In the early morning, birds chirped melodiously from the branches.
Long before the sun had risen, Mei was already awake.
Preparing a meal was a laborious affair. With Teacher Himeko having returned yesterday, a breakfast for four was no simple task.
Mei rubbed the corners of her eyes, her fair, delicate feet probing over the edge of the bed, searching blindly for her slippers. Her smooth, jade-like feet were bathed in the pale white light of dawn.
Finally finding the opening of a slipper, she slid her foot in, then confidently shifted her weight. The soft pink soles of her feet pressed into the cool slippers as she slowly stood up, the cherry-colored nails of her toes reflecting a crystalline luster.
After getting up, her routine was to wash her face and brush her teeth.
However, Mei froze in place, her gaze fixed ahead.
Kiana was kneeling on the bed in an exceptionally strange position.
Her knees were pressed together as she knelt, her upper body limply folded forward. This caused her rounded buttocks to be raised high in the air, creating a wonderfully winding curve from her waist to her hips that made even Mei blush slightly.
Kiana was facing Mei, one cheek pressed against the pillow, squished so hard it left a red mark. She looked disheveled, but her slightly furrowed brows suggested she was unyieldingly fighting against something.
"..."
Mei remained dazed for a good while.
Although she knew Kiana was a messy sleeper, was a position like this… really something one could get into while asleep?
"..."
Silence again.
Mei thought about going over to help Kiana adjust her sleeping posture, to at least get her out of this "doggy-style" position.
She was a girl, after all.
But then she remembered that a person's sleeping position isn't something they can change by will alone.
Mei stared for several seconds, noticing that Kiana's pajamas had ridden up, exposing her smooth, flat, and fair abdomen. A part of the crimson honeysuckle crest was visible, peeking out from a deeper area.
"A Stigma..."
Mei subconsciously touched her own stomach.
Was the mark on Kiana really a Stigma?
Mei had her doubts about what the Principal had said.
But if it wasn't a Stigma, then what could it be?
Worry began to bubble up inside Mei.
After all, to Mei, Kiana was her light.
That spring, her friendships had withered, her father had been relieved of his post; it was a time when misfortunes never came singly.
Mei had been trapped in a mire of darkness. The "friends" who had once treated her with utmost respect because of the Raiden family name tore off their masks, forcing her to see just how venomous the human heart could be.
An endless killing intent roiled within her, an irrepressible urge for destruction swelling in her chest.
This world was too filthy, too full of decay, human nature too cruel and apathetic.
It had to be cleansed with the flames of Honkai.
The evil desire for destruction grew wildly. Fearing she would commit some devastating act, Mei decided to end it all by jumping from the school roof.
Mei still remembered it—the rooftop at dusk, the slanted rays of the setting sun casting dazzling spots of light.
Kiana had gripped her tightly as she fell, telling her that they would strive to live on, together.
At this thought, a warmth bloomed in Mei's heart.
Her body felt so light, as if there was nothing left to fear.
"…No, I can't… I really can't eat another bite…"
Just then, Kiana murmured in her sleep, her lips forming a small pout, her cherry-colored mouth glistening with moisture.
Seeing this, Mei couldn't help but let out a genuine smile.
Mei reached out and gently stroked Kiana's cheek. "You silly girl, always so greedy. Be careful or you'll get fat."
Even as she said it, Mei decided she would make Kiana's favorite for breakfast today: fried chicken.
---o---
After wandering around the ruined Nagazora City for a while, Yae Sakura returned to Ye Feng's world.
Higokumaru, who wanted to shrink away and hide, was forced to manifest once more.
Higokumaru took the form of a young girl, a human form identical to the Previous Era's "Ling."
The only differences were the fox ears and the several tails behind her back.
And she was super fierce.
However, compared to her large, protruding belly, none of that seemed particularly important.
Yae Sakura and Higokumaru stared at each other in silence.
Yae Sakura looked at the girl before her with complicated feelings—so complicated a pie chart could hardly categorize them.
But among them was a sliver of tenderness…
Higokumaru noticed Yae Sakura's gaze, and her expression instantly twisted into a ferocious snarl, the fox-like markings on her cheeks scrunching together.
"Yae Sakura, that look in your eyes disgusts me… Ugh!"
Halfway through her sentence, a pain unlike anything she had ever felt shot through Higokumaru's stomach, making her feel incredibly weak.
"Don't get too emotional. It's easy to agitate the fetus."
"?!!"
Higokumaru was utterly enraged.
She was truly furious!
What the hell is 'agitating the fetus'?!
The key thing was that Yae Sakura looked completely serious, and Higokumaru was about to lose it.
"Stop your hypocrisy! If you hadn't plotted against me with that despicable human, I wouldn't be like this… Hiss, it hurts."
This tremor that came from deep within, from her very soul, was something that even Higokumaru found difficult to bear.
Yae Sakura said, "Calm down a little. Benefactor said that you are in a state of being ten months pregnant and about to go into labor. Although a life won't truly be born, in every other way, it's no different from a real pregnancy."
"Grrr~~~"
Higokumaru let out a hoarse, meaningless growl at Yae Sakura.
"Yo, you're here."
"—!"
Hearing that voice, like the whisper of a demon, Higokumaru's hair stood on end. Her tail and the fox ears on her head shot up ramrod straight as if she'd been electrocuted.
That single movement agitated the fetus again, and the pain almost made her cry out like a child.
"You need to be calm and patient, don't move around. If your water breaks, I'm not taking responsibility," Ye Feng said with a gentle smile.
"You, you—"
Higokumaru was beside herself with rage. She pointed a finger at Ye Feng, her throat working.
"Alright, alright. Don't be angry. Here, wear this. From now on, you are no longer an ordinary Herrscher. You cannot touch this world's Honkai in the slightest. If you feel the urge to kill again, this collar will tighten around your neck, causing unspeakable suffering."
Ye Feng walked up to Higokumaru and, before she could react, slipped a bright red collar around her neck.
Higokumaru instantly erupted in flames, looking as if she were about to fight Ye Feng to the death.
However, the crimson fire of Honkai energy died down before it could even fully form.
Ye Feng patted her head. "See? You're getting agitated again. I told you, you cannot touch this world's Honkai. Don't look at me like that. I'm doing this for your own good. If you move carelessly and your water breaks, you'll really go into labor. Don't say I didn't warn you."
"…"
Miss Higokumaru ground her teeth hatefully, able to do nothing but humiliatingly allow Ye Feng to hold the collar's chain.
"Benefactor."
Yae Sakura didn't want to see Higokumaru, who looked so much like her younger sister, be bullied so cruelly.
After all, even a death sentence is swift.
She walked over and said to Ye Feng, "The 'Tyrant's Talisman' you cast seems to indeed be effective in the real world. Also, I still haven't found the 'Senba High School' you mentioned."