"Ah? What are you talking about..." Kiana's expression stiffened.
Ever since Xia Yu had whispered that line about not knowing how Siegfried raised her into her ear, she had been like this—stubbornly refusing to admit anything. She was worried about causing trouble for her old man, and her heart was a tangled mess of hesitation.
"You lot... not a single one of you makes it easy," Xia Yu noted, seeing her conflicted look. Instead of pressing further, he directly changed the subject. "By the way, when I went out earlier, I ran into a one-armed uncle. He was acting all shifty, watching our house. I didn't know what he was up to."
"So, I gave him a good thrashing~~~"
"Sister Acheron is mighty!" Kiana's eyes lit up, jumping at the chance to divert the conversation. "People of unknown origin like that deserve a beating! Who knows where he crawled out from!"
She had no idea that Siegfried had lost that arm years ago in the snowfields to save her; she hadn't seen him since the moment she woke up.
"Mhm, exactly. If you meet someone like that in the future, you should give them a heavy swing with your bat too," Xia Yu smiled, patting her shoulder encouragingly.
"Ha! That goes without saying!" Kiana bragged, patting her biceps with a bright grin. "I've traveled across the Eurasian continent myself. I've faced danger more than once or twice, but this Young Lady settled them all—using physics!"
Bronya watched the self-satisfied Kiana. She sensed that Xia Yu's words weren't a simple warning to be careful; given the context, there was definitely a deeper meaning... but after a moment's thought, she chose not to expose it.
Just then, Mei and Rita emerged from the kitchen carrying the prepared lunch.
"Rita, bringing you back was truly the best decision I've made lately," Xia Yu said, nodding in appreciation as he tasted the cream of mushroom soup. "None of us here know how to cook, alas."
It was true. Raiden Mei didn't count yet; at this stage, the "Cooking Archon" was still a sheltered young miss who hadn't even touched dishwater. She wouldn't start learning to cook until she reached St. Freya High School, and even then, she'd have to train her way up from "dark cuisine."
"Miss Mei is very talented in this regard," Rita smiled gently. "If Lady Acheron is willing to return to Schicksal with me, it wouldn't be out of the question for me to serve as your exclusive chef."
In Rita's view, Otto would certainly agree. Trading one S-Rank Valkyrie for the combat power of a guaranteed Herrscher was an incredible bargain. Whether Acheron was willing was another matter entirely.
Rita was testing her attitude toward Schicksal.
If they were enemies, Acheron didn't seem interested in doing anything to her; the intelligence agents in the area were still alive, and her own weapons and comms hadn't been confiscated. If she was pro-Schicksal, she clearly despised the Overseer's schemes and showed zero respect in her tone.
Xia Yu's reaction was even simpler.
"And let Durandal come to my house for dinner every day?" Xia Yu rubbed his chin, falling into deep thought. "Actually... that doesn't sound bad."
Kiana and Mei had no reaction to the name, but Bronya's body gave a slight shudder.
Durandal—the bane of Anti-Entropy, the Valkyrie who rose with invincible momentum. In recent years, no matter which branch clashed with Schicksal, the moment she arrived, their defeat was guaranteed.
"You joke," Rita said, taking a deep breath. She even knew about that...
"Lord Durandal, as Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, has her daily meals handled by specialists," Rita forced a smile. "It is not for Rita to decide."
Since the beginning, Acheron had displayed an unusual familiarity with Schicksal... Rita was already contemplating how to write her report. She was certain that this person did not exist in Schicksal's database—at least not in the levels she had clearance for.
And yet, here she was.
"Let's leave it at that, then," Xia Yu said, not wanting to press her too hard; he just enjoyed teasing her.
The group ate lunch, each occupied by their own thoughts.
Rita pondered the stranger's identity. Kiana wrestled with whether to confess... even though Sister Acheron clearly already knew and was just playing with her. But still... what if it caused trouble for her stinky dad? Bronya wondered if she could trust Acheron's promise; if Acheron couldn't handle the fallout, Cocolia-mama would truly become an irredeemable sinner.
Mei... she looked at the people surrounding her aunt and felt an invisible distance between them. She couldn't act spoiled and free with her aunt like Kiana, nor could she cling to her side every moment like Bronya...
As the most sensitive yet most innocent of the group, her worries weren't hidden; everyone noticed.
Finally, after lunch, Bronya saw Mei's hesitant look. She pulled out her game console, successfully luring the enthusiastic Kiana away. Rita sensibly went to wash the dishes.
Seeing everyone find something to do, Mei finally looked at Xia Yu, only to find him watching her tenderly.
"Auntie..." she started hesitantly, "can you accompany me to the balcony for some fresh air?"
"Why not?" Xia Yu stood up and took her hand. "I am your aunt, after all."
Hand in hand, the two walked up to the second floor.
The moment their silhouettes disappeared up the stairs, Bronya and Kiana both looked up.
"Mei-nee... hasn't really talked to Sister Acheron much," Bronya said, looking at Kiana. "It's your fault for clinging to her every day!"
"Huh?" Kiana froze, then lunged to pinch Bronya's cheeks. "How is this my fault? And if we're talking about clinging, you're the one who's always in her arms! Hey, the texture of these cheeks is great, no wonder Sister Acheron can't put you down..."
Before she could finish, Project Bunny grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and tossed her aside.
"Idiot!" Bronya had found her rhythm for dealing with Kiana. This person was the type to take a mile if you gave her an inch; you had to show her some color!
Besides, the way she looked at Mei-nee and Sister Acheron... yuck. Her intentions were as clear as day!
"Aggghhh, Shorty, I'll kill you!" After being thrown onto the sofa, Kiana bounced back instantly and began brawling with Bronya.
Up on the balcony, hearing those energetic voices below, Mei managed a small smile.
"Kiana... she's so good, isn't she? She can get along with anyone," she sighed. "Unlike me..."
"You think she's really as heartless as she looks?" Xia Yu patted Mei's head. "In truth, Kiana is very lonely. She's enjoying this noisy daily life too."
More than just lonely. In comparison, Raiden Mei wasn't even as miserable as Kiana. Her father was just in prison, not missing without a trace. She still had a home and enough savings to last until she was an adult.
What about Kiana? At a similar age, she had walked from Siberia to Europe alone, and then searched all the way back through the Central Asian corridor. Even though Siegfried was often protecting her from the shadows, it was only from the shadows. Who could she tell about the hardships she faced on the road?
So, she developed the habit of not trusting people easily, acting all shy and refusing to confess to Xia Yu even when he knew everything. That habit... would likely only be worn away after she fought alongside Mei and Bronya in Nagazora and lived with them at St. Freya.
But after that... alas.
"You really pay a lot of attention to Kiana," Mei said, her eyes suddenly stinging. "It's as if... she's the one who's your..."
She didn't finish the sentence.
Did Mei hate Kiana? Impossible. That day, in a classroom full of people who were either gloating or watching coldly, only Kiana reached out to her. Kiana stood up for her and led her out of that hell... It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the figure leading her by the hand, running freely through the campus, was the first ray of light in her darkened life.
Did she hate her aunt? Also impossible. As Bronya mentioned, the reason her aunt didn't see her immediately was that she was busy tracking down the parents of every person who had bullied her and breaking their limbs.
Some might say it was excessive, but for Mei, the victim, it wasn't excessive at all! When she was powerless against the world, her aunt stood in front of her and told her everything could be left to her...
How could she hate her aunt?
But... but... why?
Kiana is so good... Auntie is so good... Why are their interactions more intimate than when they're with me? Why can they talk about anything without restraint? Why... do they get along so well?
It was as if... she was optional.
Raiden Mei knew she shouldn't think this way. Kiana was wonderful, her aunt was wonderful, and they were both great to her. But a person who has fallen into an abyss will instinctively grasp at any straw. If it were just Kiana, she would tie herself to that person for life, but now there were two.
She instinctively feared being excluded; she feared departure.
"You finally said it," Xia Yu said, drawing her into a hug. "I've been waiting for you to complain for a long time."
"Why..." Mei looked up, her vision blurred by tears, looking at her aunt as if through frosted glass.
"The old Mei certainly wasn't this introverted or self-deprecating," Xia Yu wiped away her tears. "Even though I didn't see it with my own eyes, you must have been full of confidence back then, the center of attention like a queen."
"The events of these past days turned you into this, right?"
"So, I've been waiting. Waiting for the moment you'd open up and complain to me. I am your aunt; you can complain and act spoiled as much as you want. We are family."
"These days have left an indelible shadow in your heart. I can only let you know this way: you have someone to lean on. You have me."
He suppressed the urge to recreate an Otto Apocalypse "famous scene"—this really wasn't the time for it. As for why he was being so passive? He was a fake, after all. He couldn't just rush in and talk to Mei about these things; what if he slipped up? He had to let her come to him.
"Then Auntie, can I ask a question?" Mei hugged Xia Yu tightly.
"Ask," Xia Yu nodded.
"Why... did I never know you existed?" she asked again. "I'm really scared. Scared that this is a dream, and when I wake up, I'll have to face reality again."
"Fear is normal," Xia Yu said, taking her hand and looking toward the distant, towering ME Corp headquarters. "You are just an ordinary girl. That is how Raiden Ryoma raised you."
"Mei, are you ready?" He turned back to look into her eyes. "My personality is the polar opposite of Raiden Ryoma's. Naturally, we wouldn't agree on how to raise a child."
"He wanted to protect you from everything, to hold you in the palm of his hand. But he doesn't run this world alone. Now that others have audited the books, the tower he built with such care collapsed overnight."
"I am different. I will not coddle you," Xia Yu's expression became serious. "I have only one thing to teach you: Power!"
"When you have power yourself, everyone around you becomes a 'good person.' Take me, for example. Do you think Rita is really a maid?"
"No. She is a Schicksal S-Rank Valkyrie. If you don't know what that means... well, put it this way: she could kill everyone at Chiba Academy in less than half an hour!"
"If she wanted to, nothing in Nagazora could stop her. Assassinating officials, attacking key facilities, executing famous figures—in just one day, she could turn the current order of Nagazora into utter chaos."
Xia Yu said calmly, "And yet, right now, Rita can only be a maid in my house. Do you know why?"
"Because she can't beat you?" Mei answered instinctively, shocked that the smiling maid was that powerful.
"Because all the power she perceives cannot stop me," Xia Yu whispered into her ear. "So, as long as I am here, she will forever be our good maid. She will wake you up every day, cook for you, and keep the house in perfect order."
"So, Mei, this is all I have to teach you. This is the only gift I have for you: Power. The power to make everyone sit down and talk to you properly!"
"When you have this power, what does the money Raiden Ryoma owes matter? People will throw money at you just for a glance. At that point, money is truly just a number."
"Instead of continuing to live so weakly, only to regret and say 'I can't do anything' when you encounter a problem you can't solve..."
"So, are you willing to accept this gift? Even if it is incredibly heavy? Even if accepting it means accepting the responsibility that comes with it?"
"I am!" Mei shouted, her eyes gleaming. "Auntie, I am willing!"
She had once been a bit of a "chunibyo" girl herself; after experiencing all this, who could refuse such a proposal?