Nostalgia

Looking at the back of Lloyd, who walked away from her, Yae sighed. She almost acted like a weirdo in front of him… again. But, what else can she do? She hasn't seen him for over thirteen years. But old habits die hard.

Feeling the Herrscher core inside her, "They kept their promise. His appearance might have changed, but the Honkai revived him for me," she muttered. "But… Why are they not asking me to uphold my side of the promise?" That was what she was confused about. After making her a Herrscher, she hasn't heard anything from the Honkai God, not even once. It was as if they had forgotten about her.

There is a reason why no Honkai Energy is leaking from her. It was because she had bound all the Honkai Energy from the surroundings to inside her body. Yes, as the Herrscher of Binding of this generation, something like that is as easy as sneakily eating a bird.

Taking out an orb-shaped purple gem from her pocket, Yae sighed. Unfortunately, the orb lost its luster after she arrived in this world. Looking at the orb with melancholy, she worried for her friend's wellbeing. The pink-haired lady looked for a way to go back during these 10 years, but the result she got was none. There is no way for her to go back to her world.

"Ei… I wonder if she is still meditating in the Pure Land," Yae lamented. Then, tightening her grip over the orb, she determined herself to return back to her world, where her friend was waiting. But, a tired sigh came out of her mouth.

She can't leave the boy alone in this world. She owned him a lot. It was too much that even the deal with the Honkai would not be able to pay back what the boy did for her. Honestly, she wants to turn back to when she was a fox and lick his face all over again.

Looking at Lloyd's figure disappearing into the building, Yae sighed and put away the orb into her breast pocket. But for now, she'll just leave him there as she has an appointment to catch.

--------------------------------

Lloyd's POV

My whole body almost turned into stone when my eyes landed on her. She looks exactly like one of my precious friends from my previous life!

"Rumi-san, please stand up!" The voice of my homeroom teacher brought me back to reality. It is a good thing because it looks like I didn't stare at her too much.

"Lloyd-kun, you will be sitting beside her. Rumi-san is the class president of this class, so please ask her anything if you have any trouble," Ichiro-sensei informed me and pointed at the empty chair beside a dark-haired girl.

I quietly walk toward the seat and sit down. I smiled at Rumi-san as I noticed her staring at me.

"Homeroom is starting; take out your books," the teacher informed us and started his lessons.

Ichiro-sensei teaches chemistry. But for someone like me, the lessons are easy. Unlike a musclebrain KEVIN, I sometimes help MEI and SU with their research. Moreover, my Father from this life is a loving yet strict father. He made me study his research and theories even if he needed to make my mother angry. After all, according to my mother, he was the one who made a cure for the Black Death.

The lesson ended after 90 minutes. Let me tell you, curious teenagers are scary. As soon as the teacher walked out of the class, I was bombarded with many questions.

"Lloyd-san, where did you come from?"

"Lloyd-sama, are you still single?"

"Lloyd-kun, are you free after school?" and so on.

I didn't notice in my previous life because my eyes were already set on HIMEKO, but… I was actually popular back then, didn't I? If I remember correctly, HIMEKO even discussed this topic with me.

"I came from somewhere around Europe," I answered the first one.

"No, I am not seeing anyone right now," answered the second. It kept going like that before the teacher for the next class arrived.

This time, the class is about History. And as someone who just came to this world, I am bad at it. So, I paid extra attention to this subject.

Did something happen to Siberia? It looked different from what I remembered. Another topic for me to research.

The class ended after another 90 minutes, and it was time for lunch. I knew I wouldn't be able to eat quietly in this class, so I grabbed my lunchbox and slipped away from the crowd. But here is the thing, I don't know any quiet place to eat. So, I had decided to go to my usual hiding spot with the gang back in my previous life. To the roof!

--------------------------------

It is not very hard to lockpick the door leading to the roof. It is just the first day at school, and I am breaking a rule already. Good job, me. I sat down, leaning on the roof fence, and opened the lunch box Sakuya made for me.

The lunch box contains typical Japanese meals such as egg rolls, rice, fried shrimp, sausages, and fried vegetables. The sky is clear, and the sun is shining brightly.

"KEVIN, SU, I miss you guys," I muttered as I looked toward the sky. This is the place where we gathered when we wanted to skip classes. I wonder... will we be able to continue to joke and talk about KEVIN's crush if the Honkai outbreak never happened.

Talking about KEVIN's crush, I saw someone who looked exactly like her. Unfortunately, I didn't get her name because I was busy minding my own business. But I know this girl and MEI are not the same. MEI is distant from everyone, while this girl has many friends surrounding her.

I wonder how KEVIN is going to react if he sees the girl. Will he laugh? Will he become sad? I do not know. And it is also impossible. After all, KEVIN is dead, SU too. I am the only one left in this world. I wonder if they finished the Elysian Realm project. I want to meet KEVIN, SU, and… SAKURA.

I want to meet them again. I want to apologize for not being together with them in their final battle. I want to punch KEVIN for making me break my promise. I want to listen to EDEN's song one more time. But that is impossible. Unless I can travel to a different world as I appeared in this one.

It is no use thinking about the past. I took a quick glance at my watch. Wait… it is already that time?! I quickly finished my lunch and walked back to my class.

I spent the rest of the day listening to the teachers and answering the questions asked by my classmates. It was a tiring day, but I had fun.

"Lloyd-san," I turned around as I heard someone calling me from the side.

"Yes?" I saw a girl who looked exactly like MEI holding a book.

"Ichiro-sensei wanted me to give you this book," she handed me the book. Hmm? This is…

Noticing my confused expression, she explained, "This book was made by Ichiro-sensei to make us understand the lesson easier, and it is not included in the textbooks given by the school."

"That makes sense," I nodded. "Thank you," I took the book and proceeded to put it inside the bag.

"I will be going now," I nodded my head. "May I know your name?" I asked, trying not to look like I was hitting on her.

"Oh! My name is Raiden Mei. You can just call me Mei," she answered with a smile as radiant as the sun. The smile froze on my face, but I quickly fixed myself not to look suspicious.

With her looking exactly like MEI, I might unconsciously treat her like how I treat my friend. And I wanted to slap her for the stunt she pulled right before I died. But, it would be bad if I slapped the poor girl just because they look similar.

"It is… nice to meet you, Mei-san," I shook the hand she offered. Although I'm not used to using '-san' in the names, I'll need to be polite when talking to someone. It was what Mother taught me.

--------------------------------

Saying goodbye to her, I left the school grounds and walked toward the train station. I need to ride the train for 3 stops to get to the restaurant where I am working part-time.

I am looking at the address I was given and the building in front of me. I was told it was a restaurant, not a freaking maid cafe! It is a nicely decorated building with multiple plants placed at the front.

"Excuse me!" I walked inside the cafe. The inside is… if I were to describe it in one word, it would be 'cute.' Pink, pink everywhere.

"Welcome, Master!" The maids welcomed me at the same time.

"No, no. I came here because I was told that I was hired at this… cafe?" I informed them.

"Oh, you must be Lloyd Mervyn-san. Please come in," the red-haired maid led me toward the manager's room.

I will skip what happened inside the manager's room because it was boring. To make it short, I became a butler at this cafe. The manager said that it is troublesome to have only girls in this store, and they needed a male if someone tried to make it difficult for them. Well… did I get myself a harem? Meh, I think not. I have over tens of maids serving me back in my world. This much is nothing.

The duration of my working hour is 4 hours. So, the earliest time I got back home was 9 P.M. It is nothing compared to when I worked as a member of Fire MOTH, so I can at least deal with it.

--------------------------------

"Welcome home, Master," I was greeted by Sakuya when I opened the door.

"I am back, Sakuya," I nodded.

"By the way, Master. I am smelling multiple fragrances of perfume from you. Did something happen?" What the hell?! She is scary! Even the angry SAKURA was not as frightening as her. Plus, the pink head rarely gets angry! You know what happens when a chill person gets angry, right?

"Er… there are many female co-workers at my part-time job," I replied.

"Is that so? I am very sorry for the outburst," Sakuya apologized while bowing.

"No problem. I will be inside my room now. How was our Savior?" I asked while giving her my jacket.

"She woke up at noon and is playing the games in her room right after eating lunch," Sakuya replied.

"Is that so? I will be skipping dinner," I informed Sakuya and walked inside my room. There aren't many things inside my room. A wardrobe, a desk to do homework, and a photo of my family on the desk. That's it.

I walked toward the desk and picked up the photo. There are four people in the picture. A white-haired woman and a pink-haired woman are hugging a white-haired child of ten years old while a blonde-haired man is looking at them from the side in jealousy with his arms folded.

"Don't worry, Mother and Okaa-sama, I will make sure to come back home safely. And Father, please don't make Mother angry. I don't want to clear up your mess when I get home," I said. I do this at least one time a day. Some might say I am crazy, but this is the best way to deal with homesickness.

"Okay, let's sleep," I took a quick shower and changed into my pajamas.

I hope I don't dream about HIMEKO's death again.

"Listen here, Lloyd. Our job is to make sure this black box won't fall into the wrong hands," I heard the voice of my Father.

And I woke up again with cold sweat on my body. But I noticed I am not the only one sleeping on my bed.

"What are you doing on my bed, Kyuusyou?" I asked my housemate.

--------------------------------

Author's Note;

Yup! The changes started in the last chapter. With a new Herrscher in the play, how will Lloyd deal with the future? First, let's pray for him.

I edited some of the things from the original script… Well, they are very little to none. So please don't hate me.