It was just dawning, with a touch of fish-belly white on the pale blue horizon, like rice paper smudged with watercolors. The convenience store door slid open with a "ding-dong," and the night shift clerk yawned, flipping the "Open" sign.
"The working day has begun, or rather, it looks like his hasn't ended yet. Speaking of which, as the god of half-price, I haven't eaten a discounted bento for two consecutive days."
"Rikuo-kun, do you want to eat something so unhealthy? My bento would be much tastier, wouldn't it?"
"In terms of deliciousness, of course, Soyo-san's is superior, but this is the glory of the god of half-price! I cannot easily give it up!"
Soyo and Rikuo were walking to catch the train. He found that his recovery ability had significantly strengthened, as the side effects of the Rider System could be eliminated by resolve. Although the side effects of the Undead card could not be completely eliminated, suppression and recovery were still possible.
"Oh, right, Soyo, I just remembered I needed to talk to you about something very important."
Hearing Rikuo call her Soyo, Soyo listened intently for what he would say next.
"I want you to use your connections as a young lady to help me investigate a person named Tanaka Ninosuke. He possesses a card that I'm looking for, corresponding to the 8 of Spades of magnetic field manipulation. Oh, and although you might think names are irrelevant, I still need to tell you that this type of card is called an Undead card. And the Undead are a group of respectable, well, seniors, I suppose."
"Since Rikuo-kun said so, of course I'll do my best to help. And it's called an Undead card? I'll remember that."
"Alright, Soyo, I also need to remind you of one thing: if you find him, don't let your friends get close. I suspect these cards have a strong attraction to Anomalies. It seems that whenever an Anomaly is around, these cards appear."
Anomalies are materialized by the power of the cards. Of course, they also crave greater power. Whether it was the Corporate Slave Ghost that Togawa Kiyotsugu encountered near his old apartment, or the Slit-Mouthed Woman seemingly attracted by Mutsumi's 6 of Spades.
'But on second thought, almost every time I encounter two Undead cards. That can significantly speed things up.'
"Alright, Rikuo-kun, I'll remind my friends to only do simple investigations."
The train arrived, and the two parted ways. Although Rikuo really wanted to go to Tsukinomori Girls' School, unfortunately, he couldn't.
...
"Riku, you're finally here? How are you feeling? Are you still uncomfortable?"
The moment he entered the classroom, Rikuo felt the sweetness in the air. They say the air in foreign countries is sweet; he didn't know about other places, but the air around Anon must be sweet.
"I'm alright, better than Tachibana-san's condition."
"Tachibana? Who is that? Is he your senior?"
"Yes, his beautiful voice is excellent, and he can speak foreign languages. He often helps juniors in the early stages; I remember he once tried to open Kenzaki's heart."
"Really? He sounds like a very good senior. Is Kenzaki your friend?"
"Yes, my Blade is considered inherited from him."
"Is that so? So they're your Kamen Rider seniors?"
Rikuo felt a bit out of his depth for the first time. Why could Anon communicate with him so seamlessly? Could Anon also be a transmigrator?
"Rem is so cute? Starburst Stream? Our bustling city?"
"Riku? What are you talking about?"
"It seems not, but in the realm of abstraction, I am indeed superior!"
Anon also understood that Rikuo was saying strange things.
"What? Are Tachibana and the others all fake?"
"That's true, Tachibana-san is still a very good senior."
"Mo, I don't understand you like this. Never mind, I have something very important to tell Riku."
After Anon finished speaking, she pulled Rikuo's hand and walked towards the rooftop. The classmates in the class were all whispering. Tomori also arrived at the classroom at this moment, and seeing Anon holding Rikuo's hand, she followed them.
Rikuo felt that with his 10 years of galgame experience, he had already guessed what she wanted to do. Seeing Anon look at him seriously with her gray eyes, he launched his preemptive strike.
"I like Sakiko-sensei! Sakiko-sensei's soft and gentle appearance is so sweet! But Sakiko-sensei has a bad habit; Sakiko-sensei is a thief! She stole my heart!"
"Huh? What are you talking about? Sakiko-sensei? Are you referring to Togawa-san?"
"...Weren't you going to confess to me?"
"How could that be?"
"Alright, director, cut that last part."
...
Rikuo looked at Anon, who was seriously looking at him with her gray eyes. Because of her serious and urgent expression, he chose to let Anon speak first.
"Riku? Can you play a musical instrument? Or rather, can you play the guitar?"
"Haha, you've come to the right person for that!"
"Is that so? Could it be that Riku is a guitar master? Professional level? A hidden guitarist for a famous Band?"
"I can't."
"..."
Anon looked at Rikuo's serious expression. She felt that asking Rikuo serious questions at normal times was like hitting herself in the face with a rock. Shouldn't it be a foot? That's because Anon was clearly actively hitting herself in the face. There was also another possibility, which was that there was no rebound from the chest, so it went directly to the face.
"Anon-chan, you can't play the guitar?"
Just then, the physically weak Tomori finally climbed onto the rooftop, her chest still heaving, and asked her question, seeing Anon squatting down with her head in her hands, looking embarrassed.
"Wah, did Tomorin find out again?"
"Hmm, it's alright, Anon-chan, we can practice slowly."
Tomori hadn't yet recovered from the intense exercise of quickly climbing the stairs, and she comforted Anon word by word. Her small hand gently stroked Anon's pink hair.
Anon didn't have much resistance to Tomori knowing about this. After all, Tomori was so cute that she wouldn't criticize or pressure others. But Tomori's guardian (as Taki considered herself), Shiina Taki, was different; she would probably be glared at by Taki for half an hour during their afternoon rehearsal.
"Actually, even though I really can't play the guitar, it's not like there's no solution."
"Does Riku have any good ideas?"
Seeing Anon's seemingly glowing gray eyes, Rikuo took out the 2 of Hearts from the storage box.
"Is that the card you used yesterday after transforming into Kamen Rider?"
"Yes, this is an Undead card. With it, you can defeat any pressure monster!"
"Thank you, Riku!"
"You're welcome, Pink Husky!"
"What does Pink Husky mean? It sounds full of malice!"
Although Anon couldn't understand the words Rikuo said, she could feel a deep malice from Rikuo's half-smiling, homo-like expression.
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