Responsibilities

"That's strange. Rainbows always appear after rain. I checked the weather forecast for the past few days, and there hasn't been any rain in the area at all." Mr. Masano, who was on a road trip with his family of four, looked up at the rainbow in the sky and muttered his doubts.

"Dad, don't worry about this. This is the first time I've ever seen a rainbow. I want to go under the rainbow and take a look." Sakuta, the youngest son, was sitting in the back seat, pulling on the back of the seat and urging his father to drive forward.

"Okay, okay, I understand." Masano still felt something was off, but he couldn't resist the child's anticipation, so he nodded, stepped on the gas, and sped off in the direction of the rainbow.

Just as the car was about to enter the rainbow-covered area, the car body suddenly passed through a thin, invisible membrane. A heavy, humid atmosphere hit us, and a sticky feeling clung to our skin, as strange as if we had been repeatedly licked by a cow's tongue.

"Is the air humidity here really that ridiculous?" Masano asked, puzzled. He raised his hand to bring up the car's navigation system to check the environmental parameters, but the screen only lit up briefly before going black and completely malfunctioning.

The eldest daughter in the back seat glanced at the rear of the car and immediately exclaimed in surprise. The rainbow in the sky had disappeared completely at some point, and a motorcycle was chasing closely behind, with the rider waving and signaling her to stop.

Hearing his daughter's reminder, Zhengye slowly stepped on the brake to slow down, and Yunyu, who had been chasing all the way, finally managed to get close to the car.

"It's dangerous ahead, stop the car quickly!" Yun Yu shouted loudly as the two cars were close enough.

The two vehicles were parked side by side in the middle of the mountain road. Yun Yu, leaning on the motorcycle, let out a long sigh of relief. Looking back, the eerie rainbow from before had vanished without a trace.

"Young man, what's going on up ahead?" Zhengye poked his head out and asked Yunyu for the reason.

Instead of directly pointing out the danger ahead, Yun Yu posed a question: "Think about it carefully, don't you realize that there's something strange about this rainbow itself?"

"Something's not right?" Masano thought back carefully for a moment, but couldn't detect anything unusual.

Mrs. Masano, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was already feeling uneasy. After Yun Yu's reminder, she immediately realized: "The order of the colors in this rainbow is completely reversed."

"That's right. Once we pass through this inverted rainbow, we'll step into an independent alternate dimension." Worried that the family wouldn't understand the spatial anomaly, Yun Yu gave a simple analogy: "It's similar to the Bermuda Triangle that everyone talks about. Any vehicle or aircraft that goes in is likely to encounter unpredictable accidents."

"But the bizarre rumors about the Bermuda Triangle have long been debunked." Masano found it hard to accept this illogical statement and subconsciously retorted.

Yun Yu didn't pay attention to his questioning and casually waved her hand: "I was just using an analogy. The core point is that we may encounter danger at any time while staying in this space."

"Then how can we leave here?" Upon hearing this, Masano panicked instantly.

"We'll most likely have to wait for the rainbow to reappear before we can find our way back." Yun Yu pointed to the airspace where the rainbow had appeared earlier. "I originally planned to stop you beforehand, but you were going too fast, and in the end, I got stuck here too."

Zheng Ye was stunned when he heard this. He had taken his family out for a relaxing vacation during the holiday, but who would have thought that he would encounter such a strange thing.

"Dad, it's all my fault for insisting on going to see the rainbow." Sakuta sensed the oppressive atmosphere around him and vaguely realized that his suggestion had caused trouble. He lowered his head timidly.

"It's alright, it's not your fault." Zheng Ye gently comforted his youngest son, then turned to look at Yun Yu seriously. "How did you discover the anomalies in this area?"

"I am a reporter from Xindu Daily, which belongs to the CEA system. When I was investigating the cases of missing tourists a while ago, I found that many of the missing people went completely missing after heading in the direction of the rainbow. Today I came here specifically to investigate on the spot."

In order to gain the family's trust, Yun Yu borrowed Su Mo's identity, and fearing that Mr. Zheng Ye would question her identity and cause trouble, she quickly told Zheng Ye to drive on.

During the journey, Masano remained skeptical until he saw the exposed bones in an abandoned car by the mountain road. Only then did he realize that what he was seeing could not be explained by conventional science.

Yun Yu led the way on her motorcycle, and Zheng Ye found a flat area to park the motorcycle. "This area has a wide field of vision, and if there is an emergency, it will be easy to drive away. Let's rest here for now and look for a way out when the rainbow appears tomorrow." Yun Yu locked Su Mo's motorcycle and got off.

He gestured for Masano to get out of the car to talk in detail. Masano repeatedly told his wife and two children to stay in the car and lock the doors, and not to get out of the car rashly no matter what noises came from outside.

With no cell phone signal in the middle of nowhere, calling the police for help was out of the question, and he remained somewhat wary of Yun Yu.

Masano nodded solemnly, taking note of her husband's instructions.

Yun Yu saw through Zheng Ye's guard at a glance. After putting herself in his shoes, she understood his concerns and didn't take it to heart.

"Do you have any extra food in your vehicle?"

  

"Food?" Zheng Ye hadn't expected that Yun Yu would be so concerned about food in their current situation.

"We'll be stuck here for at least a dozen hours, and we simply can't survive without food."

"Oh no, we've already finished all the food for our picnic at noon."

Yun Yu sighed helplessly: "Then we can only go into the mountains to search for wild fruits and vegetables before it gets dark. Make sure to tell your family not to get out of the car without permission."

With no other choice at the moment, Zheng Ye carefully instructed his wife and children in the car before following Yun Yu into the mountains to find food.

By the time the two returned carrying wild vegetables and fruits, night had completely enveloped the entire forest. Masano, who was in the carriage, finally felt relieved to see the two return safely.

Looking at Zheng Ye selecting ingredients beside her, Yun Yu exclaimed sincerely, "Mr. Zheng Ye, you are amazing! You can tell at a glance which wild vegetables and fruits are safe to eat."

Zheng Ye smiled shyly: "When I was young, I loved watching survival shows and even planned to experience it myself. That's how I learned these wilderness identification skills. I never expected they would come in handy today."

After picking wild fruits and vegetables together, Mr. Masano realized that the young man beside him had no ill intentions at all. In fact, he was like a little sun, making people want to get close to him and trust him.

After Mr. Masano took out a lighter and lunchbox from the car, lit the collected firewood, and cooked the wild vegetables, they ate together.

"These were all discovered by Mr. Masano. Mr. Masano's knowledge is truly extensive." Before eating, Yun Yu winked at Mr. Masano and then said with a sigh.

"Honey, you actually have this skill? How come I didn't know that before?" Masano covered her mouth in disbelief when she heard that her husband had collected these things.

"Dad is so amazing?" Even the two children couldn't help but be surprised when they heard this.

Hearing his wife's incredulous voice and seeing the children's surprised and admiring expressions, Mr. Masano scratched his head and said, "Oh, it's nothing, it's just basic common sense."

Then, when his family couldn't see him, he secretly gave Yunyu a thumbs up.

As night deepened and the temperature plummeted, the high humidity caused the two children to shiver slightly.

Yunyu handed her coat to the children and suggested they go to the car to rest. Both children went to the car, and Masano's wife, worried about them, also went to the car, leaving only Mr. Masano and Yunyu outside to keep watch.

Looking at the boy in front of him who had tried to warn them of the danger, Mr. Masano couldn't help but say, "I'm sorry to have troubled you today. You should go and rest in the car. I'll keep watch."

Yun Yu shook her head and decisively rejected Mr. Zheng Ye's suggestion, comforting him, "There's no such thing as being implicated. Even if I hadn't reminded you, I would have come in to investigate anyway."

There were clearly monsters in this place, and he would come in to investigate sooner or later, so he didn't take Mr. Masano's words about being implicated to heart.

"It's all thanks to you, Mr. Masano, because you know those wild vegetables and fruits that I was able to have such a hot meal." As if she felt the atmosphere was too dull, Yunyu smiled and thanked Mr. Masano instead.

I'm not mistaken, she really is like a little sun.

Thinking of this, Mr. Masano smiled and said, "I'm glad I could help you."

"Mr. Masano's ability to distinguish wild vegetables and fruits is so strong, has he experienced wilderness survival?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Masano paused for a moment, then looked up at the sky, as if seeing his younger self through the stars, his tone filled with wistfulness: "No, because after I did well in my studies, I met my current wife. I was afraid she would worry, so in the end I didn't tell anyone about it, and it just ended there."

It was this sentiment that opened Zheng Ye up completely, and he began to recount how much preparation he had made for wilderness survival when he was young.

Yun Yu listened quietly, nodding in agreement from time to time.

The two talked for a long time, until Mr. Masano seemed to have thought of something, and his previously impassioned tone suddenly became calm:

"Even after I got married and started a family, I would still occasionally feel restless, thinking that when I have free time in the future, I must fulfill the wish I had when I was young."

"Until my first child was born, such a tiny little bundle, who immediately grabbed my little finger upon birth."

At this point, Masano's eyes softened completely:

"At that moment, I instantly chickened out..."

When I was young, I was fearless. I always felt that life was short, only a few decades, and I could see all the scenery that others couldn't see. Even if I had an accident and lost my life, it wouldn't be a loss.

But when I saw my newborn baby holding my finger, and looked at my gentle and caring wife at home, I suddenly didn't dare to take the risk.

If something happens to me, what will happen to my children? What will happen to my wife? My once peaceful and happy family will be completely shattered.

"Then... will you regret it?" Yun Yu asked softly, "Regret getting married, regret giving up your dreams?"

But Masano answered without hesitation, "No regrets!"

This answer was completely unexpected by Yun Yu. Before Yun Yu could ask any further questions, Mr. Zheng Ye answered on his own:

"I have never regretted marrying my wife. For my wife and children, I am willing to do something dangerous."

At this point, Mr. Masano turned his head and smiled: "Young people your age often say that marriage is a grave, don't they? They say that marriage makes men lose their hobbies and interests, and that marriage brings men a burden."

But can a person really be bound by marriage?

In my opinion, what makes a person willingly put aside their rough edges, give up their passions, and take on a stable life is never marriage or that marriage certificate, but responsibility.

To avoid upsetting my loved one, to ensure my child grows up safely, and to safeguard the family's years together, all the sacrifices were made willingly.

"Responsibility?" Yun Yu repeated the word softly, her gaze fixed on the dark and deep forest, her heart slowly sinking.

He had always thought that his taking on the responsibility of transforming into Ultraman Sirius was merely a passive involvement in the crisis, and that he had just happened to possess the power of light, and had no choice but to step forward to fight the monster in order to prevent more people from being harmed.

But he never seemed to think deeply about what kind of weight this power he possessed carried.

Before Yun Yu could even ponder this further, he sensed a powerful energy fluctuation, which was likely a monster. So he decisively spoke to Mr. Zheng Ye.

"I just saw the car shaking. It's probably because the kids can't sleep without their father. Mr. Masano, why don't you go inside and keep them company for a while? I'll stay and keep watch."

Mr. Zhengye was about to refuse, saying that he wanted to keep watch with Yunyu, but when he thought that his wife and children would be afraid to stay in such an unfamiliar place, he hesitated.

But in the end, Mr. Masano still got back into the car, looking at Yun Yu through the car window. Yun Yu simply gave him an OK sign, indicating that Mr. Masano could rest assured.

After getting into the car, he found that neither his wife nor his two children were asleep. After comforting the three of them, the children quickly fell asleep, and he himself was so tired that his eyelids kept drooping, and he eventually fell into a deep sleep as well.

Only Yun Yu remained outside, clutching the Sylius Star Chart in her hand, ready for battle at any moment.

[Kids, I made it before 10 o'clock. Although there were only 91 paragraph comments, I thought about it and decided to update a 4000-word long chapter, which is about two chapters in order to maintain the continuity of the plot.]

So please give it a five-star rating for this 4000-word chapter.