Chapter 967: with translation of chapter title

NO. 90: initial? heart

The dream hero Ultraman, whose fusion partner is Hibiki Yuta, is a high school student with a more daring personality than Ultraman.

When there's a monster, he's the first to go up; when there's a problem, he's the first to ask; when there's something to do, he's the first to charge.

In the half year since he reunited with Ultraman, he has indeed regained the skills of a veteran, and the battle results they have achieved together have become increasingly impressive.

But the hero still hesitates when it comes to confessing.

"If you ask me, it's been half a year~ Although for Aomo and those guys it's just a few days, but for us it's really been half a year, right?" Uchiumi raised his hand to his forehead beside the desk.

"Why are you bringing up the idea of confessing only now?!"

This is the empty classroom after school.

In this classroom, the two students who are not in a hurry to go to the cafeteria, nor in a hurry to meet with the drama club cast, are holding a strategy meeting.

For a high school boy attempting his first confession in life, such a discussion naturally counts as a strategy meeting, but the staff officer finds it hard to keep up, directly questioning the timing of this meeting.

Regarding this, the organizer felt somewhat wronged.

"Actually I've been thinking about it all along, but every time I try to bring it up, something else comes up, and then I completely forget..."

Probably because even he himself felt it was a bit far-fetched, the boy's voice gradually lowered, while the other narrowed his eyes, his gaze carrying a hint of subtle pity.

"I'm saying, you, have you been hanging out with Aomo for too long and finally started...?"

"Where did that comment even come from? Uchiumi."

Before the skeptical words were finished, a sudden male voice burst in, causing both to turn their heads instinctively, and they saw a youth sitting in the back seat who looked out of place in a high school classroom.

"It seems there's some misunderstanding between us that I don't know about; shall we take this chance to talk?"

"Ah... that's not really okay..."

After knowing each other for a while and being scared many times, the two boys no longer jump up shouting "oh oh oh" as they did at first; they have become accustomed to Aomo's comings and goings.

"If there's a misunderstanding, we should clear it up; if there's a prejudice, we should eliminate it; this isn't bad as a tokusatsu theory, right?"

"Haven't there been tokusatsu plots where misunderstandings intensify conflict to advance the story recently?" He sat in his seat, putting on a student's pose, but his words and actions always gave the impression of a company employee on school business.

"Personally, I think that's pretty terrible."

"It probably hasn't gotten that bad... and besides, Yuta's matter is more important, right, right? Yuta!"

"Uh..." Yuta, who had become a shield after being caught deflecting a friend's diss and changing the topic, with his usual easygoing temperament hesitated a moment then said, "Yes, actually I decided to bring this up today because I saw Mr. Aomo."

"... This really... should I say it's an honor?" Aomo, who also hadn't expected the other to say that, blinked slightly.

After all, Hibiki Yuta's lying ability has always been tragically bad, to the point that even strangers can't be fooled by him.

Therefore, when faced with his words that show no signs of lying, he is often seen as a demon who perceives people's hearts, and his mood is hard not to be complicated.

"But let's get back to the main point," Aomo stood up before the boy could further speak to prove himself, walked past the two students to the podium, and said, "First, there's something I need to say, Uchiumi."

He picked up a piece of chalk from the lecturer's desk chalk box and lightly tapped it on the tabletop.

"Yuta's statement is by no means an excuse."

"What does that mean?"

Uchiumi blinked, and just as he asked, he saw the other draw a concentric circle on the blackboard.

This skill of drawing a perfect circle freehand is truly admirable, an excellent leftover from his senior year exam preparation.

Then Aomo drew evenly spaced lines within that concentric circle, depicting a picture of the center of the concentric circle constantly under pressure: "Do you still remember the new discovery Miss Kaizaki told us about this morning? Uchiumi, time is looping, the world is switching, and even without Heixi's interference, the world continues to operate this way—who do you think is responsible for this?"

He tapped the blackboard, and his solemn demeanor made Uchiumi instinctively raise his hand:

"Is that the source of the chaos?"

"Yes, but not entirely."

Aomo said, sketching a rough outline of a thick-legged monster with a few strokes outside the circle, then drawing a more angular head beside it.

"Ultraman?" Uchiumi blinked.

Although the lines are just rough, Aomo's skill at handcrafting high-quality cosplay props is enough to capture the monster's discernible features.

"To be precise, it's an Ultraman being used."

After tapping the blackboard with chalk, he assumed a pose reminiscent of a part-time tutor demon, his dark-red eyes behind the lenses fixed on the tense Yuta.

It was neither surprise nor anger, but tension.

This reaction is exactly why Aomo acted out of character this time.

Originally he had specifically told Shima that even if he guessed, he didn't need to say it, but in the morning, when Kaizaki Hikaru dragged him and Yuta away to explain, Yuta's unusual behavior caught his attention.

He often seemed lost in thought, his gaze dodging; if this preoccupation wasn't about confessing, it was probably about something else.

But how could he even think about confessing?

He is clearly the focus of special attention in this world; even if other things can be remembered, confession alone should never be remembered—because no matter what, the other will not stand by and let Ultraman's fusion partner develop the will strong enough to resist the world.

"Do you still remember what I said at the beginning, that Ultraman is fused with the universe? If you don't remember, it's fine—after all, you're special."

"Huh?"

Uchiumi hadn't yet processed that, but Yuta bluntly said:

"I still remember."

"Well then, that's unexpectedly impressive… or rather…" Aomo turned around and tapped the word "confession" onto the desk with chalk.

"Huh???"

Now not only Uchiumi couldn't keep up, but Yuta also froze in place, and then they saw Aomo turn back, whereupon a translucent claw floated up behind him, picked up the blackboard eraser, and swiftly wiped away the markings on the desk.

At the moment those markings were erased, the claw vanished, the naturally falling blackboard eraser landed in Aomo's hand behind his back, and from outside the classroom came the hurried running footsteps audible to both boys, followed immediately by the figure of Igakuri Monster rushing into everyone's view.

"How come you're actually still here?"

Mr. Sai Luo, the biggest mouth in the Land of Light, although he can keep his mouth shut about serious matters, but when it comes to confession, an action full of youthful vigor…

"We—"

"We were discussing how to design the publicity poster."

Yutai was about to speak when Neihai's sharp words cut him off, and Neihai even glared at him.

This is the Ultra Theory-savvy Ultra fan; even before Aomo could explain, he had already foreseen the brother's crisis—this counts as Neihai's brotherly affection maxed out. Looking at that boy's aggrieved expression, he likely hasn't realized he's already walked to the brink of social death.

Simple.

Too simple.

Although the courage shown in critical moments is commendable, Xiang Yutai's everyday demeanor lacks any youthful vibe and even gives off a slight shota feel.

Shouldn't it be expected of a high schooler who has 'cute' written in their setting tags? In some areas their performance is overly sensual and immature.

Considering the setting where Yutai is even portrayed as Qiannie's distant boyfriend, Aomo can't help but wonder if Qiannie has a shota fetish.

Oh...

Just thinking back to the experience of being called 'little Aomo' by the other party, this speculation sends a chill down Aomo's spine.

"Do you want to join too?"

Even though he felt a chill down his back, Aomo was still trying to radiate warmth to others; a half‑hearted invitation that followed Neihai's words instantly made Sai Luo shake his head and wave his hands.

"No thanks, I'm just here to call you all together."

"It's also lunchtime, and the three of you disappearing together has worried quite a few people."

"Well, that's just added trouble for everyone," Aomo furtively slipped the blackboard eraser under the edge of the blackboard, gripped it, then lifted his hand to swipe the light screen, confirming he indeed had a few unread messages, and sighed helplessly, "We'll be over soon; you go ahead."

"You still want to keep talking?"

Sai Luo didn't expect these few people to be so serious—they weren't even eager to eat.

"Of course, not only do we want to talk, but we also hope you can pass a word to Apeng and Mazhongpeng so they can come over; we need some designs for the Electric Light Machine King and monsters."

"Huh?"

"Troublesome."

"Don't waste others' mealtime; at this age they're supposed to be growing."

"It won't cause a delay, please rest assured—in fact, the more you nag here, the later they'll arrive."

"... Fine, if anything comes up, remember to call me."

"You know me—I won't hesitate to put you to work."

"Tsk, hearing that really doesn't make me happy."