Mei had asked him to meet half an hour later than usual, and Evan hadn't thought much of it. After all, today was a school day, and she might have had something to attend to. Evan didn't waste that half hour either. He made a rare trip to an equipment shop in Nagazora and bought an unsharpened metal sword.
It wasn't a weapon meant to fight the Honkai, but purely for practice. An ordinary weapon couldn't conduct Honkai energy, and its sharpness alone was likely insufficient to break through a Honkai Beast's defense. But compared to a bamboo sword, this metal one was heavier. Training with it would be more efficient, and of course, more tiring.
This was for him to use when training alone in his dorm. For his sword practice with Mei, he would naturally still use her bamboo swords. Even an unsharpened metal sword was too dangerous; using it for sparring would not be a wise decision.
By the time Evan snuck into Senba Academy with increasingly familiar movements—
"I made these. Please try them and see if you like them."
Mei took out a portion of sweets, a Japanese confection known as Strawberry Daifuku.
The outer layer was a mochi skin, and the filling was strawberry. It was a dessert for after tea or a meal. It seemed the reason Mei had specifically delayed their meeting was to prepare this.
Evan stared for a moment at the four daifuku arranged in a box slightly larger than an adult's palm, then met the girl's eyes.
They were deep as always, filled with a gentle, relaxing smile.
"What's wrong? Have you already eaten dinner? Are you still full?" Mei asked with some concern, seeing Evan just staring at her instead of immediately trying the daifuku.
"No, I haven't eaten yet. I'm actually starving."
Evan shook his head and picked up a sweet, popping it into his mouth.
The texture was smooth and soft, with a refreshing strawberry fragrance. For Evan, who had been suppressing his appetite for so long, its already excellent taste was elevated to a new level, causing him to pause for a moment.
He truly hoped that one day he could eat Mei's homemade sweets without any pressure, living a carefree life of leisure.
Seeing Evan fall silent after finishing one strawberry daifuku, Mei looked a little troubled. Although she was fairly confident in her cooking skills, she was still worried. Perhaps a boy's palate was very different from a girl's. Maybe a light, sweet dessert like this wasn't actually to his taste?
"The taste..."
"It's delicious. Thank you."
This strawberry daifuku, and the tenderness Mei had poured into it, made Evan let out a silent breath.
This is why I want to risk my life to become stronger.
Even if in the original timeline, Mei, after becoming a Herrscher, wasn't treated as a mortal enemy by Schicksal for various reasons, he, the butterfly, now existed. From the moment he contacted Mei, the so-called original trajectory of the world was no longer absolute. Evan didn't want a worse outcome to occur, nor did he want to maintain the original one. He wanted to make the future better.
Evan's "thank you" was completely normal, even perfect. If he were to replicate his current expression and demeanor in his classroom at Tachikawa Academy, his classmates would probably be ecstatic, even thinking, "I've finally won him over."
However, in Mei's eyes, this thank you was not as simple and pure as she had imagined.
Besides gratitude, the pressure he carried on his shoulders didn't seem to have lessened; if anything, it had increased.
Evan was indeed very good at hiding it. His series of words and actions from the beginning until now had no flaws. His gentle tone and his smile, which seemed to hold so much hidden meaning, would make any girl feel he was interested in her and was deliberately taking action to win her over.
But Mei didn't feel that way. Because of her past experiences, she was extremely sensitive to others' emotions. She could feel that Evan held no malice towards her, only a lot of goodwill and affection, but it was being suppressed by something, which made his behavior seem strange to her.
During yesterday's sword practice, Mei had confirmed that this strangeness stemmed from an unknown pressure, a desire to become stronger.
No one would practice swordsmanship for two hours straight. To Evan, who had been constantly pushing himself, such a practice session wasn't too long, but in Mei's eyes, only a kendo fanatic would go that far. Yet, before she had said those words yesterday, Evan had shown no joy or excitement at his rapid progress.
There were some things Mei was already sure of. What she couldn't understand now was why Evan was willing to come and chat with her specifically. Was it simply so she wouldn't be so lonely?
She had no past connection with him. It was strange... but it certainly made her happy.
"Shall we go for a walk? We can chat while we stroll outside."
Now, besides enjoying the warmth that Evan, who was willing to accompany her, brought, Mei also wanted to do something for him. She had often heard that walking was a good way to relax the mind, so she thought she would give it a try.
Mei's words made Evan's eyes flicker. He more or less understood the true purpose of her suggestion. Perhaps he had miscalculated during their sword practice earlier.
"A boy and a girl going for a walk together at night? That sounds a bit like a date, doesn't it?"
If Mei wasn't going to press the issue, that was for the best. Evan pushed aside those unnecessary thoughts and looked at the graceful girl before him with a playful smile, which made Mei, who had just realized the implication, blush slightly.
"We're just friends hanging out. Don't get the wrong idea."
"Oh, so that's all it is. What a shame. It seems I still need to work harder, then."