The white-haired dango stood at his door, dressed in a loose, ill-fitting pajama shirt.
A few messy strands of hair were stuck to her ear, and she looked as if she had just been startled awake from a dream—dazed and flustered.
A blush crept onto her cheeks, and she couldn’t meet his eyes, keeping her head down and unconsciously wringing the cuffs of her pajamas as if to hide her embarrassment.
Chiaki just stared at her, his eyes showing not a single shred of fluctuation or pity at her appearance.
All that emerged was question and disdain.
Then, with a thud, he shut the door.
The next moment, a series of frantic knocks rang out, accompanied by Kiana’s wails and pleas for help.
“Don’t leave me out here alone!”
The door opened again.
As soon as it opened, Chiaki’s sharp gaze landed on her.
He asked coolly, “What did you do?”
It was hard to imagine what heinous crime Kiana could have possibly committed for Sakiko and Utena to kick her out.
“Uh…
can we not talk about it?” Kiana’s face twitched.
“Then you can go sleep on a park bench,” Chiaki rejected her flatly.
With Kiana’s constitution, forget sleeping outside for a night; you could probably stuff her in the freezer compartment of a fridge overnight and she’d be fine.
Kiana wrung her hands and whispered, “Because I didn’t take a shower…”
Chiaki: “…That’s it?”
“Right?!
I thought they were overreacting too!
So what if I got knocked into a trash can by Bronya today and got a little sweaty?
Is that any reason to be so disgusted with me?”
“Then why didn’t you wash up?”
“Because I’m lazy!”
Chiaki almost burst out laughing.
Kid, does your Moon Arcana brand of absurdity run in the family?
If this excuse came from anyone else, it would be ridiculous.
But coming from Kiana, it felt perfectly reasonable.
Chiaki looked at Kiana’s anxious, pathetic face, which clearly read “I AM HELPLESS,” and his heart softened.
“Come in.”
“Yay!” Kiana excitedly rushed into Chiaki’s room, her steps so light she almost couldn’t stop herself at the door.
Her eyes sparkled with unbridled joy as she took a flying leap and buried herself in the soft bed, savoring the moment of peace and relaxation.
Chiaki sat down on the edge of the bed.
He waited for Kiana to calm down before asking, “Is something on your mind?”
“Is it that obvious?” Kiana sat up, facing Chiaki.
“Not showering was a bad call.
Otherwise, while drying your hair, you could have seen your own miserable-looking face in the mirror.
You look like a little white rabbit that a bear used to wipe its ass, only to find itself turned shit-brown,” Chiaki said.
“It’s that obvious?” Kiana scratched her head in frustration, then asked hesitantly, “Today…
before you guys came in and fought the Herrscher of the Void, did you hear…
never mind.
Let’s just sleep.”
“I heard it.
But the others didn’t,” Chiaki said suddenly.
“Y-You heard it…
Well, yeah, I guess…
I mean, how should I put this, haha…
you guys came at just the right time.” The white-haired girl lowered her head, nervously pinching the hem of her clothes, her fingertips applying so much force it seemed they would rip the fabric.
Her voice trembled, and every word seemed to get stuck in her throat, coming out with a barely perceptible rush, as if she were afraid he would hear her heartbeat.
She felt like she was about to cry.
Suddenly, she heard Chiaki say, “That was impressive.”
“What?” She looked up in confusion, two tears slipping from the corners of her eyes, only to be caught by Chiaki’s hand.
“If I were in your situation, I probably would have fallen apart, or just chosen to become the Herrscher of the Void’s accomplice.
The fact that you could hold on in that situation is truly impressive.
Otherwise, even if I had kicked Mei down to land on you, it wouldn’t have stopped the Herrscher of the Void.”
“Hey, what do you mean you ‘kicked Mei down’?!” Kiana exclaimed in shock.
“I saw them all crowded around the TV looking anxious, and you didn’t sound too good, so I just kicked them all in,” Chiaki said.
“Thanks,” Kiana said.
“Say, Chiaki…
since you heard what the Herrscher of the Void said…
is there anything you want to say?”
“I haven’t been through the kind of awful life you have, so I can’t offer you true comfort,” Chiaki said.
“But Kiana, a tree can’t grow just anywhere.
It needs fertile soil, the right temperature, and water.
However, most seeds fall on barren land.
For them, even taking root is a great challenge.
It’s a common analogy.
I can’t provide the water or the right amount of sun for you.
But as your friend, I’ll do everything I can to cultivate the soil you’re in.”
I can’t change the environment she was born into.
But at the very least, I can help a little with her growth from now on.
Kiana was moved to tears.
She opened her arms, her face streaming with tears as she looked at him.
“Come on!
Good buddy, let’s hug it out!”
“Alright, alright, calm down.
I understand how you feel, but I’m really tired.” Chiaki looked at her tears and snot with a hint of disgust.
“That look in your eyes!
You’re clearly disgusted with me!”
“I just don’t want your snot and tears on me.” He hadn’t brought a change of clothes.
“Wow, why are you so fussy, like a woman?
I was even ready to let you make a move on me!
This is a hug from a beautiful girl, you know!”
“I was just comforting you.
Besides, you’re not even good enough to be called tofu; you’re just soy dregs.
And as for ‘beautiful girl’…
do you really see yourself as a beautiful girl, and not, say, a paramecium?”
To Chiaki, Kiana saying this was no different from Otto claiming to be a pro player.
Do you think you’re a beautiful girl, Kiana?
Kiana: I think I am.
After handing Kiana two tissues to wipe her face, Chiaki ignored her, pulled the covers over himself, and went to sleep.
Tomorrow, he planned to explore the TV World here, so it was important to conserve his energy.
Besides, he had a theory.
Since the TV World could inexplicably connect to the Herrscher of the Void in Kiana’s consciousness, could it also, within the vicinity of Nagazora City, connect to Raiden Mei’s Stigmata Space, the Koschei in Talulah’s mind, or even the Stigmata Space of Jizo Mitama?
He didn’t know.
He would have to explore deeper to find out.
Seeing that Chiaki was asleep, Kiana decided to crawl into the bed with him, pulled half of the blanket over herself, and drifted off to dreamland.
At the same time, a black helicopter soared through the skies of Europe like a giant bird, crossing into the airspace of the Far East and heading straight for Nagazora City.
Schicksal’s strongest weapon, the S-rank Valkyrie, was about to arrive on the battlefield.