She was twenty-nine this year, almost thirty. Raven, on the other hand, seemed to be around twenty-five. Generally, men who were rich, handsome, and talented tended to prefer younger women. She was quite worried about this.
"How could I? I'm a man who loves older sisters the most." Raven spoke the absolute truth.
Before he transmigrated, he was always fascinated by the older sisters of the Kamen Riders. One could say that virtually every one of these sisters was a prime example—all very "smooth." Now, he had achieved one of his goals by claiming the "Silly Orange's" sister. It truly felt like a dream.
Hearing Raven's reply, Akira nodded in satisfaction and immediately put her heart at ease.
"Alright, it's getting very late. You should go back and rest early." Akira gave Raven a final light kiss and waved goodbye.
Raven felt a slight twinge of regret, having hoped to take things further. It seemed Akira was still a relatively conservative, traditional woman; even after establishing a relationship, she wouldn't rush into intimacy. Unlike Yuka, who was both proactive and uninhibited with the man she loved, he would have to take things one step at a time. Patience was key.
....
About a week passed. As incidents of Inves attacking people continued to ferment, some citizens began to blame the issue on the dance crews like Gaim and Baron who played the Lockseed game. They believed the attacking Inves were directly linked to them.
Meanwhile, at Yggdrasill, the injured Takatora, after advanced medical rescue, had awakened after being in a coma for two days. In the following days, he fully recovered his mobility and even volunteered to participate in the testing of the new Driver.
However, immediately after returning from the hospital, Takatora first gathered several of his subordinates to discuss the recent Inves attacks on citizens.
"Speaking of which, Takatora, are you really okay with your injuries? You could have discussed this with us from the hospital, couldn't you?" Ryoma asked, feigning concern.
"I'm fine, it was only a minor scratch," Takatora replied dismissively. In reality, the severity of the injury had been enough to send him to the brink of death. But he had no time to lie in a hospital bed.
He walked over, sat heavily on the sofa, and said with a grave tone, "So, citizens have finally become victims of the invasion."
"It's inevitable now that Helheim has been activated to this extent," Ryoma said. "After all, the frequency of the rifts is twelve times what it was last year."
"Should we blockade the danger zones and guide citizens to evacuate?" Takatora asked.
"It's not time yet. Since we haven't found a cure at the current stage of research, doing that would only cause panic," Ryoma interrupted. "We can only continue to conceal the situation and push the plan forward." He then turned to Sid on the side and asked, "Are all the preparations complete?"
"I suppose so." Sid's tone remained that of a fun-loving spectator.
Just then, DJ Sagara appeared before them as a holographic image. "Yo, are you finally ditching the street dance Riders?"
"That's right, DJ Sagara. Your work is done. Thank you for your hard work," Ryoma replied, turning to him. "We appreciate your assistance."
"It's nothing, but if you think the commotion will die down this easily, aren't you underestimating those kids a little?" DJ Sagara said.
"Is there anything to worry about?" Sid looked forward disdainfully. In his view, Gaim and the others were just children being played for fools by an adult like him.
"You distributed the Sengoku Drivers, and they're still in their hands. Will they really give up so easily?" Takatora stood up to leave.
"You don't need to worry about that. When children are disobedient, they need a good lesson," Ryoma said, looking at his departing back. "Right, Takatora?"
"Mmm," Takatora affirmed.
"Well... besides them, shouldn't you also be considering two other individuals?" DJ Sagara added.
He was referring to Oren and Raven, who were not part of the street dance Riders.
"Ah, we don't need to worry about Oren, but Raven is truly difficult to grasp and hard to provoke." Ryoma's eyes held a hint of complexity. "In any case, let's keep our focus on the kids for now."
DJ Sagara smiled playfully at this. He actually quite enjoyed running the radio program; after living for countless years, nothing was more interesting than finding ways to entertain himself. The current situation was too heavily skewed in favor of Yggdrasill, with Gaim and the others being completely suppressed. This was not conducive to a fair game, and he felt he needed to interfere a little.
....
After leaving, Takatora quickly found Oren at his patisserie. He decided to pay Oren to intervene, resolving the issue with the children like Gaim and retrieving the Drivers.
At the same time, Gaim and the others were being confronted by the families of the victims who had been attacked. They were blamed for attracting the monsters. Overnight, the reputation of the street dance Riders in the whole of Zawame City turned to ruin.
All of this was part of Yggdrasill's plan. They had initially arranged for Sid to distribute the Lockseeds and Drivers as a mysterious dealer to distance themselves from the issue. Now, Sid had closed his stall and was no longer appearing in the city. No one could trace the source of the Lockseeds and Drivers, so the blame naturally fell onto the street dance Riders who had been thoroughly duped.
Kouta, worried about the Inves attacking people everywhere, was constantly searching for rifts, to the point where he completely neglected his work at the shop. Even though his sister was now the manager, she was furious with him, but his new brother-in-law, Raven, managed to calm her down. Otherwise, Kouta would have surely been scolded when he got home.
"But I feel like it's becoming really dangerous for them to keep playing these games." Akira was still very worried. Zawame City had been unsettling lately, with a feeling that a great storm was brewing. She nestled into Raven's embrace, seeking a sense of safety.
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