Anime Crossover: My Part-Time Job as a Giant of Light While Studying Abroad in Chiba

"Hey, Yumiko, look at that! It's really cracked over there in Yokohama!"

Yui Yuigahama was practically pressed against the window, her phone screen filled with photos that were being wildly retweeted on Twitter.

She was wearing pink casual clothes today, and her bun hairstyle swayed with her movements.

"Everyone says monsters will fall from above, it's so scary..."

"I saw it, it's so noisy."

Yumiko Miura took an elegant sip of her iced coffee, but her gaze was fixed on the bar counter.

"What I care about more is the way that transfer student looks in an apron... which is surprisingly not annoying."

"That's for making a living."

Duan Zilian happened to walk over, carrying a freshly made sea salt latte.

“Miura-kun, I would be happier if you could offer less of this kind of biased praise.”

"Huh? Who praised you, you overly self-conscious man?"

Yumiko Miura snorted, picked up her latte, took a sip, and a satisfied look appeared on her face.

Yui Yuigahama covered her mouth and chuckled, then awkwardly moved closer to Hachiman and asked in a low voice.

"Hey... Little Qi, do you think a monster might really fall out of that crack?"

Hachiman's finger paused on the page, and he caught a glimpse of Yuihama's large, worried eyes out of the corner of his eye. He remained silent for a moment.

"Who knows? If it really falls out, let's all pray that the glowing giant hasn't retired yet."

Upon hearing this, Yui Yuigahama seemed to receive some kind of reassurance, and breathed a sigh of relief, her small hand unconsciously gripping Hachiman's sleeve.

Hachiman froze for a moment, but surprisingly did not dodge.

Seeing the students' energetic atmosphere, a regular customer sitting not far away couldn't help but chime in.

"Students, were you frightened at school? I heard that many schools were affected and are still being repaired."

"Thank you for your concern, uncle."

Hayama responded gently, "Although it's a bit chaotic, everyone is relatively safe."

Is it safe?

Yumiko Miura was browsing the forum when she heard this and suddenly put down her phone, her tone carrying a hint of inexplicable irritation.

“I don’t think so. Did you guys see the posts that someone named ‘Kiri Elorod’ made on the forum? That guy is absolutely insane.”

Duan Zilian paused for a moment while wiping the cup, and Hong Kai also turned his head slightly.

"You mean that post titled 'Tiga is actually a nightmare'?"

Yui shrank back, her voice lowering, "I saw it too. The comments below are terrifying."

Upon hearing the name "Tiga," the office workers in the store gathered around.

"Oh, I saw that too."

The Mediterranean office worker lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously.

"That post said that the monsters were attracted by the appearance of the giants, and that the guy named Tiga was not a guardian deity at all, but a demon. Without him, the monsters would never have appeared."

"That's utterly absurd!"

Duan Zilian couldn't help but blurt it out.

Yumiko Miura glanced up at him and snorted coldly.

"Nonsense? But the evidence posted in that post is very convincing. It says that when the giants are fighting, they don't care about the damage to the surrounding buildings and just charge forward headlong."

Duan Zilian was stunned, her fingers gripping her apron tightly, speechless for a moment.

He wanted to argue, he wanted to shout, "If I hadn't fought, you wouldn't even be ashes left by now!"

But he couldn't. The feeling of being wronged for saving someone but being treated as the culprit was like a thorny piece of wood stuck in his throat, impossible to spit out or swallow.

"that……"

Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly spoke, staring at the black coffee in his cup, his tone flat:

"Although I am also an egoist, I find this statement quite funny. It is an objective fact that monsters come out to kill people, and it is also an objective fact that giants kill monsters."

"To insist on defining protectors as those who bring disaster, humanity's ability to find scapegoats for the sake of peace of mind is as excellent as ever."

"Hachiman, you can at least say something human once in a while."

Yumiko Miura pursed her lips, but her expression clearly softened a bit.

"However, some people online say that Ultraman Tiga's face is evil."

An unfamiliar junior employee chimed in, "Those glowing eyes, if you look at them for too long, you'll really have nightmares. They call them 'the Demon of Light'."

Upon hearing this, Wei Lai, who was standing at the bar, paused for a moment. He turned around and met Hong Kai's gaze. An inexplicable emotion was slowly brewing in the air.

"The Demon of Light...?"

Duan Zilian was stunned. He recalled that when he transformed, he only felt warmth and the urge to protect in that pure power. Why did it become a nightmare in the mouths of these people? His face turned ugly.

"Yes, the Demon of Light..."

An office worker, oblivious to Duan Zilian's expression, was still scrolling through his phone.

"Some people online are saying that the thing is a secret government weapon that got out of control and caused such a big commotion. Look at this photo, the giant taken from this angle, its eyes do look... kind of evil."

"That's called radiance, not evil."

Duan Zilian finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

His voice wasn't loud, and his tone wasn't particularly aggressive, but the suppressed emotion still made the surroundings quiet for a moment.

The office worker paused for a moment, then awkwardly put away his phone.

"...Oh, I was just talking about what people say online."

"Duan Jun".

The voice from the future came from behind the bar, gentle but with a hint of warning. Duan Zilian took a deep breath and didn't reply.

Yumiko Miura glanced at him, unusually refraining from finding fault, but instead picked up her sea salt latte, took another sip, and muttered:

"...Just mind your own business, why bother arguing with keyboard warriors online."

Yui Yuigahama nodded vigorously beside her.

"Yeah, yeah! Anyway, we all know that giant is doing a good deed! Duan, you don't need to worry about it!"

Duan Zilian looked at them, and the tightness in her chest dissipated a little. She managed a weak smile.

"...Thanks."

Hachiman Hikigaya gave Danzi Rei a meaningful look, a look that made Danzi Rei a little uneasy.

He quickly looked away, avoiding eye contact with Hachiman.

Hachiman was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed. He finished the rest of his coffee, handed the empty cup to Takumi Rei, and stood up indifferently.

"It's about time we left. If we sit any longer, some people's aprons will be soaked with sweat."

"...Your mouth is really..."

Duan Zilian gave a wry smile and took the cup.

The students around them also stood up in twos and threes, seemingly sensing the strange atmosphere.

Yui Yuigahama lingered for a few more moments, looking at the half-eaten cookie plate, before Miura pulled her out of the store.

As Hayama Hayato passed by Dan Zilian, he smiled and nodded at her.

"Thank you for your hard work, the coffee is delicious."

Thank you for your patronage.

Duan Zilian replied, watching their figures disappear into the afternoon sunlight.

The shop returned to quiet.

Soon after, the office workers also paid their bills and left. The last office worker to walk out of the store looked back and said:

"Young man, don't take what you read online too seriously. Living your life is the most important thing."

Duan Zilian paused for a moment, then nodded.

The door closed, and the wind chimes rang once.

Only he, Wei Lai, and Hong Kai remained in the shop.

Hong Kai folded the newspaper and placed it on his lap, then stretched.

"...What are your thoughts after the guests have left?"

Duan Zilian looked down at the crumpled rag in her hand.

"...I'm wondering who posted that thread. It couldn't have been written by an ordinary person so quickly."

"She's not someone you should care about."

Hong Kai stood up, walked to the bar, and pushed the empty plate into the sink.

"But don't think this is just a coincidence. There are people who don't want that giant to be treated as a hero."

In the future, she took off her apron and hung it on a hook to the side, her eyes filled with a serious look.

"I'll go pull down the roller shutter. Let's close the shop early today, Kassan."

“That suits me perfectly.” Hong Kai nodded.

Duan Zilian stared blankly at the two of them.

"...Closing so early? It's only noon."

"If customers aren't coming, why not close the shop?"

Hong Kai had already reached the top of the stairs.

"Come down. Since you're off school on Saturday, let's talk about that crack in Yokohama. It's time to have a serious talk about it."

Chapter 25 The Kyrielords

Duan Zilian followed Hong Kai into the basement.

Several rolls of newspaper and some yoga sheets lying on the ground remained, traces left from Duan Zilian's training yesterday.

The noise of the bustling street was mostly shut out. Duan Zilian sat at the old round table, her fingers rubbing the "CREW GUYS" logo on her apron.

"The Demon of Light...?"

He murmured softly.

"What, still thinking about those keyboard warriors' nonsense?"

Hong Kai dragged over a chair and sat down backwards, his long legs spread apart, his chin resting on the back of the chair.

He pulled a hard candy from his pocket and popped it into his mouth, his eyes revealing a detached indifference to worldly affairs.

"When you saw that crack in Yokohama on TV just now, did the bracelet on your wrist react? Or... did you feel anything?"

Duan Zilian glanced at the cold, silver bracelet on her left hand.

"...I didn't feel anything."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, his voice a little hoarse.

"I didn't sense anything; the bracelet neither glowed nor got hot."

"As for that crack... I just feel like it's reminding me that my good days are over. Speaking of which, shouldn't the ability to foresee things be a standard feature of the protagonist?"

"What are you thinking about, boy?"

Hong Kai snorted coldly.

“If you could be as precise as radar right now, we would have already been staking out Yokohama. Light takes time to adapt to, and your mastery of light is still too weak.”

Duan Zilian leaned back helplessly, her eyes filled with indescribable sadness.

"Then Kaisan, do you know... what that crack in Yokohama is?"