March 7th, Don't Look at Me-I'm Not an A Either / Remember to Keep Your Distance from Strangers

Hearing that voice again—the one she had always heard several years ago—Serval still couldn't help lowering her guard, even though she was certain the person before her wasn't the same Bronya.

"Come inside with me. There's no one in the shop right now, and nowhere is safer than here."

Serval set the bag on the ground and opened the door.

That was right—the door wasn't locked. It simply wasn't pushed inward, but pulled outward.

Although the sky was dim, Kiana could still feel the resentful gazes of the two people beside her.

"Don't look at me! You didn't notice it either!"

"All right, come in."

Once the three of them entered, Serval immediately pressed the button beneath the counter.

"Click."

The front door instantly locked itself, startling the group into thinking they had been tricked.

Seeing the group bristle as though they had sensed danger, Serval found it amusing and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"All right, all right, don't be nervous. Didn't you say you had something to discuss with me? I locked the door to keep outsiders from disturbing us. Come on, let's go upstairs. I'll prepare some snacks and tea, and we can talk."

As the backbone of this operation, Kiana looked at the questioning gazes March 7th and Stelle directed at her. She chose to nod, then followed Serval upstairs.

After seeing Kiana follow, March 7th and Stelle also put away their weapons. While examining the room filled with mechanical parts, they headed upstairs as well.

"All right, let's hear it. What brings you here so late at night? Don't tell me these adorable little ones want Serval's autograph. If that's the case, I can make an exception."

Faced with Serval's teasing, Kiana didn't show the slightest embarrassment.

Instead, feeling that she had been provoked, she instinctively struck back.

"Big Sis Serval is the beautiful one. Being able to come to your boudoir late at night and discuss life with you... Even just sitting across from you and looking at your face would let me release all my stress and sleep soundly."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Serval had more life experience, but when Kiana used her former best friend's daughter's appearance to drive straight over her face, she still couldn't hold back.

"All right, no more joking around."

Kiana returned to her original appearance, then gestured for March 7th to take out what they had agreed to bring.

Serval looked at the photographs March 7th handed over, as well as the danger posed by the Stellaron recorded on them and the history of this planet's changes.

Her attention, which had originally been fixed on Kiana, shifted back to the materials.

"You mean the anomalies surrounding Cocolia, as well as this planet's crisis, are all because of the Stellaron?"

"You should have known that long ago, Madam Serval—the former City Builder."

Serval turned the teacup around, her expression growing serious.

"That's right. But as for this person who can turn into Bronya..."

"You can call me Kiana."

"All right, Miss Kiana. As you can see, I'm merely the owner of this Mechanical House now. Even when I was a City Builder, I was powerless to stop it. What can I do now?"

"It's simple. All you need to do is come forward and tell Bronya and Gepard the whole story."

"Oh? Why don't you tell them yourself?"

"Because they're children you watched grow up. One of them is your younger brother. I don't need them to believe everything—only to plant a seed."

Serval placed her hand on the table and kept tapping her fingers against it.

Kiana wasn't in a hurry to receive an answer. She simply began enjoying the snacks Serval had prepared.

March 7th, on the other hand, stared blankly at the two riddlers, her expression clearly asking why they couldn't just speak plainly. What City Builders? What seed? What were they even talking about?

Stelle was the calmest of them all. Her gaze turned toward the window, where she stared unblinkingly at a trash can outside the Mechanical House, apparently considering whether to rummage through it once everything was over.

"All right, I agree. But I can't guarantee anything with Bronya. I haven't seen that child in quite some time."

"Don't worry. Go downstairs at the Goethe Hotel tomorrow morning, and you'll see her there."

March 7th: Don't Look at Me, I'm Not an A Either

"Ah, Kiana, what were you talking about just now? Why couldn't I understand any of it?"

"Um... Simply put, Serval was Cocolia's best friend, a former City Builder, and Gepard's older sister—the one we met earlier. Because of the Stellaron, the Supreme Guardian expelled her from the City Builders."

"Wait, Cocolia is the Supreme Guardian, isn't she? Why did you separate the two titles?"

"Because in Serval's eyes, her best friend was always Cocolia, not the Supreme Guardian she is today."

The moment Kiana finished explaining to March 7th, she grabbed Stelle by the collar and pulled her away from the trash can.

"Stelle, why do you always want to rummage through trash cans?"

"I don't know. I just feel an unusual attraction toward them. I sensed a thread of destiny on that one."

"Don't form a bond with a trash can! Kiana, don't just stand there watching—talk some sense into Stelle! I don't want to see Stelle board the train while hugging a trash can one day!"

When they returned to the hotel, they found that the light in Dan Heng's room was still on. The door wasn't closed either, leaving a crack through which the light spilled into the corridor.

"Could it be the legendary demon of the Goethe Hotel?"

Remembering the rumors she had heard during the day, March 7th felt a chill crawl up the back of her neck. However, seeing that she still had two companions beside her, she summoned her courage and walked toward Dan Heng's room.

The moment she entered, she saw Dan Heng holding a spear and pinning a blue-haired mature woman to the floor. No matter how she struggled, Dan Heng remained unmoved.

Hearing the sound from the doorway, Dan Heng turned around and saw the three of them staring at him with expressions that seemed to say, "So this is the kind of person you are."

Before Dan Heng could explain, Kiana gave him a thumbs-up.

"Dan Heng, I never expected you to be into this type. We understand. Stelle and March 7th will be sharing a room with me tonight, with the two rooms between us separating us. Even if you two get carried away, it won't matter."

Seeing that they had actually believed Kiana, Dan Heng panicked as well.

After he explained, everyone gathered around and looked at this "old acquaintance."

"You're Sampo?"

"That's right, my friends. I'm your old friend Sampo, your adorable Long-legged Uncle."

"Wasn't it Long-legged Auntie?"

Stelle's single sentence shattered Sampo's psychological defenses. Whether he was pretending or not, Sampo looked emotionally devastated as he collapsed on the floor, with what appeared to be a shadow drifting out of his mouth.

"Don't leave your body. Get back in!"

"Explain yourself. How did you end up like this, and why did you come here at night?"

"Your uncle here—"

"No 'your uncle here.' Speak properly!"

Seeing Kiana raise a pistol and press it against his temple, Sampo hurriedly raised his hands in surrender. He stopped fooling around and explained why he had come.

"Oh, you're saying you came to help us? How kind of you."

"That's right, my friends. So, could you help old Sampo undo this 'curse'? I'm not ready to become Auntie Sampo yet."

"A curse? What curse?"

"Wasn't it you? That day, when we were forced to split up because of the incident so I wouldn't hold you back, I felt heat throughout my body. It was as though flames were burning in my chest and between my legs. I nearly got caught, but then I realized that when the Silvermane Guards saw me, they didn't arrest me. They ran away instead."

"At first, I thought they hadn't seen me or had something else to deal with. But when I returned home, I discovered that I had become like this. Apart from you people, I haven't seen anyone else during this period. It couldn't have been the Silvermane Guards, could it? I know exactly what methods they have."

At that, everyone couldn't help looking toward Kiana.

Of all of them, if anyone could silently pull off something like this, the only person they could think of was Kiana and that mouth of hers.

Following their gazes, Sampo also looked at Kiana.

"Miss, I don't believe we have any grudge between us. Why would you do this to poor old Sampo?"

"Oh, I remember now."

March 7th suddenly shouted. Fortunately, the hotel's soundproofing was excellent, and because they were honored guests of Belobog, the entire floor had been reserved for them. Otherwise, her yell might have provoked public outrage.

Realizing that she had probably disturbed everyone, March 7th awkwardly covered her mouth with her hand. After confirming that no other sounds had come from around them, she lowered her voice and shared her guess.

Ignoring Sampo, March 7th turned directly to the members of the Express crew.

"Do you remember what Kiana said when this guy ran away?"

"She said..."

They recalled Kiana's final words.

"Don't worry, Little March. This person is no gentleman. He'll definitely receive the punishment he deserves."

They had originally thought Sampo had merely incurred Kiana's grudge. They hadn't expected that it could trigger Kiana's ability remotely.

"So this is the punishment you were talking about?"

For some reason, Dan Heng felt that he should be more careful around Kiana. What if he ended up like Sampo one day?

At that thought, Dan Heng hurriedly shook his head, and a figure covered from head to toe in bandages appeared in his mind.

"Eh!"

Suddenly, March 7th moved beside Kiana and hugged her arm.

March 7th's gaze remained fixed on Sampo's chest. Then, she suddenly had a bold idea.

March 7th leaned toward Kiana's ear and whispered:

"Kiana, why don't you try it again? I don't think this is punishment at all. If it can give me a 36D, I want this punishment too!"

Although March 7th's voice was very soft, the twitching corners of Sampo's and Dan Heng's mouths—and the way they desperately suppressed their reactions so no one would notice—proved that everyone had heard her.

Feeling the softness against her arm, Kiana didn't know how to advise her for a moment.

Stelle, however, said solemnly, "March 7th, yours are already quite big. Look at Bronya. She's the heir to the Supreme Guardian, and yet she isn't..."

"Cough, cough."

Fortunately, Bronya wasn't there. Otherwise, Stelle's single sentence would have offended two people at once. March 7th had wanted to argue, but after recalling Stelle's figure beneath those loose clothes, she swallowed her original retort.

"Sure enough, Kiana is my best friend."

"March 7th, don't look at me. I'm not an A either."

That day, March 7th finally learned what betrayal felt like.

In the manga, Kiana and Bronya had started out flat as boards when they first enrolled, but the main story later gave them a B cup. Still, that was only for reference. The Transcendent was also a B.

Chapter 21: Remember to Keep Your Distance from Strangers

After several rounds of "peaceful" negotiation, the members of the Express crew finally reached a deal with Sampo.

The deal was that Kiana would remove Sampo's "curse," while Sampo would help them escape the Upper District whenever they encountered danger.

But honestly, this deal wasn't worth much.

Given Sampo's personality, he would still help them once they were wanted, even without any deal.

Still, from another perspective, Kiana couldn't control her ability freely. The staff members at Herta Space Station who had been turned into pandas had all recovered naturally.

The only question was how long Sampo would remain in this state.

Early the next morning, March 7th and the others already knew what was happening. After getting up, they heard the commotion below and saw the Silvermane Guards gathered outside through the window. They immediately understood what had happened.

"Kiana, what do you think? Do we really have to go down there? We already know they're here to arrest us. Wouldn't that count as walking straight into a trap?"

At some point, Kiana seemed to have become the backbone of the group. Whenever March 7th faced a problem, she instinctively asked Kiana for her opinion.

Unfortunately, Kiana had no better solution. If they ran, that would only confirm their guilt. Who knew whether Cocolia would throw more dirt at them?

Besides, this was the only way to lure Bronya into the Lower District. So even though they knew the road below was a trap, they had no choice but to go.

Stelle looked at Kiana, who had once again transformed into her Herta-like form, and couldn't help feeling curious.

"Kiana, why are you changing into this form again? If you appeared in your original form, they wouldn't recognize you, would they?"

Stelle had hit the nail on the head, leaving Kiana deeply shocked.

"Stelle, I didn't know you were this smart!"

Stelle: ...

Stelle had a good temper. If it had been someone hot-tempered, Kiana's thoughtless remark would probably have made them pounce on her and teach her a proper lesson.

Looking at Kiana after she had returned to her original appearance, and seeing that her clothes had also changed into the Princess of Winter outfit she had urgently ordered from a company under the Interastral Peace Corporation at Herta Space Station, Stelle couldn't help sighing.

"Having money really is wonderful."