The last light of the setting sun spilled across the Inch Heart Dojo's mottled red walls, gilding the old building's edges in gold.
As Su Yu and Kiana stepped out through the front gate, they both felt it — the unmistakable sensation of several pairs of eyes clinging to their backs like industrial-strength adhesive.
They turned around.
There was Ma Feima — all six-foot-three of him — gripping the doorframe with both hands, eyes glistening with unshed tears as he stared after them.
The look on his face was exactly that of a large dog being boarded at a pet hotel, watching its owner walk away for the last time.
Pure, unfiltered reluctance. Worship.
"Mr. Su — no! Eldest Senior Brother! Little Grandmaster! Are you coming back tomorrow?!"
Ma Feima waved one of his enormous shovel-like hands, his voice so thunderously loud it rattled the doorframe.
"I feel like I've touched the very soul of a Honkai Beast! Tomorrow I'll definitely do even better!"
It was obvious that after today, this man had been completely won over — utterly conquered by Su Yu's "black-box tech" and Kiana's "martial arts coaching."
To Ma Feima, the two of them were now nothing less than the reincarnation of his martial arts parents. If it weren't for the senior sisters still standing nearby, Old Ma would probably have dropped to his knees and hollered, "If you would not refuse me, I wish to call you my foster father!"
Beside him, Cheng Lingshuang clutched her prop scythe with both hands, her gaze trailing after Kiana's retreating figure until the two of them rounded the corner and vanished from sight.
"...Phew."
Once they were clear of the street, Kiana let out a long, slow breath and patted her chest.
"Way too enthusiastic... that big guy's stare was terrifying."
"I had the feeling that if we didn't leave fast enough, he'd leap on me and beg me to teach him how to crush boulders with his chest."
That made Su Yu laugh.
"Well, you are the Little Grandmaster. In their eyes, you're basically a living, breathing martial arts scripture."
"Though..."
Su Yu glanced at the mission progress bar that had finally ticked forward in his retinal display.
[Valkyrie's Heroic Grace: Progress 100% (Completed)]
[Monster Compendium Entry: Progress 30%]
"Tiring as it was, the payoff was enormous."
The two of them headed home, and the moment they stepped through the door — Kiana was already rolling around playing with Chongchong the white cat, who had come bounding over to greet them — Su Yu hadn't even gotten his shoes off before a familiar blue pop-up window flashed across his retinal display.
[System Notice: Main Mission Part One [Valkyrie's Heroic Grace] has been completed!]
[Motion capture data detected for [Domain Unit: White Comet], [Valkyrie Ranger], [Divine Prayer], and [White Knight: Moonbeam]!]
[Calculating rewards...]
[Reward One: Activity range expanded to 2 meters.]
[Reward Two: Daily "Absolute Freedom Time" extended to 1 hour.]
"Holy crap!"
Su Yu's eyes lit up the instant he saw that "60 minutes."
A whole hour!
An hour might not sound like much. But this was built on top of Kiana already being unrestricted at home — at the registered address on her ID Card, which was Su Yu's apartment, she could already move around freely without any distance or time constraints.
Even at the dojo, as long as Su Yu was there, she could freely run and leap around the entire sprawling premises.
Which meant this one hour belonged entirely to Kiana Kaslana. In the truest sense of the word — personal time.
She could go downstairs alone for a walk. Pop into the convenience store for some oden. Even roll around with the stray cats in the residential complex.
"Kiana! Great news!"
Su Yu shared the good news with Kiana, and her eyes went wide.
One hour.
Sixty minutes.
To an ordinary person, that might be just enough time for one round of a game, or scrolling through a few videos.
But to her — a "ghost" — this was... real, true "life" that belonged to her alone.
In those sixty minutes, she could walk among the crowds like a normal girl.
No worrying about being seen through. No worrying about disappearing.
She could breathe free air. Feel the warmth of the wind.
"This is amazing! Su Yu!! All our hard work paid off!"
"It really did, Kiana!!"
Was there anything more satisfying than seeing your efforts rewarded?
In her excitement, Kiana grabbed Su Yu's hand and pulled — just like a kid who'd gotten a perfect score on a test and knew a reward from her parents was coming.
Su Yu cheered along with her.
This particular joy was probably only understandable to someone who had lived the "conjoined twin lifestyle."
The commotion startled Chongchong the white cat into leaping up onto the shoe cabinet again, those mismatched eyes gazing down at the two humans who, for no discernible reason, periodically erupted into absolute chaos.
Honestly, this cat was starting to suspect these two had a few screws loose. What else could explain why they kept having these random meltdowns?
Once the excitement settled, Su Yu collapsed onto the sofa, completely drained.
The motion capture session had been mainly Kiana doing the physical work, but as director and technical supervisor, he'd had his eyes glued to the data the whole time — the mental toll was enormous.
"I'm dead... not cooking tonight. Let's order takeout."
Su Yu flopped his hand listlessly in the air, reaching for his phone to open the delivery app.
"Wait!"
A hand shot out and pressed down on his phone screen.
Kiana stood in front of the sofa, looking down at him from above.
She'd just washed her face — her bangs were still a little damp — but her eyes were sparkling with something that could only be described as eager anticipation.
"Su Yu, you're exhausted."
The girl said it with complete sincerity.
"These past few days you've been running around non-stop — fixing code, supervising renovations, taking care of me..."
"Sure, I'm freeloading off you, but even I have my dignity!"
She took a deep breath, as though making a momentous decision, planted both hands on her hips, and puffed out her chest.
"So! Dinner tonight is on me!"
"Since I've got a whole hour of freedom now... I'm going to the supermarket! I'll buy groceries! And then I'll cook you a proper feast!"
Su Yu blinked.
He looked at this supremely self-confident girl standing before him, and two vivid images immediately flashed through his mind.
Image one: Kiana returning with a basket full of bitter melon and instant noodles, looking extremely pleased with herself.
Image two: The kitchen exploding, flames shooting to the ceiling, firefighters smashing through the door.
"Uh... Lady Kiana."
Su Yu swallowed. He attempted to salvage his kitchen — and his stomach.
"Grocery shopping is a high-difficulty dungeon. Maybe we should just..."
"No! I've already decided!"
Kiana cut him off, expression stubborn as a rock.
"Back at St. Freya, I used to help Mei in the kitchen! Though... okay, mainly I was responsible for sneaking tastes, but I watched her buy groceries! I've seen how it's done!"
"You don't have to eat pork to know what a pig looks like running, right? It's just picking stuff and paying for it. Easy!"
Su Yu looked at her.
At this girl who had once stood trembling in the rain, too afraid to even step outside the door.
At this girl who had hidden behind his back, too afraid to face people, for fear of hurting them.
And now she stood before him.
Spine straight, like a little soldier about to march off to war.
Declaring that she would go out alone and face that vast, unfamiliar world.
All for... a meal. For him.
An indescribable, bittersweet ache welled up somewhere behind his nose.
Su Yu felt the spirit of his inner old father blazing with full intensity.
So this was what it felt like — watching your daughter take her first steps toward growing up?
Pride. And... absolutely terrified.
"But..."
The reflexive objection was already forming in Su Yu's throat.
"There are so many cars outside... so many people..."
"What if you run into a sketchy guy? What if you get lost? What if your time runs out before you make it back?"
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Kiana cut him off with a pained look.
"I'm going grocery shopping, not fighting a Herrscher!"
"And the supermarket is right at the entrance to the complex — five minutes on foot!"
"I'm an S-rank Valkyrie (self-proclaimed)! How on earth would I let some sketchy stranger trick me?"
This ridiculous, rambling man — he was worse than her annoying dad Siegfried! She wasn't a little kid anymore! Honestly!!
Watching Kiana roast him, Su Yu paused.
Fair enough.
This was her first step toward independence in this world.
Shooting her down now would be cruel.
"...Fine."
Su Yu sighed and gave in.
He sat up straight, reached for a pen and paper, and started writing a list.
"If you're going, then you follow instructions! The meat has to be fresh — don't buy any of that discounted zombie stuff. No weird snacks. Especially not that devil-spicy chip garbage!"
Kiana took the list, didn't even glance at it, and stuffed it straight into her pocket.
She gave Su Yu zero chance to change his mind, spinning on her heel and heading for the entryway.
There was something almost tragically heroic about her retreating figure — like a warrior striding to the river, knowing the wind blows cold and the road ahead uncertain.
Su Yu shook his head helplessly and followed.
He leaned against the doorframe, watching Kiana change her shoes.
"Got your phone?" he couldn't help asking.
"Yes, yes, I have it."
"Know what you're buying?"
"Didn't you write a list?"
"Look both ways before crossing the road. Don't fly over on a delivery drone."
"...Su Yu, are you my mom or something?!"
Kiana finished putting on her shoes and stood up.
She took a deep breath, and her hand closed around the door handle.
The cold touch of metal traveled from her palm through her whole body, steadying her heartbeat — which had been fluttering just a little.
This was the first time.
In this world, stepping outside of Su Yu's line of sight.
Alone, walking into that clamorous, living, breathing world — full of the warmth and smell of human life, and full of the unknown.
Was she scared?
Of course she was.
That loneliness of being something other than human. That gnawing fear of vanishing at any moment. It still lurked at the bottom of her heart.
But...
Kiana turned and looked back at Su Yu, standing just behind her.
His mouth was still rambling — but his eyes were full of trust. Of encouragement.
And underneath it all, that thick, barely-concealed worry.
For this big dummy.
Kiana Kaslana — you've got this!
"I'm off!"
Kiana waved at Su Yu, a brilliant smile breaking across her face.
"Wait for me to come back!"
Click.
The front door shut.
The apartment fell instantly, completely quiet.
Su Yu stood where he was.
He stared at that closed door, and was suddenly struck by the most vivid sense of déjà vu — like an old father sending his daughter off to kindergarten for the very first time.
A hollow space in his chest. And a warmth. And a faint, fluttering panic.
[System Notice: Host, your heart rate has been detected as abnormal. Is this what they call "empty-nest father syndrome"?]
The System's insufferably smug voice piped up right on cue.
"Get lost."
Su Yu rolled his eyes and flopped back onto the sofa.
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
4:45 PM.
"One hour..."
The corner of Su Yu's mouth curled upward, just slightly, without his permission.
That girl who had once been prickly and bristling, always on guard against everything around her — she could finally go to the supermarket like a normal person, humming a little tune as she walked.
So this was probably... the joy of watching someone grow.
"Here's hoping it goes smoothly, and nothing goes wrong."
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