Ultraman cubs begin to wreak havoc.

“…”

Subaru thought for a moment and realized he hadn't said anything like that to Rikka Takarada. So, realizing something, Subaru looked at the girl beside him and said with a smile:

"Did you finish watching the tokusatsu series this afternoon?"

"Yeah, I watched it at double speed and finally finished it in one go."

Rikka Takarada nodded and honestly said:

"To be honest, when I first started watching, the monsters and Nexus costumes looked weird, and the female team member with the gun was quite annoying. Also, the beginning part had a horror movie feel to it, which was quite scary. And, it seems like the tokusatsu series ended before it was finished, so I was a bit confused. I had to search for some things to understand, 'Oh, so that's how it is.' But I saw online that the tokusatsu series has pretty good reviews."

"Haha, to each their own, right?"

Minamoto no Subaru took over the conversation, smiling as he said:

"So, Miss Baoduo has now completely mastered the setting of Nexus?"

"Ah, a degenerated version of Ultraman Noa. The host will also get injured. If this host dies, there will be another one..."

As Rikka Takarada spoke, she raised her hand, shook the bracelet on it, and whispered:

"Also, this is your transformation device, the Evolution Trustee, right? Is it really okay for me to give this to you as a talisman?"

"no problem."

Gen Subaru looked at the swaying transformation device and explained softly:

"Let me answer your initial question. I can no longer be considered a suitable candidate. After my physical body collapsed and I began to act as a light particle aggregate, I should be considered pure 'light'. However, whether it's 'Subaru' or 'Ultraman,' it's all me, there's no difference."

"Physical body decay?!"

Rikka Takarada looked at Subaru Minamoto with a shocked expression and said:

"They're not dead? No, no, no, that's not what I meant, um, um..."

Before she could finish speaking, Rikka Takarada realized that something seemed off about her words. Although she meant to say that the Light of Nexus would be passed down, the way she said it gave people a strange feeling of "Why don't you just die?"

"I understand, I understand, I understand."

Subaru pressed his hands down to calm the bewildered Rikka Takarada, and said with a wry smile:

"I understand what you mean, so don't overreact. If you keep shouting, the police will really come, and Ultraman will end up in jail! Hey, Miss Takarada, can you hear me? Takarada-san~~~~"

After finally calming Rikka Takarada down, Subaru Minamoto let out a long sigh and said softly:

People say three women make a drama, but that saying is really problematic....

【stare--!!!】

"Well, let's not dwell on such boring human gossip."

Feeling the gaze coming from Rikka Takarada, Subaru felt that if he didn't change his tune soon, he might be in for more trouble, so he subtly changed the subject, saying:

"I survived entirely because of a senior's selfless help. Otherwise, my story would have ended long ago, and I wouldn't be here talking to you, Baoduo. Ah... I wonder what that senior is busy with now. I hope he doesn't run into any more trouble."

"You've had a tough time too."

Rikka Takarada unconsciously fiddled with her phone case, looking at Subaru's profile as she said:

"Have you never regretted it? About becoming Ultraman?"

Did the characters in the show have any regrets?

Gen Subaru smiled gently and said:

"Even if they regret it, I won't. If I hadn't become Nexus, I would have spent my short life in Migami Town. Although I might have been able to help some people, I definitely wouldn't have been able to help as many as I am now. Just for that reason, I can't say I regret anything."

“So…”

Rikka Takarada looked at Subaru, her wrist unconsciously twitching as she continued to ask:

"Would you help me just because I'm human? If... I mean, if I weren't human, and I were placed next to humans, what would you do...?"

"【If your mother and wife both fell into the water at the same time, who would you save first?】...Ms. Baoduo, even on my planet Earth, very few women ask this question anymore."

Before Rikka Takarada could finish speaking, Subaru knew what she was going to ask and couldn't help but retort:

"Is this what the mind of a teenager is like? It's so delicate and complicated. Luckily, I died before I reached adolescence."

"...You're so cunning, you're such a cunning Ultraman."

Upon hearing the first half of the sentence, Rikka Takarada's eyebrows shot up, ready to make a certain Ultraman understand that adolescent humans don't like hearing such truths. But then, like a dud, Rikka Takarada puffed out her cheeks and looked at Subaru Genji with displeasure, saying:

"Using this as a shield, you're really too cunning."

"Well, well, a guy who's about to die always gets to enjoy some special treatment, right? That's just human nature."

Gen Subaru chuckled softly, then slightly suppressed his laughter and said in a low voice:

"But if that situation really arises, I won't abandon you for the sake of 'humanity,' after all, we're friends now, aren't we? But..."

At this point, Rikka Takarada noticed that Subaru's expression had turned somewhat sad, and she couldn't help but become serious, quietly waiting for him to continue:

“I’ve already noticed that because of my fusion with Gridman, some of the emotions I lost seem to have returned, which is why I can talk to you for so long. But after I separate from Gridman, what choices will I make after losing some of my emotions again... I have no idea.”

After saying that, Gen Subaru shook his head slightly and added a sentence as if patching up a problem:

"However, so far, I feel that what I have done is not wrong, and I hope that I can maintain it in the future so that I will not have any regrets."

"you...."

Hearing Subaru's words, Rikka Takarada silently pressed her temples, as if a computer that had crashed needed to be restarted. After a short while, she finally spoke:

"What kind of hellish situation did you come from? A short lifespan is bad enough, but you also have relationship problems. Someone like you... doesn't that Ultraman Noa care about you? You're his successor, after all. And I thought Noa was pretty powerful, didn't I? Online comments say he's the first light in the universe, and some kind of mysterious one of the Four Ultras. But now I just think of him as a villain who drags kids onto the battlefield and then abandons them..."

283 Regedo: Noah, I believe in you.

"No, no, no, this matter cannot be discussed."

Subaru quickly interrupted Rikka Takarada, saying very seriously:

"If it weren't for Senior Noah, I wouldn't even exist. If it weren't for Senior Noah's two interventions, I would have died back then when I was fighting against one of my father's clones."

"Ah, I see... Wait, wait..."

Rikka Takarada nodded at first, thinking that if that was the case, Ultraman Noah was pretty good too. But suddenly, she realized something was wrong, stopped abruptly, and looked at Subaru. Although many thoughts had flashed through her mind, the absurdity of Subaru's experiences still made her think of a very shocking possibility.

Looking at the wide-eyed girl beside him, Subaru calmly tapped her forehead, transmitting fragments of his memories into her mind through his telekinesis, and then softly said:

"A forbidden creation, a dead thief of light, a false being... I'm not just making these three identities up to fool you. There's a reason why my lifespan is so short."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to reopen your wounds..."

Having 'read' that memory fragment, Rikka Takarada lowered her head and whispered, and at that moment, Subaru also heard a slight sob in her voice. He patted her shoulder helplessly and said:

"Alright, alright, I showed you those memories not to play the victim, but to hopefully prevent any actions I might take that you find strange or even dangerous from affecting our current working relationship. After all, I don't have anywhere to put Gridman right now, so I'm asking you to help me find and look after him."

At this point, Gen Subaru said with a somewhat helpless and troubled expression:

"Next time I need to think carefully about how to quickly restore my combat power in this state. The inability to transform on my own is too limiting. Perhaps I should consider further developing the power-supplying statue..."

"..."

Listening to Gen Subaru's whispers, especially the later part about light energy reaction and re-aggregation, and the movement and following of spacetime coordinates, it was completely beyond Rikka Takarada's comprehension, but this did not affect the girl's subsequent actions.

With a 'whoosh', Rikka Takarada suddenly stood up, startling Subaru Genji, who glanced at her a couple more times, wondering what was wrong with the girl. Then, Rikka Takarada grabbed Subaru Genji's shoulders with both hands, her tearful eyes filled with determination, and said in a deep voice:

"go home with me!"

"what?"

"Your brother lives alone now, so his room is yours!"

"what?!"

"You don't need to worry about work anymore, my family's secondhand store just happens to need a doorman!"

"Calm down."

Subaru Gen used his telekinesis to gently tap Rikka Takarada's head. Although he didn't use force, the unique nature of telekinetic energy instantly put the girl into a state of tranquility similar to a 'wise man'.

"Have you considered how much trouble this will cause? Have you considered what your actions might cause your family and friends to misunderstand?"

Subaru gently tapped Rikka Takarada's head with his fingers and said softly:

“You didn’t think about it; it was just a momentary emotional outburst. Although I believe in you and that you have the awareness and ability to implement this plan, it’s unnecessary, really unnecessary.”

With one hand on his hip, Subaru glanced helplessly at Rikka Takarada, who was about to argue with him, and interrupted her, saying:

"Because I will be leaving soon, my friend. Please believe in my abilities. No matter where this alien is hiding, I will quickly pull him out and annihilate him. Then, I will leave this universe and head to the place where I need to fight next."

"So."

With a half-smile, Subaru patted Rikka Takarada's shoulder and said:

"After you finish all that, I might leave too. What will you do then? You can be impulsive, after all, being impulsive is a cute human trait. But as Ultraman, I can't let you act recklessly like that. Alright, alright, let's stop chatting here and go get some rest."

"...I see."

Rikka Takarada finally nodded and agreed to Subaru's words. She took the bento box and headed home. Although she still wanted to bring Subaru home, she couldn't find a reason to persuade him to come to her house. Considering the potential dangers, Rikka Takarada wouldn't let herself become a burden to Subaru.

After watching Rikka Takarada leave, Subaru Minamoto breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he really wanted to focus on the 'sleep incident' that might happen next, as Rikka Takarada's presence made it a little difficult for him to perform his full potential.

Meanwhile, as Gen Ang continued setting up the psychic nodes, outside the universe, Legend calmly put away the aurora energy beside him. Before this, he had been traveling with Saga to search for Noah's whereabouts.