But if Elysia-nee wanted to laugh, she should just laugh.
Once Shiraha was a little older, when he could bring Nee-chan home, back to the Elysian Realm to visit friends, Sakura would obediently understand who the real World's Number One Killer was by then.
Shiraha still had no intention of meeting Sakura right now. He was far too young. A child with such deep, calculating thoughts wouldn't be endearing at all.
But he could downgrade a little and make do, for instance, approach Natasha-senpai at noon.
At noon, back in the clubroom, because of PE class that morning, there was no training today. That let Yuna breathe a huge sigh of relief.
Raven, for once, had pulled back her hood. She glanced at the three children. "The book you wanted."
Characters inside the Realm generally couldn't interfere with the outside. But Mobius was different. Klein, the caretaker of the Realm, and Grey Serpent, the Agent of World Serpent, both were members of Lab One.
Mei leaned in curiously, her head nearly touching Shiraha's shoulder. "What book?"
Shiraha flipped it open casually. The layout wasn't dense. For the sake of a child's reading experience, the font had been enlarged, the line spacing stretched wide. It felt like reading a magnified picture book.
The content was substantial, but the illustrations were few. The occasional images that did appear were simple anatomical diagrams of the human body. Mobius really didn't understand children.
"What's this?"
Mei blinked. Extracurricular reading?
"Extracurricular reading. About the mysteries of the human body." Shiraha paused, then continued explaining, "I believe that once I fully understand this, I can become a superhero."
Mei's eyes flickered with light. Truly?
Just then, Raven cooperated perfectly and let out a scoff. Not loud, but it was especially conspicuous in the quiet clubroom. Mei understood instantly.
First, she stood beside Shiraha and shot a glare at the delinquent senpai, defending her seven-year-old, easily-distracted, probably-slowing-down-her-own-progress little brother.
Then she turned around and went back to her spot, ready to grab a drink and eat lunch. Yuna was already exhausted. Mei told herself this. Study and rest need proper balance.
Shiraha flipped through a couple of pages before handing the book to the curious Nee-chan. Elysia looked at it intently for a few moments, then, without any change in expression, pushed the book back toward him. Her face was perfectly serene, as if nothing had happened.
Yuna's eyes went wide.
Shiraha raised a single finger to his lips and lowered his voice. "Shh. This is our club's secret. Yuna, you have to keep it safe for me."
Yuna looked at Shiraha's little face and nodded solemnly.
She understood. In the Far East, people who exposed others' secrets behind their backs, who spoke ill of others, deserved to be isolated and shunned.
Raven was also flipping through an extracurricular book, though hers was a light novel with a gaudy, colorful cover.
High school life wasn't bad. Show up at school on time every day. Sit through morning classes. At noon, eat and drink tea and read novels in the clubroom.
After lunch, Shiraha finally spoke. "Senpai, when does your family's company go public?"
Raven lifted her eyes slightly, a soft laugh escaping as she bared a canine tooth. "Just say what you want directly."
From what Raven knew of Grey Serpent, he should have a very hard time refusing any request made by this brat no, by that Master called Elysia.
Ahem! Just then, Mei cleared her throat beside them, her voice turning a shade more formal. "Natasha-senpai, do you have any interest in joining ME Corp?"
"Please rest assured, ME Corp would never interfere with a subsidiary company's autonomy. And with ME Corp's investment, your family's business would absolutely see rapid growth."
So spoke the young lady of the Raiden family.
Raven: .....
She glanced at Shiraha, then at Mei. "Is this your idea or your father's?"
Mei's expression was serious, her chin lifted slightly. "Before getting your consent, I won't breathe a word of this to my father."
"Oh. Your idea?" Raven's voice lilted upward.
Mei nodded. Being able to seamlessly claim a subordinate's contribution as her own, this was exactly the basic operation of a qualified leader.
Raven bared her canine tooth again, her smile radiant. "Then I refuse."
Your ME Corp wasn't high-level enough. Anti-Entropy wasn't either. Our World Serpent's current proxy, Shenzhou Medical, was directly collaborating with Schicksal.
ME Corp? Honestly, a bit lacking.
Mei's expression stiffened. She knew it. A delinquent senpai who possessed core technology, how could she possibly agree to something like this so easily?
"Senpai, won't you reconsider?"
Shiraha gazed at her with pleading eyes. Anticipating Raven's reaction was far more fun than anticipating Yuna's.
Raven was a genuine MANTIS soldier, just one who, after witnessing others' ruined states following Metamorphosis in the Elysian Realm, had resolved from the bottom of her heart to never enter that state for the rest of her life.
Heck, as a boss in the game, Raven had been pretty annoying. If you fought her using the Master Elysia, she'd even interrupt your ultimate with two slaps.
"You had a hand in scheming this too?"
Then I want to refuse even more. The corner of the Raven's mouth curved upward. She was prepared, the moment Shiraha nodded pitifully, she'd reject this little brat without mercy.
Shiraha did, indeed, look pitiful. "Actually, Teacher taught me all this. I don't really understand corporate matters."
Elysia: .....
My name really is useful.
The Raven: .....
Boring.
But she glanced at the gloomy Mei and deliberately laughed twice instead. "Alright, alright. Since you put it that way, I'll bring it up with my family when I get back. See what they think."
Mei froze. She slowly lifted her little head, her violet eyes filled with bewilderment. She looked at Shiraha, then at the Raven, her gaze ping-ponging back and forth between them.
Since when did you two get so familiar with each other?
Shiraha... secretly forming factions behind my back... are you trying to usurp the throne?
Was there somewhere I treated you badly? I even let you have the first bite of my ice cream!
For the whole afternoon, Mei ignored Shiraha.
A child's temper was always inexplicable. It came fast and left fast. But before it "left," that sulkiness was very real. Mei sat in her seat, her ponytail aimed squarely in Shiraha's direction.
Compared to Mei, however, Yuna was remarkably well-behaved.
In fact, because of Shiraha's warmth, Yuna would even run over to find him after class to play. Being isolated didn't matter, she'd already been isolated for a long time anyway.
And this afternoon, Mei kept jumping in to talk to Yuna. She was genuinely terrified of being sidelined.
"How nice." Elysia sat on the windowsill, one leg dangling and swinging lightly. Her voice was drifting and wistful. "Little kids really are so easy to win over."
"Nee-chan taught me that."
Shiraha returned the smile.
Elysia puffed out one cheek. I never taught you how to win over girls like that!
What she'd originally envisioned was childhood friends, innocent and pure, two little playmates without a hint of guile.
Shiraha hugged his book. "Even though my reputation at school isn't great either... having a friend should be a good thing for Yuna."
He'd turned a little more serious, the earlier playfulness gone from his voice.
Elysia wanted to argue. Her lips parted twice, but nothing came out. In the end, she could only sigh helplessly.
"Yeah." Her voice softened too. "For a child... having a friend really is so important."
But how stifling.
My little friend. My mature, sensible, yet still so young Shiraha. Why is it always you who plays the hero?