"Maybe I misheard." Ishiu scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said, "Mei, how about we go for another walk?"
"A walk? Sure. Wait a moment, I'll go change." Raiden Mei nodded. She also wanted to spend a little more time with Ishiu.
After Raiden Mei changed clothes, the two of them left the villa.
It was already seven in the evening. Winter skies always darkened quickly; though it was only seven, the moon already hung overhead, with stars scattered across the sky.
The streetlights along the road illuminated the street as brightly as day. Ishiu and Raiden Mei walked side by side down a small path beside the villa. Further ahead was the Kawakami River.
"Ishiu, you're wearing so little. Aren't you cold?" Raiden Mei asked with concern.
Back in the villa, Raiden Mei had wanted Ishiu to put on more clothes, but he had refused.
There was a kind of cold called "your mom thinks you're cold.jpg."
"I'm really not cold. I'm in great shape; this temperature is nothing." Ishiu sounded rather helpless.
"Even so, you should take care of yourself. What if you catch a cold?" Raiden Mei lightly flicked his forehead as though scolding him.
"Yes, yes, yes~~" Ishiu said with a wry smile. "Mei, I've noticed you're becoming more and more like my mom. Oh, no, even she doesn't nag as much as you do."
"Who's like your mom?" Raiden Mei's pretty face immediately reddened. She shot him a coquettish glare, then smoothed the ends of her hair, which had been tousled by the wind.
"Mei, don't move." Ishiu stopped walking, stared at the top of Raiden Mei's head, and reached out. "There's a leaf in your hair."
"Huh? Thank you." Raiden Mei froze for a moment. Feeling Ishiu's hand touch her head, a strange feeling suddenly rose from the depths of her heart. She wanted to keep this person by her side forever.
The thought flashed by in an instant. Her face reddened, and she secretly cursed herself. How could I have such a shameless thought?
"It's nothing." After removing the leaf, Ishiu looked at the girl with her head lowered and cheeks slightly flushed. His heart stirred, and instead of withdrawing his hand, he gently stroked Raiden Mei's silky, soft hair.
Just like he loved doing to Seele.
"Ishiu, what are you doing..." Raiden Mei's face became even redder. For some reason, though, she could not bring herself to stop him from patting her head. All she could do was ask softly in a voice that had grown weak and soft.
"Nothing. I just suddenly felt like touching it." Ishiu smiled. Raiden Mei was unbelievably cute when she looked this girlish. It was a shame he rarely got to see her like this, but at least he had seen it before leaving. That made it worthwhile.
"You little rascal." Raiden Mei bit her lip, raised her head, and glared at Ishiu. Yet there was no force behind that look; instead, it carried a uniquely captivating charm.
"Mei..."
Ishiu had just wanted to say something else when he suddenly sensed a sharp killing intent from behind him. After learning the Seven Nights Assassination Technique, Ishiu had become exceptionally sensitive to emotions like murderous intent and killing aura. His expression immediately changed as he turned around and assumed a defensive stance.
"Uh..."
But the moment he turned around and saw where that killing intent was coming from, he was completely dumbfounded.
"Little Pudding?"
Beneath a streetlamp a hundred meters away stood two figures, one tall and one short. One was Kiana, while the other had a silhouette, face, figure, utterly unmistakable flat chest, and spiral twin-tails that Ishiu knew all too well.
Who else could it be but Bronya?
Bronya was in a terrible mood. An absolutely terrible mood—so terrible that she wanted to summon Heavy-duty Bunny and fire a missile at someone.
Twenty minutes ago, she had finally gotten off the plane and contacted Cocolia, learning that Ishiu had indeed returned.
She had originally been excited, thrilled, and happy, but when she found Ishiu's home, she was told that he had gone to say goodbye to Raiden Mei.
Although Ishiu should return if she simply waited at home for a while, she could not wait.
She had already waited three months. Now, she did not want to wait even another second. She wanted to see Ishiu immediately and confirm with her own eyes that he was safe.
So, led by the girl named Kiana, they came to Raiden Mei's home.
On the way, she had repeatedly asked Kiana about her relationship with Ishiu. Naturally, Kiana only said that she and Ishiu were friends. But after Bronya gained a rough understanding of Ishiu's life over the past month, she felt that something was off.
Why did it feel like this guy was hitting on girls? And two at once?
Bronya thought she was overthinking it. She knew what kind of person Ishiu was. There was no way he would neglect going home just to stay outside and flirt with girls.
Besides, although the girl named Kiana was fairly pretty, there was a foolish air to her words and actions. Ishiu should not be interested in an idiot like that.
That was what Bronya thought, but when she saw Ishiu standing with an incredibly beautiful girl with an amazing figure, even intimately touching her hair, she exploded.
"Ishiu!"
Bronya walked over expressionlessly. Her eyes were filled with coldness and hostility, directed at Ishiu and Raiden Mei alike.
"Lit—cough, Bronya, why are you here?" Ishiu nearly called her Little Pudding again, but fortunately corrected himself quickly. Still, he was surprised that Bronya had suddenly appeared here.
His mom had clearly said that only she would be coming, so what was going on with Bronya?
"What? Am I not allowed to come?" Bronya stared at Ishiu's familiar face, the one she had dreamed of almost every night over the past three months.
How she wished that what happened that day had only been a dream. Once she woke up, they could return to living happily in the Orphanage as they once had.
But that was ultimately nothing more than a wishful fantasy.
Every morning when she woke up, her pillow would be soaked with tears, because she never cried in front of others.
No one knew her despair. That day, she had watched her beloved little sister nearly be devoured by quantum energy. Then, her beloved little brother had risked everything to save her, only to disappear from this world himself.
She had been so close—just a little closer, and she could have touched his hand. But in the end, she had only grasped empty air.
She could do nothing...
(Herrscher code, lol)
After that day, Bronya never smiled again. She became incomparably withdrawn and shut herself in her room for a long time, wondering whether things would have turned out differently if she had been the one undergoing the experiment.
She had considered countless possibilities, but they were all illusions, because reality had already happened. She had no power to turn back time. She was supposed to be the older sister of all the children, but when she thought about it carefully, Ishiu had always been the one taking care of everyone.
She had only kept moving forward, never taking the time to stop, wait for those behind her, or look at the scenery around her.
Until... something happened to Seele.
Seele knew of her pain and sorrow. Taking advantage of Bronya's inattention, she went to Mom for another experiment, hoping to bring Ishiu back.
Mom had initially refused, but Seele threatened to die, leaving her no choice but to agree.
However, because the previous experiment had failed, Mom was only willing to let this experiment last five minutes.
This experiment also failed. Seele did not bring Ishiu back, nor did she even see him. Worse, because she had ventured deep into the Sea of Quantum, she herself underwent some sort of change.
In the end, when Seele opened Bronya's door and gave her Heavy-duty Bunny, which represented power and protection, Bronya realized that while she had been wallowing in despair, Seele—the little sister who had always been so timid—had done what Bronya could not.
From that day on, Bronya swore that she would find Ishiu, then bring happiness to Seele. She knew that Seele liked Ishiu, so as her older sister, even if it cost her everything, she would fulfill Seele's dream!
And yet? After flying for most of the day from Siberia to Changkong City, then rushing everywhere in a hurry, going ten hours without food or water, she had finally found that guy—only to see this bastard flirting with a girl?
In that instant, Bronya did not even know where her anger came from. She truly wanted to summon Heavy-duty Bunny and blast this jerk to pieces.
But she restrained herself. At the very least, she would first hear how this guy explained himself.
Ishiu froze for a moment, then broke into a smile and gave Bronya a huge hug without hesitation.
He pulled Bronya's petite body into his arms, pressed a hand against the back of her head, and whispered in her ear,
"I'm back, Bronya."
"...Idiot..."
Bronya's body stiffened. For some reason, the anger filling her heart vanished without a trace the moment she heard Ishiu say that he was back.
She bit her lip and tried hard to restrain her emotions, unwilling to cry, but her eyes still reddened.
She lightly gripped Ishiu's shirt at his chest and pressed her face against him. Listening to his heartbeat made everything feel real, made her feel that she was not dreaming.
"Welcome back, Ishiu."
Like someone speaking in her sleep, Bronya said the words she had uttered hundreds, even thousands of times in her dreams. But this time, it was not a dream.
Nearby, Kiana watched the embracing pair with a strange expression. She tugged on Raiden Mei beside her and whispered, "Mei, what do you think the brat's relationship with this girl named Bronya is?"
"H-how would I know? Maybe she's his friend." Raiden Mei hurriedly looked away.
"I heard Bronya say that Ishiu seems to be her little brother. They were in the same Orphanage," Kiana added.
"So he's her little brother..." Raiden Mei did not know what she was feeling, but inexplicably, she felt relieved.
"But I think they're more than just siblings. They aren't related by blood, after all. You didn't see it earlier, but when that little turnip saw Ishiu touching your head, the cold aura she unleashed nearly gave me frostbite." Kiana exclaimed dramatically.
"W-what are you talking about? Ishiu didn't touch my head..." Miss Mei's pretty face immediately turned pink as she hurriedly explained, "He was just helping me remove a leaf that got stuck in my hair."
"Oh, so that's what happened." Kiana scratched her head. She did not doubt Raiden Mei, since the place where Ishiu and Raiden Mei had been standing was poorly lit, and there had been a hundred meters between them. She had not actually seen clearly; she had only seen Ishiu put his hand on Raiden Mei's head.
While they were talking, Ishiu had more or less calmed Little Pudding down. He was still a little shaken. Though he did not know why, Bronya's killing aura earlier had made him feel as though his life was in danger. Luckily, he had quickly played the emotional card, or he truly had a feeling Bronya would have beaten him up.
"Cough, anyway, Mei, this is my friend from the Orphanage, Bronya. Bronya, this is Raiden Mei, a good friend I met here. She's a really nice person," Ishiu introduced them.
"Hello, Bronya. It's nice to meet you. Just call me Mei." Raiden Mei was as polite as ever, fully displaying the bearing of a young lady. With a gentle smile, she extended her hand to Bronya.
Bronya looked at this woman with a complicated expression. She knew the other girl's identity and knew of Cocolia's plans for her. Yet Ishiu had become friends with her, and they seemed very close at that. It left Bronya somewhat at a loss.
No wonder Mom had worn that expression when Bronya said she wanted to find Ishiu...
"Hello. Thank you for taking care of Ishiu during this time." Bronya shook Raiden Mei's hand, and with that greeting, they were acquainted.
"You don't need to thank me. Taking care of Ishiu is only natural. Still, after he goes back, I'll have to trouble you with him, Bronya." Miss Mei spoke gently, but Bronya's expression changed slightly upon hearing those words.
Listen to her—like Ishiu belonged to her.
Bronya narrowed her eyes slightly as the image of Ishiu being intimate with Raiden Mei earlier surfaced in her mind.
The corner of Bronya's mouth twitched. With a smile that did not reach her eyes, she looked at Mei and said, "Of course. Bronya is Ishiu's older sister, so naturally I'll take care of him. There's no need for an outsider to remind me."
"..." Raiden Mei's expression also shifted slightly. She pressed her lips together, then seemed to remember something. She removed a charm she always carried from around her neck, handed it to Ishiu, and said gently,
"Ishiu, you're going back, and Sister Mei doesn't have much to give you. I've carried this charm with me since childhood. It's very effective. I hope you'll accept it."
Bronya immediately went expressionless.
(P.S. The guaranteed five chapters are done. Next comes the reward chapters. I owe a total of eight thousand words from yesterday to today. I'll update another four thousand words today, then another four thousand tomorrow, and that should settle it, okay~)
The Queen of Raiden Descends! (A Four-Thousand-Word Chapter!)
The charm Raiden Mei gave him was rectangular, only two fingers wide, with the words "Good Fortune" written on it.
Because it was Raiden Mei's personal belonging, when it fell into Ishiu's hand, he could still feel its warmth. Faintly, he could even smell a milky fragrance.
Unfortunately, before he could take another look, Bronya reached over, snatched the charm away, and stuffed it back into Raiden Mei's hand.
"How could we possibly accept this? Since Miss Raiden has carried it with you since childhood, it must hold deep sentimental value, right? My little brother is so clumsy. What if he accidentally damages it? You should keep it yourself."
"Hehe, it's all right. It's only a charm. No matter how sentimental it is, it isn't more important than Ishiu. I've always regarded him as my little brother, and with this charm on him, I'll be able to rest easy." Raiden Mei maintained her gentle smile as she tried to hand the charm to Ishiu again.
"There's no need for Miss Raiden's kindness. With Bronya here, nothing will happen to him, so you should keep the charm for yourself." Bronya stood in front of Ishiu and expressionlessly pushed the charm back again.
"..."
"..."
Neither of them spoke again. They simply looked calmly at each other. Raiden Mei wore a smile, while Bronya remained expressionless.
Yet for some reason, Ishiu felt that although Raiden Mei was smiling, the pressure she gave off was even stronger than Bronya's.
"I-Ishiu, Mei has become so scary..." Kiana tugged Ishiu's arm and whispered fearfully into his ear.
"Uh..."
Ishiu's reasonably high emotional intelligence told him that Raiden Mei and Bronya did not seem to be getting along, and that he himself appeared to be the source of their confrontation. So at a time like this, he had better make himself as inconspicuous as possible. If he could avoid speaking, he should avoid speaking, lest he get dragged in and end up offending both sides.
That was what he thought, but how could someone in the eye of the storm possibly stay out of it?
"Ishiu, do you want my charm?"
Raiden Mei seemed to have finally run out of patience. She stepped past Bronya, used her height advantage to look over Bronya's head, and fixed her eyes on Ishiu.
"Ishiu." Bronya also turned to look at him. She did not say anything more, but her meaning was already perfectly clear.
Ishiu: "..."
Before you continue