Chapter 2: The New Landlady
[One new message: Your Application to the Elevation Hero Agency has been denied after reviewing your Rank and Ability Details. There are vacancies like Cleaner, and Janitor positions. If you’re up for it, call 010 - 889 -000]
Theo stared down at the message on his mobile, with his little buddy out and hard. It had interrupted while he was about to goon off to Jupiter Lady as usual.
He had applied to Hero Agency before his awakening, certain that he was going to awaken as at least C rank, and then be able to enroll as a Hero Manager. He never expected to be lower than F rank.
The application, naturally of course, was declined.
Despite his sullen mood, his buddy did not seem to be getting any softer. In fact, it seemed as hard as a reinforced alloy rod.
’This crazy ability.’
This was because of the strange ability that Theo had awakened.
After getting home, he followed the manual given to him by the association and tried to experiment with his ability. As it turned out, he didn’t receive some cool superpower that enabled him to fly or shoot lasers. Instead, he could make a part of his body hard. Very hard.
This was not a bad ability, when you looked at it.
However, Theo could only make one place hard.
His rod.
He had tested how long he could maintain the hardness, and it was surprisingly long. The floor of Theo’s room was littered with squeezed tissues, because no matter how much he let it out yesterday, his hardening would not go soft. Not until he went out of manner.
Which also surprisingly took about six hours.
On the bright side, he could use this atrocious ability for six hours without stopping, a longer record than some of the top heroes on the Heroes Ranking Board. But it was a completely useless ability.
At the same time, he heard a furious knock on his door.
Theo quickly drew up his trousers and hurried to the door. When he opened it, a middle-aged woman with chestnut hair stood in front of him, wearing a tight grey gown that hugged her immensely voluptuous figure.
"Mr Theolyne, I see that you are yet to pay your month for the past six months."
Theo blinked. The woman seemed familiar.
’Who the heck is she, she’s almost as hot as Jupiter Lady.’
He recoiled internally.
’No! That is a blasphemy to Jupiter Lady! I must think of no other woman!’
Theo smiled sheepishly.
"Who are you, ma?"
With an irritated frown, the lady declared, "I’m the new landlady here. And I’m here to deal with non-compliant tenants like you, Mr Theolyne."
She yanked out a piece of paper and slapped it against his chest.
"That is your eviction notice. If you’re not able to pay your rent in the next week, please vacate that room of yours."
She peeked through the gap in the door, into the room, and recoiled visibly at the litter of tissues on the floor. Then, as she pulled back, her eyes happened to drop, and she saw something sticking out of Theo’s trousers, pulling the waistband forward.
While Theo was busy reading the paper.
She gasped the moment she saw it. Theo snapped his head up, then followed her horrified stare down to his own trousers.
"Ah! I’m sorry! I’ll pay your rent!"
He freaked out and slammed the door in her face.
Theo looked down at his groin and sighed in disappointment.
’Crap, I’m cooked, the new landlady definitely thinks I’m a perv now.’
He dropped into his chair and looked at the eviction notice again.
’If I don’t get a job, I might have to be living on the streets.’
But a janitor? A cleaner? This wasn’t how he had imagined himself. He was someone who had attended the Great Heroism University and even majored in management relations. Because he had hoped to be the one managing Jupiter Lady one day, to make her the highest-earning Hero.
But all of that effort was for nothing, thanks to his F rank.
’Still... a Janitor?’
"..."
Perhaps it was not so bad. At the very least, he would get to see Jupiter Lady up close, and would be able to earn enough to slowly pay off his rent.
’Right, I can’t afford to be homeless right now.’
Theo stared at his phone screen for a while, then sighed.
"Alright, let me get enough courage to do this."
He put his phone aside and began digging out several AI-generated images of Jupiter Lady. The poses were weird and gut-wrenching, but most of all, they did the job. He gave himself the target of five creamy explosions before he finally made that call.