Ultraman cubs begin to wreak havoc.

After hearing her mother's footsteps fade into the distance, Rikka Takarada wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and gently opened the window, letting Subaru, who was hanging outside, crawl in. After all, it was almost time for school and work, and having him hanging outside her window was quite conspicuous and strange.

Although Subaru entered Rikka Takarada's room, he didn't stay behind. Instead, he used his Nen power to float in the air, cautiously surveying the room, and whispered with a hint of killing intent:

“Baoduo, what did you encounter? The Evolution Trust tells me that you just seemed to have encountered something quite terrifying.”

"I didn't expect this to have such an alarm function."

Listening to Gen Subaru's words, Rikka Takarada glanced at the bracelet she had placed on her bedside table. The sense of security it brought calmed the girl down a bit.

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Minamoto Subaru was worried that Takarada Rikka might think this Evolution Trustee was some kind of surveillance device, so he spoke up to explain:

"After all, the enemy has many methods, and they are still unknown. If you lose consciousness immediately and are unable to call for help from the Evolution Trusters, then you can only rely on these mechanisms to provide information feedback."

"I know, I know, you don't need to explain so much. I know you mean well."

Rikka Takarada nodded. She had realized this from the very beginning. Then, she pointed out the window, towards the edge of town, and said:

"I was scared only because of those monsters. I had no idea that this town was surrounded by monsters."

Didn't you see it last night?

Subaru looked at Rikka Hokkaido with some surprise and said:

"Whether it's the influence of Gridman or the blessing of the Evolution Truster, you, who have been exposed to both, should have gained the ability to see monsters yesterday. When I saw you last night, I couldn't help but admire your calm demeanor."

"Thank you for the compliment, but there were just too many things happening last night, I didn't have time to pay attention..."

Rikka Takarada rubbed her temples, looking a little troubled, and said softly:

"Besides, I didn't expect these monsters to appear last night, and with the sky being dark, how could I possibly see them?"

"Indeed, that's correct."

Subaru continued, picking up where Rikka Takarada left off, and looked out the window at the horde of monsters, saying:

"I discovered these monsters shortly after I arrived in this world, but I was worried about some dangerous mechanism involved, so I never made contact with them. Now, there is only one reliable theory about these monsters."

Gen Subaru raised a finger and said softly:

"Then they must be related to the restoration of the city. I remember there were eleven monsters before, but now there are twelve. The monsters increased on the night Kano disappeared from this world. If more monsters appear, we might be able to find the person behind it all."

"I never realized that my small town had so many unsolved mysteries."

As Rikka Takarada got out of bed, she rummaged through the drawer next to her and casually remarked:

"It's a pity I still have to go to school, otherwise I would really like to go with you to be a detective... How about I skip class today? It's the ball skills competition today, and I'm not really interested in it."

"Don't make skipping class sound so easy. You're a student, Miss Baoduo. Your teacher would cry if they heard you say that."

"No, no, no, my teachers aren't as dedicated as you think. Phew... finally found it. Let me see if it can still be turned on... Great, perfect."

"what are you doing?"

Listening to Rikka Takarada's mutterings, Subaru Genji floated over curiously. Rikka then handed him the cell phone she had just found in the drawer, the one she used to use, and whispered:

"Take this. We'll probably be in touch quite a bit from now on. I can't let you come all the way here every time I want to talk to you. I've already entered my phone number into it. Wow... I didn't expect this phone to come in handy at this time."

"Then I won't be polite."

Without any formalities, Gen Subaru reached into his pocket and stuffed the pink flip phone into it. Then he floated to the window and whispered:

"I'll head to your school now, see you later."

"Ah...oh right, I'll bring you a bento box for lunch."

Just as Rikka Takarada was about to say goodbye to Subaru, she suddenly remembered something and quickly changed her mind, saying:

"How about we keep the same dishes as last night?"

"...No need to go to so much trouble...I'm busy, and I don't know when it will be mealtime."

Subaru was surprised that Rikka Takarada remembered this, and felt a little helpless for a moment, since he really couldn't taste it. However, the girl in front of him clearly didn't give Subaru any more room to refuse, and said directly:

"I remember the morning session of the ball skills competition ends at 11:00, so I'll wait for you on the school rooftop at 11:30. You scouted the area yesterday, so you should know which rooftop it is, right?"

"The one that's locked? I understand. I'll try my best to keep the appointment on time."

What could Minamoto no Subaru say? He could only nod in agreement before leaving Rikka Takarada's room.

During the rest of the morning, although Dujuantai High School was busy with the ball games tournament, it didn't mean that students could run around freely. Students, including Rikka Takarada, were all on the playground or in the stadium, with teachers watching over them. So, Subaru Genji, who was running around like a street urchin, was still quite conspicuous.

However, it was unlikely that a human teacher could catch him. Gen Subaru also didn't find any clues. He sneaked into the ball tournament area to try to sense if there were any strange energy reactions, but after wandering around, apart from being asked for his contact information by about twenty female students and about ten male students, he gained nothing.

That shouldn't be the case; the trail shouldn't have gone so completely cold.

Yuan Mao sat on the steps, somewhat puzzled, resting his chin on his hand, wondering if he had overlooked something. He quickly realized something, stood up again, and this time, his target was the teacher's absence record—

This inspiration came from Rikka Takarada. Since Rikka Takarada wanted to skip class, was it possible that the student I was investigating, the one with the problem, was simply absent today?

With this in mind, Gen Subaru acted quickly. Thanks to the help of his psychic powers, a list of absentees was compiled in the boy's hands.

"Niijima Sona, Masaki E, Utsuki Mii, Minato Satsuki, Kakimi Rumina, Tsukie Akihiko, Utsui Hiro, Kisu Suzuko, Shinjo Akane, Kamiie Yu..."

Looking at the sheer number of names, Yuan Mao felt a chill run down his spine. Was this ball skills tournament really that unpopular? So many students were skipping class. He'd have to find out their addresses and try to get closer to them to sense their presence...

I might as well just live at the school. I could sleep at the school gate and wait for the students to come to me. That should be enough to catch them in the act.

Yuan Mao felt somewhat helpless, but after thinking about it, it seemed to be a method worth considering.

But I have to keep my appointment now.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking about something and didn't notice how much time was passing. I'm late and I've kept you waiting."

At the agreed-upon location, Subaru saw Rikka Takarada, dressed in sportswear, sitting on the steps with two bento boxes beside her, idly waving her fingers. He quickly said apologetically:

"Come on, let's go up to the rooftop."

Although the rooftop door was locked, it was useless to Gen Subaru. He pushed it open first, went inside, quickly cleaned up the dust, clearing a clean area, and sat down with Rikka Takarada. He took the bento box from the girl's hand and said softly with a smile:

"I saw your class's game, and you played well. I didn't expect you to cheer so loudly. I could even distinguish your voice from the others when we were all shouting."

"It's alright, after all, everyone was shouting, and I was just following along."

Rikka Takarada, somewhat embarrassed, tucked her left side of her hair behind her ear, revealing a smooth and pretty profile to Subaru. Then, as if remembering something, she reached out her hand to Subaru, her tone tinged with displeasure, and said softly:

"Please give me your phone."

“This is your phone. If you want to look at it, there’s no need to be so polite as to say ‘please’.”

Genjiro didn't notice the change in Rikka Takarada's tone, but he did realize the girl's emotional shift. However, Genjiro knew about human emotional fluctuations, after all, he had once possessed complete emotions. Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness would all elicit different reactions. In addition, Genjiro still remembered the previous "Ultraman, don't try to guess people's hearts."

After getting the phone, Rikka Takarada immediately opened her contacts. In fact, she had noticed Subaru's figure when he was walking around during the ball tournament.

Furthermore, it was only then that she realized that Ultraman seemed unaware that his appearance, demeanor, and gentleness towards humans were somewhat too captivating for a high school student.

Even though Gen Subaru's actions were very careful, practically disappearing as soon as he touched something without attracting much attention, Rikka Takarada, sitting in the class line, had already heard the related discussions and seen on her phone chat logs that people were asking around about 'which class that handsome guy is in.'

Therefore, Rikka Takarada made up an excuse and temporarily left the class group. Based on the vague senses provided by the Evolution Truster, she found the whereabouts of Subaru Minamoto. She also saw the scene of Subaru exchanging communication methods with someone and heard Subaru's conversation with him.

285 The Tragic Warrior

Well... if you don't know him, what Minamoto Subaru says sounds very comfortable and friendly. However, people who know him well, like Takarada Rikka, know that he's just trying to get information out of people around him, subtly trying to get the answers he wants.

Then, Rikka Takarada saw him obtain the contact information of a group of people in just a few minutes and leave in a very dashing manner.

Thinking of this, Rikka Takarada realized something and looked at Subaru Gen. When he was moving around the stadium just now, he wasn't wearing the uniform of this unknown organization, but the same school uniform as the other students. Where did he get this?

"What's wrong with these clothes?"

Just as Minamoto Subaru was about to open his bento box, he noticed Takarada Rikka's gaze, shook his coat, and said softly:

"Did it get dirty?"

"No, no, no, it's like this..."

Rikka Takarada told Subaru Minamoto about her confusion. Subaru smiled slightly, put the lunchbox on his lap aside, pressed his hand to his chest, and slightly activated the light particles. Rikka Takarada saw Subaru's body shimmer with light like flowing water.

Immediately afterward, a boy wearing a monocle, a gray detective outfit, and a pipe appeared in front of her. Before Rikka Takarada could say anything, another flash of light appeared, and Subaru Minamoto changed into a light blue casual trench coat. Then, in another flash, the familiar uniform of the unknown organization returned to Subaru Minamoto's body.

"See? It's that simple."

Gen Subaru smiled as he placed the lunchbox back on his lap, casually saying as he unwrapped the cloth covering it:

"Although I have temporarily gained the concept of a body because of Gridman, I am still essentially a light particle aggregate, so this simple change in appearance is not a problem."

"Is that so? That's amazing."

Rikka Takarada gave a soft reply, simultaneously suppressing the thought of 'whether she could change back into the trench coat', her hands flying across her phone while she continued her conversation with Subaru:

"Now I remember, what's the story behind your outfit? It's not that it's bad, but the color scheme and design... it's a bit... unfashionable."

"It's not that it's euphemistic, it's just a bit old-fashioned."

As Gen Subaru casually opened the bento box, he looked at the octopus sausage, fried pork cutlet, seaweed and other dishes inside and couldn't help but feel a little emotional. If he still had a sense of taste, he would definitely want to savor Rikka Takarada's cooking. But for now... he should just finish quickly.

"This is TLT's uniform. TLT was the organization I used to belong to, which protected the Earth and fought against monsters. Although the designers at TLT have redesigned my uniform, its primary purpose is still to serve combat, so it's inevitable that it's out of touch with fashion."

"Aren't you only four years old?"

Rikka Takarada's expression was somewhat subtle, not because of Subaru's words, but because of the phone in her hand. She had already looked at all the contact information on it, and sure enough, in just a short while, she received messages from Subaru asking him out: wanting to go to karaoke after school; wanting to go on a date; wanting to have lunch together; wanting to come and see the dress she had just bought... What kind of nonsense was this!