"This is a bit interesting," Daichi mused to himself as he looked around the area he was walking in. "Now, I wonder why Beroba wanted to meet with me here."

"Icchy~"

That was definitely the insufferable nickname the sadistic woman bestowed him. He looked around trying to find the source of the voice.

And he found her, near one of the many traffic signs in the area.

"Now, why are we here?"

Beroba grinned.

"Aren't you the least bit curious where the person you detest the most live?"

There were a lot of people Daichi detested, and using it as a description hardly narrows the list of candidates down.

However, seeing as Beroba is aware of who this person is.

There's only one person who fits all the qualifications.

"Tycoon."

"What do you get out of it?"

"You're looking at the person who did their family a huge favor."

"A huge favor." Daichi frowned as he rummaged through his memories for anything related to Tycoon.

The last thing Daichi knew of Tycoon was the man's death at the hands of Buffa.

"Wasn't he just revived alongside Geats?" Daichi raised an eyebrow. "If Geats was revived, surely the person who wished for Geats's return wished for Tycoon as well."

If it was possible, Beroba's grin turned feral.

"Pupuuu!" Beroba giggled.

"You revived him," Daichi had all the puzzle pieces. "You used the goddess's powers to revive him."

"And we've got our winner!"

"Why?" Daichi couldn't help but ask. "For all intents and purposes, keeping him dead should be the most optimal decision to make."

"But, I was promised misery of the highest quality." Beroba stuck out her tongue.

"Then, what would you do if Tycoon, for all his faults, manages to put a stop to your schemes?"

"Tycoon?" Beroba asked as if her conversational partner was crazy. "That Tycoon, put a stop to me?"

"Yes?"

"Oh, you definitely have to see this." Beroba giggled.


If meeting outside their usual grounds was weird, coming up to an apartment complex and stopping in front of one of its apartments was strange, really strange.

Daichi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow once he read the apartment's nameplate.

"Why are we here?"

"Tycoon, I'm back!" Beroba ignored Daichi's query and instead announced her arrival.

"Back?!"

"This is a rare sight, normally you'd just slam the door open and walk right in," Tycoon opened the door, still unaware of Daichi's presence. "What's the occasion? You're finally using the Vision Drivers and wish for more misery for us?"

"What's this, you've gone pretty cynical, Tycoon." Daichi relayed his observation.

"Of course, you'd bring him here." Tycoon rolled his eyes.

"Don't ignore me."

The audacity of the Tanuki to ignore him.

"And I thought, sparrows can be easily ignored," Tycoon looked Daichi in the eye. "Fine, give me your ID core."

"Haah?!" Daichi glared at the command. "Give you my ID core, have you lost your mind?!"

"I knew I'd get first-hand entertainment if I brought you here, Icchy~" Beroba giggled

Beroba did something Daichi couldn't fathom; the woman gave her Raise Cartridge to Tycoon and went inside, without removing her boots.

"Wha-"

"What?"

"You just let her in," Daichi pointed at the entrance. "What?"

"And here I thought you were the smart one."

"Wha-"

"Oi, baa-san, why'd you recruit the sparrow for your team?" Tycoon yelled from the outside. "He seems to be slow at processing things." Tycoon had the audacity to call him slow.

"Why you-"

Tycoon's audacity to insult him was the final straw, he pulled his fist in an attempt to punch the other man.

Tycoon just caught Daichi's fist mid-swing and looked him in the eye.

"And I thought Buffa was the one based on a bull, you're even more of a bull than he is, Daichi-kun."

"You seem to have forgotten that I owe you for what you did, Tycoon."

"Couldn't care less," Tycoon rolled his eyes. "Give me your ID core so you can enter, even Buffa and Ace gave me their ID cores when they came for a visit."

"Buffa, came for- wha-"

"Were you really sure when you recruited this sparrow into your team, baa-san?"

"Hey, he came up with the plan to steal the Vision Driver, there's that." Beroba giggled from the inside. "Icchy~ just give him your ID core, you've seen me hand my Raise Cartridge earlier, so we can talk."

"Right," Tycoon nodded before he looked at the man by the door. "ID core?"

"Fine."

Daichi growled before he put the ID core on Tycoon's hand with so much force.

"Careful or you might crush your own ID core and break it and your wish of getting all knowledge would be forever out of reach."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I wouldn't, I'm not a bull."

Tycoon let Daichi in his apartment, but he made a quick note of where his ID core was placed.

He made a beeline towards the couch and was greeted by Beroba lazily lounging on the couch. She was sitting with a frog statue.

"We finally meet, Nadge-Sparrow."

"Wha-"

"Icchy~ meet Kekera, he's Tycoon's and Hakubi's supporter." Beroba gestured toward the frog statue

"I suppose you're his supporter too on top of Buffa, Beroba?" The voice, that's apparently from the frog, questioned.

"Technically, yes." Beroba giggled. "But I've only got my sights on Buffa."

"You know, there are more logical places for me to meet Tycoon's supporter, other than his home." Daichi pointed out.

"Boo~ Logical's boring." Beroba stuck out her tongue. "Now, let's plan things."

"Planning how to capitalize on our misery can wait, Berobaa-san." Tycoon called out as he got a knife and a chopping board out. "Wouldn't want to test the theory of whether the people from the future are fireproof or not."

"Wha-" Daichi looked at Tycoon with an incredulous expression. "What the fuck?!"

"That's a first." Tycoon merely raised an eyebrow. "No one's ever cursed after meeting who my squatters are."

"That's a – Are you saying that she invited me to your house so that we can plan your misery?"

"Have you met her?" Tycoon rolled his eyes. "Isuzu Daichi, the woman in front of you is Berobaa-san, Berobaa-san, the guy you just invited is Isuzu Daichi."

"Wha- What you're doing is illogical!"

"We participate in a reality show where the grand prize is a wish that can alter reality, how is that logical?"

"Tha-"

"Logic jumped out the window the moment the Desire Grand Prix entered this era."

"I need to sit…"

"Feel free, you are the squatter's guest after all."

Daichi couldn't fathom the exchange he just got. Tycoon was wholly aware that the people he's letting inside his apartment are planning for his demise, at the very least for his misery, and he lets them. There was no logical explanation for why the other man would just allow that.

"Are you really sure recruiting him to your faction was the best idea, Berobaa-san?" Tycoon voiced out. "He can't even process what's happening before him."

"Give him time," Beroba giggled. "He's not used to not knowing things."

"If you're sure." Tycoon merely shrugged. "So what will it be tonight?"

"How about some Fillet Mignon?"

"Getting awfully expensive with your food choices now, are we?" Tycoon raised an eyebrow.

"What's the use of that three million yen you got if you don't use it?" Beroba retorted before sticking out her tongue once more.

"Three Million?! Wha- Whe-Why-How?"

"I think you both broke him." The frog pointed out.

"And here I thought you were supposed to be the smartest among the current participants."

"Just answer the question!"

"Here's the summary, my supporter commissioned for my sister to join the Desire Royale in exchange for reviving me, he, in turn, commissioned Berobaa-san's assistance to grant me a second life, and now they're squatting in my apartment without paying for anything at all, but that somehow reached the administrators of the grand prix so I was given blank checks to withdraw at least one million yen from each blank check from their sponsors."

"Wha-"

"Here's the summa-"

"No I heard you, but still what?"

"It is what it is."

"And you're fine with everything? Them squatting in your apartment inviting who knows who – "

"They invited the guy who killed me."

"And you're okay with that?! What is wrong with you?!"

"What's wrong with me is that I died, how is that so hard to understand?" Tycoon sighed.

"Have to say, Tycoon, ever since you and your sister became blasé to everything that's happening, this is the most fun I've had," Beroba giggled. "And I thought Na-go seeing my presence here would have done the trick."

"Like I said, she revels in the suffering of others."

"Keiwa, I'm home!"

"Nee-chan, how was work." Tycoon greeted his sister.

"Same old, same old. Oh, the sparrow is here?" The older sister casually got inside the apartment and looked around lazily. "Invited by baa-san?"

"Right on the money," Tycoon grabbed his sister's coat and placed it on the hanger. "Sometimes I wonder if she really intends to watch our misery first hand or watch the misery of the people they invite."

"Rude!" Beroba pouted. "I wanted the suffering from you both, but you both chose to be blasé about everything."

"We gotta deal with the hand we're dealt with." Tycoon shrugged.

"So what'd they request this time?"

"Fillet mignon."

"Eh, I remember the first time you made Fillet Mignon!"

"Nee-chan! That came out burnt!"

"But you've improved since then! Since we finally have the money, I can't wait to taste your fillet mignon again." Hakubi patted her brother's shoulders before she looked at Daichi.

"Sparrow-san, I assume you know how to operate the TV, please entertain yourself before dinner and talk about anything else other than sabotaging us the next time we're called by the current game master."

"See, what I mean Icchy~, they do not react the way I want them to." Beroba pouted.

"Ha…" Daichi found the remote control for the TV and turned it on.


As everyone ate dinner at the very small table by the TV, Daichi started coughing.

"If you really do not like my cooking, you should have said so," Keiwa sighed. "All that food wasted on the ungrateful."

"What did you put on my plate?"

"Keiwa likes to experiment on how much chili he's going to put in a dish he's making," Sara shrugged. "Have to say, you went all out, Keiwa."

"Wanted to see if the future people can handle spicy food, and apparently, a certain Sparrow can't." Keiwa shrugged.

"Of course, I can't, you jerk!" Daichi growled. "A warning would have been nice."

"Why would I?" Keiwa raised an eyebrow. "Michinaga, Neon-chan, and Ace all ate without complaining about the number of chilies I put into their dishes."

"Keiwa, just give the sparrow some water, so we can finish eating."

"Have to say, Tycoon, I didn't know you had the propensity for misery yourself."

"Please don't make me out to be like you, I was simply experimenting if you people are affected by the spiciness of the food."

"Oh we are, we just designed ourselves to have high tolerance." Kekera chuckled.

"Figures." Keiwa rolled his eyes.

The spicy fillet mignon aside, Daichi had to admit that the dish he was eating was delicious. Tycoon might give a lot of chefs a run for their money if he pursued cookery or anything related.

Too bad, he has to die for my ideal world.

He and his sister will and Buffa will help me with that.

"Here's your water."

"What the fuck?! You're giving me water after you basically just poured my mouth with capsaicin?!"

"Do not yell, sheesh." Tycoon shook his head. "What do you want then?"

"An orange juice or some lemonade, it would help ease the pain."

Daichi's eyes were watering, he doesn't know how much he can hold out and have coherent thoughts with his mouth going hot like this.

"Fine."

Tycoon rummaged through the refrigerator and gave Daichi a small pack of orange juice, who immediately grabbed it, tore off the top, and basically poured the juice in his mouth.

"How savage…" Hakubi whispered under her breath.

"Could you all please stop making assumptions about me?" Daichi growled.

"It's not like you didn't make assumptions about me when we first met, right, Daichi-kun?" Keiwa continued eating his food.

"We were in a competition, I had to gain an advantage."

"In the end, it wasn't me, was it?"

"But you were supposed to be the easiest one to eliminate." Daichi retorted.

"I suppose that's true, Michinaga targeted me first before he went after Ace when he could just leave me alone to play hero and save the people being sacrificed."

"Oh no, Buffa had to kill you, Tycoon." Beroba giggled. "The game wouldn't have ended if either of you remained alive during the game."

"What about Neon-chan then?"

"Oh, she had forfeited after the bull-fight," Beroba ate another piece of her mignon. "There was no reason to go after her."

"Happy to know my death wasn't useless in the grand scheme of things." Tycoon merely shrugged.

"What the fuck is wrong with you people?!" Daichi yelled. "How can you talk about your death like it was a regular Tuesday?!"

"You're one to talk." Hakubi shook her head.

"Didn't baa-san invite you over so you can go over your plans on how to kill us both?" Tycoon raised an eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, you were allied with Michinaga, you're trying to see if he could eliminate us while you claim victory."

Daichi didn't have any words to fire back.

Tycoon was right, Beroba had wanted to meet with him to go over his plans of getting one over the other Riders.

Knowing Beroba, it probably had something to do with tormenting the siblings as she did with Na-go.

"This is a surprise, I didn't peg you to be observant, Tycoon," Daichi sat back down and continued eating the fillet mignon before him. "I had pegged you to be the most naïve person to have ever joined the Desire Grand Prix. Wishing for world peace AND reviving the people who were casualties in the DGP."

"And that makes him the ideal Kamen Rider." Kekera chuckled.

"Idealist and not naiveté." Hakubi pointed out. "Keiwa's an idealist and he's not naïve, he's not ignorant of how the world works."

"It's the most logical conclusion." Tycoon merely shrugged.

"Fair."


"Thanks for the food." Hakubi prayed before placing her plate on the sink.

Tycoon followed his sister's example and they both retired to their respective bedrooms.

"You can continue your discussion and we'll try not to eavesdrop."

"Seriously?!"

"Keep up with the program, sparrow-san, you're here to plan our demise in our house."

"I have to admit, I haven't had this much fun since I revealed the scoop with Na-go." Beroba giggled. "Maybe I'll even invite Archimedel here too, maybe that'll get a reaction from them."

"So long as he doesn't turn into a Jamato or brings a Jamato, I have no choice but to be fine with it." Tycoon sighed. "Once you're done, place all your plates on the sink and I'll wash them when you leave."

"They live here?!"

"They come and go as they please." Tycoon shrugged. "Well then, I'm off to my bed."