Kael supported Raiden Mei, who still had unsteady steps and flushed cheeks.
Just as he was about to let go, he heard a familiar patter of footsteps ascending the stairs.
Kiana appeared, holding a cute, double-layered bento box, humming an off-key tune, and excitedly ran up.
She was clearly planning to find a quiet spot to enjoy the love bento Kael had prepared for her.
However, when she looked up and saw the scene at the stairwell, the smile on her face instantly froze.
She saw Kael slightly turned to the side, one hand gently supporting Raiden Mei's arm, while Raiden Mei had her head lowered, her cheeks flushed with an unnatural redness, her eyes darting away, looking utterly shy.
The distance between the two, in Kiana's eyes, was simply too close!
Kael: "..."
Raiden Mei: "!"
To be seen by an acquaintance, standing so 'intimately' with a male (even if he was a school staff), especially after what had just happened... the sense of shame instantly exploded!
Kiana's blue eyes darted back and forth between Kael and Raiden Mei, a strange feeling of sourness and suffocation rising in her heart, very uncomfortable, though she couldn't explain why.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what, and finally just blurted out:
"I, I won't disturb you two! I'm leaving first!"
After speaking, she clutched the bento box and, like a startled rabbit, turned and thumped down the stairs, her speed more than double what it was coming up.
Kael: Why do I feel like she misunderstood something?
Suddenly, he distinctly felt the Raiden Mei he was supporting stiffen slightly, then quickly and gently pull away from his hand.
"Tha-thank you very much, Mr. Kael!"
Raiden Mei took a small step back and bowed deeply to Kael, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, her cheeks so red they looked like they might drip blood, "I, I'm going back to the classroom first!"
Without waiting for Kael's response, she also lifted her skirt and hurried down the stairs with somewhat flustered steps, leaving Kael standing alone, feeling the lingering awkward atmosphere in the air.
"What is all this..."
Kael rubbed his forehead, feeling like the fire drill hadn't even started today, but his own mood had already been on a rollercoaster... In the evening, Kael finished his day's work and returned to the apartment.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Kiana sitting cross-legged on the living room carpet, hugging the giant Haxxor Bunny (Homu) doll, with a noisy cartoon playing on the TV, but she was clearly not watching it, her eyes occasionally glancing towards the door.
Seeing Kael enter, she immediately sat up straight, pretending to casually change channels, but her perked-up ears betrayed her attention.
Kael changed his shoes and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water. He felt the atmosphere in the living room was a bit subtle.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Kiana couldn't hold back. She shuffled to the kitchen doorway, leaned against the doorframe, her eyes wandering, and asked in a seemingly casual tone: "Hey, Kael... What happened with you and that Raiden Mei on the rooftop today? Are you two... very close?"
Kael took a sip of water, put down the glass, and began preparing dinner ingredients.
He wasn't surprised by Kiana's question. After a moment's thought, he tried to objectively describe the situation: "Her emotions were unstable at the time; she was standing on the edge of the rooftop, which was very dangerous. I happened to pass by and pulled her back."
He omitted the details of Raiden Ryoma's arrest, as this involved Anti-Entropy and Schicksal intelligence.
"That's it?"
Kiana blinked, clearly not satisfied with this simple explanation. "Then why was her face so red? And you two were so close!"
"Maybe because of fright, or... shyness?"
Kael tried to analyze, his understanding of complex female psychology was truly limited. "I just supported her to make sure she was steady."
In his brain, which had experienced battlefields and government affairs, and was now simplified, interpersonal relationships were divided into several clear categories:
Enemies.
Friends — like Theresa.
Strangers.
Those who need protection — like Kiana, Sirin, and now perhaps an unknown Raiden Mei.
And... lovers — of course, this category is currently blank, and he hasn't considered it for now.
His relationship with Raiden Mei clearly didn't belong to enemies, nor could it be called friends, and certainly not strangers.
If he had to categorize it, it would probably be "strangers who need appropriate attention and ensured safety"?
But that was too complicated to explain, and it involved mission secrets, so he couldn't tell Kiana.
"Anyway, it's not the kind of relationship you're thinking of."
Kael finally gave a conclusion that he thought was very clear, then turned to continue chopping vegetables. "It was just necessary rescue behavior."
However, his "concise and clear" explanation, heard by another person, had a completely different meaning.
Sirin had appeared silently at the kitchen doorway at some point, standing right behind Kiana.
She seemed to have been reading in her room and came out after hearing the conversation outside.
"Necessary... rescue behavior?"
Sirin repeated Kael's words softly, her voice calm without a ripple.
But Kael keenly felt that the air around them seemed to solidify instantly, and the temperature dropped several degrees.
His hand, which was chopping vegetables, paused slightly, and he turned his head with some confusion.
He saw an expression on Sirin's face that he had never seen before—it wasn't her usual docile dependence on him, nor the cold aloofness she showed to outsiders, nor the occasional adorable blankness.
It was a kind of... almost twisted calmness, mixed with extreme disappointment, disbelief, and a suppressed, about-to-erupt dark emotion.
The corners of her mouth even curved into an extremely subtle, cold arc, like a smile, but it sent shivers down one's spine.
Kiana almost instantly felt this palpable low pressure and danger signal!
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up!
Her instinct told her that this was not a good place to stay!
"Ah! I, I suddenly remembered I haven't finished my homework! I'm going back to my room first!"
Kiana said in a rush, no longer caring about Raiden Mei's matter. She hugged her Haxxor Bunny (Homu) doll and, like a gust of wind, zipped back to her room, closing the door with a "bang," her movements so fluid as if rehearsed countless times.
What a sly old fox... Kael looked at Kiana's hasty retreating figure, even more puzzled: "Why did she run away?"
Before he could think further, he felt a soft body gently press against his back from behind.
Sirin's arms, like flexible vines, slowly wrapped around his waist from behind.
"Brother..." Sirin's voice came from against his back, still soft, but with a sticky, unsettling quality. "Was your 'necessary rescue' for her... just like for me?"
Kael was about to answer, "Yes, the situation was similar," but suddenly felt a slight, needle-like prickling sensation around his waist!
His body stiffened abruptly, and he looked down. Sirin's fingers, wrapped around his waist, had unknowingly tightened, her nails even pressing slightly into his skin through the thin fabric of his clothes.
The force was controlled perfectly, not actually hurting him, but carrying a clear, undeniable warning.
Kael: "..."
He slowly turned his head, meeting Sirin's face, which was now very close.
She looked up, her golden eyes no longer held their usual clear dependence, but swirled with a deep, obsessive undercurrent that he couldn't comprehend.
The cold smile at the corner of her mouth deepened slightly.
Kael's brain instantly sounded the highest level of alarm!
He seemed to have... stepped on a minefield that absolutely should not be stepped on!
He opened his mouth, trying to explain, but found his throat somewhat dry.
In that instant, countless coping strategies flashed through his mind, from directly breaking free to patiently explaining, but his intuition told him that in this strange and low-pressure atmosphere, any rash move could trigger catastrophic consequences.
"...Sirin?" He tentatively called her name, his voice carrying a subtle tension.
Sirin did not answer, only stared at him unblinkingly with her unfathomably deep golden eyes, as if trying to see through all the thoughts in the depths of his soul.
The "prickling sensation" around his waist still lingered, reminding him of his current predicament.
Kael: Not good! I'm doomed!