In the end, after ignoring the changes to his body that were most likely caused by the Stigmata, Liang Wu and Kiana left the room.
On the living room table sat two steaming bowls of instant noodles.
Though it was just fast food, Kiana had thoughtfully added a few slices of ham sausage and even sprinkled some chopped green onions on top.
Liang Wu sat down at the table and picked up his chopsticks: “…Looks pretty good.”
Kiana sat across from him, holding the bowl in both hands, but her gaze quietly lingered on him: “Really?
I thought you’d be biased against us Kaslanas.”
“Don’t worry.
I’m already touched that someone woke up early to make me instant noodles.” Liang Wu said as he picked up a strand of noodles.
“And you added green onions, bonus points.”
Hearing that, Kiana lowered her head, as if the simple compliment had made her a bit embarrassed.
But honestly, Liang Wu was still more concerned about Cecilia.
He had been up for a while now, yet Cecilia had not appeared.
Last night during training, she had barely gone three sentences without mentioning Kiana.
But now that the real person was right there in the daytime, she had gone missing?
Could it be that last night’s training had actually consumed some of her reserves?
Just as Liang Wu was pondering this, Kiana across from him started a new topic: “Liang Wu, since this world also has Honkai, when do we start taking action?”
It seemed Kiana still could not let go of her responsibility to fight against Honkai.
Or perhaps the reason Kiana had agreed to live with Liang Wu was because this fellow native also wanted to fight Honkai.
But Liang Wu’s answer left Kiana at a loss.
Liang Wu said calmly: “We’re not taking any action right now.”
Kiana froze, then frowned slightly: “Why?
Didn’t you say this world has Honkai too?
If there is Honkai, we should be preparing in advance.”
“You’re right.
But the problem is, we don’t even know where the Honkai is.” Liang Wu shrugged.
“The organization that specifically fights Honkai in this world keeps information tightly sealed.
I’ve lived here for eighteen years, and the only information I can find is those reports disguised as natural disasters.”
“This means that at least so far, the Honkai hasn’t caused any major incidents.”
“…So we just have to sit around and wait?” Kiana’s tone carried a hint of reluctance.
What if many people lose their lives because of it…”
Well, it seemed Kiana still could not accept the fact that she could do nothing.
Just then, another voice sounded in Liang Wu’s ear.
“Sigh, that child is dwelling on those thoughts again.
Say something to cheer her up!”
Liang Wu: ???
Sure enough, just as Kiana was sinking into melancholy, Cecilia’s figure appeared again.
She was standing right next to Kiana, looking at her with a face full of concern.
Liang Wu was about to say something, but she interrupted him again.
“Wait, wait!
Don’t talk to me right now.
What if Kiana notices!”
Alright.
It seemed Cecilia was still worried that Kiana could not accept her identity.
But if you don’t want him to talk to you, then at least stay quiet for a bit, right?
Was Cecilia actually a talkative type?
As if sensing Liang Wu’s thoughts, Cecilia said again: “This is my daughter!
Of course a mother would be anxious when she sees her daughter feeling down!”
Liang Wu decided to ignore this overly enthusiastic ghost senior.
He cleared his throat and looked back at Kiana: “Don’t worry.
It’s not like we can’t do anything at all.”
“Do you know why I transferred to Nagazora?”
Kiana shook her head.
She had only known Liang Wu for two days, so of course she would not know such things.
Liang Wu continued: “Because two years ago, I made a statistical analysis of ‘natural disasters.'”
“Although the authorities have disguised all Honkai incidents as earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, and other natural calamities, the locations and frequencies of these events follow certain patterns.”
“I spent some time compiling all the available data and drew a distribution map.”
Kiana’s eyes widened, her chopsticks pausing mid-air: “And then?”
“And then I found that according to the spread pattern of Honkai energy, Nagazora City would be in a fairly dangerous position within the next few years.”
Not for school, but to wait for it to happen.”
Of course, that was a lie.
After all, every major Honkai outbreak occurred without any predictable pattern.
But it was enough to convince Kiana for now.
Sure enough, Kiana was silent for a long while, as if digesting the information in his words.
But then Liang Wu spoke again: “Is there anything you want to do today?”
Kiana snapped back to the present: “Something I want to do?”
Liang Wu continued: “Since I’m not going to school anyway, we might as well not stay cooped up indoors all day.”
“You’ve just arrived in this era.
You haven’t really seen the city yet, have you?”
Kiana thought about it.
That did seem to be the case: “…Then, can you show me around?”
Liang Wu perked up: “Perfect.
Eden is having a concert in Nagazora next weekend.
I can take you to scope out the venue in advance today.”
“Eden?
Who’s that?”
For now, Kiana obviously did not know who Eden was.
“A very famous singer.
Top-tier in this era.” Liang Wu said as he finished the last of his noodle soup.
“Do you like music?” Kiana tilted her head and asked again.
Liang Wu nodded.
But in reality, the reason he was so invested in Eden’s concert was for his own sake.
That’s right.
Liang Wu was a tryhard.
After all, in the Previous Era, Eden was the fourth of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, and her ending was rather poignant.
After the Previous Era’s complete failure, she refused the chance to enter a cryo-pod to preserve her life, choosing instead to perish alongside the civilization she loved.
A person like that definitely fit the criteria of a “melancholic figure closely tied to the plot,” didn’t she?
Though her charge efficiency would certainly be lower than Kiana’s, he still wanted to get some bond rewards from her, right?
However, before Kiana could respond, Cecilia on the other side suddenly grew inexplicably excited.
“Ooh, is this the start of a date!”