Early morning, Kiana sprinted up the stairs of the academic building with a piece of bread in her mouth.
The school was eerily silent. Kiana hadn't seen anyone outside, so everyone must have already gone to class.
Kiana had woken up early that morning, realized she still had time, and gone back to sleep. When she woke up again, it was almost eight o'clock. She quickly got dressed and rushed to the academic building.
"Oh no, Ryn and Mei didn't wake me up this time! I overslept!"
Kiana finished the rest of her bread in one bite and pushed open the classroom door, only to find it completely empty.
"Huh? Where is everyone?"
Beep—
A message notification popped up on her phone. Kiana picked it up and saw a text from Mei that had just arrived.
"Breakfast is ready. I bought some steamed buns. If you're awake, come eat."
"Huh? Mei's still at home? Aren't you supposed to be in class today?"
Kiana immediately regretted sending the message. She glanced at her phone and saw that today was Saturday—a holiday.
That's why Cortana's alarm didn't go off... and why Mei and Ryn didn't come to wake me up...
At Himeko's house, everyone was gathered for breakfast when they saw Kiana walk in through the front door.
Mei pulled out a chair for Kiana and helped her sit down, then smoothed out her messy hair.
Sparkle nudged Kiana with her elbow and asked, "Kiana, why did you get up so early today? I thought you'd sleep in like usual."
"Oh, don't even ask..." Kiana groaned, burying her face in the table in embarrassment. "I woke up early for once... and when I checked the time, I thought I was going to be late, so I rushed off to school. I was even wondering why you guys didn't wake me up..."
"Hahaha, Kiana, you idiot! You're going to make me die laughing! Wuwuwu—"
"Shut up."
Sparkle couldn't help but burst into laughter at Kiana's story, only to have Kiana grab a piece of bread and shove it directly into her mouth, choking her speechless.
"Damn it! Are you trying to kill me?!"
Ding-ding! The doorbell rang. Ryn had arrived.
Mei had resumed her role as the cook at Himeko's place, preparing meals for everyone. How could the cafeteria's food possibly compare to Mei's carefully crafted dishes?
Naturally, Ryn began dropping by every day for dinner, sometimes even bringing a portion back for Welt. Aside from attending classes and occasionally supervising Ryn's training, Welt was rarely seen. No one knew where he disappeared to the rest of the time.
Ryn didn't have to wait long before Mei opened the door for him.
"Ryn, why are you so late? Everyone's already impatient to start eating."
"It's fine, you guys go ahead. No need to wait for me. I ran into the Principal on the way here. I saw her secretly burying some manga books, and I ended up watching for a bit longer than I intended."
As he spoke, Ryn leaned close to Mei and discreetly handed her a few photos he had secretly taken of the Principal. Mei accepted them without changing her expression.
After spending so much time together, Ryn had long since figured out Mei's hidden interests. Not only was she a closet romantic with a touch of chuunibyo, but she was also a secret lolicon, though she hid it well.
If Ryn hadn't once caught Mei staring at childhood photos of Kiana and going completely wild, he might never have discovered this hidden side of her.
Ryn and Mei exchanged a silent understanding and sat down at the table to eat with everyone else.
While Kiana wasn't looking, Sparkle leaned close to Ryn and whispered, "You won't believe this, but Kiana was absolutely hilarious this morning..."
"Shut up! Ryn, don't listen to her!"
Kiana, furious, grabbed a piece of bread and tried to stuff it in Sparkle's mouth again. Sparkle stuck her tongue out at Kiana and then turned and ran off.
"What did Kiana do this morning?" Ryn asked Bronya curiously.
"Kiana didn't sleep in today. She looked at the time and thought we'd forgotten to wake her up, so she went to class on her own," Bronya replied.
"..."
It probably was funny... but with Bronya's completely expressionless, matter-of-fact delivery, Ryn suddenly found it less amusing.
Thwack!
Kiana smacked Bronya on the head, huffing angrily, "There's no need to tell everyone that!"
Bronya rolled her eyes at Kiana and then ran off to Mei, clutching her head. "Mei-jie-jie~ Kiana-baka hit me!"
"You little brat, Bronya! Don't you dare go tattling to Mei!"
Mei and Ryn watched the group's antics, smiling without saying a word.
After dinner, everyone went to Ryn's place. Welt and Himeko were both school teachers, and their houses weren't far apart.
Since Ryn lived alone with Welt, there was plenty of space in his house. He had even dedicated an entire room to computers and gaming consoles. Bronya, Sparkle, and Kiana were all gaming addicts, and they often dragged Mei over to join Ryn for five-player matches.
While everyone had their own computers, nothing beat the camaraderie of sitting together, chatting on voice chat, and playing together.
"What should we play today? Homu League, Honk Divine Realm, or something else?" Ryn asked.
These games were all meticulously crafted by Ryn, drawing inspiration from various sources. However, he only provided the gameplay mechanics and general ideas, leaving the actual development to Cortana. Ryn would then refine the games based on her work.
Once the games were complete, Ryn made them open-source, inviting players to contribute their own dungeons, storylines, and other content. Cortana would review these submissions, incorporate the best ones into the game, and share the majority of the profits with the creators.
"Let's do the Honk Divine Realm! A new boss is dropping today, so Kiana can claim the boss rewards," Bronya said, pointing at the event page.
"You little brat! You only think of me when it's time to loot!"
Kiana was furious. Ever since Bronya discovered her good luck, she'd always made Kiana loot for her. Only then was Bronya ever polite and considerate towards Kiana.
Still, Kiana enjoyed gaming herself, and Bronya was a free-to-play high-level player. Being carried by Bronya was pretty awesome.
"Alright, I'll deal the massive damage. You guys just chill," Sparkle said, putting on her headphones. Her shooting talent wasn't just limited to reality; she was also incredibly skilled in games. The only problem was she often got caught in stray AOE attacks, which was fitting for her.
"I'm fine with anything..." Mei murmured.
Mei didn't play games often and wasn't particularly interested in them. However, she cherished the joy of playing together with everyone else, prioritizing companionship above all else.