The negotiation concluded, everything prepared. All that remained was to wait for Welt's notification to head to Qiong Yu City.
Xia Qi returned to outside the dormitory window. Seeing that Raiden Mei was still sleeping soundly, she carefully opened the window and flew inside.
She circled around Mei's bed, flew to her own bedside, and only then let her attire fade away, reverting to the simple white nightgown. She lay back down on the bed.
But lying there, Xia Qi felt somewhat unsatisfied.
After thinking it over, she slowly crawled out of bed, hugged her pillow, and padded barefoot across the floor to Mei's bedside. Then, carefully lifting Mei's blanket, she placed her own pillow next to Mei's and climbed in. Sharing the blanket with Mei, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
As she slept, Mei slowly opened her eyes. Her violet gaze held a calm, unreadable expression. She studied Xia Qi quietly for a moment, then slowly closed her eyes again.
...
"Waaaaaah!!!"
Early the next morning, Xia Qi was jolted awake by a furious and incredulous shout.
Groggy, she rubbed her eyes and sat up to find Kiana standing at the foot of the bed in white pajamas, finger outstretched, eyes wide with outrage.
"Bronya!! Y-y-you! How dare you sleep with my Mei?!"
"Idiot Kiana, because sleeping with Sister Mei is very comfortable." Xia Qi was still rubbing her eyes, her voice flat.
"Aaaah! Y-you! You... pervert! Shorty who can't grow taller! Terrorist!"
Kiana instantly erupted, hopping up and down as she shouted.
"Kiana, calm down..."
Raiden Mei sat up beside Xia Qi, her expression helpless.
"How can I be calm?! I knew it! Bronya, you fiend — you're definitely trying to steal my girl!"
Kiana clamored on.
"Idiot Kiana, Sister Mei isn't yours, so this doesn't count as stealing."
As the two bickered, Raiden Mei stood by with a wry expression, trying to mediate.
"Alright, Kiana — how about I make you some pudding later?"
"Huh? Pudding... B-but..."
Kiana looked as though she wanted to say more, but Raiden Mei was already pulling her out of the room. Before leaving, she turned to remind Xia Qi:
"Bronya, remember to wash up soon. Spare toiletries are behind the mirror."
"Bronya understands."
Xia Qi nodded, sat up, tidied the bedding, and then headed out.
After washing up, she walked straight into Bronya.
"Bronya, good morning."
"Yeah, good morning."
After exchanging greetings, they looked at each other and both fell quiet for a moment.
Then Bronya spoke first: "The future..."
"Bronya can't tell you too much about future events, Bronya."
Xia Qi shook her head before she could finish.
"...No, Bronya wasn't going to ask about that."
Bronya looked Xia Qi up and down for a moment before continuing: "Did Bronya not grow any taller in the next few years?"
"..."
Xia Qi went instantly silent.
Kiana, who was in the living room, had caught every word and immediately burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! That's hilarious! How did I only just notice! Bronya, you didn't grow an inch in the future! You little shorty! With that flat, unremarkable figure, and you still want to compete with this young lady for Mei~ Dream on~"
"..."
Both Xia Qi and Bronya turned to look at Kiana with identical expressionless stares.
"Idiot Kiana can only find a sense of superiority in this one area."
"Besides this, there's nothing Idiot Kiana can surpass Bronya in."
"And after Bronya grows up, even that last advantage will disappear."
"How pathetic."
The two spoke in near-perfect unison, and Kiana instantly erupted again.
"Waaaaaah!"
Just as Kiana was about to pounce, the door swung open.
"Haah..."
A weary-looking Himeko and Theresa walked in from outside.
"So tired."
Himeko had dark circles under her eyes, clearly having been awake all night. Theresa walked into the living room mid-yawn and flopped down onto the sofa alongside her.
"Teacher Himeko."
Seeing Himeko, Xia Qi immediately went over, stood beside her, and looked at her with concern.
"I'm fine."
Himeko looked at Xia Qi, a tired smile on her face as she sat up straighter.
"Just tired from not sleeping all night."
"Yeah..." Theresa added weakly from the side. "We were negotiating with the conservative faction of Anti-Entropy all night. In the first half, they flatly refused to let us join the Qiong Yu City experiment and even questioned how we knew about it..."
"But in the second half, the Overseer of Anti-Entropy agreed."
Himeko sighed softly, looking at Xia Qi with a faint note of suspicion in her eyes.
"We spent the rest of the night working out the details of our cooperation. What we needed to contribute wasn't much. They said we had already paid the price."
"..."
Xia Qi quietly turned her head away, pretending not to hear.
"Bronya — future Bronya — remember to submit a report to me later."
Seeing Xia Qi's reaction, Himeko's suspicions were instantly confirmed. She looked at Xia Qi and spoke with a perfectly flat expression.
"Understood."
Xia Qi had no choice but to nod obediently, resigning herself to sharing some of what she could — such as the coordinates for locating her own world, and the events that were supposed to unfold in Qiong Yu City in the original timeline.
"Time to eat."
Mei's gentle voice drifted in from the kitchen.
"Ugh~ Let's eat first. We can rest properly after." Himeko lazily sat up and stretched out fully, the movement drawing her figure into sharp relief.
"Okay, Teacher Himeko. You've worked hard. Would you like Bronya to give you a massage afterwards to help you relax?"
Xia Qi followed obediently behind Himeko into the kitchen and took a seat at the dining table, waiting for breakfast.
"Huh? What about me?! Doesn't anyone care about me?!"
Theresa watched everyone file into the kitchen and couldn't help but call out indignantly.
Kiana glanced back, met Theresa's expectant eyes, and shrugged:
"Jeez, Auntie, hurry up! Or I won't save you any fried pork cutlet!"
"..."
Theresa's expression froze.
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