Chapter 47: Unexpected Encounters and Hidden Agendas

Though this week was sports day and thus no monthly exam, He Yao—

‘Whether it’s the sports day or an exam, I will never lose to you!’

‘Are you sick in the head, kid?’

He Yao didn’t want to exert himself, neither for the sports day nor the monthly exam!

He knew everyone would bravely struggle and be full of passion, but what did any of that mean to Young Master He?

‘I don’t know where you get this competitive spirit with me. Are we even close, big brother? We were just deskmates for a few days before Liu Xingyue chased you away.’

‘Your sense of personal space is getting a little ambiguous.’

Though a myriad of thoughts swirled in his mind, He Yao could only manage a single reply: “Oh, I see.”

After all, he was just that kind of person; he couldn’t possibly voice those thoughts aloud. If he were Ink Crystal, she would certainly have the confidence to speak her mind.

Yet, as He Yao, he found himself utterly unable to speak those words. He could only respond as he did.

He wondered where Teacher Lin and Liu Xingyue had gone. They had vanished during morning gym class and were now entirely unreachable.

‘Could I have been cuckolded?’

He Yao quickly shook his head. ‘How could that be possible?’

Liu Xingyue wasn’t that kind of person, and Teacher Lin certainly wasn’t either. ‘Was he thinking this way because he had been reading too many illicit magazines? Had his brain gone bad?’

‘No, this wouldn’t do! After I return today, I need to cleanse my mind with something righteous and elegant. Being a shut-in is fine, but a disgusting shut-in is simply unbearable.’

‘He heard setting up the venue was exhausting. Couldn’t they just hire people to do the work? He’d pay a high price.’

****

Let’s rewind the clock a little.

During morning gym class, Liu Xingyue had pulled Lin Han to a secluded corner.

“Teacher Lin, could you explain something?”

Liu Xingyue had learned two days prior that her teacher was Kamen Rider. She also knew that Ink Crystal had been present on both occasions Kamen Rider appeared.

This indicated that Teacher Lin and Ink Crystal knew each other, at the very least. But who exactly was Ink Crystal?

As a student, understanding a teacher’s social circle was exceptionally difficult. A teacher could instantly discern which students were close and which were not.

Yet, looking in reverse, students knew nothing about their teachers.

Liu Xingyue knew Lin Han had friends, but she only knew of He Yao.

Teacher Lin’s personal life was one thing,

But this Teacher Lin was a psychological counselor, and his scope of work was incredibly broad, not even limited to the school. When he ventured outside, who knew when he might have met Ink Crystal, this young woman?

It was evident, however, that the relationship between Ink Crystal and Lin Han was far from ordinary. In other words, Kamen Rider might have appeared precisely for the sake of this magical girl, Ink Crystal.

Yet, the information Ink Crystal had previously revealed to her was that she didn’t know Kamen Rider’s identity and even wished to investigate it.

Was this merely a smokescreen, or had Teacher Lin concealed his identity, choosing to secretly protect the girl? Taking it a step further, ‘could Teacher Lin be in love with the magical girl, Ink Crystal?’

‘If that were the case, how pitiful would Teacher Liu be?’

Moreover, Ink Crystal appeared to be a student. After all, even when transforming into a magical girl, it was hard to imagine someone like Teacher Liu donning a student uniform, and the same likely applied to others.

Therefore, the magical girl’s age should be similar to her own, brimming with youthful vitality.

‘This wasn’t right, was it? For a teacher, a role model, to be involved with their own student…’

For some reason, the image that flashed through Liu Xingyue’s mind was of herself being pressed onto a bed by Lin Han the day before yesterday. For the past two days, that moment, and everything she had felt then, kept resurfacing in her thoughts.

‘No, no, no! I couldn’t think about that!’

“Teacher, can you tell me who the magical girl Ink Crystal is?”

Lin Han immediately shook his head. “No. I must keep her identity a secret.”

That made sense. After all, Teacher Lin was precisely that kind of person.

“Then, Teacher Lin, as a supposed ‘monster,’ disguises himself as Kamen Rider solely for that magical girl, does he? Now that I think about it, I’ve never heard of your activities before.”

‘Isn’t that obvious? My transformation suit and magical transformation weren’t complete before, so I was operating under my true identity.’

“Regardless, as I said before, my encounter with Ink Crystal was actually a coincidence. As for this incident with Ink Crystal…”

Subconsciously, almost instinctively, Lin Han used the exact same explanation Ink Crystal had.

“Ink Crystal and I do know each other in real life, but she’s unaware of my identity. She told me she wanted to work with me to lure out the escaped monsters. So, she stays in her transformed state and keeps close to me, using me as bait—the kind magical girls like. ‘If that’s the case,’ she said, ‘the monsters might target you. They’ll see you as Magical Girl Ink Crystal’s weakness.'”

“Then, as long as we lure those monsters out, even if we’re briefly caught in a fierce battle, we just need to stall until Amethyst or Rainbow Jade arrive. That way, we can achieve a good outcome.”

Emerald mused, “What you’re saying isn’t wrong; it actually makes some sense.”

Emerald, surprisingly, found this to be a viable method. “However, Teacher Lin, if we’re going to execute such a plan, wouldn’t I be more suitable than Ink Crystal?”

Liu Xingyue suddenly added, “Think about it closely: Ink Crystal’s strength is far inferior to mine. She only has one offensive skill, and its damage output can hardly be described as ‘high.'”

“In contrast, while my offensive capabilities are also lacking, Magical Girl Emerald’s power is primarily focused on defense and protection. It’s safe to say that if we were to stall for time, I could even deploy Emerald’s Absolute Defense, allowing her to survive the Amethyst Storm with you.”

She stated quite frankly, “Even without considering your combat prowess as Kamen Rider, cooperating with me would make it easier to stall until Amethyst or Rainbow Jade arrive. And since you, as Kamen Rider, are inherently very powerful, if we’re attacked, I can defend while you attack. Just the two of us working together could defeat powerful masked individuals.

“So, if you’re cooperating with Ink Crystal, why not cooperate with me instead?”

“But you’re He Yao’s girlfriend, aren’t you? …For you to do something like this…”

“A magical girl’s duty is to defeat monsters.”

Liu Xingyue replied with remarkable composure, “I’ve already told He Yao as much. Even if He Yao knows my identity and is my boyfriend, at the end of the day, he’s just an ordinary person. I cannot drag him into the struggle between magical girls and monsters. In contrast, Teacher, as Kamen Rider, you possess formidable combat strength, making you the more reliable party.

“As long as our intentions are pure, what could possibly be wrong? If you feel it’s inappropriate, Teacher, I’ll discuss this matter with He Yao myself. He’s a kind and intelligent person; he’ll understand my reasoning.”

As she spoke, her gaze turned somewhat icy as she looked at Lin Han. “Or perhaps, Teacher, you yourself harbor impure thoughts towards me, making it impossible to face He Yao openly? Or—are you interested in Ink Crystal?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.

“I was merely trying to say—”

‘You two, as a couple… how unexpectedly well-matched you are in this situation!’

‘This isn’t even a reliable plan, and you actually think it can lure out monsters? Isn’t this ridiculous?’

‘Monsters aren’t brain-damaged; how could they just openly appear like this…’

“Teacher Lin, what do you think?”

“Teacher Lin?”

“Teacher Lin, what—what’s wrong? Hey? Don’t just stare!”

Lin Han’s expression was complex. “Perhaps you should look behind you?”

Liu Xingyue’s gaze fell to the ground, where she noticed the shape of her shadow didn’t seem quite right.

‘How could a girl as delicate and slender as myself cast such a… burly shadow?’

“Oh~ Miss, you’d best not move~ If you fidget carelessly, your head might just relocate~”

A deep voice emanated from behind her.

“That Magical Girl Ink Crystal, she’s the one who got Snake Mask arrested, isn’t she? To actually dare to transform and walk around like that… Tell me, if I capture you two, will she surrender without a fight?”

Lin Han gazed at the figure standing behind Liu Xingyue, wearing a tiger-headed mask.

He was certain the individual had just teleported there.

Utilizing the mask’s super-high-speed movement, the individual likely hadn’t overheard his conversation with Liu Xingyue.

‘No… you’re Tiger Mask, not a damn idiot!’

‘What is the meaning of this?’

‘Do you know there are currently three magical girls plus one Kamen Rider in this school? Do you realize that by appearing here, you’re essentially seeking death?’

Liu Xingyue caught sight of Tiger Mask reflected in Lin Han’s eyes.

She wished to force her transformation, reveal herself, and join Lin Han in battling Tiger Mask.

Ink Crystal was also present, as was Amethyst, so they could directly apprehend this Tiger Mask.

However, her eyes met Lin Han’s.

And she understood the unspoken meaning within his gaze.

Since Emerald’s defensive capabilities were immensely powerful—if they could be captured by Tiger Mask in this manner, they might be able to follow the trail back to the masked figures’ gathering place and round them all up in one fell swoop.

With Emerald’s formidable defensive strength, they could easily hold out until the other magical girls arrived.

The two exchanged a look. Then, Lin Han’s face contorted in panic, and he stammered fearfully, “Th-this, esteemed monster, sir, you—you are so magnanimous. We two are merely nobodies; please, we beg you, spare us!”

“Oh? You, Teacher, are quite sensible! You can rest assured! I have no interest in ordinary people! I merely wish to capture magical girls to exchange for our comrades! As long as you two cooperate fully and help me apprehend a magical girl, I will not harm you. We are an organization with principles.”

“Furthermore, do not call me a monster. We are not monsters.”

Lin Han and Liu Xingyue were kidnapped within the school. Meanwhile, Amethyst was currently being lectured by Ink Crystal.