"So boring."
Back at the hideout, Raven tossed her satchel aside carelessly, then glanced sidelong at the simulacrum.
Grey Serpent had been spending most of his time lately processing information, the Far East, Anti-Entropy, the Raiden family, Jinjin Orphanage, and Shiraha.
Grey Serpent's voice was even. "It seems today's mission made some progress."
"Besides, I thought you'd at least enjoy school life a little."
The Raven wasn't a terrible person... well, just not too terrible.
She yearned for a peaceful life. Grey Serpent didn't particularly care about that sentiment. In his eyes, she was simply the one filling the role of field operative while their master had yet to return.
"Enjoy what, exactly?" The Raven shot back mercilessly. "Are you saying that skipping elementary and middle school entirely, then throwing me straight into Chiba Academy with a fabricated identity, is something I should be happy about?"
The Far East's school environment, everyone knew the deal. If the Raven weren't physically strong, she'd absolutely be among the bullied.
Oh wait. She was already isolated. The teachers didn't like her either, a student with zero academic foundation. She couldn't understand a single thing in class.
Grey Serpent's voice didn't waver. "Wasn't this identity exactly what you'd been longing for?"
"A normal life. Perhaps not the happiest school experience, but with your learning ability, you'd adapt sooner or later. Who knows, in the future, to maintain your cover, you might even return to Chiba Academy as a teaching assistant. A thoroughly ordinary existence."
But some things, once done, couldn't be undone. The Raven had killed. She'd done terrible things. For the sake of World Serpent's development, her life had already spiraled beyond her control.
The Raven's lips parted, but no words came.
She was quiet for a moment. Then she obediently retrieved her satchel and pulled out her textbooks.
"Tutor me. There's a ton of stuff I don't understand at all."
As frustrating as it was, once the word "Origin" had surfaced, Grey Serpent's objectives really had shifted.
He was even willing to let this chess piece, one he could have used for many more years, slowly transition into a normal life. Even if it was only for the sake of the mission.
Hope that so-called master of yours comes back soon. At this rate, I'll end up transitioning into a Far East high school girl along the way.
"So boring."
Back home, Elysia delivered her daily complaint. But it was just that, a complaint.
"Don't you think things are pretty interesting right now?"
Shiraha set his luggage neatly aside.
His mind replayed the encounter with the Raven after school.
Natasha Cioara.
A name that didn't sound local. A name that stood out as jarring when heard in the Far East.
Though the Raven had clearly looked like a delinquent at the time. She'd shot back at Shiraha right then and there: Does your name sound local to you?
But the moment she'd said it, she'd shut her mouth. She'd probably read Shiraha's file and knew he'd been an orphan.
"Where's the interesting part?"
Elysia countered. Sure, she'd never been to school and was willing to experience the feeling of attending class. But fourth grade... sigh.
She'd already stopped paying attention to lessons two days ago and was instead honing her sketching skills.
"It's all hard work for our future, Elysia-nee."
Shiraha turned around, walked to the bedside, and framed against the sunset at his back, put on a smile he thought was pretty great.
Elysia: .....
"Don't you think it's interesting?" Shiraha paused, then added, "Natasha Cioara. I won't deny her disguise looks very much like a real student. But it's still too fake."
Truthfully, Shiraha didn't even know exactly where the falseness lay. But the moment that name had entered his ears, every single move the Raven made had seemed suspicious.
"But I don't mind." Shiraha paused again. "Ahem. Just like how Nee-chan never looked down on me for being Manticore, I won't look down on Natasha for who she is either. We're all just trying to get by."
Elysia didn't reply. She was still racking her brain, trying to figure out where that girl had slipped up, why hadn't she noticed?
She searched her memory for a long while. Unfortunately, her brain wasn't exactly brand new. It couldn't compare to Shiraha's fresh, sharp little mind.
Elysia decided to skip the question. Everyone had their specialty. She trusted Shiraha's judgment. "So, what does this have to do with the future?"
"Our future." Shiraha emphasized as always.
Elysia's expression didn't change. "Mm-hmm. So what does this have to do with our future?"
Often, Elysia could catch a glimpse of her own shadow in Shiraha, the way he habitually reinforced small things with words, over and over. Subtle, but over time, it'd have an effect.
She didn't dislike it.
"Nee-chan became famous in the Fire Moth too... legendarily. So you probably never experienced the step-by-step process of building something up."
Shiraha thought for a moment, searching for easier words to convey his meaning. "Nee-chan, do you understand the feeling of being needed? And the feeling of needing someone?"
"It's true, at my current age, as long as my grades are good and I'm well-behaved yet spirited, that's the best way to satisfy an adult's sense of being needed."
Elysia could understand that. After all, for someone who'd never attended school, she was exceptionally well-versed in human relationships and the ways of the world.
She realized where the problem lay. "But you dropped down in grade level!"
In student life, progress was a relatively linear process. But Shiraha had dropped grades. In the short term, excellent academic performance wouldn't stir much emotion in Ryoma Raiden.
Shiraha nodded. "Right. So I need to do something else. I plan to use Nee-chan's sharp eye to scout a batch of promising seedlings, as my friends, and as my first business partners."
Elysia muttered, "You can just say 'faction.'"
Dressing it up with "friends" and "partners" made Shiraha sound like a pure little white flower.
Shiraha didn't refute her. He just sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at Elysia's face, the one untouched by the passage of time. "Nee-chan, we need something that belongs to us."
"The Raiden house is wonderful. The identity of the Raiden family's adopted son is even better. But for two remnants of the Previous Era like us... I think we need a little house that belongs just to us."
Elysia felt dazed. Why? She thought the Raiden house was great. The bed was big and soft. The food was delicious.
But she blinked, her starry eyes glimmering. If past experience was any guide, Shiraha was about to lay on the charm!
Shiraha continued, "Uncle Ryoma is a good man. Mei is a good person too. But a secret binds two people together forever, you said that yourself, Nee-chan."
"Even if I get thrown out someday, or something happens to Nee-chan, and the Raiden family won't support me in helping you... we need our own little world. A small place that doesn't rely on anyone else. That belongs only to us. Even if it's humble."
It was actually quite unreasonable. But Shiraha wanted to leave some visible trace of effort between himself and Elysia, at the very least, to make himself look like he had... something to do.
He had to give Elysia a little sense of being needed and needing someone. On Ryoma's end, Shiraha truly wasn't worried.