Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

She swallowed more and more slowly, holding the soft and chewy outer layer in her mouth for ages before finally swallowing it, not to mention the sweet rose jam inside. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was savoring some delicacy meticulously prepared by a chef renowned both inside and outside the industry.

"Eat quickly, the stars will soon be in the sky." Jun Sakuma didn't know whether he should put the rest away first, so he just urged Karin to eat her fill.

But Karin remained unhurried, even showing signs of procrastination: "Why did you only make the rose flavor...?" She made an excuse that she didn't like it, so she ate slowly, but how could Jun Sakuma not notice her nasal tone?

The father suddenly noticed something was wrong. He squatted down and saw that Huali was slowly putting the pear into her mouth, like a squirrel eating the last of its autumn food.

It seems like they'll have to brave the winter snow to find food for their next meal just to survive.

"Karin?" Jun Sakuma rarely showed signs of panic.

"Dad just loves to lie..."

With a heavy nasal tone, the young girl, who was clumsily trying to cover up her true feelings, finally told the truth.

The "broken beads" pattered onto the wrapping paper, partially soaking the pastries, but Huali didn't mind. She swallowed the portion with great care. The sweet and bitter salty taste, mixed with the familiar aroma of rose jam, started from the tip of her tongue and went upwards. The taste was not overwhelming but rather had the effect of wasabi, making Huali's nose feel sore.

“It was clearly made by Grandma. She hand-carved the patterns, not as neat as the ones sold outside. She liked to press the last petal down a bit, so the petals would be longer.” She was fine when she didn’t speak, but when she did, she started sobbing: “Rosewood, rosewood, I can’t mistake it.”

She looked up, and after a brief moment of excitement at not having to attend class, she finally glimpsed a glimpse of another side of the storybook about the adventures of heroes.

That was something different from the brave boy, the clever and spirited girl, the lovely and pitiful princess, and the witch who was always soaking in the potion cauldron.

The villains kidnap the hero's parents or sisters, but their plan always fails, forcing the hero to fight his way into the castle with his sword, only to be defeated in a fit of rage.

The hero in the book seems to be able to solve all problems simply by maintaining his upright and helpful qualities. The king or queen will admire him and help him; the elves and fairies will love him and give him essential tools; and people will love him and spare no expense in cheering and giving him bread.

But just like seeing Tom hit Jerry on the head with a golf club, and the mouse was unharmed while the club twisted into a mouse silhouette, Huali couldn't believe that these things would be completely...

Everything is reflected in reality.

This world is somewhat different from what she knew before, Karin thought.

A hero... doesn't necessarily defeat a bad guy. A family living happily together, just like Karin a year ago, wouldn't have believed that her mother would suddenly leave her.

Her father has been missing for many nights and goes to work during the day. Now he's telling her directly that she needs to find another place to stay.

She finally revealed the fear that comes with being a child.

"Aren't we going back to our hometown? I thought you would have talked to Grandma about it. Where is Grandma? Aren't we going back?"

Jun Sakuma wiped away her tears, hugged his little daughter, and gently stroked the back of her head as if holding a precious treasure: "We'll go back, Daddy... I'll take you on a school trip."

The embrace calmed Karin down a little. She lowered her head and buried herself in the fabric, which wasn't very comfortable for a child's skin, and muttered, "I'm taking a break from school... I'll miss Rina. There'll be no one to play with me anymore."

"Dad can stay with you, and your Uncle Himeya is here too."

"But when I wake up in the middle of the night, I can never find you."

Upon hearing this, Jun Sakuma hugged the child even tighter. He appeared casual, merely comforting the child, but Samuel could sense the weight in his words:

"Rosewood, don't be afraid."

"Dad will always be with you."

As dusk approached that day, the stranded people stood in the nameless wilderness, with the stars and moon faintly visible. Hundreds of kilometers away, the people they cared about had already lifted the lid of the cooking pot.

A father comforts his daughter, a photographer misses his colleagues, and a man of light ponders what the "Lord" that Muchini always talks about is.

The road ahead is long, and though the outcome is unknown, everyone believes that their home is still there.

Because the person is still alive.

Chapter Seventy-Four: The Inspector

"This concludes the investigation team's report."

The following day, in the conference room of TLT's third base.

Several officials sat behind a long table, pale light shining on the reports in front of them. Some had furrowed brows, while others had calm, expressionless faces.

"You changed the keywords to your own name, but you didn't really erase your family's memories. Matsunaga, what's your opinion?"

Matsunaga Yoichiro, with a sullen face, turned his gaze to Shuto Saya.

The latter was dressed as usual in a black suit and white shirt, almost blending into the furnishings of the conference room.

As Jun Sakuma's immediate superior and the person directly responsible, Saya Shuto demonstrated the qualities expected of a head of the memory police: "After Jun Sakuma escaped from the isolation room, we worked overnight to prepare a report analyzing his behavior over the past three months, which I signed off on; that is my opinion."

"Boom!"

A thunderous roar erupted in the quiet conference room. The official on the far left slammed his hand on the table, his undisguised hostility evident in his eyes: "You're holding back when it comes to your subordinates? I've never seen a so-called 'suspected alien beast infected' punch through the wall of an isolation room."

“White-Clad Cleaner,” Shuto Saya replied, “if it weren’t for your subordinates’ inappropriate remarks, Sakuma wouldn’t have confronted us in such a fierce manner.”

"Saya Shudo! If you hadn't been so negligent in your observation, how could the alien beast have been lurking in our organization for months!"

"An abnormally high R7 factor does not necessarily mean it is a 'monster,' is this the professional competence of ABWD?"

"All right!"

When the officer spoke, the two men stopped arguing without prior agreement.

“Although I don’t understand why he gave up on erasing the memories of the three civilians, this further confirms their importance to the alien beasts,” the leader of the white-clad cleaners said dryly, his tone calm as he leaned back in his chair, facing Shudo Saya’s gaze. “I have nothing more to say. Please give instructions, sir, if there is any need to use the cleaners.”

Shuto Saya gritted her teeth and watched the reaction of the official sitting at the head of the table.

She had actually noticed Jun Sakuma's unusual behavior a long time ago. If she traced it back, she estimated that the abnormality should have started on the night Jun Sakuma was attacked by the alien beast in the cemetery.

However, Junpei Sakuma did not exhibit the behavior of other infected alien beasts who viewed humans as food.

On the contrary, he showed concern for Riko Saida and others who suffered mental breakdowns after being attacked by alien beasts—unlike some arrogant TLT members who thought they "knew secrets."

Sakura Sakuma died in an attack by a monster. Saya Shudo witnessed his dejected state during that time and believed that her subordinate would not aid and abet evil.

So she shifted her focus to the crucial point of "whether or not it was made into a doll".

She agreed to temporarily isolate Jun Sakuma, partly to obtain more biological samples, such as blood and hair, to help the medical examination center conduct in-depth analysis.

She had made up her mind that if the White-Clad Cleaners dared to open the biological research lab to her subordinates, she would report the outrageous research conducted by TLT's Japanese branch to headquarters. Even if she couldn't stop it, she could at least postpone the research.

And now... she believes that analysis is no longer necessary.

Jun Sakuma escaped from the isolation room without harming the other patients inside.

When Jun Sakuma returned to his hometown, he did not feed the common people, but hesitated about whether he should erase their memories of him.

In Shudo Saya's view, these actions precisely demonstrate that her subordinate has not lost himself; he remains a warrior on the front line against the alien beasts.

So she kept a close eye on her superior's reaction. The white-clad cleaner's words undoubtedly pointed the finger at Jun Sakuma's family. She hoped that her superior would not make any more radical decisions and push her, his subordinate, to the opposite side.

"You mean, we can use those three civilians to lure out the target?" The officer tapped the table. Shuto Saya noticed that he didn't refer to Sakuma Jun as a "monster," and felt somewhat relieved.

The leader of the white-clad cleaners nodded, then cast an inquiring glance at Matsunaga Yoichiro, the manager of the third base.

A tense silence fell over the air.

Saya Shudo could hear her own heartbeat, and every hair on her body tensed in the silent air, making her mouth dry. Even she couldn't help but be stirred by the fact that her subordinates were involved.

Matsunaga Yoichiro adjusted his glasses, about to speak, when the sound of the door hinges turning drew everyone's attention.

"Excuse me, may I interrupt for a moment?" A respectful young man stood at the door.

"Who are you?" The head of the sanitation workers recognized his clothes; they were the standard uniform worn by memory police. "High-level meetings aren't just a place where anyone can be let in. Shudo, is this one of your subordinates?"

“Ah, not as a memory police officer.” Shintaro Hirata straightened up, took out a small black book from his pocket, and showed the identification inside.

"As an inspector directly under the North American headquarters."

The usually composed officer finally revealed a look of surprise: "I've heard that headquarters has 'inspectors' patrolling around, but there's been no sign of it. You're in charge of the Japanese branch? If your undercover investigation has been exposed, you should be replaced..."

“Then let’s change from ‘undercover investigation’ to ‘open investigation’,” Hirata Shintaro’s smile seemed glaringly obvious to the others. “This is also within the permissible range.”

“Since joining the Memory Police, I have archived and evaluated all of TLT-J’s operations. I originally only planned to finish the annual report and end the mission,” the Inspector said. “But I’m afraid I have no choice but to stand up today. Are you trying to make a new enemy?”

"New enemy?"

Shintaro Hirata raised a finger: "The operation report only said 'to investigate whether they were infected by alien beasts,' but I saw the actual deduction about Jun Sakuma... You still want to capture the Ultra Warriors' hosts and analyze the source of their power."

The person sitting opposite them tensed up, their true purpose hidden underwater was easily exposed, and no one could remain at ease.

The inspector, having already grasped everything, was no longer as respectful as before. He stood brazenly at the door, sweeping his extremely offensive gaze across the faces of everyone in the meeting room.

Like a knife scraping away the surface cream and decorations, revealing the bare core underneath.

Just as someone was about to speak out in anger, the Inspector continued, "Neither of the two Ultra Warriors is willing to join forces with you; this is simply unimaginable on our planet."

The man who was about to slam his fist on the table and stand up was holding his breath. Hearing this, he paused for a moment and finally suppressed his anger.

"Given the performance of TLT Japan, I will reassess your role and report back to headquarters."

"Gentlemen, take heed of this."

Chapter Seventy-Five: Like a Different World

Negoro Jinzo never expected that after chasing after Himeya Jun for so long, the other party would always act as if he were saying, "Go away, don't follow me, don't worry about me," but today...

He actually showed up in front of me on his own initiative!

There was also a little girl next to him!

My God, when are you going to have a daughter?

Negi Jinzo's brain was trembling: Himeya Jun! I never expected that you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, would secretly have a wife and children behind the backs of the newspaper's single dog!

"Mr. Genlai? I've finally found you." My eyes are almost worn out from looking, but I've finally found you in this vast sea of ​​people!

The unfamiliar voice came from the man standing to the side, who had been ignored by the newspaper editor-in-chief. He was holding the little girl's hand.