Unable to pay off my debts, I had no choice but to become a Kamen Rider.

Asano Yu shared every detail of his dream with Kirishima Chinatsu and discovered that she, like him, lived in a world where monsters and humans lived in harmony.

To avoid being seen by the Knights Association, the two left Kirishima Chinatsu's hospital room and headed to a nearby supermarket under the pretext of buying food.

Asano Yu wasn't very familiar with the area, so Kirishima Chinatsu led the way.

"Is Yu-kun at the convenience store?"

Kirishima Chinatsu's gaze happened to sweep over a chain convenience store next to her. Since it was during normal business hours, there were a few customers in the store, mostly office workers buying breakfast or lunch during their work hours, or students attending summer tutoring classes.

A few office workers were bowing and scraping in front of their phones, a stark contrast to the students who were laughing heartily with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Just like the scene Asano Yu saw in her dream last night.

"Yes, I took a nap, and when I woke up I went to work at a convenience store—that's how it was in my dream."

"Right, Yu-kun works the night shift... so the strange things only happened after midnight?"

Chinatsu Kirishima was carrying two plastic bags containing four bento boxes, all of which she had bought from a nearby izakaya.

Two servings of okonomiyaki yakisoba, one serving of Chinese fried rice, and the last serving was tonkotsu ramen.

It's amazing that such a small izakaya can offer all sorts of dishes that you'd only find at a different restaurant.

Asano Yu bought some instant energy bars at the supermarket.

The fruit in the supermarket is too expensive. No, I should say that all fruits and vegetables in Japan are too expensive.

Asano Yuu only learned this recently when he bought a fruit basket for Hayami Mitsuki: the label on the bottom of the fruit basket didn't indicate how much the basket cost, but rather how much it cost per pound.

So Asano Yu spent a huge sum of money to buy a small fruit basket, but it still cost tens of thousands of yen.

That's why Hayami Mitsuki forced Asano Yu to accept money. She used to say that Asano Yu was a bit naive and didn't seem to understand the real Japan.

Asano Yu didn't lie and said that he had lived abroad since he was a child and only returned in high school, so he wasn't very familiar with the area.

As for whether it was true or false, Asano Yu did not make any explanation. Even if the original owner had never left Japan, it didn't matter, since it didn't matter whether it was true or false.

However, since discovering that fruits and fresh vegetables are almost exorbitantly priced, Asano Yu's vegetable intake has been reduced to bean sprouts and cabbage scraps.

Both of these are frequent items on supermarket specials; the first one is cheaper, while the second one consists of chopped scraps.

However, the advantage lies in the large quantity; it's still edible if you stir-fry it with some chili sauce.

"What were you doing at midnight?"

Asano Yu reached out and snatched the plastic bag from the girl's hand, binding both of her hands.

Kirishima Chinatsu glanced at it, a faint smile appearing on her face, but she didn't simply distance herself from it—

"I'll get this for you!"

As she spoke, she picked up Asano Yu's snack bag. The bag was very light and contained mostly cheap snacks and bread.

Asano Yu didn't refuse, and watched her walk lightly beside him, then began to think, and finally gave his answer:

"I think it was around 10 o'clock when I messaged you to say we were going to play games..."

Kirishima Chinatsu remembered that before she started playing the game, she had sent messages to Asano Yu to brag about it.

She remembers this incident vividly because she forgot to send the photo of herself and Hayami Mitsuki to Asano Yu!

After the equipment was debugged, Asano Yu sent a reply, around 10:30.

Asano Yu has to go to work at 11:00, so getting up at 10:30 is just right.

Therefore, it can be confirmed that Kirishima Chinatsu and Hayami Mitsuki also started playing the game at 11 o'clock.

The anomaly likely started around that time; Kirishima Chinatsu clearly remembers putting on her helmet, adjusting the equipment, and getting ready to start playing!

But when he woke up, he couldn't remember anything.

Kirishima Chinatsu's sleep time is seven hours, from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m., because the helmet can only be used for two hours on a single charge.

So, tired of playing, the two decided to go to sleep, using the excuse that the battery was dead.

"So, the three identities—12 o'clock, VR devices, and humans—are the cause of the anomaly?"

After a moment's thought, Asano Yu offered his own perspective.

Upon hearing this, Kirishima Chinatsu's eyelids drooped, her lips puffed out, and she muttered somewhat resentfully:

"Eh... Yu-kun's words make him sound inhuman..."

"Are you not human?"

Asano Yu didn't rush to answer, because Decade was a Kamen Rider who didn't belong to this world, and in the setting, he was a Kamen Rider who was always passing by.

Moreover, Asano Yu's inner and outer self are not the same person; the current Asano Yu is indeed not a local.

"That's true..."

"What am I?"

"Humans".

"Anything else?"

"Knight Decade..."

"What about seeing Miyue earlier?"

"Humans..."

"Anything else?"

"Ah... um..."

The girl seemed to realize something, and her face turned somewhat embarrassed, because, in her opinion, Asano Yu was unaware that Hayami Mitsuki was Agito.

Moreover, as a non-human life form certified by the Knights Association, she is not allowed to reveal these things to outsiders according to the confidentiality rules.

I almost let it slip!

"What's wrong?"

Asano Yu smiled faintly, thinking to herself, "You little brat, you know when to shut up! You fell for my trick so easily, what else could you be but an idiot?"

"What?"

So Asano Yu deliberately played a trick on her, insisting on bringing up something she was trying to hide and asking her a teasing question.

"The president of the Subculture Exchange Club!"

"What?"

"Back in high school, we went to the same school, right? She was the president of this club back then! Yes! It was the Subculture Exchange Club!"

There's actually no such club; it was all made up by Kirishima Chinatsu, but there's no way to hide it.

"That's quite possible. In short, this device will work on humans..."

"So, we were able to wake up simply because of our non-human physical condition?"

"Very likely..."

However, Asano Yu knew that Hayami Mitsuki was actually Agito—could it be that because he had taken Agito's driver, she was unable to transform and thus turned back into a human?

No, I remember that night when she faced Caesar, Hayami Mitsuki said a lot of things, including but not limited to the fact that she was gradually losing the power of Agito and was gradually losing the ability to transform into Agito...

Could it be that the helmet's effect on her is actually because she has completely lost the ability to transform into Agito?

"By the way, Yu-kun," Kirishima Chinatsu gently patted Asano Yu's arm, interrupting his thoughts, "if you think it's because of that device, shouldn't we go and settle accounts with that VR experience center?"

"Uh...it might be too late."

Asano Yu thought that little Allen had probably already run away.