Harem Streamer System: Every Crime I Broadcast Wins Me a Superheroine - Chapter 250

Chapter 250: Super Stalker

Shadow Monger stepped out of the smoldering wreckage as smoke curled around his shadowy body.

The civilians he’d saved—fourteen people from a collapsing skytrain—were huddled together under the flashing lights of rescue drones.

None dared approach him.

He turned slightly. They turned away.

“TH-, THANK YOU, SIR──!!”

One officer stammered as he saluted from a distance.

Shadow Monger said nothing.

He only nodded once before melting into the nearest alleyway like he was made of liquid ink.

–

–

–

Back at Hero Tower

The elevator doors opened to silence.

A silence you wouldn’t even feel at funerals.

『Surprise, surprise…』

Shadow Monger sighed inwardly.

It was always like this when he visited the Tower.

A single janitor pushing a mop froze, glanced up to see him, and turned 180 like his life depended on it.

He didn’t blame them.

He wouldn’t want to see himself either.

By the time he passed the breakroom, the place was empty except for a flickering holographic ad playing on loop—

[Hi there! Buy your official Mighty Lass hair serum! Feel super confident!]

A superheroine full of sparkles and smiles.

Shadow Monger’s reflection appeared in the holo glass for a second—tall, skeletal armor, a void-like body flickering with black smoke. It was the face of a nightmare standing in front of a shampoo ad.

“Shadow Monger—!!”

A voice barked behind him.

A sharp-dressed woman in a navy suit marched toward him with a tablet clutched to her chest.

Her ID badge read: Agency PR — Cassandra Holt.

She was his new public relations agent.

The seventh this year.

“Do you realize what kind of week we’ve had—!?”

She looked mad as usual.

“Do you know how many PR fires I’ve had to put out because of you?”

Shadow Monger lowered his head.

“Two hundred thirty-seven.”

Cassandra blinked. “You counted?”

“I keep records…” he said simply.

She groaned and rubbed her temples.

“Of course you do. Listen, this isn’t working. We tried everything. Minimalist branding. ‘The Dark Savior’ angle. Even a Halloween merch line with glow-in-the-dark eyes! You didn’t sell a single figure, Monger. Not one.”

Shadow Monger stood quietly.

Cassandra jabbed at a holochart projected in the air.

“Look—Fortitude: five hundred million followers. Mighty Lass: eighty point three. Foxgirl—don’t even get me started on Foxgirl, that damn furball has a clothing line. You?!”

She zoomed in on a single data point that was barely visible.

“You’re negative trending! How’s that even work?!”

The hero didn’t answer.

He just tilted his head slightly.

She sighed.

“No interviews. No endorsements. No sponsorships. Hell, the coffee brand that sponsors literal ex-villains refused to work with you because they said you ‘kill the vibe.’ Do you understand how bad that is?”

Shadow Monger lowered his head and spoke softly—

“I never asked for merchandise…”

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!”

She threw up her hands.

“This industry runs on image. On marketability. You could save the whole planet and no one would care if you scare children while doing it!”

He just stood there, silent again.

Cassandra finally slumped.

“I swear, I’m going to request reassignment to someone less terrifying. Like Doomrider.”

Then she left.

–

–

–

Home

By the time Minerva got home, the rain was already tapping the windows.

Staying in that form all day usually drained her a lot.

With just one blink, the terrifying monster was gone, and in its place stood a petite woman with messy black hair, bare feet, and such a soft, delicate face that it looked like it would melt under the moonlight.

She dropped her keys, peeled off her gloves, and dragged herself to the couch wearing an oversized white tee and black underwear as she yawned.

Her living room was small and comfortably lonely.

She kicked her feet up on the coffee table, opened a can of something unholy she’d invented herself (peaches, beans, and hot sauce) and turned on the TV.

A dozen channels flickered by:

[Fortitude saves a Japanese family from a burning hoverbus! And this is just moments after he was awarded a medal of honor by the Japanese president!]

[Fortress and Pulsar successfully neutralized the villain Neutron in Fremont City. They’ve already been invited to this year’s Gala of Light.]

[Up next—Mighty Lass! Voted this year’s Most Attractive Heroine, but fans say it’s her subtle sexiness that makes her even hotter than Foxgirl.]

ㄴ [I mean… it makes sense! She’s just as sexy as Foxgirl who is the final boss of the superhero corn industry, but you’ll never see Mighty Lass spreading her cheeks in front of a camera for money or attention!]

ㄴ [Agreed! And although I have a diamond subscription on Foxgirl’s FansOnly, I believe she’ll never get anywhere by just showing off that clear-skinned ass that my soon to be divorced middle-aged wife doesn’t have. AHAHA!]

ㄴ [Wait, what…?]

ㄴ [Well… on to the next segment!]

Minerva smiled faintly at the image of Mighty Lass.

“She really is pretty… (≧◡≦) ♡”

She munched on some popcorn.

“And competent, nom nom… people love that.”

She flipped channels again.

[Foxgirl’s fan club just broke another million! Today she revealed her new perfume line—’Squirt’]

Minerva snorted.

“Good for her.”

She stared at her dead and gloomy reflection in the blank part of the screen.

Dark hair, dark eyes, faint bags under her eyes.

“I’m too gross to have my own fashion line, hehe…”

She clicked the remote again.

Another channel.

It was Fortitude giving an inspirational speech in front of a cheering crowd of Japanese citizens.

“He always knows what to say…”

She pulled her oversized white tee over her knees.

“Even if he screwed up, people would forgive him ‘cuz he looks so goddamn handsome.”

She giggled softly to herself, then sighed.

Her eyes drifted to her reflection again.

“I hate you…”

She whispered at her dull appearance.

“You make me look like, like… like I drain people just by standing near them.”

She plucked a strand of hair and held it against the screen.

“I even tried blonde last month. Remember that? Or white. Or pink. Anything to look less cursed.”

The strand turned blacker just to mock her.

“Guess I should stop pretending.”

Her eyes went half-lidded with sadness.

–

–

–

The next morning, she was still in her baggy tee as she sipped lukewarm coffee when her phone buzzed.

[PR Holt: One of your Shadow Monger action figures actually sold. For real. No joke.]

Minerva froze mid-sip.

The mug slipped from her hand and shattered when it hit the floor.

“I thought they got rid of all the action figures…”

She stared at the message.

Then read it again.

And again.

Her lip trembled.

“No way…”

She pressed her phone to her chest and whispered—

“Someone… actually bought me?”

Her heart thudded badly.

–

–

–

Days Later

Minerva needed to see it for herself.

She followed the trail to a small comic store on Westbrook Street. [1]

The clerk confirmed it.

The buyer was a highschool student—Scott McQueen.

That night, Minerva crouched atop a streetlight across from a huge apartment building.

Through the window, she saw him.

Scott McQueen.

Ordinary high schooler.

Messy black hair and soulful blue eyes.

But there her action figure was.

On his shelf, between models of Fortitude and Fortress.

T

he Shadow Monger action figure was still sealed, pristine, and untouched by dust or sunlight.

She watched him carefully, skeptical at first.

“Maybe he bought it as a prank…”

She muttered as she perched upside-down like a bat.

“Or maybe to burn it later… (ー_ー゛)”

But days passed, and her doubts faded.

He cleaned it.

He dusted the box like it was sacred.

When his friend Gwen reached for it one day, he yanked it back protectively.

“That’s a limited edition, dummy. Drop it.” [2]

But it was too late because Gwen had already ripped it out of its pack and mangled the box a bit.

“NOOO—!!”

Minerva wanted to shout, but she quickly slapped a hand over her small mouth.

『How dare she do that—!? (; ﾟДﾟ)』

Her eyes were bulging out like a mad little goblin.

Scott quietly patched up the box with scissors and a masking tape as he smiled faintly.

『Everyone calls him creepy, but he’s saved more people than half the flashy heroes combined. Doesn’t matter if he scares them. He still shows up.』

He looked at Gwen who just scratched the back of her neck and whistled like she was innocent.

He focused back on the toy box.

『That’s the kind of hero I wanna be…』

She stood frozen in the corner of his room, unseen.

Something warm bloomed in her chest.

Her lips curved upward, shaky, unfamiliar—a smile.

From that day on, she followed him in small, quiet ways.

When he walked home at night, his shadow was always a bit longer than it should’ve been.

When he tripped, it caught him before he hit the ground.

And even after he became Nightwatch, she would quietly watch him every night as he sat at his desk, building one gadget after another.

He’d mutter things to himself, sometimes to the figure.

“You’d get it, Shadow Monger…”

He shook his head.

“These cops say Nightwatch isn’t any help and should be contained, but that’s just wrong. Everyone hates what they don’t understand.”

And she’d grip her chest tightly as she whispered from the dark—

“Yeah. I do.”

If only he could hear her.

But she wasn’t ready to tell him he was her stalker.

『That… would be… weird? Kinda. (;￣Д￣)』

Watching Scott became so special to her that she even sent her shadows, shaped like people, to keep an eye on him at school. [3]

It wasn’t really about protecting him…

It was more like recording everything she’d miss while she wasn’t there.

So… night after night, she kept watching him.

Not out of duty.

Not as a hero.

But because this was the first person who had ever loved her without even knowing her name.

And what could be more heroic than that?

In truth, she was the first person Scott ever saved.

━ ━ ━ ━

Scott stared down at the bowl of soup in front of him.

『Erm…』

He still couldn’t believe it.

With a fork, he carefully poked at the surface—then fished out some of the soggy panties.

He froze.

For a long second, he just stared at the dripping piece of fabric dangling off his fork.

Moments ago, he’d literally had a mouthful of that.

He’d thought it was some weird chewy mushroom or tofu, but no—he’d just tried to chew underwear.

He swallowed hard from nausea.

“Even Brigid couldn’t think of this…”

He muttered under his breath.

He forced a trembling smile and looked at the small, pale girl across the table. Her thick glasses made her eyes look bigger than they should, and her expression was so innocent that it made it even harder to process that she’d cooked soup with panties.

“So, uhm…”

Scott began slowly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“You’ve been… stalking me for months now because I was the only one who bought your action figure?”

Minerva tilted her head as her face brightened like he’d just recited her favorite poem.

“I know you mean well…”

Scott went on with a soft but tired voice.

“And I truly do understand how you’re feeling, but—”

He pushed the bowl aside gently and stood up as the chair creaked against the floor.

“There are people out there I might never see again if I don’t act fast. The last time I hesitated to protect someone I cared about, she—”

Minerva adjusted her oversized glasses up her small nose as she interrupted him in that quiet, matter-of-fact way she always did.

“I know… she was caught in an explosion.”

Scott eyes widened a bit.

But Minerva continued.

“You blame yourself for it. I know because… I know a lot about you.”

Her eyes wavered as they shifted to the side.

Maybe it was difficult to look at him.

Even her consistently pale cheeks warmed to the point they almost had color.

“You’re that special to me.”

Scott blinked. For someone who usually spoke like a robot reading from a script, that little crack of emotion in her voice actually hit him.

He sighed and crouched down on one knee so his eyes were closer to hers.

“Sorry if I’ve acted a bit ungrateful—”

Before he could even finish, Minerva stumbled back a step and shook her head wildly as she waved her hands like a panicked child.

“No, no, no! I completely understand! (＠°口°＠)”

She blurted out.

“You don’t have to apologize!”

Her voice cracked, and for a moment, she looked more human than ever.

It was almost too funny how easily a Z-tier hero like her could panic. Maybe it was because she’d spent most of her life being shouted at by people who never cared about what she wanted. Compared to that…

Scott’s quiet frustration probably felt like mercy.

Scott smiled faintly and reached out to place his hand gently on her head.

“Is there anything else…”

He leaned in slightly as his tone softened.

“… you’d like to tell me?”

Their faces were so close that he could see his reflection in her lenses.

“Uhnnn…”

Minerva’s voice trembled.

She looked like she was fighting herself over something.

Scott tilted his head with curiosity.

“Hm? (๑•̌.•̑๑)”

Then, like a dam breaking, Minerva blurted everything out in one breath.

“Look! You need to remember—while you’re Nightwatch, Scott McQueen comes first! I’ve read the thoughts and sensed the intent of the Hero Agency’s Chairman. He’s the one who planned this whole thing! He made that assassin lure you out—he wants you dead!”

Her voice wavered with desperation.

It wasn’t the usual calm, eerie monotone.

Scott’s smile didn’t fade.

He’d expected something like this eventually.

The Chairman wasn’t stupid.

If anyone could’ve pieced together the truth about his secret identity, it was him.

Still, he hadn’t expected things to escalate this fast.

He gave Minerva two light pats on the head as his smile turned a little bittersweet.

“So that’s the real reason you let me stay here…”

He spoke quietly.

“You didn’t want me going back out there… did you?”

His voice was gentle, maybe too gentle for what he was saying.

Minerva lowered her head.

Her tiny shoulders trembled.

Then she nodded slowly.

“Yes…”

Her voice came out small, almost like a whisper.

“I won’t let Scott McQueen get hurt.”

She clenched her fists tightly and huffed as her lips pressed into a determined pout.

Scott watched her in silence.

For all her quirks and creepy tendencies, there was something painfully sincere about her.

This stalker wanted to protect him.

━ ━ ━ ━

[1] It’s the same comic book store from chapter 1.

[2] The only reason it’s a limited-edition is because it couldn’t sell a single unit so the manufacturers canceled the production run early. Scott was the only one able to get it for about 500 bucks.

[3] The strange girl from chapter 11.