This meant Kiana could finally sprawl out and roll around on the beanbag chair a short distance away while he was working at his desk.
Instead of having to aggrievedly pull up a small stool and squeeze in next to his legs.
"How's this? This is a big step toward our freedom."
Su Yu turned his head to look at Kiana, who was tentatively backing away.
Her little feet shuffled across the floor, inch by inch, until she reached the new boundary line. Her body didn't show any signs of that heart-stopping transparency.
"...It's really farther away."
Kiana looked down at the distance between them, her expression still maintaining a sense of composure.
But the slight upward turn of her lips and the flash of light in her eyes completely betrayed her good mood.
"Su Yu."
She spoke, her voice carrying a slight tremor.
"Those stories I told... that story of nothing but pain and despair, are people in this world really remembering it?"
"Of course."
Su Yu walked over, not crossing the line, but looking at her from across this newly gained distance.
His gaze was firm, exuding a convincing strength.
"Look at the comments online, Kiana."
"They don't just remember the 'tragedy,' they remember the girl who still wanted to reach out a hand in the midst of despair."
"They remember your name, even if it's just a name in a manga. But that's enough for you to put down roots in this world."
He paused, then added with a smile.
"Of course, this is also thanks to our little genius painter. Griseo's brush can even sketch out the color of a soul."
"Griseo, huh..."
When she heard that name, Kiana's expression softened.
She leaned against the wall behind her, arms crossed, seemingly lost in some distant reverie.
"If it were Mei..."
She softly uttered that name, her tone devoid of its previous weight and bitterness.
Instead, it was as if she were holding a dissolving piece of candy in her mouth, cloyingly sweet.
"If it were Mei, what color would Griseo think she is? Hmm... It must be purple, right?"
"Not the violent purple that symbolizes lightning, but the kind that's... very warm, very accepting, like the evening glow at sunset, or like freshly cooked sweet potato porridge."
Hearing her bring up Mei on her own, and in such a relaxed state, Su Yu's heart stirred slightly.
This was a good sign.
It meant that name was no longer just a bleeding wound, but a harbor where she sought comfort in this unfamiliar world.
Memories were no longer torture, but had become a source of strength that supported her.
"Sounds like... she's a very gentle person?"
Su Yu went along with her, asking tentatively, his tone as relaxed as if he were chatting about an old friend he had never met.
"And she can cook sweet potato porridge? Seems like her cooking skills are pretty good?"
"Pretty good? They're more than just good!"
Kiana seemed to have a switch flipped. Her eyes lit up instantly, and her instincts as a "Mei fan" immediately awakened.
"Mei's cooking is the most delicious in the world! Whether it's ordinary home-style dishes or complex desserts, as long as she makes it, it's delicious! You've never had her curry rice, that flavor... oof, just thinking about it makes my mouth water."
She swallowed, a disarmingly genuine smile on her face that only appeared when talking about her favorite person.
"But you know... at the very beginning, that young lady was an idiot who couldn't even tell the difference between salt and sugar."
Recalling the very beginning, a smile appeared on Kiana's face.
"You know how it is, right? The young lady of the Raiden family, whose hands never touched menial work."
"When we first met, she wanted to make me a bento box, but she ended up blowing up the kitchen. The rice balls she made were as hard as rocks, I almost broke a tooth."
"But..."
She gestured as she spoke, as if that smoke-filled kitchen was right before her eyes.
"That idiot, for my sake... so that I wouldn't have to eat instant noodles and junk food all day, she actually secretly signed up for cooking classes."
"Her hands were covered in bandages, but she refused to say anything. Until one day, she presented me with a perfect, heart-shaped bento."
"All her effort, all her changes... were just so that an idiot like me could have a hot, delicious meal."
"Cooking is a big deal." Kiana turned to look at him, her tone serious. "The Mei from later on was an amazing cook, not just ordinarily amazing, but truly—"
She paused, as if searching for the right words.
"The kind of amazing that can turn ordinary ingredients into works of art."
Su Yu raised an eyebrow, playing his part supportively.
"For example?"
"For example..."
Kiana lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously drawing circles on the tabletop.
"One time I ate everything in the fridge, leaving only half a carrot, two eggs, and a small piece of tofu."
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
"Mei took one look, didn't say a word, and fifteen minutes later brought out a bowl of egg drop soup, a plate of stir-fried shredded carrots with egg, and a steamed egg with tofu."
Su Yu imagined the scene.
An empty fridge, yet a young lady could conjure up a full meal with just the remaining scraps.
That was indeed more than just cooking skill; it was a kind of zest for life and a silent doting on that person.
"Wasn't she angry?" he asked. "About you eating everything in the fridge."
"She was."
Kiana's expression became complicated, a mix of guilt from being caught and a sweetness from being cared for.
"She'd lecture me while she cooked, 'Kiana, how could you empty the fridge again,' 'Don't you know I was saving that beef for the weekend,' 'Are you a bottomless pit or what'—"
She imitated Mei's tone of voice, her own voice slightly lowered, tinged with a bit of seriousness and helplessness.
Then she stopped, her eyes curving into crescents.
"But after she finished cooking, she'd still put the biggest piece of meat in my bowl."
Su Yu didn't reply.
He just listened quietly, watching as the girl before him slowly let down her guard, revealing her softest inner self.
"She also likes to tidy things up."
Kiana continued, the floodgates now open and hard to close.
"My room is a pigsty, clothes piled on the chair, snack bags everywhere. Every time Mei came over, the first thing she'd do is sigh, and the second thing she'd do is start cleaning."
Her fingers stopped drawing circles.
"Once, I asked her why she always helped me clean up. She said—"
Kiana's voice grew quiet.
"She said, 'Because I don't want you living in a garbage heap.'"
Sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, tracing a bright edge on the side of her face.
"Sounds pretty ordinary, right?" She looked up at Su Yu. "But that night, when I went back to my room, I found that not only had she tidied everything up, but she'd also put a piece of candy under my pillow."
"Candy?"
"Mhm, a strawberry-flavored hard candy." Kiana's lips curled up slightly. "Mei knew I like sweets."
Su Yu looked at her expression.
It was completely different from when she had been describing the Third Eruption.
Back then, her gaze was gloomy, her voice was suppressed, and every word seemed to be forcibly squeezed from her throat.
But now—
She was smiling.
Not a forced, polite smile, but a genuine smile that floated up from the bottom of her heart.
It was like sparkling water.
"What else does she like?"
Su Yu's voice was very soft, as if he were afraid of breaking this rare, warm moment.
Kiana thought for a moment, counting on her fingers.
"Reading. She has a lot of books, most of which I can't understand. Things like history, literature, and some original English novels."
She pouted.
"I tried to read one once and fell asleep on the first page. Mei laughed at me for a whole week."
"What else?"
"Listening to music," Kiana said. "Classical stuff, Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart—I can't tell them apart, it's all stuff that makes you sleepy. But when Mei listens, she closes her eyes, and her expression is very relaxed."
She paused.
"She also bobs her head slightly to the rhythm. She doesn't notice it herself, but I've secretly seen it a bunch of times."
The corners of Su Yu's mouth lifted slightly as well.
He could imagine the scene.
An elegant young lady, sitting by the window listening to classical music, her expression demure, her posture perfect—
And then her head, bobbing along to the beat like a little chick pecking at grain.
That kind of cute contrast was truly amusing.
"You stare at her?"
"I peek," Kiana corrected him with a straight face. "If I watched her openly, she'd get embarrassed. Mei, on the surface, she's very composed, but she's actually super shy."
Her eyes lit up.
"One time, Bronya complimented her cooking, just one sentence, and Mei's ears were red for the entire night."
Su Yu couldn't help but chuckle.
Raiden Mei.
Host of the Third Herrscher, the young lady of ME Corp, the Valkyrie known as the "Lightning Queen"—
Her ears would turn red all night just from a compliment about her cooking.
"Does she know you peek at her?"
"Probably not." Kiana shrugged, looking smug. "I'm very good at hiding."
As she spoke, she lowered her head and took another bite of bread.
The sunlight danced on her white hair, like a thin, golden trim.
She went on to say that Mei liked to collect cute dolls.
That although she acted mature, Mei was actually terrified of ghosts and would cling tightly to her sleeve in a haunted house.
She said they once made a promise under a cherry blossom tree to grow old together, and even talked about trying out plaza dancing...
The drifter from Arc City, covered in scars and constantly on guard, disappeared at this moment.
In her place was a young girl, simply showing off her dearest friend, immersed in happy memories.
Su Yu listened quietly, watching the layer of frost on her face melt away bit by bit in the warmth of her recollections.
This was the first time since he'd transmigrated that he had seen Kiana chat so relaxedly.
No vigilance, no defensiveness, none of that tension of being ready to fight at any moment.
She was just purely sharing memories of someone important.
"Mei sounds like a very good person."
"She is."
Kiana's reply was quick, without any hesitation. It even carried a natural sense of pride.
"The best person in the whole world."
Her voice was soft, but firm.
A breeze blew past the window, and the leaves rustled.
Su Yu knew the time was right.
The Kiana right now didn't just need the sugar from her memories, she needed a little... light from reality.
"Kiana."
Su Yu called her name softly, interrupting her chatter.
He looked into her eyes, his tone serious.
"Do you want... to go see her?"
Kiana froze, the smile on her lips fixed in place, as if she hadn't processed the meaning of his words.
"See... who?"
"This world's Raiden Mei."
Su Yu stretched out his hand, pointing out the window at the peaceful, bustling city, at this world without Honkai, a world of only daily life.
"Even if she isn't the Mei who went through life and death with you, even if she might not know you."
"But she's out there, in some corner of this world, living a peaceful life."
"Do you want to go see her? The... Mei who lives in the sunlight."
____
____________________________
This could be our last week of translations! We're sitting at 10/40 members right now. To help us reach the finish line (or get as close as possible), I'm running a 50% off promo all week.
Use code: LEANZIN50
P@treon: Leanzin