"Mm..." Kiana, who had wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, instantly woke up when she heard that.
Right, she was going on a date with Mei today!
After hesitating for 0.1 seconds between Mei and sleeping in, Kiana quickly made her choice. She threw off the blanket and jumped straight out of bed.
Seeing her start to take off her pajamas, Ishiu turned and left the bedroom, heading to the dining table in the living room to eat breakfast.
"Ishiu! Have you seen my socks?" Kiana's voice came from the bedroom. "I just washed them the day before yesterday. How come I can't find them?"
"They're under your pillow." Ishiu rolled his eyes. God knew how he had felt when, while sleeping in the bedroom the day before yesterday, he suddenly discovered a pair of socks beneath his pillow.
At the time, he had nearly charged into the living room and stuffed the socks into Kiana's mouth.
So after getting up that morning, he had put the socks back where they were.
"Oh, oh."
Soon, Kiana emerged from the bedroom after getting dressed. Since she had just gotten up, her hair was still untied. Her long, straight white hair made Ishiu glance at her a few extra times.
Kiana rushed over to the dining table and reached for the steamed buns on the plate.
Ishiu reacted quickly, swatting her hand with his chopsticks and leaving a red mark on the back of it.
"Ah! You brat! Why did you hit me?" Kiana cried out, instinctively pulling back her hand. Her eyes were round and her cheeks puffed out, making her look exactly like an inflated pufferfish.
"Did you wash your hands?" Ishiu said with a look of disgust. "Go wash your face and brush your teeth first. You haven't even cleaned the gunk from your eyes."
"Mm..." Kiana's pretty face reddened, and she hurriedly rubbed her eyes before turning and running toward the bathroom.
After the two finished breakfast, they headed out and ran toward their meeting place.
However, what Ishiu did not know was that, at that very moment, the following scene was unfolding at Anti-Entropy headquarters in Siberia.
"How has Raiden Ryoma's daughter been lately? Has she shown any abnormal reactions?"
In the underground laboratory at Anti-Entropy headquarters, Cocolia reviewed the experiment's data while questioning her subordinate.
"No. Raiden Mei is highly compatible with the Conquest Gem, and everything is currently stable. However, because the Conquest Gem is gradually merging with Raiden Mei, the Honkai Energy in Changkong City is gradually increasing," a young woman with glasses replied calmly.
"Mm, as long as there's no problem." Cocolia nodded. She did not care at all about the increase of Honkai Energy in Changkong City. As long as she could achieve her goal, such a minor issue was no issue in her eyes.
The young woman with glasses showed a hesitant expression, as though she wanted to say something, but she did not speak.
"Is there anything else you want to say?" Cocolia noticed her hesitation and asked.
"Mm... It's nothing much. It's just that the people monitoring Raiden Mei recently reported that she has been in very close contact with two people over the past month. We investigated their identities and backgrounds. One is an ordinary girl, but we can't find any information on the other person.
"I'm worried they might have been sent by another organization to get close to Raiden Mei, hoping to obtain something from her."
"Oh? Let me see the information on those two." Cocolia raised an eyebrow with interest.
Head pat.jpg
Cocolia and Bronya Strike Back
"Understood." The young woman took out a tablet, tapped it a few times, and handed it to Cocolia.
"Kiana? This face... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before." Cocolia frowned and carefully examined Kiana's photo. The face seemed very familiar, but she could not remember where she had seen it.
And since Kiana did not use the Kaslana surname publicly, Cocolia thought for a long time without realizing that she was Cecilia's daughter.
However, because Kiana's identity had been deliberately concealed by Siegfried, Cocolia saw nothing unusual after looking for a while. She temporarily put aside her doubts, swiped her finger, and turned to the second page of the file.
"This, this is...!"
Cocolia's beautiful fairy-like purple eyes widened in an instant, filled with disbelief. She stared blankly for a long time at the face in the file, a face she knew better than anyone. The composure she always maintained in any situation was gone, and even the hand holding the tablet began to tremble.
"Kris!" She suddenly turned to the young woman, her gaze becoming sharp as a blade, like an icy sword that made Kris instinctively take a step back.
"Are you sure this information is real?"
"L-Lady Cocolia, it's real. Our people collected all of this over the past while. It may not be complete, but it definitely isn't fake," Kris stammered, shivering under Cocolia's gaze.
Cocolia stared intently at Kris's face. Once she confirmed that Kris was not lying, she felt as though her heart had begun pounding faster.
"Impossible... How could this be possible..." Cocolia looked down at the tablet again. She wanted to tell herself that it was impossible. She had personally watched her beloved son be assimilated and devoured by the quantum sea while trying to stop the experiment and save Seele. The person in this file, who looked exactly like him, had to be nothing more than a coincidence.
But as she looked at that familiar face and the identical name, her heart could not help but fall into chaos.
"Ishiu... Is it really you?" Cocolia bit her red lip, her fingers gently stroking the photo in the file, just as she had always loved to do in the past.
"Lady Cocolia?" Kris called out fearfully. She did not know why Cocolia had suddenly lost control like this, but she knew it had to be related to the information she had provided. What if Lady Cocolia got upset and docked her bonus? She still had a loan payment to make this month!
"...Prepare a battleship for me. I need to reach Changkong City as quickly as possible!" Cocolia said in a deep voice.
"Huh? But the experiment..." Kris was dumbfounded.
"To hell with the experiment! I'm going to Changkong City right now!" Cocolia swore outright. Her emotions were running high, and Ishiu was all she could think about. As for the experiment, she could worry about that after seeing him.
"O-Okay..." Kris did not dare argue and immediately went to prepare a battleship.
"Ishiu... Have you really come back?"
In the spacious laboratory, a confused murmur drifted through the air, carrying a faint trace of anticipation.
Half an hour later, Cocolia boarded a battleship bound for Changkong City. Not long after that, Bronya, who had come to report on a mission, looked at the empty laboratory and asked around about Cocolia's whereabouts.
After searching for quite a while, she finally learned from someone that Cocolia had flown to Changkong City in Japan.
"Mother went to Changkong City already? Isn't that too early? Didn't she say the fusion between the vessel and the Conquest Gem would still need some time before it met the requirements?"
"I don't know either. Lady Cocolia had been perfectly normal, but after she looked at the information I gave her, her expression suddenly changed, and then she flew to Changkong City." Kris shrugged, equally confused.
"Strange... What kind of information was it? Let me see." Bronya frowned and spoke to Kris.
"All right, it isn't classified information anyway." Seeing that Bronya was interested in the file, Kris handed it over. After all, this was Cocolia's daughter, and she did not dare offend her. What if Bronya made things difficult for her later?
Then she saw Bronya's expression become exactly the same as Cocolia's had been after reading the file. Kris could not help sighing inwardly. As expected of mother and daughter—their reactions after seeing the information were identical.
Bronya tightly gripped the tablet. The unconscious force she exerted made veins bulge across the back of her pale hand, and she even crushed part of the tablet's screen.
"You said Mother has already flown to Changkong City?" After her expression shifted through several emotions, Bronya suddenly raised her head to look at Kris.
"Yes. She only left a little while ago."
"Prepare a battleship for me too. I'm going to Changkong City!" Bronya said without hesitation.
"Huh?" Kris froze. She clearly had not expected Bronya to say the same thing, but she soon wore a troubled expression. "Um... Bronya, sorry, but I don't have the authority to make that decision. Unless Lady Cocolia personally gives the order, I have no right to mobilize a battleship."
Bronya bit her lip, then took out her communicator and tried to contact Cocolia.
For some reason, though, several call requests in a row disappeared without a trace, receiving no response whatsoever.
Seeing this, Bronya stomped her foot, and the anxiety on her face deepened. She simply turned and ran outside.
"Bronya, where are you going?" Kris shouted after her.
"By plane, to Changkong City!" Bronya replied without looking back.
If she could not take a battleship, then she would take a plane!
She had to see for herself whether this person who looked exactly like her younger brother and had the same name was really Ishiu!
If it was him, then how had he returned? When had he returned? And what was his relationship with that girl named Kiana?
As Bronya ran swiftly, a huge shadow seemed to stand behind her like a guardian deity, following closely at her back without leaving her for even a moment.
PS: Recommending two books.
"Lady Goddess Is Panicking Again!"
They were beating gongs and drums early in the morning. It was so damn noisy!
Fine, they could beat gongs and drums, but why was my bed shaking too?!
Filled with morning grumpiness, Ye Qian kicked open the coffin lid...
PS: Includes delusional brainwashing, mechanical ascension, nuclear bombardment, strengthening the nation through science and education, and the sea of stars...
(This novel has no romance.)
"Grand Caster Master of the Moon World"
"In order to become a qualified Grand Caster Master, after joining Chaldea, I had constantly been doing strength training such as push-ups, pull-ups, squat jumps, long-distance running..."
"So that's why you can tear Heroic Spirits apart with your bare hands?"
"Ding! Copy successful. Obtained skill—Gate of Babylon!"
"Ding! Copy successful. Obtained skill—Knight Does Not Die with Empty Hands!"
"Ding! Copy successful. Obtained skill—Bajiquan!"
Raiden Mei: Nothing Special
Meanwhile, Ishiu had no idea that a battleship and a plane were currently heading toward Changkong City. After he and Kiana arrived at the park and waited for only a short while, Raiden Mei arrived.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Changing clothes took me some time..."
When Raiden Mei appeared before Ishiu and Kiana, both of them widened their eyes at the same time. Their gazes locked onto her as though magnets had been installed in their eyes.
Today, Raiden Mei was not wearing her school uniform. Instead, she had changed into a Western-style dress. The blue-and-white lace-trimmed dress paired with black stockings was simply perfect.
She had purity when she wanted purity and sexiness when she wanted sexiness. It also seemed that Raiden Mei had put on some light makeup today. Her eyebrows looked prettier than usual, and her lips had a glossy tint that reflected a faint sheen in the sunlight.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Do I look strange today?" Seemingly embarrassed by Ishiu and Kiana's fixed stares, Raiden Mei's pretty face blushed as she shyly rose onto her toes.
"No, no! Mei, you look so beautiful today!" Kiana's eyes lit up as she immediately started praising her.
"Thank you. Kiana, you look beautiful today too." Raiden Mei smiled slightly and returned the compliment.
In truth, Kiana looked no different from usual today. She was still wearing her usual clothes and pants, but Kiana loved hearing those words so much that her eyes curved into crescents.
"Ishiu... W-what do you think of how I look today?" Miss Mei shifted her gaze to Ishiu, her face red as she asked.
For today's camping trip, she had gotten up early in the morning to take a bath, then spent time making lunchboxes, and finally spent ages choosing what to wear, which was why she had arrived a little late.
"You look great. This outfit suits you very well, Mei." Ishiu gave Raiden Mei a thumbs-up and praised her with a grin. "It would be even better with white stockings."
"You... So you like white stockings?" Raiden Mei looked down at the warm black stockings she was wearing and began considering whether she should wear white stockings from now on.
"Mm, I guess I do." Ishiu rubbed his nose, but Seele's white stockings came to mind. That feeling really was... slurp~
"Huh? You brat, you're actually such a pervert? You like white stockings? Don't tell me you have your eye on my legs?" Kiana stretched out her long legs. She was wearing hot pants today that ended above her knees, along with a pair of warm white stockings on her calves.
"How does liking white stockings make me a pervert? Does liking black stockings not make someone a pervert?" Ishiu rolled his eyes. "And besides, I have no interest in your legs. You never wash your feet for days at a time. They stink."
"Hey! When have I ever gone days without washing my feet?! You brat! Don't badmouth me in front of Mei! Mei, I really wash my feet every day, and they don't stink at all!" Kiana exploded at Ishiu's words. She punched him hard in the back, then hurriedly explained herself to Raiden Mei.
"Pfft—" Raiden Mei covered her mouth, but laughter still slipped through her fingers. She looked at Ishiu and Kiana with a loving expression. "Kiana, the two of you get along so well that I'm jealous."
"Who gets along with this brat? Mei, you have no idea how annoying he is. Yesterday, he forced me to eat carrots. The day before yesterday, he washed my clothes without asking. My underwear was in there too! And also, also..." Kiana immediately protested unhappily.
But as Kiana listed one thing after another, the corner of Raiden Mei's mouth twitched slightly.
Kiana, you're deliberately trying to make me jealous, aren't you?
Ever since learning that Kiana and Ishiu were living together... ah, no, renting together, Raiden Mei had felt a little envious. She wanted someone she could talk to whenever she wished, instead of returning home to face a cold, empty house alone.
And now, listening to Kiana recount her sweet life with Ishiu—at least, that was how Raiden Mei saw it—she nearly turned into a vinegar spirit from jealousy!
"Ahem... All right, Kiana, you don't need to say any more. I understand." Seeing Kiana getting more and more carried away, Raiden Mei directly stopped her. I really don't want to hear you show off anymore!
"Mm-hm, it's good that you understand, Mei. Anyway, you're my favorite!"
"Sure, sure~~" Mei neither confirmed nor denied it. After casually humoring the excited Miss Kiana a few times, she looked at Ishiu. "Ishiu, do you have anything to say?"
"I have nothing to say. You're in charge of everything today, so Kiana and I will just follow your lead." Ishiu shrugged. He did not know the exact location for today's camping trip, and Raiden Mei had not told them either. She had only said that she would not disappoint them.
"Mm, then let's go. If we catch the nearest bus and transfer to the subway, we should be able to reach that place before noon," Raiden Mei said.
Naturally, Ishiu and Kiana had no objections. The three of them took a nearby bus and headed toward the subway station.
It was the weekend, so the subway was not very crowded. The three of them were lucky enough to find seats.
Before you continue