Stronger.
Hikari Aoi truly desired to become stronger.
The arrival of the Third Honkai Eruption might not be absolute. If he were to kill Raiden Mei beforehand—the one who possessed a Herrscher Core, the one destined to become a Herrscher—
Perhaps it could be prevented.
But Hikari Aoi would never do that.
To kill one innocent person in order to save many others?
He had no intention of solving such a foolish equation.
What he wanted—
Was strength.
The strength to survive the Third Honkai.
The strength to face it.
And even—
The strength to end it.
From the moment he realized this was the Honkai world, Hikari Aoi had not wasted a single second within the limits of his environment.
This was the Honkai world.
Its technology surpassed his previous understanding.
There should have been all kinds of novel foods and entertainment.
And his bank account—
Held more than enough money for him to indulge freely for quite some time.
But—
He did none of that.
Not to satisfy his appetite.
Not to indulge his curiosity.
To save time, Hikari Aoi didn't explore any of the unique delicacies of this world.
Nor did he simply resort to fast food.
Instead, he followed scientifically calculated nutritional needs, purchasing ingredients in bulk.
The meals he made—
Had no appeal.
No taste.
Sometimes even unpleasant.
Their only advantages were—
They required minimal cooking.
They could be stored for long periods.
And they provided sufficient nutrition.
He rejected invitations from the cute and beautiful girls of Tachikawa Academy.
Ignored their suggestive remarks of "just one night is enough—we won't make you take responsibility."
He had never even eaten in the highly praised school cafeteria.
After classes, he would immediately return to his dorm.
That path—
He had walked it countless times.
Without deviation.
Even now, Hikari Aoi had not fully explored Tachikawa Academy.
Nor had he ever, on a whim, entered any of the shopping malls, restaurants, or entertainment venues between the school and his dorm.
He went straight back.
To the dorm where he lived alone.
And trained his body using the most effective methods he could find online.
It was exhausting.
Even with a Stigmata, he would collapse into sleep the moment his scheduled bedtime arrived.
So exhausted that the next day, his body remained in recovery throughout the entire day—
Leaving him sluggish and drained.
Fortunately—
The teachers at Tachikawa Academy treated him with leniency.
They never scolded him for dozing off in class.
So from others' perspective—
Aside from being someone who slept a lot and seemed like a block of wood, incapable of understanding girls' feelings—
Hikari Aoi appeared mostly normal.
Training as an ordinary person—
No matter how hard he worked—
Would never grant him the power to fight the Honkai.
But Hikari Aoi knew—
That today's version of himself was slightly stronger than yesterday's.
And for that slight improvement—
He had abandoned everything unnecessary.
If not for the limitation of friendship points—
After confirming Raiden Mei's presence at Senba Academy and aligning the world's timeline with his memory—
He would have buried himself entirely in training.
Until the eve of the Honkai's outbreak.
Even his internship at ME Corp—
Was only to search for weapons or Titan mechs.
To increase his strength.
Unlike ordinary students who relaxed on weekends—
Hikari Aoi's weekends were even more exhausting than weekdays.
During school, he could at least recover under the teachers' leniency.
But at ME Corp—
There was no such luxury.
He couldn't just sleep in the office.
In pursuit of promotion.
In pursuit of valuable information—
He forced himself to give everything.
Unfortunately—
ME Corp had disappointed him.
Promotion in the short term was impossible.
And simply organizing documents—
No matter how well he performed—
Would never earn him real advancement.
As for the time after his internship—
Hikari Aoi dragged his still-fatigued body.
Yesterday, he had come to Senba Academy to find Raiden Mei.
Today—
He was sparring with her.
Thankfully—
They were using bamboo swords.
If they had been using real metal blades—
His exhausted state would have been exposed with every swing.
And after all of this—
Once he returned to his dorm—
He would continue training.
As long as his body wasn't injured, he would keep pushing himself.
He had already memorized all the methods to detect physical abnormalities, constantly monitoring his condition to avoid serious injuries.
As for minor aches, fatigue—
If those didn't exist—
How could it be called reaching one's limit?
Yes.
The limit.
Hikari Aoi had never once believed that obtaining Friendship Supply meant he now had enough power to face the Honkai.
He would not spend his remaining time leisurely.
He would push himself to the limit—
Within the time he had.
That way—
Even if he ultimately failed—
He would have no regrets.
Only the realization—
That he simply wasn't strong enough.
Now that he thought about it—
The joy he had felt earlier when coming to see Mei—
Wasn't just because he was about to meet a Valkyrie from his memories.
It was also—
His constantly strained body silently protesting.
Perhaps—
He should even thank those delinquent girls he had encountered earlier.
They had added a small variation to his otherwise monotonous week.
Was the Honkai world beautiful?
There were indeed many beautiful girls here.
But beyond that—
There was even more danger.
And tragedy.
At this moment—
Facing Raiden Mei, who was looking at him with probing eyes—
Hikari Aoi smiled.
A flawless smile.
"That's just my male pride acting up."
"I can't accept my swordsmanship being inferior to a delicate girl like you."
"…."
Mei stared at him for a long moment.
She couldn't find any flaw in his expression.
For a moment—
She even began to doubt whether the emotions she had sensed from his sword earlier were real.
She pressed her lips together.
Then smiled as well.
"I see."
"But I'm not that fragile, you know."
"Shall we continue?"
"…Yeah."
This time—
Mei felt a trace of joy in Hikari Aoi's sword.
Joy from his own improvement.
But—
This emotion only appeared after she had pointed things out.
How much of it was genuine?
She didn't know.