Knights of the Digital World

"Oh, no problem. Hmm, I know a shop that makes really good cakes, let's go there! Hmm, it's on me!"

"I won't delve into that tomorrow," he said with a hearty wave of his hand.

Emu had no objections; he was currently penniless. "You have money, you can go wherever you want." That's quite realistic.

…………

"Mmm~ This shop's cakes are definitely the best! It's a pity I can't eat too many, or I'll gain weight."

Tomorrow, she scooped up a large piece of cake with a spoon and put it in her mouth. Her eyes narrowed with happiness, and she swayed her body joyfully.

Emu wasn't interested in the cake. She sat to the side watching Asuna finish eating before saying:

"Let me ask you a question first. How much do you know about system fragments?"

"Hmm? How do you know about the system fragment? Did I tell you?" Asuna tilted her head, thinking for a moment whether she had told Emu about the system fragment. Then she quickly gave up and replied:

"I don't know much about it. All I know is that it's a fragment of the system that was shattered after the previous host fell into monster form. It was originally supposed to provide the power of 20 Riders, but now it can only give me Decade's power. That's all."

Yongmeng nodded knowingly; this was no different from when he activated the system fragment back then.

"I understand. Let's start with the system then..."

Having already decided to tell Asuna what had happened, Emu had no intention of changing his mind. He told Asuna about the system and also explained his responsibilities.

As she listened to the story, she ate cake. When Emu finished telling the story, she had also finished the cake. Only then did she reluctantly put down her spoon, wipe her mouth with a tissue, and say:

"So, your task is to observe my behavior and determine whether I am suitable to inherit the power of the knight, right?"

Emu nodded.

Tomorrow, he continued, "If we hadn't met this time, how would you have planned to observe me after you found me?"

Yongmeng thought for a moment and said, "I'll probably follow you secretly to see how you behave on a daily basis and what kind of situation you'll encounter when you use the power of Decade."

Tomorrow asked curiously, "Then what you're doing makes you just a stalker."

Chapter Thirteen, The Little Monster

"Pervert? Stalker? I'm not that kind of person!"

When Emu heard Asuna's evaluation, his face turned green.

"But wasn't this exactly what you planned to do? Sneak up behind me and observe me from the shadows..."

"Tomorrow," he said, shrugging.

"..."

Emu has become withdrawn. Hearing what Asuna said, it does seem like it really is stalker behavior.

Asuna laughed out loud when she saw Emu's withdrawn expression:

"I was just kidding. You can observe if you want. But I have to go to school. It's a private girls' elementary school nearby, boys can't get in. It'll be a bit troublesome if you want to observe me."

"Go to school? Then why aren't you going today? It's Monday."

"I ask you with a puzzled look."

"Huh?! Isn't today Sunday?! How did it turn into Monday?! No wonder there weren't many people my age around. Oh, they're all in class?"

Tomorrow said in surprise.

But soon, she regained her nonchalant attitude: "Whatever, it's already this late. I won't go today."

"I'm saying, you must have really good grades. Why aren't you worried about going to class at all?"

"No, I'm an idiot. My grades have always been terrible. But my family is rich. Grades don't matter at all. Waiter, another cake, please!"

Watching Asuna happily eating her new cake, Emu instinctively wanted to advise her to study hard. However, since Asuna had already openly admitted to being an idiot and that her family was wealthy and didn't care about grades, it was difficult to say anything.

After thinking for a moment, Emu changed the subject:

"By the way, how was your fragment activated?"

"Well, I don't know how it was activated. It was just that one time, I saw Makino Ruki—ah, that's my classmate, a very aloof girl—running towards a certain place. I thought it was interesting, so I followed her. Then I entered a white mist and saw her fighting with a big yellow fox and a small yellow dinosaur. And then my fragment was activated."

"I later learned that the big yellow fox was called Renamon, and the little dinosaur was called Agumon. They are a kind of creature called Digimon. I even went out of my way to buy a lot of cards."

"Later, I encountered that white mist again. Out of curiosity, I transformed and went inside. This time, I encountered a big dog called Dobermanmon. After defeating him, I obtained a Digicard that allowed me to transform into his appearance. However, I didn't transform into a human."

"I encountered several more Digimon after that. They were Wizardmon, Jeanne d'Arcmon, and today's Hornetmon. After defeating them, I obtained Digicards. I tried Jeanne d'Arcmon's card once; its power was weaker than Decade's base form. But it looked much prettier!"

As she ate her cake, Asuna recounted her experiences without holding anything back, even showing Emu the four digital cards in her hand.

Emu nodded thoughtfully. Asuna's explanation made sense. The power of the system fragments was likely activated by the fluctuations when Ruki swiped her card.

However, perhaps we could ask Makino Ruki for confirmation. Emu didn't believe that with the keen senses of the fox spirit, it wouldn't have noticed Asuna following behind.

Yongmeng checked the time; it was already past eleven. Now that he had found his target ahead of time, there was no need to wander around outside. He needed to think about what to do next.

Thinking of this, Emu stood up and said to Asuna, "It's getting late, I'll take my leave now."

"Bye~ Tell me when you want to observe me again~"

Asuna waved goodbye to Emu, who nodded and left.

Stepping out of the cake shop, Emu felt a little lost. He had initially thought finding a host would be a long and arduous task, but he had found one after only a morning of wandering around. Could it really be as Tsukasa Kadoya said, that Riders are attracted to each other?

As things stand, Tomorrow doesn't seem like the type to degenerate into an eccentric. She has a carefree, easygoing personality. The fact that she can even forget class times speaks volumes.

Furthermore, she didn't abuse her power; she only used it to fight Digimon. Although she may not have been aware of the threat Digimon posed to humanity, she did protect many people. In this respect, she is a qualified knight.

However, we can't be careless. We should observe Asuna's behavior again when we have the chance to confirm her character. We can also ask Makino Ruki about it when we have the opportunity.

The only problem is that he's not very familiar with Makino Ruki. It won't be easy for him to ask her anything.

Overall, the host's problem is mostly solved. What should I do next?

Well, speaking of which, there were quite a few tragedies in the third season. Perhaps the most memorable was the death of Juri's Leomon. She was the only child in all six seasons to lose her partner Digimon. It's safe to say the writers went to extremes to torment Leomon.

The story of Beelzemon, who killed Leomon, is also a tragedy. His trainers were a young brother and sister who often argued and fought over who got the toys and the little monsters, without ever considering the little monsters' feelings.

The little monster felt like it was being treated as an object by its tamer. Unable to bear this situation, it ran away from the siblings and embarked on a solitary path to power. In the end, it sacrificed its soul to Suzakumon for power, evolving into Beelzemon and killing Leomon.

Although the little monster eventually realized its true nature and sided with the protagonist, the dead lion monster could not be resurrected.

This matter has been tormenting the little demon beast ever since. In the original story, he desperately tried to rescue Shuli, who had been captured by Emperor Limo, in order to alleviate his guilt.

Because of Parad, Emu actually had a lot of affection for Impmon. He didn't want Impmon to go astray. Moreover, stopping Impmon could save Leomon's life and change the tragedy of the original story.

Protecting everyone's smiles—that's the belief that has guided Emu's actions all along.

To be fair, Leomon was quite powerful in the original story, capable of holding his own against the Ultimate-level Beelzemon for a while. If it weren't for trying to persuade Beelzemon to return to the right path, he wouldn't have been killed so easily.

As Yongmeng was pondering, a rhythmic series of thuds suddenly came from ahead.

Emu looked up and saw a purple-skinned Digimon with a red scarf, two long ears, and a tail jumping around on cars in the middle of the road, with a mischievous smile on its face.

Emu paused, then couldn't help but pinch her cheek. Feeling the pain, she quickly rubbed it a few times, muttering to herself:

"What's this? Speak of the devil and he appears? Or is it wish fulfillment? With this kind of luck, should I try buying a lottery ticket?"

That thing jumping around on the car, isn't that the little monster that Emu was just thinking about?

Chapter Fourteen, Persuading the Little Monster

Emu felt that her luck might have turned around.

If you're looking for a host, you'll find one after wandering around for a short while; if you're looking for a little monster, you'll find it just by looking up.

As someone who's always had bad luck with the game, this is a completely new version that he's never experienced before.

While Emu was puzzled by his luck, the little monster had gotten tired of jumping around and jumped off the car roof. He saw a child holding a lollipop and staring at him blankly. The little monster grinned, went up to him, snatched the lollipop, and started licking it.

The child paused for a moment, then his mouth twitched and he burst into tears.

The little monster, with a lollipop in its mouth, laughed loudly: "That's right, humans, fear me! Remember my name, I am the little monster!"

The child's cries caught the attention of his mother, who was nearby. The woman had been talking to an acquaintance when she suddenly heard her child crying. She turned around and saw the little monster standing in front of her child, laughing wildly with a lollipop in its mouth.

She immediately frowned, picked up her child and comforted him for a few words, then pointed at the little monster and was about to start scolding him.

Upon seeing this, the little monster spat out the candy in its mouth and ran away quickly.

Emu witnessed this scene and quickly followed.

Judging from the little monster's current behavior, although he has begun to pursue power and uses pranks to show off his strength, he still has good intentions in his heart.

Otherwise, with the little monster's strength, defeating a dozen or so ordinary people would be a piece of cake. If he were to use his fire abilities, without specialized protective gear, any number of ordinary people would be helpless.

In other words, the little monster can still be saved.

What truly drove the little monster to its madness was its crushing defeat in its challenge against the Warhorse Beast.

Back then, the little monsters both mocked the close relationship between the big-eared beasts and humans, ridiculed their dependence on humans, and unconsciously felt envious and jealous of the big-eared beasts.

Even though he knew he was no match for Warhorsemon, he still boldly stepped forward to challenge it, hoping to prove that Digimon could become stronger without relying on humans.

Unfortunately, the Rookie Digimon was powerless against Warhormon, and Warhormon was ultimately defeated by a Digimon that the Rookie Digimon looked down upon and that relied on humans.

This was unacceptable to the little monster. The contrast with its own battered and bruised state only further twisted its mind, making it obsessed with the pursuit of power.

He wanted to prove that Digimon could become stronger without relying on humans!

Become very strong!

In return, he offered everything to Suzakumon and received its gift, evolving into Beelzemon, and his mind became immersed in power.

If Gallantmon hadn't defeated him and snapped him out of that state, and if he hadn't felt the love from his tamer, the little monster would probably have truly become a slave to power.

The little monster is probably still in the stage of wanting to prove its strength to humans and that it can live well without relying on humans, in order to get rid of its past as a beast tamer.

The psychological trauma inflicted on him by his two inexperienced animal trainers was too great.

However, at this point, he probably hadn't completely rejected humans. The little monster only truly rejected humans after witnessing the harmonious relationship between Terriermon and his tamer, which fueled his jealousy and led him to decisively sever ties with them, frequently mocking Terriermon and his companions' dependence on humans.

In the end, it's nothing more than jealousy.

At that time, it would not be easy to contact the little monsters as a human.

Yongmeng followed the little demon into a secluded alley. The little demon, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped, turned around abruptly, and shouted sharply:

"Who are you! How dare you follow this little monster master! I think you are... um? Human?"

The little monster initially thought its companion, a Digimon, was full of fighting spirit. However, upon realizing the other party was an eleven or twelve-year-old human child, its enthusiasm waned, and it waved its hand at Emu, shooing him away:

"What? So you're just a human brat. I'm in a good mood right now and don't want to bother with you. Get lost, or you'll regret it!"