t was noon, and the sun—well, the simulated sun—was practically directly overhead.
The aroma of cooking food seemed to permeate from Level 9 all the way down to Level 10 of the underground base.
Having enjoyed a rare day off, Chef Shu finally began preparing his lunch. Just as he placed the washed rice into the rice cooker and was about to hit the start button, the phone in his pocket vibrated gently.
Hm? An important message?
Shu had essentially turned on every possible "Do Not Disturb" setting his phone possessed. Aside from a very specific handful of people and group chats, his phone essentially never made a sound.
Placing the inner pot of the rice cooker on the counter, Shu pulled out his phone and took a look.
[MEI]: @TheDawnIPromised Shu, is Kiana awake yet?
Shu paused. He looked up, glancing toward the wall that separated his apartment from the one next door.
[TheDawnIPromised]: I don't know.
[TheDawnIPromised]: I'll go check.
After a brief thought, Shu replied to Mei, then walked to his own bedroom. Looking through his window, which perfectly faced Kiana's, he peered inside.
Kiana's room was completely dark. Shu adjusted his angle slightly and managed to spot a vaguely twisted, unidentified mass tangled in the messy blankets on her bed.
Ah. Understood.
Right on cue, his phone vibrated again.
[MEI]: If Kiana isn't up yet, could you wake her up to eat?
[MEI]: Honestly, I've told her so many times not to stay up late reading manga. If she's sleeping in this late, she definitely stayed up all night again.
"Haha..." Shu let out a dry chuckle.
Even through the screen, he could practically see Mei's exasperated expression.
Honestly... did staying up late even negatively affect Kiana at this point? But it was a fact that if Kiana stayed up late, she would sleep in late. Just like a perfectly normal human, she automatically extended her sleep cycle to ensure she got enough rest.
But there was a much more severe consequence...
Sleeping in this late meant Kiana would miss breakfast, and potentially even lunch. And that had a massive impact on her.
Did he know what missing two whole meals meant to a Kaslana?
It meant she had literally missed two whole meals!!
He'd have to cook lunch later, or maybe not cook at all. After all, he had only prepared enough ingredients for one person. If it were Mei or Bronya, his current portion might have been enough to share.
But he was about to wake up a ravenous Kiana who had missed breakfast and was arriving just in time for lunch.
He had the distinct feeling she might try to eat him too.
Chuckling at his own thoughts, Shu glanced at the window again. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to just take the front door.
No matter how you looked at it, vaulting through a window into a sleeping girl's bedroom was a bit... too far removed from standard social etiquette.
Wait, doesn't Kiana do exactly that all the time?
Shu paused halfway out his door, then shook his head helplessly.
Whatever. No point dwelling on it.
Using his pre-registered biometric ID, Shu casually opened the front door to the neighboring apartment. It was as smooth as walking into his own home.
Passing through the empty living room, Shu expertly navigated up the stairs and found Kiana's room. He raised a hand and knocked right next to the hand-drawn sign taped to her door.
[If you borrow my manga, put it back exactly where you found it!]
Knock, knock, knock—
Dead silence. Shu patiently waited for exactly two seconds.
Right on schedule, a rustling sound erupted from within the room, immediately followed by the loud, immensely aggrieved wail of a highly energetic teenage girl.
"AHHHH—!!"
A beautiful dream, ruthlessly bisected in its prime, culminated in the girl's mournful shriek. Accompanied by the slight resentment of being forcefully rebooted, the wail quickly faded into the confines of the room.
After a series of completely unidentifiable thumping noises, a very frazzled Kiana opened the door. In her arms, she held a very frazzled NianGao, both of them sporting the exact same groggy expression.
"Is it morning already...?" Kiana mumbled. Holding the lethargic cat in one arm, she aggressively rubbed her eye with her free hand, standing in the doorway and asking the question in a complete daze.
"Mhm..." Shu checked his phone again. "Yeah. It's currently 13:00 in the morning. Do you want breakfast?"
"Yeah~~" Kiana immediately opened her mouth and let out an uncontrollable yawn, completely failing to register the fact that the person waking her up was Shu, not Mei.
Wait.
Kiana suddenly snapped her head up, staring directly at Shu's smiling face. "Hold on, since when is 13:00 considered morning? Shu, did you sleep until you went stupid?"
Shu didn't say a word. He just casually flipped his phone screen around, showing Kiana the current time.
"Huh? It really is 13... Wait, that means it's 1:00 PM!!" Kiana instantly sobered up. She stared wide-eyed at Shu's screen, confirming the time three separate times before a look of utter despair washed over her face.
"Doesn't that mean... I missed breakfast AND lunch?!"
See? What did he just say?
Missing two meals to a Kaslana was practically equivalent to the sky falling.
But Kiana clearly wasn't an ordinary Kaslana; she immediately realized there was a much more pressing issue.
"I'm dead, I'm dead... sleeping in this late, Mei definitely knows I stayed up all night again!" Kiana frantically scratched her messy bedhead, then grabbed Shu by the sleeve and nervously peeked around him into the hallway.
"Where's Mei?" Not seeing her, a tiny glimmer of hope ignited in Kiana's eyes.
"Mei went to the Academy today to give the opening speech in my place. She probably won't be back until dinner time with Bronya." Shu delivered the exact answer Kiana desperately wanted to hear.
Kiana pumped her fist in victory. "Nice! Mei isn't home!"
Phase One: Complete! Now for the final step!
"Shu!" Kiana looked up at him, actively squeezing out two crocodile tears leftover from her grogginess. "You'll help me keep this a secret, right?!
"I'll buy you dinner! You... you just have to tell Mei that... that... that I woke up at 7:00 AM! Yeah, just tell her that!"
Kiana thought her master plan was absolutely flawless! As long as Shu played along, she could completely cover up her all-nighter without anyone being the wiser!
"But Mei is the one who asked me to wake you up so you could eat." Shu deliberately waited until Kiana had confidently laid out her foolproof scheme before casually dropping the most critical piece of intel.
"Eh?!" Kiana stared at him in utter disbelief. A second later, her face crumpled into a pitiful, on-the-verge-of-tears pout. "Waaah... I'm doomed..."
Mei is definitely going to lecture me... she might even confiscate my phone at night... and I've already missed two whole meals... I'm so hungry...
Just then, a simulated breeze from Level 10 drifted in through the open window, brushing against Kiana, who was currently only wearing a loose pair of pajamas. She shivered slightly at the sudden chill.
My future is completely bleak... I'm cold... and I'm starving... this world really isn't beautiful at all...
"Alright, go change your clothes. Get ready, we're going out to eat."
"Waaah... Okay!"