Hearing that name suddenly come from Gwen, Raiden Mei was somewhat surprised.
"Gwen, do you know Kiana?"
"Yeah, I met her a few days ago while handling some minor incidents. She's a very cheerful girl."
Gwen nodded, took Raiden Mei's hand, and walked into the restaurant.
"From the way you called her, it sounds like you two go to the same school?"
"Yeah. Kiana is also one of the few people at school still willing to show me kindness."
Speaking softly to Gwen, Raiden Mei somehow did not want Kiana to see her holding hands with him.
"Yeah, I figured."
Gwen smiled.
"After all, Kiana may be a little dumb, but she has a strong sense of justice. Rumors like that wouldn't be enough to make her join in."
As the two entered the restaurant, the white-haired little ball who had just finished delivering food spotted the customers entering. An instinctive "Welcome" slipped out, but her gaze froze—
She knew the man well. She had even stayed at his place a few days ago. He was quite a nice guy.
She knew the woman even better. Her beloved lunchbox... no, Senior Mei.
Running into acquaintances should have been a happy thing. Running into the only two people she could call friends should also have been a happy thing. Two happy things...
But before the white-haired little ball could finish her melodramatic inner monologue, Gwen, still holding Raiden Mei's hand, called out.
"Waitress, we'd like to order."
"Coming..."
Although she was still reeling from the shock of her beloved Senior Mei being held by a man, her instincts as a part-time worker made Kiana respond automatically. She pulled out a notebook from her pocket and came to their table.
"Please go ahead."
"Mei, you order first."
Handing the menu on the table to Raiden Mei, Gwen quietly told the white-haired little ball, "We'll talk tonight if you have questions," then ignored Kiana.
Kiana, who had impulsively wanted to question them, calmed down at his words. Thinking of the rotten rules of this country that she had vaguely noticed over the past few months, she forcibly swallowed her questions and quietly waited for them to order. In the end, she did not even greet Raiden Mei before taking the densely filled order slip to the counter.
After Kiana left, Gwen noticed Raiden Mei's strange look and gave a simple explanation.
"Bosses usually don't like temporary workers like Kiana interacting too much with customers. If something happens, it becomes troublesome."
Kiana—Puffed Up Like a Pufferfish
Under the resentful glances occasionally drifting over from a certain white-haired little ball, Gwen and his online girlfriend enjoyed a delicious Japanese lunch.
However, Raiden Mei's slightly unnatural performance, made worse by Kiana's presence nearby, also aroused some suspicion in the eyes of the two people monitoring her—
"Our young lady's movements... don't look very normal..."
"Heh, a little girl who's never seen much of the world would be stranger if she acted freely in front of someone she knew."
The burly man, reeking of alcohol, grinned.
"Even those female students you found know to avoid acquaintances, let alone a real young lady like her."
"Bastard! Who found students?"
The thin man shot his colleague a glare and threatened him.
"Walker, I'm warning you. If you don't watch your mouth, don't blame me for reporting your drinking on the job."
"Hehe..."
The burly man laughed and waved a hand before turning and collapsing onto the bed.
"You keep watching for a while. I'll cover for you after I wake up."
Meanwhile, after lunch, Gwen and Raiden Mei left the restaurant and wandered the streets like a real couple for two hours before reluctantly parting.
"Mei, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
Having basically gotten used to being around Gwen after a full day together, Raiden Mei waved goodbye to him and skipped back to her rented little apartment. Only after closing the door, tossing aside her hat, and lying on the bed to recall the day did she realize she had done many things she had never even dared imagine before. She could not help covering her pretty face and pulling the blanket over herself, wrapping herself up inside it.
A little later, as Gwen was preparing dinner himself, someone knocked on his door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The force behind the pounding made it clear that the visitor was in a terrible mood. They were hitting the door with considerable strength.
"Coming..."
Calling out, Gwen opened the door and saw the person pounding on it—
Kiana, her cheeks puffed out, looking exactly like an inflated pufferfish.
"Kiana, you're here? Sit down first. You know where everything is. Dinner will be ready soon."
After greeting her, Gwen gave Kiana no chance to speak and slipped back into the kitchen, leaving her at a loss for words.
Sniff, sniff~
The fragrance filling the air made Kiana's delicate little nose twitch. After working for most of the day, her empty stomach began protesting as well, instantly suppressing the anger that had risen again while she repeatedly recalled what she had seen at noon. The little dummy obediently sat down in the living room.
It was not that Kiana was too lazy even to help out. It was just that the mess she had caused while trying to help during her last stay at Gwen's place was still fresh in her mind. Kiana had not yet been spoiled useless by Mei's cooking; she was still a beautiful, self-respecting, independent girl, so the thought never even crossed her mind.
"Kiana, come carry the dishes."
Having prepared several extra servings in advance for Kiana's arrival, Gwen carried out the dishes while calling to Kiana, who had unknowingly begun staring blankly into space in the living room.
"Oh, coming!"
Whatever Kiana had been thinking about during that time, Gwen's voice made her body jolt. Her pretty face, which had carried an indescribable authority due to an expression so calm it was cold, abruptly returned to its usual silly look. She answered and ran into the kitchen.
"I know you have a lot of questions, but eat first. There may be quite a lot to discuss today, and I'm worried you won't be able to keep going if we talk while eating."
Gwen cut Kiana off again and lowered his head to eat. It made Kiana's cheeks puff up once more. Muttering, "Who are you looking down on? Just watch me eat you bankrupt," she turned her grief and indignation into appetite and began digging in.
"No rush. Eat slowly. Let's see whether you eat me bankrupt first, or I make that little belly of yours bigger first."
"Mm... With how much I exercise, you'll never make me fat, not in a million years... Pah, who wants you to take care of me? I have hands and feet. I can support myself. Why would I need you to take care of me?"
Although Kiana was unfamiliar with many things because of her early experiences, she had worked at a bookstore before and quickly caught on. She spat lightly...
In the end, although they had said they would eat first, the two gradually began talking anyway. The atmosphere was not exactly harmonious, but it made them more familiar with each other. Their relationship, which had only barely counted as friendship, grew steadily firmer.
"Still eating?"
Looking at Kiana reclining in her chair with an expression that said she had no regrets left in life, Gwen asked with a smile.
"No more. I'm full today. Maybe next time."
Completely immersed in the satisfaction of being full and content, Kiana rubbed her slightly rounded belly and waved a hand.
"Just wait on me."
"Look at you, getting all cocky."
Gwen rolled his eyes at the little dummy, who had no trace of restraint, and smiled.
"I'll prepare some materials. You rest for a while, clean up the tableware, and walk off the food. We'll talk again in half an hour."
"Okay, go ahead."
Kiana lazily waved her hand. After being brushed off twice, she seemed to have gradually forgotten why she had come in the first place. All she wanted was to sit there and do nothing.
"Mm."
Gwen nodded, returned to his room, opened the Schicksal terminal, and began asking headquarters how much information he could reveal to Kiana, the "daughter of a sinner."
Ever since meeting Kiana for the first time, Gwen had reported her under the name of "a Kaslana suspected to have been living outside the family." Otto, who knew Kiana's whereabouts perfectly well, naturally did not overreact. He merely sent Kiana's identity information to Gwen and let him use it as he pleased, so long as he did not reveal information about her parents and the like—
Naturally, it was a version that did not involve the little dummy's real identity or Otto's plan.
When it came to revealing information to someone like her, Gwen naturally had to seek instructions from headquarters in time.
Otto was naturally pleased to see Gwen interacting with Kiana and had no intention of stopping him, so he directly gave his approval.
Thus, Kiana learned quite a lot from Gwen.
For example, she received rigorous explanations and introductions about Honkai that Siegfried, who had never received formal training and was weak in theory himself, had been unable to give her. She also learned about the crisis Changkong City was about to face, in the version tailored for Raiden Mei.
After learning this information, the question Kiana asked was exactly in line with Gwen's impression of her.
"Then why don't we just charge into ME Corp., beat up that bad woman named Cocolia, and directly deal with the mastermind?"
Kiana: Mei's Safety Will Be Protected by Me!
"Kiana..."
Looking at the white-haired little ball's confused face, Gwen let out a deep sigh and asked earnestly.
"If you stole my ice cream, would you stay in my house and wait for me to come back?"
"I didn't steal anything!"
Kiana's pupils shrank as she answered without hesitation.
"..."
Gwen had only casually made an analogy, but seeing Kiana like this, he could not help falling silent. However, when he saw her evasive gaze, he abandoned that line of thought and changed his wording.
"Fine, let's put it another way. If a greedy little white cat sneaked into my house and ate the cake I had saved for the next day, would she lie there and wait for her owner to come back and punish her?"
"What kind of cat would be that stupid?"
Kiana asked in return.
"See? You know it too. Not even a greedy cat would stay where it was after stealing food. So would a schemer like Cocolia really keep staying at ME Corp., the source of the Honkai eruption she was about to trigger?"
Gwen asked.
"Even if her background as a minor warlord limits her horizons and makes many of the things she does seem stupid, that does not change how cunning that vixen is."
"..."
Hearing Gwen's meaningful words, Kiana immediately realized that she had asked a rather stupid question. Her expression, which had barely calmed down, became awkward again. Her eyes wandered as she continued asking.
"Then... then why don't we take Mei away?"
"Do you think Cocolia wouldn't arrange people to monitor Mei, such a valuable test subject?"
"Then I'll beat them all up!"
Whether she was trying to hide her awkwardness or was genuinely that confident, Kiana waved her fair little fists and shouted.
"Unfortunately, Changkong City currently counts as Cocolia's territory. Unless Schicksal officially intervenes, no force in the world can deploy enough power here in a short time to overwhelm Cocolia."
Gwen shook his head lightly, rejecting Kiana's incredibly tempting proposal again and pouring cold water over her high spirits.
"Besides, even if we had enough force to overwhelm Cocolia, the moment she activated the equipment prepared to trigger the Honkai eruption, it would only cause even greater losses."
"Damn it, is there really no way to stop that vixen?"
Borrowing Gwen's name for Cocolia directly, Kiana's fair little face puffed up like a pufferfish again.
"For now, the best way to stop this disaster is to fool Cocolia's eyes and secretly take Mei out of Changkong City."
Gwen's words made Kiana's eyes widen. Her twin braids swayed as she questioned him.
"Didn't you say Cocolia was keeping Mei under close watch?"
"That's why taking Mei away directly won't work. We need to deceive Cocolia first."
Gwen crossed his arms and sat up straight, looking down on the little dummy both physically and psychologically.
"However, that depends on how vigilant Cocolia's subordinates are. If they are too competent, our actions may alert them and cause Cocolia to act ahead of schedule. Then all our efforts will still come to nothing."
Before you continue