"How annoying, it's those people again."
"Yeah, they never learn."
After easily chasing the girls away, Byakuya and Kiana sat back down on the bench.
However, it was then that they noticed Raiden Mei's long, stocking clad legs, which they had used as pillows, were now a bit shiny, and parts of the stockings had darkened in color.
Paramecium, oblivious to anything, blinked her eyes and scratched her head, asking bluntly,
"Huh? Mei, why are you wet?"
"Bang!"
"Ow, Byakuya, why did you hit me?! What if I become stupid?!"
He couldn't resist punching that girl.
Kiana immediately hugged her head and squatted down in pain, tears welling up in her eyes. Byakuya rolled his eyes, thinking, "Paramecium, your brain has already gone offline; you might as well donate it."
"Idiot Kiana, that's clearly your own drool, Mei isn't wet at all."
"Huh? Is that so? Uh, no, why would I drool? Byakuya, you must be mistaken!"
"Alright, you two stop bickering. Kiana isn't drooling; this is me, wet, wet…"
"Don't take the blame for this. Our pure and reserved Mei can't say it."
Byakuya looked at Mei, who had blushed from her own words, with a wry smile. Although she was down on her luck, she was still a well-bred young lady, far more proper than a certain Paramecium.
"Hehe, thank you, Mei. But seriously, those girls are so annoying. They always say such mean things. You haven't done anything wrong, Mei!"
Kiana said, feeling indignant.
Byakuya shrugged, also expressing helplessness.
"Perhaps a certain Herrscher was right; the baseness of human nature is far more terrifying than disaster. Sigh~ I really don't understand what kind of mindset those girls have."
"But we can't just let it go like this. Every time we run into them, they say nasty things. It's so irritating."
"No, it's alright, Kiana. I'm used to it. I don't care about it as much anymore."
Mei held back Kiana, who looked ready to rush over and continue arguing (or fighting) with those people.
She felt that things were much better than they were in the beginning. Now, those people only mocked her when they met her and didn't dare to do anything more excessive.
But malicious words can sometimes be more hurtful.
Mei always wanted to cover her ears, but people's mouths were their own, and she couldn't do anything about it.
"Byakuya, think of something."
"Hmm, leave it to me. Since we can't control other people's mouths, then let's just not listen. Mei, take this."
"Huh? Isn't this your earphone?"
The two looked at Byakuya in surprise, seeing him hand over the earphones from his neck.
Although not a very expensive brand, Byakuya's earphones had built-in memory for listening to music without a phone, and the noise-canceling effect was excellent; once worn, no other sounds could be heard.
The style was very similar to a certain Flame-Chaser's mark of that moment.
"Next time you encounter those people, just put on your earphones. Let them say what they want, but you don't have to listen. Isn't it better to listen to beautiful music to relax your mind and body than to listen to their vulgar insults?"
"…Thank you, Byakuya. I will definitely treasure it like a precious item."
"Uh, Mei, I'm happy you say that, but there's no need to be so exaggerated."
Byakuya shook his head, indicating it wasn't such a precious gift, and he had used it for a while himself.
But thinking of his earphones being cherished like a treasure by a beautiful girl, he was still very happy.
"However, I now feel that those girls really might have a problem. After all, even with school bullying, once they know there's no opportunity to bully, they should give up, right?" Byakuya said, frowning in thought.
"Uh, what do you mean?" Mei tilted her head in confusion.
"They clearly know that Kiana and I are here, and they don't have much chance to bully you, Mei, but they persist as if they're completing a task."
"You're right. Why are they so persistent? It doesn't benefit them, and they only get harshly lectured by Byakuya and me when they come. I really don't understand what's going on in those girls' heads."
Kiana also looked unable to comprehend.
Every time, they were severely lectured by the two of them and seemed terrified, yet every time they met Mei, they would court death by uttering a few taunts.
Paramecium felt these people were simply crazy.
Byakuya, however, frowned, feeling it was not simple.
"Perhaps there really is some inside story."
…After being chased away by Byakuya and Kiana yet again, the girls gathered breathlessly in a small corner, their faces somewhat grim.
"Damn it, it didn't work again. Think of something quickly! If this continues…"
"Yeah, we took the money. If we keep failing, we won't get the rest."
"But with those two around, we can't bully Raiden Mei like before."
Byakuya was right; there was indeed an inside story as to why these girls, knowing the chances were slim, still tried to bully Mei.
They weren't truly fools to risk being lectured just to bully Mei. Normal school bullies wouldn't be so 'persistent.'
These girls exchanged glances.
"You all understand, right? That woman said we must constantly bully Raiden Mei, make her feel bad, make her afraid and sad."
If they could do this, each of them would earn a considerable sum of money.
"But if we can't do it, we might be in danger ourselves. That woman must be a powerful figure not to be trifled with. If we don't handle what she assigned, we might be done for."
"Now that I think about it, she should be Raiden Mei's father's enemy. If that's the case, perhaps Raiden Ryoma's fraud case really was a miscarriage of justice."
"Why bother with so much? We're just getting paid to do a job. What does his father's fraud have to do with us? Anyway, I've long disliked Raiden Mei."
"Oh, right, let's tell that woman about this. Since she's a big shot, she must have a way to deal with Byakuya and Kiana. Hmph! Let them keep protecting Raiden Mei and suffer along with her!"
If Byakuya were here, he would surely give each of these girls two solid punches and then shout:
"Cocolia, you bitch!!"
…The game didn't say, but this is a setting for this book.
Since Cocolia orchestrated the Third Honkai Eruption to make Mei the Herrscher of Thunder, it's possible she bribed students at Chiba Academy to bully Mei, thereby causing her to accumulate enough negative emotions.
Doesn't that sound quite reasonable?
Ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling—!
The moment the dismissal bell rang that day, Byakuya dragged Kiana out of the school gate, only telling Mei that he had something very important to do and wouldn't explain further.
Kiana looked unwilling.
"Eh~ Why are you dragging me to a place like this, Byakuya? I'm very disappointed in you. I didn't expect you to threaten me, young lady. How bold of you."
The white-haired girl held up her tiny fist, capable of knocking down a small Finality in one blow, and said angrily with puffed cheeks.
Byakuya didn't blame the girl for her tantrum, as it was indeed a threat in reality.
Last night, while he was wandering around the city, he happened to run into Kiana, who was also out at night to fight Honkai Beasts and zombies.
At that time, Kiana was holding two pistols, stomping on a zombie's head to finish it off. Before the girl could strike a pose and revel in her victory, she saw Byakuya, who had already recorded the video with his phone.
As for what happened next… Byakuya: "Oh my, I didn't expect our ultimate, invincible, super-duper cute Kiana to be a night hero! Should I post it online to promote you?"
Kiana: "Ah ah ah ah ah, Byakuya, you, you, how are you here? Ah ah!"
Byakuya: "Heh heh, I just came out for a walk after dinner to aid digestion. As the saying goes, a walk after a meal keeps you alive till ninety-nine. But looking at your reaction… Hehehe, Kiana, you wouldn't want this to be known by others, would you?"
Kiana: "Wuwu, Byakuya, I misjudged you! Just say what you want to do. I, young lady, will not yield!"
Byakuya immediately gave the girl a flick on the forehead and rolled his eyes. This perverted Cat Anchor's thoughts were truly too filthy. How did Siegfried raise his daughter?
Also, harassing the mentally disabled is illegal, okay?… "Stop talking nonsense, just get to work."
"Then at least tell me what kind of work!"
Byakuya pointed to a building not far ahead. The building's wall had the letters ME written in large print. This was the ME Corp branch building he had been investigating for many days.
"Infiltrate it and find the truth."
"Riddler, get out of Changkong City…"
"Uh, alright, my bad."
Byakuya looked up at the sky with a sigh, never expecting to become a Riddler himself one day.
He couldn't help but recall the maddening days of going through the Elysian Realm story in the game, only to lament that he had ultimately become the person he disliked.
"This is Mei's father's company. You know about his father being accused of fraud and going to prison, right? But according to my investigation, it's very likely a deliberate frame-up by one of Mei's father's enemies."
"Oh? Is that so? That's too much! Let's tell Mei quickly!"
"Don't rush. I said it's just a theory. We need to find evidence now, and the most likely place to find evidence, ahem, is this ME Corp branch."
Byakuya said, taking out a pre-prepared black hooded cloak, gloves, a mask, and sunglasses.
"So, come with me to infiltrate it. The current ME Corp branch is being taken over by the enemy I suspect. I can't get in alone."
"…Okay! Since it's for Mei, then I, young lady, will do it!"
"Very good, very spirited!"
(Heh heh, this Paramecium is so easy to trick~)
Looking at the enthusiastic Kiana in front of him, someone inwardly remarked that this girl was really easy to fool.
Of course, Byakuya couldn't infiltrate the ME Corp branch alone, but with this white-haired girl, it was a different story. Although her brain wasn't too bright, her combat power was top-notch.
Plus, coming here to be Paramecium's external brain for command, hmm, it's perfect! Foolproof!
So, after the two disguised themselves properly, Byakuya and Kiana began their stealthy infiltration.
"Kiana, attack!"
"Understood!"
The girl charged forward, dual pistols in hand.
The boy followed closely behind, providing tactical commands.
Not long after, the two slipped inside the building, knocking out everyone they encountered along the way. It was as simple as a max-level expert bullying newbies in a beginner's dungeon.
"Don't call me for such a simple mission~"
"...It was indeed easier than expected."
Byakuya was also a little surprised.
He had thought the security inside the building would be very tight, but he didn't expect there to be hardly anyone. After Kiana knocked out the guards at the entrance, there was basically no one left to stop them.
However, Byakuya soon understood the reason.
Although Cocolia took over ME Corporation after overthrowing Raiden Ryoma, Changkong City was just a branch, and it was also within the scope of her planned 'Third Honkai Eruption'.
To that vixen, this branch was meant to be abandoned anyway. After all, once the Great Eruption occurred, the entire Changkong City would be doomed, let alone a branch building.
Therefore, it was normal for this place to have lax security, with only a dozen armed guards and not even a single Titan.
......
After an investigation, the two found a door that clearly looked out of place.
"Byakuya, this door is so suspicious."
"Yes, it really is, too obvious."
The entire door was made of carbon alloy, with a strong Anti-Entropy-style technological feel. Even Paramecium knew at a glance that there must be some big secret hidden behind it.
"Kiana, kick it open."
"Okay, I love this direct approach!"
Kiana, who hated puzzle games, praised Byakuya's idea, then lifted a foot and kicked the titanium alloy door, sending it flying.
Byakuya's eyes twitched wildly, thinking, 'As expected of a Kaslana Family member, truly amazing.'
And when the door was broken open, Byakuya finally found the reward he was looking for.
Kiana, standing beside him, also widened her eyes.
"These, are these weapons?"
Cocolia