My Sister is Bronya

And just now he saw that the system hadn't screwed him over this time either—instead, it had given him a prize no less impressive than the Seven Nights Assassination Technique.

[Reinforcement Magic]

This ability was different from the Seven Nights Assassination Technique. It allowed him to use Mana to strengthen his own body and his weapons.

He didn't know the extent of the reinforcement yet, but Ishiu figured it couldn't be too shabby. And along with Reinforcement Magic came the cultivation method for Mana itself!

After all, in this world, only girls with a constitution suited to Honkai Energy could manipulate that miraculous power to a certain degree.

Ishiu had always envied Bronya and the others for that. He never thought that one day he'd get his hands on a unique energy no less impressive than Honkai Energy.

Ishiu could feel that this power called Mana was extremely potent. Paired with Reinforcement Magic, his strength should see another significant boost.

Compared to who he was before entering the world instance, he was practically a different person now.

Ishiu was already looking forward to seeing the shocked expressions on Bronya and Seele's faces when they met him again. Just thinking about it got him hyped.

After turning down yet another older woman who wanted his phone number, Ishiu checked the time. It was almost time for his shift to end—today's part-time job was nearly over.

Just then, the doorbell at the shop entrance chimed with a crisp ring, and a graceful figure in a school uniform walked in slowly.

Ishiu instinctively looked over.

She was a very beautiful girl. Tall and slender, she seemed even a bit taller than Ishiu. The standard-issue uniform she wore couldn't hide her impressive figure, and under her short skirt, her long, straight legs wrapped in black stockings were shapely and sleek—the kind you could tell would be a joy to behold.

But what made Ishiu take a second look wasn't her face or figure—it was the elegant aura about her, like that of an aristocratic princess.

That kind of aura was rare, especially on a pretty girl. Ishiu guessed that even if she wasn't the young lady of some major family, she was definitely the heiress of some corporate conglomerate.

Still, there was a deep melancholy on this black-haired girl's face. She tried to hide it, but Ishiu's sharp observation caught it in a single glance.

Looks like this one has a story.

Ishiu thought to himself, but he had no intention of asking. After all, they were strangers. Sure, she was good-looking, but he wasn't some creep who couldn't move past a pretty face. If he was talking about beauty, he still thought his own mom was prettier.

And then—Seele was the cutest in the world!

Bronya was a little behind, but still adorable.

"Excuse me."

The black-haired girl picked up a prepackaged bento and a carton of milk from the convenience store, then walked to the register.

"That'll be nine hundred and twenty yen. Thank you for your patronage."

Ishiu quickly made change and handed it to the girl.

She nodded, gave Ishiu a small smile, then picked up her plastic bag and left.

"Hey, Ishiu, do you know who she is?" The other cashier on the same shift spoke up.

He was a guy in his twenties—name didn't matter, just a background character anyway.

"Who?" Ishiu asked offhandedly.

"Heh, that's a celebrity from Senba Academy. Raiden Mei, a second-year in the high school division," the cashier said with a dreamy tone. "Raiden Mei is a big name at Senba Academy. They call her the Queen of Raiden. She's turned down so many confessions from guys, and she's always firm about it, so she got that nickname.

But her personality is really gentle, polite, and she likes to help others. If she sees someone in trouble, she won't hesitate to lend a hand. And that's not all—do you know her family background? Her father is the famous president of ME Company, Raiden Ryoma. She's his only daughter. Someone like her is practically a protagonist chosen by fate."

ME Company?

Ishiu's eyes lit up. He knew ME Company all too well. The organization Cocolia belonged to, Anti-Entropy, used ME Company as their front!

That meant if he could find this Raiden Ryoma, he could get in touch with his mom?

Just as Ishiu was thinking that, the cashier kept talking.

"But it's a shame. Maybe heaven thought she was having too good a life and decided to throw her a trial. Her father, the company president, was recently exposed for being involved in some economic fraud case. He got arrested, and her status and reputation took a nosedive. She went from being a young lady to someone everyone avoids like the plague. Even her old friends are terrified of being associated with her."

"How do you know all this?" Ishiu gave the cashier a surprised look.

"Hey, our convenience store is right next to Senba Academy. Those students come here all the time to buy stuff. You pick things up after a while."

Chapter 37 (I, Herrscher of Thunder, Am Not a Housewife!)

"Oh, I see."

After a few more casual exchanges, Ishiu's shift ended. He swapped with the next cashier, bought a bread roll and a carton of milk, and started eating as he walked in the direction Raiden Mei had gone.

He still wanted to give it a shot. If he could get in touch with Cocolia through this girl, he could head back sooner and stop worrying his mom, Seele, and the others.

He had no idea how much pain his sudden disappearance had caused them...

He thought he'd have to walk a bit further, but just a hundred meters out, he spotted the black-haired girl sitting on a bench in a nearby park, head lowered, lost in thought.

"Lucky break." Ishiu raised an eyebrow and was about to go talk to her, but before he could take a step, someone else beat him to it.

"Yo, isn't this a Senba Academy student? Pretty good-looking. What's up, little beauty? Out here eating a bento alone this late at night?"

Three young men with dyed hair and tattoos suddenly appeared in front of Raiden Mei. One of them, a blond, seemed interested in her. He stood in front of her and spoke in a flippant tone.

"Huh? Boss, I recognize her. She's that famous one from Senba Academy... Raiden Mei." Another one with red hair took a closer look at her face under the streetlight and moonlight, then recognized her.

"Raiden Mei? Oh, I think I've heard that name. But I heard her old man, the company president, got arrested for economic fraud. Figures, those rich folks are never good people."

"Shut up! My father... my father is not that kind of person! He was framed!"

At first, Raiden Mei didn't want to bother with these guys, but when one of them badmouthed her father, Raiden Ryoma, she couldn't hold back anymore. Her carefully maintained young lady composure shattered in an instant. Her eyes were slightly red, but her voice was firm and unwavering.

"What kind of nonsense are you saying?" The blond guy shot a look, then slapped the head of the one who had badmouthed Raiden Ryoma before grinning at Raiden Mei. "Young Lady, don't be mad—I've taught him a lesson for you. Oh, look, a beauty like you shouldn't be eating instant bento like this, right? That's way beneath your status!"

With that, he reached out and, while Raiden Mei wasn't paying attention, snatched the lunchbox from her hands and tossed it into the nearby trash can.

But his aim was off, and it didn't make it in. Most of the rice spilled out onto the ground around the bin.

"Hehe, Miss Mei, you must be bored sitting here all alone, right? How about you come sing with us? I'll treat you to a big meal, what do you say?"

The blond guy kept rambling, but Raiden Mei's expression had already turned icy cold.

She was a good-tempered person, raised from childhood with aristocratic etiquette. Those lessons had made her a celebrated figure praised by everyone, and she had taken pride in that.

But all of that had been shattered half a month ago.

Her father was framed and thrown into prison, and her life plummeted from the clouds to the depths. She hadn't changed a thing, yet the friendly, enthusiastic classmates and friends who once surrounded her now chose to keep their distance. Even when she tried to talk to them, they avoided her like the plague.

It was only then that she realized what had drawn those "friends" and classmates to her wasn't her personality, but her family background.

Now that she was down on her luck, they feared being caught in the crossfire. Even the people she had once helped wouldn't spare her a single word.

The boys who used to confess their feelings to her from time to time had vanished without a trace.

People say true character is revealed in adversity. Raiden Mei finally understood the truth of that saying. This ordeal had made her grow up overnight. She didn't resent anyone, but she had sealed her heart away.

Still, if someone insisted on picking a fight with her now, she'd actually thank them for giving her an outlet to vent. Like right now.

"You want to hit on me?" Raiden Mei stood up from the bench, her cold gaze sweeping across each of their faces. An intangible pressure made the delinquents instinctively take a step back.

But they quickly recovered, and embarrassment turned into anger.

Three grown men, scared off by a little girl?

The blond guy stepped forward, his eyes locked onto Raiden Mei's face, not hiding his greedy desire at all. He licked his lips and said, "Big beauty, didn't expect you to be so direct. Looks like you know the drill. That makes things easy. How about it? Stick with me, and I promise you'll have the time of your life."

"Fine." Raiden Mei's lips curled slightly, a meaningful smile spreading across her face. "That depends on whether you can last that long."

With that, she unzipped the bag she carried and pulled out a wooden sword a full meter and twenty centimeters long.

"Hokushin Itto-ryu. Please enlighten me."

In less than three minutes, the three delinquents were running off, crying for their mothers. Their bodies were covered in bruises, especially their faces, where the marks from the wooden sword were clearly visible. The blond ringleader even had several lumps on his head that probably wouldn't go down for days.

"Sigh..." Raiden Mei silently put the wooden sword away. Even though she had just beaten up a bunch of thugs, her heart felt no lighter—only heavier.

"Hey, want some?"

Just then, a somewhat youthful voice sounded in Raiden Mei's ear. Though the tone was mature, she could tell the speaker was a very young boy.

She turned toward the voice and saw Ishiu, who had somehow walked to within three meters of her without her noticing.

Ishiu held out the bread he had bought from the store, a gentle smile on his face.

"You're... that cashier from earlier?" Raiden Mei blinked, quickly recalling who Ishiu was.

After all, she had just seen him moments ago, and his good looks were enough to leave an impression—at least, she hadn't forgotten him in the short span of ten-odd minutes.

"Yeah, let me introduce myself. I'm Ishiu." Ishiu smiled faintly and casually tossed the bread toward Raiden Mei, who caught it instinctively.

"Your performance just now was impressive. Well done. I admire it."

Chapter 38: You're Just a DD!

Earlier, when those three delinquents were about to make a move on Raiden Mei, Ishiu had considered stepping in to play the hero. But seeing her calm, unshaken expression, he held back.

While playing the hero might have earned him some goodwill, in Ishiu's view, if it wasn't a case of delivering coal in a snowstorm, there was no point.

She could handle it herself. Forcing his way in just to farm goodwill would be boring.

Influenced by Bronya, Ishiu had come to appreciate capable girls like this. They were far better than those who only knew how to cry when trouble came.

Oh, of course, Seele was an exception.

Because Seele was the cutest in the world!

"I'm Raiden Mei... no, thank you for your kindness, but I can't accept your bread." Raiden Mei started to introduce herself out of habit, then caught herself and quickly tried to hand the bread back.

"It's fine, it's just a piece of bread." Ishiu didn't take it. Instead, he shook the other bread in his hand. "I've got another one here. I can't finish two anyway. If you don't want it, just toss it in the trash."

"Then... thank you."

Perhaps because of Ishiu's face, Raiden Mei didn't feel much wariness toward him. After all, he looked younger than her, and women tend to have a maternal instinct toward younger members of the opposite sex. (Probably.)

But Raiden Mei didn't sit down to eat the bread right away. First, she took out a tissue, picked up the rice the blond guy had spilled near the trash can, and neatly disposed of it.

Only after that did she sit back down on the bench, giving Ishiu an apologetic smile. "Did you see all that? Sorry, I'm not usually that hot-tempered. I was just in a bad mood."

"Yeah, I know. No one would take it well if someone badmouthed their father." Ishiu nodded, speaking naturally.

Hearing this, Raiden Mei's hand clenched involuntarily, then relaxed. She gave a bitter laugh. "You know about my situation too? I guess that makes sense. Who wouldn't know someone as 'famous' as me..."

Ishiu shrugged noncommittally. In truth, he wouldn't have followed her if the cashier hadn't filled him in earlier.

"Do you... think my father is a bad person? About his economic fraud case..." Raiden Mei asked hesitantly. Her eyes turned to him, those azure-blue irises—the same color as Seele's—holding countless, indescribable emotions.

There seemed to be a trace of hope, a hint of longing, and... a numbness that had seen it all.

Ishiu took it all in. He simply smiled lightly and shook his head. "Whether your father is a bad person or not—does that have anything to do with me?"

"Huh?" Raiden Mei was stunned. She had imagined many possible responses, but she never expected him to say something like that. Was this guy some kind of stereotypical dense hero?

It was fortunate that Miss Mei had such a good temper; if it had been anyone else, they probably would have just turned and walked away.

"First, I don't know your father, and I know nothing about his character or conduct, so I can't just take someone's one-sided words and decide whether he's a bad person or a good one. Second, regarding the economic fraud case, to be honest, I think someone capable of being the president of a multinational conglomerate wouldn't be stupid enough to do something that would ruin them completely. Even if they did, it would only be because they were absolutely sure they wouldn't be caught."

Ishiu's words weren't exactly pleasant, because he was looking at the problem entirely from an objective standpoint, without mixing in personal feelings.

If he had been on Raiden Mei's side, he wouldn't have said that.

However, after hearing his words, Raiden Mei wasn't angry at all. Instead, her eyes lit up with some delight.

She had endured too much grievance lately, and now she had finally heard a fair word. Even though Ishiu wasn't taking her side or saying what she wanted to hear, these words were more genuine and made her feel much more comfortable.

"You're right, you're absolutely right!" Raiden Mei grabbed Ishiu's hand excitedly, her pretty face suddenly leaning right in front of him, staring intently into his eyes. "Ishiu, thank you!"

Ishiu was a bit stunned. What had he said? Why was this girl suddenly so worked up?

Damn, she was way too close... and she smelled really nice, like jasmine. Did girls all naturally have body scent or something?

"Ah! I'm, I'm sorry! I got too excited." Raiden Mei quickly realized how close she was to Ishiu. Her face flushed bright red, and she let go of his hand as if she'd touched a hot iron, scooting her bottom to the other end of the bench, putting distance between them.

But even so, the heat on her face didn't subside for a while.

As the Young Lady of the ME Company's president, Raiden Mei had rarely interacted with boys since childhood. As she grew up, she followed the rules strictly, never having any intimate contact with any man, not even holding hands.

And today, not only had she held hands with a boy she'd just met, but she'd also gotten that close. How embarrassing!

"Oh, it's fine. You can get excited. I'm the one who got the benefit anyway." Ishiu rubbed his nose and said casually.

He was always the type to joke around and say cheeky things. That's how he was when he got along with Bronya and the others, and that's how he was now with Raiden Mei.

What was that called?