Snow drifted through the air.
Under the newly unified world order, in this new age, free people continued enjoying their freedom every day, booze, cigarettes, and limitless power.
In air still thick with the smell of gunpowder, several bank robbers emerged carrying machine guns and duffel bags stuffed with stacks of green cash.
As they prepared to leave, a beautiful young woman approached them.
She wore a long coat, and an icy aura seemed to radiate from her entire body. Beautiful yet unapproachable, she was like a rose covered in thorns.
"Hey! If you don't want to fucking die, get out of the way!"
The robbers frowned at the woman standing before them. They raised their machine guns, aiming the barrels directly at her as they shouted threats.
"Huff..."
The woman merely reached into her coat, pulled out a pack of slim cigarettes, and calmly lit one.
"You got a death wish or something?"
One of the robbers glared at her.
"I've actually always wondered about something."
The woman exhaled a cloud of smoke as she studied the robbers.
"If you're already ugly enough to scare people away, why bother wearing masks?"
"You bitch..."
The robbers immediately became furious at her insult.
One of them raised his black machine gun and aimed directly at her, his finger already hovering over the trigger.
"Looks like nobody ever taught you that pointing guns at people is incredibly rude..."
The woman sighed as she stared at the black barrels aimed at her.
The next instant, a violent gust of wind erupted.
She vanished.
Before any of the robbers could pull their triggers, she appeared directly in front of them at incredible speed, grabbed the barrels of their guns, and bent them apart with her bare hands.
"Uh..."
Every robber froze.
Sweat rolled down their foreheads as their breathing became increasingly frantic.
"A superhero..."
Only now did they finally understand exactly what kind of person they had encountered.
"Shh..."
However, the stylish young woman frowned upon hearing those words and raised a finger, signaling them to keep quiet.
Whoosh!
Another violent gust erupted.
The robbers were instantly blown off their feet and slammed onto the ground.
"I fucking hate it when people call me a superhero. I do whatever the fuck I want."
The woman planted a foot on one of the robbers, snatched a bag of cash from his hands, and casually walked away.
She reached the middle of the street and threw the stolen bag high into the air.
Dark green bills immediately began raining down over the entire street.
"Whoa!"
"Look! Money! Grab it!"
Countless pedestrians rushed forward to snatch up the falling cash.
The corner of the woman's mouth curled upward.
With both hands tucked into her pockets, she turned and walked away, clearly enjoying the thrill of doing whatever the hell she pleased.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that."
Before she had gone very far, a deep, slightly magnetic voice sounded beside her.
"Tch."
The voice was both extremely familiar and extremely irritating.
The woman looked up unhappily.
Floating in the air above her was a middle-aged man dressed in a tight white bodysuit.
Age had left visible traces across the man's face, yet those very traces gave him a mature, rugged charm. In his presence, younger men seemed to lose their shine. Their youthful good looks appeared almost cheap compared to the weathered face of a man who had been tempered by time itself.
"Jovian..."
The woman looked up at the man floating in the air and called him directly by name.
"I think 'Dad' would be a little more appropriate, my dear daughter Minerva."
The middle-aged man was naturally Jovian.
He floated above his daughter with a faint smile.
"Give it a rest, big hero."
"You worry about your own business. Mine has nothing to do with you."
Minerva frowned and glared angrily at him.
"Heh..."
"Your business is part of my business."
Jovian smiled.
"Listen, I don't want to spend every day flying around in a stupid white bodysuit like you. I have my own life. So you'd better stop bothering me."
Minerva glared at Jovian.
"Your own life? You mean taking a bag of stolen money and throwing it all over the street?"
"What exactly does that accomplish? No matter how much money you give those people, it won't change the fact that they're poor. Once they've spent everything you handed them, they'll be poor again. Then what? You're going to rob someone else and keep playing Robin Hood?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
Jovian completely dismissed what Minerva had done, speaking about it as though her actions were little more than a childish joke.
"Don't judge what I do. I can handle my own problems."
Minerva immediately pushed back.
"No, you can't. You're terrible at it."
"If I were you, and I genuinely wanted to change all of this, I'd take far more effective action."
Jovian shook his head.
"Action? Heh. And what exactly would you do?"
Minerva looked at him defiantly.
"Why don't you rule them?"
"Make them live the way you believe they should live."
Jovian narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Minerva.
"Minerva, you need to understand something. In this world, you can do whatever you want."
"Huh?! I can do whatever I want?"
"Dad, you wouldn't stop me? But aren't you supposed to be...?"
Minerva froze, staring at Jovian in confusion.
"Heh. You mean aren't I supposed to be a superhero?"
"Don't be ridiculous, kid."
"The only reason I protect this world is because I haven't decided how I want to rule it yet."
"But I don't want anyone else ruling my world either, so naturally, whenever someone tries to take it from me, I beat them until they leave."
"I've never claimed to be a hero. Remember?"
"I've always said they're the heroes."
"I'm not."
Jovian smiled at Minerva.
"..."
"So you're saying I can change the world however I want?"
Minerva slowly rose into the air until she was floating in front of Jovian.
"I can just do whatever I please?"
"Why not?"
"There isn't anyone in this world capable of stopping the two of us."
"In this world, you and I can do whatever we want."
Jovian gave Minerva the warm, indulgent smile of a loving father.
----
The End