Starting from the Collapse World, I became the behind-the-scenes boss

She's fine on her own, but if she drags Xier and the others into this mess...

Just as she was feeling ashamed, an alluring fragrance suddenly wafted into the girl's nose, causing Kiana's brain to freeze for a moment.

What's that smell? It smells so good!

Looking closely, Kiana realized that Bronya and the other two had already opened the food box. White steam was rising, mixed with a fragrant aroma that made the girl's mouth water.

Why is your food hot?

Kiana was shocked.

In the Far East, shouldn't everyone's lunchboxes be cold?

Besides, are you sure you can finish all this food?

Even though the desserts they ate at the confectionery shop last time were normal portions, the three of them now had unusually large bento boxes, more than twice the size of a normal person's.

Although the ingredients are not particularly rare or expensive, the generous portion still makes the bento box look exceptionally plentiful.

"Self-heating packs can provide heat for several tens of minutes with simple operation, so you can easily have a hot meal even on the battlefield."

Bronya explained expressionlessly.

In her view, this should be common sense.

Kiana: "..."

No, who in their right mind would use self-heating packs at school?

Besides, why are you so adept at using the battlefield as a metaphor?

The girl felt she simply couldn't keep up with the way these North American exchange students thought.

What exactly do schools in North America teach?

"Kiana, would you like to give it a try?"

She spoke softly, and Seele pushed her food box toward Kiana.

Before leaving today, Shihen mentioned when handing the lunchboxes to them that sharing lunch with friends is an important part of campus life.

“…Okay.” After a long hesitation, Kiana finally succumbed to the enticing aroma and opened her own bento box. “If you don’t mind, you can try mine too.”

Seele glanced at the unremarkable sandwiches in Kiana's box, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face. But after thinking for a moment, she nodded understandingly, picked up a piece, put it in her mouth, and then...

The girl's expression changed instantly.

A faint red light flashed rapidly in her pupils, and Seele hurriedly swallowed the food in her mouth.

It would be incredibly rude to throw up after exchanging lunch with a classmate for the first time.

only……

Looking at the remaining sandwich in her hand, Seele couldn't muster the courage to take another bite.

"Bronya, give it a try too."

Seeing Seele's predicament, Bronya took the rest of the sandwich from the girl.

"Sister Bronya, wait—"

Before she could finish speaking, Seele could only watch helplessly as the gray-haired girl took a small bite of her sandwich, and then... she seemed to see a slight fluctuation in emotion in that face that hadn't changed in a long time.

Bronya swallowed the sandwich as quickly as possible and stuffed the remaining half into Anzu's mouth: "Anzu, you try it too."

There was no time to refuse; Anzu could only stare wide-eyed as the sandwich disappeared into her mouth, and then… memories from the time she was old enough to understand began to play automatically in the girl’s mind.

"Hmm? Is it bad?" Kiana finally noticed the others' strange behavior and asked in confusion. She picked up a sandwich, took a bite, and gave her evaluation while chewing, "I think it's alright."

She genuinely felt that her cooking skills were passable; at least she could eat it without any problems.

Although she doesn't usually make her own lunchboxes, she prepared one today specifically because she thought she might run into the boy.

As the book says, only a bento box prepared by oneself can truly express one's feelings.

"..."

Looking at the bewildered white-haired girl, Bronya began to consider the possibility that the girl was an alien.

"Kiana, why don't you try our lunch?"

She spoke gently, her gaze towards the white-haired girl filled with concern.

This girl must have never eaten normal food before, to think that this kind of sandwich is something edible.

"Bronya's too."

Bronya's voice seemed to carry a hint of barely perceptible pity.

Anzu... Oh, the girl's revolving lantern show isn't over yet.

"Everyone..." Kiana looked at the three people in front of her and her eyes immediately filled with tears. "Then I won't be polite."

Having been at Chiba Academy for so long, this was the first time someone had been willing to share food with her.

While eating the sandwiches she made, Kiana would occasionally help Seele and the others finish some, depending on their eating speed.

She was also worried that Seele and the other two would go hungry because of this.

After all, if someone puts so much food in their lunchbox, it means they have a great appetite.

So, as the lunch progressed into its middle stages, almost only Kiana was still talking.

Although Seele and the others eat more than the average person due to the arduous training, it's not to an exaggerated degree.

Seeing the white-haired girl cautiously scrutinizing them, looking like she wanted to speak but dared not, Xi'er finally understood why Shihen had given them such a large lunchbox.

This bento box was never intended for all three of them from the beginning.

The other party had anticipated that there would be a fourth person.

"If Kiana doesn't mind, could you finish all of this?" Seele said softly, a considerate smile on her face. "Perhaps it's the first time we've prepared this, and someone seems to have underestimated our appetites."

Hearing this, Kiana finally let go of all her worries.

Although her lunch was enough to sustain her for the day, it was still far from being truly filling.

Meanwhile, Seele and her two companions on the other side instantly witnessed Kaslana's combat prowess and understood just how farsighted the person who wasn't there truly was.

Chapter 104 Mei's Sword Practice

Lightning-themed house, kendo dojo courtyard.

Shihen and Mei sat facing each other, with a glass box the size of a chessboard placed between them. The box was half full of silver liquid, and its metallic luster was clearly visible when it was shaken.

In fact, these liquids are indeed a type of metal.

Mercury, a good conductor of Honkai energy, is often used to test an individual's control over Honkai energy.

But at this moment, they are just ordinary training materials.

"Miss Raiden, it's your turn."

Time's marks served as a reminder.

"..."

Frowning as she stared at the glass box in front of her, Mei's eyelids twitched slightly.

Inside the glass box, on each side near their location, there were ten targets... no, she only had three targets left; the other seven had long been destroyed by the boy.

The boy proposed a swordsmanship training method that involved using mental power to condense mercury into marbles and then launching them to destroy the opponent's target.

To be honest, when Mei first heard about this training method, she thought Shihen was joking with her.

Controlling mercury with your mind... Is that something a human can do?

It wasn't until she witnessed the other party using this box of mercury to perform a skit of Wu Song fighting the tiger for her that she realized what was happening.

In fact, if he went all out, Shihen could have easily caused a great disturbance in the Heavenly Palace.

But that would be a bit too exaggerated and doesn't fit his public image.

Manipulating mercury to create the movements of two or three characters is something even Bronya could barely manage.

In terms of controlling Honkai energy, Shihen's identity is quite outstanding.

Are you sure this method will work?

Disobeying the boy's orders, Mei looked at Shihen with questioning eyes.

"I've tested it myself."

Shihen's tone was firm.

Although the methods are somewhat different, controlling Honkai energy is a training he does every day.

No matter what level you reach, the precise control of Honkai energy will never be outdated.

"Isn't there a more efficient way?" Mei clearly didn't believe her. "Like incantations or mantras?"

"..." Shihen looked up at the girl and couldn't help but sigh deeply, "Miss Leidian, your misunderstanding of our world... is a bit too deep."

We live in a scientific age; we don't talk about supernatural phenomena.

Honkai is a science, not a mystery.

Even Fu Hua's seemingly mysterious Sword Heart Technique actually works by stimulating the human body and enhancing the perception of Honkai energy.

As for the Sword God... he is merely a product of Honkai energy control reaching a certain level, and Shihen can now easily do something similar.

Of course, he's probably the only one who could fill in "very simple" on this kind of thing.

But in any case, these are all things that science can explain, and they are not mystical at all.

"..."

Without responding, Mei simply pointed to the mercury target in front of her.

You have the nerve to talk to me about science when you're using such unscientific abilities?

“Okay, actually, ‘thought’ is just a way of putting it. What we really rely on is a special energy called Honkai Energy.” Shihen shrugged. “If Miss Raiden needs it, I can even give you the complete calculation formula.”

But for someone like you who can't specifically perceive Honkai energy, none of this matters.

To control Honkai energy, you must first sense its presence.

Unfortunately, Mei struggles to even do the first point.

So even though this training session has entered its third round, Mei hasn't managed to hit a single target yet.

Incidentally, all twenty targets were maintained by Shihen.

While acting as Mei's rival, the boy is also in charge of building the venue.

"Since you've already said that I can't sense Honkai energy, is this kind of training even useful?"

Mei's tone involuntarily carried a hint of anger.

She felt like she was completely wasting her time.

“No, it’s not that you can’t sense Honkai energy, it’s just that it’s much more difficult for you than for ordinary people.” Shihen shook his head. “I’m still investigating the reason why.”

But acquiring power is never something that can be done overnight, and I hope Miss Raiden can be a little more patient.

Shihen was well aware of the reasons for Mei's current situation, but he simply couldn't bring himself to say it.

Both involve sealing stigmata, but if Time Mark's approach is to add a limiter to Seele to prevent the girl from overloading her body by using too much Honkai energy at once, then Raiden Ryoma's approach is to cut off Mei's possibility of controlling Honkai energy as much as possible.

This wasn't the best method, but it was the only thing Raiden Ryoma could do; he didn't have the same level of control over Honkai energy as the boy.

To put it another way, Mei at this point was practically a cripple with severed meridians, unable to embark on cultivation... no, rather, unable to use Honkai energy at all.

To train her control over Honkai energy, Mei must break free from the constraints of her body and manipulate the energy in her surroundings with pure willpower.

This is also why Shihen used mercury as training material.

Under his control, the Honkai energy contained in this mercury is dozens of times greater than that of the surrounding environment, making it the most suitable beginner tool for Mei's training.

“…” After staring intently at the boy’s face for a long time, and confirming that he really didn’t seem to be lying, Mei nodded slightly. “Then I’ll believe you one more time.”

She had no other choice but to trust Shihen.

She posted her search for a fencing instructor online for three whole months, but no one met her criteria.