"Pa."
A dull sound echoed in the air, followed by a deathly silence.
Mei covered half of her face, feeling the burning pain, her eyes full of disbelief.
Born as a young lady, she had been protected by her father since she was a child.
But now...
She was smacked?!
And Kiana, who made such a shocking move, was surprisingly calm at this moment, unlike her usual playful temper.
"Do you want to die like this?"
"...What else can I do?!?" After a brief silence, Mei's words burst forth, filled with sadness and dissatisfaction.
"My respected father is in prison."
"This city will soon suffer a disaster because of me!"
"What reason do I have to live like this?!"
Not the mature Herrscher of Thunder she would later become, Mei at this moment was just a girl still in the academy, confused because of her father's situation.
The news brought by Kiana would only make her mood worse.
"Is that so..."
Looking at the already collapsed and crying Mei, Kiana suddenly felt a little regretful.
Perhaps she shouldn't have told Mei about these things. However, there was no room for regret now. Kiana would never allow Mei to commit suicide because she already regarded this kind-hearted girl as her friend.
"It's just a bastard dad. I have one too," Kiana said to herself. "What kind of bastard father can compare to my bastard dad who abandoned his daughter and disappeared for no reason, leaving me to live alone?"
"Disaster?" "If this disaster is destined to happen because of you, Mei, then no matter what..."
"...Ah, I'm not good at persuading others!" Kiana, who tried to persuade Mei with the power of words, scratched her hair a little madly.
"In short, I will never let you go to hell, Mei!"
"And the collapse that is about to happen, I will do my best to stop it!"
"Well... I will do it for the sake of Kaslana!"
Although she said such willful words, from her eyes as bright as the moon, you could see how much determination this girl, who was a little confused about her own weight, had mustered.
Perhaps it was because of seeing this that Mei's emotions, which were almost collapsed, stabilized a little.
At least the idea of committing suicide was basically gone.
Although Mei had fantasized about becoming a hero who saves the world when she was a child, that was just a fantasy after all.
Reality is reality, after all.
Away from the atmosphere of life and death, Mei herself also had a resistance to the word "death."
Well... I am afraid that most people are like this.
"~Gu 'Lu~"
A sudden sound rang out on the rooftop.
Kiana covered her stomach awkwardly.
She was going to buy some bread to fill her stomach, but she didn't buy it because of the inexplicable answering space. She had run all the way from the other side of the city to Qianyu College and then turned the whole college upside down before she found Mei on the rooftop.
Now, her stomach was already empty.
"...If you want to be a hero, you can't be hungry."
Mei covered her mouth lightly at Kiana's embarrassment, showing a smile that she hadn't had for a long time since her father went to prison. "Let's put aside saving the city for now; let's go to my house to fill our stomachs first."
Hearing this, Kiana didn't refuse. After all, as Mei said, no matter what she wanted to do, she couldn't let her do it on an empty stomach.
"I want to eat fried chicken legs!"
The love for food made Kiana somewhat recover her lively appearance, and a trace of crystal clear drool flowed from the corners of her mouth.
…
Putting on an apron and picking up the spatula beside her, Mei was in a good mood at the moment.
Although Kiana's attack still made her face a little painful, when it came to the cooking part that she was best at and loved the most, no matter how bad her mood had been before, Mei could temporarily feel good.
Well... This is probably talent.
In a good mood, Mei picked up the ingredients. She used a knife to clean the frozen chicken legs in the refrigerator, coated them with egg liquid and breadcrumbs, and threw them into the boiling oil pan. Then, she turned around slightly and began to prepare other dishes.
A moment later, a small white hand took advantage of Mei's inattention and reached for the fried chicken legs that Mei had placed aside. The fried chicken legs exuded an aroma that could make the children next door hungry.
Just when the hand was only a few inches away from the chicken legs...
"Bang."
The ruthless kitchen spoon hit the food thief's head.
"Kiana, can't you be a little patient?"
Looking at Kiana, who was holding her head and crying in pain, Mei wore a helpless expression, though the corners of her mouth rose slightly.
Humph, my father never hit me!
Although Mei understood that Kiana was trying to stop her from slapping her in the face, she still couldn't change Miss Mei's resentful attitude about it.
Now, she had been caught trying to steal food. Couldn't she take a little ruthless revenge?
It's time to eat.
When Mei announced this solemnly, Kiana excitedly started to eat the delicious food on the table.
Mei smiled at this.
The dishes she made were loved by others, which was a form of affirmation for her. In addition, Mei didn't have many real friends, so she was still very happy to see Kiana enjoy her cooking so much.
Besides being happy, she also noticed the Houmu reward box that Kiana always carried when she looked at Kiana's profile.
Speaking of which, according to Kiana, the box was a reward for answering questions in that magical space.
I don't know what's inside...
Mei held the chopsticks and looked at the box absent-mindedly.
People have two emotions about unknown things: fear and curiosity.
The former probably related to this reward box is irrelevant.
But as for the latter, Mei was feeling that way now.
A box that she knew would have some unknown good stuff.
Putting this kind of thing aside was like saving a bunch of crystals and watching the card pool without doing anything.
To be honest, it was a bit torturous.
"Kiana, don't you want to open the box and see what's inside?"
After all, Mei was overcome by curiosity and took the initiative to ask.
"Mmm... Gurgle, gurgle." Kiana bit off the fried chicken leg in one bite, her mouth oily from chewing. Then she looked at the reward box in the direction Mei pointed.
Then, she was stunned for a moment.
"Ah... I suddenly remembered that this is still a reward box!!"
Hearing Kiana's words, Mei's mouth twitched slightly.
So you forgot the existence of this thing?
It's amazing that you can carry this thing around and not care what it is.