My Sister is Bronya

"Sorry for making you wait. Did I keep you long? I really am sorry." Ishiu scratched his head, full of apology.

He was the one asking for a favor, yet he'd made the actual person wait this long—honestly, he felt a bit embarrassed.

"It's fine. You must have had something urgent, right? Look at you, all sweaty from running." Miss Mei said gently, pulling a handkerchief from her pocket and naturally wiping the sweat from Ishiu's face.

Tuesday's Wife.jpg

Chapter 49: The Weight One Cannot Bear

"It's not that important..." Ishiu scratched his head awkwardly. Seeing Miss Mei's gentle expression, he suddenly found it hard to state his purpose.

"Ishiu, who's this big sister? She's so pretty!" Kiana, who had followed behind, also spotted Raiden Mei. Her eyes lit up instantly as she tugged Ishiu and whispered in his ear.

The warm breath from Kiana's mouth made Ishiu's ear itch. He shook his head uncomfortably before saying, "Mei, this is my friend, Kiana Kaslana. Kiana, this is Raiden Mei."

"Hi there! Can I call you Mei?" Kiana seemed to have no concept of shyness. Grinning, she reached out her hand to Raiden Mei and started using her name with the familiarity of an old friend.

But Raiden Mei didn't mind. She hadn't wanted to make friends with anyone before—the past had left her heart too wounded—but for Ishiu's sake, she was willing to trust that this girl named Kiana wasn't one of those bad kids.

So she smiled softly and gently took Kiana's hand. "Mm, alright. Since you're Ishiu's friend, just call me Mei."

"Great! Mei, you're really beautiful. I wonder if I could..." Kiana pressed her advantage, getting excited as she saw Raiden Mei's friendly attitude toward her.

Ishiu's mouth twitched. He quickly pulled this embarrassing girl back.

"Kiana, can you calm down? If you scare Mei, I'll deal with you!"

Kiana pouted at that, lowering her head and kicking at the ground, looking a bit sulky. "What's the big deal? You're just a little kid, and you talk to me like that..."

Ishiu ignored her and turned to Mei. "Mei, here's the thing. I'm planning to rent a place, but I'm a bit short on cash, so..."

He found it hard to say. Borrowing money was something he'd rarely done in his past life—partly because he was thin-skinned and didn't want to owe anyone, partly because he hadn't known Raiden Mei long. If it were someone like Bronya, he'd just take the money outright.

"I see. I thought it was something serious, but it's just that." Raiden Mei smiled, her expression seeming to relax. "So, how much do you need?"

"A hundred thousand... maybe? If not, eighty thousand would work. I'm really sorry—I know this request is rude, but right now, you're the only one I can turn to." Ishiu hesitated, then added, "I'll definitely pay it back."

"Alright." Somewhat to Ishiu's surprise, upon hearing the amount, Raiden Mei didn't even raise an eyebrow. She simply pulled a delicate wallet from her clothes.

"Here's a hundred thousand for you. No rush to pay it back—take your time. Don't put too much pressure on yourself." Miss Mei took out ten ten-thousand-yen bills from her wallet, her voice still as gentle as water.

Listening to Raiden Mei's tender voice, Ishiu suddenly felt a thought arise: I want to be kept by a rich woman. I don't want to struggle anymore.

Now he finally understood why so many people wanted to be kept men, willing to let rich women swipe their cards for the privilege.

Because it really was a nice feeling.

And if all rich women looked like Miss Mei, then probably 99.99% of men wouldn't want to work hard anymore.

"Thanks, Mei." Ishiu reached out happily to take the money, but Raiden Mei suddenly pulled her hand back.

"Huh?" Ishiu grabbed at air, looking at Miss Mei in confusion.

Raiden Mei's lips curled into a smile, her eyes crescent-shaped, as if countless emotions flowed within them.

One hand behind her back, the other holding the ten bills between her index and middle fingers, she looked at Ishiu with a charming grin.

"Ishiu, little brother, what should you call me~~?"

"...Mei, Mei-sister."

"Say it all together."

"Thank you... Mei-sister."

"Mm, good boy~"

Raiden Mei felt a surge of pleasure. Smiling, she ruffled Ishiu's hair, then pressed the money into his hand, her gentle voice unchanged. "If it's not enough, feel free to come to me, okay? Don't be shy."

"Okay..."

"Alright, let's leave it at that for now. We'll talk tonight. Class is about to start, so I'll head back." Raiden Mei checked the time, said goodbye to Ishiu, and didn't forget to wave at Kiana before turning and heading back into the school.

"Ishiu, why do I feel like Mei just kept you? Are you sure you've only known each other for a few days?" Kiana watched Raiden Mei's retreating figure. For some reason, she felt a strange weight on her head.

Like... a hat she couldn't bear to wear.

"Keep your head in the clouds—this is a loan! Enough with the nonsense. Now we've got money, let's go back and rent a place." Ishiu tugged at Kiana's braid, annoyed.

But Kiana's words did remind him. Borrowing money from one woman while living with another... didn't that seem a bit off?

Ah, whatever. He'd just pay it back quickly.

"Stop pulling my braid, you brat!" Kiana snatched her braid back, dissatisfied.

Honestly, Ishiu didn't know why this girl insisted on the twin-braid look when her straight long hair was so pretty.

"You go ahead. I've got something to do." Kiana looked at Senba Academy.

"Huh?" Ishiu frowned, glancing at Kiana, then at Senba Academy, and his expression changed. "Whoa! Kiana, I know Mei is good-looking, but you can't force things!"

"Ah?" Kiana blinked, then realized what Ishiu meant. Flustered and angry, she pinched his cheek. "You little brat! Where's your head at?! Sure, Miss Mei is pretty and my type, but I'm not desperate enough to stalk her into school!"

"Then what do you want to do?" Ishiu pried her hand off, wary. "As a friend, I can't just watch you walk down a criminal path. If you don't give me a good reason, I'm sticking with you."

"You're so annoying, you little brat." Kiana glared at Ishiu hatefully. Ishiu glared right back.

Though they were two years apart in age, Ishiu's height was about the same as Kiana's, so his presence was no weaker.

(Moved to tears, after nearly draining the gacha pool dry, it finally came out, wuwuwu!!!)

Chapter 50: The Honkai Incident at Senba Academy

After the two stared at each other for a few minutes, Kiana finally seemed to concede defeat, letting out a soft sigh as she shot Ishiu a glance tinged with grievance. "I really lose to you, you little brat. But even if I told you, you probably wouldn't understand anyway."

"Just say it." Ishiu remained unmoved.

"Do you know about the 'Honkai'?"

"Honkai?"

Hearing those two words suddenly from Kiana's mouth caught Ishiu off guard for a moment.

He stared at Kiana in shock, instinctively repeating, "Honkai?"

"You actually know about it?" Kiana's surprise was no less than Ishiu's. She had only mentioned it casually, never expecting that Ishiu might truly understand the meaning of the word Honkai.

"Yeah." Ishiu nodded, his expression turning serious. "Go on, why did you suddenly bring this up?"

"Well... since you know about the Honkai, you should also know how dangerous it is, right?"

"Of course, I'm well aware."

"Then I'll be straightforward. Actually, besides wandering the world looking for my unreliable old man, I'm also tasked with saving the world and eliminating the Honkai." Kiana said with a solemn face.

The corner of Ishiu's mouth twitched. Saving the world... he used to hear that a lot from the kids at the orphanage who were going through their chuunibyou phase. He didn't expect this girl, already this old, to still be so chuunibyou.

"And then?"

"Then I travel around, solving Honkai disasters wherever they occur." Kiana gave a thumbs-up, pointing at herself with a proud look. "Don't judge me by appearances—I've been fighting Honkai Beasts with my lousy dad since I was little. In the past year alone, I've taken down quite a few Honkai Beasts on my own."

"Oh? Are you really that strong?" Ishiu looked Kiana up and down, somewhat skeptical.

Even though Kiana was pretty skilled, he didn't sense that she was at a level to handle Honkai Beasts.

"Hmph, don't underestimate this lady! If I weren't trying not to bully a kid, believe me, I could hang you up and beat you with one hand." Kiana planted her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest triumphantly.

"Alright, I believe you. So what are you planning to do now?" Ishiu didn't feel like arguing with Kiana and pressed on.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized it—Kiana wouldn't suddenly bring up the Honkai for no reason. If she was saying this, it meant...

"I sensed a reaction of Honkai Energy in this school just now." Kiana's face was unusually serious.

"Are you sure?"

"No kidding. How many Honkai incidents has this lady handled? There's no way I'd misread it."

"That's impossible. If there were a Honkai Beast in the academy, wouldn't it have already caused chaos?" Ishiu voiced his doubt.

"A Honkai Energy reaction doesn't necessarily mean there's a Honkai Beast." Kiana glanced at Ishiu. "Looks like you don't know that much about the Honkai. I'll graciously give you a simple explanation."

"The Honkai is an extremely powerful disaster. It can erupt anywhere in the world, at any time, and its form is unpredictable. It could be an invasion of Honkai Beasts, or it could be triggered by preconditions like infectious diseases or climate disasters. But no matter what, every time it appears, it releases Honkai Energy. I just sensed a fluctuation of Honkai Energy in the school, so I wanted to check it out."

Kiana's explanation was simple but easy to understand. Ishiu frowned. "You mean Senba Academy is going to have a Honkai disaster?"

"That's not it." Kiana shook her head. "The Honkai Energy I sensed was very weak, not like the kind of fluctuation before a disaster. The danger is low—it might just be someone infected with the Honkai."

"Then... what should we do?" Ishiu asked. Though he had killed plenty of Honkai Beasts in the Sea of Quantum world, when it came to actual expertise, he knew nothing.

At times like this, it was best to rely on a professional.

"Simple. Sneak in and eliminate the source of the Honkai Energy." Kiana snapped her fingers, crisp and decisive.

"...That's it?"

"Yeah, that's it." Kiana gave Ishiu a strange look. "What else did you think?"

"Uh..." Ishiu's mouth twitched. He had expected something like a detective movie, step by step, not something so simple and brute-force.

"Alright, since you know now, just go find a place to rent. Once I've dealt with things here, I'll come find you." With that, Kiana planned to find a spot where no one was watching and climb over the wall into the school.

"I'm coming with you." Ishiu wasn't about to miss this chance to face the Honkai head-on. He really wanted to see what the Honkai lurking within human cities looked like.

"You? No way. If there's danger, I won't be able to look after you." Kiana shook her head like a rattle-drum.

"I don't need you to look after me." Ishiu rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Don't forget, you can't even touch me."

"Hey! You little brat, don't get cocky! I told you, I wasn't trying back then!" Hearing Ishiu say that, Kiana puffed out her cheeks like an inflated pufferfish.

"Alright, alright. We'll talk about this after we're done." Ishiu didn't want to keep bickering with Kiana, so he pushed her toward the wall.

Kiana was still a bit dissatisfied, but when Ishiu added, "If you keep running your mouth, you can find a place to rent yourself," she shut up immediately.

The two circled the school's perimeter wall and finally climbed over from the back.

As an elite academy, Senba Academy had plenty of public surveillance cameras installed, but none of that was a problem for Ishiu. He led Kiana, easily bypassing the monitors. For the ones they couldn't avoid, he used a throwing knife to cut the power.

It was class time now, with all the students inside the teaching building. The Honkai Energy reaction Kiana had sensed was coming from one of those buildings.

"This is bad. How are we supposed to get in? If we get caught, it'll be trouble." Kiana scratched her white hair, looking a bit troubled.

"Don't worry, be patient. We'll just wait here. Once the bell rings for the next break, we can easily blend in." Ishiu said calmly.

"What about our clothes? They're all wearing uniforms." Kiana pointed at the casual clothes on herself and Ishiu.

"Hmm... that's simple. The school should have spare uniforms in storage. Let's check the warehouse or the office."

Chapter 51: Now That's a Real Man!

While the students were still in class, Ishiu and Kiana sneaked around and found an empty office. In the storage room of the office, they successfully located unopened school uniforms.

But although they found the uniforms, there was one problem—all of them were girls' uniforms.

Only then did Ishiu remember: this damn Senba Academy was a freaking all-girls school!

Staring at that set of azure girls' uniform and little skirt, Ishiu couldn't help but fall silent.

"Ishiu, stop spacing out. Hurry up and change, or if someone comes, we'll be in trouble." Kiana urged him, then grabbed a uniform and stepped out, closing the storage room door behind her.

Ishiu hesitated for a moment, then thought it over. What's the big deal about wearing a girls' uniform once? A real man can fight even bare-chested.

Clothes—how could they be such an inconvenient thing?

So he steeled himself, gritted his teeth, and put the clothes on.

After all, isn't it said that deep down, every man has a heart that longs to crossdress?

Those who use crossdressing as a bet condition are actually looking forward to it deep inside—otherwise, they'd never propose such a condition.

For Ishiu, crossdressing wasn't that big a deal. In his view, he was a true man, and even wearing a girls' uniform couldn't diminish his masculinity one bit.

On the contrary, those timid guys who don't even dare to wear a girls' uniform—what kind of men are they?

He, Ishiu, feared nothing!