"Where did they all go?"
Mei stood there, completely dumbfounded. This wasn't right.
Kiana, Fu Hua, Bronya, how were they all gone?
The girl who'd been isolated from the group was tying her shoes. She looked up, equally confused. "They weren't in the dorm when I came back last night."
A vague unease settled in Mei's chest.
Soon, at the morning assembly, the teacher in charge did a headcount, and confirmed her unease, Shiraha was missing too.
But the teacher didn't seem particularly puzzled, clearly, the parents had already called ahead.
Mei stood in the middle of the group, Yuna beside her along with a few other familiar classmates. The sunlight felt warm on her skin, but all she felt was a chill down her back.
She'd been left behind. Waaah!
…
When Shiraha opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a face, close up, smiling.
"Morning~" Elysia was lying on the bed, her body tilted, a bit of fabric slipping off her shoulder to reveal a pale curve of skin.
Lazily, she reached out with one finger and tapped his forehead.
Tapping his chest would've been more intimate, but Shiraha was still too young.
Shiraha's vision quickly cleared, and his voice came out crisp. "Good morning, Nee-chan."
Beside them, Rin was also woken up, she rubbed her eyes with her little paws.
Another new day. One day closer to seeing her sister.
She still hadn't come out and said she was Rin, she didn't have the mental fortitude for that. Kids were like that, they liked to put things off until the last minute.
Not that Rin was a kid.
The house was quiet in the early morning. Tesla and Einstein were still asleep. When Shiraha pushed the door open, only Welt was standing in the living room, apparently getting ready to go buy breakfast.
"Welt-senpai, I'll come with you."
He jogged down the stairs.
Welt didn't refuse, after all, carrying five meals alone was really hard. Even the all-powerful Herrscher of Reason would struggle a bit.
The University of California was a special place, but Welt's reason for teaching here wasn't complicated. It was just where Edison had invested back then.
The campus was crisp and cool in the morning light.
Shiraha walked beside him, not particularly well-behaved, his pace quick.
"Little Shiraha, do you like school?"
Welt deliberately slowed his steps, and Shiraha matched him.
Shiraha didn't hide it. "Not really."
If he could, he'd rather join Anti-Entropy than keep going to school in the Far East.
But in a Honkai world, having a good teacher didn't seem to give much of a bonus.
This world seemed to value talent, bloodline, and resources, though every world did.
Welt asked softly, "Do people isolate you because of your senpai?"
He himself loved ordinary, peaceful times, from age eight onward, his life had been high-pressure, always carrying others' expectations.
So he didn't want to put too much weight on Shiraha yet.
Shiraha was quiet for a moment, suppressing a smile. "Yeah, but I don't care about them."
"Honestly, I don't really get the point of school. I know knowledge helps society, but I feel like my situation calls for special treatment."
He hesitated, then added, "I'm not sure, but I think my path should be different from others'."
Welt didn't answer.
He'd once dreamed of being a hero, but after the power and legacy of the Herrscher of Reason were thrust upon him, his childhood became a string of sleepless nights.
But Shiraha, who hadn't been burdened with that legacy and hadn't seen heroes fall, didn't seem to like this ordinary life.
Welt suddenly asked, "Who do you like better, Mei or Kiana?"
Shiraha: ?
Shouldn't we be talking about whether I should go to school or inherit something big?
Welt's tone was playful. "You can tell your senpai anything, I won't tell anyone."
Shiraha shook his head and glanced at Elysia, who was "completely unintentionally" eavesdropping with perked ears.
He looked up. "I like my Nee-chan."
Then we definitely can't let you leave school.
Welt thought to himself.
With Siegfried defected and Theresa independent, Schicksal's pressure on him was light, very light.
So Welt could confidently see himself as a protector, letting Shiraha grow up healthy.
Not that he'd waste his talent, Himeko's recent research on Stigmata had made some progress. She could return to school and give Shiraha some development advice.
It wasn't that they hadn't wanted to teach before, Anti-Entropy just hadn't known how. Their research on Stigmata was a mess.
They were afraid of messing up a good seedling.
"Does Kiana hang out with you often at school?"
Welt asked again while waiting in line for food.
"Yeah, Kiana doesn't take school seriously either. Uncle Siegfried says he wants her grades to improve, but he doesn't seem to mind her learning other things."
"He just wants her to be happy."
Shiraha didn't see any expectation for Kiana to become Cecilia, just for her to grow up like any other kid.
"Mei?"
Shiraha paused. "Mei-nee always drags me out to play after school. She's a little chuunibyou sometimes, but I don't mind."
Welt didn't press further, adults shouldn't meddle in kids' affairs.
After picking up the food, three containers in his hands, two in Shiraha's, Welt looked at the boy beside him. Thanks to good nutrition, Shiraha had grown quickly, he'd caught up to Kiana. For a boy, that was fast.
"A while ago, Siegfried told me your talent shouldn't be wasted playing house in the Far East, you'll surpass him."
Shiraha lifted his head matter-of-factly. "Of course I'll surpass him. And not just that, I'll take care of everyone."
Welt didn't deny it. "Becoming a hero is everyone's dream."
He paused. "Shiraha, if I said I wanted you to keep living an ordinary life at school, would you blame me?"
Shiraha blinked. "Maybe a little."
Welt let out a dry laugh, this kid really doesn't lie.
That was the payoff for leaving a good impression. Shiraha gave a little "ehe" in response.
Welt straightened his expression. "But I don't want to put too much pressure on you at this age, though letting you waste your talent at school would have Siegfried nagging in your ear every day."
"I'll talk to Ryoma about this. Himeko's research on Stigmata has made some progress."
"She'll be your club's advisor."
It wasn't really about Himeko, it was Anti-Entropy's achievement, but Shiraha only knew Himeko, and she could learn those achievements.
Shiraha was quiet for a moment. Himeko, the one who studied aerospace dynamics? Is she really up for this?
Switching majors from physics to biology that fast?
He didn't stay silent for long, he smiled back. "I just hope she doesn't get kicked out of school again for no reason."
Welt seemed about to say something, but looking at Shiraha's still-young face, he held back.
Back home, another doctor was in the living room. Einstein had her noise-canceling headphones around her neck, curled up on the couch with a cup of coffee.
She looked up, her tone gentle. "Little Shiraha, stay with us for the next few days. You don't have to follow the group tour."
She'd picked up on something, as an orphan herself, she'd been bullied plenty as a kid.
But it was fine. Because she was so brilliant, those who thought she was strange soon lost the chance to even see her.
Shiraha gladly accepted.
"Go get Kiana, her grades…"
Honestly, there wasn't much point in her touring. Kiana could go to college, but getting into this one was unlikely.
Einstein paused, choosing her words. "You kids like being together anyway, at least you two can keep each other company here."
As for Mei, she had her own group, Einstein didn't need to worry about her.
When Shiraha knocked, Kiana's response was quick. "Come in."
He pushed the door open, Kiana, or rather Sirin, was leaning by the window, her white hair loose, watching college students pass by outside.
Poor Kiana, her imaginary friend kept taking over her body?
Shiraha blinked. "Sirin?"
"Yeah." Sirin nodded, then curled her finger, gesturing for him to sit, a gesture that carried a natural, queenly laziness.
"You're coming out more and more often."
Shiraha said softly.
Sensitive little Sirin looked up immediately. "What, am I interrupting your time with Kiana?"
Shiraha sat beside her and took her hand. "No, I was just thinking that maybe someday, like my Nee-chan, you'll be able to stay out all the time."
Sirin made a noncommittal sound, not sure if she believed him, probably she did.
After all, that senpai of his seemed really important to him.
Soon, the proud Sirin leaned her head on Shiraha's shoulder. "Every time I see this kind of peaceful scene, I get this overwhelming urge to destroy it."
People often said Sirin had two sides, good and evil, but that wasn't quite right.
Kiana had strange thoughts sometimes too, and Sirin could be soft occasionally. Both carried traces of the other.
She expected the boy to say something grand, or scold her, he'd done that before, even slapped her once.
But this time, Shiraha just held her hand. "Sirin, I think I know your story by now."
It had been a while, and Kiana had asked about it now and then. With Shiraha helping, he naturally knew.
"Sirin, I completely understand why you resent this world." He paused, then lifted her small finger to point at himself. "But at least, you don't hate me."
That was good. Sirin didn't hate kids, and she especially didn't hate Shiraha.
Sirin made vague sounds, who knew? Maybe one day, the Herrscher of Void would get bored and toss this once-tolerable boy aside.
"Whenever you're upset, come find me. Shiraha has all the time in the world."
He said it with conviction. "Everyone knows Shiraha has no friends at school, only my Nee-chan keeps me company."
Being isolated was actually pretty useful, many Herrscher girls had suffered in the past.
And isolation meant they'd naturally feel closer.
"Shiraha! Is Kiana not up yet?"
Einstein called from downstairs.
Sirin's face, which had softened, tensed up, she instinctively tried to pull her hand away.
But Shiraha held on tight… and Sirin wasn't really trying that hard.
Shiraha spoke seriously. "Soon, Rin's sister will be coming over too. Rin will probably show up through some way as well."
"I should've told you about Rin, the Herrscher of Corruption from the Previous Era. Like Sirin, she did terrible things because of her own suffering."
Sirin didn't deny it. In fact, Rin's appearance only reinforced her belief that Shiraha hadn't changed, he still thought revenge was justified.
"I'll explain Sakura and Rin to others, since they're good people, both of them."
The thought of how to introduce them gave Shiraha a headache, but hard as it was, introductions still had to happen. Even if it meant using fake identities.
But fake identities aside, Shiraha pointed downstairs, his smile bright. "For now, Sirin, come eat with me!"
"You haven't tasted food in a long time, have you?"
And with that, he pulled her hand and headed down.
Sirin hesitated, but Shiraha was stronger. Or rather, Sirin didn't resist. Kiana was stronger anyway, Kaslanas had nothing but brute strength.
Elysia sighed, Kiana was already hard enough to handle, and now there's Sirin. Hopefully Sakura can help a little when she comes.
As they stepped out, Shiraha looked at the two doctors and Welt in the living room, took a breath. "Doctor—this is—"
Before he could finish, Sirin bumped into him, she wasn't ready to reveal herself yet.
Her smile was bright. "Sorry, Doctor, I overslept."
Sirin could act, though most of the time she couldn't be bothered.
Shiraha was a little confused, whispering, "Sirin, you should have your own identity and your own relationships."
Sirin whispered back, they were close in height, no need for tiptoes.
She gave a reason he couldn't argue with. "It's more fun this way!"
Really, she was just nervous. Suddenly being pulled toward the light made her instinctively afraid.
The Herrscher of Void feared nothing, except maybe being held.
Shiraha: ….
He was quiet for a moment, then whispered, "Kiana won't be happy about this."
After all, Sirin was occupying Kiana's spot.
Sirin replied confidently, "I already talked to her!"
She hadn't, but she'd talk to Kiana later. Her source wasn't damaged.
And anyway, Kiana hadn't said no. Not saying no meant yes!
With that, Sirin stepped out from behind Shiraha, her steps light, her golden eyes squinting in the morning light.
Her smile was radiant. "Good morning, Doctor!"