Across countless worlds: Yearning to become a giant of light.

Chapter 62 The Girl Who Loves Monsters

As the sun set, Rikka Takarada, who had been tormented by her two best friends all day, finally got out of school. After a brief greeting, she ran away, not giving her two best friends a chance to say a word.

"what……"

Panting as she arrived near the station, Rikka Takarada could finally breathe a sigh of relief... right?

"Rikka-kun~"

The sudden voice behind her startled Rikka. She turned around and saw a pink-haired girl whose looks were just as stunning as hers standing there, waving at her.

"You are... Shinjo-kun?"

Akane Shinjo.

A pink-haired, red-eyed high school girl, the most popular girl in her class.

Although she is cute, there are absolutely no men around her.

She has been described as: the most talented and beautiful girl, a miracle girl loved by everyone in the class.

However, the Akane Shinjo in this world seems to be a bit more innocent, not as cunning and playful as she was in the early stages of the Gridman film.

Although Akane Shinjo and Rikka Takarada are in the same class, their social circles don't overlap much. Rikka Takarada is a representative of 'fashionable JK' and is considered a popular person in the class.

Akane Shinjo has a bit of an otaku vibe. Although she seems very popular, the topics she likes to talk about are things like non-human (monster) figurines, which is a niche hobby among girls.

I didn't expect her to take the initiative to greet me...

"Calling me by my surname is too formal. Just like I call you Rikka-kun, you can call me Akane too~"

So direct?

"Qian, classmate."

Fortunately, having met the equally outgoing girl, Kijima Yukina, before, Rikka Takarada found it much easier to deal with Akane Shinjo now.

However, she seemed to have overlooked one question: how exactly did Akane Shinjo catch up with her without breaking a sweat?
"Although everyone seems to be talking about Titans (Tiga x Camilla) lately, when I watched Rikka, Namiko, and Ren chatting, they seemed more interested in Chaos..."

"Eh?"

Rikka Takarada looked surprised.

Is it that obvious?
"After all, he's the benefactor who saved my life, so it's not surprising that he would pay attention to Chen... Chaos's affairs."

Rikka Takarada also offered an explanation for this.

However, when she was saying the name, she almost instinctively called out Chaos's human name.

Akane Shinjo's hearing was so sharp that she couldn't possibly have missed it, but she merely smiled slightly and didn't press the issue further.

"Qian, do you like Chaos?"

Seeing Shinjo Akane smile, Rikka Takarada, unaware of what was going on, thought of the previous incident with the middleman Yuina and felt a sense of crisis creep into her heart.

“Yes, I do like Chaos, though I prefer giant monsters... I want him to be mine.”

It sounded like a joke, but Rikka Takarada felt that Akane Shinjo was serious about what she said!

Woof woof woof~!

Just as Rikka Takarada was about to ask Akane Shinjo for more details about the meaning behind her words, a cute little dog came running towards them from a distance, barking, which startled Rikka Takarada.

"Woof-chan~!"

Seeing the puppy running towards her, Akane Shinjo happily squatted down and stroked its head.

Is this your pet?

interrupted from her thoughts, Rikka Takarada asked curiously.

Just looking at this little dog, Rikka suddenly had a strange feeling, as if the dog possessed extremely high intelligence and could talk to her.

Just kidding, how could a dog possibly speak human language...

"Although I really want to tame Wang-chan... she already has an owner, she's just temporarily staying at my house."

Subdue...

Do you think of raising a pet as playing a Pokémon game?

"...See you tomorrow, Rikka-kun! It was fun chatting with you~"

After leaving those words, Akane Shinjo left with the puppy.

Feeling somewhat uneasy, Rikka Takarada took the train home alone. However, as soon as she got home, she saw Chen Lin sitting cross-legged in the living room, seemingly doing yoga (or perhaps studying the dark power of the database).

"Welcome back."

Before she could tiptoe around him, Chen Lin sensed something, opened his eyes, and greeted her.

"Oh... I'm back..."

I don't know why, but even though it's just a casual answer, it feels different when I say it.

Then she recalled what her two best friends had said earlier that day, and the meaningful look in Shinjo Akane's eyes when she left. The sense of crisis, which she didn't know where it came from, grew stronger.

"Hey~ Chen Lin, are there women among the Titans?"

Rikka Takarada pointed to the picture of Camilla on her phone.

"Why do you ask this?"

Chen Lin, who was planning to continue focusing on exchanging blows with the phantom (dark armor) manifested by the dark forces in the data core, was somewhat bewildered by Rikka Takarada's question.

However, he answered truthfully: "Yes."

"Eh... are there many giants? Do they also have their own kingdoms or powers?"

Rikka Takarada continued to ask.

"Rikka, I am an Earthling."

Chen Lin was also helpless.

Even though we're on the same wavelength, why don't you believe what you're saying (that I'm human)?

Moreover, whether it's the ancient civilization, the Land of Light, or even O50, they are all too far removed from her, a 'human high school girl'!

"..."

Rikka Takarada remained silent.

He just gave me a look that said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

In her view, Chen Lin's words were no less credible than a weasel telling his son: "I am not a god."

"So, among the giants... is there someone you like?"

Chen Lin's eyes widened upon hearing this.

Why are you suddenly asking such a nonsensical question?

"I've already said I'm an Earthling!"

Chen Lin wanted to explain his experience in more detail, but sensing that Rikka Takarada was slightly stressed (yawning), he knew that if he told her directly, it would be the most devastating blow to her mental state.

This will probably keep people up at night for several days.

"At least my aesthetic sense is that of an Earthling."

However, as soon as he said this, Chen Lin suddenly remembered the cult about Mother of Ultra that he had seen on the internet in his previous life.

And there's also a certain Ultraman...

Earthlings' aesthetic sense doesn't seem to be that 'narrow'.

Moreover, even among the Ultramen from the Land of Light, there are Ultramen like Seven who are often seduced by beautiful women in the TV series, especially in the Leo series where his behavior is even more appalling.

When they see someone who looks like Annu, they can't stop moving and get so excited that they even put on a suit jacket.

As for the result...

Cane Alien: I want to pick a flower to give to Annu~ Annu, Annu, look~ there's a flower.

'Annu': I am not Annu!
Cane Alien: Ahahahaha... (crying loudly)

Difficult to stretch.

In stark contrast to that cane-wielding alien is our meatpacking plant director, Ace, whose words "You shrew" plus a slap are enough to demonstrate the weight of his words.

"...That's it."

Rikka Takarada was not satisfied with Chen Lin's answer, and the inexplicable sense of crisis in her heart became even stronger as a result.

Chen Lin: Did I choose the wrong path?
It feels like he chose the path of love and bonds, but Rikka Takarada alone is constantly releasing gravity fields, and even he (Ultraman) can't escape them!

(End of this chapter)