"Mei, please go out with me."
Takatsuki held up the prepared white lilies in his hand and, without a word, directly shoved them into Raiden Mei's hand. It didn't look like a normal confession at all, but rather like he was completing a task.
Oh, it was indeed a task. No problem then.
However, this confession task went very smoothly. After the confession and flower delivery, no one came to chase him. After all, Raiden Mei was hiding alone in the small garden behind the teaching building. If he hadn't had Eagle Eye, he would have almost not found her, which made Takatsuki surprisingly relieved. He sat down on the bench beside Raiden Mei.
"What's wrong? You look a little unhappy?"
Looking at Takatsuki who sat down beside her so casually, and then at the beautifully packaged white lilies in her hand, Raiden Mei sat down at the other end of the bench, placing them on her lap, and sighed.
"Didn't you watch the news?"
Takatsuki, who was next to Raiden Mei, spoke. Although he didn't say it directly, Takatsuki could feel her loneliness and... despair.
"I did."
Takatsuki said without any reservation.
"But so what?"
Raiden Mei was a little surprised by Takatsuki's words.
"But aren't you..."
"Of course not."
Takatsuki interrupted Raiden Mei without hesitation: "The purpose of my confession is only because of you, and it has nothing to do with your background, nor with your father."
Raiden Mei looked at the bouquet in her hand and then showed a slight smile: "But I always feel that your confession isn't very sincere."
"But thank you anyway... Speaking of which, I still don't know your name."
"Takatsuki..."
With Raiden Ryoma's imprisonment, Raiden Mei, who was once a high and mighty young lady, suddenly fell from grace, especially in a young lady's school like Senba Academy...
Although he didn't say it, Takatsuki could already see Raiden Mei's future days.
Right now, there were probably many people coveting the Raiden family's assets, attempting to hollow out the company that had lost Raiden Ryoma.
There were also many people who were once loyal to the Raiden family who left.
Although Senba Academy had received some news, the bullying targeting Raiden Mei had not yet begun, but it wasn't far off.
"Consider it the reward for your mission..."
Takatsuki wasn't good at comforting others, and the current situation wasn't something he could resolve, but dealing with a few young girls who only engaged in school bullying was no problem.
After completing the persistent missions [Meet Raiden Mei], [Confess to Raiden Mei], [Give Raiden Mei Flowers], and [Reach the Top of Senba Academy] all at once, Takatsuki left.
...
Raiden Mei, the young lady of the Raiden family, Raiden Ryoma's only daughter.
She was once a prominent figure in Senba Academy. Although she herself was not arrogant because of her background, the people around her spontaneously gathered around her, trying to please and accommodate her.
However, Raiden Mei understood that the goodwill these people exuded was merely due to her background, so while she didn't reject it, she also didn't have many true friends.
The only things she cared about were her father and her master, Homu Swordsman...
Oh, what she found in the dojo a few days ago had also proven that Homu Swordsman was her father.
It could be said that Raiden Mei didn't care about money, servants, or the sycophants who gathered around her, but she cared deeply about her father.
Because he was her only family, and her only "friend."
Therefore, she didn't care about the departure of the people around her, or the departure of the "friends" who had once gathered around her, because these were not even one percent of the pain of her father's imprisonment.
But...
She looked at the few letters in the shoe cabinet that were clearly packaged differently than before.
Even though this was a girls' academy, Raiden Mei had received love letters before, but those were either in pink envelopes or decorated very cutely, or at least clean and white.
But the envelopes in the shoe cabinet now were completely different from love letters; black, gray, and some that looked like they had been roughly handled.
If Takatsuki were here, he would probably complain that these young ladies were really idle, they could even come up with so many tricks when writing letters, so many different envelopes, it would probably take him a day to find them all.
Opening these envelopes, the letters inside were all insults to Raiden Mei.
The words were filled with terms like liar, fraudster, pretentious, and telling her to get out of Senba Academy.
Silently tidying up the shoe cabinet, Raiden Mei changed her shoes and left school.
She originally thought that was all there was to it, but being naive, she still underestimated the malice of others.
Perhaps it was jealousy of her past self, or the dark side of kicking someone when they were down.
When Mei went to class the next day, she found her desk covered in abusive words and drawings made with gel pens and carving knives.
Taking a deep breath, she chose to ignore it.
And during the break, when she went to the restroom, the surroundings were filled with whispers and pointing.
After returning to the classroom...
Looking at the empty desk and her school bag and textbooks hanging on a tree, Raiden Mei fell silent.
"Good morning, Mei."
A familiar voice came from the side. A figure flashed by, and the school bag hanging on the tree appeared on Takatsuki's arm outside the window. In his hand, he was also holding a bouquet of white tulips.
"I picked up your bag for you. How about considering me as your girlfriend?"
Although he said this, Takatsuki had no intention of waiting for Mei's reply. After all, it had always been like this. He shoved the tulips into Raiden Mei's hand and casually hung her school bag by the window.
"Thank you..."
Lowering her head and looking at the white tulips in her hand, which symbolized pure love, Raiden Mei said softly. Even facing Takatsuki, even though the people behind them were still some distance away, she could still hear their murmuring.
It seemed they didn't understand why Takatsuki still came to confess every day in Raiden Mei's current situation, and... jealousy?
"Huh? What did you just say?"
It wasn't that Takatsuki's hearing was bad; it was that he didn't expect Raiden Mei to reply at all, so his attention wasn't really on her. Standing outside the window, he could also notice the students in the classroom who harbored ill will towards Raiden Mei.
But as an outsider and an intruder who would be wanted by the school's teachers and security guards, the reason he hadn't been wanted by the police was because he hadn't done anything outrageous.
So he was thinking about how to help Raiden Mei avoid being bullied without getting himself into trouble.
"I said, I'll seriously consider it."
With this sentence, Takatsuki saw Raiden Mei's smile for the first time; he had to admit that her smile made Takatsuki feel that his persistent confessions were not just for the mission reward.
"Hey! This guy is a liar, don't you know that?"
While Takatsuki was somewhat lost in Raiden Mei's smile, a loud voice came from the back of the classroom.
Seeing the girl in a Senba Academy uniform walking towards the window, Raiden Mei also put away that somewhat captivating smile.
"I remember you are..."
Looking at the approaching girl, Takatsuki made a thoughtful expression: "You were Mei's follower before, right?"
"I thought I was deceived by her! I never expected the so-called Queen Raiden to be a fraudster's daughter!"
Hearing Takatsuki's words, the girl was clearly touched on a raw nerve, almost jumping up.
"You were also deceived by her, let me tell you..."
The girl's words were cut off by Takatsuki before she could finish.
"Aren't you just a simp who lost everything in the end and became angry out of shame?"