Apocalypse, I Alone Save Everything

Usually, that girl only came around noon, but this time, she arrived so early.

Since she hadn't revealed her presence to the public yet, Yae Sakura always concealed her tracks and aura before Mei arrived, spending her weekend afternoons hidden away in her room.

In any case, it would be better to avoid her for now...

With that thought, Yae Sakura quickly and lightly dashed up to the second floor, returning to her room without making a sound.

Because time was short, she didn't have time to erase her aura this time.

After Yae Sakura hid herself, the purple-haired girl skillfully entered the living room.

"Phew... I came a bit early today..."

She was still carrying some vegetables she had bought from the supermarket.

After placing the items on the kitchen table, Mei tilted her head and listened, but heard no sounds.

It seems he's still asleep...

"Hmm... I'll prepare the ingredients first, and then cook them closer to noon."

The girl turned back to look at the abundant ingredients on the table, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared to get to work.

However, in Mei's mind, another voice suddenly surfaced, stopping her.

"...Wait a moment, Raiden Mei."

—Ever since returning from the operation in Changkong City last time, although this Stigmata Personality had no intention of appearing in front of others, the frequency of communication between her and Mei had indeed increased significantly.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

Mei curiously asked in her mind.

The Stigmata Personality was silent for a moment before speaking with a tone of certainty:

"...There's another woman's scent in this house."

"Eh?"

Mei was slightly taken aback.

She thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps... other classmates visited here too?"

After all, this was a girls' school, so it wasn't too strange for girls to occasionally visit Ming Yu's dorm.

"It doesn't seem like it. That scent is everywhere, and it's very fresh."

The Stigmata Personality stated with conviction.

Mei guessed randomly, "Kiana is still sleeping in the dorm, and so is Miss Himeko. Hmm... could it be the class representative or Bronya?"

The girls who were relatively close to Ming Yu were actually just these few.

"...They don't wear perfume with that kind of scent."

The voice in her heart mercilessly dismissed all of Mei's guesses.

A faint floral fragrance permeated the air, a scent that both she and Mei were very familiar with – a fragrance like cherry blossoms.

In fact, she doubted if it was really the scent of perfume.

She paused for a moment and suggested to Mei, "In any case, just to be safe, why don't you go and check?"

The so-called "just to be safe" referred to...

Mei weakly said, "Isn't it a bit inappropriate to do that? This is Ming Yu's dorm, after all..."

"He freeloads your meals every day. What's wrong with you taking a look around his room? Go on, hurry."

The Stigmata Personality urged Mei to act.

"O-okay..."

Of course, Mei herself also really wanted to know who the owner of this cherry blossom-like scent was.

Following the scent of cherry blossoms, she gently ascended the stairs leading to the second floor.

The further she went up, the more she could smell the refreshing, faint floral fragrance.

The dormitories at St. Freya Academy were generally laid out similarly, so Mei wasn't too unfamiliar with the place.

"It looks like it should be on this floor..."

Mei mused.

However, just as the girl was about to venture further, the wooden door beside her suddenly opened.

What greeted her eyes was Ming Yu, shirtless.

He also blinked in surprise upon seeing the purple-haired girl standing before him:

"Huh? Mei?"

After living at St. Freya Academy for a while, Ming Yu's body had already undergone earth-shattering changes.

The ample supply of nutrition and persistent training had also resulted in a qualitative leap in his physical fitness compared to his time in Changkong City.

This was reflected in his appearance as well, with well-defined muscles.

Although it might not be obvious when he wore clothes, Mei saw everything clearly now that he was bare-chested.

"…!"

Having rarely encountered anyone of the opposite sex other than her father since childhood, Mei had never seen such a display. Her fair cheeks instantly flushed red.

"Th-that, Ming Yu-kun…"

The purple-haired girl stumbled backward, trying to retreat, but for some reason, she tripped herself. Her balance faltered, and she was about to fall backward.

All sorts of martial arts lead to falling on flat ground.

Ming Yu instinctively stepped forward and reached out, wrapping his arms around her waist before she could fall and helping her up.

Since it was the weekend and a rest day, Mei wasn't wearing the St. Freya uniform. Instead, she had changed into more casual and comfortable clothing.

This casual outfit already showcased the girl's charm, and after touching her directly…

Well, this outfit felt even thinner than he had imagined.

At this moment, the girl's soft body was pressed tightly against his arm. Even though there was no direct skin contact, it evoked a sense of intimacy that felt even more profound than direct touch.

As their eyes met at close range, he could even clearly see the delicate eyelids that fluttered with Mei's eyelashes, and the faint shimmering moisture in the depths of her pupils.

The atmosphere immediately fell into silence.

A few seconds later, Mei finally reacted. She hastily broke free from Ming Yu's embrace, her cheeks burning as if they could drip blood.

"Th-thank you… Ming Yu-kun!"

She covered her face with both hands, her voice as faint as a mosquito's hum, only daring to steal glances at Ming Yu from the corner of her eyes.

"...Mei, you go downstairs and wait for a bit. I'll come down after I change."

The girl nodded like a pecking chick and quickly ran back downstairs.

He wasn't exactly the type to abstain from romance. Of course, he wouldn't be completely unaffected by a beautiful woman throwing herself into his arms.

Especially not someone like Mei… a young lady with such a good figure.

It was early in the morning, and such an exciting event had happened right after they woke up.

Ming Yu shook his head and returned to his room to find some clothes.

Although he had just woken up, smelling the cherry blossom scent in the air, he could roughly guess what Mei had come to the second floor to look for.

Hmm… should he reveal Yae Sakura's existence to others?

Previously, he had concerns due to her pseudo-Herrscher identity. But now that Mei, a genuine Herrscher, was living in the academy long-term, along with Yunoh from the Chibi Academy whom he had rescued not long ago, Yae Sakura's identity was no longer that special.

Of course, he didn't think there would be any major problems in revealing Yae Sakura's existence to Theresa and the others.

His main concern was a certain Schicksal Bishop residing at the Mediterranean headquarters.

Ming Yu was truly unsure how that 500-year-old Schicksal Bishop would view and deal with Yae Sakura, who belonged to the same era as him.

Therefore, for now, it would be better to keep her identity hidden.

After changing his clothes, Ming Yu didn't go downstairs immediately. Instead, he went to Yae Sakura's room and gently knocked on the door.

Even though Mei had gone downstairs, even if she didn't press for answers, the Raiden Queen within her would likely not let it go.

He needed to come up with an explanation for the source of the cherry blossom scent.

For now, he needed to find a plausible excuse to get past this…

A moment later, at the dining table on the first floor.

"What a cute little fox…"

The purple-haired girl looked with great interest at the little creature Ming Yu brought down from the second floor.

It had red and white fur and a faint cherry blossom scent.

Captivated by the adorable creature, the girl completely forgot about what had happened upstairs just moments ago.

"Yeah, this is a small animal I found in the forest to the east when I was morning training with the class representative. I haven't had a chance to tell you guys yet."

Ming Yu introduced, feeling a little guilty.

—Although it was a bit rushed, he had managed to have Yae Sakura transform into a fox to deal with the situation.

"Eee~"

The little fox let out a docile cry, wagged its tail, then leaped off the table. With elegant steps, it walked to the sofa, curled up into a ball, and settled down.

In any case, Mei didn't seem to think too much about it, and this matter had probably passed.

Well, if anyone else comes to his dorm in the future, he could just use the little fox as an excuse.

At the dining table, Ming Yu ate the breakfast Mei had prepared and casually asked, "By the way, Mei, how's Kiana's special training going lately?"

He figured Theresa's intense special training for that girl should be showing some results by now.

"Mmm... well, her combat skills training is technically passing, but everything else is pretty terrible..."

Mei said with a hint of helplessness.

"During the exams a while back, biology, geography, chemistry, physics, history... Kiana's total score across all five subjects was only twenty-one points."

History, in particular, was a complete zero.

She was the genuine, bona fide last place.

"..."

Ming Yu's lips twitched slightly.

Well, that fit his image of the "bug" perfectly.

He still remembered that he, Fu Hua, Bronya, and Mei had swept the top four spots in that exam.

If only this girl could train and study as seriously as they did...

While he had considered encouraging Kiana to be more serious, unfortunately, after arriving at St. Freya, she seemed to have adopted a rather laissez-faire attitude.

Perhaps it was the feeling of a long-lost wanderer finally finding a home. Her stated goal of "finding Siegfried once she became an A-rank Valkyrie" didn't seem as important to her now.