Chapter 175: I

Although Lady Tianyu Kongling and Lady Shenle Qingshui are indeed powerful, and our nation is currently the only one in the world known to possess two holders of Celestial Treasures,

other countries are not without them either— they may simply be hiding them.

At that moment, a slightly weary female voice suddenly came from beside him.

Menashi Shi turned his head and saw a girl in a cherry-blossom school uniform standing beside him, gazing up at the large screen, a lollipop dangling from her lips.

“Playing the same footage on loop—even Lady Tianyu Kongling and Lady Shenle Qingshui can become tiresome.”

The girl sighed, then finally noticed Menashi Shi’s gaze.

Her eyes suddenly lit up:

“Uncle, are you cosplaying Menashi Shi?”

“Uncle?”

Menashi Shi raised an eyebrow, automatically ignoring the word “cosplayer,” focusing entirely on the address.

He touched his face, wondering if he had truly reached the age where people called him “uncle.”

“But Uncle, you’re cosplaying perfectly!”

“You look exactly like Ueno Masahiro!”

The girl, completely oblivious to Menashi Shi’s subtle expression change, leaned in eagerly, her eyes sparkling:

“I’ve seen many Menashi Shi cosplayers, but I’ve never seen one this lifelike—it’s like you stepped right out of the TV!”

“Ueno Masahiro?”

Menashi Shi was curious.

“Yeah, the actor who plays Menashi Shi!”

The girl tilted her head, surprised.

“Uncle, you’re cosplaying Menashi Shi and you don’t know Ueno Masahiro?”

But she quickly smiled again, understanding that in the fandom, many only loved the character and didn’t care about the actor.

“By the way,”

“there’s something touching happening in the Kamen Rider circle right now.”

The girl lowered her voice suddenly, her expression turning serious,

pulled out her phone, swiped a few times, then handed it to Menashi Shi—the screen showed a news article:

【A mother posts a plea: Can my child meet Kamen Rider?】

“This little boy has leukemia; the doctors say he has about a month left.”

“His mother wants to do something meaningful for him before the end.”

“Since the boy loves Kamen Rider, she posted online asking for help from the Kamen Rider actors.”

Menashi Shi’s gaze settled on the photo: a frail boy on the hospital bed, wearing a toy transformation device, yet smiling brightly.

“Many Rider actors have left encouraging comments, and some have even visited the hospital in person!”

The Rider from Great Xia, who obtained the Steel Beast Insect Yi, also encouraged the boy—but because the seas are now unsafe, he couldn’t come visit.

The girl scrolled through the comments, pointing to a string of familiar actor names, then said:

“But the one who impressed me most was Kamen Rider Build’s Kiriyama Senku.”

“He secretly visited the boy during filming breaks and gave him an extremely rare prop; the agency’s response was also very considerate.”

She imitated the agency’s official tone:

“The agency has received no official report of such an event. If this did occur, the visitor may not have been Inukai Takamichi—but Kiriyama Senku himself.”

“How wonderful~”

The girl clasped her hands to her chest, tears glistening in her eyes.

Menashi Shi silently memorized the hospital’s address, then returned the phone to the girl.

“I heard Ueno Masahiro is going too, Uncle—”

The girl took back her phone, but before she could finish, her eyes widened suddenly.

Behind the man, a hazy gray-white wall materialized out of thin air.

The twisted patterns, the chaotic texture—she knew them all too well as a longtime Rider fan.

“A dimensional wall?!”

Her voice caught in her throat; she froze in place. The man turned to her with a faint smile, the hem of his black suit fluttering in the breeze.

“You’re—you’re—”

“I’m just a Kamen Rider passing through.”

The familiar line echoed in her ears.

“Goodbye.”

As he slipped his hands into his pockets and stepped into the dimensional rift, his figure fading, the girl finally found her voice:

“Menashi Shi is the real Menashi Shi!”

Her cheeks flushed crimson, her excitement uncontrollable.

“Kamen Rider has truly descended into reality! Not just a device—his actual self!”

The news on the distant screen still played updates about the Celestial Treasure holders, but in the girl’s mind, only the figure vanishing into the dimensional rift remained.

Of course—Menashi Shi can travel to any world where Kamen Riders exist, and now, in their world, a true Kamen Rider has appeared!

In a modest but cozy room, curtains drawn tight, only a single white floor lamp glowed.

Ueno Masahiro sat on the carpet beside the sofa, facing a frail boy dressed in a white short-sleeve shirt; on the coffee table lay several pill boxes, with a clear space in the center holding a brand-new Kamen Rider Decade Driver model.

Watching the boy happily pick up the Decade Driver, tracing its engraved patterns with his fingers, his smile bright, Ueno Masahiro smiled too—but his smile looked like he was crying.

He had come as Menashi Shi and given the boy the Decade Driver, yet he knew he was not Menashi Shi—only an actor portraying him.

He had no power to save the boy.

Never before had he wished more than now to be Menashi Shi.

After bidding farewell, Ueno Masahiro stepped outside, the cool breeze brushing his face; he took a deep breath, trying to calm the helplessness in his heart.

Then, suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

A tall figure leaned against the wall not far away.

Black suit, magenta shirt, a magenta camera hanging prominently on his chest—the man lifted his head slightly, revealing a familiar, slightly mischievous smile.

Ueno Masahiro’s heart leapt.

Perhaps it was emotion, or perhaps the man was simply too much like the “himself” in his memory.

He walked forward unconsciously, whispering:

“You came.”

“You knew I would?”

Menashi Shi was surprised—genuinely surprised. After learning about this world’s information, he knew that in this world, he was merely a character portrayed by this man, not real.

Although due to so-called “dimensional intrusion,” fictional characters could appear in reality, and a true Kamen Rider Steel Beast had indeed been born, a Kamen Rider like him appearing in reality had never happened before.

How did he know Menashi Shi would definitely come?

“I knew. Of course I knew.”

“Because no Rider has more heart than you.”

Ueno Masahiro unconsciously smiled.

Menashi Shi, hearing his words, smiled too.

“You’re just my actor—how bold of you to say that.”

The atmosphere between them suddenly grew strange.

Ueno Masahiro stared directly into the man’s eyes and asked seriously:

“Can you do it? As the real Menashi Shi?”

“I am real.”

Menashi Shi said calmly; a card had appeared between his fingers, clearly displaying the Form Two of Time King.

“Since he loves me so much, I’ll make an exception and restore him.”

“Besides, I’ve gained new power in that world.”

Hearing “Menashi Shi” speak, Ueno Masahiro nodded with a smile, a profound sense of relief flooding his heart; he stepped slightly aside, making way for “Menashi Shi” toward the apartment.

“Then, I’m counting on you.”

“Menashi Shi.”

【KAMENRIDE ——】

【Decade (Emperor Rider)!】

Brilliant magenta energy flowed around his body like liquid, multiple illusions overlapping in an instant; when the light faded, Kamen Rider Decade stood tall,

black armor with magenta accents, his compound eyes glowing green.

The boy’s breath stopped; his eyes widened in awe.

But Menashi Shi did not stop—he held a card between his fingers and swept it across the Driver, leaving a brilliant trail:

【KAMENRIDE ——】

【Zi-OII!】

Time itself seemed to freeze; silver clock silhouettes unfolded behind Menashi Shi, his armor restructuring in the light—a new form of silver and purple, the intricate clockwork on his chest spinning rapidly backward.

“Time is going to reverse.”

Menashi Shi’s voice, softened through the mask, carried a gentle divinity.

He gently touched the boy’s forehead, and the power of time spread like ripples—the boy’s body began shrinking at a visible rate, time gently reversing upon him.

When the light faded, a younger, healthier, rosy-cheeked child stood before them.

“It’s all right now.”

The armor dissolved; Monoshiro resumed his ordinary attire. He turned to his mother, who had long covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face as she repeated over and over:

“Thank you. Thank you.”

His gaze swept over the white first-edition DiQi Driver on the coffee table. Monoshiro’s eyes flickered with nostalgia. He knelt down, meeting the reborn boy’s eyes at eye level:

“He gave this to you, didn’t he?”

“Then you are the new hero now, boy.”

“Live well, okay?”

As he rose, the dimensional wall had already opened behind him.

With the closing of the dimensional wall, only the boy’s now-healthy body remained as proof that this miracle had not been a dream.

The ripples of the dimensional wall slowly dissipated outside the apartment door. Monoshiro stepped out, hands in his pockets, glancing at the spot where Inoue Masahiro had stood—long gone.

“Said ‘I knew you’d come,’ yet still treated me like a cosplayer?”

Monoshiro recalled Inoue Masahiro’s expression—“I knew you’d come”—and couldn’t help shaking his head.

But he didn’t dwell on it. He simply picked up the Time King Stage 2 card and glanced at it.

That kid’s card was truly useful.

But now it’s mine.

Too bad the final two forms were troublesome—Shinshu resembled my divine lord, but Bōma was on an entirely different level.

He reshaped time and space effortlessly—stronger than a monster.

Thinking this, he tucked away the Time King Stage 2 card and turned to glance at the door behind him, a faint smile curling on his lips.

He’d specifically used the dimensional wall to teleport outside rather than walk out normally—of course, because it’s cooler that way.

“From today on, that kid’s favorite Rider is definitely me, right?”

(End of Chapter)