A Rider Doesn't Need a Youth Romantic Comedy [13]

“JOJO! What happened?!”

Inside the building, Lisa Lisa rushed out immediately upon hearing Joseph’s painful scream.

Her worry was obvious, but Joseph had no capacity left to pay her any mind.

What the hell is this?!

Clutching his head tightly, Joseph felt as if his skull was about to explode.

Scenes flashed through his mind one after another—

Caesar's death, Avdol's death, Iggy's death, Kakyoin's death, Polnareff's death.

And then, Jotaro's death. Jolyne's death.

These deaths had almost become Joseph’s nightmares. In the silent darkness of the night, regret and pain would quietly crawl into his heart, tearing it apart.

He was not a man who'd get trapped by the past, but the consecutive losses of his companions and family were an obstacle that even this cheerful man couldn't overcome.

He had learned about Josuke Higashikata’s existence early on, but he'd purposely avoided meeting him.

Because he didn't want the boy dragged into the world of Stand users.

But Josuke had awakened his Stand anyway.

These countless regrets, all exploding at the final moments of old Joseph’s life, were recklessly crammed into young Joseph’s head.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

With a scream, Joseph fell to his knees, plunging headfirst into the snow.

And then he went silent.

“JOJO!”

Lisa Lisa quickly knelt by his side, anxiously inspecting his body with Hamon.

Yet no matter how thoroughly she checked, all she found was that Joseph was completely fine.

In fact, the vigorous Hamon coursing through his body clearly indicated he was more than fine.

If not for knowing Joseph wouldn’t joke around at a moment like this, Lisa Lisa might've suspected this was another one of his pranks.

“I'm alright, Lisa Lisa-sensei.”

A somewhat subdued voice spoke up as Joseph slowly rose from the ground.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Lisa Lisa felt there was now an aura of aged weariness surrounding him.

It was as though his life had already reached its twilight.

His eyes were no longer playful, but calm and tempered by the long passage of time.

“I'm really damn reckless, aren’t I?”

Joseph muttered bitterly, tapping his head. That sense of elderly weariness receded a bit.

To cram so much stuff into my head at once—well, that’s me for you.

“Lisa Lisa-sensei, we'll talk later. We have to find Caesar first!”

Shaking his head vigorously, Joseph turned urgently towards Lisa Lisa.

Immediately, he took off with big strides, completely lacking any sense of calm.

Was it really just my imagination?
Lisa Lisa wondered as she followed behind him.

Although Joseph did seem a bit different, he certainly wasn’t aging prematurely.

In fact, Joseph was still his younger self.

The elderly Joseph had burned away his life, using [Hermit Purple] to pass his memories back to his younger self.

But that didn't mean the elderly Joseph himself had returned to the past.

Rather, it meant the young Joseph had received all the memories of his elderly self.

To the young Joseph, it was as if he’d just watched a film starring himself.

Meanwhile, at the mansion where Caesar was fighting—

“Take a good look around you!”

With blood trickling down from his forehead, Caesar pointed upwards.

Countless razor-sharp bubbles hovered in the air above them.

“The [Bubble Cutters] I released earlier have transformed into [Bubble Lenses].”

“The holes you've punched in the wall are now acting like camera shutters, letting the sunlight in!”

Perhaps sensing his impending victory, Caesar started explaining his tactics to Wamuu.

Bombarded by intense sunlight, Wamuu desperately extended tubes from his body, trying to form a wind barrier to escape certain doom.

“Not so fast!”

Already anticipating Wamuu’s intentions, Caesar jumped high into the air, aiming to deliver a final blow.

Yet in that instant, Wamuu spotted Caesar's opening!

Only a single moment—just a tiny blind spot.

But your own body has blocked the sunlight!

Wind rapidly condensed around his wrists again, Wamuu’s eyes ignited with unquenchable fighting spirit.

“[Fighting Technique: Divine Sandstorm]!”

“[Hermit Purple]!”

Two loud shouts rang out simultaneously.

Caesar, who should have been torn apart like a rag doll by the violent winds, was suddenly yanked away by some unseen force.

The Sandstorm laden with debris hit nothing but air.

“What?!”

“Oh my, that was close, Caesar-chan~”

Until the moment he landed safely, Caesar still hadn't grasped what had happened.

His mind was stuck in that instant when Wamuu counterattacked.

Just as he thought he was about to be swept away, something rope-like wrapped around his waist and pulled him clear of danger.

Joseph’s unmistakably frivolous voice came from behind him.

Turning around, Caesar saw Joseph standing there, grinning playfully while slightly out of breath.

In reality, Joseph wasn't nearly as relaxed as he appeared.

“JOJO, you—”

“This isn't the time to chat.”

Interrupting Caesar, Joseph turned his solemn gaze toward Wamuu.

The man before him was undoubtedly a respectable warrior—but Joseph had no intention of holding back because of that.

If anything, he would fight this opponent with every bit of strength he had.

A fierce battle was imminent.

...

At the same time, in Chiba Prefecture’s Research Institute branch, numerous Task Force members hurried around tensely.

Just moments ago, they'd detected an anomalous spatial fluctuation.

Based on past experiences, this was the prelude to the arrival of an entity from another dimension.

Regarding these interdimensional visitors whose attitudes, species, and threat levels were completely unknown, Chaldea didn't mind approaching the situation with utmost hostility.

This kind of thing alone was headache-inducing enough. But to make matters worse, the spatial anomaly had appeared near a special containment object.

To prevent unexpected situations, all Chaldea Research Institutes in Chiba had sprung into action.

Even off-duty investigators had been recalled urgently—including Makoto Rōma.

“Is it here?”

Following behind the Task Force members into a sealed-off street, Rōma asked with a deep frown.

He'd already changed into a combat suit specifically designed for the Mobile Task Force.

“Yeah. Prepare yourself.”

The squad leader of Chiba’s Base Four, Mobile Task Force Alpha-9 "Nine-Tailed Fox," replied while meticulously inspecting his gear again.

He'd already checked all his equipment before deployment, but you could never do something like this too many times.

After all, they weren't just facing ordinary monsters or beasts.

They were dealing with anomalies that ordinary humans could scarcely comprehend.

“Maintain standby positions upon arrival. Ensure communications remain online at all times.”

After briefly instructing via the comms on his shoulder, the leader resumed his usual quiet demeanor.

Beside him, Rōma stayed silent as well.

This was certainly not a situation where joking around was appropriate.

The surrounding atmosphere grew increasingly heavy and oppressive.

No one spoke. No one moved unnecessarily.

They all stood at their posts silently, like statues carved of stone, patiently awaiting whatever was coming.

---

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!