I want to become a Kamen Rider

"?"

"He's probably not dead, but he's just missing. We haven't been able to contact him for six months."

"Where is my apprentice?"

"..."

"Where is my apprentice, who's so old?!"

Fan Kang also stopped being so cheerful.

.........

……

The moonlight shines.

In the distance, Hachiman Hikigaya and Sakuta Azusagawa are carrying out civil engineering work, aiming to fill in the craters caused by the battle and repair the affected buildings as soon as possible.

If used and coordinated well, one Kamen Rider can be as effective as an entire construction team, although there have been objections to having heroes do civil engineering work.

But Eleanor rejected them all, citing the noble principle that all professions are equal.

In fact, she knows better than anyone that people are born unequal and professions are unequal. So why do we keep shouting about equality at birth and equality in professions? It is precisely because of the existence of serious inequality that there are so many slogans and calls for equality. If there were true equality or the situation of inequality were improved, there would not be so many slogans.

Achieving equality for all is a distant goal, one that is destined to remain unachieved in our lifetime. However, humanity should not give up in despair. It may have taken thousands of years to transform slaves into tenant farmers and artisans, and it may take even longer for everyone to become an equal citizen. But without action, we will never move forward.

Gaining the support of the citizens for knights fighting in the city is actually quite simple: protect the buildings as much as possible, protect others as much as possible, and... do as much cleanup and repair as possible.

Just being able to accomplish the first two things, especially the second, is enough to be called a hero. If one can achieve something in the third thing, then one should deserve prestige and support. This is why the Knights Council was able to thrive and grow stronger under the other side.

Although Fan Kang probably couldn't sense it, his prejudice against Eleanor always led him to think of her as a mentally unstable person, but her qualities of "sharing" and "getting things done" destined her to be seen as a very charismatic person by some.

As for whether this person can actually rule the world, and whether that far-fetched wish will bring new life or give rise to even more terrifying calamities, that's for her and those who believe in her to decide.

He has always been clear about his role: he simply wants to help everyone survive, and the rest should be left to the survivors to make their own choices.

Gazing at the busy figures in the distance, the idle boy sat under the broken eaves of the Hiiragi family's house, a hint of melancholy in his eyes, while the purple-haired girl looked at him with displeasure.

"You've been so distracted ever since you found out the bento girl went missing. Are you that bothered?"

"I care about it very much."

He nodded.

The purple-haired girl sat down next to him and squatted down.

"Minister, do you really like Mizutani Migen?"

"like very much."

"He did it! Without even a moment's hesitation, he said something that should never be said aloud—telling his girlfriend he really likes another girl! You scumbag!"

She made a fist as if to throw a punch, but the minister, who usually joked around with her at this time, showed no intention of moving.

The purple-haired girl snorted jealously, but couldn't bring herself to say anything about crying, making a scene, or threatening suicide.

Before her stood a man who, even if he were to confess to wanting a harem, she couldn't morally condemn him. Yet, she knew perfectly well that the minister wouldn't say such a thing. If he did, she could actually relax and pretend to be magnanimous and forgive him.

That at least shows that he has expectations for the future.

People always thought she was clumsy and silly, but that was only because the club president was there at the time. She could be clumsy and silly like Tina Hiiragi without any problem. Later, when the club president came back, she was no longer so clumsy or silly.

Looking at the minister, she still wanted to be the silly and clumsy Tina Hiiragi in front of him.

How could she suddenly decide to become a scumbag? She's the one who's been fighting and fighting and fighting without ever giving up. Even if the department head doesn't tell her the exact reason, she can guess. But she can't show it. If even she stops acting foolish and naive in front of the department head, then everyone will have to face the cruel reality together.

If something were to happen to Bento Girl, how heartbroken the minister would be, having failed to say anything and ignored her sincerity.

"That second-generation Time Jacker seems to have committed suicide, leaving only the watch face behind."

"A watch face is enough."

She tried hard to make conversation and change the subject:

"Minister, you lied to me again. You clearly said before that I couldn't turn into Kuuga again."

"It can't transform into emptiness, but it didn't say it can't transform into something else."

"The stone you used earlier was the Emperor Stone from Kamen Rider Black, right? Although the transformation form is a bit different from Kamen Rider Black, that one was also picked up by Takamatsu Akari?"

"The Imperial Stone is the reward I earned by honestly saving the world."

"What grade is this Imperial Stone?"

"It's the highest grade, if I wasn't exaggerating when I wrote it in my diary. This is the ultimate Emperor Stone, a combination of the 'Sun Stone' and the 'Moon Stone', which was blessed and prayed for when everyone was calling for Kamen Rider."

She tried to make her tone lighter.

"Shouldn't it have been a line like, 'At this moment, something incredible happened,' and then the Emperor Stone unleashed its supreme power to end all the tragedy?"

"If the Imperial Stone itself is about to shatter, whose tragedy can it possibly end?"

The boy casually tossed the crimson stone to her.

The stone in his hand was indeed riddled with cracks and on the verge of shattering, yet even so, he could feel the surging power within. What terrifying thing could possibly shatter even the Emperor Stone?

"It looks like this stone can only transform two or three more times before it reaches its limit."

"What kind of thing would it take to turn the Kingstone into this? Minister, you didn't go and fight Godzilla again, did you?"

"Even I would want to cry if I fought Godzilla continuously. But judging from the few complaints in the diary, it might be a being even scarier than most Godzillas."

"Any stories to hear this time?"

"I don't remember anything anymore, and I didn't write anything clearly in my diary. All I have on me now is the diary, a card, and this stone. Maybe it's related to this card."

He casually tossed the card to the girl.

The girl raised her head, her purple hair fluttering in the moonlight, particularly striking against her hesitant expression.

"I'm thinking about a very serious question, Minister."

"?"

"How did you manage to come back alive?"

"Are you being polite, Butina...?"

"No, I really hope the minister can come back alive, but every time I hear those ridiculous little stories you tell and see what you pull out, I can't help but wonder, minister..."

The girl stared at the figure on the purplish-black card, her lips twitching.

"When you fell into another world, did you wander onto the wrong movie set?"

Chapter 116 [This Life and the Next]

That night.

Since the “past” began to crumble like a sandcastle, Fan Kang has almost stopped having any dreams. Those illusions woven from fragments of memory seem to have been stripped away along with the lost “past.”

But tonight, he fell into a dream.

He dreamt of scenes that had never appeared in his existing memories. Starting from the day he returned to this world, the only memory he had left was the scene of meeting Lady Toyokawa on the first day he embarked on his journey after leaving this world.

As time goes by, he will slowly lose that scene, the beginning and the end of the journey will be lost, and then, the memories before the showdown with Godzilla.

No matter what stories he had, what people and events he had encountered, or how turbulent the middle of his journey had been, he no longer remembered them. Only the dry fragments in his diary provided him with a basis for his imagination.

He didn't know why he had to face those powerful enemies, nor what means he had to defeat them. Only his diary, with its beginning and end, told him that this had indeed happened. But when he stood in his dream, on that grassland he didn't remember ever setting foot on, he was surprised to find that even the beginning and end, as recorded in the diary, might not be true.

What if your past self intentionally deceived your present self and didn't record things truthfully? What if your past self wanted to achieve a certain result and altered the story that happened?

He gazed at the two figures, one tall and one short, one sitting and one lying down, on the grassland, speechless.

A corner of the sky is collapsing like shattered glass, the world is about to be destroyed, and there are only a boy and a little girl in it.

The boy was himself. He lay casually on a patch of soft grass, his head resting on the little girl's slender thighs, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, his posture languid and content. The sunlight was a bit dazzling, so the little girl stretched out a small hand to gently shield his eyes. With her other hand, she clumsily but patiently fed a small, delicate pastry into the boy's slightly open mouth.

The little girl had her head down, so her face couldn't be seen, only a silly, contented smile on her lips. She was completely at ease, as if that was the sole meaning of her existence.

For some reason, he felt that the scene was somewhat familiar, as if it had happened before.

Looking at his past self doing something greedy, Fan Kang clenched his fists. He tried to tell himself that this was just a dream, and the person lying there was himself. There was no need to hold a grudge against his past self, even if his past self had deceived him.

Just then, a somewhat indistinct voice from the dream drifted over from afar:

"Fan Kang, Fan Kang Kang, do you want eternal life?"

"Eternal life is nothing but a curse for someone like me."

When someone asks you if you want something, just answer yes or no directly. Why act all high and mighty like that? What are you talking about?

As it turns out, sometimes when people are jealous, they really can't stand themselves.

Fan Kang picked up a stone from the ground, intending to throw it at the arrogant boy, but the stone passed right through him and missed. The scene before him was ultimately just a fragment of the past, and might not even be his memory.

From this angle, he couldn't see his own face clearly, nor could he see the little girl's face, which was blurred in the light. He could only vaguely hear some of their conversation. The two people over there were behaving intimately, and even if they weren't lovers, their relationship was definitely not something that could be described as ordinary.

"This is already the 1037th world. Do you still want to continue?"

"I will keep going until I find Xiaofeng."

"Don't you ever think about going home, back to where you belong?"

"The final destination for Kamen Riders is the battlefield of death."

Putting aside his own habit of not speaking human language, one hundred and thirty-seven?!

According to the diary, the encounter with the Time Calamity was in the seventh world. In comparison, the number 137 is simply outrageous, utterly absurd.

It was obvious that his past self had deceived him.

The truth is not at all as written in the diary. The Time Jacker's princess repaid kindness with enmity, putting a collar and chains on him, trying to keep him by her side forever. At least, the guy over there seems quite willing now.

A man is lying on a woman's lap, and the woman not only gently shields him from the sun with her hand, but also affectionately feeds him. If you say there's nothing between the two of them, it's as absurd and ridiculous as someone making you a bento and you pointing at it and saying it's a "duty bento."

But when he righteously refuted the burly man last night, based on the diary entries, the man did not refute him. Instead, he tacitly agreed to the accusation that he was wasting resources.

The truth is becoming increasingly elusive.

The grass swayed in the unknown wind, and even as the cracks in the collapsing sky widened, the girl and boy on the other side remained immersed in their own world.

They seemed to be having a heated argument, or perhaps debating something of paramount importance. Their voices were muffled; all that could be seen was the boy sitting up agitatedly, while the little girl stubbornly tilted her head back. Ultimately, the boy seemed to be persuaded, or… compromised.

He lay on the girl's lap and fell into a deep sleep.

The girl, smiling foolishly, looked down at the sleeping boy beneath her, then lowered her head. Just as she was about to do something inappropriate, her form changed—a natural transformation that must have occurred with the passage of time. Perhaps it was true, as the burly man had said, that the Time Robber's princess was a young girl in the morning, a mature woman at noon, and a teenage girl in the evening.

The older woman with a graceful figure gently kissed the forehead of the boy on her lap, then raised her head, her gaze fixed on him, who was now standing in the center of the dream.

A mature and gentle female voice, though her face remained obscured, rang out, carrying a hint of understanding and a faint apology:

"You must be angry that you were deceived by your past self."

"Can you see me?"

"'You can see me,' that's what you would say, right?"

He had been predicted; just how well did the woman in front of him really know him?

The older sister, whose face was still obscured, spoke gently:

"Please understand that you had your reasons for altering the diary in the past. He didn't want to respond to your expectations with a blank record, so he fabricated some entries. These fabricated entries also contain the fact that you tried your best."

"The real journey is far more arduous, painful, difficult, and terrifying than what is written down. Every seemingly casual beginning and end is a man's rebellion, a struggle to break everything and rise again and again."

“He has fulfilled his promise to himself, so you should now stand at the starting point of everything. When you see this scene facing me, it means you have used up the ‘life’ that I entrusted to you.”

"..."

Fan Kang silently stared at the figure whose face he couldn't see. She was probably smiling foolishly. Even though he couldn't see her face clearly, he was still so certain of her.

It was as if someone had already given him that silly grin countless times.

"I will not regret it. This is a decision I made after careful consideration."

"From the first moment I met you, you carried a heavy burden, unwilling to free yourself from these constraints. Stories of tragic figures are no longer popular, just as you have repeatedly complained to me. People prefer heroes who achieve victory effortlessly and end in glory. Even in our country's theater, the most popular plays are those of princes seeking revenge by finding a divine sword and receiving divine assistance..."

She paused, as if gazing at him from a distance she couldn't see.

"A rotten-to-the-bone person who still wants to be a hero, who can't even be a little frank, and who is a scoundrel who is always complaining and being pitiful, is not liked."

"But there's nothing you can do. You're just that unlucky. You overestimated yourself and defied fate, defied destruction, defied death, defied vanishing, and saved countless lives. But who can save you now?"