it’s a photo of me, most of the comments are cursing at me, and it’s clear that public opinion is really shitty, and in this situation where I’ve even had my pay cut, there was only one thing filling my head:

“Since a pay cut is also a disciplinary action, can’t you let me out of the investigation team with this?”

“You crazy bastard, really!!”

The leader started cursing in outrage, but I couldn’t help but think, what do you want me to do?

At that time, there were a total of 34 of Sikgwi’s subordinates at the scene. In contrast, there were only 8 police officers. Only one member of the Special Investigation Team, and the rest were just people who came to support.

If New Hope hadn’t been there, I would have already been cold and in the crematorium, so honestly, I didn’t care what the leader said, but I could understand why he was acting like this to some extent.

In the original novel, the Gangdong-gu redevelopment area is completely destroyed by two superpower users, but the difference from the original is that police were present at the scene.

Citizens and other public opinion are cursing at the situation, seeing only the result that the police were at the scene but couldn’t stop illegal vigilantes and vicious criminals from rampaging in the city, so the leader has no choice but to speak like this.

The higher-ups are also blaming us for being incompetent, asking why there were so few Special Investigation Team members at the scene, what the investigation team was doing, and saying they’ll conduct an audit, but.

When we told them that the higher-ups took all the investigation personnel away for their picnic, it was really funny to see all those suits shut their mouths and leave.

For a moment, when they said they were coming for an audit, I thought I might be able to get out of this investigation team, but that was too brief a dream.

I’d like to take off my uniform and leave the police force, but realistically, as someone in their mid-30s with no qualifications or anything, I can’t take off the uniform, so I can only feel miserable. And on top of that, a pay cut!

Rubbing my eyes in sadness, I submitted another transfer request to the leader, but he lightly tore it up and threw it away. This was the 20th failure.

As I stared blankly at the transfer request form rolling on the floor, the leader said with a tired face:

“Enough, go now… You’re really stubborn…”

“Yes. I’ll do my best.”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean, just go quickly.”

When you’re the one who called me here…

Unlike the leader, as someone whose hair follicles are still strong, I decided to coolly let it go and left the leader’s office, heading towards where the investigation team members were.

The police station was very noisy due to the ongoing interrogations of the thugs we arrested this time, investigating the case and how they ended up under Sikgwi, and checking if there were any other members.

We’ll probably have to work hard for a few more days for the follow-up. It’s quite funny that we’re working with the violent crimes unit that was dispatched due to the severe lack of manpower in the Special Investigation Team, but-

Still, if a little time passes, the manpower will be replenished and things will get better than now. It’s just me who will have to keep suffering from now on. Yawning from the fatigue heavily accumulating due to my age, I looked around.

A thug with some kind of scribble on his face like a War Boy from that movie caught my eye, and I could see him ranting and foaming at the mouth like he had rabies, with his hands cuffed.

“You bastards will all die when the boss comes to his senses! You pathetic pig bastards! I remember your faces! I’ll tell the boss-”

“Your boss is, fuck, you’re doing well with that idiotic scribble on your face. Aren’t you ashamed to show your mother?”

When I lightly pushed the leg of the iron chair the thug was sitting on, the rampaging thug fell to the floor in a comical manner.

Sikgwi was defeated by New Hope and thrown into a special prison made to incarcerate supervillains.

I wonder how they made a prison to hold superpower users so quickly, but anyway, that prison is a place that actually lives up to its name in this crazy world.

Therefore, Sikgwi is a guy who won’t appear again until the escape timing comes when the special prison he’s incarcerated in is neutralized by another villain’s scheme.

… So the only place that works properly eventually gets hit? It’s not good to know the future.

Anyway, even after escaping, he ends up being thrown to the ground in one panel as a stepping stone to show the protagonist’s growth, so what’s with all this “boss” nonsense?

Looking closely at what kind of guy he is, this is the bastard whose head I cracked with a hard hat when he was causing trouble with a homemade gun at the redevelopment site.

In the novel, such trivial thugs end up face down on the ground and dragged away in one line, but it’s really tiring that detectives have to have conversations with these idiots even for writing reports.

“Ugh…! Which son of a bitch-”

The face thug grits his teeth and raises his head. As soon as his eyes meet mine, they start shaking incessantly. He seemed to remember getting beaten by me.

Finding his pathetic appearance quite funny, I kindly helped the thug up and then said one thing to mean he should quietly write his statement and go to jail:

“Eyes, bastard.”

“Boss, please stop beating up the kids. Is this the 80s? What am I supposed to say when the situation room calls…”

“Who said I hit him? He fell on his own. Isn’t it natural to fall when you’re thrashing about like that?”

From this position, the CCTV wouldn’t even show me pushing the chair. This is the only useful skill my mentor taught me.

My mentor eventually got caught fabricating evidence and was kicked out. By the way, the one who reported his evidence fabrication was me.

As I was chuckling and looking down at the fallen guy, I suddenly remembered the obvious fact that I could get disciplined for this too.

Well, with audits coming in every day about suspect rights and whatnot, if this guy says something, couldn’t I easily get fired?

Realizing this, I hurriedly helped the face psycho up and said:

“Oops, I guess I was a bit harsh. So, if you tell the Human Rights Commission, I’ll get audited, right? You’re going to report it, right?”

“N-no, sir!”

“It’s not ‘no’. This is my fault, so you should report it. Come on. Just dial 1331. You’ll call after writing your statement when you have time, right?”

“No!!! I fell on my own!!”

Damn, why won’t he report it when I’m telling him to? Was he more of a coward than I thought? Clicking my tongue in disappointment, one of the juniors who was watching me with an incredulous face asked:

“Boss, haven’t you not been home for almost 3 weeks?”

“I guess it’s been about that long?”

“We’re pretty much done with writing reports and cleaning up, so why don’t you go home too, boss? I know you like work, but you got your head cracked, and we’ve finished sending that crazy guy off, so can’t you go home and rest?”

“You got your head cracked and even had your pay cut, so take a break.”

“But a guy with a cracked head writes reports right after visiting the hospital? You’re a tough one too.”

When one person spoke, the others chimed in one after another.

Along with the thought that this was nonsense when we hadn’t even finished wrapping up the case, seeing them act so kindly made me think these bastards must have done something again,
but at that moment, an idea to get out of this team flashed through my head.

In a detective’s life, being stuck in the police station for a month and getting stabbed or having your head cracked are everyday occurrences, but
if I dump work on my juniors and go home to rest like this, public opinion will worsen, and in the end, when I receive disciplinary action or whatever, the disadvantages will only increase.
If they did something, I’d be fine with being demoted for the crime of turning a blind eye and neglecting it.

Thinking this, I smiled brightly and said I’d go home to rest. Waving my hand and telling my juniors to work hard, I left the police station building.

It felt quite awkward to be going home at a time when the sun was directly overhead in the sky, but that awkwardness soon led to the thought that since I had time, I should eat something before going.

Should I have beef soup for lunch? Or should I go to a workers’ restaurant and have spicy pork?

“- Detective! Over here! Over here!”

In the midst of this pleasant deliberation, I heard a familiar voice. The bright voice characteristic of a young girl.

Light footsteps approached with a tap-tap-tap and rushed towards me. I endured the slight weight as I looked at the person who had rushed at me.

Long black hair contrasting with bright red eyes. A child who seemed unbothered despite wearing a thin school uniform more suitable for summer even though the weather was getting chilly.

Long, jet-black hair and red eyes. Yes, this is the real face of Mina, the protagonist hero New Hope of this world.

Yes, I know Mina. If I say that I know her quite well, not just knowing her face, would people be surprised?

No, people wouldn’t be surprised. The only one who would be surprised is me, who knows about the novel “Secret Hero Rising”. I recalled when I first met this child.

In the past, I was assigned to handle a truly unpleasant case where a family was massacred by a robber, with only the second daughter who happened to be out surviving among the mother, father, and eldest sister.

The name of the sole survivor of the family was Mina. Yes, as is common in hero genres, I ended up in charge of the unfortunate incident that the protagonist experiences before becoming a hero.

The original content of the novel’s prologue was that Mina, who had special powers but kept them hidden, experiences the tragedy of her family being murdered by a robber on a day when she happened to be away from home.

The culprit was the son of a high-ranking congressman. The motive for the crime was that the son of the high-ranking official had fallen for the eldest daughter of the family and made advances, but the eldest daughter rejected him. Holding a grudge, he committed the crime.

It’s a horrible and absurd crime, but it’s common enough that normally it would be easy to identify the culprit. But the problem was that the culprit was the son of a congressman who was a strong candidate for the next president,

and when the child of high-ranking officials became a suspect and was identified as the culprit, the higher-ups in the police tried to lightly cover up the case.

As a result, Mina finally starts using her powers to seek justice herself. At first, she only pursued revenge, but realizing that she could use her powers for good, she begins her activities as a novice hero – that’s the original story.

But I, who originally didn’t exist in this world, ended up in charge of this case, and until then, not realizing that this world was from a novel, when I was pressured to cover up the case, I thought:

These bastards… Have all their brain cells gone on vacation?

This case had already hit the news to the extent that it’s hard to cover up, and on top of that, the congressman’s son is actively causing trouble by live-streaming his antics on social media, so how the fuck are we supposed to cover this up?

Moreover, angered by the pathetic appearance of the investigator at the time who was spouting such nonsense, I ended up making the worst choice that I would regret later.

That was to continue the investigation, determined to make those empty-headed bastards eat shit.
Moving with 0% sense of justice or sense of duty as a police officer, driven solely by the desire to make those shitty guys eat shit,

I ended up causing a huge incident. In the end, I succeeded in catching and locking up that psycho bastard.
Following that, when I saw a string of ridiculously corrupt practices being exposed one after another, even now I think I really did something crazy-

… Let me say it again, I didn’t think at the time that this world was the world from the novel I had read.

At that time, even when all sorts of crazy superpowered people were popping up, I just brushed it off thinking, “Well, if reincarnation exists, superpowers might exist too.”

To be honest, I hate to say this, but incidents similar to what Mina experienced are something you can commonly see if you work as a detective.
And how could I recall the contents of a novel I read 30 years ago while in the middle of working on a case?

But damn. Not long after the case was over, news came out with photos of the kid I knew running around in tights, along with headlines about the appearance of a mysterious hero.

If I had really known that this kid was the protagonist from the novel, I would have quietly buried it and pretended not to know. We shouldn’t even be on terms where I act like I know her.

Thinking this, I looked at Mina who was clinging to my arm like a monkey.

In terms of age, she’d be about a high school senior now. With a cute appearance that would make her popular at school even now and promising future ahead, she’s still just a young kid, but the large gauze stuck on her face is quite bothersome.

While it was quite sad to see this young thing injured, the memory of almost dying after getting caught up in that dogfight yesterday also came to mind, stirring up emotions that were hard to express.

As I stared blankly like that, Mina seemed to read some other meaning in my gaze and said with a smile:

“I fell down the school stairs. Don’t worry. It’s not a big injury~”

If you’re going to lie, at least do it properly. The wound is clearly hand-shaped right now.

I wanted to say something, but if I acted like I knew about it, I saw a future where I’d instantly be dragged into the role of a police officer who dies while helping the protagonist in a hero genre.

I want to live a long life in my second life. Let them curse if they want to curse. I just want to live a normal police life unrelated to supervillains or heroes.

… Still, looking at this kid made even a rotten adult like me feel a slight sense of guilt.

To summarize the content of the novel, it’s a story about a girl with special powers growing into a hero, but that means there’s a path of hardship spread out before her in the future.

I don’t know if the author had a fetish for seeing girls get hurt and bleed, but there were many instances of severe injuries. There were wounds that would make you feel numb just thinking about this kid bearing them.

Life truly isn’t easy. Lamenting the fate of this world’s protagonist and my own situation entangled with it, I put an unlit cigarette in my mouth.

“Detective~ I’m hungry, can’t you buy me food? Let’s eat hamburgers!”

“… Okay.”

“Oh, really? Awesome!!”

Due to the momentary guilt I felt, I easily agreed to buy this kid a meal. But there was something I had forgotten in that fleeting moment.

This kid, due to her strong powers, eats an enormous amount.

Have you ever seen someone answer “15” when asked how many hamburgers they want? And all of them Big Mac sets?

I saw that today. It was a miracle that made me feel both awe and terror. At the same time, it was a despair that dealt a fatal blow to the wallet of a poor civil servant who had just had his pay cut.

Fuck, really, nothing goes well when I get involved with this hero. I cried over my wallet situation, which looked like I’d have to chew on bean sprouts because even cup noodles were too expensive.