Just as Mei was about to leave, Kiana, talking in her sleep, grabbed Mei's wrist.
Mei froze in place, worried that any sudden movement might wake Kiana.
"Mei, I'll work hard. I'll definitely work hard. I don't want to lose anyone else."
"..."
Listening to Kiana's sleep talk, Mei turned to look at the white-haired girl.
Tears were already forming at the corners of Kiana's eyes.
Mei had heard about Kiana's past—how her mother had left her when she was young, and how her father had abandoned her without a word after she grew up.
She had been alone all the way to Nagazora City.
Stopping in her tracks, Mei slowly turned around and gently cupped Kiana's face.
She leaned down and kissed Kiana's forehead, whispering softly, "Don't worry, Kiana. I'll never leave you. Never."
Unbeknownst to Mei, her eyes flickered with a faint purple-red lightning as she spoke.
It seemed as though Kiana, in her sleep, had heard Mei's promise, as she finally let go of Mei's wrist.
Realizing what she had just said, Mei's face turned bright red.
Seeing that Kiana hadn't woken up, Mei gently patted her own cheeks.
"Thank goodness Kiana didn't wake up. Mei, what were you just saying?"
Covering her flushed face, Mei quietly left Kiana's bedroom.
After she left, a faint smile appeared on Kiana's face.
One month later...
"Yay! I passed the retake!"
Seeing that her average score across all liberal arts subjects had finally reached the passing mark of 60, Kiana jumped for joy.
Unbeknownst to her, this was largely due to the teachers going easy on her.
The multiple-choice questions alone had given her 40 points, and the remaining 20 points were practically handed to her.
If Kiana hadn't been able to scrape together those 20 points, the teachers would have been at a loss.
So, Kiana's passing grade was, to some extent, filled with a lot of leniency.
But Kiana didn't care. As far as she was concerned, passing was all that mattered.
"Mei, I want fried chicken. Make it for me, please~."
Wrapping her arms around Mei from behind, Kiana whined in her ear.
Mei, helpless against Kiana's childish antics, finally nodded.
"Alright, alright. Let's go buy the ingredients together. I'll make fried chicken for you tonight."
"Mei, you're the best. I love you the most."
Hearing that she'd get her favorite fried chicken tonight, Kiana planted a kiss on Mei's cheek.
Bronya silently watched everything, feeling a pang of bitterness.
Seele, where was her Seele? Bronya didn't want to keep watching them flaunt their love!
"Mhm~, Yuan, I want it too, I want it~?."
"...Won't eating fried chicken at night make you gain weight?"
Chang Yuan blinked at Elysia as he spoke.
Hearing this, Elysia puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
"That's not what I meant! I'm talking about a kiss. I want one too."
Pointing at her cheek, Elysia clarified what she wanted.
But hearing this request, Chang Yuan froze for a moment.
If this were the real Elysia, he wouldn't have hesitated.
But this was him. Kissing himself—wasn't that a bit strange?
Elysia noticed Chang Yuan's hesitation and couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
Silly Yuan, still so clueless even after all this time.
After some hesitation, Chang Yuan finally looked Elysia in the eye.
Even though this was himself, it was also her—yet not her.
In the end, Chang Yuan chose to kiss her left cheek.
"Hmph~, not bad. Just like before~?."
"So, are we still having fried chicken tonight?"
"I'm a dazzling, flower-like beauty, so I choose to have it all. After all, cute girls always get some privileges, don't they~?."
"...Alright."
Without refusing, Chang Yuan nodded and took Elysia's hand, heading to the mall inside St. Freya Academy to buy ingredients.
Along the way, they ran into Kiana and Mei. Realizing they had the same goal, the two groups decided to go together.
Meanwhile, Bronya was left eating double the amount of dog food.
"..."
Bronya also wanted to kiss Seele. Damn it!
If it weren't for her neurological issues, Bronya's face would probably be a clear display of envy and frustration.
"Hey, hey, Teacher Chang Yuan, you're good at cooking too?"
"Yeah, I learned it for a certain gluttonous pink elf."
"Ohhh, you learned it for Sister Elysia, right?"
Kiana saw right through the situation and stated it bluntly.
Or rather, there was nothing to hide about it.
"Right. But also, Kiana, stop sleeping in class, or you'll have to retake exams again."
"Ugh, it's the holidays now, Teacher. Can't you stop being such a buzzkill?"
Hearing the word "retake," Kiana's head started spinning.
During her retake period, her gaming time had been cut in half, and her snacks had been confiscated.
She never wanted to experience that kind of life again. It felt like all hope was lost.
"Haha, a buzzkill? I don't think so. I think I'm just stating the facts."
"Not at all. Mei, let's go somewhere else. Let's not stay with the teacher."
Grabbing Mei's wrist, Kiana dragged her away to buy chicken elsewhere.
Chang Yuan wasn't surprised. This was the natural intimidation students felt toward their teachers.
When students ran into their teachers outside of class, unless they were top students, most would pretend not to recognize them or even avoid eye contact.
But Chang Yuan didn't mind. Instead, he found the moment quite delightful.
That night...
"Senior Chang Yuan, that clone of Welt has arrived. It seems the script is moving forward again."
"Oh, let Fu Hua handle it. Make sure she acts well."
"...You and Senior Fu Hua are complete opposites."
After saying this, Theresa hung up the call.
She had come to realize that even among seniors, there were vast differences.
One was diligent and hardworking, always ready to help wherever needed.
The other was lazy and always avoiding responsibility, never around when needed.
Theresa couldn't help but wonder if Fu Hua was really the same as them.