During the break, Daigo went to find the group while they were eating at a restaurant. With beauties like Lumine around—each one stunning enough to be called a once-in-a-nation masterpiece—it was only natural that a lot of people's gazes kept drifting their way.
"Let's go. The people here are too annoying."
Yae Miko stood up. She didn't like those disgusting looks. If she hadn't wanted to try the cuisine of another world, she wouldn't have come to a crowded, messy place like this in the first place.
"Sure. Daigo, let's go."
Koji had no objections. He called Daigo over and left together. Too many people, too many eyes—if they stayed here a few more days, they'd just switch to another world. If they had time later, they could come back.
His wives' charm really was overwhelming. Koji had deep firsthand experience with that—close enough to feel it in full.
…
Central Park.
Since it wasn't the weekend, there weren't many people around.
"What do you want to ask?" Koji looked at Daigo and spoke casually.
"Um… are there many monsters that are kind by nature?"
"It's… okay. Not many. But sometimes, even a kind monster will still end up standing opposite humanity—because there's hatred that can't be resolved." Koji said meaningfully.
Even if humans were the ones who did wrong—causing a monster to hate and loathe mankind and then attack humans—in that situation, the monster was still the enemy.
So you couldn't judge everything purely by whether a monster was "kind." Cause and effect went in circles. Some things had to be done.
Right and wrong… in a war between races, those things didn't really matter anymore.
"So, Daigo—you're both light, and human. Just do what you believe is right." Koji directly quoted the words from the TV show and patted him on the shoulder.
Daigo was still confused right now. He didn't know what he was fighting for, and he didn't know whether he could truly be a good Ultraman.
Someone like Daigo… really only showed up in movies and TV. In reality, if someone got Ultraman-level power…
Day 1: Protect Earth.
Day 2: Protect my Earth.
Compared to noble existences like Superman or Ultraman, most people—once they had power so overwhelming it couldn't be resisted—would choose to become the kind of "Homelander" who did whatever they wanted.
Don't assume everyone is that lofty. Between holding to your original heart to protect the world, and the temptation of power—which one wins? That's genuinely an unknown.
Koji was the same. He did what he wanted, followed his own thoughts—that was the freedom power could bring. He just wasn't as outrageously extreme as Homelander.
"Do what I think is the right decision…" Daigo chewed on the sentence, as if he suddenly understood something he couldn't quite figure out before.
Yeah. Why think about so much? Use your own eyes to see. That was enough.
"I understand. Thank you—really." Daigo thanked them solemnly.
"So… the jeep training. You still want to do it?" Koji asked with interest.
"Uh… I'll pass."
The moment he heard "jeep training," Daigo's body trembled involuntarily. That kind of training was truly deadly. He did not want to experience it a second time.
Sure, it had some effect—but he felt he could train his body without going that extreme.
Koji nodded. Besides jeep training, there were other methods too—ones Leo had personally "experienced," and that could rapidly boost combat ability.
But Daigo and Gen Ootori weren't the same. Their physical toughness differed. That kind of dangerous training could easily get Daigo badly injured.
"Mr. Koji… do you know where Tiga's true self went?" Daigo asked curiously.
Where in the universe did those Giants of Light go after leaving Earth?
"So, what—want to find Tiga's true self and have him face Camila's wrath?" Koji asked with a grin.
"I… didn't think of that. But… yeah, that could work." Daigo blinked. Letting the real one deal with Camila… really did sound like the easy way out.
"Anyway, about where Tiga and the others went—probably back to their homeland. It's said Tiga's homeland is in Orion, but whether it's actually in Orion… only Tiga himself would know."
"And the statue you're using right now? It's not the only one. Tiga likes leaving them lying around everywhere."
Besides being a notorious horn-breaker, Tiga was also grouped together with Noa as part of the "two-man corpse-dumping team."
Even in that parallel universe called Trigger, Tiga's silhouette could still appear.
He was shameless to the extreme.
Not only could he be light—he could also turn into a dark form. Light or no light, he could transform either way. Just ask any monster if that's scary.
"Huh?"
Daigo felt like his skull had been smashed with a heavy hammer. Besides him and Tiga's true self… there were other people who could become Tiga too?
No—what was Tiga's true self even doing? Daigo couldn't make sense of it.
"So… Tiga's true self probably isn't in Orion anymore?" Daigo also gave up on the idea of going to look for him.
First, Earth needed him right now. This had only just started, and monsters would keep appearing one after another.
Second, the universe was huge. Even if he relied on resonance between the same kind of light, he still wouldn't be able to find Tiga's true self in a short time.
"Probably. There's nothing special in Orion anyway. Tiga might be wandering around… or he might be sleeping somewhere." Koji didn't really understand Tiga's true self either.
Tiga was an extremely mysterious Ultraman. Even though you could often see "Tiga," none of those were the true self. The level of mystery was on par with someone like Noa—an Ultraman who rarely showed himself.
"Is Camila strong?" This was what Daigo cared about.
After all, he wasn't the real Tiga. If Camila came looking and he couldn't beat her, then the people around him would be in danger.
"Her individual strength is… fine. But she can absorb the power of darkness and turn into a form that completely beats you down." Koji thought for a moment.
Unless it was Shining Tiga, there was no way he could be a match for that version of Camila.
Daigo's mouth twitched. She could "cheat" like that? Didn't he get any cheats?
"When you reach the mountain, there'll be a road through it… (whatever that's supposed to mean)." Yae Miko laughed. "Kid, don't rush. Camila hasn't even broken her seal yet. Thinking too much is bad for you."
Daigo was worrying needlessly right now. It wasn't like he had no time to grow stronger.
With her age, calling Daigo "kid" was only natural.
"I understand."
Daigo nodded. Thinking about it now only made his heart feel worse, and it didn't help. He just needed to be ready to face those monsters.
He still had time to become stronger. From now on, he'd train every day. Koji had told him already: the strength of the human host could affect Ultraman's combat ability.
"You can learn some martial arts. It'll be useful when you fight monsters." Koji suggested.
Ultramen who knew martial arts were always pretty capable.
Daigo nodded and asked humbly.
Anything that could make him stronger, he'd try. Even if he lacked talent, learning more would always be useful someday.
(End of Chapter)
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