A Knight's Journey Begins in Faiz

“Mr. Masuda is right. Don’t transform. With your physical condition, you’ll definitely die if you transform into Caesar. I know you’re not afraid of death, but dying in such a meaningless way is a loss. Alright, since you don’t want to come over, let’s just say it like this.”

As Jiang Yang spoke, he took out a bottle of water and took two sips.

Mr. Masuda approached Jiang Yang directly, appearing cautious but not fearful.

Kiyotaka Nishida also approached.

"Now, you can talk."

Jiang Yang sat in the seat of the War Lion.

"As for why you were approached by the Orphnoch, luck played a part, but the main reason was this belt."

"belt?"

"I won't go into how you got this belt. What do you think this belt is, and why it ended up in your hands?"

"This belt is something our father gave us to protect ourselves."

He spoke of this with aloofness.

Jiang Yang nodded.

"You're right. President Hanagata did send this to you partly to protect you."

"What do you mean? What do you mean by 'part'? Does Father have some other purpose?"

"Of course, your father's main purpose was probably to protect this belt. The reason he gave the belt to you is that only those who can use the belt have the power to protect it. And among these people, you are the ones he trusts the most and the ones he wants to protect. That's why he entrusted the belt to you."

"After all I've said, you should have guessed it by now. The Orphnochs want this belt. Although we don't know how they found it, they do have a way of locating it. That's probably why you encountered the Orphnochs."

"How could that be? You mean, Father knew about the Orphnochs' existence all along, knew that the Orphnochs wanted the belt, and knew that it would be dangerous for them to have it, yet he still gave it to us?"

The speaker was another boy. He had noticed that nothing had happened after Masuda-sensei and Kiyotaka approached, so he also came closer. The others were also approaching.

"That's not wrong. President Hanagata should know this. Of course, when President Hanagata gave you the Caesar belt, he probably didn't expect that there wouldn't be any suitable candidates among you, otherwise he wouldn't have given you the belt."

"How do you know all this? And what exactly is this belt?"

"What is a belt? The person who knows best about it should be President Hanagata. I don't know much either, but what I can confirm is that the belt has the power to rival the Orphnoch."

As for how I know all this…

As Jiang Yang spoke, he took out the ixa belt.

"This is you!"

“ixa, that’s why I’m not interested in Caesar. I have my own belt.”

Jiang Yang said this with a face full of pride.

"ixa. So there are other belts after all."

"That's it."

"So, who do you want us to help you find?"

"Two people. The first one is Kimura Saya. She is also a member of your Meteor Academy, and if I'm not mistaken, President Hanagata sent her the last belt."

"What? Saya also got the belt?"

"And the other person?"

“Sawada, Sawada Aki, he is dangerous, so you must be very careful when you look for him. If you find any trace of him, notify me immediately.”

Sawada had to die for several reasons: he killed too many people, the plot almost collapsed because of his appearance, and most importantly, Jiang Yang didn't like the character.

Why should we help you?

"This is a deal. You help me find the person, and in exchange, if we encounter an Orphnoch before we find him, I will fight. That way, no one else will die because of this belt."

Masuda fell silent. He couldn't think of any reason why he could refuse Jiang Yang. He couldn't refuse the condition that Jiang Yang would participate in the battle.

He never wanted to experience that kind of despair again, witnessing his student die before his very eyes.

"I... I need to ask for everyone's opinion."

"Just let me know when you've reached a conclusion on your reasonable requests. By the way, you are Qinggao, right? Would you mind talking to me?"

"I."

He glanced at Mr. Masuda before nodding.

The others went to the side to discuss things, while Jiang Yang and Nishida Kiyotaka stayed by the War Lion.

"What do you want to say?"

"Just call me Jiang Yang."

"Nishida Kiyotaka, you can call me whatever you want."

Jiang Yang nodded.

"I'll call you Nishida."

Calling someone aloof always felt a bit strange, and it always made Jiang Yang want to give them a thumbs up and say, "You're aloof, you're amazing!"

"Nishida, what's your opinion of Caesar?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you encounter the Orphnochs, someone will have to step up and use Caesar. Do you really have the courage to press 913?"

913 is the dial key needed for Caesar's transformation, faiz is 555, Delta, that thing is voice-activated.

"I will choose to fight."

"Oh, I see. If, and I mean if, there were a belt that not only lacked functionality but also caused extremely serious side effects from using it. Of course, it wouldn't directly lead to death like Caesar's, but it's not certain; death is still a possibility. If such a belt existed, would you choose to use it?"

When Jiang Yang saw Nishida Kiyotaka, a thought came to him: could someone else use the ixa belt he had just acquired?

As long as you find someone you can trust, ixa will become a fighting force. Even with strong side effects, as long as it's not fatal, it's not impossible.

But to be honest, he was somewhat reluctant.

Because historically, the two generations of ixa were always paired together as father and son or mother and daughter, he was somewhat reluctant to let others use the ixa.

However, if it can truly become a fighting force, then it's not impossible to do so.

Jiang Yang had actually considered the possibility of giving it to Keitaro, but he only thought about it. He figured Keitaro's physique probably couldn't withstand several transformations. Besides, he wasn't the type suited for combat.

"If, if such a belt really existed, I think I would choose to use it, as long as it can protect everyone."

Jiang Yang was very satisfied with Nishida Kiyotaka's answer. A true Kamen Rider, even if death is the only path ahead, must steadfastly uphold their beliefs and move forward. Even if they suffer setbacks, even if they are plunged into despair, they will surely break through the darkness and rise again.

Jiang Yang hasn't been able to do this yet, so he hasn't called himself a Kamen Rider.

Nishida, on the other hand, had something he wanted to protect, and was willing to die for it. In fact, he had already died in another world. Perhaps only someone like that is qualified to call himself a knight.

"Oh, I see. Hmm, that's a good answer."

He had no doubt about what Nishida Kiyotaka said; he had already proven himself through his actions.

But if you could see it with your own eyes.

"Here's what you need, Nishida, your work is here."