If one were to rank Kiana's favorite people, excluding officially banned figures like Siegfried and Cecilia, Raiden Mei is destined to firmly hold the top spot. This is the common consensus among the Valkyries of the former St. Freya Academy and the present East Schicksal—
But if one were to rank the person Kiana least wants to see right now, Raiden Mei would also unquestionably take the top spot.
"Mei... Mei... Mei???"
Looking at the unexpected figure in front of her, Kiana's tongue seemed to get tied, and she couldn't even speak clearly.
"Kiana..."
"Mei... Mei! Don't listen to Ms. Island Bomber's nonsense! I'm completely devoted to you!"
Seeing Raiden Mei with a gloomy expression, her head lowered and eyes covered by her bangs, radiating a dark low-pressure aura, Kiana quickly threw in the towel and was ready at any moment to perform the Herrscher of the Void's best-kept trick: running away.
"Kiana... Teacher Himeko was right, you really have changed a lot."
After keeping her head down and speaking in a low voice for a moment, Mei raised her head to look carefully at Kiana in front of her, placing her hand on the Knight Princess's cheek and gently caressing it.
"I heard from Cioara... You're doing very well out there. You've taken in the original Second Herrscher Sirin as your younger sister, and you even have a dragon maid. Your daily life is going great, apart from being a bit busy."
"You have enough to eat, clothes to wear, and a place to live... Kiana, maybe you don't need me at all."
While Kiana wore an expression that screamed "Mei, it's not what you think, I didn't do it," Raiden Mei continued to mutter to herself in a self-pitying tone.
"Mei, listen to my explanation! Bella and I are just friends, yes! Just friends!"
Ignoring Kiana's explanation, Raiden Mei simply held the Knight Miss's face in her hands with deep affection, making Kiana begin to wonder if her head was about to be twisted off in the next second so Mei could giggle and cradle it in her arms.
"But I need you so much. During the first week after you left everyone, we were all so depressed. As time passed, everyone gradually recovered one by one..."
"Everyone found more things to do to fill the void you left in our hearts, choosing busyness and oblivion, or filling that void... Only I, in the dorm without you after the bustle and noise of Schicksal's nights faded away, discovered that the void in my heart had grown larger and larger without knowing when..."
"You are so important to me. Right here, in this city, two years ago, you saved me, pulling me out of the endless darkness... At that moment, I understood. You will be the most dazzling light in my life."
"To chase this light, I kept running... and running... I once thought I was about to catch up to you, but reality struck me with a heavy blow. You left me again, and this time, you even vanished without a trace."
Miss Kiana Kaslana, whose brain was now completely overloaded, was already contemplating how many tables she would need for her funeral feast. Don't misunderstand, not red ones, but white ones...
"And this time, right here, in this city that holds our most precious memories, fate has brought us together again..."
Seemingly oblivious to the fact that the white-haired girl in front of her already had one foot in the portal, trembling and ready to bolt at any moment, Raiden Mei held Kiana's face even tighter...
"And this time! I won't miss you again, Kiana... I love you!"
Raiden Mei pressed her lips directly against the white-haired girl's face...
"Mmph mmph mmph!!!"
Miss Kiana, who was being pinned down and kissed in a certain sense, shot a desperate plea for help to Cioara nearby... However, the latter seemed to have no time to spare for her at all.
-
"Kids, don't look at this! Everyone, go back inside, go, go, go!"
Raven, covering Little Sora's eyes, gestured emphatically with her lips to the adults watching from behind, drawing dissatisfied complaints from the side.
"Teacher, you're so unromantic!"
"Teacher, when will you ever find a boyfriend if you're like this? If you can't find a boyfriend, will you even be able to find a girlfriend?!"
"Teacher, you'll die a virgin if you keep this up!!"
The children, who were being shooed away, grumbled as they finally returned to the house obediently...
Looking at this bunch of sharp-tongued, unfortunate children, Raven couldn't help but sigh that kids these days are truly precocious, and wondered what on earth they were watching all the time...
"Hey, hey, hey?! You over there, can you get off your Prince Charming? She's about to be kissed silly by you!"
After dealing with the children, Cioara finally had time to come to the aid of a certain Miss Kiana, whose brain had already overheated enough to boil water.
Seeing Raiden Mei "gnawing" on Kiana's face, Cioara couldn't help but complain to herself:
[How is this young lady from Japan even more uninhibited than I, a Yugoslavian???]
-
With Cioara looking on as if society were crumbling and public morals were decaying, Mei finally let go of Kiana, the crimson glow in her pupils gradually fading...
"Hiss... Mei, I need to go cool down..."
Kiana, having been given a fierce peck, dashed into the teleportation portal that had been opened earlier with her face completely red, disappearing from their sight...
"I need to find a place to quiet down too!"
Raiden Mei, who also turned bright red as she processed what she had just done, realized that although her confession had been successful... with a direct hit smashing through Kiana's defenses... this was precisely the time we could use a mechanical theorem by a certain deceased scientist...
The forces acting upon each other are equal.
With her own paper-thin defenses, Miss Raiden Mei's own guard had been broken by her own attack...
"Aaaah, what did I just say to Kiana!!!"
Then, under Cioara's numb gaze, she transformed into a streak of purple lightning and also disappeared from before her.
-
"Eh, are Teacher, Kiana-sister, and strange Big Sister acquainted?"
Little Sora, having just broken free from Raven's hand covering her eyes, looked at Cioara curiously.
"...Promise me, Little Sora, you are the most obedient child in the Nest, you absolutely, absolutely must not learn the behavior of these two force-driven Herrscher nag-wives, who show off their affection and then run away in front of others."
"Ah, well..."
"People like that will be roasted on a stake by Teacher!"
Looking at the two who had already slipped away, refusing to even help her carry the supplies, Cioara stamped hard on the floor.