The malice from her surroundings surged towards the girl like a tide. It was the first time she had faced so much ill will. Having lived a sheltered life, she was at a loss. Other than silently enduring, the girl had no other choice.
During this time, she realized that the world was not as beautiful as she had previously imagined.
She learned to be more sensitive and delicate in observing the hearts and atmosphere around her, yet she still maintained her dignity as a young lady, not losing her bottom line. But her personality grew colder and more indifferent.
The judgment of society, the family's predicament, the bullying at school... all sorts of malice drowned her, suffocating her...
And in this boundless darkness... a ray of light shone through. It pierced the darkness and shone on her without reservation, as if telling her, "You are not alone."
Yes, it was then that the girl got to know her again...
"If any of you say another bad word about Mei, just try me!" Kiana knocked down one of the guys cursing Mei behind her back with a bat, shouting angrily.
A group of people immediately surrounded Kiana. The guy who had fallen pointed at Kiana's nose and said to her, "Huh? Who the hell are you! What does it have to do with you if we talk bad about her!"
"Of course it has to do with me, Mei is my friend!"
"Heh heh, be friends with her and you might get thrown in jail too."
Kiana raised her baseball bat to hit her again, but Mei held her back, telling her not to.
"Kiana... forget it. I don't mind, don't stoop to their level."
"I can't forget it! I'm going to beat them until they apologize to you!"
Kiana yelled, about to charge forward, but was held tightly by Mei.
"Tch. Let's go, let's not play with monsters." "So scary~" The people who were mocking and insulting Mei taunted the unreasonable Kiana and the peacemaking Mei as they ran away.
"Hmph, don't let us see you again! Next time Mei isn't here, I'll beat you until you can't take care of yourselves!" Kiana shouted angrily in Mei's arms. She didn't know if the others, who had already gone far, heard her, but the next time she saw them, Kiana would definitely smash their heads in.
Seeing that they were gone, Mei let go of her arms around Kiana. She said to Kiana with a dim expression, "Forget it... Kiana, I'm used to it..."
"How can you just forget it! If Ryn hadn't told me that ME Corp was in trouble and that you might be bullied, if I hadn't come to find you today, I wouldn't have known how awful they were being!"
Kiana was very angry. She had thought Mei was busy studying lately, as she hadn't seen her much. If Ryn hadn't remembered that Mei was the young lady of ME Corp and mentioned it to her, she wouldn't have known how much suffering Mei had to endure.
"Doesn't it bother you, Kiana? About ME Corp's... that case." Mei was a little hesitant. She was afraid that Kiana, too, would be like a bubble, fragile to the touch, but she still wanted to ask her.
Kiana took Mei's hand and said with a smile, "What are you talking about? Mei is Mei. What does that have to do with any case!"
"Kiana..."
"Let's go. The damn teachers don't even care. A school like this isn't worth attending." Kiana pulled Mei and started to leave. She didn't know what the teachers were thinking, but a teacher who didn't step in to stop this, were they even worthy of being called a teacher? Mei's desk was so vandalized, Kiana refused to believe the teachers hadn't seen it.
"Ah... go where? Where can we go? The teachers did try to manage it..." Mei let Kiana pull her along. But Mei felt that Kiana didn't understand. The school was actually much better than the outside world...
ME Corp's products covered a wide range. On average, one in every ten electronic components was made by ME Corp. Ever since the incident with the company, people in society would blame Raiden Ryoma for any problems with their electronics, and by extension, they would blame Mei. The bullying at school was just emotional abuse, but what she faced from society was physical violence...
The teachers at the academy had tried to stop the bullying, but they were helpless against the cold shoulder... They had replaced Mei's desk, but the next day it would be covered in curses again. The teachers couldn't find the culprits, because everyone was a culprit.
Kiana looked into Mei's eyes and extended a sincere invitation. "Come to my place. Ryn said your house has been seized, so you can live with me from now on!"
"I actually have a place to stay... the butler took me in."
"I don't care. I've already invited you, how can you refuse! Ryn even made a whole table of food to welcome you!"
"Then... won't it be too much trouble..." Mei was still hesitant. She was afraid of bringing the malice of society to Kiana and Ryn.
Kiana could see what Mei was worried about. She patted her budding chest and said, "Don't worry, if anyone dares to curse at me, I'll smash their damn head in. And you don't have to worry about Ryn at all. He won't smash their heads, but he'll have Cortana hack all their money. He says that makes them suffer more than smashing their heads in."
"..." Mei was a bit silent. Although she didn't know who Cortana was yet, she felt like she had just walked into a den of thieves.
Kiana's home wasn't far from Senba Academy, but even in that short distance, Kiana could hear people loudly discussing Mei, and some were even about to throw things at her. Fortunately, the baseball bat in Kiana's hand sent a clear message: try it and die. In the end, they only talked loudly.
They were almost there, but even after such a short walk, neither Kiana nor Mei looked happy. When Kiana saw Ryn waiting for them at the door, she couldn't help but feel a sense of grievance, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Ryn hugged Kiana as she rushed into his arms, gently wiping away her tears. He pressed his forehead against hers and said softly, "What's wrong... Kiana, who wronged you?"
"I... I don't know... I don't know why the world suddenly became like this... Usually everyone is laughing and cheerful, but today they said terrible things to me and Mei, and even wanted to throw things at us... But neither Mei nor I did anything wrong, did we?!"
Kiana's eyes were filled with tears. She felt as if her beliefs had been shaken. She didn't know if these people were still worth protecting... If they were, would that be fair to those who were innocent...
Ryn was silent for a moment. He wanted to say that this is just how human nature is, but that would be a bit too cruel for Kiana...
"This world has never been beautiful... That's why we have to turn it into the world we want it to be. Kiana... remember what Siegfried taught you? No matter how the world changes, I must protect the people I love. So... you don't need to care about what other people think. You just need to focus on the opinions of those who love you, and those you love. As for those who don't love you... the people you hate... leave them to me."
After comforting Kiana, Ryn turned to look at Mei, who seemed to be lost in thought after hearing what he had just said.
Ryn extended his hand to Mei.
"Welcome, Mei. Please make yourself at home here. We will help you."
"Thank you..."
Mei took Ryn's hand.