"Waaah..."
Looking up, Kiana was met with an unfamiliar ceiling.
"Where... where am I?"
"The Far East branch of Schicksal Academy, St. Freya Academy."
Kiana then noticed a red-haired woman not far from her bed.
"You slept a total of 17 hours and 32 minutes, which is almost a full day."
The red-haired woman continued.
However, these words proved somewhat difficult for Kiana to comprehend.
Schicksal? St. Freya Academy? Shouldn't I be with my dad?
She remembered... she remembered there seemed to be a bunch of bad guys...
"Where is my dad? Where is my dad?"
"Him? He's leaving you here, a foster home."
The red-haired woman replied disdainfully without turning her head.
Kiana then noticed that something seemed to be bubbling and boiling in front of the other person.
"Hey! What do you mean by that? What does 'foster care' mean?"
"My name isn't Hey, it's Murata Himeko."
Himeko used a towel to lift the iron pot.
"I will be your future teacher, as for what fostering means... it's simple, you are too weak, staying with your father won't do you any good."
"I'm not weak at all!"
Kiana bared her teeth and brandished her claws.
"My gun-fu is really good! Even Honkai Beasts are no match for me."
"Uh-huh."
Himeko nodded perfunctorily, which infuriated Kiana.
"Want some porridge? You must be starving after sleeping all day."
Himeko served a bowl of meat porridge that smelled incredibly tempting.
"Although a certain overbearing boss forced me to make the porridge the way he made it, I think I should be able to make it for a child like you."
"Who do you think you are?"
Tian Shi sounded annoyed.
"You're already twenty years old, how is it that you still have no awareness of your cooking skills?"
Himeko shrugged, completely ignoring Tian Shi's words.
"Who, who would eat this suspicious porridge?"
Although Himeko's attitude was calm, Kiana's eyes were full of vigilance.
"You must have kidnapped me while Dad was away, right?"
Kiana recalled the last scene in her memory, which solidified her belief.
"Alright, if you don't eat it, I'll eat it."
Himeko yawned, picked up a spoon, and took a bite of her porridge.
If Theresa and Ragna hadn't had important matters to attend to, she wouldn't have bothered to look after the child.
However, no matter what, Director Theresa is better suited to caring than herself... well, that little dwarf really doesn't look like the type to look after people.
Looking at the fragrant meat porridge, Kiana's stomach growled loudly.
After all, in Siberia, her and Siegfried's living conditions were relatively rough.
Although she wasn't exactly clueless... faced with the reality of being hungry for seventeen hours, Kiana's stomach shamefully gave way.
"Want some?"
Himeko scooped up a spoonful of meat porridge and, with "malice," slowly drew a circle in front of Kiana's eyes.
(Damn it! This young lady won't be fooled by such tricks!)
Kiana's small face showed a somewhat pitiful but defiant expression.
"I won't eat it! I said I won't eat it, and I mean it! Take it away!"
"It's okay, there's still some left in the pot, but no stealing is allowed."
After eating a bowl of meat porridge, Himeko gave a special reminder.
"In the pot... there's still some left in the pot?"
"Are you... are you going out?"
"Do you think I have time to mess around with a child like you?"
Himeko showed an indifferent expression.
"Adults are all very busy, just like your father who sent you here."
Himeko quickly washed the dishes.
"Stay in your room properly, if you run out and get lost, no one will worry about you."
"Who are you looking down on?"
Kiana loudly retorted, clearly annoyed, but Himeko turned and left without looking back.
"What a bad attitude for that old woman to have?"
Seeing Himeko walk away, Kiana couldn't help but curse angrily; for Kiana at this moment, the words "old woman" were probably the cruelest words she could imagine.
Himeko, who had just turned the corner, stumbled.
"Yes, you're already twenty years old, and before you know it, you'll be almost thirty."
Tian Shi joked.
"If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
Himeko's face twitched.
Old woman, huh? I get it.
At the same time, Himeko silently made a mental note about Kiana.
And then there's Tian Shi! Just twenty years old and already considered almost thirty? Your standard for almost thirty is too high.
...
The perspective shifts back to Kiana.
"My dad brought me here..."
Kiana sat on the bed, muttering to herself.
"Ouch... why does the back of my head hurt so much?"
Kiana belatedly noticed the new "wounds" on her body.
"As expected! Those guys kidnapped me! Why would Dad send me to a place like this?"
Let's run away! We have to escape from this 'St. Freya Academy'! Then go find your dad!
"Grrrr."
Just as Kiana was voicing her ambitious goals, her stomach conveniently reminded her of her current situation.
"I'm so hungry."
Kiana, no matter what, is physiologically and psychologically equivalent to a twelve-year-old girl.
For a child, this is a crucial time for growth, and she hasn't eaten for almost a day, plus Sirin also expended some energy.
Kiana now feels like she could eat three bowls... no! Five bowls of rice!
That pot of porridge...
When food was mentioned, Kiana's gaze naturally turned to the food with the most delicious smell present.
Kiana couldn't figure out how that woman named Himeko could make such strange porridge.
This person's cooking skills seem to be better than my dad's.
It definitely contains one of those weird things from Dad's old stories, right? No! Absolutely not!
"There should be other food in this kind of place."
At her age, Kiana, despite still being quite young, had many survival skills and great mobility.
She immediately changed her target and began rummaging through the room.
"Is she trying to find something else to eat in the room?"
Himeko closely monitored Kiana's every move through a hidden surveillance camera in the room.
"What kind of good food does that director keep in her room?"
That's right, that's Theresa's room.
There aren't many clean rooms in the academy right now, so considering the relationship, it's better to put Kiana in Theresa's room.
"I saw bitter melon, bitter melon candies, cotton candy, and things like that before."
"Theresa's favorite food is quite strange... well, bitter melon aside, she's no different from any other child, although Theresa is no longer a child."
"Hmm?"
Himeko's expression instantly became strange.
What girl would keep bitter melon in her dorm room?
"Your expression tells me you're thinking something bad."
Looking at Himeko's expression, Tian Shi commented.
"Theresa is still only... um... a child, and if bitter melon comes into contact with the skin or mucous membranes, the consequences can be serious."
"Who would think of something like that?!"
Himeko replied with a flushed face.
Why does this guy always try to read minds in places like this?
"Although you may not have realized it, you just showed the same 'leftover woman' expression as your predecessors."
"The name 'leftover woman expression' is too abstract."
Himeko patted her face.
Do I really look like my elders?
"Well, I didn't expect Director Theresa to like eating bitter melon... This girl will have to suffer a bit."
...
"Waaah... This ugly but adorable bunny... isn't it the Homu Dad mentioned? How come there are a bunch of these things in this room?"
Kiana squeezed the Homu doll in her hand with a strange expression.
"Although it's kind of cute, cuteness can't put food on the table."
Kiana threw the Homu doll onto the bed with a disappointed look; she would have preferred a live rabbit to appear in front of her.
She's quite good at catching rabbits.
Next, Kiana rummaged through the room and found a bag of green candies in a cupboard under the bed.
"A bright green candy... apple flavored?"
Kiana actually felt a little guilty about opening the bag of sweets directly, but when she pulled out the bag, she found it had already been opened.
"Will I not get caught if I eat one?"
Kiana, feeling a little guilty, unwrapped a candy.
"No, no! They're the thieves! I'm a victim of kidnapping. What's wrong with me eating a candy?"
Kiana's expression was a bit strange after putting the sweet in her mouth.
"Hmm... doesn't taste like apple candy, this is... I've never tasted it before."
Kiana reluctantly put the bag of sweets away and put it back inside, and at the same time noticed a bag filled with long green strips.
Definitely not candied apple.
Kiana smelled a faint odor and inquired, then was disappointed again.
After tidying up the cupboard, she continued searching for food.
However, Theresa's room wasn't very large, and after searching around, Kiana only found a little cotton candy.
This thing can't fill me up, can it?
"Grrrr!"
Kiana blushed and covered her stomach.
The time spent rummaging through drawers and cabinets further aggravated Kiana's physical exhaustion.
Simply put: she was even hungrier.
In this context, the aroma of the meat porridge in the pot becomes even more tempting.
"Should we... should we go out and look for something to eat?"
There were windows in this room, and Kiana had already peeked out several times.
She only saw unfamiliar buildings and girls who looked a little older than her entering and exiting.
With so many people, it's clearly not a good idea to just run away.
"That chick already ate it, so it shouldn't have been poisoned, right?"
Kiana was trying to convince her brain, or rather, her stomach was trying to convince her brain.
"Besides, food doesn't taste good when it gets cold... glug."
Before she knew it, Kiana had a trace of drool at the corner of her mouth.
"I need to eat my fill to have the strength to escape! Just a bite! Just one bite!"
Then, when she came to her senses, there was only a little porridge left in the pot.
"I'm alive again."
Kiana let out a happy sigh.
"It's so delicious, this porridge is definitely better than my dad's."
Kiana was a little reluctant, but the facts were undeniable.
"Alright, now that we've regained our strength, it's time to run!"
Kiana put the iron pot back in its place, patted her slightly bulging belly, and her fighting spirit resurged.
"Are you full?"
The sudden sound caused Kiana to deflate again.
"That... what, Mehiko?"
"It's Himeko, Himeko."
Himeko's playful expression instantly became speechless upon hearing Kiana's words.
My name shouldn't be hard to remember, right? This girl can be surprisingly exasperating.
"Hmph, never mind! Are you going to block my path?"
"Uh-huh?"
Kiana's fearless and bold attitude almost made Himeko laugh.
If it were the golden-eyed Sirin standing in front of her right now, she would definitely turn around and leave.
But you're just a child...
Himeko pouted; judging only by their expressions, the two were almost equal in terms of being annoying people.
"Are you looking down on me?"
Himeko's expression was so obvious that Kiana immediately bristled like a wildcat.
"Uh-huh."
The identical humming sounds directly revealed Himeko's attitude.
"You bastard..."
Kiana gritted her teeth in annoyance.
Is she a cat?
Himeko stretched, feeling completely relaxed.
"What's wrong, little wildcat? Are you going to pounce on me?"
"Who is the little wildcat?"
Kiana asked, bristling.
Yes, that's exactly how she looks, as if she were a wildcat.
"I think she should be a white kitten."
Tian Shi kindly corrected.
There is absolutely no need for a stray cat and a white cat to have any connection, right?
Himeko thought to herself, while Kiana finally couldn't hold back anymore.
Even without her twin pistols, Kiana charged directly at the unsuspecting Himeko.
The Kaslana family's gun-fu martial arts are also quite strong.
"She's already quite good for her age."
Tian Shi commented on the scene of Kiana attacking Himeko.
He had previously obtained a certain level of gun-fu techniques from Bianca for free, and had even taught them to Su.
However, Bianca no longer uses twin pistols much in the future.
"She's still a novice."
Himeko instantly anticipated Kiana's movements and quickly threw her to the ground.
Thud.
"???"
What just happened?
In the blink of an eye, Kiana, lying on the floor, began to question the meaning of life.
Isn't this script wrong? Shouldn't I have easily dealt with that Mehiko thing who looked down on me?
Then fought my way out of this St. Freya Academy... Could it be that she's actually really strong?
No, no, no, this person absolutely does not have the strong, manly demeanor from Dad's stories.
"Hmm... that's a good expression, girl."
Himeko revealed a rather wicked smile.
"Allow me to introduce myself again, Murata Himeko, your teacher for... perhaps many more years, or one of your teachers."
"..."
Kiana's eyelids twitched.
A teacher or something... Is this woman serious?
"Consider today my first lesson for you."
Himeko's smile grew increasingly sinister.
"Avoid strenuous exercise after meals."
Kiana: "?_??"