Chitoge Kirisaki was moved. She picked up her bento box and stood up, though she still said somewhat tsunderely, "Well, since you've invited me, it would be rude to refuse. I'll accept."
As she spoke, she sat down next to Shiina Mahiru, while Shiraishi Shin sat opposite them.
"Eh? Class Rep, and Shiina-san, why are your bentos exactly the same?"
Chitoge Kirisaki looked at their lunches and noticed that Shiraishi Shin and Shiina Mahiru's bentos were identical, even down to the boxes.
Shiraishi Shin admitted frankly, "Mahiru and I are neighbors. Sometimes I go to her house for a meal and find it delicious, so Mahiru prepared a bento for me too."
Shiina Mahiru said a bit bashfully, "Yes, there were some extra ingredients, so I made a portion for Shin as well. But Kirisaki-san, your bento is so luxurious; your family must be quite wealthy or influential."
Hearing this, Chitoge Kirisaki broke into a cold sweat. Fearing they might guess something, she quickly explained, "Ah? No, no, just an ordinary family."
Watching Chitoge Kirisaki's rather exaggerated and clumsy cover-up, the two of them weren't fools. However, since she didn't want to say, they weren't the type of people to lack emotional intelligence.
Shiraishi Shin took a bite of broccoli from his bento and then asked, "Why did Kirisaki-san transfer here from America?"
Chitoge Kirisaki paused for a moment, then scratched her blonde hair with her nails and said, "It's because of my parents' work. I heard there's another mixed-race student in our class?"
Shiraishi Shin nodded. "Yes, the silver-haired beauty sitting to my right. Her father is Russian and her mother is from Japan. However, her personality is a bit cold, making her the type that's somewhat difficult to get along with."
If it weren't for what he and Alisa went through the day before yesterday, they probably wouldn't have had much interaction.
Chitoge Kirisaki understood, then suddenly changed the subject. "I see. By the way, do you know about Kamen Riders?"
Shiraishi Shin shoveled a few mouthfuls of food and didn't speak.
Shiina Mahiru took up the conversation. "Kamen Riders? Speaking of which, I saw a news report on my phone yesterday saying a Monster capable of shooting fire from its palms appeared in the Super RT-Mart. However, it seems a Kamen Rider showed up to prevent the disaster from spreading further. But because there are only pictures of the damaged mall and none of the Kamen Rider or the Monster, its authenticity is unknown."
Chitoge Kirisaki smiled bitterly. "Actually, it's true. I was there myself and was even taken hostage by the Monster."
"Ah, then how did you escape? Did a Kamen Rider really save you?"
Shiina Mahiru had always been skeptical about the rumors of Kamen Riders. Originally a tokusatsu drama, the urban legends about Kamen Riders online became more and more believable as people talked, but since no one had ever actually managed to photograph one, the topic couldn't be taken as truth.
Chitoge Kirisaki nodded and vividly recounted yesterday's narrow escape, describing how scared she was at the time. Listening to her, Shiina Mahiru felt as if she were right there.
"At the end, he said his name was Kamen Rider Cronus and then disappeared. But his voice sounded quite similar to the Class Rep's."
Both Shiina Mahiru and Chitoge Kirisaki turned their gaze toward Shiraishi Shin.
Shiraishi Shin was a bit speechless at being targeted while just listening to gossip. He immediately said with an innocent face, "Me? Stop joking. I'm just an ordinary person; how could I be a Kamen Rider? Fighting Monsters? Wouldn't I just be delivering myself as a snack? Let alone fighting, I'd be too scared to stand straight just seeing one."
The two girls nodded, finding his reasoning sound. That's a Kamen Rider; under that mask must be a tough guy. How could it be a sunny boy like Shiraishi Shin? Impossible, absolutely impossible.
Seeing that they didn't suspect him, Shiraishi Shin nodded in satisfaction. Unless they saw it with their own eyes, he wouldn't admit to being a Kamen Rider.
After all, proactively claiming to be a Kamen Rider without any evidence would be very embarrassing. If they saw him transform, then admitting it wouldn't be a problem.
After finishing lunch, Shiraishi Shin, in his capacity as class representative, took Chitoge Kirisaki for a tour around the campus, giving her a preliminary understanding of the various buildings and clubs.
"Hmm?"
Just as Shiraishi Shin was about to take Chitoge Kirisaki to the last stop, the Cafeteria, he suddenly paused because a certain sensation appeared in his mind.
This feeling was granted by the system. Whenever a Monster appeared, he would develop this sensation, allowing him to find the Monster via the optimal route. He had relied on this sensation to take down Monsters before.
"Sorry, Kirisaki-san, I have something I need to take care of. The place ahead is the last stop, the Cafeteria. Go ahead and take a look, then you can wander around campus on your own."
Without giving Chitoge Kirisaki a chance to speak, he jogged away in a certain direction.
"Class... Class Rep? What's wrong? Leaving in such a hurry."
Chitoge Kirisaki tilted her head in confusion, but didn't think much of it. She walked forward alone, thinking to herself, "But the Class Rep is really a good person. He explained everything about the school to me in detail and even invited me to eat bento together. He's cheerful and easy to get along with, and so is Shiina-san."
...Somewhere in a deserted creek within the city, a Kamen Rider W in Heat Metal Form was rolling in the water that only reached his shins.
It wasn't because it was too hot and he wanted to cool off; he was rolling because he had been knocked to the ground.
Shotaro Hidari, who was in control of the left side of Kamen Rider W, punched the ground and shouted angrily, "Dammit, this guy's defense and strength are actually higher than the Heat Metal Form's! Philip, use the Maximum Drive!"
(Image Kamen Rider W: Heat Metal)
Kamen Rider W was currently using a form combined from the Heat and Metal memories. This form had the highest attack and defense among all his current base forms, suitable for fighting similar types of enemies. But right now, he was facing a crisis; the enemy was actually stronger than him in both aspects!
"Alright!"
Philip, who was in control of the right side, pulled the silver Metal gaia memory out of the w driver and inserted it into the staff weapon in his hand called the Metal Shaft, then pulled the trigger.
[Metal! Maximum Drive!]
After the sound effect rang out, both ends of the Metal Shaft in Kamen Rider W's hands were wrapped in high heat, carrying a jet-like propulsive force to strike forward with accelerated speed.
On the opposite side, a Monster with brown skin, a burly build, a hard shell covering its body, and an iron flail in its hand looked up at the charging Kamen Rider W with a look of disdain.
(Image Go-Gamego-Re)
Speaking in the language of the Gurongi, he said, "Child's play! Kill me if you can!"
At first, he didn't know what happened. He was originally committing murders in the high-rises of Tokyo when he was suddenly sucked in by a spatial fissure. When he came to, he appeared in this completely strange place.
He happened to encounter a guy wearing a hat who transformed using some unknown objects. But unfortunately, it wasn't Kuuga, and his strength was mediocre. He was no match at all for Go-Gamego-Re (commonly known as the Turtle Gurongi).