On the plane flying from Mexico to Nagazora City.
In a first-class seat, a girl with amethyst eyes gazed out the window.
She was an impossibly beautiful girl. Her snow-white skin was utterly flawless, and her cherry-like lips held an alluring red hue, as if by magic. Her long, violet-black hair was tied into a ponytail with a purple, polka-dotted butterfly ribbon. Her simple school uniform complemented her youthful, vibrant figure perfectly. A pair of thigh-high stockings clung to her fair, soft calves, outlining their graceful curves.
A girl like this was born to live in the spotlight. Like the most stunning flower at an exhibition.
However, this stunning, flower-like girl was not in a good mood.
About a week ago, her dear fiancé, with the support of the Schicksal Overseer, had launched two experiments.
The Human Order Security Project—Chaldeas.
The Prometheus Project—Artificial Herrschers.
Without a doubt, both the Chaldeas project, which monitored history to ensure the continuation of humanity, and the Prometheus project, which usurped the power of God's apostles—the Herrschers—were of epoch-making significance.
To be honest, seeing her fiancé so freely display his talents had made Miss Mei incredibly happy. The feeling was similar to the pride of being praised by her father for winning an award as a child, but a thousand times more intense.
But before she even had a chance to cook a meal or throw a party to celebrate, she received another notice.
She possessed the aptitude for the Prometheus Project—the Artificial Herrscher experiment.
Frankly, for most Valkyries, being able to participate in a top-level experiment like the Artificial Herrscher project would be the greatest of honors. Miss Raiden Mei also felt that she should participate.
However, Li Zihan did not think so.
"For a matter this important, it's probably best to discuss it with Father-in-law," her fiancé had told her after returning from the Chaldeas headquarters. "Father-in-law loves you very much. If you make a decision without consulting him, he will be very sad."
Seeing the boy, who usually enjoyed poking fun at her father, suddenly show concern for his feelings, Miss Mei was genuinely touched. So, she called Raiden Ryoma, who was still on a mission in Mexico, to ask for his opinion.
After that, she flew over directly to discuss it with him in person.
And then—trouble started.
A girl named Seele had inexplicably confessed to Zihan.
And then—she'd been cheated on.
The girl, still unable to forget the text message she received from Seele, felt her heart grow heavy.
She knew that Seele liked Zihan. A hero descending from the heavens... what girl could resist a plot like that! Miss Mei, whose own affection for Li Zihan stemmed largely from him helping her escape Nagazora City, could naturally understand Seele's feelings.
She just never said anything.
Because she had been ostracized in the past, Miss Mei cared deeply about the people around her. Every single person in her circle was precious to her, and she didn't want any of them to get hurt. If she were to point out that Li Zihan and Seele were getting too close, it could easily sour the relationships within their group.
A strained atmosphere was the last thing Raiden Mei wanted to see.
Therefore, Miss Mei chose to act as if she didn't know about Seele constantly dragging Li Zihan to parks, amusement parks, and aquariums. It was the same way she ignored Kiana, who had stopped clinging to her and instead spent all her time playing games with Zihan, even asking Mei for cooking lessons whenever he was around.
But the current situation had gone too far.
A bit of ambiguous flirting was one thing, but a direct confession was something else entirely!
Miss Mei, whose composure had been shattered by that single text message from Seele, felt a knot forming in her chest. She had originally planned to return to St. Freya Academy immediately.
And then—she received intelligence that the Director of Chaldeas had already left to conduct the preliminary experiments for the Human Order Security Project. He likely wouldn't be back for several months.
Since rushing back would be pointless if she couldn't even find the person in question, Miss Mei, who had already been preparing to leave, had no choice but to stay in Mexico.
About a week later, someone with the ID "Irene Adler" contacted her, informing her that the Director of Chaldeas had returned ahead of schedule. She then contacted Kiana and Bronya and received the same confirmation.
Without much hesitation, she decided to set off.
However... although Kiana and Bronya had also left St. Freya Academy, their training grounds were both in Asia. Right in the Far East, in fact.
Miss Mei's location... was rather unique compared to theirs.
Yes, she was in North America. To be precise, Mexico, a country bordering the United States to the north, Guatemala and Belize to the southeast, with the Pacific Ocean to its west. It wasn't even in the same hemisphere as the Far East.
Naturally, it would take her much more time to return to St. Freya.
But thankfully, she had finally made it.
The girl, who had been worried that if she were late, Li Zihan would go off to conduct another experiment and disappear again, estimated the remaining distance and breathed a sigh of relief.
According to the plan, Kiana and Zihan would be waiting for her at the Nagazora airport. They could then use the city as a transfer point and take a helicopter directly back to St. Freya Academy.
The girl, completely unaware of what her best friend had been up to, took several deep breaths, steadying her emotions like a samurai before a great battle.
This time, I absolutely have to make Zihan give me an answer!
Feeling that a certain playboy needed to be reined in, Miss Mei clenched her fists.
With these thoughts, she watched the clock on her wrist, waiting.
There were no unexpected incidents. The plane arrived on schedule.
Miss Mei walked out through the VIP passageway, searching for the two people who were supposed to be there to pick her up.
And then—she saw only a single white-haired dango.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she felt that the look the white-haired dango gave her was filled with a strange, inexplicable apology.
"Where's Zihan?"
Miss Mei, who had clearly rushed all the way from the Western Hemisphere to the Eastern Hemisphere for reasons other than chatting with her best friend, scanned the surroundings. Not seeing the figure she was looking for, she looked slightly puzzled.
Looking at Miss Mei's slightly bewildered expression, Miss Sirin recalled a certain person's actions, and the corner of her mouth twitched. That guy had used Jizo Mitama to dismantle Fenghuang Down, then consumed the core of the Void Archives to simulate Jizo Mitama's power and dismantle the real Jizo Mitama.
"Zihan... is in the hospital."
Author's note:
ps1: I'm dead