Ultraman Arbitrary Key: Dawn Chapter 21

He always did his best when it came to his duties.

Beyond his responsibilities, he believed in doing less to make fewer mistakes, and doing nothing to make no mistakes.

If you want to learn, come and learn. If you don't want to learn, he won't force you. In short, life is full of dreams, and everyone should live their own wonderful life.

Mamoru Shirogane felt that Qi Ming was just going through the motions, a sign of his inaction, and that it could ruin a child's promising future.

He was seeking comfort and was passively slacking off, so he decided to help out more.

After getting the student's address from the dean, he went to find them, leaning on his cane.

"I'm truly sorry to trouble you," said Akio's mother upon seeing Mamoru Shirogane, just like the dean. She thought it was an overreaction for the captain of the Defense Team to get involved in such a minor matter.

Mamoru Shirogane replied, "This was originally a duty for one of my subordinates, but he's unavailable today, so I'll handle it."

Akio, who had confined himself to his room, became immediately excited upon seeing the captain of the Defense Team, whom he usually only saw on television.

The thirteen-year-old excitedly exclaimed, "Captain, you're the captain of the Defense Team, you must know which planet I came from!"

Mamoru Shirogane observed him carefully and confirmed that he was just an ordinary Earth boy. "Child, you are from Earth. You should be proud of that."

Akio refused to believe it. "No, I came from a planet other than Earth. Please tell me the truth, or I will be very upset."

His firm tone and gaze made Mamoru Shirogane doubt himself for a moment. Did I misjudge him?

He looked at the child again, seriously this time. He was indeed a genuine Earthling.

His words made Akio very dejected. "Captain Mamoru Shirogane doesn't understand my feelings at all. It's because you are from Earth, and I am an alien."

Upon hearing this, Mamoru Shirogane's expression became incredibly complex for a moment.

Akio continued, "I will return to my planet one day. My happiness is not on this Earth."

Hearing this, Mamoru Shirogane could only offer an awkward yet polite smile.

This child wasn't his team member, and he couldn't just slap him to snap him out of it. Besides, his eloquence was currently lacking...

It seemed he would have to let the eloquent Qi Ming handle this to help the child face reality.

Meanwhile, Qi Ming finished his two classes and waved goodbye to his reluctant students.

"Teacher, can we take a picture together?" asked a student wearing glasses, who was referred to as the "Doctor."

Qi Ming replied, "Of course, but you don't really need to 'take commemorative photos' right now."

"We haven't finished the content of this lesson, and your math teacher has also taken leave to visit relatives because someone is covering his classes."

"If a monster doesn't come out to destroy the city tomorrow, or if there are no aliens invading, I'll still come back to teach two more classes."

Since the lessons were already prepared, he might as well finish them.

As his words fell, thunderous applause erupted. The female students were as excited as if it were Christmas.

Qi Ming walked out of the classroom, and a group of female teachers who had been waiting for him at the corner of the hallway dared not make eye contact with him, only stealing glances.

"Go on, Teacher Kyoko, only you have a chance with him!"

"Win him over!"

Encouraged by the other teachers, Kyoko Aihara covered her face and walked up to Qi Ming.

She mentioned she had two tickets to Chris Maya's concert and asked if Qi Ming would like to go with her.

Chris Maya... is she the female singer from episode twenty-nine of "Ultraman Tiga," "Memories of a Blue Night"?

Qi Ming replied, "I'm sorry... the singer I like is Hatsune Miku."

A blunt refusal wouldn't be good, so he gave a reason that left the teachers stunned.

"Oh my god, this new teacher is into anime!"

Under the astonished gaze of the teachers, Qi Ming calmly walked away.

Upon returning to the TPC's maritime base, he lay on his bed and started browsing the news.

"It's good to be back here," Qi Ming sighed.

After the age of fourteen, he had rarely experienced any peace.

When he was at home, his father's colleagues and superiors would often bring their daughters or granddaughters to visit.

Then, "the adults would talk in the living room, and the children would play together in the room."

Play together, my foot. Do you even understand "Journey to the West 3"?

For Qi Ming, only when he went to archaeological sites with the old professor Sima Hui, or visited the sanatorium where the old British lord resided, could he enjoy tranquility.

And now, there was one more place far from the hustle and bustle – his room at the base.

Although the Defense Team had two female members, Nagi Saijo was like a block of ice, and member Emi was also very self-disciplined.

TPC was a quasi-military organization, so even if some female staff members were interested in him, they wouldn't follow him to the dormitory.

"This place does have some advantages," Qi Ming said, scrolling through the news on his phone. He noticed there had been quite a few disappearances recently.

It's starting again...

Soon, Mamoru Shirogane also returned to the base and came to find Qi Ming, telling him about the child named Akio.

The way he put it, Qi Ming recalled the child. This kid seemed to originate from the sixth episode of Ultraman Taro, "The Boy from the Planet," in his memories.

Qi Ming: "It's just chuunibyou a year early, don't worry about it."

In his memory, this child, just as the dean said, was simply fantasizing about being an alien to escape reality.

However, later on, he started believing his own nonsense and became obsessed.

Even when the monster released from the spaceship fired lasers at him, he yelled, "It's me, I'm Akio, I'm your partner, let me ride your UFO and take me to your planet," while telling Taro not to stop him.

He was practically looking for death and made Taro scramble.

In the original story, Taro put in a lot of effort to persuade him to change his mind.

But Taro came to Earth voluntarily with the passion to save it, whereas Qi Ming was passively brought into this world.

Mamoru Shirogane said seriously, "This child needs help."

Qi Ming: "There are plenty of people in the world who need help. For example, smoking is harmful to health, and drugs are legalized in America. Captain, why don't you go persuade them to quit for their health?"

Mamoru Shirogane was instantly speechless. After a long pause, he managed to blurt out, "We can't ignore the person in front of us. Yes, Qi Ming, you must be able to persuade him."

Qi Ming was speechless. Weren't Ultramen supposed to not interfere with human choices? Seven, why are you so persistent?

"Alright, I'll talk to the student tomorrow after class."

For the sake of peace and quiet, Qi Ming agreed, preparing to show the child the methods his own homeroom teachers had used when he was a student.

As a result, that night, something "magical" happened.