Turn Back Time

When Hermes arrived at the HR, he was expecting some kind of strict old lady clutching her pearls every time you do anything slightly unorthodox.

He had never been to HR after all. 

Despite being constantly bullied, he never reported the acts of violence on him nor did any of his colleagues care to alert HR for him. 

He was quite surprised to find a good-looking young man, perhaps in his late 20s, with caramel-colored hair and a pair of smart spectacles.

He was wearing a violet uniform, indicating that he is an S-class power user. But it was slightly different from Somner and the rest, as he also had a red cross on his breast pocket. 

'A medic?' Hermes thought.

"Greetings, Mr. Potentia." He greeted Hermes amicably with a refined way of speaking. "I am Eirwyn Curacio, but you may know me more as Rewind. I have the ability to restore people and objects back to their former glory, before they have been damaged."

Hermes' eyes winded. "Wait… I recognize you now! From Heroes' Call Issue 14598! You were considered one of the greatest healers in our generation! But then they said you retired from doing field missions, so I thought you'd be… older."'

Mr. Curacio chuckled elegantly. "My retirement was not out of choice. I was ordered by the government to not do field work indefinitely."

He then picked up something under his desk. It was a black wooden cane with a handle that looked like the hands of a clock laying flat horizontally. Hermes immediately understood why he had to retire so early. 

Mr. Curacio walked with a limp, one of his ankles twisted at an uncomfortable angle. 

"I wanted to go back, of course. It is a duty and an honor to restore things the way they are supposed to be. But… I could not restore myself. So I must do the next best thing, which is to restore order among the guild."

Hermes could not help but feel his heart ache at the sight. Mr. Eirwyn Curacio was the nicest person he had talked to in The Golden Apple so far…

It was so unfair that it was always the good ones who suffered the most. 

Mr. Curacio tilted his head to the side, as if amused by Hermes' face. "But enough about me. We are here to talk about your rule violation, Mr. Potentia."

"O-Oh." Hermes turned red as he realized his gaze had been intense the whole time. 

He thought about how best to explain the situation. But if he told him the truth…

Would the government consider him a Threat? 

In a world of power users, it was only natural that there would be laws dealing with those whose powers may bring harm to society. Hypnosis was one of them, and so users like Somner must be under surveillance more often than others. 

These users are labelled as Threats, and they also have rankings from F-class to S-class. 

Most of the time…

Threats end up becoming supervillains.

Hermes decided to play it safe, even though he believed that Mr. Curacio was an understanding guy.

"I didn't know that I violated a rule. My ability is to gain the traits of what I eat, and I usually just gain leaves from eating cabbage or a strong smell from eating onions. I didn't know if that power surge was really from me."

He was technically telling the truth. He didn't know it at the time. 

It was only confirmed to him when his system appeared that he had caused everyone in the building to go silent.

Mr. Curacio pursed his lips. "Hm… I could not help but ponder what consumable could have given you the ability to command the populace. Perhaps there is something more to your ability, or there has been a development that has not been addressed."

He then approached Hermes closer, pointing at his stomach.

"Besides that matter… I would like to discuss your injuries. How did you receive them?"

Hermes scratched his head. "Oh, you noticed. I-It's from an accident, I bumped against the edge of a table really hard."

Mr. Curacio did not look pleased with his answer.

"Mr. Potentia, I have been the head of the HR department for years now. Even before then, I have always been capable of detecting hidden truths. In order to be a good healer, one must possess great intuition on the welfare of others."

He placed his hand on Hermes' shoulder. It wasn't as delicate as Somner, but it was pristine and flawless. 

"Please lift up your shirt so I may have a look."

Hermes' heart was threatening to leap out of his chest. Not only was it embarrassing to go shirtless in front of a stranger, but it would also complicate things if this kind man learned about what he was truly going through. 

His colleagues might turn on him, and since big names were also involved, they'd probably find a way to turn it on him and have him fired. 

But if he did not comply, Mr. Curacio would be even more suspicious. 

He slowly grabbed the hem of his shirt and raised it ever so slightly….

Mr. Curacio used the tip of his cane to lift it higher so he could properly observe. "Heavy bruising. Sign of internal injury. This could not just be from bumping against a table."

Hermes did not know what to say that could get him out of jeopardy, so he could only stay quiet. 

Mr. Curacio sighed and said:

"Mr. Potentia… I have always had a soft heart that could not bear seeing others come to ruin. Perhaps it was through that strong empathy that my powers developed into Rewind when I reached puberty."

He went on tiptoes to reach Hermes' head, since the F-class intern was really tall. 

Pat, pat.

Hermes could not help but feel flustered, but also deeply cared for. Just like how the village elderly people would comfort him.

"When you are ready, please do not hesitate to ask for my help. Do not be scared. I would rather you approach me than retaliate in a way that will hurt others. I can see from your eyes that you are truly a good person, but your lack of awareness over your own powers concerns me."

Hermes bowed his head apologetically. "I understand, Sir."

Mr. Curacio smiled. "For now, please allow me to use my ability on you."

Hermes gave a small bashful nod, and Mr.Curacio went to touch his abdomen. He kept it there for about 15 minutes, and Hermes could see a golden light shaped like a circle with two hands in the middle—

A clock.

Soon, he felt his inner organs mending. The pain subsided, and soon the bruises he received from being kicked and stepped on were gone. 

Mr. Curacio gently pushed his shirt back down. "There. All better. How do you feel, dear?"

"P-Perfect." Hermes was red like the shirt he was wearing. "T-Thank you, Sir."

"Just call me Eirwyn." The kind HR manager said. "I feel old when people call me Mr. Curacio. I am only 28 years old after all, and I still consider myself as one of your peers."

Hermes chuckled lightly. "Alright then, Eirwyn…"

"May I call you Hermes?" Eirwyn asked.

"Of course, Sir— I mean Eirwyn!"

They smiled at each other as Eirwyn led him outside of his office. "Feel free to visit anytime you need me—"

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, grimacing in pain. 

Hermes immediately rushed to his side. "Are you alright, Eirwyn?"

"I'm fine." Eirwyn forced a smile. "My injury just acts up at random. It will pass once I sit down and massage it a bit."

"Then let me massage it for you!" Hermes helped him back to his chair. "It's the least I could do for what you've done for me!"

He took off Eirwyn's right shoe and sock. There, he saw his dislocated foot more clearly. 

"This looks terrible. How come the doctors have not healed this yet?" Hermes frowned.

Eirwyn wiped some sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. "It is not that easy. The villain who dealt this injury to me uses curses that deform people. I was already lucky enough to have only my foot be under her deadly hex."

Hermes slowly massaged his foot, being careful around the twisted area. 

"And you cannot heal yourself… It's so unfair."

Eirwyn suddenly turned bright red as Hermes touched the soles of his feet. "Ah… I'm a tad ticklish there, Hermes…"

Hermes stopped. "Oh. I'll be gentle then."

"No, it's…. It's actually worse when you're being gentle and slow. I can feel it more…"

The sounds he was making while feeling tickled were a bit more suggestive than Hermes expected. He gulped as wild thoughts came rushing in his head. 

'Stop it! You have to focus! This man is in pain, and he has been so nice to you. How can you think of anything else besides helping him!?'

Suddenly, he felt something snapped and broke him out of his reverie.

Crack!

"Nghhhh!!!!" Eirwyn gripped the arms of his chair tightly, holding his head back.

Hermes looked at the foot he was massaging.

It… It went back to its proper place!?

He can also see a faint golden clock on the ankle now, the hands turning backwards.

[Power Thief Ability Activated

You have stolen the Rewind Ability. 

Class: S

Duration: 3 minutes

Strength: 51%]