"Mmm…"
"Alright, my lady, we've arrived. Time to wake up." Michael's gentle voice roused Mei from her nap in the back seat.
She rubbed her eyes, sitting up, her back stiff from lying down. Her head felt heavy with sleep.
"Slam!" The sudden sound of the closing car door startled her fully awake. She turned, puzzled, to see Michael circling the car, ignoring the curious stares of the students, and stopping respectfully at the rear passenger door.
"Mi—" Mei began.
The door opened smoothly. Michael removed his right glove and offered her his hand.
"My lady, please step out."
"Eh? Eh?? EH?!" Mei's jaw dropped, staring at him in disbelief.
She seemed utterly flustered, fidgeting in her seat.
Michael, oblivious to the cause of her shock, frowned. "What's wrong, my lady?"
Mei, still frowning, hesitantly placed her hand in his.
He helped her out of the car gracefully.
She lingered beside him, adjusting her collar and schoolbag strap. "Who was the one ignoring me and listening to music in the car yesterday?" she asked casually.
"Ah, so that's what this is about."
"N-no! Hmph! Father must have lectured you last night!"
"Not at all." Michael shook his head almost imperceptibly. "I dislike formalities. Call it laziness. But yesterday, besides you, there was only that… paramecium-brained girl. No need for formalities. But now, with so many students watching, appearances matter, for your sake and ME Corp's."
"Sigh… I knew you couldn't have changed overnight." Mei shook her head, her annoyance fading.
This man, openly proclaiming his dislike for formalities and his laziness, was actually quite considerate.
As for those formalities being part of his job description…?
Mei chuckled, stepping back to give him room to close the door.
Once the door was closed, she stood beside him. "Thank you… for last night."
Though a one-sided expression of gratitude, Mei inexplicably wanted a response. She had a feeling Michael wasn't good at handling thanks.
She wanted to see him flustered. That was it.
But Michael seemed not to hear her, his gaze fixed elsewhere.
"Eh?" She followed his line of sight. Five unfamiliar girls were approaching.
They wore Chiba Academy uniforms, but Mei didn't recognize them. Of course, Chiba Academy was large; it wasn't unusual for her to not know every student.
But these five were… distinctive. The two in front had striking pink and blue hair. The pink-haired one bounced and chattered incessantly, while the blue-haired one was unusually quiet, sighing wearily as people looked at them.
The girl behind them embodied "quiet" to an extreme, her face a mask of displeasure, clutching her schoolbag protectively.
Behind her were two more girls: one with her hair styled in prominent twin drills, the other clinging to her arm, shyly observing the crowd.
Even she, indifferent to her surroundings, would remember such a distinctive group. New transfer students?
Mei glanced at Michael. As the girls neared, she realized who he was looking at: the two girls at the back.
She looked at the girls, then back at Michael. His hair was the same unusual silver-gray as the twin-drilled girl. Even their eye color was the same, if not for Michael's strange pink pupils, she'd think they were siblings.
Should she ask?
Mei opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat.
The two girls passed them. Coincidence, or was Michael's gaze too intense? The twin-drilled girl stopped abruptly, looking up at him.
"What are you looking at?"
Michael's gaze lingered on her familiar yet strangely unfamiliar face, then shifted to the girl beside her. "Nothing, just…"
"If it's nothing, don't stare. It's creepy, old man."
Michael, unfazed by her rudeness, continued staring at the girl beside Bronya, his gaze making her uncomfortable, even afraid, until she hid behind Bronya.
"Tch!" Bronya bared her teeth, suppressing the urge to kick him, and pulled Seele away.
But Seele, sensing something, looked back, meeting Michael's eyes.
Her pupils constricted, her eyelids trembling with an inexplicable intensity. Thankfully, they reached the school gates, turning a corner, and the figure that had captivated her vanished from sight.
"Seele."
"Ah? What is it, Bronya Onee-chan?"
Bronya stopped, turning to face her. "Seele, do you know that man?"
"No." Seele shook her head vehemently.
But Bronya, unusually persistent, asked, "Are you sure? Seele, really sure?"
Seele clung to Bronya's arm, hesitating, then explained, "I… I don't think I know him… I don't recognize his face, but… I feel like I do know him… It's… like I've never met him, but I should know him…"
Bronya's eyes narrowed. "Maybe you met him when you were younger, and you just don't remember?"
"Maybe…" Seele instinctively felt it wasn't that simple, but Bronya's explanation was the most plausible. She couldn't argue.
However…
"But, Bronya Onee-chan, don't you think… he looks a bit like you?"
"Huh? Me?" Bronya shook her head. "How could we possibly look alike?"
"But… he does…"
"…Really?" Seeing Seele's conviction, Bronya felt a flicker of doubt. Reflections and photographs never truly captured one's appearance. And few people saw a strong resemblance between themselves and their relatives… Speaking of which, she'd been raised by her father's comrades, never meeting any relatives. What if this man was related to her?
"Seele, do you really think… we look alike?" Bronya touched her face, seeking confirmation.
"Um… well… I'm… not entirely sure…" Seele looked away uncertainly.
Bronya filed it away mentally. She'd been with Cocolia for over two years. She wouldn't claim to understand her foster mother completely, but knowing Cocolia, she wouldn't ignore someone this powerful and enigmatic. She'd at least try to recruit him.
She'd deal with it later.
…
"Those two girls… do you know them?"
Mei's question was met with a barely perceptible shake of his head. Whether it meant "no" or "I don't want to talk about it," Mei couldn't tell.
She inhaled deeply, returning to her earlier attempt at gratitude. "Thank you again… for last night."
Without distractions, Michael finally heard her. "Just doing my job," he replied flatly.
Mei's lips twitched, a wave of frustration washing over her.
This frustration was new, like many other inexplicable things that had entered her life since meeting this man.
She wasn't one to give up. Even with Michael's impeccable deflection, she pressed on. "Since when does my family's driver give me kendo lessons and buy me street food?"
Michael turned, his expression unchanging.
Just as Mei expected a response, he smirked. "Lady Raiden, you're going to be late."
"Eh?" Mei checked her watch.
[07:23]
"Oh no! Seven minutes!" She turned to run towards the school.
Michael grabbed her wrist, gently pulling her back, whispering in her ear, "Mei, you understand your situation, right? Don't worry, no matter what happens, don't panic. My job is to protect you, wherever you are. Understand?"
"Eh?" Mei pulled away, taking a step back.
She looked into his eyes. The laziness, indifference, and playfulness were gone, replaced by pure seriousness.
"You…" Mei clutched her wrist, her head down, her bangs hiding her face. Her lips moved silently, then she turned and ran.
Michael tilted his head, puzzled, scratching his cheek, then chuckled self-deprecatingly. "After all these years, I've become worse at human interaction than even Prometheus."
He slapped his cheeks, his expression returning to its usual impassivity.
He tapped the car. "Alright, Little Black, find yourself a parking spot where you won't get a ticket."
The car's headlights flickered in acknowledgement.
Normally, Michael would prefer to do nothing. He didn't believe Cocolia would harm Mei. Eight years ago, he'd convinced Ryōma to implant the Gem of Conquest in Mei in exchange for curing her "illness." While a secret within Anti-Entropy's Far East branch, Michael doubted Cocolia, with her vast intelligence network, was unaware.
Mei was the perfect host for the Gem of Conquest. Cocolia, possessing the Gem of Serenity, had delayed the X-10 experiment due to concerns about side effects. Schicksal had sacrificed countless lives trying to implant the Gem of Desire.
Mei's lack of adverse reactions after implantation was either a miracle or proof that she was the ideal Herrscher of Thunder candidate.
Cocolia wouldn't kill such a perfect subject. Mei's safety wasn't his concern; Cocolia, as her enemy, would be even more concerned.
Besides, Mei, as a stigmata awakener and a Herrscher candidate, didn't need his protection.
Michael only needed one outcome: Mei surviving and becoming the third Herrscher, as he'd planned.
The process didn't matter to him, only the result.
But… he wanted to witness her growth firsthand.
Perhaps… after five thousand years of solitude, he just needed some entertainment.
The car, "Little Black," had driven off, leaving him alone.
"Honestly…" He slapped his cheeks again. "I'll see what you're up to… Fine, consider it… a distraction."
Ignoring the curious stares, he stretched languidly. He'd shadow Mei as planned…
Not a difficult task. He could become invisible with his wind powers, ensuring constant close protection… Wait, did that include the restroom?
He sighed, slapping himself again.
His phone vibrated. He no longer needed it, and even the most advanced models were primitive to him. It was Ryōma's phone, with only Ryōma's contact information.
"What now?" He grumbled, opening the phone. His expression changed.
He turned off the screen silently, kicking a pebble.
"Cocolia… that woman's fast. The assassination and kidnapping were just distractions. Sorry, Mei. Looks like I have to break our promise."