19

Chapter 19

"Treat this as a holiday, Mei." Raiden Ryoma said to his daughter as they were on a private jet flying to Eastern Europe.

Mei didn't say anything, she just looked through the window. She could see a lot of greenery.

"We are going to see real Herrschers, father. Are you sure this is the only way?" The girl said after a short while.

"Either this or…I will need to ask for help from Anti-Entropy…"

"...Aren't they terrorists?"

"...Better than Schicksal. Anti-Entropy has the technology to halt the Stigmata awakening process. However, it's not a long-term solution, Mei. The only way to deal with this is you take full control of it. According to my source, he already helped one girl to take control of the Stigmata."

"...And she became a Herrscher after," Mei added from her side.

"That depends on you. Do you wish to wield that power? It's all up to you Mei."

The dark purple-haired girl sighed she was still thinking about this.

"There are still several hours until we need to land. You have enough time to think about it."

~~~

After several more hours, the private jet landed at the airport. A limo with a couple of SUVs was waiting for them.

The pair followed by their subordinates and assistants got out of the plane and got into the cars.

The journey was around 45 minutes. Throughout the whole journey all Mei saw was open grasslands, forests, and small towns in small river valleys.

It was a picturesque sight.

The thing was to see the land so…free from Honkai was quite impressive. While she had her doubts about things they said. Like him keeping huge lands free of Honkai…seeing this only confirms what people said.

It made her hope increase by some degree.

Though she was quite baffled to see the limo stop in front of an average-looking house…

'At least it had quite a large back garden…' She thought to herself with disbelief. Are they in the right place!?

"It's this the address?" Raiden Ryoma asked with a curious tone.

"Indeed sir. The address matches with the one which we received."

"I see… Let's go then."

Mei nodded and the doors were opened for them. The pair of daughter and father walked over to the front doors and rang the bell.

A few moments later they heard a woman's voice.

Seconds later the doors opened and they saw a woman opening the door.

"Yes? How can I help you?"

"Good day to you. We are here to see Raynold Westwood." The pair of Raidens did a small bow before greeting. It was quite confusing for the lady but she swiftly understood what was going on.

"Ah yes! I almost forgot! Follow me, you two! Ray is at the back of the house. It's his training hours."

'Training hours?'

"Of course. Please, show us the way."

A few moments later the lady, who has identified herself as Raynold's mother, brought them to the back of the house. They saw quite a large open field full of gravel.

In the middle of it, there was a boy who was doing push-ups while standing on his hands. At the side of this field, three girls were sitting cross-legged dressed in training clothes.

This looked more like something from a movie for Mei than some sort of thing one would see in real life.

Though the moment he noticed them he pushed himself up and with a flip, he landed on his feet and walked towards the new arrivals.

"Raiden Ryoma and Raiden Mei I assume?" He asked them with a curious look.

"Indeed… Mr.Raynold, I presume?"

"Yes. That would be me." Raynold nodded before motioning them to follow him toward a few wooden seats.

"I have to admit…I wasn't expecting you to live in a normal house in the middle of a regular suburb. Isn't your father running for president?"

"More specific term would be that people are running him for president. If you are to listen to his speeches and things like that, other candidates say much fancier promises.

I think he is even trying to sabotage himself by not looking that good in his elections." Raynold said the last part with an amused snort.

"I see….so that's how it is."

The businessman from the Far East didn't need many details to know what was going on. People elected his father so that the boy would be more inclined to protect this land from Honkai. If one family member is attached to a position like a Mayor or President of the state then the chance is far greater for such protection to happen.

"More specifically I can sense above-average Honkai levels from your daughter. I can assume that Stigmata is waking up."

Raynold internally is quite annoyed that people are constantly getting such shortcuts to Golden Core Stage. While others have to struggle.

Even now after five months of training with him, Bronya is still gathering and refining Honkai in her body.

It took him over 2 years to achieve that. But these Stigmata holders? They achieve it in just a few short months…

"Yes. The Honkai infection started to spread. I assume you have the means to stop it?"

He nodded at the man's quite serious tone. This father was desperate for his daughter.

"I do. Though my means are temporary. I can seal her Stigmata with my energy. To make it permanent she will need to generate energy on her own, once her energy reaches a high enough level she will be able to overcome the Stigmata on her own. If she is to push it further she could create a core quite effortlessly."

Hearing that it can be permanently made the man sigh with relief. He looked at his daughter for a bit.

"And how long will this…training will last?"

"Depends on your daughter. It could be weeks or even months. This is physical training we are talking about." He said with a shrug.

"I agree…but I wish to see Herrscher with my own eyes."

For a second he frowned. Why is everyone calling the first stage of cultivation by that name… it's annoying…

"Sure. Let a girl who was in your situation show it in person." As he said that he looked at one of the girls sitting on the ground.

"Seele! Can you show her your transformation?"

"Sure!"

Just like that the girl got on her feet and transformed her clothes, then she just appeared next to Raynold. Her speed was absurd… neither of them could follow her.

"Is there anything else you need for me as a big brother?" Seele asked while moving her head to the side. She looked like a harmless animal to the pair of visitors… Though they would instantly change their mind the moment they see her weapon of choice…

"It depends on the miss over there."

Hearing that Seele looked at the older girl standing in front of her. The short staring competition only lasted for a few moments as Mei didn't need any more 'examples'.

"It's fine… I only needed to be certain. Trusting without proof is something I don't want to do."

"It's fine!" Seele said with a smile.

"We get it a lot. People constantly confuse us with normal people since we don't always show off our powers." The girl explained with a bright tone.

"What Seele said is the truth. Our training makes it easy for us to pass as normal people."

Hearing that made Mei quite glad. If she masters this then she can return to things how they were before her Stigmata manifested.

"Good, very good. This is far better than I expected." Raiden Ryoma nodded when he heard the results of the training.

"Since it's going to take a while we need to arrange where Mei will be staying."

"Easy enough. We still have a few spare rooms. Worst case I can just make a wormhole from here to the Far East. But the time zones would mess with her biological clock."

The pair's sweat drops when they hear how casually he is talking about making wormholes…

"It's fine, father. If Mr. Westwood allows it, then I will stay here. The quicker the training, the quicker I can return home."

"True…if you stay here we can train at least three times a day." Raynold easily added his bits of information. Though this made Seele show a pitying smile.

[That poor thing. She has no idea what kind of fire she is walking into.]

Seele's other personality almost sounded as if she was pitying the poor high-class girl.

"If this is what you want, Mei."

…

…

…

With the arrangement done, Raiden Ryoma went to see Raynold's father. He had a meeting with him.

If everything turns out nicely then quite a bit of investment will pour into this small town.

The businessman doesn't mind spending a fortune as long as his daughter is safe and sound… and by this point one of the powerhouses in the world.

In the meantime, Raiden Mei looked around her room.

It was nothing like her spacious place… Not that she minded this place…

In truth, she was slightly detached from her emotions when her mother died and she learned that she could become a Herrscher in the future.

It doesn't help that her father is always busy with his work.

"So…you are the new disciple Ray will be training?"

Hearing a voice, a girl just popped into her room with an orange and black burst of light.

She had white hair and blue eyes. The girl looked quite bright…but that brightness faked quite a bit.

"...Raiden Mei. You must be the Herrscher of Void."

"...Yes. I suppose I am. Though we don't call ourselves that. Raynold doesn't like this German word, especially when he considers them just the beginning of a journey to reach the apex of existence."

"...Apex of Existence? What are you talking about?" Mei was confused about what she was talking about!?

"He achieved his power through sheer will and hard work. That's why he is not mad like…my predecessors or Herrchers in the previous era.

In simple terms…if you watch sports and stuff like that it's like calling a college basketball player one of the best in the world.

Especially after he showed that he can wield Life and Death now and much more in the future."

What does this even mean?

"But…the scientific term is Herrscher because of the absolute concepts they can wield!"

This time the white-haired girl just sighed.

"I know… but don't say that to his face. He will tell you that you are brainwashed by the cultists… and by the way, the cultists are Schicksal…

He calls them because of how they experiment on people and how they use things on small girls to train them into Valkyrie with a big chance of dying from Honkai exposure." The girl explained with various expressions on her face. Mei could see that this girl was conflicted by Schicksal…

From the dark purple-haired girl's research, she can understand that this girl has some sort of connection to Schicksal…

"I Understand… Though you didn't say what your name is."

"Oh…It's Kiana Kaslana. It makes me your senior!" Kiana said with a proud look. Yep! She is a senior in training!

Mei just sighed and played along…

"As you say, Kiana Kaslana-senpai."

"...on second thought it sounds weird…just call me by my name."

"If you say so."

"By the way, good look at your training. The first days are going to be hard." After giving a vague warning the girl disappeared from Mei's new room.

Kiana was doing that to show off her awesome powers. And indeed they made the newest addition to the household curious about her powers!

…

…

…

Though the next day…

Mei wished that she never agreed so casually to stay here!

Waking up with the first rays of the sun. Running several kilometres, then doing a multitude of exercises… Followed by quite a bland breakfast by her standards and then going to this new school.

As per Raynold's request, Mei has to continue her education.

No…she should have asked for an apartment…this is torture…