A Rider Doesn't Need a Youth Romantic Comedy [21]

In the cafeteria of Chiba Research Institute, Joseph and Rōma were enjoying their meal.

“This nero pasta tastes pretty good.”

Joseph stirred the black noodles on his plate with his fork, twisted them around a few times, then stuffed them into his mouth.

He then picked up the tequila beside him and took a sip.

Mmm, familiar taste.

“You’re not drinking?”

“No thanks. I’m still a student.”

Rōma waved off Joseph's invitation.

His alcohol tolerance had never been very good—even beer was something he wouldn't drink much of.

“Oh right, I forgot you’re underage here in Japan.”

Joseph smacked his palm in realization.

Even though he disliked Japan, it was still the country his daughter had married into.

So, Joseph had done some homework on it.

Incidentally, Joseph’s dislike of Japan was precisely because his daughter had married here.

“But aren’t you people from the Institute usually pretty busy?”

Joseph asked casually, black squid ink staining his lips.

In his eyes, going to school was too much trouble.

Being bossed around by teachers, no freedom to go anywhere.

Although his future self would consider school important, right now he still thought of it as nothing but a hassle.

“Usually, we are pretty busy, but I’m a special case.”

Rōma roughly understood Joseph’s meaning.

If he had to attend school regularly, his free time would indeed be limited.

There would probably be situations where school hours clashed with Institute missions.

“The Institute usually doesn’t assign missions to high-school or middle-school students. Not many get recruited in the first place.”

“I’m attending school now just to keep some people reassured.”

“In a while, I probably won’t go as often.”

If it wasn’t required, Rōma wouldn't exactly be eager to keep attending school.

The Institute was filled with talented people—way more interesting than school.

At that time, he'd just get the Site Director to pull a few strings.

“You sure are willful.”

“I don’t think you’re qualified to say that about me. I’m a good student.”

If Rōma was the kind of bad student who skipped school, Joseph had basically ceased being a student altogether.

Although Joseph's grades, especially in history, were very good under Erina’s guidance, this guy was the very definition of an American delinquent.

Attend class?

No such thing.

If he wasn’t skipping school, he was on the way to skipping school.

On that point, they might indeed share a few common views.

“All right then, good student, you should head back to do your homework.”

“The night belongs to adults.”

Joseph teased him.

Rōma rolled his eyes silently and just quickened his eating pace.

As a good student, Rōma figured silence was best at the moment.

“By the way, why did you join this Human Order Security Organization, anyway?”

Joseph drained the remaining liquor from his glass and looked curiously at Rōma.

If Joseph himself had joined involuntarily, what about Rōma?

Could it be he got too excited after getting his powers and exposed himself during experiments?

And then got forced to join?

Understandable, really—young people, after all.

He had indeed seen plenty of Stand users exploiting their abilities for personal gain.

“It’s a little different from what you might think.”

Recalling his situation at the beginning, Rōma explained:

“After I got my powers, I didn’t show them off openly. I only experimented when I was alone.”

“If it wasn’t for encountering a dangerous guy, I wouldn't even have transformed.”

Ultimately, there were few who could gain the power and immediately have the resolve to protect others.

When Rōma received his transformation belt, his first reaction wasn’t “I must save the world,” but rather “I have to lie low, make sure nobody finds out.”

He didn't dare gamble on every surveillance camera around conveniently breaking whenever he transformed.

Only protagonists could transform openly on the street without ever being caught.

Besides, there was also a practical issue—being a hero in the shadows, all criminals might fear you.

But in the open, you’d still worry about paying rent.

Maybe you'd even miss important exams from fighting crime, ruining your chance at university.

In the past, superheroes only had to worry about stopping criminals.

Nowadays, superheroes had much more to consider.

The contradiction between reality and ideals was becoming increasingly sharp.

Although some suggested making extra money while fighting crime, there were two problems with that.

Firstly, that was basically criminals robbing criminals. At heart, there wasn’t much difference—just the targets changed.

Secondly, how much money did people think anomalous organisms could possibly have?

But this became a non-issue once Rōma was recruited by the Institute.

The salary was decent enough.

“I see.”

Joseph nodded in understanding.

Finishing the last bite of his pasta, Joseph wiped his mouth casually.

“What are you planning to do next?”

“Going home to do homework.”

“I was just joking, you know.”

Joseph laughed awkwardly at Rōma’s earnestness.

It was just a casual joke.

“But I'm serious.”

Rōma stared back with dead-fish eyes.

He really was planning to go home and do homework.

Today, someone must have pissed off Hiratsuka-sensei, because she had assigned far more homework than usual.

“Fine then.”

Joseph scratched his head, suddenly experiencing a subtle feeling.

That crimson figure had left quite a strong impression on him.

And now, this guy was actually about to obediently go home to do homework.

How to put it?

Kind of funny?

“Pffft.”

“You’ve already laughed out loud.”

Ignoring Joseph’s inexplicable amusement, Rōma got up to leave.

He really needed to get home and finish that homework.

He did not want to face an angry Hiratsuka Shizuka.

“See you around, Rōma-kun.”

“Later.”

Joseph casually waved from his chair without any intention of standing up.

Rōma didn’t mind, grabbing his school bag and walking out.

When he arrived home, the door of the apartment next to his opened at the exact same moment.

“Oh, good evening, Rōma-senpai.”

A girl with dark purple hair stepped out, carrying a garbage bag.

From her expression, she was clearly unhappy about having to take out the trash at night.

But she had no choice—she’d lost a bet with her shameless father.

Aki Tomoya lived to the left of Rōma’s apartment.

On the right was this girl's home.

“Evening, Ryou.”

Narihisago Muku, fourteen, student at Sobu High’s affiliated middle school.

Her grades were outstanding—probably thanks to having a detective father and a gentle yet somewhat strict mother.

Without surprises, she’d eventually enroll in Sobu High as well.

But by then, Rōma would likely have moved on to university.

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T/N: uhhh i think this is the girl from ID:INVADED

This is a fan translation of 骑士不需要青春恋爱物语 by 青琮 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!