...Her hair was scattered, and her eyes were filled with disdain.
And her smile became increasingly twisted, the corners of her mouth pulling up into an exaggerated arc.
ZZZT—
The sound of electric current buzzed around the bus stop. Li Wu looked back and saw the traffic lights flickering erratically. The radio waves nearby were being interfered with by the Herrscher of Thunder's magnetic field.
If this continued, a second outbreak of the Honkai was only a matter of time.
Once it erupted, the survivors among Nagazora City's tens of millions would be countable on one hand.
That was an outcome Li Wu could not accept.
Was his choice to save her wrong?
Should he have let Raiden Mei be killed? Was completing the mission objective the only correct choice?
No.
No regrets once the piece is played.
I have the ability to prevent this tragedy.
The Herrscher of Thunder is suitable because of me.
Li Wu understood this cause and effect very well—if saving Mei risked the destruction of Nagazora City, he had to take on the responsibility of a guardian and prevent Mei from losing control.
Li Wu prepared himself for a "Return" (death/reset).
He placed both hands heavily on Mei's shoulders, his face taut and his expression solemn.
"Mei, I..."
"Pfft..."
Mei raised a small hand to cover her mouth, unable to hold it back. Her laughter rang out, melodious as a silver bell.
A breeze blew past, and the red glow in Mei's pupils vanished rapidly, as if it had never been there.
She quickly reached out to brush away the hair on Li Wu's forehead, sticking out her tongue slightly. Her voice was sly and sweet: "I'm teasing you. Little Li's reaction is so interesting~ Didn't we make a promise earlier? Why did you change your mind?"
"If you want to marry me right now, that's okay too, you know~?"
Seeing Mei return to her original self, Li Wu let out a long sigh of relief.
"My promise still counts. Just now, I thought you..."
"Thought I was being influenced by the Herrscher personality~?" Mei smiled sweetly.
"Yeah." Li Wu nodded. "Your eyes turned red just now. That happens every time you use the Herrscher authority. I thought the Herrscher personality had seized your body."
"Little Li really cares about me. That's so nice! Don't worry, I won't cause trouble for Little Li. Look..."
Mei took a step forward, leaving less than a fist's distance between her and Li Wu. Feeling that wasn't enough, she took another step, pressing her body against his.
Then she stood on tiptoes, bringing her face right up to Li Wu's.
The cicadas in the distance chirped noisily—chirp chirp chirp. The sunlight shone clearly through the grid-patterned leaves, obscuring the names of many shops, and also obscuring the lips of the two that were about to merge.
The traffic on the road continued its cycle. The summer wind blew past, carrying a warm current. He couldn't tell if it was the scent of summer or the breath of the girl before him.
Mei's pupils shifted back and forth between her normal purple and the bewitching, blood-filled crimson.
Even when her eyes were flooded with that bloody glow, her smile remained brilliant and gentle, just like the summer breeze that had just swept by—warm, without a hint of violence.
"After waking up, a lot of the Herrscher authority remained."
"I can control the changes in my pupils freely. I just wanted to scare you a little just now. Who knew Little Li was such a coward~? But I've figured it out. Little Li, you're a scumbag. You hog all my good points but won't give me a title. Sigh... who asked me to like you? Even if you don't give me a title, even if you might like someone else, even if you might let me down in the future, I..."
Mei looked into Li Wu's eyes, revealing a small, evident smile.
"I can't let go of your hand anyway..."
"Tomorrow, the day after, next month, and every year in the future... I hope you can be by my side."
"Even if we quarrel, have conflicts, or argue when we're together later, we will definitely make up in the end. Little Li, walk this path with me, okay?"
Sunlight spilled through the gaps in the bus stop shelter. Mei's words were sincere and earnest, her eyes like a crumpled blue lake, ripples spreading one after another, trembling slightly.
Just like protagonists in a movie looking forward to the future, making solemn vows of eternal love during a cozy, relaxed moment.
Mei made a promise for every year of the future. It was light, yet heavy.
This was what Li Wu considered a perfect timeline.
At least, for now.
The crisis of the first act was resolved, Mei's personality was gradually becoming cheerful, and the Herrscher personality was suppressed, avoiding the birth of the Third Great Eruption.
Once Mei completely metamorphosed, the Third Great Eruption would effectively not exist.
It seemed perfect...
Aside from the missions issued by the System, he still had other things to face:
Like schoolwork, like today's lunch, and like... how to respond to the girl seeking "security" from him.
Every year, huh... Promises are things that only count the moment they are made.
Honestly, Li Wu had considered giving up many times in the beginning, but in the end, he chose to persist.
He didn't know what would happen in the future, or what choices he would make when that time came.
Mei's question seemed light and fluffy, but answering it directly felt oppressive.
"Is answering... that difficult?"
Seeing Li Wu delay his response, Mei spoke up proactively.
"I..."
"Shh..." Mei made a silencing gesture. "Little Li has really matured. Are you thinking about that person and that matter right now? Is that why you don't dare to make promises easily?"
Li Wu's eyelid twitched visibly.
Mei hit the mark.
His mind had drifted to Kiana, and the words he had said to her about "taking back promises."
For Kiana, who was trapped in a prison, whether the promise could be fulfilled didn't matter at all. What mattered was the fact that "someone made a promise to her."
If it were him, realizing that his future fate was destined to be a test subject, with countless researchers performing mad experiments on his body...
If someone confidently told him they would definitely help grant his wish...
Even knowing it was impossible, even knowing the other person knew nothing and was just speaking empty comfort, he still wouldn't be able to help but look at them one more time.
"Let's take it one step at a time. Schicksal isn't something we can contend with right now. Successfully making a deal with World Serpent and Kiana is already a miracle. I'm powerless regarding the rest. Let's go back to school first."
Kosma did owe him a request, but even so, Li Wu didn't think he could make other members of World Serpent watch Kosma fight Schicksal alone.
He wasn't an idiot.
A request won from a betting game hadn't reached that level of perversion yet.
Li Wu shook his head and walked into the campus first.
Mei followed closely behind.
Unlike before, upon seeing the two, the security guard at the school gate immediately and respectfully opened the gate. He even left his post to walk up to them, greeting them diligently: "Good morning, you two. Welcome back to Chiba Academy!"
There were two guards at the gate. The one who came up to greet them was one of them. In the past, if Mei and a commoner were late, he would open the gate, but he would toss out a few sarcastic remarks during the process.
The other guard stayed at his post, glanced at him and Mei, and then went back to focusing on his own business, remaining silent.
However, this was just the beginning.
The moment he walked into the campus, Li Wu deeply realized the gold content of the title "Young Miss of ME Corp."
"Good morning, Student Raiden!"
"Student Raiden, you didn't come to school yesterday? Did you run into some trouble? You can tell me; I'll solve it for you immediately!"
"Student Raiden, your hair looks beautiful. Can you recommend your shampoo? I want to use the same one as you!"
"Student Raiden..."
"Student Raiden..."
Many seemingly affectionate greetings came one after another, almost all from kindly, unfamiliar faces. Even those who didn't approach would smile warmly and show goodwill upon seeing Mei from a distance.
Most students at Chiba Academy were nobles, so they were exceptionally well-informed about major events in the Far East. The news of Raiden Ryoma's exoneration had likely already spread through the school.
It really was true...
When you succeed, the whole world is full of good people.
It was completely different from the situation where everyone shouted and cursed at her before.
Fortunately, Mei still remembered her former social etiquette. Faced with numerous nobles, she maintained a dignified and elegant posture, perfectly answering every greeting from the noble students.
She seemed to enjoy it, adapting extremely quickly. One couldn't imagine she was surrounded and insulted by a crowd at this very school just last time.
After all, these people had only been bystanders or opportunists. As for those who had actively carried out the bullying...
Li Wu listened quietly from the side.
Mei extracted the information from these people in a few words: those students had either dropped out, or if they stayed, they were now on the fringes of the social circle, ostracized or even bullied—exactly the same as Mei had been.
Heh, serves them right.
Li Wu wouldn't pity strangers. Even if they were driven to death, they brought it on themselves. It had nothing to do with him.
Just as Li Wu thought he and Mei would return to the classroom amidst everyone's enthusiastic fawning, a girl suddenly ran out of the crowd and stopped in front of him. Her eyes were panicked, her head lowered, looking erratic and twisting her hands nervously.
She had the face of a "background NPC."
"Li... Student Li Wu, I'm Sato Haruko from Class 7. I looked for you yesterday, but you weren't here. Tomorrow night, there's a mixer with the neighboring school. C-Can you come?"
The girl was extremely shy, stuttering as she spoke.
A mixer?
High schools have these things?
"A mixer? I don't really want to..."
"I'm sorry, Little Li is going to be with me tomorrow night, so he can't go. Could I trouble you not to run up to us and talk about these things in the future, okay, classmate?"
Mei interrupted Li Wu's answer directly. She hugged Li Wu's arm tighter, as if declaring sovereignty, and cleanly rejected this purely innocent mixer on his behalf.
"B-But, this mixer is very rare, very hard to get into. Most of the top students who tested into Chiba Academy..."
"I said, he isn't going. Do you understand?"
"I-I understand! I'm sorry to b-bother you!"
Facing a girl who was clearly a commoner just like her, Mei displayed a coldness she had never shown in public before. The light bursting from her eyes was as sharp as a knife, pressed straight against the other girl's neck.
Sato Haruko couldn't withstand the pressure. After apologizing, she fled in panic.
As she left, several noble girls nearby exchanged glances and discussed knowingly: "A mixer for commoners... she has the nerve to bring that up."
"Social climber. Student Li Wu belongs to Student Raiden. Who's so stupid as to try and poach him right in front of her face?"
"Maybe she was just curious? Haha..."
"Sato Haruko... oh, she and Sato Tano are the commoner sisters, right? I know that social butterfly. All day long she's looking for this guy or that guy. How does the school allow commoners like that to study at Chiba..."
Hearing everyone's discussion, Li Wu couldn't help but frown, his expression stiffening slightly.
He glanced into the crowd.
There weren't many people mocking her, but even so, for every distance that girl ran, there were people examining her with gazes that treated her like an object.
Li Wu hated that look. He hated it a lot.
"That is prejudice against commoners. There was no need to interrupt me." Li Wu suppressed the negative emotions surging in his heart. He assumed Mei spoke that way out of jealousy and thought he would find a chance to handle the situation properly later.
If not handled properly, that commoner girl could very likely become the second bullied "Raiden Mei."
As for the mixer... was it the kind from manga?
It didn't seem like it. Mixers in manga wouldn't exclude commoners, and it wouldn't happen so fast.
Li Wu shook his head, looking at the noisy ridicule emerging around them. His mood was terrible.
Li Wu turned his face sideways. Mei's pupils stagnated for two seconds.
"I didn't... okay, actually, a little bit. I just wanted to say there are better ways to solve it. That girl didn't mean anything by it. The students who got into Chiba on merit are basically all there. Asking if I wanted to go was considered good intentions."
"Then I'll go with you to apologize to her. I was indeed too abrupt about this. I don't know why, at that moment..." Mei paused, lowering her head. A red glow flashed in her eyes for an instant, and she held Li Wu's arm even tighter. "Seeing her talk to you, I got a little angry and spoke without thinking. Later, after we put our bags in the classroom, I'll prepare an apology gift properly!"
After speaking, Mei looked up at Li Wu with a somewhat aggrieved expression, waiting for an answer.
"No need for an apology gift. For people like us, gifts are too expensive. If she accepts it, she'll only feel indebted. Actually, a sincere apology is enough. Let me go alone. After all, she and I are of a similar status class. If I go alone, it will put less pressure on that classmate. After all, I don't have any background either."
Li Wu emphasized the last sentence. As he said it, he glanced at the noble children surrounding him and Mei, his eyes extremely calm.
Not noticing the change in Mei's pupils, Li Wu quickly formulated the most perfect solution in his mind.
This was a habit he had developed through multiple deaths and returns: Problem arises — Think of optimal solution — Wait for the right moment — Act efficiently.
Just as Li Wu finished speaking, Mei's pupils froze for two seconds.
Then, she quickly returned to normal. She gave a "Mmh," her gaze drifting gloomily in the direction the girl had left, and dragged Li Wu tighter as she walked toward the classroom.
Li Wu didn't refuse. Their relationship had already spread through the campus; it couldn't be washed clean anymore.
Even though he was still innocent and had never actively done "excessive things" with Mei.
Amidst the cluster of noble students, Li Wu, somewhat unaccustomed to it all, was dragged by Mei and arrived at the classroom before morning study began.
That person... was still sitting there...