01x01 - Nice

[bunniefuu]

What is a hero?

A beam of light in the midst of darkness.

A savior at the moment of crisis.

That being of perfection in

the hearts of the people!

Nice!

In this era where heroes

are forged by trust,

everyone creates heroes

And everyone can become heroes!

Stop, stop!

Lin Ling, are you sure you know

who our client is right now?

The perfect hero, Nice.

Then why are you spouting nonsense like,

"Everyone creates heroes, everyone is a hero"?

We're trying to highlight Nice, Nice, Nice!

Yes, but Isn't this what

you usually teach us?

To use whatever's popular.

The competition for the number one

hero is returning this year,

so the closing remarks of

this video should be

"To Be Hero X"!

The "X" here seems at first like

the title for the number one hero,

but its hidden meaning is actually that even

nobodies like me can become heroes—

Enough! How old are you?

Are you still playing pretend hero?

Uh Maybe—

No maybes! Look at you!

What is noteworthy about you?

What abilities do you have?

What special traits do you have?

You're just an average, mediocre person.

A normal person!

Accepting reality and working hard

is your only path to success!

But

But what? No buts! Start over!

But—

Stop talking!

Treeman Corporation

Miss J

Go turn off the music!

Hello, Miss J. Yes, yes Pardon?

You've already received the proposal?

Perhaps there was some mishap in the

process. Our internal operations haven't—

Hello? Miss J? Hello?

But Didn't you tell me last night to

send the proposal to the client first?

You Pack your stuff and get the hell out!

Huh?

Now that I think about it, yeah.

This world looks like it's giving

people the chance to become heroes,

but for a regular person,

it's not easy to win someone's trust,

let alone to be liked by

a majority of people.

Hey, cheer up!

Moon

Being alive means experiencing

many challenges,

but please don't lose faith!

Watch True Love Recipe!

Discover the secret to our perfect love!

Ah, sh*t Didn't I just make

this promo video last month?

Why did I have to write these damn

lines to hurt my own feelings?

Remember, tune in to our

show with your lover!

Hey, have you got a house?

No!

A lifelong companion is essential

for a perfect family,

but you also need a stable abode.

Treeman Corporation, fulfilling the

dreams of every one of you who worries.

—you who worries—

Enough, Nice!

No matter how perfect you are right now, one

day you, too, will become old and ugly,

and be replaced by someone else!

Huh?

Huh?

W-Wait!

Treeman Corporation's Top Hero, Nice!

Perfect— Nice— Endorsed by—

C-Can't he fly? How did he just die?

Miss J! Over there!

Where's Nice?

He really did fall to his death.

He jumped off by himself!

It's got nothing to do with me!

Take him!

Wait, no, I'm not—

Cancel all activities this week.

Say that Nice is doing solitary training

to come up with new combat techniques.

It's not a dream? I really did

see him jump with my own eyes?

Nice!

Oh, you're finally awake.

Someone pick him up.

I can get up by myself!

Miss J! I'm Lin Ling, the guy who sends

you the advertisement proposals! Hero Ling!

Who you are is of no importance.

Tell me everything you saw and heard.

He just walked right by me and jumped

right off. He didn't say a word.

Nothing else?

Nothing else.

Oh yeah!

Speak.

He also did his signature pose.

Hello, Mr. Shand. Yes.

Give him a little time.

Maybe he'll surprise us

with something new.

All right, yes.

Nice died!

What? Who died?

Never mind, a fan just said they

miss Nice so much they could die.

Nice has been doing poorly

ever since that incident.

We should just let him rest this time.

Yes, boss.

Miss, capturing me won't

bring him back to life.

He's dead, yes, but our brains are alive.

We'll come up with something.

Don't you guys think

he kind of looks like Nice?

Nice!

From now on, you're Nice.

Memorize these lines!

G-Giving my all to chase perfection

has nothing to do with rankings and—

Mind your facial expressions

and show some confidence!

I'm sorry!

No apologizing! And no

doubting yourself, either!

Miss J, it's already been a few days.

Have we found out why Nice jumped?

Let me clear this up for you.

Someone jumped because his boss put

too much pressure on him. This guy.

What? But that's me!

When did I volundie?!

This news article has only one view.

No one is going to care if

Lin Ling lived or died.

What they really care about is

Nice! Nice! Nice!

Wait, I'm not ready yet!

Don't forget, it's the power of trust

that changes and shapes the world.

Nice!

I-I-I'm not

If the believers say you're

Nice, then you're Nice.

If they believe that you can do it,

then you will be able to do it.

As long as we package you flawlessly,

then the signal that you are Nice will be

reinforced, and will increase your Trust Value.

The increase of your Trust Value will

also cause physical changes in your body.

And finally, you will become the real him.

Whoa, the color of my eyes changed.

His hair and voice are identical to Nice!

Don't celebrate just yet.

Establishing trust requires

immense amounts of effort,

yet destroying it can take as

little as a flick of the finger.

I never would've thought

that I, an ordinary person,

would one day become a hero

at the center of attention.

Oh, don't forget that you haven't

even seen your girlfriend yet.

Eh?

Being alive means experiencing

many challenges,

but please don't lose faith!

Watch True Love Recipe!

Discover the secret to our perfect love!

Moon, did you go visit Nice

when he was in solitary training?

No. Today is the first time I'm

seeing him in a long while.

Moon is Nice's girlfriend. I can't—

What are you going on about?

Right now, you're Nice.

Nice's girlfriend is your girlfriend.

No, no, no, no.

What I mean is that Moon is the

one who understands Nice the most.

She'll notice if even the

tiniest detail is amiss!

And this show is being aired live!

Hey, what are you blushing about?

Are you nervous or excited?

I— I do like Moon.

But only as an idol's fan!

I don't have any improper thoughts!

Start acting like a man,

and get out right now!

It's been a while.

I trust you've been well?

Wow! Nice arrives with a gorgeous

postmodern waltz turn.

So elegant, so gentlemanly, and so perfect!

This is the first time

I've seen her up close.

She's so beautiful.

Why isn't she responding? Did I overdo it?

She's reaching out her hand to me!

I'm holding her hand!

Okay! Hold still, you two! Makeup!

Ready!

Backgrounds!

Ready!

Props!

Ready!

Sound!

Ready!

Okay! Live broadcast in five! Ready!

Five, four, three, two, one!

Welcome to True Love Recipe

at our live venue!

I'm your substitute host for today,

rank 249th hero in the Association

Eye of Truth, Enlighter!

What's the situation? Why was the

host changed at the last minute?

The original host was exposed by

Enlighter as a fraud during a livestream.

He's already left.

Then why didn't you tell me sooner?

It happened just a moment ago.

That's why Enlighter

became the substitute host.

This doesn't seem to match the

script Miss J gave me before.

Eye of Truth?

Did he come here specifically to

expose me? Has he already noticed?

Welcome, Nice, Moon.

This show is called True Love Recipe.

As the name suggests, behind every romance

lies hidden stories

not known to outsiders.

Contact the program production team and shut

down this live broadcast immediately!

So, today, we'll test just how

much you understand each other.

Nice, how many total commercials

has Moon starred in?

What is their total runtime?

What kind of stupid,

nit-picky question are those?!

Is he asking for a fight or something?

We've just found out online that

Enlighter seems to have been

investigating Nice.

This question Even I

haven't done the math

Since your love is so perfect,

I'm sure you wouldn't forget such details.

In total 134 commercials in total.

Hm?

Huh?

Their total runtime is 285

minutes and 48 seconds.

I've investigated him for so long.

He's definitely an actor.

How is he able to respond to

my questions so perfectly?

You actually remember?

Of course.

The inspiration

behind this commercial is to show

Moon's independence and confidence.

We'll choose a more mature

look for her costume—

Lin Ling! Who are you trying

to satisfy? Yourself?

She is Nice's girlfriend, not yours!

She doesn't need you to come

up with her public persona!

Every single one of your

commercials is a labor of love.

Eh?

For the second stage, let us play a game.

Truth or dare?

What is this now?!

It looks like a lie detector.

Honesty is one of the most important

qualities in maintaining a romantic relationship.

So, tell me, Nice.

Is Moon really your girlfriend?

Your perfection is just fake packaging,

so your relationship with

Moon is also fake.

If you dare say yes, you'd be lying.

Crap! It looks like he's already

figured out I'm a fake.

He set this whole thing up on purpose!

If I answer in place of Nice that

Moon is my girlfriend,

that will definitely set

off the lie detector.

But I'll also be questioned if I

don't confirm our relationship.

My true identity will be

found out either way.

What do I do?

Why are you hesitating on

such a simple question?

Moon

is not my girlfriend.

Huh?

What is he saying?

What's wrong with Nice?

As I expected!

The perfect hero is not perfect!

Nice, you're actually—

Actually, Moon has always been

my goddess.

I don't know when it started,

but Moon became

an indispensable part of my life.

People who have dreams sparkle with light.

Be the best version of yourself.

Believe in yourself.

You can do it!

She gave me encouragement.

She gave me hope.

Hope that I could become outstanding.

Hope that I could become a hero

by her side

protecting her.

It's all

true?

Wow, this is too sweet!

This is true mutual love!

So the reason Nice became a hero

was to protect Moon?

Become the best versions of yourselves!

Together! Together! Together!

Don't get complacent just yet!

There's still a third

stage you have to pass!

It can't be

Boss?!

He was once an entrepreneur,

but now he's been pushed into

a corner like a trapped beast.

He owes all of this to you, Nice.

I can't let him recognize me.

Who is this?

It looks like the advertisement

exec we just terminated.

Nice, your entire hero persona is a

product of his team's commercials.

Not only that, but you've

driven him to bankruptcy,

and even drove a young employee,

Lin Ling, to commit suicide!

So that one click on the news

article was your contribution!

When are you going to pay me?

Huh?

Nice When are you going to pay me?!

We've terminated our contract!

What is there to pay you?!

All these years, you've cost me so much

money with your constant revisions and changes,

and each time you promised to

pay extra, but you never paid!

Nice, you and your team are a

bunch of exploitative assholes

who use cheap labor for

your own fame and profit—

Out of my way!

What is this guy doing here?

First running around on stage, and

now being sent flying

No wonder he's ranked 250th.

You idiots, I'm rank 249! 249!

Nice, this isn't over!

I can't go out of business.

I don't want to go out of business!

You owe me a final payment! Pay me!

One more revision

It's Fear!

Fear?

Trust and Fear are two opposing forces.

Now, he's just

a complete monster.

Miss J! Lin's—I mean,

Nice's new combat techniques are getting

an amazing response from the fans!

Excellent!

A perfect comeback!

So this is what it feels like to be a hero.

Overtime, pay cuts, layoffs Fine.

But the company can't go out of business!

This is my career! My life savings!

It's mine! It's all mine!

Enough!

Calm yourself.

Calm myself? You've never run a company.

How would you know how it feels?

Getting rejected from projects,

clients not paying up,

employees slacking off

Loafing around at work,

then trying to sue me?

Lay all of them off!

Only when they lose something will

they finally learn to appreciate it!

It's thanks to the employees' fear of being

laid off that I've been granted new powers!

Powers like I've never had before!

And then, a light appeared in front of me.

One that enabled me to truly control the

destructive powers brought about by Fear!

Keep spreading, Fear!

What is this?

Termination letters!

He's trying to use termination letters

to absorb more power from Fear.

We must finish this quickly!

It'll be fine. I'm Nice right now! I can win!

He got stronger after absorbing Fear!

What do I do? I've used up all

the techniques I've trained.

What do I do next?

You're out of time. Deadline!

Nice!

Why can't I beat him?

I've already become the hero who

lives in everyone's hearts.

Really?

Can I really do it?

Impossible! Look at you!

What is noteworthy about you?

What abilities do you have? What

special traits do you have?

You're just an average, mediocre person.

A normal person!

Accepting reality and working hard

is your only path to success!

Lin Ling!

People who have dreams sparkle with light.

Be the best version of yourself.

Believe in yourself.

You can do it!

That's right.

I believe I can become outstanding.

I believe that one day,

I'll be able to protect those

who are worth protecting.

I believe

that in this world where

heroes are forged by trust,

even a nobody

has the possibility of becoming a hero.

According to reports, last week's incident

at the True Love Recipe live venue

Perfect Hero Targeted in t*rror1st Attack

"Perfect Hero" Nice targeted in t*rror1st attack at live broadcast venue, attackers suspected to be Spotlight Organization members.

was an organized t*rror1st attack.

The association has found a Fear

Value amplifier on the attacker.

These devices were previously seen

in multiple attacks orchestrated

by the Spotlight Organization.

I didn't expect your popularity to

increase so much from this incident.

Looks like you're

pretty fit for this role.

I originally thought that all I had

to do was to play the part of Nice.

Then I realized at that moment

that what you said was right.

Right now, I am Nice.

If that's the case, then I

can finally send you home.

By which you mean

Hero Tower.

Residence distribution is

decided by heroes' rankings.

The higher your ranking,

the higher the floor.

How is it? Isn't the view nice from here?

Miss J, have you found

out his reason for suicide?

It was his own choice.

You, too, will be in the same

position as him one day.

You'll be faced with a choice.

Good night. Enjoy everything

that belongs to you.

Damn, now this is a big house!

This statue is in pretty poor taste.

Where's the bed?

Here it is.

I'm so sleepy.

So comfortable.

Huh?

Why is Moon here?

Oh, right. She and Nice had been

living together for a long time now.