I want to become a Kamen Rider

Raindrops slid down his hair and into the back of his neck, and Fan Kang realized he was smiling. The warm yellow glow of the convenience store shrank into a small crescent behind him. He walked towards the street corner, stepping through puddles of broken neon lights, the tip of Qiu Bi's tail sweeping across a small patch of dry territory on his shoulder.

The blue light from the vending machine pierced through the rain, like deep-sea fish luring their prey.

Water droplets condensed on the MAX coffee can, and the metallic "Limited Edition" label shimmered faintly in the dim light. He almost pressed his nose against the glass, his breath mingling with the cool air from the canned coffee on either side of the barrier.

"Temperature payment won't work if you don't have exact change."

"You're so long-winded, as if you're rich!"

"Kooby has something for you. As long as Kang-kun promises to prioritize Kubi's opinions in future actions and not act unilaterally, Kubi will treat Kang-kun to coffee."

Fan Kang turned his head and noticed the suspicious creature on his shoulder moving its tail, and it actually pulled out a coin from somewhere.

Although he didn't know where this guy got the money, he wasn't about to sell himself for a bottle of coffee. Even so, Fan Kang swallowed hard, looking at the MAX coffee in the vending machine. He really wanted to drink it...

My fingertips hovered over the coin slot, and all I had in my hospital gown pocket was some alcohol wipes I'd swiped from the nurses' station.

Fan Kang stared resentfully at the hateful Cupid and the hateful vending machine when he suddenly heard the rustling sound of fabric rubbing behind him.

The moment I turned my head and saw the pink head, I thought someone had dropped the cherry blossom-flavored cotton candy—the girl was huddled inside a raincoat made from a plastic bag from a convenience store, with a cherry blossom-colored kimono underneath, and water droplets dripping from her hair hitting his toes that were sticking out of his slippers.

"Excuse me, excuse me..." Her voice was even more fleeting than the rain curtain overhead, her hand clutching the coins curled into a cat's paw in front of her chest, "Um, if you're not buying..."

"Who said I'm not buying it?"

Despite having no money in his pocket, Fan Kang still spoke with self-righteousness.

"I'm so sorry! I was meddling in other people's business! Please forgive me as an apology."

For some reason, the girl slid down to her knees very quickly, bowed and apologized in one smooth motion, and then ran away.

"I don't know why, but it seems like I can buy coffee now."

Looking at the coin in his hand, Fan Kang remained noncommittal, while Qiu Bi quietly added:

"Because you stood in front of the vending machine for half an hour, and that child waited behind you for half an hour, it must have taken a lot of effort for him to muster the courage to talk to you."

"Really? Then I'll have to taste this MAX coffee with a guilty conscience."

Inserting coins and picking up goods was a seamless process. Using the "stolen" coins, Fan Kang showed little shame. Why not use them? He was already there, and it was the Lunar New Year. His children were still young. Such actions reflected the pragmatic tradition ingrained in Fan Kang's genes.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Kyubey rubbed his paws. "Maybe it'll be a fateful encounter. That kid seems pretty easy to fool; that way you can get more coffee from her, and I can encourage her to become a Kamen Rider."

"You just said 'liar,' didn't you?"

'Khubi didn't say.'

"You definitely told me, didn't you?!"

The pull tab of MAX Coffee emitted a clear sigh, and Fan Kang smacked his lips, savoring the taste he hadn't experienced in many years.

"In the end, fighting should be the job of adults, right?"

'Even though he's clearly not an adult himself, he's not exactly a grown man either.'

"Who knows? Maybe it's because I've developed an adult's mind ahead of time?"

Only those who have truly witnessed such a colossal creature, comparable to mountains, know how difficult it is to simply suppress their fear and not run away, let alone let such a young child fight against a monster.

"In the end, that girl's personality is simply not suitable to be a Kamen Rider, so she wouldn't have anything to do with me."

'It's not entirely unrelated.'

"?"

Under Fan Kang's questioning gaze, the suspicious white creature on his shoulder said calmly:

'Developing romantic relationships with multiple girls and collecting their emotional energy can enhance my power as a Kamen Rider.'

A mouthful of MAX coffee sprayed out of Fan Kang's mouth.

"What nonsense are you spouting, you lewd beast!"

Chapter Six: The Girl Picking Up Stones

The imagined way for a Kamen Rider to become stronger: To bear a tragic fate and fight against enemies, to break through the boundary between life and death, to hone skills and willpower, and to live up to the name of a Kamen Rider.

The real-life method for Kyubey-style Kamen Rider to become stronger: Jump between different girls, manipulate their feelings, and collect energy from their emotional fluctuations—it's practically a birthdate.

Fan Kang, who fought as a member of the government army's armored knight force in his previous life, seems to understand now why there have always been rumors of chaotic relationships between men and women among the contract knights who have made contracts with the Kyubeys...

I've heard it's not just promiscuous relationships between men and women, but also between men and women...

"I will absolutely not accept this way of becoming stronger!"

Fan Kangyi expressed his strong condemnation with righteous indignation.

"That despicable act of manipulating other people's feelings to gain power is not the behavior of a true knight."

It's definitely not because he couldn't take such a shortcut since he relied on the spirit stone belt to transform.

His strength could only be gained through gradual training, his experience through life-or-death battles, and his willpower through repeated confrontations with his own heart. In comparison, contract knights could become stronger simply by falling in love and becoming "pond owners"?!

That's so enviable... and so despicable!

Shameful, ugly, filthy. What's the difference between a guy who becomes stronger by falling in love and a lazy bum who does nothing but expect a windfall, a parasite on society who lives off his savings?!

Pointing to the tall buildings in the distance, the man, who had just been reborn today, spoke with conviction.

"Even if I, Fan Kang, am beaten to death by some weirdo, die outside, or jump off a cliff, I will never fall in love or become stronger!"

"Just get stronger in your own way, Mr. Kang. What Kyubey just said was just the fastest and most direct way to get stronger."

Without questioning why the target should define Kamen Rider according to their own understanding, the suspicious alien creature on Fan Kang's shoulder maintained its cute tone.

It's already a mature salesperson, with substantial earnings and numerous downlines, standing at the top of its peers on this planet. It deeply understands the sales principle of not going against customers. Ultimately, only a target as passionate about Kamen Rider as this innocent kid can provide enough "value" when this deal is closed.

This is why it will temporarily follow Fan Kang personally.

The host who merely uses this power as a tool or a means of reliance, regardless of their performance in battle as a Kamen Rider, has little value to Kyubey.

Only with enough enthusiasm can one reap abundant fruit even in the coldest of times.

Besides, those who say they won't take shortcuts end up taking them themselves. Their counterparts in other universes are still developing their goals one by one. Under its guidance, the Kyubeys in this world have already learned to let their hosts develop their goals on their own.

So far, there has been only one exception: that guy who was always smiling burned from start to finish, causing it to lose a lot of money.

Speaking of which, the Rider that guy transformed into was also Kuuga...

Cupid on Fan Kang's shoulder glanced at this "contractor" secretly, praying in his heart that he wouldn't be so unlucky as to encounter another exception. But then he thought it was funny. How could there be such men everywhere? Men who would never despair until death.

Leave the vending machine and continue walking forward.

The drizzle gradually thinned, and the puddles at the street corner reflected the neon lights and the leaden sky. Fan Kang crunched the empty MAX coffee can, glancing sideways at the white creature on his shoulder.

"Ultimately, why does manipulating other people's feelings make you stronger?"

'It's a normal relationship, a normal relationship, maybe just a little too much love...'

Cupid emphasized normal dating, and then said.

'Given the law of conservation of energy, what do you think is the source of energy that allows weak humans to become fantastical heroes?'

"Wasn't it you who provided the physical modifications?"

No, that's not it.

The tip of Cupid's tail brushed lightly against his ear, his voice calm and even:

"Human joy and despair, hope and resentment—the clash of these emotions generates tremendous energy. Like…" it paused, "the difference between that child's negative emotion and your happiness when you just took her coin to buy coffee."

If one could fall from the peak to the bottom, that despair would be enough to stop the increase of the universe's entropy and delay the arrival of heat death.

"But the girl gave me the coin, I didn't steal it, did I?"

'So, the King doesn't deny that he's happy about this?'

"Of course I'd be happy to get a small advantage."

'...Resisting the emperor is truly shameless.'

"I am over-flattered."

Fan Kang scratched his head.

"Speaking of which, why bother collecting energy in such a distorted way?"

Before Cupid could answer, a muffled thud suddenly came from the sidewalk ahead.

A young girl was kneeling on the wet paving stones, her short, light gray hair sticking to her cheeks with rainwater. Several pebbles in her arms rolled into the drain. She frantically reached out to grab them, but the remaining stones slipped through her fingers even faster. Finally, she simply lay down on the ground, futilely trying to catch the scattered pebbles with her sleeve.

"Um... do you need any help?" Fan Kang asked instinctively.

The girl trembled violently, almost burying her head in the cracks between the floor tiles: "I'm sorry! I'll clean it up right away..." Her voice was barely audible, as if even her breathing was an apology.

Why did I run into two socially awkward people in a row? Am I just destined to be with them? And this pile of stones feels kind of weird...

Fan Kang silently complained in his mind.

"Let me help you."

With a sigh, without giving the other party a chance to refuse, Fan Kang bent down and picked up the stones on the ground.

Rainwater splashed tiny droplets on the various colored stones. Fan Kang squatted down, and the hem of his hospital gown was immediately soaked through. He picked up a stone at random, only to find words carved on its surface:

"I found a four-leaf clover on the riverbank today. Although it was trampled flat, its shape still looks like a star."

The edges of the writing gleamed with an inexplicable shimmer, and the rainwater on the ground washed over it, blurring it like tear stains.

Continue picking up stones. Some stones have words on them, some don't, and some give off a strange feeling of something ominous or powerful just by touching them.

"I found a yellow stone on a strange glove today."

"A person called 'Master' gave me a five-pointed star. What a kind person."

"A man called 'Doctor' gave me a six-sided stone; he was a good person too."

……

The bottom one even has a crooked, simple sketch of a band, with five people holding hands and standing on the moon.

"What's this, some new kind of graffiti?" he muttered, handing the stone to the girl. She held it with both hands as if it were a fragile object, her fingertips lightly tracing the engravings. "It's... very important..."

"I'm so sorry..." She began to bow, the stone in her arms almost slipping from her grasp again. "I'm so sorry for causing you trouble! These are just... just very important..."

Fan Kang sighed and stuffed the last stone into her arms: "Alright, if you apologize again, it'll start raining again."

He pointed to the gloomy sky, and the girl actually looked up, water droplets from her hair sliding down her neck and into her collar.

Simply categorizing the other person as an "oddball" who wasn't actually meant to be defeated, without asking any further questions, Fan Kang returned the stone to the girl, receiving a barely audible thank you, and then said goodbye.

A meddlesome person might have already spoken up, but Fan Kang didn't, even though he was already meddlesome enough by helping to pick up stones.

He had a feeling that he was about to enter some strange side story, but he didn't have that much time, nor could he follow the path that the pervert had described—the path of manipulating other people's feelings to become stronger.

Damn it, it makes me so angry. Why should he have to work so hard to accumulate power when others can become stronger just by dating? Speaking of which, he was quite interested in the stones that the girl had collected, but seeing how much she treasured them, he was too embarrassed to ask for them.

Watching the strange girl picking up stones walk away, Fan Kang felt for some reason that he had missed something, not a deeply unforgettable love, but something else entirely.

But with unwavering conviction, he quickly shook his head, banishing the distracting thoughts. Regardless of the truth buried deep within that hopeless future, he would do everything in his power to stop the meteorite that would bring about the destruction of the world. From this perspective, ordinary romance was out of the question.

To paraphrase Dead Fish Eyes, being able to choose only one person is loneliness, while actively choosing one person is aloofness.

He wanted to be a solitary knight; women were just a hindrance.

A lone knight stands among men, arms crossed, his eyes still etched with unwavering resolve even as rain soaks his clothes.

Then, the suspicious alien creature on his shoulder, from the silent Kyubey until now, until the girl holding the stone ran away.

'King, that girl seems to be a knight who has also made a contract with another Kyubey.'

"Oh."

The aloof knight remained unmoved.

'...Judging from the progress, it's about to spiral out of control in two or three more battles.'

The lone knight broke down.

"You even... you even trick girls like that into fighting?!" He suddenly grabbed Kyubey's ear.