"Sigh. See? I told you this world can't function without me."
Shiraha leaned against the window and tossed out the remark casually.
Even a little girl crying needed his help. Shiraha leaned against the window and glanced down idly.
Just watching the show is enough. Running down three flights of stairs just because some little girl is crying, then striking up a conversation... that'd be way too stupid.
The crying little figure looked somewhat familiar. Green eyes. Purple hair. He'd seen this girl's photo in the student files before, just hadn't gone looking for her before winter break.
Shiraha paused. Running down three flights of stairs because a little girl is crying to strike up a conversation... actually, that's not out of the question!
"Nee-chan, want to make a bet with me?"
"What kind of bet?"
Elysia shifted her legs. A child leaning on them wasn't heavy. But the little girl was already crying, did he really have time for betting right now?
"Let's bet on this." Shiraha lifted his chin slightly. "That in this era, I will become the new savior. The new chosen one. That every single person I'm approaching right now has exceptionally high Honkai adaptability, the kind of people who'll leave their names in this era."
Elysia blinked hazily. Had Shiraha finally been assimilated by Mei?
Why the sudden burst of chuunibyou?
No time left to be leisurely. Shiraha grabbed Nee-chan's arm and dashed out of the classroom. What if the kid stopped crying soon?!
"Nee-chan, really not going to bet with me?"
Shiraha weaved through the crowd, expression confident, steps light.
He naturally knew what Yuna looked like. He'd occasionally kept an eye on her last semester, just never made contact, winter break was approaching, and the Elysian Realm had clearly been more important.
"How do we bet?"
Elysia followed behind. The kid's legs moved fast; she was unhurried, drifting airily at his back.
Shiraha's voice was certain. "The bet is, that crying little girl down there. Her Honkai adaptability is far beyond normal!"
It couldn't be that bad, anyway. The sheer weight of having defeated Theresa twice spoke for itself. Her abilities might be a little underwhelming, but... more than enough to serve as a mid-tier pillar.
Elysia laughed. "That's an awful lot of confidence you've got there."
Logically, this was when she should be a little wary. But she and Shiraha were practically inseparable, she was his guardian spirit. She knew everything about him.
Shiraha definitely hadn't had any prior contact with that crying girl.
"Bet or not?"
"And the stakes?"
Stakes? Shiraha glanced back, sweeping his gaze up and down Nee-chan. What do you even have right now?
His voice was relaxed. "Just one small request. After all, I'm still young, can't exactly offer anything too solemn. Nee-chan, let me have this one."
The wager was set.
Shiraha's dash downstairs drew a bit of attention, but by now most people were used to it. They'd entered a new semester; the era of crowding outside the fourth-grade classroom to gawk at the weird kid had passed.
Downstairs, the crying little girl had already dried her tears now. In the Far East, you couldn't afford to be too weak. Even the worst things had to be spoken of lightly. That was an unwritten rule, more or less.
"Are you okay, classmate?"
Shiraha thought his opening line was decent enough. Even his smile wasn't too warm, it came across more as gentle. Like a stranger who just happened to be passing by, just happened to show concern.
But the girl he'd been watching for so long, Yuna, the moment she looked up and saw Shiraha, she instinctively stumbled two steps backward. In those green eyes flickered a split second of panic.
"N-No, I'm fine! Classmate."
With that curt reply, Yuna fled as if escaping, her small jogging silhouette vanishing around the corner in an instant.
Shiraha's smile stiffened a little. But Elysia-nee's smile was already spilling over, her bright, crisp laughter faintly stinging to the ear.
"The atmosphere in the Far East really is terrible."
Shiraha rubbed his cheeks, his expression helpless.
It seemed the "weird kid" label had indeed brought quite a few negative repercussions at school. He'd been so focused on raising Nee-chan's affection that his previous lone-wolf behavior had apparently blocked off a few other routes.
"Alright, alright. Don't be sad. Your Elysia-nee will treat you to ice cream."
Elysia's voice still carried traces of undissipated laughter. She crouched down and, with feigned tenderness, ruffled Shiraha's hair.
Shiraha blinked. "Nee-chan's treating me?"
Do you even have money?
Aside from using the power of Origin to alter the divine raiment on her own body, when had Nee-chan ever been able to touch reality?
Shiraha couldn't figure it out. But he nodded firmly anyway.
"Here. Follow me."
Elysia walked ahead, hands clasped behind her back, her steps light.
She had no money, of course.
But just a few minutes ago, while gazing at the scenery from upstairs, she'd not only spotted that crying little girl, she'd also found an abandoned ten-yen coin in a corner.
When Shiraha saw that bill, he couldn't quite tell if he was relieved or a little disappointed that Nee-chan hadn't managed to interact with reality further.
He picked up the money and looked at Nee-chan. Her starry eyes were sparkling, clearly a bit proud.
"Nee-chan really has picked up bad habits from me. I thought you'd remind me to turn this ten yen in to the teacher."
He didn't know whose money it was, but after waiting in place for about three minutes, he accepted it with a clear conscience.
Elysia blinked. Oh no. I was so focused on tending to Shiraha's mood that I completely forgot about the person who lost the money.
"Well, let's go buy that ice cream."
The world's currency and economy were largely unified. Ten yen had decent purchasing power. In the Far East, as long as you weren't buying fruit or vegetables, ten yen could even get you a pretty decent boxed lunch.
Elysia parted her red lips, starting and stopping several times.
"Don't worry too much. Sure, ten yen is a huge sum to a kid, but if it just sat here, who knows who might've picked it up."
Shiraha rummaged through his pockets. Not much money but as the adopted son of the Raiden family, he was never short on funds.
"I'll swap in another ten-yen bill and turn that one in to the teacher later. Though I doubt the teacher will make much of it either way."
He paused, looking at the slightly crumpled bill in his hand, the corner of his mouth curving up.
"As for this one, this is the money Nee-chan used to treat me to ice cream."
The ice cream wasn't expensive. Nee-chan really loved these sweet little things.
With class time approaching, Shiraha thought for a moment, then bought a bag of candy as well. Only then did he run to the teacher's office and hand over ten yen, saying he'd found it.
That was called "returning lost money."
He made it back to the classroom just as the bell rang. Mei sat quietly, watching Shiraha with a hint of scrutiny.
"Can't eat ice cream in class, Mei-nee. These are candies, I bought them for you."
Only then did Mei nod in satisfaction. This was the bond between the Raiden siblings.
Shiraha knew how to pick his allegiances. He also knew how to balance things. Whether he balanced them well was debatable, but at least for children, it ought to be enough or so Elysia thought.
"Where's my candy?"
Elysia asked offhandedly, her voice carrying a hint of matter-of-fact expectation.
Shiraha: ?