After I spoke, there was no response for a solid ten seconds. Mei and her friends, even the eavesdroppers, just stared at me with expressions ranging from disbelief to… excitement? Whatever, I just sighed, wondering if this world had been skewed toward women too much, making them broken. Thankfully, Mei woke up quickly and smiled a little apologetically.
-"Sorry, Eno, you just look… Emhm. Do you have any plans?"-She let go of my hand, her face slightly red; who knows if it was from her misunderstanding or some other reason.
-"Nothing solid. I plan to find some place to eat and buy things I'm missing at home, but that's all."
-"Hmm? Find a place to eat?"-Mei furrowed her brows.-"You should eat with your family at home."
-"My family isn't in the city; they work somewhere else."-I shrugged.-"And as I'm not a great cook, it's better to eat outside."
-"That's unhealthy."
-"My body can handle it."
-"How can family leave you alone if you don't know how to cook? It's so irresponsible."
-"I can manage; the money exists to fill up the gaps in your abilities."
-"Even then…"
We started arguing, her care for me visible to the naked eye despite meeting for the first time. In the end, I was made to take her with me, so that I didn't eat some junk food. Her two friends separated from us at the school gates, returning home in the cars that were waiting for them. When they left, I noticed Mei relax slightly, which surprised me.
-"Not your friends?"
-"Emm… That's not it. It's just that in school, you always have to present yourself, making sure you don't shame your family. Here, where not many people know that I'm Raiden, I just…"
-"Hmm, how to say it, I think you are overthinking things."-I looked at her.-"First, if you have to act as someone else to not shame the family, then you put too much emphasis on the name Raiden, and too little on Mei. And second, how would anything you do in school shame your family?"
-"Why wouldn't it? I often hear gossip about other girls from prestigious families after they do something shameful."-She seemed to not understand what I meant.
-"It's just school gossip; have their families suffered a loss because of it? I believe that while one should behave according to his position, first and foremost you have to be yourself."
-"Sigh, why do you act like a little adult?"-She ruffled my hair, something she appeared to want to do for a long time.
Feeling her hand on my head, I rolled my eyes and tried to push it away.
-"Is your hair…"
-"No, I hadn't dyed it; it's natural."
-"Can you stop."
-"Sorry."-She let go of me, though she still looked reluctant.
-"There is nicely looking restaurant around the corner; how about we eat there?"
-"Eh? You've been there before?"
-"No, I just saw it on my way before."
We entered a side alley, and after turning one more corner, we saw a small family restaurant. Inside, the place looked clean but simple, far from the elegance of some famous restaurants.
-"Oh? How can I help you, sweethearts?"-An older woman sitting by the till asked us.
-"Can you recommend something for dinner, Miss?"-I asked politely.
-"Of course. My husband made great soup today, but I also suggest adding a little meat. How about Shogayaki?"
-"Then please."-I agreed with her arrangement.
-"Then sit down, and I'll bring you everything in a minute."-The woman smiled and went into the kitchen.
We found a table in a corner and sat down. After a moment of awkward silence, Mei decided to speak up.
-"Eno, can you tell me why you moved to this city?"
-"My family had to work, and as I couldn't follow, it was decided that I should go to school."
-"I see. It must be hard on you."
-"Not much. It was I who took care of my Cousin mostly; only cooking was trouble, but we had a caretaker for that."
-"Wait? Cousin? What about your parents?"
-"Never met them."-I shrugged.-"We are a family of two with my Cousin. But I have a nominal guardian and mentor; it's just that they are busy most of the time."
-"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up."-Mei bowed to me.
-"I don't mind; I feel quite happy as I'm."
Soon, our food arrived. It was indeed tasty, but the ingredients were slightly subpar compared to these big restaurants, making the meal nothing special. But that was to be expected for a place two streets away from the main street.
After finishing the meal, I paid what we owed, and we went to buy some necessities for me before we started returning home. To our surprise, we lived in the same general area, only Mei's home was in a much older and more aristocratic part of it. What's more, if we were walking back from school, my house was on Mei's usual route, meaning she had to pass it before she could return to her home.
As such, Mei made me promise to wait for her on Monday, so that we could go to school together. As I had no issue with that, I agreed to it before seeing her off. When I entered the house, I noticed two more pairs of boots by the entrance, making me wonder if Otto had sent someone.
Entering the living room, I was greeted by two beauties, one lying on the sofa while reading, the other busying herself in the attached kitchen. Seeing me enter, they stopped what they were doing and greeted me with the courtesy belonging to the house Schariac.
-"We greet the Saint."x2
-"No need for that; we are not in an official setting, just act casually."-I waved my hand.
-"As you wish, Lord Enoch."-The slightly older girl, appearing to be Rita's age, spoke up.-"I'm Maria Schariac, and I was ordered by my family to assist the new Saint and Young Family Head."
She had long brown hair and a face that looked to be perpetually smiling due to her eyes appearing to be closed, only revealing small slits. She was wearing a red-and-white dress bearing the emblems of Schicksal and House Schariac, making her appear both noble and mysterious.
-"Angelia Schariac, I'm here to help, sister."-The other girl also spoke up, her voice much quieter and more reserved.
She was slightly younger, by a year or two, and wore a dress in a similar style to her sister's, but with black and blue colors, making her appear much gloomier. She had her blond hair bound into an exquisite bun and piercing red eyes, making her look slightly evil, like a high-class vampire.
-"Just call me Eno. Tell me what your mission is here."
-"Yes, Lord Eno. Bishop Otto ordered us to become members of Immortal Blades under your command; our squad was assigned to deal with high-rank Honkai beasts in the area."
-"I understand. May I know your rank?"
-"We are both A-Rank Valkyries."
-"Then from now on, you are my deputy. If need be, you can act first and report later, but keep me informed at all times."
-"Thank you for your trust, Lord Eno."
-"Now, I believe that you will be living here, right? I'm not a person who cares much about etiquette or such, so feel at home. If you have any questions or need anything, just tell me."
-"We will, Lord Eno."-Maria nodded, her face never losing the smile.
I nodded and went to my room upstairs, deciding to rest early.
I woke up a good hour before the sun rose, changed into my training clothes, and went to the garden to have a quick warm-up for the day. As an inheritor of the School of Yìxué, my fighting style mostly consists of using swords to defeat enemies, arranging sword formations to control the battlefield, and lastly, commanding the world itself to act on my behalf.
School of Yìxué is divided into the Six Truths of Yìxué: Great Axis, Dual Powers, Four Aspects, Eight Passages, Sixty-Four Hexagrams, and Five Phases. Similar to Master's Edge of Taixuan, the core of the Six Truths is the Great Axis, and while it isn't further divided like Taixuan's Sword Heart, it is where the true power of Yìxué lies.
The Great Axis, Taiji, is born from the formless and unbound, Wújí. When the formless void began to stir and move, Taiji came into being. To wield Taiji is to have the power to change; to give formless form, to limit the limitless, to name the nameless.
Calling upon that principle, a crystal sword appeared in the air before me, formless given form. Taking it into my hand, I started to perform what others would call a sword dance; Taiji forms are ever-changing, finding the order in chaos and using one's will as a Law(Dao).
As my movements continued, more swords started to appear around me, soon surrounding me in an invisible net. This was a sword formation, a technique linking many swords into one art, allowing it to unleash power greater than the sum of its elements. Yìxué divided sword formations into Sixty-Four Hexagrams, each possessing a unique purpose and effects.
Within the formation, the space itself became a weapon, dividing into Eight Passages. To move is to enter a gate, bringing a shift to one's place in the formation. As such, I could freely move within my formation; my step could take me to the other side of the garden, while my opponent's might spin him in place. But that's only the surface layer of bā guà, as each spot in formation can give you power, or take it from you, punishing careless steps while empowering those dancing in the right rhythm.
But with change, there must be growth and loss. Four Aspects govern the power, growing and receding, bringing the cycles into the chaotic world. Each sword is a weapon; if one only focuses on the whole while ignoring the singular, they will find themselves too rigid for Yìxué. The sword dance, while ever-changing, must possess form, and the Four Aspects are its forms. To meet power with power, to use soft against the hard or hard against the soft, to find enemy weakness while hiding your own power; those are the Aspects of Sword.
All that combines into Dual Powers, born directly from Taiji; they are the purest and greatest power of Yìxué: duality. When one is given form and name, it always creates a two existing in opposition. High births low, good births evil, death births life. Yin and Yang are the absolute truth of the universe, as without order, one can't understand chaos, and absolute chaos is just a new order.
So to achieve the highest level of Yìxué, one needs to blur those divisions, changing the Laws of the world to one's needs. This is the truth of change: yin turning into yang, and yang becoming yin. In truly serious combat, causing fire to be cold, or outright healing rather than harm, is something I can achieve given enough time and power.
All that is complemented by the Five Phases. The order of the world and the changes of the elements. It's a technique allowing one to draw power from nature, converting it while strengthening or dissipating when needed. If formation controls the battlefield, then the Five Phases allow them to exist in the world, acting both as a battery and an anchor into the real world. While this may not seem that important, as I can draw almost endless power from Imaginary Space, it's only due to being anchored into nature that such an amount of Imaginary Energy didn't cause catastrophes like Honkai, preventing me from senseless destruction in favour of targeted hunt.
My training ended only after the sun was already high up, and after quickly refreshing myself, I met up with Maria and Angelia for breakfast. I could feel that the two girls didn't have much good feeling for me; while not exactly hostile, they saw me as an outsider, so I didn't push them, hoping they could get used to my presence slowly.
After the meal, we decided to patrol the area to learn its terrain, trying to understand each other's abilities in the process. As both of them were members of House Schariac, they possessed the talent for Honkai manipulation and could use their blood to locally lower Honkai concentration, weakening opponents and helping other Valkyries avoid Honkai corruption.
Maria possessed greater physical strength and talent to manipulate the Honkai Energy precisely; adding to that, her polearm mastery made her the frontline on our team. Angelia, on the other hand, possessed comparably poor talent in Honkai manipulation, but her resistance was far higher, allowing her to use indiscriminate wide-area attacks, though she couldn't control them precisely; so she was the main damage dealer of our team. I could fill most roles, but with my control ability being greatest, I fell into a role of support and battle commander.
Most of the weekend we traveled wherever the signs of Honkai appeared, gaining some basic cohesion in the process. I also learned some things about the two of them, breaking the ice between us. They were the Saintess candidates before I was 'adopted' into the family, losing that title because my blood was much more powerful than theirs.
Maria told me straight that she used to hate me for it, but after learning some things, she decided to see who I was before making up her mind about me. But she warned me that as I was the Saint, she would make sure I was worthy of that title. Angelia didn't have such strong feelings about either title or me; she just wanted to accompany Maria and fight Honkai that took her cousin who she admired greatly.
The only thing she detested from the bottom of her heart were Herrschers, especially as she believed that they were monsters wearing human skin; had it not been for that deception, her cousin would still be allive. But aside from that, she was a shut-in, spending all day reading or playing, enjoying the high fantasy genre the most. As someone deep into Wuxia and Xianxia due to my martial arts, we had a surprisingly lot to talk about.
But compared to two of us, kitchen wastes, the biggest blessing of this unexpected cohabitation was definitely Maria's cooking. Had it not been for her, we might have been reduced to the same state as Kaslanas: take-out and instant ramen.
Because of everything that happened, Monday came rather quickly, so after meeting up with Mei, we walked to the school while talking about some random things. We separated by the school gates; she went to the classroom while I had to meet up with the teacher. But before that, we promised to meet up for lunch by the kendo club, something Mei insisted on.