No. It had already gone beyond anything perverted. It was something horrifying and twisted, something that could only be described as disgusting.
But when she looked at the boy before her, he was probably the only person in the world kind enough to tell her the truth plainly, the only one willing to reach out to her.
Raiden Mei chose to deceive herself and nodded.
"...Then, what comes next?"
"—Fight back."
His answer was sharp, without the slightest hesitation.
"Fight back against everyone you want to fight back against, everyone you need to fight back against. Kill them or beat them up—it's up to you."
"..."
The girl fell silent.
Even though she had already learned that she had the sort of setup you'd expect from the protagonist of a hot-blooded novel or manga—
A powerful and dangerous force lay hidden within her, countless people coveted it, and she had a rather convoluted past concealed beneath the surface of reality. An imminent crisis loomed over her. Naturally, all of that should have led to a journey worthy of a hot-blooded manga, where she forged her own story amid dangers and coincidences.
How could anyone have all those traits and still not think they were the protagonist?
Even if she could only manage to watch helplessly as the shrine maiden with orange-red hair, whose eyes had once been filled with her, turned into a dried-up corpse, not even thirty million votes could save her.
And yet.
After spending far too long numb to everything, the girl still found it hard to summon her courage so easily.
Perhaps the Raiden Mei from a few years ago, if she'd learned all this, would have immediately burned with passion, drawn her sword, and charged ahead at every enemy, no matter how powerful or numerous—eager to begin the adventure of a chuunibyou girl.
But now, after the entire world she knew had rejected her, after everything she'd been through—
"I..."
Her pearly white teeth gently bit into the corner of her delicate lips, making them turn faintly pale.
Anxiety churned inside her. Her unease rose like the tide, wave after wave, nearly drowning her.
Raiden Mei's gaze drifted forward of its own accord.
It settled on his face.
He'd once had nothing to do with her, yet now his determination spilled out of him with overwhelming force—a determination to believe in her.
There wasn't the slightest trace of worry or fear in his eyes, only something wholly unreserved, something that could only be called sincerity.
"Can I do it?"
"—You can."
6. Cyrene, Toughened by Motherhood (?)
Jiang Cheng spoke slowly, one word at a time.
Each word was like a nail, driven hard into the anxious girl's unsteady heart.
"At this point in time, only you—"
"Only you—"
"Raiden Mei can do this."
"Now, come with me and leave the city. Then, release your power somewhere uninhabited, and you'll learn what's hidden inside your body."
"I..."
As Jiang Cheng quietly watched Raiden Mei, still timid and lingering in the shadows, unable to grasp the hand someone had extended to her, the girl standing beside him took a step forward.
A scene of stark contrast unfolded—
The petite girl faced the tall, down-on-her-luck heiress.
"If you don't believe in yourself so much that no matter how you're treated, you still won't take a step forward, then you—"
"Why should you believe you can contradict A-Cheng?!"
She had endured all she could. Her anger had reached its breaking point.
Cyrene.
She could no longer stand by and watch.
The voice that left her lips held none of its usual sweetness or gentleness, none of the cloud-soft comfort that seemed to float among the clouds.
"I-I'm sorry."
Raiden Mei lowered her tall, elegant head. Her wandering gaze didn't even dare meet Cyrene's eyes.
"I'll do it. I'll leave."
Jiang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, reassured—
"—!"
His pupils suddenly widened.
He saw that, at some point, a crescent-shaped ritual sword in the color of glazed glass had appeared in Cyrene's hand.
Even though it was only a ceremonial implement, it was still sharp enough to seem as if it could cut through sunlight, glimmering with a silvery sheen.
The shadow he'd glimpsed from the corner of his eye earlier, hidden beneath her pink bangs—the girl who, in everyone's impression, could only be described as natural, lively, and adorable—now wore a tightly furrowed brow.
Pressure.
Presence.
He had never felt them so clearly coming from her. Though her frame was small and delicate, it gave rise to a terrifying air of oppression, as though they were standing right at the center of a tornado.
This was...
—A woman might be weak, but motherhood makes her strong (X)?
Jiang Cheng shoved the random thought back where it came from.
He hurried forward and gently stroked Cyrene's soft, delicate, fair back with his one uninjured hand.
"It's okay."
He softly reassured Cyrene.
"Even a watermelon will be forced to grow square if it's trapped in a square container. Flowers and grass that grow upward will become misshapen and ugly if they're held down for too long."
"That's something they can't control. If you force a square shell onto a watermelon while it's still growing, then no matter how much it doesn't want to become distorted, it can only be forced to grow according to that square shell. It has to make both its appearance and its insides square to adapt to the world."
"For a girl like Raiden Mei, it's only natural that she'd lose the ability to act after enduring the malice of others for no reason and living under bullying for so long."
Close at hand—
The violet eyes lifted slightly without her realizing it.
Her gaze, which should have been avoiding everything, fixed on the small patch of grass thirty centimeters in front of her toes, watching the arc of an unfamiliar blade of grass swaying in the wind—
Couldn't help but fall on the boy speaking so earnestly.
The one who had been so serious then,
speaking slowly, one word at a time.
"She reflexively contradicted me because she's afraid and worried that what happened before will happen again. The conditioning she's been subjected to is just too deeply ingrained. It makes her instinctively avoid doing anything that might get her hurt, especially because the people around her..."
"Even teachers and police officers—the people society regards as arbiters and embodiments of justice—treated her unfairly. She was forced to carve this belief into her heart: even if she fought back, even if she reported her teachers, she'd be the only one to suffer. Knowing it wouldn't help, she'd rather endure it than resist."
"None of this was ever her fault. A watermelon never chose to grow square. There's no point blaming it and asking why it grew that way. Isn't the problem the square shell and the farmer who wanted square watermelons? Why forget that it was once a perfectly normal, even excellent, watermelon?"
To make his point unmistakable and prevent any possible misunderstanding, while helping Cyrene empathize, Jiang Cheng's words carried some of the sincerity he'd once brought to online arguments—
Those people with underdeveloped brains looked down on psychological problems and showed malice toward those who'd endured long-term bullying, even those who'd taken their own lives or fought back. They spoke from on high: It's just a little thing. Why are you the only one who can't get over it? It takes two to tango. Why do they only bully you?
Ignorant yet convinced of their own superiority, the more ignorant they were, the more arrogant they became, recklessly venting their aggression.
But those azure eyes were no longer watching Raiden Mei slowly raise her head. They were fixed intently on him, the one striving to explain.
"..."
"...I understand."
After taking a long, deep breath, considerate Cyrene seemed to relent.
—Was it over?
He watched as the girl put away the ritual sword in her hand. The sharp blade disappeared from her pale palm.
She lifted her face.
A bright smile bloomed once more on her round little face, as radiant as ever.
Like a single cherry blossom petal drifting through the brilliant spring, it traced its path against the wind, its pink glow swaying. The inward-curled petals held all the light of spring, like the smooth, jade-like collarbones revealed above her short, strappy dress.
"A-Cheng~"
"...Let's go."
Jiang Cheng looked away.
He checked the state of his left hand. The purple markings had stopped spreading, but the corroded area still looked like a patch of dead land stamped onto the back of his hand.
—How much longer could he hold out?
He set the question aside for now. At worst, he could call out to Grey Snake and end this side quest right away.
"Let's leave the city. Avoid the crowds and busy streets, and first find somewhere open enough."
Jiang Cheng turned and naturally took Cyrene's pale, delicate, soft, warm little hand. "Then release your power. Connecting to the Imaginary Space won't be difficult for you."
Raiden Mei froze for a brief moment where she stood.
No complaints. No questions.
For once, the down-on-her-luck heiress simply followed in silence, her gaze bright, hurrying after him like someone drowning who had grabbed a piece of driftwood that happened to float by.
He knew perfectly well that what he was doing went against common sense.
Normally, with Cyrene there, the first thing he should do was shout for Grey Snake—
and get in touch with the World Serpent.
That way, he wouldn't need to suffer any Honkai Energy corrosion or experience any pain. He could get through this safely.
Just as Cyrene had once picked him up in Amphoreus.
7. Has Cyrene Stopped Being Gentle? (Revised)
Knowing that was one thing. The gap between understanding and putting it into practice was often impossible to cross.
Jiang Cheng turned his head and looked at Cyrene, who was as well-behaved as a cat yet had a distinctive older-sister air about her. She followed his gaze and playfully winked.
—I can't call Grey Snake.
Even with an easy mode available, I can't use it.
Before you continue