My youth story cannot be a knight war

Originally, this ranking had been fixed, but the moment he saw this girl, Zaimokuza felt that there might be a third person added to the throne of the most beautiful woman in his heart.

This was a stunningly cute girl with fair skin, white garters wrapped around her thin legs, and a head of pure, transparent white hair that floated slightly even under the beret. Her features were as delicate as a doll, and she exuded an incredible, ethereal aura.

This is a girl who makes people think of the word "fairy" at first sight, just like the elves in Eastern European legends who live in a mysterious and untouchable secret land and are favored by nature, not humans.

"My dear classmates~ Nice to meet you. My name is Sakayanagi Arisu, and this classmate's name is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. As you can see, we are classmates~"

The petite girl who called herself Arisu Sakayanagi walked up to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka with a smile, and facing Kousaka and Zaimokuza, she performed a skirt-lifting gesture like a court lady, her posture full of elegance and luxury.

At the same time, she turned her gaze to look at Ayanokouji who was silent beside her, and said with a slight resentment in her tone:

"Ayanokouji-kun, we agreed that classmates should help each other, so why did you just leave me alone? It's not good to eat alone~!"

"..."

Ayanokouji glanced at Sakayanagi beside him out of the corner of his eye without saying anything, as if giving her the right to communicate at this moment.

"Then—hmm???"

"You said you are also people who came from the past to the future like us?"

Zaimokuza, who was excited about "meeting an old friend in a foreign land", wanted to say something else, but this time, Kousaka covered his mouth with his palm with a cold face. When the latter blinked innocently, he looked at the two people in front of him and asked in a suspicious tone.

"And this Ayanokouji-kun said earlier that he might be able to help us find the future Zaimokuza? Why would you help us? We don't even know each other, do we?"

"You're so reserved~ Mr. Kousaka, you don't recognize us, but just like Ayanokouji-san said, unless you're a baby whose brain hasn't developed yet, who in the world wouldn't recognize you and Mr. Zaimokuza, two future heroes?"

With Ayanokouji's tacit consent, Sakayanagi took a step forward and faced Kousaka's questioning gaze without changing her expression, her smile remaining unchanged as she spoke.

"As for why I'm helping you? The reason is simple. We're all in this unfamiliar era, and to some extent, we're natural allies. Furthermore, your character and that of Mr. Zaimokuza have been clearly verified through the video and light screens, so we're absolutely reassured."

She clenched her hands in front of her chest, her eyes suddenly became pitiful, and even her tone was slightly tearful.

"And since we want to go home, we naturally hope to seek help. So, helping you find Mr. Zaimokuza, who seems to know something in the future, is also helping ourselves in a sense~!"

"Please, I want to go home! Oh~"

"..."

Sakayanagi pretended to wipe away tears, and a few tears naturally squeezed out of the corners of her eyes. Seeing this, Ayanokouji turned his head away in silence, as if he couldn't bear to watch this scene.

"...Do you trust us so much? You should know that what you saw before was only our future self."

Kousaka's eyelids suddenly narrowed, and he ignored her malicious cute look and asked further questions.

"Do you also believe in us now?"

"Yeah~! Of course I believe it~"

Sakayanagi, who had been sobbing, put down her hands, and her face regained its original elegant smile, and it was completely impossible to tell that she had been crying just a second ago.

Her superb facial changing skills stunned Zaimokuza, who had his mouth covered, and also made Kousaka's eyelids twitch. Sakayanagi raised a slender index finger on her right hand and shook it while speaking.

"After all, future heroes are forged from the past, and a past that could produce two heroes of such noble character couldn't be too shaky, right?"

“…That does make a lot of sense.”

Kousaka nodded, his expression returned to normal, and he lowered his hand that was covering Zaimokuza's mouth.

"Welcome to you all then. I wonder if I could tell you now if there is any way to find the future Zaimokuza?"

"Of course, no problem. I just have a small request that requires your approval~"

When Kosaka replied, a sly smile like a fox that had stolen a chick appeared on Sakayanagi's cheeks for a moment, and she spoke in a sweet tone.

"What is your request? Please tell me."

This time it was Zaimokuza who spoke. He looked at Sakayanagi curiously, but Kousaka did not speak this time and left the task of conversation to him.

"Hehe~ Just a simple request~?"

Sakayanagi said with a smile.

"That is, I hope that you two can take us with you when the time comes."

"Deal?"

18. Roar that Shakes the Sky (5K)

On the fourth day, it was nearing evening.

Wakaba Kindergarten, Toshima Ward, Tokyo.

In this incident that lasted for several days, all school systems around the world have been completely paralyzed by panic, and this small kindergarten tucked away in a corner of Wakaba District is no exception.

But although the kindergarten is now closed, the lights are still on, because this kindergarten is one of the few intact buildings that survived the previous battle, so it now serves as a shelter for people who have nowhere to go.

Dozens of white life-saving tents were spread out with the kindergarten as the center, surrounding the entire park except for the small paths for passage.

So when Zaimokuza came here, he left the Tracker 2000 in an empty area a few hundred meters away and chose to walk to the kindergarten.

Wearing a black slim-fit down jacket, he walked on the mottled asphalt road, looking at the dilapidated buildings along the way and the refugees everywhere. His dark pupils reflected this hell on earth.

He walked silently, with his head down, through the crowd where the sound of crying could be heard faintly, without saying anything.

But at a certain moment, Zaimokuza's steps suddenly stopped and he no longer moved forward.

"Asahina?"

Looking at the chestnut-haired girl who appeared at the top of the slope, Zaimokuza showed a rare look of surprise.

The person who appeared in front of him was Asahina Mikuru, who worked with him in the bellissimo ricordo restaurant. She was also wearing a down jacket with a white velvet edge, and an earmuff and a scarf on her head. She looked like a fluffy ball, extremely cute.

"It's me... Zaimokuza-senpai."

Asahina, who was at the top of the slope, looked down at Zaimokuza who was looking up from below, but her chin was lowered as if she was burying her face in her chest, and her voice was as weak as her appearance.

This familiar expression immediately confirmed to Zaimokuza that he had not recognized the wrong person. The corners of his eyes curved into two crescents and he walked quickly to her side.

"Hey!"

Zaimokuza reached out and patted Asahina's shoulder mischievously, and the weak-willed girl immediately trembled all over, even her waistline began to tremble.

"It's Asahina after all~ Haven't seen you for a few days. Are you all doing well over there?"

"No, it's okay, everyone is fine..."

"That's good. I'll go to the store later. Do you want to come with me?"

Zaimokuza bent down so that his eyes were at the same level as Asahina's, and smiled at the girl who blushed due to the eye contact, and spoke softly.

"No, no need. I'll be back soon. No need to trouble you, Zaimokuza-senpai."

"Okay, but be careful on your way back."

Reaching out to help Asahina, who was looking down, straighten her earmuffs which were slightly tilted, Zaimokuza patted her soft head and prepared to walk past her and continue forward.

But just as he took a step, he felt a pulling force on his left sleeve. He looked down and saw a delicate hand extending two fingers to pull him.

"Come on, you came here to see me, there must be something wrong, right?"

Looking at the girl who lowered her head and tugged at his sleeve, Zaimokuza did not show any surprise this time. He smiled and said.

"Um, I—"

Asahina lowered her head with a conflicted look in her eyes, but when she thought about the purpose of her visit, she finally took a deep breath, and the front of her down jacket puffed up with her deep breath.

She mustered up her courage and raised her head, looking at Zaimokuza's smiling face, and whispered:

"Um, in front of Zaimokuza—Zaimokuza-san! Could you please... come over here and listen for a moment?"

"About my origins..."

……

“Is that so…?”

Sitting on a bench, Zaimokuza listened quietly to Asahina telling him everything in detail. After listening, he nodded slightly and spoke in a cheerful tone.

"People from the future, changes in history, time travel... Amazing! Who would have thought that human technology in the future would have developed to such an astonishing level?"

"Um... Mr. Zaimokuza, do you really understand what I'm saying?"

Asahina was dazed watching him mumbling to himself, until a snowflake landed on her cheek. The cold temperature startled her awake and she quickly spoke out.

"I, everything I said was forbidden! But the truth about this world and this era! After hearing this... Mr. Zaimokuza, aren't you surprised at all?"

"How is that possible? I was so shocked! Ah~ I never thought that my cute little descendant would have such a surprising origin, wow~"

Zaimokuza raised his hands with an exaggerated expression of surprise, then smiled and continued to ruffle Asahina's hair.

It was obvious at a glance that he was pretending, and even the usually weak-willed Asahina was infuriated. Feeling like she was being toyed with, her slightly chubby cheeks puffed up with air, and she glared at Zaimokuza with an angry expression.

"You're lying! Mr. Zaimokuza, you don't look surprised at all!"

"I'm not lying, I was really surprised when I found out about this."

"Woo~!"

Asahina's face was puffed up as if two small balloons were stuffed in it, but Zaimokuza's smiling expression remained unchanged. He withdrew his palm that was rubbing Asahina's hair and spoke in a sincere tone.

"Then, Asahina, why are you telling me all this now? According to what you said, telling the past about the future and the original course of history is against the rules of your organization, isn't it?"

"Could it be that our lovely Asahina is breaking the law knowingly? This is not okay. Even if you are indeed cute, the law will not show leniency just because you are cute~"

Hearing his teasing remark, Asahina's expression froze for a moment, and then her entire demeanor wilted all of a sudden, like a listless elk battered by the wind and snow.

"Because, because I've observed that Zaimokuza-san is a trustworthy person, and... whether I say it now or not, the prohibitions no longer exist."

She placed her hands demurely on her knees and lowered her head as she spoke, her tone and eyes equally depressed and dejected.

"This era has completely formed a singularity. The original course of history has long been messed up. And I guess I can't go back, so... uh."

"You're lonely, aren't you?"

Just when Asahina was about to shed tears, a hand reached out from the side and wiped away the tears that overflowed from the edge of her eyes with its fingers.

She raised her head with tears in her eyes. Zaimokuza looked at the tearful girl in front of him with a gentle expression. His eyes were like obsidian in the sun, clear and shining.

"After all, being stranded alone in such a strange era, and finding yourself unfamiliar with everything around you, with no friends or family around you... You've always felt very scared and lonely, right? That's why, Xiao Mio, you told me, you don't even dare to sleep too deeply at night."

"You've always been missing the people you're familiar with, right?"

"..."

Facing Zaimokuza's inquiring gaze, Asahina, with slightly red eyes, pursed her lips and nodded slightly.

"Actually, you don't have to be so scared. You can try to treat all of this as an unforgettable adventure, or a journey, like me~"

Zaimokuza smiled and pointed at himself with his right thumb and said.

"I'm like that. Every time I go to a new place, everything around me is a brand new journey for me. That's why I can always face the world with a curious mindset. Regardless of whether it's good or bad, all the people and things I meet along the way are rare encounters and memories for me."

"And I also want to believe that at the end of every journey, what will be left behind will be everyone's happy smiles, not sad tears."

"If you ever feel scared in the future, Asahina, remember what I said today, and think of the people and things that made you happy during this journey."

He stretched out his index fingers and poked Asahina's round cheeks, then pulled his fingers upwards, creating a smile on her face.

"So when you feel sad, just smile, because there are more than just pain and fear, those beautiful memories are always with you~!"

"Woo~ Bully."

Asahina, who was forced to force a smile on her face, struggled in vain and muttered something. Zaimokuza smiled and spoke softly.

"Don't worry... you will definitely be able to return to the one you love in the end, I promise."

"Eh? We... Mr. Zaimokuza???"

Asahina was slightly stunned when she heard his words. Before she could think about the meaning of these words, Zaimokuza withdrew his hands, stood up, and continued walking towards the kindergarten, leaving Asahina sitting alone on the chair, feeling bewildered.

"Ah, right."

Asahina, whose thoughts were still a little confused, watched Zaimokuza leave, but he seemed to remember something and stopped and looked back at her.

"Earlier, Asahina, you said that originally, it was Kousaka-san, not me, who was supposed to be fighting Kuuga and Gurongi in this era...right?"

"Yes, it is."

"Then...according to your organization's database, is there anyone else who later became Kuuga?"

Faced with his question, Asahina was stunned for a moment, then shook her little head like a rattle and explained loudly.