The next few days were relatively calm. The only thing that caught people off guard was that Miyuki, as a student from Tokiwadai, started showing up at the club every noon and evening.
She'd arrive on time, and once she was there, she wouldn't leave, even when she didn't have anything to ask for help with.
Compared to Yuna's hollow gaze, Miyuki's eyes were much more eager, she seemed to be living happily.
But the atmosphere at home started to shift first.
"Don't worry, Little Shiraha, your Uncle Ryoma wouldn't steer you wrong." He laid down that preamble before getting to the point: "From now on, just keep an eye on Mei at school and stop her from getting caught up in these strange ideas."
Ryoma Raiden sounded quite exasperated as he said this. Miyuki's issue wasn't actually that serious, for someone like him, it was hardly worth mentioning.
But Mei couldn't just spend all her time thinking about vigilante justice. The Far East had laws, no matter what the social climate was like, the law still existed.
And with laws in place to maintain order, Mei's brand of "justice" often crossed the line.
The problem was, she really was trying to do the right thing.
Shiraha looked troubled. For a kid, helping an adult keep tabs on a friend was basically being a traitor and a snitch.
Ryoma Raiden clearly understood that too, softening his tone: "Shiraha, don't overthink it. Normally, when you come home and I ask what happened during the day, you wouldn't hide it from me, would you?"
Shiraha seemed to hesitate, who knows? After all, kids always had their own secrets.
"But…" He hesitated: "Our club's been really busy lately."
After all, Mei had gained some notoriety. Though it hadn't spread beyond the community, the nearby school districts were small, students talked, and word got around.
Ryoma Raiden's expression stiffened. He was already stressed enough about Mei playing the big sister every couple of days, and now it might happen even more often?
Shiraha paused, then thoughtfully offered: "But this is kind of a good thing, right? I mean, Uncle Ryoma only finds it troublesome and inefficient."
"Why not just change the school rules?"
"After all, you're a school board member, aren't you?"
Shiraha acted innocent and naive.
Ryoma Raiden sighed. It wasn't about changing the rules.
The most effective solution would be to ban students from different schools and grade levels from visiting each other.
You couldn't solve the problem, but you could solve the people causing it, though that wasn't exactly ideal.
"I'll see what I can do. Not sure how effective it'll be."
Ryoma Raiden sighed.
Shiraha's expression lit up: "I knew Uncle Ryoma, being such a good person, wouldn't refuse!"
Ryoma Raiden ruffled his hair roughly: "If you kids would just stay out of trouble at school, I wouldn't have such a headache."
Still, it wasn't all bad. Shiraha and Mei had been far too well-behaved for years, three or four years without causing any problems.
Now they were causing a bit more trouble, but compared to the days when they'd just say hello and run off to play, this wasn't so bad.
Shiraha let out a little "ehe" laugh, then said goodbye and headed upstairs. But before he left, he remembered something:
"But if the number of requests really drops, Mei-nee will probably want to get out and clear her head. She's been stressed lately, too many people coming to the club every day, and she's struggling to keep up."
"Uncle Ryoma, since Kiana's going to Siberia, can Mei-nee and I come along?"
His eyes sparkled with expectation.
Ryoma Raiden thought for a moment… why not.
"No!"
Siegfried shot it down immediately.
He pressed further: "What if there's a Schicksal strike team there?"
"I can get away with Kiana, even with Shiraha it's not a problem, but adding Mei? I don't have four hands!"
Ragna was strong, she'd become an A-rank Valkyrie even before armored suits were fully developed, and years ago she'd carried the upper echelon of Schicksal's combat power alongside Theresa.
But she was still only A-rank. Siegfried was confident he could beat her with one hand tied behind his back, but two hands? No way. Ragna wasn't alone, she had her own strike team.
Ryoma Raiden hesitated for a long time: "I've been wondering about this for a while, if a Schicksal strike team really finds you, are you going there to repay a kindness, or to settle a score?"
Siegfried: …
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Wait Ryoma Raiden, did you learn this from Shiraha?
When did you get so sharp-tongued?
Siegfried sighed: "When I was wandering, little Kiana was the one who received most of the kindness. That's why I want to take her. And I think my stealth skills are still decent."
Ryoma Raiden said nothing, you?
"Ugh!" Siegfried scratched his head in frustration: "Fine, come along. If your daughter ends up suffering out there, don't blame me. It's just a strike team, can they survive a single Divine Liberation?"
He couldn't win with both hands tied, but he'd just take them out first!
Tacit understanding? They were going after kids, why should he play by the rules?
As for the Far East, Ryoma Raiden planned to change the school rules while Mei was away, and quietly phase out this whole trending activity. While she wasn't there.
It was exhausting to think about, but seeing his daughter so full of justice, with decent leadership skills, able to bring together Shiraha, Kiana, Yuna, and the others, it was somewhat gratifying.
At dinner, Siegfried brought it up directly: "Kid, how about coming to Siberia with me in a few days to experience some real life?"
Let the kid toughen up a bit. Spending all his time in comfort would only spoil him rotten.
Anti-Entropy was too soft on kids. With talent like Shiraha's, he shouldn't just be going to school.
He should train, like him, train at watching TV, fighting, boasting, fall in love when the time came, become an S-rank at fifteen or sixteen, and start saving the world.
Never mind Mei, Siegfried truly believed Shiraha was more suited to saving the world than he was. Not because of personality, but purely because of talent.
But in the Far East, Shiraha was too immersed in comfort—oh, and in Anti-Entropy's view, kids should just grow up happily anyway.
Shiraha put on a show of hesitation.
Siegfried understood immediately: "Your Mei-nee is coming too, don't worry, you won't be separated."
He didn't want to comment on kids' relationships, there was a saying about "seeing the future in childhood," but he refused to think about it.
Thinking about it gave him a headache.
Mei paused, put down her chopsticks, and said seriously: "I refuse. My career is booming, I don't have time to go play in Siberia!"
Though she really had been busy lately, sometimes so busy she felt dizzy, the feeling of everyone needing and expecting her was… super cool!
"I'll handle things on your end." Ryoma Raiden chimed in at just the right moment: "I'll work on it from the school rules angle. Handling things one by one is too slow."
If he waited until Mei graduated, she might never finish.
Still, it did have a deterrent effect, people now knew that the seemingly delicate girl could throw someone six meters with a single over-the-shoulder throw. And that wasn't just about the pain.
Raiden Mei's heart ached, but compared to her own fame, changing the school rules was clearly more important.
"Fine."
She lowered her head. As for Siberia…
She had to see it, that was where Shiraha and Kiana had first met. Shiraha had even told her that Kiana had seemed especially shy, introverted, and cute there.
Hmph Shiraha's brains must be scrambled. Where exactly was Kiana shy, introverted, or cute?
Ahem. Mei quickly straightened up, putting on a mature look: "Thank you, Uncle Siegfried."
Siegfried: ….
Setting Siegfried aside, whether it was Kiana, Shiraha, or Mei, they were all clearly looking forward to the trip to Siberia.
Kiana was looking forward to asking about the past on that land. Shiraha… was thinking about someone he'd almost forgotten, a girl whose DPS wasn't high or low, but who could be considered a low-budget version of Rin.
Bronya.
They weren't leaving today.
The next day, while handling matters, Mei spread the news that the school rules were about to change.
Many people sighed: it must be nice being a young lady.
Some were jealous, but Mei's personality wasn't the type to make people dislike her.
Yuna sat in the corner, holding her textbook, her gaze distant.
They were going to be apart.
Even if it was only for a few days, she still felt a little sad.
"Yuna." Mei's expression was serious: "While I'm gone, the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Youth Training Camp will be in your hands."
As the club president, Mei chose to trust her members.
Shiraha chimed in: "Yeah, Yuna, right now, this club can only rely on you."
"As for Rin-nee… she won't be coming either, but she's still not fully familiar with this era. I'll need you to look after her at the club too."
Yae Sakura: ….
She couldn't come along?
Shiraha thought for a moment, forcefully suppressing his anticipation, and pulled out the little fox: "Rin-nee, this is your fox, I won't take her with me these next few days."
It would actually be better to bring Rin, but Shiraha needed Yae Sakura to speak up herself.
Rin was held aloft in both hands. Yae Sakura exchanged a glance with her, lowered her gaze, and said gently: "Take her with you, she seems to like you."
She had no choice but to be gentle. She'd finally decided to truly integrate into this era, but her existence was too unusual. Yae Sakura wasn't even sure how long she could last without Rin, or whether she'd be forced to follow her wherever she went.
Sigh. But technology was advancing. She'd been looking into Anti-Entropy's tech lately, and it seemed possible that she might one day separate from the fox spirit…
Once she was free, Yae Sakura planned to find an opportunity to reveal everything, then seal the fox spirit again, though the fox spirit was pitiful too. Maybe she'd seal her into her own body. She'd heard that was called a Stigma?
Putting aside Yae Sakura's ambitious thoughts, Shiraha's expression lit up: "Then I'll gladly accept, I really do love this little fox."
Setting aside DPS for now, Rin's mechanics in this technologically advanced era were simply too overpowered.
Even if she went to the Elysian Realm, its current state and relationships might not be able to handle the Herrscher of Corruption, it was hard not to appreciate her strength.
And that sentence was interpreted by Rin as a surge of genuine affection.
That's normal, kids just love cute animals.
Mei spent the last two days at school tying up loose ends, mostly small matters among the kids, and then it was Saturday.
"Why are we leaving on Saturday?"
Siegfried said frankly: "I wanted you to have as many school days as possible."
Shiraha: …..
You're terrible.
The journey to Siberia was a bit roundabout. On the first day, they took a ship to Shenzhou.
The sights of Shenzhou made Shiraha feel a little nostalgic, though unfortunately, in 2010, he'd never actually been to the coast, so he had no idea if this was what it should look like.
After that, they traveled onward to Siberia. The train kept swaying. Siegfried frowned: "Did you kids let something slip at school? I keep feeling like we're being watched."
Mei was sitting on her bunk, playing cards with Shiraha and Kiana.
At that, she furrowed her little brow: "I only told Yuna and Rin-nee that we were leaving, they'd never leak it."
At least Yuna's personality wouldn't, she was too afraid of being isolated.
Shiraha glanced at his hand, then at the little strips of paper stuck to Mei's face, and said gently: "I'm done, my chest feels tight. I'm going out for some air."
He was never playing cards with Kiana again.
Before leaving, he looked at Siegfried and said helplessly: "Un~cle, I think anyone passing by would stare at us."
After all, Siegfried was traveling alone with three kids of different hair colors, it'd be a miracle if no one reported him for kidnapping.
Two minutes later, Shiraha sat in the aisle seat of the train. Cross-border trains weren't overly crowded, nowhere near packed.
His Nee-chan had her spot too. She leaned by the window, her slender arm resting just above her forehead, long hair spilling over her shoulders, gently swaying with the train's motion.
"It feels like things here really have gotten a lot better."
Her voice was soft, tinged with contentment.
Shiraha smiled: "Thanks to the Herrscher of Origin's selfless contribution."
Though he'd been really worried back then, there was no need to show that now.
He wasn't scared (for real)!
He quietly rested his head on the small table, watching his Nee-chan by the window, her gaze shimmering.
She seemed to love this world he'd helped transform, a place that should have been nothing but ice and snow, yet now stubbornly full of life. The frozen soil had come alive, with tiny green shoots poking through the snow.
She watched, her lips curving unconsciously, her eyes bright and full of grace, radiant.
Shiraha was quiet for a moment. Though he hated to break the mood, he spoke up: "Nee-chan.... I actually came here to do something."