A beautiful day was always all too brief.
In the end, after spending some more time shopping with Elysia, today’s excursion came to an end.
By the time Liang Wu and Kiana returned to the rented apartment, dusk had already fallen.
As the door clicked shut behind them, Liang Wu finally let out a sigh of relief.
There had been a lot to process today.
Though the journey had been full of twists and turns, the results were not bad.
After all, he had gotten Elysia’s intermediate bond for free.
Though because the cooldown for switching bound bonds had not yet expired, he could not claim the rewards right away.
But that was fine.
Only six days of cooldown remained.
He could wait.
Liang Wu was mentally planning his next steps when Kiana suddenly stopped behind him.
“Liang Wu, I need to talk to you.” Kiana’s voice carried an uncommon seriousness.
Liang Wu turned around and saw Kiana standing at the entrance, looking directly at him, her brow slightly furrowed, her expression somewhat grave.
“What’s wrong?” Liang Wu gestured for her to come in.
Kiana changed into slippers and walked into the living room, but she did not sit down.
Instead, she stood by the sofa, as if hesitating for a long time before finally speaking: “That Elysia we met today…
I think there’s something very off about her.”
Liang Wu’s movements paused slightly.
He really had not expected Kiana to say something like that.
In his estimation, Kiana, who had always been drawn to good looks, should have been completely defenseless against someone as energetic and cute as Elysia.
“Off?”
Kiana’s expression grew even more serious: “Didn’t you feel it?
That Elysia…
the aura about her.”
“Aura?”
“Yes.” Kiana nodded.
“Though she seems harmless and smiles all the time, I can sense…
there’s Honkai energy on her.”
Liang Wu was silent for a moment.
He did not immediately refute her, choosing instead to let her continue.
Seeing that he did not dismiss her outright, Kiana pressed on: “Ever since the Second Herrscher awakened in me, my perception of Honkai energy has become much sharper than before.”
“I kept an eye on her while we were out this afternoon.
“She might be from this civilization’s organization dedicated to fighting Honkai.”
That remark made Liang Wu pause.
After all, Kiana was not wrong.
Elysia was indeed from Fire Moth.
However, given the intermediate bond Elysia had spontaneously dropped on him and her special relationship with Eden, she was probably not after him or Kiana.
With that thought, Liang Wu pretended to consider it and replied: “I understand.
I’ll keep an eye on her.”
After saying that, he turned around as if to head to the kitchen for some water.
But Kiana was not satisfied with that reaction.
“You understand?
That’s it?”
Kiana suddenly stepped forward quickly, blocking Liang Wu’s path.
Her movements carried an unusual urgency, even startling Liang Wu slightly.
“Liang Wu, I’m not joking!
That Elysia is really suspicious!”
“Didn’t you say it yourself?
This world has Honkai too, and there are organizations that deal with it.
If she really is someone sent by that organization, then we…”
Kiana’s voice trailed off, as if she had thought of something unpleasant.
“Then we’ve probably already been exposed.
They might have even detected my identity as a Herrscher.”
“We can’t let our guard down!”
Liang Wu had not expected Kiana to reach such a conclusion.
Though Kiana’s speculation was not entirely groundless.
But the problem was, Fire Moth in its current state did not have the capability to discover that Kiana was a Herrscher.
After all, at this stage, Fire Moth had not even produced MANTIS soldiers yet, and their research on Herrschers was still in its infancy.
Even if Elysia had sensed something, she could not possibly confirm that Kiana was a Herrscher.
However, Liang Wu could not say these things outright.
Looking at her urgent expression, Liang Wu felt a rare sense of novelty.
It seemed the Void Drifter Kiana was indeed no longer the naive girl she used to be.
“I know.” Liang Wu repeated, this time with a more serious tone.
“I’ll be careful.”
But Kiana was clearly not satisfied with that answer. New chapters come out on g.com first.
She bit her lip, as if hesitating whether to continue.
Finally, she spoke, her voice even lower than before: “Don’t let her fool you just because she’s pretty…
bad women like that are the best at deceiving people.
My instincts are not wrong.”
Those words came out somewhat awkwardly, as if she were trying hard to explain something or perhaps worried about something.
Liang Wu looked down at her serious, slightly anxious eyes and could not help himself.
He raised his hand and gently placed it on top of Kiana’s head.
Kiana visibly froze, as if someone had hit the pause button on her.
“W-what are you doing!” After a moment of silence, Kiana snapped back to reality, jumping back half a step like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“Why did you suddenly pat my head!”
“Nothing.” Liang Wu withdrew his hand, his expression turning serious again.
“I just wanted to say…
I trust you.”
“You’re the only one like me in this world, the only person I can truly rely on in this era.”
“If I can’t even trust you, then I really would be all alone, wouldn’t I?”
For a moment, Kiana was stunned.
Her expression looked as if something had struck a soft spot, the earlier urgency fading somewhat.
After a brief silence, she finally lowered her head and spoke in a muffled voice: “…Thank you.”
Liang Wu looked at her like that and felt somewhat relieved.
He turned and walked toward the kitchen, acting as if nothing had happened: “By the way, what do you want for dinner tonight?”
“There’s some curry left over from last night, or did you want something else?”
The next moment, Kiana suddenly seemed to muster her courage and stepped forward again: “You’ve been taking care of me these past few days.
Let me make dinner tonight!”
After all, she had promised to help with the chores as a way to repay Liang Wu.
But in reality, a student’s home did not have much housework that needed doing.
So today, Kiana wanted to be a bit more proactive.
Liang Wu: ?
What was she trying to do?
Repay kindness with enmity?
He thought their relationship was already quite good by now.
Seeing Liang Wu’s reaction, Kiana’s expression immediately wilted.
She looked pitiful and continued: “…Is it really not okay?
I can learn…”
Liang Wu: …