The brief time spent with Raiden Mei had been pleasant for Evan. If discovering this was the world of Honkai had previously stressed him out as an ordinary person, then his contact with Mei now finally brought him a sense of joy. It was a different kind of joy from obtaining a Stigma and realizing he could grow stronger—this was a simple happiness for having come to this world.
Of course, besides enjoying the pleasant mood, Evan hadn't forgotten to observe Mei's condition. To be honest, he couldn't see anything.
After all, he had been standing a fair distance from her. Although he was no longer an ordinary person, Evan, with only a pitiful Shigure Kira (T) to his name, was hardly a precision instrument capable of understanding the detailed condition of Mei's body.
However, if any abnormalities were to appear in the future, Evan felt he would be able to react. During the Third Honkai Eruption, Raiden Mei would become a Herrscher. The birth of a Herrscher required the surrounding Honkai energy to exceed 1,000 HW. Such a drastic change in Honkai energy would be enough to alert him, and he could then try to take Mei to the outskirts of Nagazora, far away from populated areas.
Although he couldn't prevent the Honkai Eruption directly, Evan could at least try to mitigate the damage. Even if the Honkai spread from the suburbs back into the city after he took Mei away, the people of Nagazora would have had some time to escape.
Having met the lovely classmates at Tachikawa Academy and the friendly staff at the ME Corp branch, Evan didn't want to just stand by and watch them be consumed by the Honkai and turned into zombies without trying to do something.
This was the most he could do. He hoped that more people would survive than in the original timeline. As for himself, he needed to continue finding ways to increase his strength. With just a two-star, level one Shigure Kira (T), it was questionable whether he could even withstand the dense Honkai energy he'd be exposed to by being near Mei, let alone deal with the zombies and Honkai Beasts that would appear.
But—
On the virtual interface only he could see, the friendship point counter had changed from zero to twenty.
His friendship points had increased. Perhaps it was because of his contact with Mei, perhaps because their paths had crossed, or perhaps because he had established a friendly relationship with her—a sliver of "friendship"—that the points had been awarded.
Whether the amount of points gained would increase with intimacy and could be earned repeatedly over time, like in the game, or if there were other rules, Evan didn't yet know. However, the information that Kiana and Bronya were not at Senba Academy was very valuable.
Evan knew that during the Third Honkai Eruption, Kiana, Mei, and Bronya were relying on each other for survival, meaning they had met before then. This implied that there was still some time before the eruption. If his guess was correct, Kiana wouldn't transfer to Senba Academy mid-semester. This meant the Third Honkai Eruption was at least six months away.
With six months, even if he only earned twenty friendship points a day from interacting with Mei, and even if a single Friendship Supply pull cost one hundred points and a ten-pull cost a thousand, he should be able to save up over three thousand points before the eruption. Besides, he didn't think twenty points was the daily limit.
That being said, whenever he thought about racking his brain for ways to earn friendship points just to pull from the Friendship Supply, he couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and frustration. He looked at the empty space next to the gold counter on the virtual interface and sighed.
"Crystals, oh crystals, when will you ever appear?"
...
An ordinary student's job was to finish their studies. They could do their own thing on the weekend. Evan, however, had to spend his weekend interning at ME Corp. In a way, he was quite busy.
He didn't actually need the money. He had checked his bank account before; even with no further income, the amount was enough to live comfortably for a year. The reason he persisted with the internship even after meeting Mei was to hopefully get promoted, gain access to more classified information, and find a powerful weapon made by ME Corp. Even finding a Titan and getting control of it would be a win.
But when he discovered that the files he was asked to organize today were essentially the same as yesterday's, he couldn't resist feigning innocence and asking his supervisor—a capable and dashing career woman—about the company's promotion process. The answer he received was deeply disappointing.
"A promotion? You're quite ambitious, but you'll need to be patient. You're still just an intern. Promotions are for full-time employees, and they depend on your time with the company and your performance. So, work hard~"
Hearing this, Evan nearly quit on the spot. He didn't have time to play the role of an ordinary employee and waste his energy in this ME Corp branch.
He had already made up his mind. If he confirmed that ME Corp wouldn't give him any valuable files to work on, he would find an excuse and leave immediately. Although the building, filled with mature, beautiful career women, was certainly attractive in its own way, the Honkai Eruption was coming soon, and he had no time to waste here.
So far, aside from learning about the weapons lab on the upper floors, Evan had gained nothing else from ME Corp.
The internship was dull and tedious. But what came next would be much more wonderful.
Evening was approaching. It was time to honor his promise and find Raiden Mei at Senba Academy.