Anime Crossover: My Part-Time Job as a Giant of Light While Studying Abroad in Chiba

Mikado Anpei didn't reply. He just stared down at Duan Zilian as if trying to see into his soul.

Duan Zilian felt uncomfortable being stared at, sensing an invisible pressure.

"It's true! What I said earlier was the truth; I really just happened to be passing by on my way to buy soy sauce!"

Duan Zilian waved her hands repeatedly, trying to break the deadly silence.

Seeing the boy's slightly embarrassed appearance, the hostility in Mikado Yasuhei's eyes lessened a bit.

He snorted coldly, turned around and looked back at the sunset, ignoring him completely.

Duan Zilian stood not far away, watching the man's black silhouette, and muttered to herself.

He had basically confirmed the other party's identity as an alien, since no Earthling could lift more than ten tons of steel with one hand.

Just as Duan Zilian was pondering whether to risk being knocked away and continue to press the other party for their stance.

"Ultraman Tiga".

With his back to him, Mikado Yasuhira suddenly whispered the name.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Duan Zilian looked up.

"I have a question."

Mikado Yasuhira did not turn around; the summer wind ruffled his slightly disheveled long hair.

In his field of vision were construction sites undergoing repairs, the clanging and banging sounds like the closing symphony of a battlefield.

Duan Zilian didn't speak, but slowly took two steps closer, quietly waiting for what was to come.

“I…have no identity, and no past.”

Mikado Yasuhira's voice was calm and hollow, as if he were talking about a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.

"Two days ago, I don't know why I ended up here. I've lost all my past memories."

"But I know very well that I am definitely not a native of this planet, and I have not the slightest sense of belonging to the humans here."

Suddenly, a leaf drifted down in front of him, and Mikado Yasuhira caught it with his hand.

He looked down at the leaf, its veins intricate and complex, each leading in a different direction.

However, an unsightly hole was bitten in the center of the leaf by an insect.

"Although I have lost my memory, I still retain some instincts, and many things on this planet make me feel uncomfortable and incomprehensible."

Mikado Anpei turned his head, his cold eyes piercing straight into Duan Zilian's soul.

"Ultraman Tiga, tell me."

"With such power, why do you demean yourself... to protect the weak?"

Anping's tone was unusually stubborn and irritable as he recalled the scene of Tiga fighting the two monsters.

He could easily have ended the battle with his strength, but he hesitated to act because he wanted to protect the humans, and even got bitten by the monsters.

"What value or meaning does this kind of protection, which focuses on the trivial and neglects the essential, have other than making you timid and hesitant?"

Duan Zilian opened her mouth as she listened to what Yumen Anping said.

The next second, Anping suddenly crushed the fallen leaf in his hand.

"And what about those fragile humans who, despite being in danger themselves, insist on risking their lives to save other insignificant people? Isn't that incredibly foolish?"

"..."

"Human beings are not fragile."

Duan Zilian suddenly spoke, her voice not loud but unusually clear.

Mikado Yasuhira stared intently at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Uncle, you say you don't understand these things, but let me ask you, if you think protecting the weak is foolish, did you also think you were a fool when you saved those people before?"

"..."

Upon hearing Duan Zilian's incisive question, Yumen Anping's face instantly darkened, and his irritation intensified.

"Ultraman Tiga, I don't want to hear your sophistry."

"I need an answer. I need to know what the point of all this is."

"Meaning is never something that others say, but something that you discover for yourself through your own experiences in life."

Duan Zilian looked at that cold, handsome face in the setting sun, her tone filled with the sincerity unique to a young man's spirit.

"You want me to tell you why you should save the weak? Even if I did, would you believe me? That's just my answer, not yours."

Upon hearing what Duan Zilian said, Yumen Anping's breath hitched.

"And uncle, I'll say it again, I'm not just Ultraman Tiga, I also have another name, Duan Zilian."

"This is the real me."

Mikado Yasuhira's eyes narrowed slightly.

"All the principles on this planet are useless if others tell you them; you must find the final answer yourself."

Duan Zilian also reached out and caught a falling green leaf from mid-air, which also had a small hole bitten through by an insect.

But he chose to hold the broken leaf up to his eyes and peer through the small hole at the setting sun on the other side.

"Actually, when I first gained this power, I was confused, scared, and even wanted to run away. I didn't understand why I, a high school student, would be chosen to shoulder this responsibility of being a savior."

"But in the end, it was through repeated failures and setbacks that I established my inner self and found the meaning of my existence."

Duan Zilian put down the leaf and smiled with relief.

"And what makes you so sure I can find the right answer in this world?"

Mikado Yasuhira coldly retorted.

"What if the answer I ultimately find is the exact opposite of your sense of justice?"

"As long as there are thinking beings, there will inevitably be differences in ideas."

Duan Zilian looked at him, her eyes shining as brightly as stars.

"But it is precisely because of these differences, the pain and the struggles, that people are people, not machines that follow unchanging rules."

"As for why I'm so sure you'll find the answer..."

Duan Zilian stroked her chin, revealing a slightly smug smile.

"Because I am both light and human, I can see further by standing between the two."

"So I believe you can too."

"Hmm?" Anping was slightly taken aback.

"Since you have lost your memory, why not try... to live with a human mind?"

Duan Zilian switched the spice bag in her hand and said seriously.

"Stand among aliens and humans, and then look at the world, live, and connect with more people from a human perspective."

"I'm sure you can slowly find the answers to the questions you've been asking here."

After saying all this, the image of the aliens in the Tokyo underground bar gradually appeared in Duan Zilian's mind.

Even if you are not a native of this planet, you can still find your own home and meaning on this land.

Seeing the resolute expression on the boy's face, even Mikado Yasuhei's once unwavering resolve wavered slightly.

Noticing the waning of Anping's hostility, Duanzilian generously extended an olive branch.

"Uncle, if you've just arrived in this world and don't have a place to call home... why don't you come work at our coffee shop?"

"I also have two very good partners there. They are also Ultraman. They have experienced more than me and are much more mature. Maybe they can guide you better."

After speaking, Duan Zilian smiled and extended her right hand, stopping in front of Anping.

"Want to come?"

Mikado Yasuhira stared at the hand that glowed in the setting sun, his gaze momentarily unfocused.

Shaking hands with Ultraman? Three of them? Ridiculous...

Just as he was about to coldly slap the hand away...

"Uncle Anping—! So you were here all along!!!"

A childish shout suddenly came from the hill behind the two of them.

Mikado Anpei and Duan Zilian turned around at the same time.

At the entrance to the small park below the hill, Xiaolan waved her arms like a happy butterfly, with the dignified Mr. Tsuburaya Satoshi beside her.

"Uncle Anping! Brother Feng has already prepared dinner at home! He's just waiting for you!!!"

Xiao Lan's voice carried far on the summer breeze.

Upon seeing the heartwarming scene of the grandfather and grandson below, Duan Zilian raised an eyebrow in obvious surprise.

He turned around and looked at the man in black beside him again.

The next second, he was astonished to find that Mikado Anpei's serious face had miraculously softened.

Noticing Duan Zilian's gaze, Anping slowly turned his head and looked directly into the boy's eyes.

He glanced at Duan Zilian's outstretched hand and suddenly let out a soft, self-deprecating laugh.

"Ah……"

"Looks like you're really good at lecturing, Ultraman."

Immediately afterwards, he turned around decisively, ignoring Duan Zilian's outstretched hand, and limped down the hill.

"I won't be going to your coffee shop, Tiga... no, Duan Zilian."

"I already have a place to go back to. You Ultramen should stick together and stay together."

The setting sun cast a long shadow of him.

Halfway there, he suddenly stopped and turned his head to take a deep look at the boy standing under the tree.

"Also, my name is Mikado Yasuhei."

Chapter 241: Marble Soda Expired Ten Years Ago (Happy 60th Anniversary, Ultraman!)

Duan Zilian watched Yumen Anping's footsteps recede into the distance, and looked at him with great interest.

"So...it wasn't just one person."

Below his line of sight was the entrance to the small park.

Arashi Morikawa and Mr. Toshi Tsuburaya each tried to support Anpei's arm, but he stubbornly pulled away, and his helpless look made the two of them burst into laughter.

"Uncle Anping, I've already told Grandpa Tsuburaya about how you lifted the frame with one hand! It's really amazing!"

Morikawa Arashi tugged at Anhei's trench coat like a little tail, bouncing around.

"Yes, that's really amazing, Mikado-kun."

"I can't believe it," said Minoru Tsuburaya with a smile, his voice full of kindness.

At the same time, the two also noticed the figure of a boy on the hill looking in their direction.

"Mikado-kun, is that your friend?" Tsuburaya Satoshi followed the gaze.

Standing on the hillside, Duanzi Lian felt a sudden jolt in her heart when she heard Tsuburaya Minoru's question.

[Oh no! I was so focused on showing off that I forgot to warn this old man not to reveal my identity as Ultraman Tiga!]

[Won't his naive and straightforward nature lead him to sell me out?!]

Just as Duan Zilian was about to break out in a cold sweat, Yumen Anping merely glanced back at him before quickly turning his head away again.

"No, he was just an ordinary student who happened to run into me and we exchanged a few pointless words."

Anping's voice was completely calm.

"Really? Mikado-kun is now willing to talk to strangers, that's a big improvement."

After hearing this, Tsuburaya Minoru was very pleased and gently patted Anpei's shoulder.