"So that's how it is, but between the two of you..."
Shiraishi Shin had watched some anime in his previous life and knew that Shiina Mahiru, who was standing before him, was the heroine of a certain series. However, after so many years, human memory is limited, and he wasn't a prodigy who could memorize everything after a single glance.
Furthermore, these weren't events he had personally experienced; he had only watched them superficially once. Trying to remember them deeply was basically impossible. Generally speaking, even if you just finished watching something yesterday, it starts to blur after a few days. It was already quite good that he remembered the heroine's name; the plot and everything else had naturally been forgotten completely.
Shiina Mahiru gave a wry smile, lowering her head in distress. "You're right, our relationship isn't good. My other classmates all say I'm an excellent student, a kind and gentle angel, but in reality, I'm just a child hated by her parents, someone who shouldn't have been born into this world."
She then slowly began to recount her story. After listening, Shiraishi Shin understood Shiina Mahiru's background: essentially, her parents married for family interests without any affection, and even living in the same house, they barely exchanged a word.
Shiina Mahiru's birth was merely the result of a drunken fling between her parents. Although she was born, she was handed over to the servants to be raised from birth. She never had fatherly or motherly love. No matter how brilliantly Shiina Mahiru performed, in her parents' eyes, it was nothing more than child's play—utterly unremarkable.
Looking at the lost, helpless, and sorrowful Mahiru before him, Shiraishi Shin placed his left hand on the back of hers and gently comforted her: "I never expected Mahiru to be so strong. You didn't give up in such a family; instead, you shone as brightly as you could and maintained such a good character. You truly impress me. Over ninety-five percent of the people in this world don't possess a character as resilient as yours. You've done extremely well."
"You are grown up now. Your life cannot be tied to those parents. From now on, you must live for yourself—live freely, without chains. Only then will your journey in this world be worthwhile. Besides, I am here by your side."
"Mhm!"
Shiina Mahiru looked at Shiraishi Shin's incredibly handsome face. For some reason, when she looked at Shiraishi Shin now, his face seemed to sparkle, surrounded by flowers acting as a filter... The next morning, Shiraishi Shin drove his motorcycle to a patch of woods outside the city. Outside the woods, a warning sign was posted: 'Wild animals present. Keep out.'
This forest was where Shiraishi Shin had trained many times before. To guard against drawing a low-stat Kamen Rider, he had practiced balance by riding a unicycle on a cliff, endured impacts while sitting under a waterfall, or ran while pushing a meter-and-a-half-tall boulder, among other things.
And today, he came to practice a bit, lest too much time without training caused his body to rust.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Just then, Shiraishi Shin suddenly heard extremely heavy banging sounds, like a hunting rifle firing, yet not quite the sound a gun should make. Driven by curiosity, he followed the sound.
"This is..."
Shiraishi Shin's pupils widened slightly, for he saw a middle-aged man with thick arms alternately punching a tree three meters thick. One-third of the tree had already been pulverized.
The banging sounds he had just heard were the sounds of this guy punching the tree with his fists.
"Good heavens, this guy's bare-fisted punching power isn't much worse than Valen's, is it? A humanoid beast."
Shiraishi Shin had to admit that this person's strength was completely monstrous. Even after eight years of training, his full physical strength was less than half of this man's.
This kind of strength couldn't be achieved through training alone; it depended on the upper limit of one's physical constitution, just like height. Some people can only grow to 1.6 meters, while others can reach 1.7 or 1.8 meters.
"Rider Punch!"
"Rider Kick!"
Tanzaburo Tojima punched and kicked the big tree while shouting "Rider Punch" and "Rider Kick."
(Image Tanzaburo Tojima)
"A Kamen Rider fan?"
Hearing his shouts, Shiraishi Shin couldn't help but think this guy might be a fan of the showa riders.
He walked up curiously and greeted him, "Yo, Uncle."
"Hmm?"
Tanzaburo Tojima stopped punching, straightened up, and turned around. He saw that the newcomer was a young man who had just turned eighteen, likely still in school.
He suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "Young man, wild beasts roam this forest. Why are you here alone?"
"Me? The same reason as you—training."
"Training?"
Tanzaburo Tojima then carefully observed Shiraishi Shin. His build wasn't frail; although not overly muscular, he looked strong and powerful. He definitely had trained and was not someone who couldn't even truss a chicken.
He nodded understandingly and said, "In that case, it seems you haven't just come here for the first time."
"That's right. I used to come often, but I haven't been back for two years. It's rare to come once now, and I see you hitting the tree. Your strength is quite astonishing, though—to be able to damage a tree to this extent with just your fists and feet."
Shiraishi Shin reached out and placed his hand in the hole punched into the big tree. If such a powerful fist hit an ordinary person, it would be no less severe than being hit by a car.
Tanzaburo Tojima scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Damaging it this much wasn't achieved overnight. I've been hitting it for over ten days to get this result."
Shiraishi Shin said, "Even so, that's incredible. You could totally become a boxer. But you're shouting 'Rider Punch' and 'Rider Kick' while punching. Are you a Kamen Rider fan?"
"Oh, I didn't expect a young person like you to know about Kamen Rider."
Tanzaburo Tojima said in surprise. After all, that tokusatsu drama was forty years old. He was exactly forty, and the Kamen Rider tokusatsu drama was even older than him.
Therefore, seventy to eighty percent of today's youth wouldn't even think of watching such an old series.
Shiraishi Shin casually replied, "I know a bit about it. After all, stories about Kamen Rider are circulating in Urban Legends now."
Tanzaburo Tojima sighed. "I see. The Urban Legends say people have seen Kamen Rider, but a legend is just a legend; there's no evidence to prove its existence. Actually, when I was a child, I was also convinced that Kamen Rider existed and dreamed of becoming one. But as I grew up and became an adult, I realized there are no real Kamen Riders in this world. Even so, I still yearn to become a Kamen Rider, so I hone my physique every day. To others, I must seem like a very strange person."