Bronya's gaze locked onto Shiraha without wavering. Grey Serpent had crafted a perfect persona for her.
A Siberian mercenary, chasing the boy all the way here, this role would give her plenty of leeway when interacting with Shiraha.
As for Shiraha himself, Grey Serpent had considered the mysterious Elysia and figured she'd understand.
The classroom fell quiet for a moment. Shiraha had always been in a peculiar position in class, he was good-looking, but in the Far East, if you didn't fit into the social atmosphere, no matter how handsome you were, you'd just be labeled eccentric.
Especially since Shiraha was genuinely "different."
The teacher was silent for a moment, a genuine pause, then pointed to the back. "There's an empty seat in the back, Bronya. Pick whichever you like."
There was no seat next to Shiraha.
His left was by the window, his right was Mei, behind him was Kiana dozing off, and to his right behind was Yuna, Mei's shadow and the quietest member of the club.
Bronya scanned the room, then made a beeline for the back, locking onto Kiana.
She tapped the desk lightly. Kiana jolted awake, her eyes still dazed. "I wasn't sleeping, teacher—I was just resting my head during break."
Bronya: ….
The teacher wasn't even nearby. Though Kiana's situation was special, someone always tutored her before exams, Shiraha had developed a highly efficient cramming method for her.
She'd pass, and while she didn't pull the average up much, Shiraha and Fu Hua could compensate for it.
Bronya composed herself, putting on a slightly fragile demeanor. "Kiana, would you mind swapping seats with me?"
Kiana: ?
She looked around, confused. "Why?"
Bronya's voice was soft, though still a little deadpan. "I have some things I need to ask Shiraha."
"Then take it, it's no big deal." Kiana waved dismissively.
She had no idea what the shorty wanted with Shiraha, but it was probably related to Siberia. Come to think of it, why had she transferred here?
Before she could finish, Bronya had already picked up Kiana's desk.
Kiana: ?
"W-wait!"
But it was too late. Before Kiana could fully wake up, Bronya had carried the desk smoothly to another empty spot in the back row, clean and efficient.
For money, she had no shame. She had performance targets at school.
For money, Bronya could do anything…
Shiraha leaned by the window. Elysia, out of habit, wrapped her arms loosely around his waist, there was a height difference between the window and the seat, so that was as high as she could reach.
"This girl… is a little too direct."
Elysia probably understood why Bronya was here, Shiraha had never hidden much from her.
But Grey Serpent, are you sure this girl can fool Rin?
Shiraha pressed his lips together. "Decisive and efficient!"
Elysia glanced at him. "Here we go again with your 'chosen by fate' talk."
Anyone he met and chose would become someone extraordinary.
Sigh. Sometimes Elysia felt Shiraha just liked girls who were pretty.
That was normal, Elysia often thought the same way.
But Shiraha didn't seem to care solely about looks. Sometimes Elysia would notice a girl who caught her eye, and Shiraha would barely glance at her.
On this one thing, Shiraha could proudly lift his head. "That's right, I believe Bronya will definitely board the ship of the new era, and even help us build it."
At the back of the room, Bronya had already arranged her desk.
She turned to the still-stunned Kiana, her expression serious. "Kiana-senpai, you just agreed to let me sit here."
Her biological age might not have been younger than Kiana's, but she'd grown up step by step, whereas Kiana's age aligned with the original Kiana, born in '98.
Kiana's face flushed. She didn't mind swapping seats, but she hated being deceived. It made her feel stupid.
Bronya paused. "As compensation, Kiana, how about I introduce you to a café part-time job? I work there now, and the pay is good."
Bronya was the one who truly wanted to make money. Her parents had passed early, her uncle was seriously ill, the weight of her broken family was all on her small shoulders.
Kiana shook her head, unusually solemn. "This is about trust between people, it's not about work."
She needed to make this shorty understand that some things couldn't be measured in money.
Bronya cut in. "Hourly rate, 26 currency."
Kiana: ….
Her delicate face froze for a moment. She bit her lip, her expression shifting, but eventually she let out a laugh.
"…N-no next time."
The Far East was relatively prosperous thanks to ME Corp, but under the unified currency, normal wages were around 8–14 currency per hour.
Bronya was offering her a 26-currency-an-hour job at a café, which didn't sound hard at all. Kiana bit her lip again, fine, she could have the seat.
The seat didn't matter. Making money was what mattered.
The teacher watched the scene silently, then tapped the blackboard. "Everyone, back to your seats. We're having a pop quiz… Bronya, since you just arrived, don't worry too much about it."
Bronya nodded obediently, completely different from her earlier lively self.
As for not worrying? No way.
After negotiating with Grey Serpent, she'd secured bonuses based on her class rank.
If she did well academically, everything else would be easier. She'd not only excel in grades, but also get perfect scores in PE, and keep up with all of Shiraha's activities.
All these goals came with rewards.
Like passes.
Shiraha glanced at Bronya again. She caught his gaze and smiled softly. "I finally get to see you again, Shiraha."
Shiraha: ….
Elysia: ….
Rin: ….
Rin was curled up in his bag, her little head poking out through the zipper. She was the most confused, but also the quickest to accept it, since she didn't know anything about Shiraha's past.
Shiraha sighed softly. "I was so scared when I saw you in Siberia, I never expected you to end up there. I'm glad you're back now."
Rin nodded to herself, what a rich life story!
This gray-haired shorty wasn't bad at all!
Bronya's expression didn't change as she took the test paper Shiraha handed her. "But it's okay, we were bound to meet again. We will meet again."
She pointed at the paper. "Let's finish the test first. I really don't want to lose this peaceful life."
First, secure the bonuses within reach, then slowly fulfill the long-term tasks and earn the steady pay.
Shiraha gave an "mm" and cheerfully started working on the test. Middle-school material wasn't hard for him, he often aimed for perfect scores across all subjects, including Japanese.
Elysia glanced at Bronya, at the restless Mei, and at Yuna, who kept sneaking glances their way. She sighed.
"World Serpent."
Compared to the others, Bronya was probably the least worrisome.
And since Bronya represented World Serpent, she might even be on their side!
Fu Hua also glanced over, full of questions, wasn't Shiraha an orphan? How did he know a girl who was clearly Russian?
But for now, studying came first. Fu Hua didn't have many defining traits, after failing to steal Yuna's niche, she was left with just "good student who works part-time."
The test itself was uneventful. When Bronya confidently finished her paper, she noticed Shiraha already leaning by the window, muttering to himself.
Probably talking to the Sovereign, that was what she'd been trained to assume.
But that was fine. Shiraha, as someone so closely watched, just needed to live happily and not interfere with her money-making.
By the time school let out, Bronya had confidently submitted all her papers and was ready to claim her first bonus tomorrow.
"So, after school, you just called Kiana to go work and came straight back?"
Grey Serpent slowly typed out a question mark.
Bronya answered matter-of-factly. "Yeah. I can't exactly go home with him after school, can I? No matter how good the persona, his family would get suspicious."
Grey Serpent: ….
"Sigh.... do you know what a club is?"
"Club?" Bronya blinked. "Like those groups of people in black suits?"
She might know a little, retired veterans like Maxim often joined such clubs. But in Siberia, they usually operated like a PMC.
Grey Serpent was quiet for a moment, then let out a resigned laugh.
"I didn't explain clearly, you need to find a way to join the club founded by Raiden Mei."
Bronya frowned slightly. "But I have a café job."
Grey Serpent's voice was calm. "Quit it."
Bronya paused, reluctant but decisive. "Understood."
She knew it, there was no such thing as easy money. High pay meant high workload.
After a moment, she asked, "Any other tasks for now?"
"Your current task is to integrate with them."
Grey Serpent added, "You don't need to know the rest yet."
He'd handle the later tasks, probably related to summer or winter camps. For this kind of elite integrated school, such dreamy activities did exist.
After saying that, Grey Serpent left. He missed Raven, Bronya had too many of her own ideas; she wasn't as easy to handle as Raven.
Meanwhile, at the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Youth Training Camp…
Faced with Mei's questioning, Shiraha had a theory that was both unreasonable and impossible for him to fully explain.
In truth, he didn't need a perfect excuse, he'd been adopted at six years old. Even if there were issues with Bronya's identity, the suspicion would never fall on him.
Shiraha's past could absolutely withstand scrutiny.
"I don't know, but I have seen Bronya before. In Siberia, I pointed her out because she looked vaguely familiar."
Shiraha wasn't lying. He had seen her before, and she did look somewhat familiar in Siberia.
Even Rin couldn't find fault with that. The problem was the next sentence.
"I just don't understand why she was in Siberia."
That was a lie, but given the apparent joy of their reunion, it probably seemed like some childhood circumstance beyond their control.
Mei was skeptical. "But she seemed so familiar with you."
Shiraha shook his head. "Mei-nee, why not just ask her tomorrow? I'm sure she doesn't really know much about me."
"And besides, like today, her first choice was to go work with Kiana, not catch up with me." Shiraha's voice was light. "Isn't that right?"
If he had to choose between Bronya and Mei, Shiraha wouldn't hesitate to drop Bronya, she wasn't on the same level, at least financially.
Mei thought about it, true, Bronya wasn't even as eager as Miyuki.
She just kept rubbing her hands together, feeling the familiar static at her fingertips.
Mei turned to Yuna. "Before the break this year, Yuna, you have to study hard."
Yuna nodded obediently as always.
Mei emphasized, "You really have to study hard, at least get into the top ten of the grade."
Shiraha gave Mei a curious look, but she was being mysterious and didn't explain.
"We'll start a study group soon, no, starting tomorrow, we'll have one every day."
Mei declared again.
Shiraha blinked. He had a feeling he'd be crossing paths with a certain workaholic again.
And he was right.
After club activities, Mei excitedly dragged Shiraha outside the school.
"This year, all our grades have to improve, Shiraha, you can't slip either."
"Why?"
Shiraha didn't understand.
Mei kept being mysterious. "You'll find out in a few days."
"But for now, we should pick a place to have tea, somewhere quiet."
Shiraha was puzzled. "Isn't the club good enough?"
Mei shook her head firmly. "I thought so too, but I checked around, study groups are usually held at cafés or study rooms, not clubs."
She wasn't sure why, maybe because schools closed earlier than those places.
Or maybe young people just preferred vibrant settings. Either way, they shouldn't stay at school.
"There, I heard the owner's pretty wealthy and doesn't care much about business, so prices are high and not many people come."
"We can totally—"
Mei's voice cut off as she pushed the cafe door open. She closed it expressionlessly.
"Let's find another place."
She turned to leave.
Shiraha caught her arm, his smile helpless. "Since we're already here, there's no point looking for somewhere else."
"Besides, we can squeeze in some tutoring for Kiana."
Elysia suddenly had a thought. "Little Shiraha, don't you think your 'star fleet' is getting a little bloated?"
Shiraha paused, true. Time to start cutting dead weight.
In a sense, the delinquent senpai had already been cut. And Mobius, Eden, Sakura…
Who was pulling their weight and who was dead weight, Shiraha could see it at a glance.