"A study group?"
Kiana looked thoughtful. She glanced at Mei, whose expression was taut, and at Shiraha, who had one cup with two straws.
"I think I did pretty well on this pop quiz, I probably don't need tutoring, right?"
Kiana sounded hesitant. In her experience, study groups were only ever held when she needed cramming.
When Mei's grades slipped, she usually just got a private tutor and dragged Yuna along.
Shiraha didn't seem to care much. "Since we're here anyway, you can drop by and study when you're not working, Kiana."
Kiana: …
So you're saying, on my rare time off from work, I should come here to study?
That's pretty inspirational.
Kiana wiped a glass. "You guys want some drinks? Like fruit tea? I can give you 10% off."
She could actually go up to 20% off, but since Mei, being the young lady, would probably pay for the study group, Kiana could comfortably pocket the difference.
She calculated: from now until the break started was about a month. Excluding weekends… no, she shouldn't exclude them.
That meant she could skim off thirty days of drinks, equivalent to three or four days of full spending.
Sweet!
Mei crossed her hands on the table, her chin resting on them calmly. "Kiana, you don't seem very interested in tutoring?"
Kiana nodded, setting down the cloth and leaning against the counter casually. "I think my grades are fine. And by the time you all graduate, I'll have already built up my own advantages."
She was a Kaslana, worst case, she'd just get strong and become a bodyguard like her dad.
If she got lucky and built a business along the way, maybe she'd even become a boss and hire bodyguards instead.
Mei's lips curled up slightly. "That's fine, even if your grades aren't good, there's more than one path in life."
Kiana gave Mei a look, why was she suddenly defending her?
Did the sun rise from the west?
Shiraha pressed his lips together. "Still, Kiana, you should really try to study hard lately… actually, even with daily tutoring, it'd be tough to break the top ten."
Speaking of which, what was the point of getting into the top ten anyway?
Why did Mei keep emphasizing it?
Kiana shot him a flat look, what do you mean "actually"?
Soon enough, Shiraha found out why top ten mattered.
At dinner, Ryoma Raiden calmly announced his idea. "Little Shiraha, don't slack off on your studies lately."
"I'm planning to organize a trip for the top ten or twenty students from each grade in Academy City's schools, to visit universities in the Americas."
This kind of expense was nothing for ME Corp, it was an investment in kids. Besides, during the economic bubble era, the Far East had been even crazier than this.
Now it was just a chance to visit Anti-Entropy's top university, leave a good impression on the kids.
It wouldn't cost much, since Ryoma wasn't about to pay for everything. But a trip would be nice.
It'd also help reconnect with others in Anti-Entropy. After the Mei incident, Ryoma had slowly drifted away from them, content to just be a rich businessman.
But now, the Raiden family would produce an emperor!
Shiraha paused briefly. "I'll do my best."
Then he looked at Kiana. She was about to look at her dad, but Siegfried spoke up first. "That's a shame, Kiana's grades will probably keep her from joining."
He was joking, but he did want her to study harder.
Fighting? Battling? Protecting? That was for men like Shiraha, not Kiana.
Of course, if she wanted to learn combat skills, he wouldn't stop her. But he still felt Shiraha should work harder, especially with all those pretty girls around him.
It wasn't like they could all suddenly awaken superpowers.
Kiana deflated instantly, looks like no backdoor entry. She started wrestling with herself… trying to convince herself that the Americas weren't that interesting anyway.
It wasn't working well.
"It's fine, we still have over a month. Middle school material isn't that hard, with Kiana's talent, she can do it."
"By then, Dr. Einstein, Dr. Tesla, and Welt-senpai will definitely love having you there."
Shiraha was already dreading this, if he'd known, he'd have started tutoring Kiana earlier. Cramming from the basics was going to be tough.
Kiana made a series of small, sustained "mm" sounds, almost like she was gritting her teeth. After a long struggle: "I'll do it!"
Tesla had been kind to her, she owed her a visit.
Besides, after the Siberia trip, she knew the doctors had been through the Second Eruption too. She could piece together more of Sirin's story.
And her dad? A brute, he probably didn't see the whole picture.
Mei ate her dinner leisurely, who? Kiana? Studying? Heh heh heh.
But once Kiana decided on something, she rarely wavered… most of the time.
After all, she hadn't fully "bugged out" yet.
That night, after dinner, Shiraha and his Nee-chan were leaning against the balcony railing, looking at the stars, when Kiana knocked on his door
knock knock knock
"Come in."
Kiana pushed the door open without hesitation, clearly not concerned about it being a boy's room.
After all, Shiraha's room was very girly… with stars hanging from the ceiling. Every time she entered, she almost forgot it was a boy's room.
It was just too feminine.
"You free right now?"
Kiana got straight to the point.
Shiraha let out a long breath. Elysia released his waist with a resigned smile. "Go ahead, Mr. Omnipotent One."
She didn't dislike Kiana, first, because she was also a Herrscher of humanity, and second… Kiana still didn't really understand romance. Her hostility seemed to come more from concern for Shiraha as a friend.
How could Elysia hate someone like that?
"Yeah."
Shiraha answered softly. As he left, Elysia lost her toy, she blinked, her smile growing more helpless.
Kiana spoke again. "Shiraha, I want to get into the top ten. I want to go to the Americas. I want to see Dr. Tesla again."
It seemed impossible, but this was Honkai. Anything was possible. Maybe Kiana would atavistically revert to MEI.
Shiraha thought for a moment, pulled out a small desk from the side, and set it on the bed. "Let's take it slowly."
He pulled the lamp closer, its light falling between them. "I might not be as good as a teacher, but one-on-one, I can adapt to you way better."
First-year material wasn't hard, but unfortunately, Kiana was a perfectly normal kid, not a genius like Bronya.
Time passed. Elysia had had enough of the balcony and lay lazily on the big bed, her fingers brushing against Shiraha, her cheek sinking into the soft blanket, her starry eyes half-closed as she watched him teach and Kiana listen.
After who knew how long, Elysia's eyes grew drowsy.
Then Kiana's head dropped, before Shiraha could react, she'd smoothly flopped backward, even tugging the blanket over her stomach.
Elysia snapped awake. "She, she's—"
"Fell asleep. Huskies are like that, they sleep when they want, never hold back when life's comfortable."
Shiraha put away the desk, folded a corner of Kiana's textbook, and, following her simple logic, wrote out the final problem before setting it aside.
"Then… what about us? Where do we sleep?"
Elysia stared blankly at Kiana, she's sleeping here, what about us?
Little Shiraha—you're not about to say we sleep together, are you?
Shiraha looked puzzled. "We carry her back."
Huh?
Elysia blinked. "Shouldn't we let her rest here?"
That way, he could build affection faster, get more intimate, maybe even trigger a special event, and it might be useful later in the story.
Shiraha's expression was subtle. "If Kiana were completely alone, I probably would."
But Siegfried was still alive.
He gently pried her fingers open and lifted the blanket. Kiana's sleeping posture was decent, probably because she'd just fallen asleep, she looked pretty cute.
Elysia puffed out one cheek. "Little Shiraha, you should say something more gentlemanly."
She cleared her throat, mimicking him:
"Like, how could I ever use something like this to build affection? I, the Omnipotent One, am upright and honest, I never have any ulterior motives when interacting with others!"
Shiraha was quiet for a moment. "Sorry but when I'm with my Nee-chan, it's hard not to have ulterior motives. So I really can't say that with a straight face."
Huh?
Elysia sniffled, true, Shiraha really knew how to sweet-talk, just like her old self.
So this was what Elysia's friends had enjoyed back then? She suddenly envied Dr. MEI and Eden.
But it was fine, she'd fought her whole life. Now it was her turn to enjoy.
Little Shiraha should talk like this.
And of course, Shiraha had already picked up little Kiana without thinking twice. Wake her? Sure, he could, but why would he?
Even Elysia didn't see anything wrong with the action, she'd do the same. Okay, maybe there was a little problem.
"Why not just wake her up?"
"She's already tired, let her sleep a bit longer." Shiraha adjusted his hold, letting Kiana's head rest on his shoulder. "With Kiana's stubborn nature, if we woke her, she'd probably want to keep studying."
His voice dropped. "That'd cut into time with my Nee-chan."
Elysia: Waaah~
Kiana's room was right next to Shiraha's. It wasn't midnight yet, but the Raiden household was quiet. When Shiraha opened her door, the decor was noticeably… mimicking his.
There were stars on her ceiling too.
No need to take off shoes, Kiana had been sitting cross-legged on the bed while studying in his room.
No need to undress either, just tuck her in.
After doing all that, Shiraha stood by the bed for a moment.
"Speaking of which…" he murmured to himself. "Can Sirin see the stars?"
Even fake ones.
He didn't know. He tightened Kiana's blanket a little more.
"Goodnight, Kiana."
"Goodnight, Sirin, hope you both have sweet dreams."
He turned off the light. The ceiling ornaments glowed faintly for a moment, then faded into darkness.
The Raiden household stayed quiet. When Shiraha returned, Elysia was lying on the bed, her legs kicking gently, holding an illusory storybook.
No cover, no words, but she read it with great focus.
"Ah... the prince who slayed the dragon." She looked up, her starry eyes curving, and sang with deep emotion. "But my kingdom has long since fallen, what do I have left to repay you with?"
Shiraha thought for a moment. "A good deed isn't really a good deed if you don't see it through. And a hero isn't a hero if you don't see them through to the end."
"The imprisoned princess, I've long heard that the kingdom you lived in was so dreamlike, praised by the world as a pure and blissful land."
"How about this, let's talk about repayment on the day I help you restore your kingdom?"
Though using the word "repayment" might not fit the mood perfectly, Elysia didn't mind such trivial things.
The illusory storybook in her hands flickered and vanished. She sat up, reaching out a hand, looking so delicate and vulnerable.
"Of course, my brave hero. When that day comes, surrounded by cheering crowds, you'll become the new king."
"But for now, future king, it's time to sleep."
Shiraha flopped onto the bed, rolled over, and stared up at the ceiling.
"Nee-chan, back in the day, I never would've imagined the flawless fairy would play pretend with me like this."
In the novels or fanfics he'd read before, Elysia was usually portrayed as a companion or comrade, not like this, where he had an Elysia all to himself from the very start, as an imaginary friend.
Elysia pressed her lips together and let out a soft laugh. "And back then, I never imagined I'd spend my days with a little kid, and after being stuck with him for so long, I'd actually be reluctant to let go."
She was Elysia, the last seed of hope from the Previous Era. But compared to being treated like a pampered princess, she found things much more fun when they were a little more exciting.
And they could seamlessly switch between princess and prince on a whim… having a self-made partner is really the best!
Shiraha wasn't lying, he really could go along with any roleplay Elysia wanted, slip into any character.
"Time to sleep, there's more tutoring tomorrow. We'll probably be busy for the next month or so, then head to the Americas."
Shiraha mentally reviewed the semester's agenda, then paused. "Speaking of which, didn't the delinquent senpai go to college in the Americas?"