Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

Knock knock—At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

Yan Ming then opened the door and saw Tsugami Shoichi and a petite figure walk in.

"Brother Yan Ming~~!!"

The cute little girl with pink hair is Anya.

Upon seeing Yan Ming, she leaped into his arms like a rocket.

"Excuse me, you two! I brought my little sister Anya to visit you!"

Woz was slightly stunned, while Yan Ming patted Anya's little head and then shook his head.

"Never mind, Woz, let's talk about the plan when we get back."

"Huh? But—"

"There's no 'but' about it, anyway, we don't have any clue what to do right now."

"Yes, my Demon King."

Woz knelt down on one knee very respectfully and bowed.

"Huh?! Could Mr. Kongoji be a Westerner? Some kind of aristocrat?!"

"...It seems there's a huge difference. Also, my name is Woz, not Kongoji, Mr. Agito."

"Okay, Mr. Woz! By the way... who is Mr. Kongoji again?"

Tsugami Shoichi's naturally curious expression, coupled with his recollection of Kadoya Tsukasa's arrogant personality, made Woz sigh.

'I always felt that these twenty legendary main riders from the Heisei era Kamen Riders... were all incredibly troublesome freaks.'

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Volume 4: Knight Wars: Chapter 103 The Significance of Existence in This World

Then Yan Ming and Tsugami Shoichi took Anya out to play.

They found the stream they had seen earlier, and then continued searching upstream from there…

Wow!! What a huge pool!

At the very source of the stream, there is a spring that is not too deep, and higher up there is a place where the stream water gushes out like a waterfall.

Although it looks exaggerated, it's actually not a very dangerous place.

So Anya took off her shoes and happily ran into the pool to play.

"So many little fish and shrimp! Anya! Wow, so cool!!"

"Be careful, your clothes will get soaked if you slip in the water."

Anya waved happily to them, seemingly inviting them to join in the water, but Yan Ming and Tsugami Shoichi just smiled and didn't go in with them.

Watching Anya playfully frolicking on the water, both of them felt a sense of relaxation and comfort.

"How wonderful... If only the world could always be like this!"

"You really are an optimist, Mr. Tsugami Shoichi."

"Ah, this... I'm so sorry! I'm extremely sorry!"

Yan Ming was puzzled by Tsugami Shoichi's sudden apology.

"Actually, my name isn't Tsugami Shoichi."

He said something that was somewhat surprising.

"My real name is Tetsuya Sawaki. As for the name Shoichi Tsugami, I borrowed my brother-in-law's name when I had amnesia."

Amnesia... Have you ever had amnesia before?

"Huh? Mr. Woz didn't tell you? I thought he knew so many things, he should even know about my amnesia!"

Woz probably knew, but he didn't tell Yan Ming in detail.

Yan Ming looked at Tsugami Shoichi with some surprise.

"So you've regained your lost memories now, right?"

"Of course! Oh dear~ Thinking back, that period of amnesia was quite an unsettling time."

Recalling the old days, Tsugami Shoichi couldn't help but reveal a nostalgic smile.

"Sometimes I often worry about my identity and what kind of person I really am. But after meeting many people and making many friends, there's nothing to worry about anymore."

"As for me, I just need to be myself. No matter what others think of me, no matter what my identity is, as long as I do what I believe is right and do what I want to do, that's probably what 'Shoichi Tsugami' is all about, right?"

Is this why the man in front of us has been able to persist in helping this village...?

Even though many people in the village treated him coldly, he still chose to help them without hesitation.

"Oh, right! I've actually thought about Mr. Yan Ming's matter quite a bit!"

"My business?"

"It refers to saving the world!"

Tsugami Shoichi patted his shoulder, looking relaxed.

"It's okay, just go ahead and do it, I'll do my best to support you!"

"No... Don't you think it's a bit unrealistic? After all, it's a post-apocalyptic world."

"Absolutely not, because, well... I've done similar things to you before, haven't I?"

Tsugami Shoichi took a slight breath.

“In the past, I fought against a god-like being who attempted to annihilate all of humanity. My companions and I then rebelled against him.”

"And then? Did you defeat God?"

"Of course—that's highly unlikely! Oh dear~ Speaking of which, that god is just too powerful! Even though I exhausted all my strength to destroy his physical body once, he actually revived in an instant!"

Despite discussing such a heavy topic, Tsugami Shoichi spoke as if he were chatting about everyday things, appearing incredibly relaxed.

"Although we cannot defeat the power of God, we have made God understand our thoughts and given humanity a second chance."

"So this is how they saved all of humanity? I see..."

"No, no, it can't be said that we saved all of humanity."

Tsugami Sho immediately waved his hand, denying Yan Ming's idea.

"All we did was make that god believe in humanity again."

"Give humanity a new chance, let them start over, and let humanity decide its own future."

"This is what we have done, but what will truly save humanity is probably humanity's own ideas and efforts."

"As for me... I believe in such humans, because I am one of them. I believe that humanity has the opportunity to start anew and build a future that will leave no regrets!"

Looking at the man before him, Yan Ming's understanding and impression of him deepened.

I also finally understood what kind of man Kamen Rider Agito really was.

"Now, the opportunity is yours, and I believe you can succeed in doing what you want to do."

Shoichi Tsugami patted him on the shoulder again, but this time, his expression was more serious.

“I may not have your strength and qualifications to change the world on my own, but... I believe in you, I believe you can do something to save the world.”

The two looked at each other without saying a word for a long time.

then.

"Hey? There's another lady over there!"

Anya's voice drew their attention.

They followed Anya's gaze and saw a familiar figure on the other side of the pool.

A woman with red hair.

"Hey? Isn't that Miss Naju?"

----------------------

"I never expected to see you all here..."

The village chief, Naju, seems to have come here to enjoy the scenery as well.

But I never expected to run into these three people by chance.

After playing with Anya for a while, she pulled Anya back ashore.

Yan Ming took out the Build watch and used its power to dry the two men's legs.

"Is this also the power of Kamen Rider?"

"Yes."

"It feels so convenient! With this, I can dry my freshly washed clothes anytime, anywhere!"

"...Are you sure you want to use it for something so mundane? It could very well start a fire."

"Haha! Just kidding, don't take it so seriously! You're such a cute and handsome young man!"

Yan Ming was speechless at being tricked.

"Sister Nazhu~! Brother Yanming! Anya, do you still want to play!"

"You've played long enough, probably about two hours. Your parents will worry."

"Waaaaah~~!"

After calming Anya down, Yan Ming and Tsugami Shoichi looked at Naju.

"I really didn't expect Miss Naju to come to a place like this...?"

"It's nothing, just came to relax a bit."

Naju took a slight breath.

“Normally, everyone in the village has all sorts of things to complain to me about. I also have to drag everyone around to different places and handle a lot of things. It’s rare to come to such a beautiful place, so of course I have to relax a bit.”

"That...is not a problem either."

"However... this is all thanks to you guys."

Naju looked at the two of them and couldn't help but smile.

“In the past, because there were always monsters and Kamen Riders around here, we didn’t dare to do anything. But now that there are people like you who can protect us, even I, the village chief, can find some time to relax a little.”

"But...we didn't actually do anything, did we?"

"You don't need to do anything. Just staying in this village is enough to put my mind at ease."

It seems that Naju and the people in the village... have very different ideas.

"Won't you reject us?"

"Hmm... no, because I know that you are fundamentally different from those knights outside, so I don't think you would do anything detrimental to the village."

"Perhaps our very existence is already a disaster for you."

The so-called Kamen Rider... in reality, wherever he goes, he will inevitably cause battles, which will then drag innocent people into them.

This was inevitable.

"But you did intend to protect us, didn't you?"

Naju gazed at the two of them and smiled again.

"As long as you have this heart and this will, I think that's enough."

"Although your existence may be hard for the villagers to accept, I believe in you and you are definitely not the kind of people who would bring chaos to the world."

"Your existence in this world must have a purpose...."

Does it have any meaning in this world?

Yan Ming closed his eyes slightly, as if sensing some profound thoughts.

He saw it.

Something hidden deep within one's heart.