My youth story cannot be a knight war

[The warehouse manager mistook the puppet for a real person because of the distance, and couldn't help but scream in fear. He subconsciously let go of the steel pipe in his hand and threw it away. It fell to the ground with a heavy sound, attracting the attention of everyone else in the warehouse.]

【Everyone immediately turned their attention to him. One of the men, who was wearing a black windbreaker and a hat and had a pale face, walked over to him with a grim smile on his face after seeing the warehouse manager sitting back on the ground. His figure changed with his footsteps.】

[“You’re unlucky!”]

[“Hmm——”]

[Pitch-black claws gripped the warehouse manager's neck, lifting him up amidst his painful whimpers and flailing legs. Gooma, transformed back into his monster form, sneered at the prey that had come to him, his voice filled with a lust for slaughter. His fang-filled mouth opened, biting fiercely into his neck as the man stared in horror!]

[“Uooa ...

[An extremely shrill scream rang out from this warehouse, spreading throughout the entire empty warehouse area, and it lasted for a long time.]

……

【The next day.】

【07:58 AM】

[Clad in a silver tracksuit and white sneakers, with his face covered in paint and a funny road sign on his head, Me-Giiga-Gi walked towards the warehouse from yesterday with a blank expression, leaving a watery footprint on the ground with each step.]

[He walked in through the small door that was torn open at the side of the warehouse, but stopped right after he entered.]

[“…What’s going on?”]

[It frowned as it looked at the male corpse on the ground in front of it, whose face still showed fear and whose skin was shriveled and collapsed. It looked up at the group of Gurongi in front of it and said, with a hint of dissatisfaction in its voice.]

[“Hehehe——”]

Baruba, sitting among the Gurongi, merely glanced up at it without saying anything, a brand new black bracelet in his hand. Instead, Gooma, standing next to him, smiled wickedly and walked over to Giiga, his voice filled with suppressed desire and joy.

[“I did this! This is my first game goal. You came late, so this game belongs to me!”]

【“…”】

After listening to Gooma's words, Giiga simply tilted his head, expressionlessly watching as Gooma, with a face full of joy, ran over to Baruba, took the bracelet, and followed.

[“Give it to me! Give it to me!”]

Gooma, feeling uneasy, almost snatched the bracelet from Baruba's hand. To his surprise, Baruba didn't slap him like usual. Instead, he silently and expressionlessly took the bracelet away, as if acknowledging that this game belonged to him.

[“It’s finally my turn! I’m going to kill the enemy in this game—Hmm!?”]

As Gooma spoke in ecstasy, he was about to put the bracelet on his left hand, but a hand with red painted nails suddenly grabbed the hand holding the bracelet. Before he could react, another hand grabbed his neck and lifted him up. Gooma was lifted up with almost no resistance, staring in shock and anger at Giiga, who looked up at him with an expressionless expression.

[“So it was you, a piece of trash, who did this.”]

【"Well……"】

Giiga looked at Gooma, whose expression was twisted. In contrast to his calm voice, his hand gripped Gooma's neck, increasing its force. It felt as if the air was being squeezed out of his throat. Gooma kicked and struggled frantically, his leather-shod feet repeatedly kicking at Giiga's chest, leaving dark footprints on his tracksuit.

[However, Giiga remained expressionless, ignoring its resistance and speaking.]

"When did it become your turn, a piece of shit from "ZU", to decide my game... Are you a referee from "RA"? Or a player from "GO"?"

"And you actually dared to kill someone right before my Me-Giiga-Gi game was about to begin?"

[“——Do you really want to die? Trash.”]

【“!???”】

After saying the last sentence, its voice suddenly turned cold. Gooma's eyes widened at the same time. He felt the hand pinching his neck suddenly become scorching hot. Before he could even utter a word of begging for mercy, the next moment, a blazing flame engulfed everything in front of him!

【Bear--】

[“Aa ...

Gooma, his entire body engulfed by the flames emanating from the hand gripping his neck, screamed indiscriminately, echoing the screams of the warehouse manager last night as he had his blood sucked dry. The hand holding the bracelet immediately released it and grasped Giiga's outstretched arm. His frantic struggles had unknowingly transformed him into a monster. The bat Gurongi, its body ablaze with flames, looked like a famous dark delicacy.

[“Yes! I’m sorry! Please forgive me!!! I won’t dare to do it again!!!”]

[Gooma screamed in despair, struggling in vain. The pain from the burning fire was so severe that it could not even think. It could only follow its instinct for survival and beg for mercy.]

【"……snort!"】

[But Giiga remained unmoved by Gooma's plea for mercy and continued to roast him with flames, showing no sign of stopping.]

Only after Gooma's screams gradually died down did he snort coldly and throw it away. The blackened Gooma rolled on the ground a few times before transforming back into its original, gloomy human form. But now it was in a state of extreme distress. Its black clothes were not only tattered, but also white smoke continued to rise from its body. A faint aroma similar to that of burnt meat could be smelled.

[“Remember your identity and learn what the rules are.”]

[“Gu…”]

Giiga bent down, picked up the bracelet that had fallen beside him, and put it on his left hand. Without a trace of pity, he looked at Gooma, who was half-naked and curled up in the flames, whimpering in pain. After saying this coldly, he walked towards Baruba, who was sitting nearby and calmly watching the scene.

[“What is your gaming goal?”]

Baruba glanced indifferently at the collapsed Gooma, then turned to Giiga and said, "It was precisely because she knew the character of this player that she didn't teach Gooma a lesson. She simply didn't want to waste her energy."

【"Ah."】

[Giiga's expressionless face smiled for the first time at her words, and it was a very cold and cruel smile.]

He extended his left hand toward Baruba, curling all but the middle and large fingers in a gesture that highlighted the squid tattoo on the back of his left hand.

[“One hundred and sixty-two people, the second rule, and——”]

[Having said this, it closes its bent fingers and slowly clenches them into a fist.]

[“——I will make KUUGA the final target of the game!”]

After saying this, Giiga gazed at Baruba's dark eyes, and a ray of crimson light flashed, like the first torch lit in the darkness of ancient times.

44. A tragic start (three in one eight K)

【Wakaba Kindergarten, Toshima-ku, Tokyo. 】

【11:35 AM 】

[“Godzilla is coming! Gah~”]

[Zaimokuza wore a rabbit ear decoration on his head, and roared fiercely, and ran towards the children in front of him with his legs wide open, hopping like a frog.]

[“Wow! A big monster is coming!”]

[The children were not frightened at all when they saw the rabbit version of Godzilla running over. They all ran away with a smile, and a group of little ones scattered around Zaimokuza.]

[“Don’t run! Gah! I’m going to catch you and eat you for dinner! Gah!”]

[Zaimokuza said in a very playful voice, chasing after one of the fastest little kids. The kid screamed in fear because he was being chased by the monster, and the female teachers nearby couldn't help but cover their mouths to hold back their laughter. Some teachers even laughed heartily because they saw the little kid who used to give them a headache being chased around everywhere.]

[“Big monster, look at me! Oxygen Destroyer Missile Attack!”]

[Just as Zaimokuza was jumping after one of the girls, a chubby little boy sneaked up behind him and picked up the inflatable toy gun that he had "accidentally" left on the ground. He picked up the inflatable toy gun with a clumsy gun-handling technique that was ridiculed by American elementary school students, and charged at Zaimokuza who was looking back with the gun in a childish voice, pulling the trigger with his finger to shoot out the fabric missile from the muzzle of the gun.]

[“Wow!!!”]

[The fabric missile hit Zaimokuza's right shoulder head-on. Zaimokuza, who was hit, let out a shrill scream and fell backwards on his back. His tall body splashed the dust on the ground.]

[“The big monster Godzilla has fallen! Everyone charge! Defeat him in one go!”]

【"""oh!!!"""】

[“I… I lost… um…”]

[The boy holding the missile gun responded immediately, and all the remaining children immediately laughed and rushed to the fallen Zaimokuza, one after another pressing on him, and soon a small mountain of Zaimokuza was piled up on him. He was pressed down by a group of children and screamed "weak breath". He stretched out one hand and slapped the ground like a wrestler slapping the ring to show his surrender.]

[“We defeated the big monster! Yeah!”]

【“““Yeah~!””】

[All the children smiled and raised their hands in the sun, celebrating that they had finally defeated the rabbit-like monster Godzilla. At the same time, without knowing it, they had also defeated the unconfirmed life form No. 4.]

……

[“Wow~ Kids nowadays are really energetic.”]

[Ten minutes later, when all the children were going to class, the "big monster Godzilla" who had been knocked to the ground and had been lying dead jumped up, smiled helplessly, patted the dust off his body, took off the rabbit ear headdress on his head with one hand and handed it to the person who walked forward.]

[“Mo~ You are so old but you can still play with the children so happily. I almost thought you were a kindergarten student.”]

[The female teacher with pink hair tied in a swirl at the back of her head smiled and took the rabbit ear headdress from Zaimokuza's hand. ]

[“Would you like to consider returning to kindergarten? I can slash your tuition by half, Zai·Mu·Za-san?”]

[“Don’t make fun of me, Mr. Yuigahama. Where in the world is there a kindergarten repeater as old as me?”]

【Zaimokuza smiled and scratched his head. The female teacher called Yuigahama also showed a gentle smile on her face. She put the back of her right hand against her lips and smiled very ladylike.】

[There was a nameplate on her apron with her name on it.]

[Wakaba Kindergarten·Sakura Class Teacher: Yuigahama Yui]

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, Service Club.

"Hey! It's me! I'm here~!"

Yuigahama Yui looked at "herself" appearing on the screen of her mobile phone and immediately danced with joy. Before, she could only watch the video and saw only two members of the Service Club, Yukinoshita Yukino and Zaimokuza Yoshiki. She had always been looking forward to seeing herself appear, and now her wish finally came true.

"I didn't expect that you would become a kindergarten teacher in the future, Yui, and you are so beautiful!"

Yumiko Miura watched the video with some amazement. Her figure and face were very different from now. Not only was she mature, but she also had the gentle and soft temperament of a wife. Yui Yuigahama, who had a terrifying killing power over married women and older men, could not help but be envious.

At the same time, she secretly turned her head to look at Hayato Hayama next to her, and couldn't help feeling a little expectant.

Will Hayato and I also appear in this video that predicts the future? If so, what will our future look like and what will our relationship be like? Will we be able to achieve a happy ending?

"I, Zaimokuza-san, and Yui-san, so three of the Servant Club members have already appeared, leaving only Hikigaya-san."

Yukinoshita Yukino bent her left thumb and then raised four fingers, bending a finger every time she said a name, until she got to Hikigaya Hachiman, when only the third finger from the left was left.

"...Yukinoshita, I'm grateful that you didn't pronounce my name wrong this time, but did you do that to my finger on purpose?"

Hikigaya Hachiman looked at the finger that Yukinoshita Yukino deliberately raised as an international friendly gesture, his dead fish eyes twitched a few times, and asked weakly.

"It's your illusion, Mr. Penguin."

The quiet girl with long black hair gently placed her phone on the book on her knees and responded nonchalantly.

"..."

Faced with Yukinoshita Yukino's words that she obviously called the wrong name on purpose to imply "Yes, I did it on purpose", Hikigaya Hachiman felt inexplicably tired and was too exhausted to complain.

"But... my future self?"

Thinking that he might be able to see his future self through video, Hikigaya Hachiman felt a little nervous in his anticipation.

This is not surprising. If one day you could know what your future would be like, I guess everyone would feel as conflicted as he does, wondering whether they are living the life they expected, or whether they have become a stranger under the pressure of reality.

What kind of person will I be in the future? Will I realize my dream of being a househusband? Or will I live a life of ease and comfort after hooking up with a rich woman? Or will I eventually become a social animal under the pressure of reality?

Every time he thought of these things that he had never thought of before, Hikigaya Hachiman felt uneasy and his heart beat faster and faster.

What kind of person will I be in the future?

After all, there was such an outrageous example as Zaimokuza in front of him, so Hikigaya Hachiman unconsciously began to look forward to it.

[“To be honest, I didn’t expect that you would come back from abroad now. I was really shocked when Xiaoxue called me three days ago to tell me.”]

[Yuigahama Yui looked at the young man in front of her who had almost no resemblance to the young man in her memory except for the familiar smile, and she said with some sighs as she was lost in her memories.]

[“And you’ve really changed a lot. You were a little fat when I came last time, but now you’re completely unrecognizable.”]

[“Well, after all, you’ve been out adventuring a lot, so it’s normal for you to change a little. How about it! Have you become more manly?!”]

[Zaimokuza proudly showed off his biceps, and the skin exposed under his short-sleeved shirt seemed to reflect white light.]

[“…Well, I think you’ve had plastic surgery.”]

[Yuigahama Yui subconsciously glanced at her arms and found that her skin was not as white as a man's. She lowered her head in frustration and buried her chin in her chest, which could not be covered by the apron. ]

[“Hey, hey, hey, why are you all saying this? I was just a little fat before. Does General Ashikaga Yoshiteru really not look like a handsome guy?!”]

[Hearing what she said, Zaimokuza's face suddenly fell into a cat-like state, and his dead fish eyes stared at Yuigahama Yui with dissatisfaction. ]

[“Puff!”]

[Hearing this familiar self-proclaimed name that she often heard in high school, Yuigahama Yui finally couldn't help but cover her mouth with one hand and laughed quietly. ]

[“As expected, this is more like you, Zaimokuza-san. I remember you called yourself this when we first met.”]

[“At that time, Xiao, Xiaoxue and I were scared by you. We thought you were some suspicious person who had invaded the Service Department. We almost asked the security to drag you away.”]

[Thinking of the misunderstanding that happened when she first met Zaimokuza, her eyes curved into a pair of bright crescents, and she smiled very happily and gently, but for some reason there was a hint of loneliness hidden in her smile.]

[Shaking her head to dispel the gloom in her heart, Yuigahama Yui brought up another topic to divert her attention. 】