"So, what do you think? Pretty cool, huh?" Toya looked teasingly at Nyaruko. "This is the real Kamen Rider Kabuto armor."
"That's not fair!" Nyaruko shouted.
She could tell the transformation device Toya used was identical to the one she held.
Why did his work, yet hers didn't?
Toya chuckled and deactivated the transformation, placing the belt into the display case he had prepared earlier.
The mechanical stag beetle flew out of the agency and disappeared.
"Darling, I demand an explanation!" Nyaruko put her hands on her hips, furious. "Why could you transform, but I failed?"
"Everyone's physical structure is different. You should look for reasons within yourself."
Toya certainly wasn't going to tell Nyaruko the true reason. A quick distraction was enough.
Nyaruko knew Toya wouldn't explain, so she huffed angrily. "Fine, I'll figure it out myself!"
With that, she grabbed her belt and mechanical stag beetle and stormed back to her room.
Figuring it out was simple, of course.
She just needed the Evil God Nyarlathotep to grant her avatar a small, rule-breaking pocket dimension to use the device inside.
Kasugano Sora's large eyes were sparkling, and she looked eager. "Brother, can I try?"
Even though she was a girl, she was an otaku.
She loved light novels and manga, and Kamen Rider was part of that culture.
With a real Kamen Rider device right in front of her, she desperately wanted to experience the transformation.
Beside her, Kasumigaoka Utaha remained reserved, but the anticipation in her wine-red eyes betrayed her; she also wanted to try.
"The Rider Belt is right there. Go ahead and try." Toya reminded them, "I can't guarantee you'll transform, though."
Since he bought the belt from the system store, he could use it with zero rejection.
For anyone else to use the belt, they needed the item's consent, just like the Demon Sword Murasame.
Kasugano Sora ran excitedly toward the Rider Belt, ready to try transforming.
Kasumigaoka Utaha followed, her face slightly flushed. At seventeen, she felt awkward performing such a childish act in front of everyone.
But as a light novel author, how could she ignore the allure of 2D culture?
She was genuinely curious about the feeling of transforming into a Kamen Rider.
As Toya had predicted, Kasugano Sora's attempt failed.
Sora couldn't even summon the mechanical stag beetle, let alone complete the transformation sequence.
Kasumigaoka Utaha picked up the Rider Belt with some embarrassment and tried shouting: "Henshin!"
A gust of wind blew through the hall, and nothing happened.
Clearly, her attempt had also failed.
Toya wasn't surprised. "Looks like both attempts failed."
"Toya, I'm going back to my room!" Kasumigaoka Utaha felt utterly ashamed of her behavior. Having failed the transformation, she felt everyone staring and quickly rushed away.
Toya looked at the flustered Utaha as she left, musing, Didn't they say there are many chuunibyou here? Looks like Utaha has successfully graduated from that group.
Just then, the agency door opened, and a clear, surprised voice cut through the air: "Toya, is that you? You're back?"
It was Yukinoshita Yukino, wearing a JK uniform, her slender figure immaculate.
Yukinoshita Yukino's beautiful eyes lit up with surprise as she saw Toya sitting in the chair. "Are you taking supernatural commissions now?"
"Yes, always taking supernatural commissions." Toya snapped out of his relaxed state and sat up straight. "Sit down, and tell me the details of the commission!"
"Based on the danger level, I'll decide the price."
"I want you to help me find my cats!" Yukinoshita Yukino hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Find cats?" Toya's interest vanished instantly. He pointed dismissively towards the door. "Turn right, three hundred meters. The professional pet recovery agency is there."
"Don't come to me with commissions like that."
Finding lost cats was troublesome, unprofitable, and ordinary. Even though the client was Yukinoshita Yukino—the person he had mentally called "my wife" countless times in his past life—he wouldn't take it.
Yukinoshita Yukino's exquisite, almost illegally cute face was full of anxiety. "Please, help me. The price doesn't matter."
"I just need you to find them."
"Please, they really can't be gone."
Her short plea was packed with genuine desperation.
"Pleading?" Toya raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he had seen Yukinoshita Yukino in this state.
It was hard to imagine the proud, ice-queen Yukinoshita Yukino begging anyone.
This showed how important the missing cats were to her.
Should I take it? Toya pondered. If I refuse, Yukino will be heartbroken.
She was the 'wife' I called out to countless times in my past life. Can I really refuse her like this?
After waiting for a long time, Yukinoshita Yukino's beautiful eyes dimmed, and she prepared to leave.
Toya spoke softly: "Consider this an exception."
Ultimately, his pragmatic bottom line couldn't hold up against the fact that the client was Yukinoshita Yukino.
I'll just adjust the rates back to normal after the commission is done.
Yukinoshita Yukino's face lit up with surprise. "You really agreed?"
She had almost despaired, but Toya actually agreed.
"Seeing how worried you are, I decided to make an exception." Toya smiled faintly. "Now, tell me the details of the case."
"Thank you so much!" Yukinoshita Yukino thought for a moment. "I was planning to bring those two cats here to be temporarily fostered by the agency."
"But that day, the two cats seemed unwell, so I postponed bringing them over."
Yukinoshita Yukino fully recounted the process of the cats' disappearance.
She even admitted that she had consulted three different standard pet recovery agencies without any success.
"Cat food disappearing for no reason? And the monitoring system aimed at the food didn't catch anyone stealing it?"
Toya started to suspect that Yukinoshita Yukino's missing cats were not an ordinary case.
The fact that cat food inexplicably disappeared, yet the camera focused on the food didn't capture any suspect, was enough to warrant attention.
A strange intuition flashed in Toya's mind. He asked seriously, "Did the monitoring system record the cat food reducing?"
He had a theory, but he needed confirmation.
"Yes," Yukinoshita Yukino nodded slightly. "Is that information important?"
"What did you see eating the cat food?" Toya pressed.
Yukinoshita Yukino thought for a long moment, then shook her head. "I can't recall."
"I remember the cat food vanished into thin air."
"And you still treated that as an ordinary commission?"
Toya stared at Yukinoshita Yukino's exquisite, cute face in disbelief. "You don't think something is wrong with that?"
The fact that the food vanished into thin air hadn't even registered as unusual to Yukinoshita Yukino.
Should I call her oblivious, or is something else going on...?
At this point, the commission had officially escalated to a supernatural case.