Although there had been a small interruption along the way, Hikari Aoi hadn't lost much time. By the time he arrived at Senba Academy, the last traces of the sunset were still glowing in the sky—it wasn't quite evening yet.
If this were considered a date, then Hikari Aoi would be the kind of man who arrived slightly early at the meeting place.
However—
To his surprise, Raiden Mei was already there.
She had arrived even earlier than him, sitting on the same bench as yesterday. Her outfit had changed slightly—compared to before, she now wore a thicker coat, as if she was prepared for a longer conversation.
"Have you been waiting long?"
Hikari Aoi's voice made Mei turn her head.
She had been spacing out and hadn't noticed him approaching like she had yesterday.
When she saw him, a gentle smile bloomed on her face.
"Not really. Since it's the weekend, I have more free time. I often sit here like this anyway."
"Just sitting here in a daze, letting time pass? Sounds kind of poetic. By the way… have you finished your homework?"
Hearing Hikari Aoi question her academic habits, Mei showed a slightly protesting expression.
"I always finish all my weekend homework on Friday."
"So diligent?"
"…Not really. It's just that, unlike other students, I don't go out with friends on weekends, so I have a lot of free time."
As she spoke, a fleeting trace of melancholy crossed Mei's face—
But she quickly concealed it, returning to that gentle smile that put others at ease.
"What about you? Besides being a student, you're also an intern at ME Corp, right? Running back and forth like this… don't you get tired?"
It seemed Mei was aware that Hikari Aoi had still gone to ME Corp today.
Hikari Aoi paused slightly, then replied:
"I'm planning to find an opportunity to resign from ME Corp. Since the internship just started, I can pass the opportunity to someone else at school."
"Eh?! Why?"
Mei's face showed obvious surprise.
Even though ME Corp's reputation had declined after the scandal, it was still one of the best workplaces in Nagazora City.
Why would Hikari Aoi want to quit?
Could it be that someone at ME Corp had made things difficult for him?
In the past, Mei could have used her status as the daughter of ME Corp's president to help him resolve such issues.
But now—
She could do very little.
She could only listen.
And she had already prepared herself to hear his troubles.
Yet his answer was completely unexpected.
"Because it's boring."
Hikari Aoi shrugged lightly.
"These past two days, they've had me organizing documents. Sounds meaningful, right? But when I actually looked at them, they were all pretty much the same."
"Either these documents are just something ME Corp uses to kill time for interns, or the company itself doesn't have much new work and is relying on past accumulation. Either way, it kills motivation."
"And today I asked about promotions—turns out they only apply after I graduate. That's three years from now."
"With that kind of pace, even if I worked there for ten years, I might still be organizing documents. If that really happens… I think I'd die."
"Die of boredom."
Hikari Aoi's words were half true, half false.
Hearing this, Mei didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She opened her mouth, unsure how to comfort him, and could only ask:
"Then… what do you think is interesting?"
"Interesting?"
Hikari Aoi smiled.
"Talking with you right now is interesting."
Was that… a confession?
Looking at Hikari Aoi's completely natural expression, Mei felt it probably wasn't.
And yet—
A faint blush still spread across her fair cheeks.
"Then… should I say thank you?"
"Haha, just joking."
Hikari Aoi waved it off.
"There's still plenty of time ahead. No one knows what might happen. I'm just a high school student right now—there's no need to spend all my weekends on internship work."
"Maybe one day, I'll prove my value in some other way, and ME Corp will beg me to join them in an important position."
"Or maybe one day, that ME Corp branch building will run into some kind of natural disaster and disappear from history altogether."
To Mei, both scenarios sounded extremely unlikely.
But with her gentle nature, she wouldn't contradict him at a moment like this.
Besides—
She had a small, quiet hope.
If Hikari Aoi quit his internship…
Would that mean he'd have more time to talk with her on weekends?
While Mei was lost in her thoughts, Hikari Aoi spoke again.
"By the way… what about you? Do you have any hobbies?"
Friendship points could only be obtained by interacting with Valkyries—or those destined to become Valkyries.
To maximize his gains, Hikari Aoi couldn't limit himself to meeting Mei only on weekends.
And judging from her loneliness—
She probably wouldn't mind.
Moreover—
"Hobbies?"
Mei thought for a moment.
"…When I was younger, I learned a sword style called Hokushin Itto-ryu. So I'm quite interested in swordsmanship. Even now, I still train regularly."
"Fortunately, once you reach a certain level, practicing swordsmanship doesn't necessarily require a partner."
There was a trace of loneliness in her words.
Hikari Aoi's eyes flickered.
Spending time with Mei was already enjoyable—
But if he could also improve his own strength…
That would be even better.
"I'm actually quite interested in swordsmanship as well."
"Of course, I don't mean to learn your Hokushin Itto-ryu without permission."
"But… if you ever need a training partner, someone who doesn't know much about swordsmanship but can at least take a beating—could I take on that role?"
"It's not that serious."
Mei let out a soft laugh.
"Hokushin Itto-ryu was taught to me by someone dressed as Homu when I was young. I still don't know who they were. And they never told me to keep it secret."
"If you want to learn… I can teach you."
"Then I'll be in your care, Instructor Raiden Mei."
"Fufu… no need to be so formal."
She looked at him, her voice softening slightly.
"You can just call me… Mei."