After a friendly discussion, Kiana finally moved into Liang Wu’s fifty-square-meter little nest.
And now, because Kiana had been unconscious for an entire day, the time had already reached Saturday night.
Naturally, Kiana, who had not bathed in who knows how many days, needed to freshen up.
Meanwhile, Liang Wu was alone in the kitchen, preparing tonight’s meal while also looking over his new gains.
[Ding!
New melancholic character detected: Kiana Kaslana.
Host has achieved a basic bond.
Would you like to switch binding?]
Indeed, thanks to Liang Wu’s smooth talking, or perhaps because of his “same kind” remark, after confirming their cohabitation arrangement, the two had achieved a basic bond almost immediately upon meeting.
And Liang Wu had long wanted to kick the useless Kevin to the curb.
“Switch.” As Liang Wu silently uttered those two words in his mind, the text on the system panel began to refresh.
[Binding switch in progress…]
[Releasing melancholic bond with melancholic target “Kevin”…]
[Bond release complete.
Melancholy synchronization rate with Kevin has been reset to zero.]
[Establishing melancholic bond with melancholic target “Kiana Kaslana”…]
[Bond in progress…
Bond established.]
[Currently bound melancholic character: Kiana Kaslana (Basic Bond)]
[Melancholy Charge Efficiency: 40%]
Seeing his melancholy charge efficiency jump directly from 20% to 40%, Liang Wu could not help but marvel internally.
So this was the melancholy of a Valkyrie?
Keep in mind, this was only a basic bond, and it already surpassed two intermediate bonds’ worth of Kevin.
Kevin, oh Kevin.
What a hard life I had with you as my brother!
Liang Wu took a deep breath, feeling the night breeze fill his lungs with a hint of freshness.
It seemed his future was now wide open!
But that was not all.
[Ding!
Congratulations, host, on unlocking a new melancholic character.
Detected that the host’s melancholy level has broken through the C-rank threshold for the first time.
Distributing bond reward…]
[Reward Stigmata: Cecilia Schariac (Blood of the Saint)]
“…Blood of the Saint?” Looking at the new Stigmata skill granted by this new character, Liang Wu fell into thought.
Although this Stigmata skill was called Blood of the Saint, the description sounded just like a reverse technique.
Was this Blood of the Saint really authentic?
But putting aside the question of authenticity, this was definitely a good thing.
Although the Third Herrscher was approaching, and he would have preferred something more offensively oriented.
On second thought, a skill that could heal both himself and others in a Honkai world was arguably far more valuable than pure combat power.
After all, in the early stages of this world, healing abilities were almost nonexistent.
Especially in this era before MANTIS soldiers even existed, the value of a stable healing skill was self-evident.
Could it be that now, with both the Six Eyes and the Blood of the Saint, he also had the makings of a modern-day strongest?
“Hmm…
this is definitely not a loss.” Just as Liang Wu was thinking this,
“Splash—” The sound of water from the bathroom stopped.
Kiana, now finished washing up, turned off the shower and reached for the clothes she had left outside the door.
When Kiana stepped out of the bathroom, a distinct fragrance wafted over.
Hmm…
that was the scent of his body wash.
So when the same body wash was used on someone else, it smelled the same yet somehow so different?
“All clean?”
Liang Wu, in a good mood after acquiring his new skill, was busy stir-frying tonight’s dinner in the kitchen: “Perfect timing.
Dinner will be ready soon.”
“Judging by your state, you probably haven’t had a proper meal these past few days.”
Hearing that, Kiana, who had just stepped out of the bathroom, froze in place.
Two place settings were already arranged on the dining table, but for some reason, the scene before her felt strangely surreal.
It was as if the two of them should have been the type to order takeout like a pair of gloomy recluses.
“You…
can cook?” Kiana voiced her doubt.
Without turning around, Liang Wu continued tossing the ingredients in the wok: “…Why do you get the impression that I can’t cook?”
“Don’t tell me you think I’m like you, Kaslanas, a kitchen menace?”
Actually, Kiana really did think that.
After all, it was common knowledge in Schicksal that the Kaslana family had no business in the kitchen.
That normally had nothing to do with Liang Wu, but unfortunately, he had the face of a Kaslana.
Silver-white hair, blue eyes.
Back at Chiba Academy, many people even thought he and Kevin were biological brothers.
She carefully looked Liang Wu over again and could not help asking, “Are you…
from the Kaslana family?”
After all, someone who could control Honkai and knew so much could not possibly be a nobody, right?
Liang Wu’s movements paused slightly: “What, are you trying to claim kinship with me?”
Then he turned off the stove and plated the cooked dish.
Kiana watched him bring the fragrant meal to the table, and her stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl.
Already relying on his hospitality, she lowered her head in embarrassment and said, “…Sorry, I must have gotten confused.”
After all, since Liang Wu could cook, he definitely was not a Kaslana by blood.
“No need to apologize.” Liang Wu set the plate down on the table and turned to scoop out two bowls of rice.
“The Kaslana genes are indeed strong, but rest assured, I don’t have a drop of their blood in me.”
He paused, then added, “My hair color comes from melancholy, it has nothing to do with them.”
Kiana was silent for two seconds, then could not help asking, “…What does melancholy have to do with hair color?”
“Nothing.” Liang Wu handed her a pair of chopsticks with a straight face.
“But asking that makes me sound like I’m trying to look cool.”
Kiana took the chopsticks and looked down at the steaming rice and stir-fry in her bowl.
She was quiet for a moment.
“…Thank you.”
“You’ve said thank you many times today.” Liang Wu sat down across from her, picked up his chopsticks, and took a bite.
“Eat first.
We can talk after you’ve filled your stomach.”
Kiana nodded and finally started eating.
Liang Wu watched her wolf down the food as if she had not eaten in days and silently sighed in his heart.
It seemed this kid really had not been eating well during her time wandering Arc City.
However, unexpectedly, after taking her first bite, Kiana suddenly looked up at Liang Wu.
She looked like she was about to cry.
Liang Wu was baffled.
That could not be right.
His cooking was definitely fine!
And today, after receiving his new reward, he even felt like his touch was unbeatable.
But Kiana seemed to have fallen into some kind of hallucination, murmuring softly.
“…Mom?”
Liang Wu: ?