Rena rested her palm against her chin, her fingers spread across her smooth cheek as she looked at Daigo's empty seat.
Thinking of Daigo's abs the last time he took off his shirt, a faint blush crept across Rena's cheeks.
Some were lovestruck, while others had gone to train in the middle of the night. With the Command Room looking a little emptier than usual, Megumi couldn't help feeling that GUTS was still short-staffed.
She had no idea why, but the men on the team seemed to be getting more and more fond of working out.
Most of the time, Yazumi was the only one left, diligently monitoring the situation, though sometimes he'd slack off at work and play games.
Megumi let out a long sigh.
"Captain, there's an unusual magnetic field phenomenon in the MK209 area," Yazumi suddenly called out, poking his head in.
"Notify the vice-captain and the others at once." After giving the order, Megumi paused, then added, "Tell them to change into costumes that'll help them blend in with everyone before heading out to investigate."
Anyway, the order had been given. Rena hopped into Daigo's little car, and the two of them set off to investigate.
An Ultraman whose name shall remain undisclosed secretly sent another, more muscular Ultraman an invitation to fight monsters.
Then, after Daigo had changed, he drove to the area under investigation and immediately spotted the most eye-catching guy in the crowd.
While everyone else was dressed in scary costumes to frighten people, one person's outfit stood out in sharp contrast to those of the children around him.
Everyone else was relying on their costumes to look scary. He was making his costume look scary.
Daigo slapped a hand over his face. "What the heck is that guy doing?!"
The werewolf, surrounded by a crowd of little devils, spotted Daigo too and raised his muscular arm to greet him.
Rena's eyes widened. "Daigo, is that Zhou Hong?"
Cold sweat beaded on Daigo's forehead beneath his pumpkin mask. "I think so."
After parking in a nearby space, Daigo headed over to the werewolf.
Well, I've got a mask on. Nobody knows who I am. No need to panic.
Daigo studied Zhou Hong's costume closely.
He wore a fearsome wolf-head mask. His bare upper body was smeared with something resembling animal fur and covered in strange tattoos that gave off an intimidating vibe. A pair of ragged jeans and his bulging muscles completed the werewolf look.
If Daigo hadn't fought Zhou Hong countless times and recognized him, he would've thought this was a real werewolf, ready to tear people apart at any moment.
His rugged, powerful physique looked as if it held the strength to solve any problem.
Daigo waited until Zhou Hong had driven away group after group of children before approaching him.
"Zhou Hong, why are you dressed like that?" Daigo asked, wearing a pumpkin monster costume.
Zhou Hong sighed. "I was all set to go out in an Ultraman suit I'd ordered from Tsuburaya Productions."
At that, Daigo started sweating even more.
"It's Halloween, not a cosplay convention."
Wait, an Ultraman wearing an Ultraman suit out in public might actually be a pretty good disguise.
"But Grandma said I might have a better chance of meeting girls if I dressed like this, so here I am." His voice sounded hoarse beneath the werewolf mask.
"I think this'll make girls avoid you," Rena commented. "You look like an alien or a dangerous criminal."
"Maybe in the old days, you could've attracted a bunch of women like this. But these days, with monsters and aliens showing up all the time, people steer clear of them—even on Halloween," Rena said without mercy. "Grandma's information is outdated."
This time, sweat appeared on Zhou Hong's forehead. "So that's why. No wonder only a bunch of brats came over."
They probably thought he looked cool, and didn't know enough to be scared, so they'd just come right up to him.
Daigo couldn't see Zhou Hong's expression beneath the wolf mask, but he was surely feeling terribly dejected.
Daigo decided to drop the subject. They weren't here to have fun; they were on a mission to investigate the anomaly.
"Have you noticed anything unusual around here?"
The wolf's head bobbed up and down. "That old witch is the biggest problem."
A little cart piled high with enormous rainbow lollipops was surrounded by children, each of whom had taken one.
There was nothing unusual about it at all. In fact, it looked downright wholesome—if you ignored the old witch.
As an ordinary human, Rena couldn't see anything wrong. She asked curiously, "What's the matter?"
"A 500-gram lollipop costs about 500 yen. In the short time I've been here, this witch has given away nearly forty of them for free."
"And a few greedy brats came back more than once, but she didn't care. Does she think money grows on trees?"
Zhou Hong used a strange line of reasoning to explain why the witch seemed suspicious.
The cost was high, and the time was limited. Unless she was very wealthy, most people couldn't afford that—especially when she'd handed out so many in the short time Zhou Hong had been there.
"Now that you mention it, that does seem suspicious," Rena said with a nod, having spotted the key detail.
From that angle, it really was suspicious.
Daigo, who had a keen eye, noticed that the witch's reflection was missing from a decorative mirror nearby.
Before Daigo could make a move, the werewolf beside him let out a roar and charged toward the witch.
"Zhou Hong, don't act recklessly!" Daigo had barely shouted before he witnessed something bizarre.
The children, who had already gotten familiar with the scene, laughed and scattered in every direction. The witch tried to push her cart away as the werewolf charged, but the moment she took a step, his splayed fingers seized her by the crown of the head and slammed her to the ground.
He clenched his right hand into a fist and smashed it down on the witch's head. The force of the blow rang out twice with a dull, strangely satisfying sound, and the witch's legs kicked straight out.
A ring of children stood around them, licking their lollipops in bewilderment. Zhou Hong kicked the candy cart away.
Pumpkin-headed Daigo hurried to explain to the children, "This is a special Halloween game, kids. Don't be scared."
Daigo's stiff explanation made Rena catch on at once.
Rena had already taken over the witch's cart. In a sweet voice, she said, "Any kids who got scared can come get a second candy from big sister here!"
Compared to watching the commotion, getting more candy clearly mattered more to the children.
Seeing that Rena had successfully drawn the little ones' attention, Daigo let out a breath of relief and hurried over to Zhou Hong.
"Just in case, Daigo, call Obiko and ask him to come over too. Nighttime is when he's most in his element."
Obiko, the hardworking man who was always full of energy at night—you couldn't go wrong with him.
Let me recommend Starting Funeral: Ultra Brothers Come to See Off. I haven't read it; a buddy asked me to promote it. There'll probably be another update around nine.
Before you continue