Just as Leo hesitated, someone spoke up.
"How long do you intend to let Kiana sit on the ground and cry?"
Raiden Mei, who had emerged at some unknown point, stood with her arms crossed, looking at Leo with a face full of disgust.
At this moment, she actually possessed a bit of MEI's aura.
As her voice rang out, Kiana couldn't help but shudder all over.
"?"
Slowly turning her head, Kiana looked behind her with a face mixing curiosity and fear.
Then—
"Ghost!"
She, who had just used extreme super-violence to resolve a group of Zombies, pressed her hands and feet forcefully against the wall, looking at Leo and Raiden Mei with disbelief.
"Although I missed you very much... you didn't have to come back right now, did you?"
"At least, at least wait until the 'First Seven' to come back to me!"
After speaking, she waved her hands frantically at Leo, shaking uncontrollably.
"You even know about the First Seven?"
Amused by Kiana's words, Leo couldn't help but laugh: "Did Fu Hua tell you that?"
"Mn... Huh?"
Seeing that Leo could still converse with her normally, Kiana couldn't help but reveal a puzzled expression.
"But to think you'd be afraid of ghosts... didn't you hit those Zombies pretty hard just now?"
As he spoke, Leo walked slowly up to Kiana.
"Can that be the same?"
Gradually realizing Leo wasn't a ghost, Kiana slowly regained her composure.
Looking Leo up and down, she frowned and asked, "Don't tell me you were playing me just now?"
"You didn't die?"
If Leo were to observe her [Favorability] at this moment, he would clearly see it plummeting.
However, she seemed to think of something again, and her [Favorability] gradually warmed up, though it was far from as high as it was at the start.
"No."
Shaking his head at Kiana, Leo squatted down to be at eye level with the duck-sitting Kiana.
"I did indeed die once just now, but who told you I couldn't resurrect?"
"..."
Hearing this answer from Leo, Kiana fell silent.
Shifting her gaze to Raiden Mei, she saw the other party silently nod at her.
Thus—
"Go die!!!"
Realizing that her bitter weeping just now had been seen by both Leo and Raiden Mei, she punched Leo out of embarrassment and anger.
However, it was no exaggeration to say she was currently running on fumes, so this soft punch naturally caused no harm to Leo. Instead, it pulled at the wounds on her shoulders and back, causing her to grimace in pain.
"Alright, alright."
Leo, having taken Kiana's punch, wanted to laugh but forcibly held it back.
Reaching out, he forcibly picked Kiana up in a princess carry.
"Let's return to the real world first. Once you're better, you can take revenge on me however you like."
After speaking, without waiting for Kiana to speak, he turned and walked towards the [Teleport Anchor].
If it were just him, he could return directly to the real world after exiting combat, but with Kiana added, he could only use the [Teleport Anchor].
Although he was still thinking about the Zombies on the first and second floors after [sitting at the bonfire] to [Reset], having fought his way up here, his [Imaginary Energy] had risen to nearly five thousand.
Plus, he no longer had a life to fall back on. Facing the [Instance] which had undergone unknown changes, he was unwilling to take risks again.
So—
[Real World: Home · Bedroom]
"Phew... I'm back."
Lying on the bed, he couldn't help but exhale a long sigh of relief.
And in his arms, Kiana looked at him with a complex expression.
"Hmph! I'll let it slide this time..."
Seeing Leo looking at her, Kiana inexplicably didn't dare to meet Leo's eyes and hurriedly turned away, only to see Raiden Mei still lying on the bed.
At this moment, Raiden Mei was quietly watching the young boy and girl embracing each other. In her beautiful purple eyes, there seemed to be endless unspoken words.
"Let go of me, quickly!"
Seeing this, Kiana squeezed out a trace of strength from somewhere and forcibly rolled out of Leo's arms to the side.
"Yes, yes, yes."
Looking at Kiana helplessly, Leo's face was full of doting.
Getting up from the bed, he began preparing a change of clothes for Kiana and bedding for the guest room.
Glancing at the time, he found it was just past four in the morning—a good time to grind mobile game dailies.
After letting Raiden Mei stay to accompany Kiana, he took the bedding from the closet and walked to the guest room, leaving the master bedroom to Raiden Mei and Kiana.
And after Leo left—
"Kiana, are you alright?"
Although her memory told Raiden Mei that she didn't know Kiana, she could clearly feel that she was worried about Kiana, a worry that was even on the same level as for Leo.
Furthermore, that dream she had of experiencing things together with Kiana was feeling increasingly real.
Thus, seeing Kiana's current state, it could be said she felt quite distressed.
"I'm okay, won't die."
Grinning at Raiden Mei, Kiana said, "Give me one night, and my body should be able to recover."
"However, regarding [Strength], it will probably still take a long time."
After speaking, she revealed a very helpless look.
"It's fine."
Showing a comforting expression, Raiden Mei said, "It's good enough that you can recover your health."
"Sleep for a while now. We can talk about things after you wake up."
Even though Kiana had slept for who knows how long, Raiden Mei could clearly see the fatigue between Kiana's brows.
"Mn..."
Not trying to be brave, Kiana nodded to Raiden Mei. The moment her eyes closed, she immediately fell into a deep sleep.
The next moment, her whole body emitted the energy fluctuations she had released before.
One could see the bloody holes on her shoulders and the deep blade mark on her back recovering at a visible speed.
In the end, aside from a few holes remaining in her clothes, the injured areas were as smooth as new, without any hidden dangers.
"Phew..."
Seeing this, Raiden Mei couldn't help but exhale a mouthful of turbid air lightly, revealing a relieved look.
Walking out of the bedroom, she looked at Leo who was grinding his mobile game dailies.
"Done talking?"
Seeing Raiden Mei come out of the bedroom, Leo asked with a smile, "Or did you let her sleep first?"
This question of his was actually sounding out the progress of the relationship between Raiden Mei and Kiana.
Or rather, he was observing what stage Raiden Mei's self-awareness had reached—
Whether she continued to think she was [Chiba Academy]'s Raiden Mei, or was gradually recalling her true memories!
If it were the former, she would definitely be anxious to ask Kiana about the cause and effect of matters.
But if it were the latter, she would naturally let Kiana rest first.
"Let her rest for a while first."
Giving her answer, Raiden Mei sat opposite Leo.
"Now, can you tell me what exactly you know?"
Now that it was safe, she naturally wanted to ask Leo for answers.
________________________________________
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