Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

"You were bullied as a kid, too? That's awful. Next time Sirin bullies you, make sure you tell me! I'll teach her a lesson!"

Raiden Mei made a heartfelt promise to the blonde, twintailed girl.

As it happened, Sirin wouldn't get a chance to seek revenge on Mei for a while. She was currently in secluded training, mastering the power of civil engineering.

Yukino Yukinoshita's brow furrowed slightly. She was surprised that bullying even existed in a place like Academy City.

But on second thought, it made perfect sense. Academy City had already established platforms like the Kengan matches to officially resolve disputes with force; it stood to reason that even more fighting happened behind the scenes.

What truly surprised Yukino, however, was that her classmate, this Sawamura girl, had been collectively ostracized back in elementary school and even kindergarten.

"This... doesn't that count as betraying your own friend?" Yukino pointedly highlighted the ugly side of her classmate's past.

Eriri Sawamura's face flushed crimson, clearly red-hot with a shame so intense she wished she could disappear.

Raiden Mei was far more forgiving. She said comfortingly, "She was just a child back then. It's perfectly normal to hide when you're being bullied. Isn't that what most people would think?"

"No. She started hanging out with the very people who looked down on her friend. She was even laughing and joking with them, without ever reflecting on her actions."

Yukino mercilessly attacked Eriri Sawamura, seeing right through her. It was obvious this girl lacked the depth to create art that truly reflected society. A person's spirit can often be seen in their work, and Eriri's art only showed madness and chaos, while the rest was just a messy, stitched-together hodgepodge.

So what if she was a diplomat's daughter? A lack of aesthetic sense was a lack of aesthetic sense.

Seeing the blonde girl so hurt by the verbal jabs that she started to cry, Mei said helplessly, "Who hasn't made a few mistakes as a child?"

But Yukino declared with great pride, "I haven't! I, Yukino Yukinoshita, can face the world with a clear conscience! I never once bowed my head to those who bullied me! You could say I used my family's influence to avoid violent retaliation at school, but isn't her family background even better than mine?"

"As a diplomat's daughter, she didn't have to worry about anyone bullying her friends. But what did she do? She hasn't even offered a single word of apology for what happened back then! Why should I coddle her and twist right and wrong?"

Raiden Mei's expression was complicated. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what.

Yukino was right. Eriri's past actions were indeed pretty shady.

Although Eriri had shared these things as if they were friends, a closer look at the events was just painful to watch.

It was a good thing Mei was the one who had just rescued her from Sirin's bullying; otherwise, Eriri might have suspected she was about to be put through another round of psychological torment.

After tearing into the blonde girl, Yukino felt considerably better. Her older sister had been driving her crazy at home recently.

Why did Academy City have to open its doors to visitors? Didn't they know how annoying some people could be?

"Alright, let's talk about something else for now." Raiden Mei felt that dwelling on this wouldn't solve anything. "When you go to the Kengan matches, take her with you as a spectator. She can get a good look at the fights from the audience seats."

The fighting styles in the Kengan matches had been getting more and more abstract lately.

All sorts of multi-functional limbs were being rapidly developed and deployed, though you couldn't install too many at once, or it would hinder your combat performance.

Not long ago, a fighter had even emerged who used a "dwarf" combat style, having modified his body to be extremely small.

Unfortunately, he had shrunk himself so much that his stamina and strength plummeted, and he ended up getting rolled into a ball and beaten senseless.

Yukino saw nothing wrong with watching the Kengan matches.

It was the ultimate place to temper one's mind and body. For example, after her sister Haruno came to watch one of her fights, she was much better behaved afterward.

After all, if you saw your own sister continue to fight even after her eye was practically squeezed out of its socket, you'd probably start to see her in a "new light," too.

The blonde girl, still clueless as to what kind of strange place the Kengan tournament was, obediently agreed. With no parents around, she had no choice but to rely on others.

"By the way, Mei, have you seen the news about the new androids? How is the research on them coming along? Is it all real?"

Yukino found the idea of androids a bit creepy. They didn't align with her habits or ethical views, so she had never considered buying one herself.

Raiden Mei thought about the android girl that Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical had delivered the other day. She was as exquisite and beautiful as a doll, and she handled all sorts of household chores with perfect efficiency.

But Noldrei clearly hadn't bought her to do housework. Instead, he immediately assigned the android to a role like a concierge.

"Well... they're still different from humans. From what we know, androids can't awaken a Stigma. We don't know why, but it's like they're naturally incapable of it. Or perhaps, they're somehow inherently incompatible with things like Stigmata."

Raiden Mei couldn't quite explain the feeling; it was a sense she got from the will of her own Stigma.

"Is that so..."

Yukino hadn't expected androids to have such a limitation. She had assumed they were exactly like humans, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

"Though, the divorce rate in Academy City has hit another all-time high... haha..." Raiden Mei couldn't help but laugh nervously. In an age of rising divorces, the appearance of these androids was a true marriage killer.

Most people didn't seem to care about the androids' internal network; they just wanted a companion that better suited their needs.

"Sigh, they'll probably get tired of them soon enough," Yukino sighed. "Based on my sister's social experiences, it's impossible for a person to maintain the same personality forever. Sometimes they'll even deliberately show a different side of themselves to make others feel like they've truly opened up."

You have to fake that, too?!

Mei's lip twitched. She wanted no part of such social "tricks."

"They'll definitely get bored. I wonder if androids can even understand the human need for novelty."

Yukino lamented the situation. She had read the manuals for the androids, which explained that they could absorb experience from the network to refine their personalities, shaping themselves into whatever persona their owners desired.

"Don't worry about that. I remember Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical opened a trade-in program. By then, they'll probably have new features to upgrade to."

Raiden Mei recalled what the delivery guy who had brought theirs had said. It sounded just like buying a new car for the family.

I can't help but feel... are we just keeping these androids as watchdog pets?