During the morning assembly, Shoto Todoroki kept nervously looking at All Might, and All Might, who noticed Shoto Todoroki's gaze, also gave him an 'OK' sign, which made Shoto Todoroki's usually stern face relax.
"Todoroki-shonen~"
"All Might-sensei!"
Looking at Shoto Todoroki's face, which was not as cold as usual, All Might also felt a sense of accomplishment, so he didn't keep him in suspense.
"I already talked to Lancer about it. He has agreed. By the way, Lancer is the name he's using now."
"Lancer... Lancer? Okay! Thank you, All Might-sensei."
"Haha~ It's nothing. I just said hello to him. You have to work hard yourself! Come to my office after school!"
Looking at Shoto Todoroki's excited expression, All Might couldn't help but give Lancer another good guy card. As for the reason? It was simple. In his opinion, the reason Lancer agreed so decisively was nothing more than for his sake. As for the truth? Who would know about the bizarre existence of a 'system'?
But when he returned to his office, he saw Lancer standing in front of the window with a face full of curiosity.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing, I'm just a little curious about this thing."
Lancer was indeed full of curiosity at this time. He had once learned about a board game called 'Othello' in an anime, and he was naturally a little curious when he saw the real thing for the first time today.
"This? I confiscated it from a student in my class before, but since you're curious, how about we play a couple of rounds?"
While speaking, he tidied up the things on the coffee table and then placed the board on the coffee table.
Under the other party's guidance, Lancer also got a general idea of how to play Othello.
But he always felt that something was missing...
"Snap~"
At this moment, a small ceramic jar appeared on the table, and at the same time, a strange scent of wine began to fill the room.
"..."
All Might unconsciously swallowed his saliva, but his persistence as a 'teacher' made him look away.
"As a teacher, it's better not to drink at school."
"It's fine. It's just fruit juice, but it's mixed with a little alcohol~"
In the face of Lancer temptation, All Might's expression didn't change at all, but his eyes, which kept looking at the table, proved that his heart was not calm. And then Lancer added another blow.
"Actually, sobering up is not as troublesome as you think. I have a special medicine~"
While speaking, Lancer placed a bottle of 'detoxification potion' on the side of the table.
In an instant, the entire room fell silent.
"Then... maybe just a little?"
As he said before, All Might was undoubtedly a perfect man. He single-handedly carried the banner of 'peace' and became the so-called 'Symbol of Peace'. This was his own choice, and he had never regretted it. The other people who were just onlookers had no right to judge his actions.
Because no matter what the outcome was, he had already paid the price and was already on this path, and the most crucial thing was that he never thought of turning back. But even so, he was still a 'person'.
"Sometimes I really want to get drunk like this~"
All Might, who was holding a wine glass, had red cheeks. Perhaps because he was drunk, he actually complained for a rare moment, while Lancer just rested his chin on one hand and silently looked at the board.
"If you want to get drunk, then why don't you just get drunk once and for all?"
"I can't... at least not yet. I can never stop until I have completed my mission. There aren't many opportunities for a short break, even like today's. But I feel like I've already seen my future. When the day comes that I can truly rest, I'll find you, the principal, and Aizawa, and we'll have a good drink! No! At least three!!"
Compared to Lancer, who was thinking carefully, All Might's movements for flipping the pieces were incredibly skilled, which showed that he was quite good at Othello. Of course, it could also be understood as Lancer being too bad at it.
"Actually, you don't have to be like this. Although it may not be suitable for me to say this, I can also say that I've had a deep experience with it, right? One person's strength is simply too fragile, and it's meaningless to rely on one person's strength alone..."
Why did Lancer join the Imperial Army in the first place?
He hoped to change the empire from within, but what was the reality?
He underestimated that world and overestimated himself.
He lost his right arm, he lost Leone, and he left the Imperial Capital and that world like a stray dog. At this time, he didn't even have the courage to go back and confirm whether what he had done was meaningful, and he also knew the so-called 'consequences', so he was not optimistic about All Might.
But compared to the dejected Lancer, All Might just smiled and waved his hand.
"Maybe so~ I've never thought that I alone could change the world, but I'm willing to be the first one to try!"
He held the wine glass with his right hand, so he clenched his left fist tightly.
"If there isn't a first one, then how can there be a second one? I have always firmly believed that what I have done will never be meaningless! There will definitely be young people who walk on the path I have paved! And there is no doubt that my efforts over the years have not been in vain! Countless young people have embarked on the path of 'hero'! With their efforts, the entire Neon has regained order! What I believe in is not just myself! I believe that the future that these countless people have worked so hard to achieve will also be maintained by more people! That's all!!"
Looking at the impassioned All Might, Lancer felt as if he saw what was in his hand. It must be————————'hope', right?
And at this moment, All Might once again put his arm around Lancer shoulder.
"Lancer~! I don't know what you've been through! But what I want to tell you is————————don't give up! Failure? So what!! Who in this world hasn't failed? No one's life is perfect! I am like this! You are also like this! So as you said! When you want to drink, just have a drink! After you've had your fill, forget all this! We'll set off again!"
Perhaps he was really drunk, and at this time, All Might showed none of his usual maturity and stability. Instead, he looked like a passionate young man, shouting 'hope', 'future', and 'forward' in his mouth!
But Lancer had to say that the other party was indeed very good at saying such emotional things.
Cu Chulainn had said similar things in the Land of Shadows before, but as Skaha said, he was not good at comforting people. But All Might was different.
This man radiated a feeling called 'hope', and under his persuasion, Lancer also unconsciously showed a hint of a smile.
The two of them raised their glasses and drank it down in one gulp.
"Haha~! That's the spirit!!"
The two of them continued to drink and play Othello in the office, and they even forgot the passage of time, until...
"Bang~ bang~"
The sudden knock on the door made the two adults, whose faces were flushed from drinking, freeze for a moment. It was only then that they noticed that... it seemed... that it was getting late?