“Of course I wouldn’t eat it all by myself!
I’m not that greedy, you know!” Kiana declared, clutching the cake box to her chest.
Her arms tightened protectively, but the corners of her lips couldn’t help but curve into a faint, pleased smile.
Lucian watched her, an amused glint in his eyes.
He couldn’t quite tell if she was being possessive of the cake or simply flustered by his teasing, but he found the sight endearing all the same.
He decided to let her off the hook.
He glanced up at the afternoon sky, then let his gaze sweep over the other students milling about far below.
“We’ve probably got a minute or so before we need to head back.
Cake first?” “Okay.” Time slipped by under the scorching midday sun.
The heat baked the rooftop’s concrete, making the air shimmer.
Lucian and Kiana sat side-by-side in a small patch of shade.
With a final, satisfied bite, Kiana polished off the last of her rice, a contented smile gracing her features.
Lucian, meanwhile, was carefully packing away the now-empty bento box, his gaze occasionally drifting toward the distant figures running laps on the athletic field.
“Lucian,” Kiana’s voice cut through the comfortable silence, sharp and direct.
“Why do you have a gun?” Her eyes were fixed on him, her expression serious.
She had been bottling up that question all morning, waiting for a moment when they were finally alone.
Lucian’s hands, which had been methodically tidying up, paused for a fraction of a second.
“For self-defense,” he answered smoothly.
“I came over from North America.
Things are a little more complicated over there, so it became a habit.” He turned his head to face her, his expression behind the dark sunglasses as gentle as ever.
“What, did it scare you?” “Not at all!” Kiana sat up straighter, a familiar spark of pride in her voice.
“What kind of situation hasn’t this young lady seen before!” She paused, her gaze clouding with more confusion.
“It’s just…
carrying a gun in the Far East has to be a huge hassle, right?
Where did you even get it?” “There are legal channels,” he replied, his tone as placid as a calm lake.
Kiana didn’t press the point, just gave a small nod.
“Then…
shooting it like you did this morning…
was that really okay?” Lucian offered a slight shrug.
“Honestly, I thought you’d be asking more serious questions.” “Huh?
What do you mean by that?” Kiana tilted her head, watching as Lucian’s expression shifted, becoming unusually solemn.
A flicker of uncertainty crossed her face.
She had never seen him wear such a look before, and her heart gave an involuntary, nervous flutter.
She had the distinct feeling that Lucian was about to broach a topic that would change things between them.
“Kiana,” he began, his voice low and serious.
“If, one day, you found out I had lied to you…
would you forgive me?” The question hung in the air.
The wind on the rooftop seemed to die down, leaving only the faint, muffled shouts from the playground far below.
Kiana stared at Lucian, her sapphire-blue eyes, which always seemed to hold the ghost of a smile, were now drawn into a thoughtful frown.
She didn’t answer right away.
Instead, she tilted her head again, her long ponytail sliding over her shoulder with the motion.
“Let me ask you this, then,” she countered, her voice steady.
“Is your kindness to me genuine?” Lucian seemed taken aback for a moment, then nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“That’s the one thing that could never be a lie.” A slow, relieved smile spread across Kiana’s face.
Looking at the sheer earnestness in his expression, she knew he was telling the truth.
She reached out and gave his shoulder a firm, reassuring pat, her touch characteristically strong.
“Then that’s all that matters.” Her smile grew more confident.
“Even if you do something extreme for whatever reason, this young lady will be the one to drag you back.” Lucian let out a soft sigh.
The more Kiana acted like this, the more his conscience pricked at him.
After spending a month with this innocent, vibrant girl, he was becoming increasingly aware of the shadows he himself walked in.
The conscience he thought he had lost after spending so much time under Otto’s influence was slowly being pieced back together by Kiana’s unwavering light.
In a strange way, it felt like she was the one “conquering” him.
‘I’m supposed to be the gentle, considerate one here,’he thought with a sense of wry frustration.’How is it that all the affection points I painstakingly grind for don’t even compare to what I gain just from her saying a few simple words?
This isn’t how Honkai Impact Online was supposed to play out!’ “That sounds exactly like something you’d say, Kiana.” “Of course it is.” Kiana pushed herself to her feet, brushing the dust from her skirt.
“Who can predict the future?
Maybe I’ll lie to you tomorrow.
Maybe the day after, we’ll find out we both have secrets.
But at least for now…” She turned, the sun at her back creating a brilliant halo around her.
She stretched a hand down toward him, her smile so bright it seemed capable of dispelling every shadow in the world.
“…right now, we’re friends.” Lucian fell silent for several seconds.
He looked at the girl bathed in sunlight, at the unwavering hope in her eyes, and reached up to gently take her offered hand.
Kiana’s hand was warm and strong.
The moment her fingers closed around his, her grip tightened slightly, as if sealing a solemn promise.
“Yes,” Lucian repeated in a low voice, his tone carrying a weight that Kiana couldn’t yet fully comprehend.
“Friends.” He hesitated, then asked, his voice so soft it was almost carried away by the breeze, “Kiana, if one day…
you found me standing on the opposite side of you, what would you do?” Kiana blinked, then a grin touched with her signature stubbornness spread across her face.
“Then this young lady will use her fists to tell you that you’re standing on the wrong side!” She pulled her hand back, balling it into a fist and shaking it playfully in front of his face.
“And then I’ll beat you back to our side!” she declared.
“If once doesn’t work, I’ll do it twice.
If twice doesn’t work, I’ll do it three times.
This young lady is very stubborn!” “…Mm.” A genuine smile finally broke through Lucian’s serious facade.
He let her pull him to his feet.
Just then, the distant chime of a bell drifted up to the rooftop, signaling the start of the afternoon classes.
“Huh?
Class is starting already?” Kiana sighed, but as she turned to head for the stairs, she noticed Lucian was still standing there, a faint, dazed smile on his face.
“Hey!
Don’t just stand there grinning!
Let’s go!” Lucian snapped back to reality and quickly caught up to her.
They walked down the stairs side-by-side, their footsteps echoing in the otherwise empty stairwell.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow that danced around them.
Lucian had to admit, he was a little intoxicated by the peaceful atmosphere.
‘If only it could stay like this forever,’he thought.’That wouldn’t be so bad.’ He knew, of course, that such moments were fleeting.
But for now, at least…
He turned his head, his gaze falling on the twin-tailed girl beside him.
She was already fretting about the impending class, her eyes catching the sunlight from the corridor ahead.
“Kiana.” “Hmm?” “Thank you.” “Huh?” Kiana blinked, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you suddenly saying that?” Lucian just shook his head.
“It’s nothing.
I just…
I feel like it’s a really good thing that I met you.” “Eww~ Don’t get all mushy on me all of a sudden…” Kiana made a face as if disgusted, but a faint, almost imperceptible blush crept onto her cheeks.
She quickened her pace, pulling half a step ahead of him.
“Hurry up, hurry up!
We’re going to be late!” At least in this moment, Lucian thought, he was truly happy.
[Elysian’s Note: Having a good time with the story?
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