After leaving ME Corp, everyone went their separate ways.
Kiana returned to school first, while Chen Ran and Wendy followed Raiden Mei to her home.
Cocolia would undoubtedly make a move against Raiden Mei; this was beyond doubt. So Wendy and Mei had to stick together.
It wouldn't do for him to follow Raiden Mei around.
If that were the case, it would be like the 'school beauty's personal bodyguard' scenario.
Actually, it wasn't unacceptable.
Although Raiden Ryoma was under custody, the private property of the Raiden family had not been sealed.
So, whether it was Chen Ran or Wendy, they saw that Raiden Mei lived in a standalone villa, with several nice cars in the internal parking lot.
Wendy couldn't help but exclaim, "So rich! It feels like it's even wealthier than the Eastern Branch."
Chen Ran finally couldn't help but ask, "Wendy, did you have a hard time in the Eastern Branch?"
"Ah, not really."
Wendy's eyes showed a hint of confusion as she said, "It's just that Teacher Theresa often sighs about budget issues, so I even hesitated to buy ice cream."
"Oh right, you said you would take me to eat ice cream."
The girl's eyes curved with a hint of expectation.
Chen Ran smiled, "Of course."
The Wendy from the previous simulation scene and the current Wendy couldn't be said to be completely opposite, but they were certainly different.
The girl standing in front of him was open and unreserved, not hiding her emotions.
She would be proud of her strength and would also candidly express her desires.
For the current Wendy, the world outside the Eastern Branch was a completely different and vibrant place.
Her strength came from hard training, but in doing so, she had overlooked the enjoyment of entertainment.
According to Chen Ran's words: she was easy to deceive.
Raiden Mei, who had been listening to the entire conversation, also noticed this.
Eventually, she spoke up, "Count me in; I'll treat."
Raiden Mei looked at Chen Ran with a hint of warning in her eyes.
She was very aware of protecting Wendy from being deceived.
Chen Ran smiled in response, "Then I would be more than happy to."
…
…
In Nagazora City, at the cinema.
Chen Ran said to the two girls beside him, "One large caramel popcorn, one large butter popcorn. That should be enough, right?"
Raiden Mei didn't comment.
Wendy blinked, "It's so hot."
Her voice was sticky and coy, "I really want to eat something cold."
Chen Ran sighed, "Then let's add another serving of ice cream."
Raiden Mei's eyes sharpened, "No, Wendy has already had two servings of ice cream before."
After putting all of Wendy's luggage in Raiden Mei's house, the three didn't return to Senba Academy but directly took Wendy to familiarize herself with the city.
For the girl on a mission, this was undoubtedly a huge temptation.
Her personality was somewhat straightforward, and she didn't know what politeness was.
So she directly ate two servings of ice cream.
Chen Ran couldn't think of anything else to do for the moment, so he suggested going to the cinema.
Raiden Mei didn't refuse.
She also needed to do something relaxing to ease her tense nerves.
The cinema was a great place; a two-hour movie could help her completely unwind.
However, what made Raiden Mei feel a bit of a headache was that Wendy had eaten too much ice cream.
She had thought that the girl from Schicksal would be a serious person, specialized in various fields and not one to smile easily, but now it seemed she was just an innocent girl who knew nothing of the world.
If she had a Little Sister, she would probably be just like Wendy.
Raiden Mei began to try to think of Wendy as her Little Sister.
But the current Wendy was just too naive and too easy to deceive.
Chen Ran was not a good person in the traditional sense, and Mei could sense that.
Fighting against the Honkai required a stronger stance, so she could understand.
But was it not a bit cruel to have a 13-year-old girl standing on the front lines against the Honkai?
Raiden Mei was somewhat confused.
But the important question now was: "After eating so much ice cream, aren't you going to have a stomachache?"
Wendy patted her chest proudly and said, "Not at all, don't underestimate me... Ouch..."
Cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
Raiden Mei exchanged a glance with Chen Ran, unable to help but feel helpless.
Indeed, at this moment, Wendy seemed more like a child.
In contrast, the previous Wendy had been mature to the point of feeling abnormal, which made one feel pity.
...
...
By the time the entire movie ended, Wendy could still feel a pain in her stomach.
Two servings of ice cream a day was the limit she could handle now.
The physical strength of Valkyries had always been a mystery.
For example, Durandal could kick a Honkai Beast away with one kick, yet she still had obvious body image issues, refusing to eat more cake.
Biologically, more energy intake should support greater strength.
Chen Ran didn't quite understand this either; he could only attribute the unexplainable to Honkai Energy.
However, it was indeed a pity that one couldn't enjoy ice cream while watching a movie in peace.
Chen Ran, noticing Wendy's slightly pale face, went to find a staff member for a cup of hot water.
"Here, try the Shenzhou method to address your problem at its root."
The ancient Shenzhou remedy: drink more hot water.
"Does this really work?"
Wendy hesitated as she felt the steaming hot water.
Chen Ran smiled, gathering a small vortex with his fingertips to make the water spin quickly, accelerating its cooling.
"Give it a try; it won't deceive you."
The girl listened to Chen Ran's words and slowly drank the hot water, which was at a suitable temperature.
The warm flow reached her abdomen, as if someone was giving her a gentle, tingling massage.
Her stomach indeed felt much better.
She said cutely, "Why didn't you let me drink hot water earlier?"
"How would you remember anything like that?" Chen Ran chuckled and said, "Let's go; I still need to head back to Senba Academy."
He still had tasks from Schicksal; although he didn't care much about the task related to Kiana, he couldn't just casually deal with the instructions from Schicksal.
Moreover, Chen Ran felt that the Honkai situation in Nagazora City might not be as simple as he knew from the storyline.
Whether it was the Plasma Kagehide blade, Cocolia's actions, or Rita's request for Kiana to join the operation, they all pointed to one thing: Schicksal was likely also a participant.
Perhaps, what Otto had shown in the Sirin plan was not as simple as it appeared in the storyline.
However, he didn't delve too deeply into these matters.
His task was to complete the simulation scenario; even if it affected the future, it wouldn't influence the era he was in.
The first thing Chen Ran had to consider was surviving Finality, or even defeating it.
This was a practical issue, so even if the simulation disturbed the fate of future people, he probably couldn't care less.
Moreover, he had already been here fifty thousand years ago; even without the simulator, he might have inadvertently disturbed the timeline.
...
...
Meanwhile, at Senba Academy.
"Ugh, I'm so tired."
Kiana lay weakly on her desk.
Unlike the special identities of Raiden Mei and Chen Ran, she was just a student at Senba Academy.
Although she didn't know why she had inexplicably ended up here when she was clearly chasing clues about Siegfried.
But since she had become a student, she naturally had the obligation to attend classes.
Many people were asking where Kiana had gone.
As a beautiful transfer student with good athletic performance, Kiana was undoubtedly a popular figure in the class. Of course, the most important thing was her typical European features.
Even though Kiana was now so broke that she had to work, her European looks gave her an inherent noble aura in the Far East.
After dealing with all these people, a hint of confusion appeared in the girl's eyes.
Without a doubt, she had been drawn into a Honkai crisis caused by Chen Ran.
However, she knew too little; much of the information was revealed by Chen Ran, but without context, it was all disjointed.
Kiana knew that Chen Ran was hiding something.
She wasn't foolish; Chen Ran had no reason to invite her to join his group unless there was only one possibility: Chen Ran wanted her to join Schicksal.
However, up until now, he had not extended an invitation.
He was probably waiting for an opportunity.
The girl felt that her deduction could score a hundred points, and the reality was pretty much the same. It was just that the one hoping for her to join Schicksal was not Chen Ran himself.
Just as she felt her brain was about to tire from her deductions, a soft voice reached her ears.
"Kia-chan, where did you go today?"
Kiana mumbled, "I went to save the world."
"Then... can you tell me what saving the world is like, Kia-chan?"
She turned her head and saw a delicate face come into view.
"Well, since you want to hear it, I guess I can share. But..." her eyes twinkled as she smiled, "I'm really tired, so Yuna, feed me something."
"Okay."
Sato Yuna carefully fed Kiana her homemade cookies, treating her like a gentle pet or a beloved.
Unlike the highly regarded Kiana, Sato Yuna was at the very bottom of the 'food chain' in Senba Academy.
Even though her parents were willing to spend money to send her to this prestigious school for an education.
But her parents often traveled for work, and she mostly lived alone. When she complained to her parents about being bullied at school, they would just say things like, "Your classmates are just playing with you, don't disturb them," in a dismissive tone.
As a result, she didn't dare to resist when bullied at school, and the lack of resistance only led to more severe bullying.
Sato Yuna met Kiana when she was being bullied.
She remembered that Kiana had held a baseball bat and chased those bullies away in just a few swings.
"Hey, are you okay? I'm Kiana. If anyone bullies you again, tell me, and I'll help you beat them up!"
Sato Yuna's expression was somewhat dazed.
Later, she was fortunate enough to be in the same class as Kiana.
Unlike Sato Yuna, Kiana had quickly gained a top position in the 'food chain' as a transfer student, and even if her grades were poor and she slept in class, it wouldn't be seen as a flaw among her classmates; rather, it was considered a charm.
Everyone envied Kiana for being so happy and carefree.
In contrast, Sato Yuna, who had no distinguishing features, became even more transparent.
She also had some yearning.
Hoping to shine as brightly as Kiana.
Until Kiana said, "Actually, it's nothing much, just went out with a Teacher and a Senior Sister. By the way, it turns out Raiden Queen isn't called Raiden Queen, but Raiden Mei, a very beautiful Senior Sister."
The girl's eyes sparkled with a hint of brilliance.
"I think I understand why Raiden Queen is so famous now, but I, Miss, will definitely catch up to her!"
She didn't mention anything about the Honkai.
Although Kiana was also somewhat puzzled as to why so many people didn't know about the Honkai, she was undoubtedly clever enough at that moment not to bring up information that others were unaware of.
So she simply glossed over it, saying she went out to walk around and do some things.
And even though it was just such a vague description, it made Sato Yuna's heart race with excitement.
The girl had no friends, so she had no idea what that feeling was like.
She saw a smile on Kiana's face and finally mustered the courage to ask, "So... Kia-chan, can we... I mean, can I go out with you sometime?"
"Ah, you want to go out with me?"
Kiana instinctively frowned.
Now that she knew Nagazora City was facing the Honkai, she naturally couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
So at this moment, she wouldn't feel like she had any spare time.
Kiana politely declined, "Sorry, that's a bit inconvenient; I don't seem to have much time."
Sato Yuna's expression stiffened for a moment, then she forced a smile and said, "Okay, maybe next time."
"Mm-hmm, sure."
Kiana didn't think much of it; she didn't need to be liked by everyone.
"Ugh, anyway, I'm so tired. Thanks for the cookies; I'm going to lie down and sleep for a bit."
Before long, Kiana felt her head growing heavy and fell into a deep sleep.
It was as if her brain had a 'sleep timer' installed.
Thus, the peacefully sleeping Kiana did not see Sato Yuna's slightly dimmed eyes.
"My parents don't like me."
"My classmates all hate me."
"Even Kia-chan... is rejecting me."
A hint of darkness flickered in her eyes.
After class, she instinctively was the last to leave the classroom.
This was a habit she had developed over a long time; those who bullied her wouldn't be bored enough to keep bullying her; they preferred to do other things, and she just needed to hide.
At this moment, Kiana had already left.
The girl, holding her bag, walked out of the school in a daze.
At that moment, her gaze happened to catch Kiana walking outside the campus, and in front of Kiana was the 'Raiden Queen' she had mentioned earlier, along with another person she didn't recognize.
"They're all so dazzling."
A hint of dimness appeared in Sato Yuna's eyes.
At this moment, no one was watching her, as insignificant as dust.
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