I want to become a Kamen Rider

"I heard they had a previous generation, but I've never seen it. Maybe they were defeated by someone else."

Hiiragi Tina angrily got off Fan Kang, still feeling humiliated and resentful at being tricked and having her expectations dashed. She glared at the minister on the ground, then... hugged her knees and squatted in the corner, like a sulking purple mushroom.

The minister, however, pointed at her and laughed in a very offensive manner.

"Finally got it! The hardest item on my wish list: that incredibly adorable expression of wanting to kill me but being unable to. The way that corner of his mouth turned up, the murderous look in his eyes, and those cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish... Perfect! Absolutely perfect!"

As this scumbag said this, he took out a small notebook and started writing and drawing.

Wish list?

Hiiragi Tina isn't stupid, she's just a little clumsy.

Upon closer reflection, it makes no sense that the minister would come to her after returning. If he really needed someone to protect him, he could have gone to Azusagawa Sakuta and Hikigaya Hachiman. They are both of the same sex, so he wouldn't have to worry about being harmed by girls who have feelings for him.

Indeed, that was the case. According to the minister, Sakuta Azusagawa and Hachiman Hikigaya were following them nearby.

So, why did the minister still come to see her...?

She glanced at the small notebook in the minister's hand.

Stretched out his hand.

"show me."

"Here."

They had been prepared to forcibly take it, but the boy simply handed over the notebook without any hesitation.

"This is my diary. It records my journeys in various worlds and the people and events I've encountered. Sometimes, I also write down my longing for you in my original world."

Such candor suggests it's just an ordinary diary entry.

"This notebook is made from the Philosopher's Stone that I borrowed from Takamatsu. It is used in the same way as a regular paper notebook, except that the first page has a table of contents and the words in the notebook change depending on the content you select. It is like a notebook that can never be finished."

Is that Takamatsu lantern some kind of magical stone-collecting device? Why does it have all sorts of stones...?

Following the minister's instructions, she opened her diary.

The catalog included entries like "Struggle Records," which clearly documented various battles, as well as entries like "Daily Notes." But what caught her attention most was a list called "Wish List."

Because her name is in there.

Considering the series of changes that occurred after the minister's return, it's possible that the minister's desire for her had been brewing for a long time.

The girl, full of anticipation, turned to her wish list and then clenched her fist.

【Wish List: Hiiragi Mai Tina】

[Confessing to Tina: /1]

[Say what you want to say: /1]

[Look again at her puffed-up face: /1]

[Touch her puffed-up face again / 1]

Before I forget her, let me take one last look at that incredibly powerful expression on her face—wanting to kill me but unable to do anything about it :/1

[Look again at her puffed-up face: /1]

[Steal her newly bought comic book and then watch her chase after it :/1)]

[Touch her puffed-up face again / 1]

……

The entire wish list, apart from the first two columns which still stirred the girl's romantic feelings, was basically about making her angry, stealing her comics, and teasing her.

What's most outrageous is that the item "Take another look at her puffed-up face" actually had at least a hundred new entries added at different times.

Just how much does this guy want to make me angry?!

"Minister, this diary..."

"I started writing this diary when I almost died. At that time, I was infected with a very dangerous cell that made me want to eat people. Although I held on until the end, I hesitated many times about whether to kill myself. It was my desire to come back and see you that sustained me and prevented me from making that decision."

"..."

My pent-up complaints suddenly stopped.

She remembered how many times she had cried in the minister's arms and complained, while the man in front of her rarely cried in front of her.

She waited for his return in the same place, her heart broken, while he had crossed countless worlds, defeated countless powerful enemies, and encountered countless difficulties before finally returning to this world.

She silently turned the diary back to the first page, and above the table of contents, near the spine, in the blank space, she saw a very small, almost ignored inscription.

The handwriting carried a calm and gentle quality born of experience, yet also concealed a subtle hint of weariness:

"I have reached the ends of many worlds, and even considered burying myself there. What brought me back was those unreachable, ordinary days, where you were."

Chapter 110 The Time Robber

A hush fell over the room. Only the soft light of the desk lamp illuminated the girl's complex and unspoken face, and the boy's gaze as he looked up at her, open yet with a hint of barely perceptible tenderness.

After a while, Hiiragi Tina silently closed the diary and gently placed it back on the bed next to Fan Kang. She didn't say anything more, but simply walked to the wall and turned off the warm yellow lamp.

In the darkness, she groped her way back to her makeshift bed, but didn't lie down. She picked up the fluffy, soft down comforter from her bed, walked to the bedside, and forcefully, with a hint of defiance, threw the comforter over Fan Kang, almost burying him completely.

"Ugh." The minister let out a muffled groan.

Then, Hiiragi Tina lifted the thin mattress, crawled inside, lay down with her back to Fan Kang, and wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, leaving only the top of her purple hair showing.

In the darkness, Fan Kang struggled out from under the down comforter, looked at the huddled figure on the floor beside him, its back to him, curled up like a silkworm, and smiled silently. He pulled the exceptionally warm down comforter, still carrying the sweet scent of a young girl, over himself and lay down as well.

The two sat back to back in the darkness of the same room, their breathing clearly audible in the silence.

After a long while, a muffled, slightly nasal voice came from the bulge on the floor:

"...Goodnight, you idiot minister."

"...Goodnight, sulky Butina."

.........

……

[Daily Notes - Hiiragi Mai Tina]

[Date: Month ▇, 2012, Sunny]

"Today, Tina confessed her feelings to me. The way she stood on tiptoe was so cute."

"Her puffed-up cheeks are also cute; you just want to poke them."

"This must be Tina's first kiss. She's so clumsy; her forehead keeps bumping into my chin and nose. It hurts!"

"Her lips are soft."

"If only I could remember that."

Hiiragi Tina opened her eyes, and what she saw was not darkness, but a large hand.

The room was still lit; the desk lamp had been turned on at some point. The minister was there, holding a notebook between his chin and eyeing it sideways, writing something with a pen in one hand.

It looks ridiculous.

She suddenly thought of something.

"Minister, in Mizutani Migen's wish list, the first item is also confession, right?"

"Ah."

She pouted.

"Is the minister planning to wait until he's tired of me before breaking up with me and going to find Mizutani Migen, or is he planning to confess to two girls at the same time?"

He confessed his feelings to two girls at the same time.

She gasped, realizing she was making her own contribution to combating global warming.

Even though she's somewhat inferior to a perfect woman like Eleanor, who is outstanding in every way except for her personality, she's still the first girl to confess her feelings to the minister and succeed.

This bastard actually dared to say he was going to see other women right in front of his official girlfriend.

Thinking about the types of comics someone usually reads, and how she was forced to use her allowance to buy comics for him, Tina Hiiragi clicked her tongue.

"Minister, bigamy is a criminal offense."

"In theory, I can remove bigamy not only from the country you live in, but from the whole world as well."

"..."

Her mother once taught her the secrets of bargaining.

Asking for prices all over the place and paying back the money on the ground.

If something is impossible, you can't buy it, but you also can't suffer excessive losses.

Tina Hiiragi took a deep breath and spoke again:

"Minister, are you planning to build a harem? If you promise me one thing, I might be willing to be lenient..."

Recalling Eleanor's infuriating remarks about "meat" and "soup," Hiiragi Tina, feeling she had the upper hand, smiled slightly.

"Are you stupid, Wu Tina? How could anyone actually have a harem in real life? I have neither money nor power. I can barely afford a little Feng's meals."

"But you just said that the bigamy charge could be dropped..."

"That's because you threatened me with criminal law, which made me very unhappy, so I said that. In light novels, you can see protagonists modifying laws and showing off their power. Do you expect someone like me, who sleeps under bridges for half a year without stealing or robbing, to do that? Aren't you dreaming?"

Tina Hiiragi sat up and began to criticize the club president's ugly hypocritical behavior:

"You usually love reading harem manga, but now you're saying that having a harem isn't realistic."

"Reality is reality, and comics are comics. You can't have a harem in reality, but can't comics give people some enjoyment? Why do you have to force reality into comics? Why don't you ban all other comics except realistic ones?"

"..."

Speechless. It was clearly this bastard who first said he wanted to confess to two girls at the same time, but she somehow managed to refute him with her aura.

By the way, this behavior is immoral, and we can morally refute the minister!

"No matter how many fallacies you have, Minister, even if dating without marriage doesn't break the law, dating two or more girls at the same time is immoral!"

The boy put down his pen, turned his head, looked at her, and poked her puffed-up cheek:

"You're right, it's immoral to do that. So what if it's immoral? I'm not going to do anything to you. Liking someone isn't illegal, and it's not unreasonable to just tell each girl you like how you feel."

At least, before he forgets everything, let him say what he wants to say.

"You took my first kiss!"

“That was when you kissed me, Tina.”

The girl remained sullen.

"But if you, Minister, are not going to marry her but are trying to take away someone else's true feelings, that's irresponsible!"

"...Over the years, I have taken responsibility for far too many things—other people's lives, the peace of this world. I have taken responsibility for everything, both what I was supposed to and what I wasn't. Just this once, please let me go."

Only now did she realize once again that the man before her stood at the very pinnacle of moral authority in the conventional sense.

There is no way to impose any constraints on it, either morally or legally.

All that's left are unreasonable demands and emotional coercion.

The boy in front of her had clearly anticipated this as well, so after she fell silent, he looked at her with a puzzled expression:

"...Tina, according to the usual routine, shouldn't you threaten to break up with me next, forcing me not to see other girls?"

"I don't want to break up."

The girl looked aggrieved and grabbed that hand.

Even if you say you want to destroy the world, I don't want to let go of this hand.

The boy sighed and ruffled her purple hair.

Just as I was about to say something, thunder rumbled outside the window.

A hideous monster cast its gaze through the window.

Chapter 111 The Tactics of the Weak