I want to become a Kamen Rider

That's why Cupid found her.

She shouldn't have answered, but she couldn't help but blurt it out.

"think."

“Then, then let Cupid help you…”

The girl shook her head.

A clear and decisive voice cut off Cupid's words.

"I reject."

She grabbed the Alien Knight Driver from her bosom, her purple hair fluttering in the wind.

"I will catch up in my own way. How can the minister be the only one to do something as cool as saving the world?"

……

……

The night was as thick as ink, swallowing up the hustle and bustle and smoke of the day.

The dim, yellowish glow of the streetlights blurred the damp, chilly air, barely illuminating a lone bench beside the sidewalk. A faint, lingering smell of burning and blood remained, a reminder of the calamity the city had just endured.

"I've said it so many times. We've already searched twice. There's no sign of any strange activity in Beika Town, no Grongi playing the Gigiru Game there, and no Shocker kidnapping anyone in the shadows. So many people died simply because of poor security. How many times do I have to say it?!"

After hanging up the phone, Fan Kang staggered toward a bench by the roadside.

He was very tired, extremely tired, both physically and mentally exhausted.

Perhaps in the eyes of dark organizations and hostile forces, he is more terrifying than a modified monster who is tireless, incapable of shedding tears, and unaware of pain. But the truth is, he also gets tired.

In a single day, he experienced a chaotic battlefield that should never have existed, faced off against the enemy who launched a final counterattack, defeated dozens of monsters who were not just grunts but also executives and even final bosses. Just when things finally ended, he was threatened and cursed by that man with the military knife. He rushed back without stopping to continue fighting and saving people.

It's not that Kamen Rider Kuuga is more tireless, incapable of tears, or unaware of pain than monsters, but rather that the man beneath the mask has been gritting his teeth and persevering through the relationship.

The street lights come on.

He rushed to the bench, where the girl was sitting with a smile.

Fan Kang glanced at his watch; it was 11:30, and the day was not yet over.

"...The time is now 11:32:43. I thought Master wouldn't come. It seems you still remember."

"..."

"After you saved the seriously injured, you went to comfort Miss Toyokawa, then took care of that purple-haired little dwarf, and finally it was my turn. I guess it's because I'm the easiest to please."

"..."

"I'm the easiest to coax, that means I'm the most obedient to my master, the least troublesome to him, and the most convenient for him."

"……sorry."

His previous silence was not out of guilt or unease, but simply because he was too tired and wanted to conserve the energy to speak.

"It should be someone else apologizing to you, Master."

The girl didn't shed tears; she even smiled.

From her perspective, a perfectly good date being ruined should make her feel wronged and cause a huge scene.

I thought I was going to have to endure another emotional outburst from someone else, but that didn't happen.

"I bought dinner for my master."

She simply pulled a paper bag with a convenience store logo from beside her, as if by magic. Her movements were light and quick, with a deliberate energy.

From the time he rescued her to the time she recovered enough to move around, it should only have been a little over an hour.

The bag rustled as she carefully pulled things out—a still-warm bento box, a small box of cut fruit, and a bottle of hot drink. The aroma of the food wafted through the cold night air, carrying a hint of warmth that filled her nostrils.

Fan Kang sat down on the bench, and the girl naturally fed him food.

"..."

He obediently lowered his head slightly and took a bite of the warm rice ball from her hand. The simple food, with the sweetness of rice and the salty aroma of seaweed, seemed to awaken a little feeling in his tired and numb taste buds.

The girl watched him eat with satisfaction, and then continued to feed him other food, her movements meticulous and patient.

"I will remember how hard my master worked, even if others take it for granted."

Fan Kang paused slightly while chewing.

When Cupid asked him if he felt wronged, what he really wanted to say was... he didn't even have time to feel wronged.

However, this statement was somewhat weak, sounding as if he actually wanted to compromise.

The girl seemed to have caught that fleeting moment of emotion; she waved her little hand, her eyes sparkling.

"Yay! My master's favorability has increased by one, bringing me one step closer to unlocking the final CG."

"I'm talking about you..."

Out of habit, he wanted to scold her, and his cheap apprentice readily stuck her head out, but in the end, he just smiled bitterly and placed his hand on her little head.

"But I don't have any final CG to give you."

"Then let me stay by my master's side forever."

"Is this enough?"

"That's enough."

She smiled, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"I will be a support for my master."

Chapter 46 With Sweat and Blood [2/5]

The morning light was faint, and the air was crisp.

Even in the early morning of summer, it's already a bit chilly.

Fan Kang was awakened by a familiar, almost obstinate, sound of wind breaking through the air. Consciousness surfaced from the depths of exhaustion, and her heavy eyelids opened a crack. What came into view was the rough wood grain of a faded bench, and the old, washed-out tracksuit jacket draped over her shoulders—carrying the faint scent unique to young girls. Beside the bench, a paper bag bearing a convenience store logo stood quietly, exuding the warm aroma of food.

My gaze went beyond the back of the chair and landed in the center of the empty space.

Mizutani Migen was right there.

The girl stood with her back to him, practicing the most basic punches and footwork over and over again in the lingering mist. The morning light outlined her slender yet taut figure. She wore a thin training uniform, her long hair simply tied back, swaying slightly with her movements. A few unruly strands of hair, damp with sweat, clung to her smooth forehead and sharply defined jawline.

Even someone who doesn't know much about this could probably tell that she has no talent.

She was burning herself, trying to ignite that tiny possibility in the purest and most clumsy way.

She woke up two hours ago, bought you breakfast, and then started practicing.

A suspicious white alien creature appeared on the bench he was leaning against, then skillfully jumped onto his shoulder. Its round, red eyes calmly gazed at the girl in the center of the room, utterly indifferent.

"Kang Jun, I'm very curious, if she continues training like this, is it possible for her to reach your level in this lifetime?"

"impossible."

'Then why does she still work so hard?'

"Perhaps it's because most hard-working people are like this; even if they recognize reality and know that they lack talent, they are still unwilling to give up."

Fan Kang's gaze remained fixed on the girl's figure, watching her stagger due to a loss of balance, then immediately regain her footing and throw the next punch with even more force.

"You almost died yesterday, and today you're practicing like nothing happened, without a single complaint, without a hint of fear, even declaring you'll be my support. Is this what you call hard work?"

"Yes, to reach this level, it's all about hard work. Hard work is nothing compared to talent. Only by putting in countless times the effort, mixed with sweat and blood, day after day, day after day, day after day, can the sincerity forged in the end surpass talent. I gave her unrealistic hope."

If he became a Kamen Rider with sincerity, Uncle Higashijima wanted to become a Kamen Rider, and Tina Hiiragi longed to become a Kamen Rider, then Mizutani Migen wanted to become "Fan Kang".

Because he was standing there.

Standing at the end of that mortal path, paved with countless drops of sweat, pain, despair, and endless repetition, he embodies another possibility—relying not on any innate talent, but purely on the tempering of flesh and blood and the support of so-called willpower, ultimately reaching the pinnacle of mortal existence. And even beyond that pinnacle, he glimpses a more distant landscape.

A martial artist without talent, upon seeing someone who also lacks talent yet reaches the pinnacle and even surpasses it, will naturally feel a longing and desire to become that person.

The girl naively thought that by getting closer to him, she could learn his unique skills and secret techniques, but all he could tell her was to work hard, work hard, and work even harder.

In the end, she even gave her whole heart to him.

'Any normal person would be upset to see something like this, working so hard but not getting the results they wanted.'

"I think it's fair, and I even hope that she never gets the result she wants in her entire life."

Mizutani Migen is already the most hardworking Kamen Rider besides him, and on a global scale, he can be considered one of the most hardworking humans.

As for why she could never reach his level in this lifetime, it's really fair, very fair. No one can find fault with it. It has nothing to do with the fact that he spent two lifetimes on it. It's because she, a rare hard worker in the world... wasn't hardworking enough.

What she's giving now is less than half of what he gave back then.

It's perfectly fair that it can't be achieved.

The morning light gradually dispelled the thin mist, and golden rays finally shone unhindered across the field, elongating the girl's silhouette as she vigorously threw her punches. Kyubey watched all this with him, casually remarking:

'Compared to this child's crystal-clear desire to become the strongest martial artist, sometimes I really don't understand what Kangjun wants that makes him work so hard and risk his life so much?'

"It's actually very simple. I work hard so that others don't have to work so hard. I fight desperately so that others don't have to fight desperately. I become a Kamen Rider so that others don't have to become a Kamen Rider."

'He keeps referring to others, Kang Jun is still as incomprehensible as ever...'

"I would rather never be understood in my entire life."

That would mean the future has changed.

I chatted casually with Cupid, and eventually we ended up on that same old problem that no amount of clever tricks or sweet talk could solve.

This was one of the few times Fan Kang had detected a hint of melancholy in the voice of this suspicious, white alien creature.

'Sigh, to be liked by a girl like that, and to have done so much for you, how can you not be moved? You must be heartless.'

"The answer to this question is that you can't be tempted by something, right? It's been answered long ago."

Perhaps influenced by Cupid's melancholy, or perhaps simply wanting to complain, Fan Kang also rested his chin on his hand and sighed:

"Sometimes I really feel sorry for my past self. If my past self saw my present self, I would probably want to punch me to death. That guy would definitely be yelling that so many girls like him, so he should just accept it and live the lively harem king life that my past self dreamed of... Well, although my past self couldn't even withstand one punch from my present self."

He twitched the corner of his mouth, somewhat helplessly, and then said it directly.

"It's quite frustrating. It feels like after going through half my life to finally have a computer that doesn't lag, I find that it's starting to lag."

Cupid flicked his tail lightly, brushing it across the side of his neck.

Sometimes people say that older men playing old games is a form of socializing, a way of connecting with their younger selves.

Fan Kang glanced at the little beast on his shoulder: "So what kind of mischievous idea do you have now?"

'Can't I just come to see the anti-King?'

"That's up to you."

Without another word, he gently brushed the Kyubey off his shoulder, then stood up, bracing himself against the cold chair. The coat that Mizutani Miyuki had draped over him slipped off, and he casually picked it up and draped it over his arm.

He walked into the faint morning light.

"Hey."

The master started giving instructions.

"You're doing that wrong. Raise your arm. Focus."

The girl showed no resentment at being blamed. Instead, she nodded vigorously, took a deep breath, and resumed her stance. Following his instructions, she diligently adjusted her posture, raising her arms to the correct position. Her gaze became incredibly focused again, as if she wanted to etch every word he said into her bones.

The morning light finally spread out completely, enveloping the two in a warm golden glow. The shadows of the ruins receded, and a new day began amidst the clumsy yet incredibly determined fists of the girl.

Chapter 47 Matters of the Adults [3/5]

"Ms. Hiratsuka wants us to have a debate to decide who will lead the club, but I have more important things to do. So, if Yukinoshita can give me a reason that I can accept, I'll give up."

"...Is this charity?"

"No, that's prejudice. Just like what I heard about Yukinoshita before I came here, people said that besides her beauty, all she had was a sharp tongue. But that's not true. I showed goodwill to Yukinoshita first, and she didn't attack me. We could communicate normally and reasonably."

【“…”】

"Similarly, the Service Club—a name that might easily evoke negative connotations—and its seemingly inexplicable club activities, I believe, are prejudices that can be eliminated."

"When the wealthy give to the poor with a compassionate heart, this is what we call public welfare. Similarly, outstanding individuals have an obligation to help the pitiful, to lend a helping hand, to help people out of their predicaments, and to serve through writing—this is true volunteer work. Offering a helping hand to those in need is what constitutes a service society."