My youth story cannot be a knight war

[“Well? Since you can’t find your shoes, you can just use mine for now.”]

[“Here you go, your glasses!”]

[Helping the girl stand up, the boy looked down at her feet, where she was wearing two shoes, one large and one small, which looked very mismatched, and nodded with satisfaction. He then took out the glasses he had just snatched from the group of boys from his pocket, unfolded them, and put them back on the girl's face.]

【"Thank you……"】

[The slightly blurry scene in front of him became clear instantly after he put on his glasses, along with the bright smile on the boy's face. The light swayed through the trees behind him and illuminated the scarred cheek and the smiling face on it.]

[The girl reached out to grab both ends of her glasses as if she was afraid that they would be snatched away again, and lowered her head to express her gratitude to the boy in an inaudible voice.]

[“It’s okay! My grandma has always taught me to stand up when others are bullied, especially to help girls when they are bullied. Is this what I should do?”]

[“Next time someone bullies you, just come to me, no matter how many times.”]

[“Just like this time, as long as you call my name, I will definitely come to protect you——hiss?!”]

[“Are you okay…?”]

[The boy patted his chest with pride, but accidentally patted the spot where he had been punched by the naughty kids. He immediately squatted with his hands covering his chest in pain. Seeing this, the girl reached out to support him in a panic and said anxiously.]

[“…Don’t worry, you can’t defeat my future general with this level of skill!”]

[The boy gritted his teeth to suppress the pain and forced a smile on his face.]

【"Really……"】

[“Of course! My grandma has always taught me not to lie to girls, so how could I lie to you? Don’t worry!”]

【Bang bang bang——】

[As if to prove that he was not lying, the boy patted his chest several times and said to the girl with a smile.]

[But while he was smiling, two clear tears fell from the corners of the boy's eyes.]

[——It hurts so much! It hurts so much!]

[The stubborn boy kept wailing in his heart, but he still tried hard not to show his true colors in front of the girl.]

【“But you seem to be bleeding——Ah!?”】

[The girl hesitated and wanted to say something, but her words turned into a panicked cry, and the scenery in front of her suddenly became lower.]

[It turned out that in order to dispel her worries, the boy turned around, squatted down, put his arms around the girl's inner knees, and then straightened his body and carried her on his back.]

[The sudden feeling of being suspended in mid-air made the girl feel at a loss for a moment. In panic, she reached out and hugged the boy's neck to stop struggling.]

[“Okay, okay, let me take you to the infirmary first. Your injuries will leave scars if they are not treated, okay?”]

[The boy walked forward with the girl on his back, glancing at the wound on his left knee that was already broken and bleeding.]

[“…Thank you. Thank you so much.”]

[The girl hugged the boy's neck, feeling the touch of his palm through the skin of her lifted knees, her face flushed as she lowered her head and rested her chin on the boy's shoulder, thanking him in his ear in an almost inaudible voice.]

[“I’ve already told you, no need to thank me, this is what I should do. By the way! What’s your name?”]

【“…Hina.”】

【"Um?"】

[This time the girl's voice was even weaker than before, as if the boy couldn't hear it clearly even though he was so close to her. He tilted his head in confusion.]

[“My name is…”]

[The timid girl looked at the boy's profile and stammered as she tried to think of her own name, but she couldn't say it.]

[“Well, if you really can’t say it, forget it. Don’t force yourself.”]

【"ah……"】

[The boy shook himself vigorously, and as the girl exclaimed, he turned her back to her upright, and spoke in a brisk tone.]

[“Anyway, all you have to do is remember my name!”]

[“My name is Yoshiki, Zaimokuza Yoshiki, I’m the messenger of justice in this school, specializing in saving weak students!”]

[“Next time you are bullied at school, just tell me my name, and I will make sure those bullies will never dare to bully you again!”]

【“Yi… Hui… Yeah.”】

[The girl murmured the boy's name, looking at the short hair that swayed as the boy walked, which looked transparent and white under the sunlight, and nodded gently.]

【Zaimokuza Yoshiki smiled happily, carrying the girl whose name he didn't know on his back, and walked towards the sunlight outside the corner.】

[The girl and the boy, one big and one small, their backs overlapping each other and disappearing in the light pouring in from the corner of the wall...]

……

[In the summer of that year, Ebina Hime obtained the most precious memories and treasures of her childhood. ]

[That was the first person she met who gave her warmth after her mother died of illness and her father transferred her to this strange place due to work. That smiling face sparkled like a pearl in her memory of that year.]

[Although she only stayed there for a year before transferring to another school due to her father's work, that year left an indelible mark in her life.]

【That year, Ebina Hime got her own "hero". 】

[As long as she calls out, a brave man will come bathed in light, open his arms, and block all the malice from the world for her.]

[The sunshine that summer was as warm as that person’s smile. ]

14. The Door of Memory: The First Encounter (6K)

[“I remember…”]

【Zaimokuza stood in front, looking at the boy carrying the girl on his back and walking towards him, his eyes blurred for a moment.】

[Many years ago, the boy who aspired to become a messenger of justice under the guidance of his grandmother helped many people.]

[One of the girls transferred to the school in the middle of a school year, and by that time the social circle of the class had already been established, so she was not surprisingly excluded and became an outsider in the class.]

【In Japan, if you are outside the group, you will be excluded and even bullied.】

[It was no surprise that the girl was bullied, because there are such rascals in every school. When they grow up, they become school bullies who bully others in every school. It seems like a disgusting character inheritance.]

[Zaimokuza used to be unable to tolerate and hate this kind of behavior, and he had been committed to fighting against these bad boys. He used his stubbornness and perseverance, as well as his fists, to drive these bullies out of the elementary school he attended, and protected those weak people who he thought should be protected from the shadow of school bullying.]

[This includes that girl. Even though he has basically forgotten everything about elementary school, he still has some memories of the girl he once protected.]

[At that time, Zaimokuza passed by that corner by chance. When he saw the thin figure being bullied by the bad boys in the corner, he rushed forward without hesitation and saved her.]

[Zaimokuza didn't care whether this behavior would bring him any benefits, nor did he care whether anyone would be grateful to him. He simply hated this behavior, so he did it.]

[He didn't remember the girl's name either, because Zaimokuza treated everyone he protected equally, they were all just weaklings who needed a helping hand, the only difference was that he helped her more times.]

[The reason was that the bullying that girl suffered was really excessive, and even Zaimokuza, who had been committed to fighting against bullying at the time, could not help but be furious.]

[Stealing shoes, stuffing frogs in backpacks, stuffing dead mice in shoe cabinets, splashing water in toilet cubicles... Her originally sympathetic single-family identity not only failed to help her get any sympathy and help, but instead fueled the sadistic desires of those bastards. ]

[——Remember, Zaimokuza.]

[——Some children are normal children, but some children can tear the wings of a dragonfly just for fun with a smile. Part of their soul is born evil.]

[——For them, bullying is just an instinct like eating and drinking. It doesn’t matter whether you agree or not, or admit it or not… because reality doesn’t care about that.]

[Many years ago, Hikigaya Hachiman said to Zaimokuza in the wooden house at the summer camp in Chiba Village. He recalled it at this moment.]

[He also remembered how speechless he was at the time, and how it was the first time he disagreed with his best friend's words, but he had nothing to say.]

[Because Zaimokuza actually knows in his heart that what Hikigaya Hachiman said is correct. 】

[He has never made a mistake in his understanding of people's hearts, so he can always break through the difficulties caused by various problems in ways that others can't imagine, and guide everything to the best direction relative to the reality.]

[But there was only one thing that exceeded my best friend's expectations - that was the confession request during the school trip.]

[The incident ended in a way that no one had expected. The one who was most puzzled was Zaimokuza, because he had a girlfriend out of nowhere, and she was the client's sweetheart.]

[At that time, he never understood why the other party would agree to his confession without hesitation, which seemed to be just a formality. Unlike his own formality, Zaimokuza felt that the feelings of the "girlfriend" for him were sincere and there was no falsehood. ]

[Even when he mentioned it privately to his best friend, he said this to himself at the time:]

[“Although it’s outrageous… her feelings for you are undoubtedly ‘real’.”]

[——If it’s certified by Hikigaya, then it can’t be fake.]

[And now, Zaimokuza finally knows why his confession was successful. There is no love without reason in the world. ]

[“That girl from before… turned out to be Himena?”]

[Zaimokuza turned his body sideways and looked at the girl who was carried by his younger self. He looked at her face which was very similar to his ex-girlfriend and murmured with a complicated tone.]

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, health room.

At the same moment, Zaimokuza in reality also recalled everything that happened back then.

"You are the one from back then..."

Like everyone else who turned their gazes away, Zaimokuza looked blankly at the girl behind him whom he had been avoiding since the end of the video.

"So... is that so? Hahaha... So I lost from the very beginning?"

Tobe Sho finally understood why he lost, because when he met the girl he liked, the story had actually ended long ago.

Not to mention the opportunity for fair competition, he didn't even have the chance to step onto the track, because he didn't lose, he just came too late. It was that simple and cruel.

Because I arrived late, I could only listen to the story between him and her and could no longer intervene.

Realizing this, he sat down dejectedly on the chair that Hayato Hayama had quietly brought behind him earlier, with one hand on the back of the chair and his head lowered deeply, unwilling to raise it again.

Tobe Sho's entire back seemed to collapse in an instant, but his back showed a sense of ease and relief, as if he had been freed from a huge burden.

At this moment, he completely gave up on Ebina Hina and chose to say his final farewell to the first love of his life.

"Hina, you and Zaimokuza were so early..."

Yuigahama Yui looked back and forth between the two of them and couldn't help but cover her mouth in surprise.

"Tsk? No wonder Hime was so angry at this guy... It was because I wasn't there at the time, otherwise you wouldn't have stepped into the pit of Zaimokuza, the future Sea King."

At this time, Yumiko Miura also let go of the knot in her heart and the hidden dissatisfaction with Zaimokuza. After sighing helplessly, she turned her head and looked at the dejected Tobe Sho with sympathy.

"It turns out that your loss was not unfair at all, Xiang."

"..."

When Tobe Sho heard her words, he lowered his head even more, and his upper body was almost buried under the chair seat.

"This time alone, I have truly changed my mind about you... Zaimokuza-san."

Yukinoshita Yukino turned her head and looked at Zaimokuza, her eyes as clear as snow filled with recognition and complex thoughts that could not be expressed in words.

"You knew there would be no benefit, but you were still willing to stand up and protect those who were bullied in school, just because of your persistence and belief. To be honest... you are really amazing. This is what I really think."

"——At the very least, you are much better than some so-called good people who are hesitant and choose to turn a blind eye to those dirty things just to maintain the status quo."

Her originally calm tone suddenly became sharp and cold, as if long, freezing needles pierced through the school uniform on her slender body and rushed out, carrying with them anger and disgust that wanted to hurt everyone.

Yukinoshita Yukino watched Zaimokuza's gentle gaze instantly turn into the opposite cold and ruthless look when he turned to look at someone, and then turned his gaze away the moment he finished speaking, and the inexplicable anger was also drowned out and calmed down before anyone could react.

Only one person caught the sudden change in her mood.

"..."

Feeling the touch of Yukinoshita Yukino's sharp gaze cutting into his skin, Hayato Hayama, who was standing behind Tobe Sho and holding onto a chair, lowered his head silently without saying a word, his golden bangs drooping to block his sight.

It also hid the guilt that filled his eyes.

"I'm still wondering, when will you remember?"

Ebina Hina ignored the reactions of the people around her, she put her hand on her chin, looked at Zaimokuza with a dazed expression, and slowly reached out to take off her glasses.

Wearing glasses, she should have been a simple, even ordinary girl, but after taking off those glasses, Ebina Hina's temperament changed dramatically.

A pair of warm brown eyes appeared behind the reflective lenses, staring at Zaimokuza with a warm mist in their pupils, like a pair of brown amber sparkling in the sun.

After these eyes appeared, the temperament of Ebina Hime, who could only be described as a beautiful girl before, slowly blossomed like a sunflower in the warm sun, becoming warm and welcoming. With a gentle smile on her lips, she was completely a lady from a scholarly family.

With this temperament and these eyes, her appearance, which was originally only average, soared to a higher level, and she was even comparable to Yukinoshita Yukino, who was the most beautiful girl in this health room.

Even her best friends Yumiko Miura and Yuigahama Yui were stunned at this moment. They could never have imagined that their friend had such a beautiful face hidden under those ordinary glasses.

This may also be because the mask that Ebina Hina usually wears is so well disguised that even the people around her can't see through it.

But now, she doesn't need to pretend anymore.