Chapter Four: The Housewife's Bento, Get! Please bookmark!

"Mm, it really is different. Yabai, I'm afraid I'm going to become a lousy student now."

Bai Ge closed the textbook in his hands with a wry smile.

While it was not completely different, many of the details did not match up. He felt that he would have to relearn everything from elementary school through high school, especially the history curriculum.

After all, unlike his previous life, the history of this new civilization, filled with Honkai, contained far too many events he had never known about.

For example, China's tablet—cough, cough—the Scarlet Kite Immortal, the Chinese progenitor named Ji Lin, and so on.

"Well, Honkai is still kept secret from ordinary civilians, so there isn't much about it in the history books. Good grief."

Bai Ge sighed over having to study everything again.

But the next second, he realized something.

"Wait, isn't the Third Honkai Eruption going to break out in Changkong City soon? By then, nothing will be left, so why the hell am I studying?"

The school was going to be gone. Yay!

Thinking of this, Bai Ge subconsciously looked for Raiden Mei, but he could not find the girl anywhere in the classroom.

Host, Raiden Mei is currently on the rooftop terrace of the teaching building. By the way, several girls were just discussing bullying her.

"System, even though you haven't given me any cheats yet, I've realized you're pretty good as a personal assistant. But tell me about this stuff earlier next time!"

Understood. Next time, definitely.

"..."

Meanwhile, on the rooftop terrace of the teaching building.

Mei, who had been preparing to find somewhere empty to eat lunch, was now blocked in the stairwell by several girls. Her eyes were full of numbness and helplessness as she thought, Here we go again.

"Yo, Lady Raiden Mei. Why are you making your own lunch again? Where's your fancy bento from before?"

"Haha, I bet after her father's fraud was exposed, her family has no money left."

"The daughter of a con artist still dares to come to school? She really has no shame."

"Say something, Queen Raiden. I've hated the sight of you for ages."

The close friends who had once been inseparable from Mei had instead become the people who hurt her most deeply.

Though they had not yet resorted to violence, words could sometimes be sharper and crueler than any blade.

Raiden Mei lowered her head and curled up in the corner like an injured little animal. She wanted to say that it was not like that, that she was not a criminal, and that her father had not committed fraud. There had to be some kind of misunderstanding.

But she understood that would only make these people say even worse things. In this school where there was no longer any place for her, no matter how she explained, shouted, or begged for help, no one would respond to the "daughter of a criminal."

Yeah, why was she still coming to school?

If coming to school only meant being bullied by these people, then she might as well stop coming tomorrow.

Seeing Mei's expression grow increasingly dark and hopeless, the girls' smiles became even brighter.

People always enjoyed seeing beautiful, noble things of the past shatter and fall. The High Mountain Flower they had once only been able to gaze up at had now fallen to the ground.

Everyone could not wait to trample her, dirty her, and viciously crush beneath their feet the girl they had once admired, envied, and idolized.

"Haha! Let's splash some water on you so you can cool down and reflect on yourself, criminal." The sadism in one girl's eyes was no longer hidden.

She picked up the bucket of dirty water she had prepared beforehand.

But just as she was about to dump it over Mei—

"Hey! You're going way too far!"

A young man suddenly appeared. Like a partner of justice, he stood in front of Raiden Mei.

Third update. Please bookmark the new book and send flowers.

Chapter Four: The Housewife's Bento, Get! Please bookmark!

"...Damn, she really splashed it."

Bai Ge's eye twitched. He was already soaked from head to toe.

He had just seen those girls surrounding Raiden Mei and verbally bullying her, so he had rushed over without thinking. As a result, he was immediately hit by a bucket of water.

He instantly felt terrible.

Wasn't it supposed to be verbal bullying? Why had it suddenly turned into splashing water? They were not playing by the script.

"Y-You, who are you?!"

"I'm just a passing partner of justice... Just kidding. But! Aren't you going way too far?"

Bai Ge shook the water from his body and glared angrily at the girls.

Not only were the girls stunned, but even Mei herself, standing behind Bai Ge, was utterly surprised.

Mei stared wide-eyed at Bai Ge. She had never expected that, in Senba Academy, which she had believed was filled with nothing but malice, there would still be someone willing to speak up for her.

"Isn't that Bai Ge? Why are you here? And aren't you being a little too nosy?"

"Nosy? How is stopping campus bullying happening right in front of me being nosy?"

"You misunderstand, Bai Ge. Besides, you know this Raiden Mei is the daughter of a con artist. What good person could a criminal's daughter possibly be?"

Perhaps because of Bai Ge's popularity, the girls had lost their earlier arrogance. Each wore a stiff smile as they tried to justify themselves.

Bai Ge looked directly into their eyes. The purity and straightforwardness of his will made them unable to meet his gaze.

"Huh? What kind of crooked logic is that? Does being a con artist's daughter automatically make her a criminal? You're just looking for a pathetic excuse for your bullying."

"No, we were just..."

"Enough! This is unbearable. I'm not interested in your excuses, and your apologies aren't worth a penny, so I can't be bothered to ask for them. Sheesh."

Bai Ge sighed and turned to Mei behind him. His gaze immediately softened somewhat. After all, she was the first character on his Hyperion with maxed affection.

Especially now, when she wore an expression of surprise that he would never see no matter how many times he tapped her character icon on the bridge.

"I heard about Raiden Ryoma too, but whether the outcome is true or false, what he did has nothing to do with his daughter, Raiden Mei, doesn't it?"

"Uh, no, that's not right. If Raiden Ryoma really is a con artist, then perhaps Raiden Mei should indeed bear part of the guilt for his crimes. After all, that could be considered a little responsibility as his daughter."

"But regardless, none of you have the right to treat her like this. After all, she didn't scam any of you, did she? In fact... back when you were still willing to be friends with Raiden Mei, think about who paid whenever you went out together."

Bai Ge's words left them speechless.

Because there was nothing they could refute.

Those who had been cheated out of money by Raiden Ryoma might have had the right to criticize Mei, but these girls absolutely did not.

They had even been parasites living off Mei in the past. Mei paid every time they went out, while they had only wanted to use the girl's feelings and reputation to get connected with ME Corp.

"You're the ones on the side of the perpetrators, so don't put on the act of victims. What a bunch of ungrateful ingrates. Disgusting."

"As her friends, you should have comforted her and stood by her during a time like this. It would have been one thing if you had merely distanced yourselves from her, but you actually turned around and became perpetrators. Don't you feel ashamed?"

Standing on the moral high ground, Bai Ge pointed at the girls and unleashed a relentless barrage.

Their faces turned ugly under his words, and they even started to feel as if they were not fit to be human.

"W-We're leaving!"

"What's with being so serious?"

"It's not even that big of a deal..."

"Hmph, I don't like that guy anymore."

As if I needed you to.

Watching the girls retreat together after being lectured by him, Bai Ge muttered to himself. While personality mattered more than looks, Bai Ge admitted that he was a sucker for a pretty face.

Besides, those girls were not much to look at, and their personalities were terrible too.

And anyway, now that he was in the Honkai world, of course he wanted to get close to Valkyries!

"Are you okay, Raiden Mei?"

"I'm fine. Thank you, Bai Ge."

As expected of a refined young lady from the Far East who had received an excellent upbringing since childhood, Mei immediately gave Bai Ge a ninety-degree bow after recovering her senses.

"It's fine as long as you're okay. Well then, bye."

"P-Please wait."

Seeing Bai Ge preparing to leave after doing his good deed, Mei could not help calling out to stop him.

"Hmm? Is there anything else?"

"May I ask why you helped me, Bai Ge?" Mei asked in confusion.

The two of them were merely ordinary classmates without any special relationship, so Mei did not understand why Bai Ge had been willing to help her when there was nothing in it for him.

Bai Ge tilted his head after hearing that, then spoke as though it were only natural.

"What kind of question is that? Does helping a pitiful girl being bullied need a reason? Don't worry. I don't know what exactly happened with your father, but I won't hold any prejudice against you because of it, Raiden."

"..."

Raiden Mei felt her chest tighten. Looking at the handsome smile on the young man before her, his gentle words—spoken as though they were only natural—cast a ray of light into her heart, which had been filled with gloom.

"Thank you. Thank you, Bai Ge."