"Mahiru, there's something I want to tell you. Today, Yuriko agreed to become my girlfriend."
Shiraishi Shin felt he should tell Shiina Mahiru about his new girlfriend.
After all, she was his first woman and was so kind and gentle; how could he bear to hide it from such a little angel?
"Yuriko?"
Shiina Mahiru was stunned after hearing this.
She turned to look at Shiraishi Shin in confusion. She almost thought she had misheard just now; it wasn't Alya, so who was this Yuriko? She didn't seem to have heard the name before.
Seeing Shiina Mahiru's reaction, Shiraishi Shin smiled and explained,
"It's normal that you don't recognize the name. If I use another title, you'll know: Teacher Okada."
"What? It's the teacher!"
Shiina Mahiru reached out to cover her mouth.
One could guess she did so because her mouth had dropped open in shock, but a beautiful girl wouldn't want people to see her mouth wide open, so she covered it with her hand.
If it were Alya, she wouldn't be so surprised, and she could even accept Chitoge Kirisaki. After all, they were classmates, sat so close together, and had spent a lot of time together.
But Okada Yuriko was a teacher. Aside from classes, she basically had no contact with students at all. How did she suddenly become Shiraishi Shin's second wing?
She didn't believe it if she was just after Shiraishi Shin's looks, because Shiina Mahiru didn't believe Teacher Okada was so shallow as to only care about appearance.
Then she guessed,
"Could it be that Shin-nii also saved the teacher before?"
"That's not it. We happened to go for morning runs together for a while, and we got to know each other."
Then, Shiraishi Shin briefly described the process of how he met Okada Yuriko.
After listening, Shiina Mahiru twitched her nose twice and said with a bit of amusement,
"I didn't expect Shin-nii to have such a way with beautiful women. You're quite calculating."
Shiraishi Shin pulled her into his arms, his hand climbing up the mountain peaks, making Shiina Mahiru blush and pant.
Then he said,
"After all, I don't have as much fate with others as I do with you, Mahiru. We met at Summer Camp when we were kids, and you've been thinking about me ever since.
"For others, I have to take the initiative to win them over; otherwise, I can't marry a truly virtuous woman just with a handsome face. Action is the key."
Shiina Mahiru stopped Shiraishi Shin's large hand and said,
"Yes, yes, Shin-nii is right."
"By the way, when you left Alya alone on the rooftop this morning, what did you talk about?"
Shiraishi Shin was still curious about what Shiina Mahiru and Alya had discussed when they stayed behind this morning.
"It's a secret. Wait and find out for yourself."
Hearing this, Shiraishi Shin pouted and said,
"Tch~ what kind of secret do you have to keep from me, honestly."
"Alright, it's about time. I'll be going now."
Shiraishi Shin glanced at his phone.
There was a message from Okada Yuriko, asking him to go to an izakaya later.
After Shiraishi Shin replied, he told her to wait a bit and that he would pick her up on his motorcycle.
Then, after saying goodbye to Shiina Mahiru with a kiss, he changed into casual clothes and walked out the door.
After walking out of the apartment, he rode the Eternal and arrived at the place where he agreed to meet Okada Yuriko.
This was at a street intersection where he saw a beautiful woman wearing a blue top and a khaki mid-length skirt—Okada Yuriko.
She was standing there with that familiar backpack.
Shiraishi Shin drove up to her and greeted her teasingly,
"Hey beauty, who are you waiting for? To let such a beautiful woman wait, he really doesn't know how to cherish you.
"Get on, let me take you for a ride."
"Sure, then I'll go with the handsome guy."
Saying that, Okada Yuriko sat on Shiraishi Shin's Eternal.
The conversation between the two also stunned the passing pedestrians.
"Damn, he picked up such a big beauty just like that?"
"If I had known, I would have gone first."
"Idiot, first you need to have such a cool motorcycle, and second, you need to have that level of looks."
"You're the damn idiot. I was just joking. Do you really think they don't know each other?"
...
Shiraishi Shin rode the Eternal to the entrance of the izakaya.
After parking the bike outside, the two walked into the izakaya.
"Yuriko, the bag behind you looks heavy. It couldn't be that it contains both the Tackle suit and the Delta Driver, right?"
After arriving at the small private room, Tanzaburo Tojima, Shimamura Ichiyo, Shimamura Mitsuba, and his girlfriend had all arrived.
Shimamura Ichiyo was wearing a black leather jacket and a white silk scarf around his neck, mimicking Kamen Rider V3.
He greeted the two who entered,
"Yo, you two are here. Now everyone's here."
Although Shiraishi Shin hadn't joined their group chat, Okada Yuriko had already said in the group that she would bring Shiraishi Shin along.
The two of them sat down next to each other.
Shimamura Ichiyo, the spokesperson, took a sip of coffee and then spoke,
"Everyone, some time ago we encountered the Man-Spider Monster.
"Except for Shiraishi Shin, who is a real Kamen Rider, the rest of us had no power to resist.
"Only Higashijima's fist managed to knock the Man-Spider back two steps."
The others nodded upon hearing this.
Aside from Yukarisu, who was a Shocker Combatman, the Shimamura brothers, Tanzaburo Tojima, Okada Yuriko, and Shiraishi Shin had all been training since they were young.
Among them, Shiraishi Shin had trained the least at only eight years, while Tanzaburo Tojima had the most at over thirty years, and the other three had between ten to twenty years.
Shimamura Ichiyo crossed his arms and said,
"After experiencing that crushing defeat, we know our shortcomings.
"So let me ask you, what do Kamen Riders do after they are defeated?"
"Special training!"
Tanzaburo Tojima, Shimamura Mitsuba, and Okada Yuriko said in unison.
Shiraishi Shin, however, didn't join in; he just listened without saying anything.
It's true that Kamen Riders rely on special training to become stronger after being defeated.
Not just Kamen Riders—even Ultraman is like this.
But that was limited to the Showa era.
By the Heisei era, whether it was Ultraman or Kamen Rider, it was already the era of forms.
Getting a powerful form was completely incomparable to training.
"Well said, it's special training.
"Man-Spider was just the first Monster to appear from Shocker Organization.
"Although he has been defeated by Shiraishi Shin, there is more than one Shocker Kaijin.
"We don't know how many more Shocker Kaijin will attack later.
"Special training is the best way to enhance our strength.
"But before that, I also want to determine who among us is the strongest."
"The strongest?"
Shimamura Ichiyo nodded and said,
"That's right.
"First, we need to have a deeper understanding of each other so that we can gain an advantage in future cooperation.
"Shiraishi Shin, do you want to participate?"
"I don't need to. I'll just be a spectator."
Shiraishi Shin refused; he was completely uninterested in this matter.
Shimamura Ichiyo didn't try to persuade him further and looked at the others, saying,
"Fair enough, you are already a Kamen Rider, and you have two sets of gear.
"Who else wants to opt out?"
Tanzaburo Tojima, Okada Yuriko, and Shimamura Mitsuba didn't say a word, clearly all wanting to participate.
Yukarisu, however, was somewhat reluctant.
Although she was a Shocker Combatman, she felt that everyone here was stronger than her.