"Senpai, more importantly!!"
"O-oh? What's wrong?"
I was taken aback by Yukina's determined look, as I had been expecting a clean end to everything.
"Ahhh, Master!! Your head...!?"
"Are you... okay?"
"Huh? Oh... yeah"
The moment I became aware of it, my footing became unsteady. I wasn't sure if the adrenaline that had been pumping through me had worn off, or if I had suddenly remembered the accumulated fatigue, or if it was simply a lack of blood.
Yukina hurriedly supported me.
"Th-thank you..."
"No, it's nothing... Senpai, you're still..."
"I guess I'm pretty tired..."
She gently laid me down on the ground.
There was still a large amount of blood on my forehead. It was from the part where Sherlock had shot me.
I had forgotten the fact that I had been shot by Sherlock due to my miraculous revival, but it was still true.
Seeing me, Cocoro and Aria also teared up, having remembered the incident.
...But my consciousness was surprisingly clear, or rather, it was hazy, but I didn't feel like I was going to die.
"Of course not. We defended you."
"YEAH. IT WAS CLOSE, THOUGH."
Replica-sensei and Dark Shadow Black emerged from beside me.
"I-is that so?"
"You didn't give us any specific instructions."
"SO WE TOOK THE LIBERTY OF DOING IT OURSELVES."
"Ugh..."
It was true that I hadn't given any instructions to those two during the fight with Sherlock.
But they had still helped me at the last minute.
"Yes. You were so distracted by the series of events with the 'Hidan' that you couldn't even defend against the bullet."
"REPLICA FORCIBLY PULLED YOU BACK, AND I MANAGED TO ACT AS A SHIELD."
"It was a close call, but we were able to defend you. You were lucky. It only cut the skin on your forehead."
"Oh, so that's why..."
It was nothing. I was simply saved by my friends. The reason I was bleeding so much was just like a certain character from BLEACH once said: head injuries bleed a lot.
The timing was so perfect that it made it look like I had died. I even thought so myself.
Well, I didn't know if such a thing would work on that great detective. Maybe he knew everything and just said those things.
"The wound isn't deep. If you rest, your life won't be in danger."
"YEAH. FORTUNATELY, THERE'S A YOUNG LADY HERE WHO CAN HEAL WOUNDS."
"Yes, leave it to me!"
Cocoro nodded firmly.
"Okay, just lie down for now. We'll call for help."
"Cocoro-san, please take care of Senpai."
"Leave it to me. I'll cast a recovery spell on Master until you two return."
With that, Yukina and Aria went somewhere.
"Now then, Master, if you'll excuse me."
"C-Cocoro?"
After seeing the two off, Cocoro didn't hesitate to give me a lap pillow. Of course, I hadn't asked for anything.
"W-what are you doing?"
"Yes. I can't leave Master lying on such a cold floor forever. At least for your head, I thought... um, was I a bother?"
No way.
Her two feet were so close together that my head was too wide for them. I had brought such a small girl to this battlefield...
"What are you saying? It's my role to always live with and be close to Master. Now, it's time to begin."
Cocoro summoned wind spirits and prepared to cast a recovery spell.
"Please. Here you go."
"Ah."
A golden light enveloped Cocoro. It was the power of Princess Knight that I had activated.
Cocoro sighed.
"Honestly. Master? Please just relax."
"But you must be tired, too, Cocoro? This way, your burden will be lighter."
"That may be true, but..."
Cocoro looked displeased, but then her face turned resolute.
"No, since I'm borrowing Master's power, I'll make sure to perfectly heal Master...!"
The number of wind spirits flying around us increased to three. They circled above us.
"Spirits, heal Master's wounds... Aurora!!"
The light-green magical aura from the spirits shined in various colors like an aurora.
As the light poured over me, I felt not only my forehead but all the wounds on my body healing.
This spell was called 'Union Burst,' which was considered a finishing move in the game.
"Haa, haa... Master, how do you feel?"
Cocoro was out of breath and sweating profusely, as if she had poured a lot of magic into the spell.
"Ah, thank you. I think I'm almost completely healed."
My consciousness, which had been hazy, became clear again, as if even the lost blood had been replenished.
"That's, truly, good..."
I heard a soft thud.
"Cocoro!?"
Cocoro, who had been giving me a lap pillow, had fallen backward.
"I apologize, Master. I was also a little tired..."
"You did great, get some rest."
"Yes. Then, I will take your kind offer... zzzzz"
Cocoro started breathing softly and fell asleep immediately.
Thinking it would be a shame to let her sleep on the hard floor, I did the reverse of what she had done for me: I gave Cocoro a lap pillow.
"Now we just wait..."
I also closed my eyes and relaxed.
A lot has happened, but I guess this is finally the end... or is it? Should I not say something like that? It might become a bad omen.
What if during this time, the Academy Island is attacked by a different force...? If that happens, I really won't be able to handle it. I'll just have to give up then.
"It's just the two of us now, Yozuki Sho."
"!? Tsukasa!?"
I thought you had disappeared, but you just suddenly appear! Well, there were things I wanted to say, so I was glad to see him again.
"Thank you for the Decade Watch."
"Don't worry about it. It's for a cute junior."
"Junior, huh..."
This meant that Tsukasa was saying I was a Kamen Rider too. I almost started grinning at the thought.
"What are you grinning about? It's creepy."
"My bad..."
"Honestly, grinning while you have a girl that young on your lap."
"That's not the reason!!"
"You have so many girls around you already. That's not very convincing."
It seems that even in Tsukasa's mind, my character has solidified in that direction.
"So? You waited for everyone to leave, so this must be a story others shouldn't hear, right?"
"You're perceptive."
Saying that, Tsukasa took a picture of us.
Hey, why are you taking a picture!?
"But it's not a story I don't want others to hear, it's a story I don't want that man—Woz—to hear."
"So the story is about..."
"Yes, it's about Woz."
I listened to the story about the 'Woz' he had met before.
"Quartzer, huh..."
The administrators of history, the Quartzer. Their goal was to erase the history of the Heisei era. And Woz was a member of the Quartzer.
It made no sense. What did it mean to erase the history of the Heisei era!?
"So, is he really an enemy?"
He had been acting suspiciously in many ways, but I did feel like I had been manipulated by him the whole time.
"I don't know. But the one I know was that kind of being. If the world is different, then he might be a different person."
"That's true..."
Even if he was suspicious, I had been helped by his actions a lot.
I felt bad for dismissing him based on uncertain information.
"But, if he is a Quartzer, then this problem might not be confined to this world alone."
"...Is it that bad?"
"The elements of Heisei Kamen Riders have become an undeniable part of this world. If they suddenly disappear..."
"What would happen?"
"I don't know the exact details, but something bad will definitely happen."
So, on top of the problem in three years, there was now also the Woz problem. Or maybe Woz was involved in the problem in three years.
"So, a word of advice. Don't trust him too much. Unless you're confident in your ability to tame him, that is."
Tsukasa said this to me as I pondered.
---------
After saying what he wanted to say, Tsukasa disappeared again. From the way he acted, he was probably no longer in this world. He might come back if things got serious, but since he was just a "passing-by" person, I decided not to have any high expectations.
After a while, Yukina and Aria returned.
Since we were in the middle of the sea, they couldn't use their handheld communicators and had to go to the communication room.
They contacted the Bureau of Administration, or rather, the Special Investigation Section Six, which I was scheduled to join, and they were coming to pick us up. As I knew, the other units were unable to move because of the monster commotion.
I was on the deck looking at the sky when I heard the sound of an approaching helicopter and stood up.
"Sho! Can you hear me!?"
Since I was within the range of her telepathic communication, I could hear Fate-san's voice.
"Yes. I'm here."
As I responded, the helicopter's door opened and someone jumped out.
"She doesn't hesitate to jump..."
I muttered to myself as I watched the scene. Even with a parachute, it would be useless at this height, and she wasn't attached to a lifeline.
Normally, anyone would be seriously injured, but she flew straight toward us.
"Sho! Are you okay!? Are you hurt anywhere!?"
"Y-yes. I'm fine. Perfectly. Everyone is safe."
I replied, a little surprised by Fate-san's intense demeanor.
"Everyone's down there. We also managed to rescue Aria—"
"Yeah. We can talk about that after we get back."
Fate-san smiled sweetly.
"Just be prepared, okay?"
---------
"So? Do you have anything else to say?"
"N-no. That's all... I think?"
I was standing at attention in the Section Six's squad commander's office.
The time was now past noon on the next day. I had napped in the helicopter again, but I was at my limit from the fatigue of the battle. Even though my injuries were healed, the exhaustion remained.
I felt like I could fall asleep standing up. But the tension in this room was too much. My stomach was churning.
I said I was in the squad commander's office, but it wasn't just Yagami-san there.
Yagami-san was sitting at her desk, flanked by Fate-san and Nanoha-san. Next to them were Signum-san and Vita-san, who had even more serious expressions than the other two.
Aria had gone somewhere. Well, in this case, Aria was a victim. She might have to be interrogated later, but for today, she wasn't in any trouble.
The same went for Yukina and Cocoro. Since they were younger, they had gone home for the day.
This meant I was facing all of them alone.
My only relief was that Claudia and Hebigura-san were smiling and grinning. It seemed these two weren't particularly angry.
"I see..."
Yagami-san leaned back in her chair. The backrest creaked.
"As your superior, I don't want to have to lecture you on something as basic as 'don't follow strangers,' something even elementary school students know, you know?"
"...I haven't officially joined Section Six yet, so I somehow..."
"Then, can you promise that you won't do something like this again once you've joined Section Six?"
"T-that is..."
Well, that's impossible... When the time comes, I'll probably ignore any attempts to stop me and just act.
"Sigh... Well, I guess that's what's good about you, though."
"If you intend to take actions like the ones you did this time, we have no choice but to be cautious. You understand that, Yozuki Sho?"
"...Yes."
Signum-san followed Yagami-san's sigh.
"Well, even if we tell him, it's not like he'll change, right? Hey, Nanoha-chan?"
"Nyahaha, why are you looking at me~?"
Nanoha-san gave a wry smile and scratched her cheek.
"But she's right. It's too late after you get seriously hurt."
"Right. One person is enough to make everyone worried and nervous."
"Vita-chan? With that logic, you're admitting that Yozuki-kun's actions are acceptable, right? Don't tell me I'm not included in that number?"
"Who knows?"
...Could it be that Nanoha-san is still being teased for her old reckless behavior?
"Now now, everyone. That's all in the past, right? ...Having someone else do dangerous things that make me anxious, you know..."
"Even Fate-chan..."
Signum-san tightened the mood that had become too relaxed.
"Ahem! ...So, let me ask again. The 'monster' that appeared at the Inter-Middle venue, was that you?"
"Yes. That's correct (He's not a monster, he's a Kamen Rider, though...)"
Speaking of which, I had completely ignored the fact that I was supposed to explain this to Victoria and Elemia.
Oh well, it's not like I'll see them that often. And from the way things were, it seemed they didn't know that I was Zi-O.
"If you defeated it, then that's fine. Were the two people who were there your companions?"
"Companions... I wouldn't say they're enemies."
Tsukasa is just a passing-by person, and I don't know what to make of Woz.
"Did you just meet them on the spot?"
"Yes, that's right."
That was definitely true.
"Hmm... According to the camera footage, those two are unregistered illegal residents on the island. However, the person wearing the pink armor in particular worked hard to exterminate the monsters afterward."
"It's magenta, not pink."
"What?"
"Nothing."
I couldn't help but interject.
"Well, whatever. I would have liked to hear from those people as well. But if you don't know them, then it can't be helped."
I don't have their contact information, so there's nothing I can do.
And just like that, I managed to get through the situation.
--------------------------------------------
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