Placing a hand on the door, she gave it a gentle push, and it swung open.
It wasn't locked. The owner of the room was clearly very careless.
A small smile appeared on K423's face.
This was her residence at St. Freya Academy.
Stepping into the room, a strange mixture of smells lingered in the air. K423 looked toward the table facing the door. It was a complete mess, and the floor was littered with various bottles and cans.
There was beer, bitter melon juice, and Happy Water.
Walking over to the table, K423's smile widened. Yesterday, Great Aunt and the others must have celebrated her birthday right here.
How wonderful.
If only she had arrived just one day earlier.
No, this was good enough. One must learn to be content.
However, looking a bit puzzled, she picked up a few pieces of paper scattered on the table and read their contents aloud.
"Kiss the person on your left through plastic wrap for 30 seconds in front of everyone?"
"Drink cross-cupped wine with the person on your right?"
Oh, Truth or Dare.
K423 realized what had happened. She looked down and noticed a torn piece of plastic wrap near her feet. It seemed this was the very wrap used for the "Safety Kiss."
She wondered who had drawn that particular dare.
Imagining her Great Aunt and Teacher Himeko kissing through a sheet of plastic wrap made her chuckle softly.
Setting the papers down, K423 walked over to the bedroom. Pushing the door open, she was greeted by a faint, pleasant fragrance. This was Kiana's room. It was organized and very clean, but there were very few personal belongings. It looked as though she hadn't lived here for very long.
However, checking the other bedrooms, she found absolutely no signs of anyone else living in them.
Mei and Bronya weren't here.
K423 confirmed this fact. As expected, history had changed drastically. She didn't know if it was for better or for worse.
She shook her head.
It was for the worse.
After all, Mei was currently at Schicksal HQ. The moment she thought about that, she couldn't smile at all.
K423 was just about to close the door when her hand suddenly paused. Moonlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, spilling over the nightstand.
And resting on that nightstand was a sachet.
K423 knew exactly what it was.
It was a Three-Year Sakura.
If a young girl collected petals from the exact same cherry blossom tree for three consecutive years—at ages 14, 15, and 16—and sewed them into a sachet, it was said that Konohanasakuya-hime, the Goddess of Mount Fuji, would bless her with romantic luck.
K423 used to have two of them.
One was a gift from Miyuki Asakura, and the other was from Mei.
Without even touching the Three-Year Sakura, K423 saw the elegant characters for "Asakura" embroidered on the fabric. She knew immediately that this was the one Miyuki Asakura had given her.
There were also dark stains on the material.
Those were the faded marks of blood.
Even with history changed, was Miyuki Asakura still not saved?
Clenching her fists, K423 closed the door, leaving the Three-Year Sakura behind in the moonlit room.
Walking out onto the balcony, K423 leaned against the railing. She gazed up at the crescent moon in the sky, and then down at St. Freya Academy bathed in its light.
"I will protect this place," K423 whispered.
"I will protect Great Aunt."
"I will protect Teacher Himeko."
"I will protect Bronya."
"I will protect Class Monitor Fu Hua."
"I will..."
"...Protect..."
"...Mei."
K423's gaze was resolute.
She would fight for all that is beautiful in the world.
Perhaps this world's Kiana might never get to know Mei, and perhaps she might never meet Bronya. But as long as K423 could protect this beautiful world and ensure their happiness—ensure Kiana's happiness—that would be enough.
Besides, she—K423—was already long accustomed to a future of walking alone.
However, at that moment, Kiana, who had been contemplating life in the consciousness space, suddenly spoke up.
"Mei? Are you talking about Raiden Mei?"
"Eh?"
"You know her?"
Hearing Kiana's words, K423 was pleasantly surprised. Judging by Kiana's tone, it sounded like she actually knew Mei.
As expected, no matter how twisted fate became, Kiana and Raiden Mei were destined to meet!
"Yeah, she's a girl who really knows how to make people like her," Kiana replied.
Her tone was a bit passive-aggressive.
To actually get Otto to give up his own room for her, that woman definitely knew how to charm him. Though, thanks to her, Kiana had gotten the chance to live with Otto instead.
Even so, Kiana had always felt a lingering sense of crisis regarding Raiden Mei.
The whole reason Otto had sent her away to St. Freya Academy was so he could do unspeakable, shady things with Raiden Mei back in Nagazora!
K423, however, completely failed to pick up on Kiana's passive-aggressiveness.
Instead, she felt overjoyed.
Kiana's words obviously meant that Mei was very likable to her!
"But, how do you know about Theresa, Himeko, and Raiden Mei?" Kiana asked, utterly bewildered.
She couldn't shake the feeling that Sister K423 knew way too much about her life.
And you still claim you aren't my third personality?!
"Heh." K423 chuckled softly, deliberately changing the subject. "Have you finished thinking things through? Let me give the body back to you."
If Kiana knew that K423 was actually a version of her who had experienced a series of tragic futures, given Kiana's current personality, K423 figured she would constantly surrender control of the body to her. She might even go out of her way to get close to Mei and the others just to help K423 fulfill her regrets.
K423 didn't want that.
This body wasn't hers; she wouldn't force anything upon it.
"I've thought it through."
"Tomorrow night, I'm going to find Otto and tell him that I want to stay at St. Freya Academy," Kiana said with a bright smile.
Hearing this decision, K423 was very satisfied. However, she was a bit confused—why wait until tomorrow night to find Otto?
It was 3:00 AM right now. She could just wait until morning and tell him then.
Was she planning to sleep the entire day away?
What a lazy pig.
"I'm going to rest up in here and recharge my batteries. Sister K423, you can keep using the body for now," Kiana offered freely. Resting inside the consciousness space was highly effective for rapidly alleviating mental fatigue.
After all, there was no physical body acting as a middleman taking a cut of her energy.
Floating not too far away, the Queen of the Void glared at Kiana lounging in the consciousness space. She really wanted to scream at them: Since you two are just tossing the body back and forth, why don't you give it to me?! I'll give it right back as soon as I finish exterminating humanity!
But as the proud Queen of the Void, her dignity forbade her from ever uttering words that sounded like begging.
"Alright." Since Kiana was being so generous, K423 accepted her goodwill. However, she didn't wander around aimlessly. Instead, she continued leaning against the balcony railing, gazing at the moonlit St. Freya Academy.
This was enough.
Just this was enough to satisfy her.
Without realizing it, she became completely entranced by the view.
Time slowly ticked by. K423 immersed herself in her past memories, carefully savoring the profound sediment of her history.
Because of this, she completely failed to notice the front door of the apartment being gently pushed open behind her.
Otto tiptoed quietly through the doorway.
He had finished dealing with the trivial matters, and the rest could wait until he returned to Headquarters.
Yet, despite it being the dead of night, he felt absolutely no sleepiness.
Because every time he remembered that he had almost lost Kiana tonight—that the day right after this girl's birthday had almost become her death anniversary—he felt an overwhelming urge to see her.
So, he came to find Kiana.
The moment he entered, Otto spotted the familiar silhouette leaning against the balcony railing, bathed in the silver moonlight.
Goddess of the Moon.
The title involuntarily surfaced in Otto's mind.
His heart began to beat faster. He slipped off his shoes in the entryway, walked on his tiptoes, and silently crept up behind the white-haired girl.
He wrapped his arms around her slender waist from behind. Their hips pressed together, his chest flush against her back.
Otto pulled the white-haired girl tightly into his embrace.
He hugged her with desperate strength, because he had almost lost her forever.
Lost in her yearning memories, K423 suddenly realized she was being restrained from behind. She violently jerked her head around to see who had dared to ambush her.
But the very moment she turned her head...
Her soft, pink lips were forcefully captured.
Her multicolored, rainbow-like eyes widened in absolute shock.
K423 found herself staring into a pair of emerald eyes.
And...
A face she was incredibly familiar with!
"Mmph!"
K423's eyes trembled violently.
Otto's brows furrowed sharply.
And then.
Fresh blood flowed down from the corners of both their mouths, trailing down their necks and sliding past delicate collarbones.
"Gulp."
K423 subconsciously swallowed.
Swallowing her own saliva, Otto's saliva...
And Otto's... blood.
---o---