Ultraman cubs begin to wreak havoc.

"Phew... Humans are so enthusiastic, I'm actually a little overwhelmed."

Gen Subaru let out a breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at Shima and the others beside him, and said softly:

"You probably need a helping hand, right? I'll help you."

"It's just making a bed, what's there to help with?"

Shima picked up the bedding that Rikka's mother had just taken out and said:

"You should rest. You're much more tired than us. Let's go, we'll share a room in the mountains."

"Oh, okay."

"Um... Sister Nan, I'll go check out the rooms first, see you later."

Chise Asuka looked at the indifferent-faced Yume Minami, smiled and greeted her, then ran off in a flash. Subaru Gen didn't insist on getting involved. He walked towards the old-fashioned computer, intending to ask Gridman how Zero was doing and whether they could build an electronic prison for him and lock him up first.

Just then, as Gen Subaru was about to call out to Gridman, he suddenly realized something, turned to look at the aloof girl beside him, met Nan Mengya's gaze, blinked, and then said:

"Weren't you all smiles and having a good time on the way here? Why are you suddenly all cold now? Um... I'm sorry, I really can't guess what you're thinking. Can you tell me why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? You're overthinking it. I'm going to check out the rooms."

Nan Mengya didn't seem to have any desire to talk to Yuan Mao any further. After saying that, she turned and left quite decisively. Yuan Mao tilted his head, and then...

"Gridman, I have something to ask you... Hmm?!"

When Nan Mengya heard that Yuan Mao had actually started talking to Gridman and actually believed her words, she felt the word 'reason' suddenly rush out of her head. When she came back to her senses, she was already standing next to Yuan Mao, face to face, glaring at each other.

"I'm sorry, although I don't know what I did wrong, please forgive me."

Looking at the human girl who seemed to have her hair standing on end, Gen Subaru took an uncomfortable step back, creating some distance, and said softly:

"However, even death row inmates at least know why they died. So, human, no, Captain Nan, no, Sister Nan, can you tell me what you're angry about?"

298 Humanity of the Creator

"you...."

After a brief silence, Nan Mengya finally spoke. However, rather than being appeased, it was more accurate to say that she had given up on Yuan Mao. The thought process of this Ultraman in front of her was easy to guess. If you don't explain this matter clearly now, don't expect him to come to you about it again.

Nan Mengya believed that if she turned and left now, he might feel sad for not understanding his friend's feelings, and then he would be busy tracking down monsters, developing skills, meditating on "unification", preparing the "legacy" to leave to Earth, and even thinking about whether to do something big in the final stage of his life and wipe out all civilizations in the universe except for humans.

But he simply wouldn't try to coax that friend who might still be angry. It wasn't that he didn't value the friendship, but rather that it was perhaps only slightly more important to him than his own life, and its priority was too low compared to other things he had to do.

Thinking of this, Nan Mengya suddenly stopped being angry. She looked at the boy in front of her. Her understanding of him, which originally came from her dream memories, became even deeper after she came into contact with the real Yuan Mao.

Although Subaru doesn't intend to give up his identity as an 'Earthling,' he simply feels that he shouldn't abandon it. Most of the 'Children of Mikami-cho' have already died within him. Now, he is 'Light' with the lingering obsession of humanity, an Ultraman who has tormented himself to the point of being covered in wounds for the sake of this obsession.

Nan Mengya believes that even if Yuan Mao's remaining lifespan were extended tenfold or a hundredfold, he would still be repeating the same actions over those years. Perhaps Yuan Mao himself has not even noticed that the loss of his emotions is not only due to the broken [engine shell], but also due to his own reasons. He keeps adding pressure to himself, as if there is no end, until he completely collapses.

"Pleiades."

"I'm here."

Although Yuan Mao didn't know what Nan Mengya was thinking, he felt that the atmosphere here was not as scary as before. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed, quietly waiting for Nan Mengya to continue.

"I remember you like to eat mixed noodles and drink soy milk, right?"

Nan Mumei smiled and looked at Gen Subaru, saying softly:

"It's the unsweetened kind, how about I make it for you tonight? My cooking skills are pretty good too."

"Oh, no."

Yuan Mao didn't expect Nan Mengya to say this to him. Several question marks popped into his mind. He didn't understand why she had made the atmosphere so scary just now for such a simple question. But since she had said it, he naturally had to respond.

"Actually, I can't taste anything right now, and this body doesn't really need food or other nutrients to maintain itself. I just couldn't refuse Rikka's hard work before, so don't waste your energy. Food without taste is not very meaningful."

Yuan Mao declined Nan Mengya's offer and said softly:

"Although I don't know what you were thinking, I still want to thank you for your kindness. You've been through a lot, so you should rest now."

"You idiot, you don't eat or sleep, how can you live like that?"

Nan Mengya sighed helplessly, reached out and tidied Yuan Mao's slightly messy hair, and whispered:

Even if you don't need to maintain your condition in this way now, you still have to eat when you're supposed to eat and sleep when you're supposed to sleep. Even if it doesn't mean anything to you, it's still the sense of ritual that a person should have in life.

"That's it..."

When Genjo heard this, he was momentarily dazed. It seemed that someone had told him this in the past, but now his psychic abilities were not good enough, and his once excellent memory had deteriorated.

"Let's talk about it later. The sense of ceremony... now is not the time to talk about that. I still have some things to finish, so I'll go first. You don't need to wait for me if you need anything."

After saying this, Gen Subaru ended his conversation with Nan Muya. During their conversation, he had already used his telekinesis to sense Zero's situation. Given Zero's weakened state, even if he wasn't a teammate, he probably wouldn't have the resources to continue causing trouble. So there was no need to worry about him there, and they could proceed with the next step of their plan.

Nan Mengya wanted to call out to Yuan Mao, but the boy's speed was too fast for her to keep up with. Helpless, the girl turned her head to the side, looked at the half-open door, paused for a moment, and then smiled and said:

"Rikka, I think I'm a little out of my element with this four-year-old Ultraman."

"Ah, that's true, I have absolutely no idea how to keep up."

Rikka Takarada pushed open the door and walked out with a somewhat forlorn expression. If Minami Mumei could spot her, then Subaru Minamoto certainly could too. Perhaps he had already sensed her arrival when she reached the door, but he still didn't hesitate to tell her the truth about the bento. For a moment, Rikka Takarada couldn't help but feel that Subaru Minamoto seemed to have given up on continuing to deceive her.

Of course, Rikka Takarada knew that the idea was wrong, and that Subaru was not that kind of person. But after this idea surfaced, the memories of the past seemed to have changed. What she felt she should remember about the past seemed to be just a passing cloud to Subaru, nothing to cherish.

"Chat?"

At this moment, Nan Mengya pointed to the door and whispered to Takarada Rikka:

Just the two of us.

"...Okay, sure."

Rikka Takarada hesitated for a moment, a conflicted look flashing across her face, but she finally nodded. Of course, she knew that this time, the conversation would definitely not be about the idle chatter they had discussed on the way there. Therefore, Rikka Takarada instinctively did not want to face this issue.

However, Rikka Takarada also remembered what her mother had just said: some things you just have to face, and not only face them, but also fight for them.

But...now...

Rikka Takarada couldn't help but smile wryly to herself, feeling a little disappointed.

It's just that her mother has the wrong target. The person she's going to snatch isn't the high school girl from another world in front of her, but rather someone she's going to snatch from 'humans and Earth'.

Meanwhile, Yuan Mao had already arrived at Dujuantai High School. This time, his actions were much more direct. He didn't care about concealment at all and went straight to the archives. Using the computer there, he found what he wanted and then left like a gust of wind, so fast that the school security guards were stunned.

What Gen Subaru was looking for was the home addresses of the students who had asked for leave during the ball skills tournament. Even though the plan had been interrupted before, Gen Subaru still believed it was a breakthrough point.

Meanwhile, due to changes in the outside world and his understanding of the truth of this world, Gen Subaru's actions have become more focused on efficiency. He no longer cares about the rules of human society and is checking house after house at an astonishing speed, making the residents of Dujuan Terrace think that the place is haunted in broad daylight.

Under these circumstances, Gen Subaru quickly arrived at the street where the secondhand shop "Ayaka JUNK SHOP" was located. After looking at the street number in front of him and then at the open door of the secondhand shop next door, the boy couldn't help but feel a little complicated.

He never expected that the so-called "everyone loves her and flowers bloom for her" Shinjo Akane actually lived next door to Takarada Rikka. No wonder those male high school students came to Takarada Rikka to ask her for the school beauty's home address.

As he pondered this, Gen Subaru braced himself and cautiously prepared to storm into Shinjo Akane's house. The name 'Shinjo Akane' had not only been mentioned by Takarada Rikka, but had also appeared in some of the student rooms that Gen Subaru had just visited. It was clear that Shinjo Akane was very popular among both male and female students.

But it was just a simple 'liking'. Some of the students who were on leave also wrote diaries. Gen Subaru casually flipped through them. At first, he didn't think much of it, but later he realized that these students' liking for Shinjo Akane was almost unconditional.

In those diary entries, no one could explain what they liked about Shinjo Akane. This almost complete acceptance went beyond the realm of 'love-struck'; it was more like fanatics worshipping their idol, and these fanatics themselves were completely unaware of it.

There's a problem here, a big problem. Perhaps the answer I'm looking for is right here.

Thinking of this, Gen Subaru didn't hesitate at all and kicked open Shinjo Akane's door. Of course, he could have sneaked in quietly, like a ghost, but the boy, who had already realized something was wrong, preferred to use this open hostility to force the people inside to realize that this matter could not be resolved peacefully and to bring out all their hidden methods.

What if we make a mistake?

Let's wait until we've really made a mistake before we talk about it.

"Um?!"

At this moment, Shinjo Akane, who was in her room upstairs, looked up somewhat dazedly. In front of her were several newly made monster models. These monsters were designed to defeat Gridman, since Gridman, this uninvited guest, was really annoying to her.

However, without Instance Abreaction, these monster models are just ordinary models. And the alien she was working with had fallen into silence after being attacked by an unknown force last time, and had not responded.

"Hey, Alexis, haven't you had enough sleep yet?"

At this moment, Akane Shinjo no longer cared about the sudden noise. She looked at the cracked computer screen in front of her and shouted angrily, but there was also an unconcealed unease in her tone. After all, she knew how troublesome Alexis was. If Alexis was taken down, her situation would not be much better.

Seeing that the screen still wouldn't light up, Akane Shinjo's expression turned hostile. She kicked the screen hard with her bare foot to vent her emotions.

But just as she kicked over the monitor, the door to her room opened. Startled, Shinjo Akane turned around abruptly and saw the white-haired, red-eyed boy standing in the doorway, looking around at everything inside.

"Oh dear, I don't think I invited any guests over."

Akane Shinjo took off her broken glasses, revealing a troubled expression, and said softly:

"So, young man, it's not appropriate for you to barge in like this. If you apologize properly now and leave, I might be able to forgive you."

"Then, when I'm done, I'll create a monster and erase my existence from this miniature world?"

Looking at the bags of leftover scraps from making monster models on the floor, and the various monster and alien models displayed in the room's cabinets, aside from the black pantyhose carelessly tossed on the bags, the room seemed messy, but surprisingly organized.

As he spoke, Gen Subaru's gaze fell on Shinjo Akane. Now that he was so close, he finally confirmed that the short-haired craftswoman in front of him was the person he was looking for.

So, Subaru looked at Akane Shinjo and continued softly:

"But you can't do it, humans, or more precisely, the humans who created this miniature world."

Shinjo Akane, who was about to say something more, changed her expression immediately upon hearing this. Since things had come to this point, there was no need to hide it any longer. She turned around, grabbed the art knife used to make monster models from the table, and decisively pointed it at Gen Subaru.

However, Akane Shinjo was extremely nervous. Although Subaru was right, Akane Shinjo was not yet very good at using her privileges here. Most of the time, it was Alexis who assisted her in carrying out the plan.

So, at this moment, although Shinjo Akane seemed to have a trump card, her shirt was already soaked with cold sweat.