Why Zani Was Injured

Kexi and Carlotta arrived at Zani's room door.

Carlotta raised her hand and knocked on the door. A lazy "Come in" came from inside.

They pushed open the door and both froze in the doorway.

Zani lay on the sofa, her body wrapped in several bandages, holding a bag of potato chips in her left hand and a drink in her right. An unknown show was playing on the screen.

A pile of snacks—chocolate, cookies, and soda—was spread out on the coffee table, its variety comparable to the dessert display case at Margaret Restaurant.

She popped a potato chip into her mouth, crunching away happily, and let out a contented sigh.

Ah, what a wonderful holiday.

Kexi and Carlotta stood at the door, their faces still showing worry, frozen in place.

Zani caught a glimpse of two figures at the doorway out of the corner of her eye, and nearly dropped the potato chips in her hand.

She frantically pressed the pause button, tried to cover the snacks scattered on the coffee table with a cushion, and then forced a guilty smile.

"Young Master, Second Miss, what brings you here?"

"I heard you were injured." Carlotta entered the room, her gaze sweeping from the snacks on the coffee table to the crumbs of potato chips on Zani's lips, her expression subtle. "So we came to see you."

Kexi followed behind, hands in her pockets, looking Zani up and down.

The bandages were real; they were wrapped several times around her arms and shoulders, but judging from her spirits, she didn't look like a seriously injured person at all.

"Judging from this, are the injuries alright?" Kexi raised an eyebrow.

Zani chuckled dryly, moved the cushion aside a little, and sat up straighter.

She tidied her hair, trying to salvage her appearance.

"It's nothing really. I just heard a tough guy came to the Black Street recently, and he's already on a ninety-game winning streak in the ring," Zani said. "I'm curious, and I want to go see how strong he is."

"So you went up and fought?" Carlotta crossed her arms.

Zani scratched her face sheepishly. "I played a few matches, but before I even saw that person, something went wrong. I don't know what happened, but halfway through the match, my Resonance Energy suddenly seemed to be drained, and I couldn't use any of it. Then the opponent..."

She made a "you know" gesture.

The room fell silent for a second.

Kexi's expression became somewhat subtle.

He coughed, his gaze drifting to the ceiling, and said in a tone that tried hard to sound nonchalant, "Um, I should know why."

Zani and Carlotta both looked at him.

Kexi scratched her nose, a rare hint of embarrassment appearing on her face under their gazes. "That night, I was probably fighting Christopher in his script. In that life-or-death moment, I definitely used every ounce of power I had. And then, you know, I accidentally... drained your energy."

Zani paused for two seconds, then jumped up from the sofa.

"It's you?!" The bag of potato chips in her hand rattled loudly. "I got beaten up like a punching bag in the ring, and it's all because of you?"

"It was an accident, purely an accident." Kexi raised her hands, smiled apologetically, and took half a step back.

"Do you know how badly I got beaten? I haven't even seen anyone with a 90-win streak yet, and I've already been thrashed black and blue by a bunch of little karaomi!" Zani grabbed a cushion and threw it at them.

Kexi dodged to the side, and the pillow hit Carlotta squarely in the face.

Carlotta removed the cushion from her face and glanced at Zani expressionlessly.

Zani's arrogance instantly diminished, and she awkwardly sat back down on the sofa.

"I didn't mean to, it was truly a life-or-death situation, it was just an instinctive reaction."

Kexi peeked half her head out from behind Carlotta.

"Look, I've come to see you, and I've brought souvenirs. I'll have someone restock ten boxes of these snacks for you later."

Zani wanted to say something more, but after glancing at the cushion in Carlotta's hand, she decided to accept the compensation offer for the time being.

She picked up the potato chips again and started crunching them, staring at Kexi with a look that said, "This isn't over yet."

No one noticed that Selina, standing by the door, looked somewhat uneasy.

She lowered her eyes, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't speak.

Carlotta tossed the cushion back onto the sofa and clapped her hands. "Alright, you get some rest. We won't disturb your vacation any longer."

The three of them left Zani's room and gently closed the door behind them.

In the corridor, Carlotta walked beside Kexi and suddenly spoke.

"You're a Resonator now too." Her tone was casual, but Kexi knew what she was about to say wouldn't be casual. "Have you thought about what codename you'll use in the future?"

"A code name? I haven't really thought about that."

"Let me think about it."

Kexi pondered for a moment, then glanced subtly at Carlotta, who was looking up at her.

His eyes lit up.

He stopped, turned to face Carlotta, straightened his chest, and looked serious and earnest.

"I've decided. I'm 2.14 meters tall, so my code name will be 'Tall Man.' How about that? Sounds fitting, right? Hehe."

The air fell silent for a second.

Carlotta jumped up and punched Kexi in the knee.

"No!"

"Why?!" Kexi clutched her knee, hopping on one leg in pain. "What's wrong with Tall Man? He's tall, imposing, and has a good meaning!"

"I feel like you're insulting me with that code name." Carlotta smiled, but the murderous intent in her smile was no less than when she had twisted his ear earlier.

Kexi took two steps back, making sure she was out of Carlotta's basic attack range, before speaking again, "Then let's try another one. Commander, or Commander for short. Is that alright?"

Carlotta tilted her head and thought for a moment. This sounded reasonable enough and wouldn't lead to any strange associations. She nodded.

"This is alright."

"Then it's settled." Kexi rubbed her knee and muttered, "Once I pilot a Gundam, you'll see how fitting the title 'Commander ' is."

Carlotta didn't hear his mutterings and didn't bother to ask.

She glanced at the time, gave Kexi a few more pieces of advice like not to oversleep the next morning, and then turned and walked towards her room.

Kexi turned to Selina and waved, "You should go home too, go back to sleep early. Look at your dark circles, if you keep staying up late you'll really surpass Zani appearance."

Selina hesitated for a moment, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something. But in the end, she only gave a slight bow. "Young Master, you should also get some rest."

Okay, okay, goodnight.

Kexi watched Selina leave.

He secretly left the Montelli Manor; he still had a letter to deliver to Cantarella, and once he delivered it, that would be the end of it.

Porto-Vino Castle.

Cantarella is entertaining an acquaintance who has come from afar.