"…Damn, she actually threw it."
Elias' eye twitched as he stood there, completely soaked.
The moment he saw this group of girls surrounding Raiden Mei and verbally harassing her, he had rushed over without thinking—only to be greeted by a full bucket of water.
Instantly, he felt utterly miserable.
Wasn't this supposed to be verbal bullying? Since when did it escalate to throwing water? This wasn't following the script at all!
"You… who are you?!"
"I'm just a passing ally of justice… just kidding. But! I have to say, don't you think you've gone way too far?"
Elias shook off the excess water from his clothes and glared at the girls in front of him.
It wasn't just these girls—even Mei, standing behind Elias, was utterly shocked.
She widened her eyes, staring at Elias in disbelief. She had thought this entire school was filled with nothing but malice—yet here was someone standing up for her.
"Wait, isn't this Elias? What are you doing here? And aren't you sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?"
"Mind my own business? How is stopping school bullying happening right in front of me considered meddling?"
"You've misunderstood, Elias. And you should know this too—Raiden Mei is the daughter of a fraudster. And what kind of person could the daughter of a criminal possibly be?"
Perhaps because Elias was well-liked, the girls' earlier arrogance had faded. Now, they were forcing stiff smiles, trying to justify their actions.
Elias stared directly into their eyes.
His unwavering, blunt and pure determination made it impossible for them to meet his gaze.
"Hah? What kind of twisted logic is that? Just because her father committed fraud, that automatically makes her a criminal too? Please, you're just using that as a pathetic excuse for your bullying."
"No, we were just…"
"Enough! This is unbearable. I'm not interested in your excuses, and your apologies are worthless, so don't even bother. Hah~"
Elias sighed, then turned to look at Mei.
His gaze instantly softened—after all, she was the first character on the Hyperion whose affection level he maxed out.
Especially now, when she was showing an expression that even tapping her countless times on the bridge wouldn't bring out.
"I've heard about Raiden Ryoma's case too. But regardless of whether he's guilty or not, his actions have nothing to do with his daughter, Raiden Mei, do they?"
"Wait—no, if Raiden Ryoma really is a fraudster, then maybe… Raiden Mei should bear some responsibility for her father's crimes. As his child, that would be… a part of her duty, wouldn't it?"
"But either way—none of you have the right to treat her like this. I mean, it's not like any of you were scammed by him, were you?"
"If anything… back when you were still willing to call her your friend, think about all those times you went out with her—who do you think was paying for everything?"
Elias' words left them speechless.
Because there was nothing they could say to refute him.
Those who were actually scammed by Raiden Ryoma might have the right to blame Mei—but these girls definitely didn't.
In fact, they had practically been parasites feeding off Mei. Every time they went out, it was Mei who paid the bill, while they schemed to exploit her kindness, her reputation, and even her family's connections to ME Corp.
"You're the real perpetrators here, so stop acting like victims. Seriously, what an ungrateful bunch of backstabbers—absolutely disgusting."
"As her so-called 'friends,' you should have been supporting her in difficult times. Cutting ties is one thing, but you even went as far as to become her tormentors. Don't you feel even a little ashamed?"
Standing on the moral high ground, Elias went off on them without holding back.
His words struck deep, and the girls' expressions turned increasingly sour—as if they were starting to doubt whether they even deserved to be called human.
"W-We're leaving!"
"Ugh, why make such a big deal out of this?"
"It's not like it was that serious…"
"Hmph! I don't like this guy anymore."
Not like I needed you to like me in the first place.
Watching the girls retreat under his verbal assault, Elias muttered to himself. Personality matters more than looks—but he had to admit, he was definitely a bit of a face-con.
And honestly, these girls weren't great in either department.
Besides, since he was already in Honkai's world, obviously he was going to stick close to the Valkyries!
"Are you okay, Raiden Mei?"
"I'm fine. Thank you, Elias."
As expected of someone who had received proper upbringing as a distinguished young lady, Mei immediately bowed at a full ninety degrees to express her gratitude.
"As long as you're okay, then that's that. Alright, see ya!"
"W-Wait, please!"
Seeing Elias about to leave right after playing hero, Mei couldn't help but call out to stop him.
"Hm? Something else?"
"Elias… why did you help me?" Mei asked, clearly puzzled.
They were just classmates. There was nothing special between them. That's why Mei couldn't understand why Elias would go out of his way to help her—especially when there was no benefit in doing so.
Hearing this, Elias tilted his head and responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"What kind of question is that? Do I really need a reason to help a poor girl getting bullied? Relax—I don't know all the details about your father's case, but I'm not going to judge you for it."
"…"
Something tightened in Mei's chest.
As she gazed at the boy before her, she saw him smiling—a warm, effortless smile.
And somehow, those casual, gentle words pierced through the heavy gloom in her heart, like a ray of light.
"Thank you… thank you, Elias."
"Uh… wait, why are you crying? I didn't even do anything that big."
Elias scratched his head helplessly. He hadn't expected Mei to be this emotionally fragile right now—though, thinking back, it made sense why Herrscher Mei (3rd Herrscher) later called her a 'crybaby.'
Right now, Raiden Mei was not yet the Herrscher of Thunder who had endured countless trials and tribulations—at this moment, she was just a poor girl suffering from school bullying.
"Alright, alright, making a girl cry isn't exactly something I wanted to do."
"Okay… thank you. But your clothes got dirty because of me—please let me do something to make up for it."
"Correction: it wasn't because of you, it was because of those jerks. As for compensation, there's no need… Uh, ahem. But since you insist, I'll gladly accept this."
Elias had been about to refuse—until he caught sight of what Mei was holding in her hands.
After hesitating for half a second, he decisively chose to accept the homemade bento from this legendary chef.
"Perfect timing—I haven't had lunch yet~"