Feeling the touch of something solid, utterly devoid of any softness, against her forehead, Kiana's mind went blank.
She lifted her head, and the person who met her gaze had eyes of an extremely rare color, like a vampire from a European story.
Without a doubt, the owner of these eyes was not Raiden Mei, but that guy who reeked of being a mystic charlatan.
This was the apartment Mei rented. Why was Zihan here?
It was already evening. A man and a woman, alone in a room…
A profoundly unsettling feeling surfaced in her heart, manifesting as a tremor that ran through her body.
When she saw the girl standing closely behind Li Zihan, looking like a wife seeing her husband off, her own lovely body trembled even more violently.
Thud—
The shopping bag filled with snacks slipped from the girl's delicate hand, falling to the floor and scattering snacks of all kinds everywhere.
In the past, Kiana would have immediately bent down to pick them up.
After all, heaven and earth are vast, but nothing is more important than food.
However, compared to lifelong happiness, a momentary craving was truly insignificant.
Now, a matter concerning her lifelong happiness had arisen. She had far more important things to deal with.
"Zihan, why are you here!"
Ignoring the fallen snacks, Kiana's eyes widened. Her expression was furious, like a little white cat whose tail had just been stepped on.
She stood on her tiptoes, leaning her entire body towards Li Zihan, glaring venomously at the guy who had appeared so suddenly and shattered the private world she shared with Mei.
Where did this guy pop out from?
Looking at the aggressive white-haired dango who looked about to slam her face into his nose, Li Zihan sighed inwardly.
Because his familiars had all been dispatched to find that whimpering donkey-fox, he couldn't monitor his surroundings through them. His awareness of his immediate environment had dropped drastically, to the point where he hadn't even noticed the white-haired dango charging right into him.
"For various reasons, Mei's father tossed me a blade of some minor significance. We were just discussing with Mei how to return it."
Li Zihan, who had just been enjoying dinner with Miss Mei, sighed and spoke to the white-haired dango getting closer and closer to him.
As these words left his mouth, the expression on Miss Mei's pretty face grew a little awkward.
The blade Li Zihan mentioned was the Plasma Kagehide—an item tied to her, which could basically be considered her dowry.
Due to some special circumstances, her dowry had been taken out by Raiden Ryoma, who had misunderstood her relationship with Li Zihan, and tossed to him.
If she couldn't clarify the facts, it was only a matter of time before she was married off.
At this thought, a blush of embarrassed annoyance crept onto Mei's face once more.
Really, Father… couldn't you have gotten the whole story straight before giving away the Plasma Kagehide?
Couldn't you at least consider the short amount of time we've known each other? Maybe spend a few more years observing him?
Now, things were a mess. She had to wait with Li Zihan for her father to finish his business, and then spend a huge amount of time explaining the situation.
"What blade?"
Sharply noticing the fleeting discomfort and current blush on Raiden Mei's face, Kiana instantly grew alert.
A blade from Mei's father, Raiden Ryoma, that held great significance and could cause such emotional fluctuations in Mei just by being mentioned… there was definitely a huge secret behind the blade Ah Li was talking about.
"Plasma Kagehide. An armament developed by Mei's father to combat the Herrscher of Thunder."
Li Zihan answered the question very quickly, then bent down and picked up two bags from the pile of well-packaged snacks on the floor.
Could a single high-grade weapon really make Mei act so strange?
Completely unconvinced, Kiana's mind started racing.
Her intuition told her that while she was out eating, drinking, and shopping for clothes, many very important things had happened.
Things that could very well determine whether she would be shipped off to her maternal aunt and forced to adopt the same surname as that King of Green Hats.
Under Kiana's suspicious gaze, Li Zihan handed one bag to Miss Mei, then tore open another bag of potato chips. He casually took out a few chips and began munching on them.
His expression was so natural and calm, it was as if he had bought the snacks himself.
"A tachi that can create ice, with power comparable to a Divine Key in its normal state."
After a long moment, he finally spoke.
Then, he waved a hand at his own shadow. A long, beautiful tachi slowly emerged from it, exuding a biting chill even while still sheathed.
A slightly pale hand grasped the hilt and pulled upwards. The icy-blue blade was revealed, and a frigid aura spread out, causing the ambient temperature to drop rapidly.
"It symbolizes the pinnacle of ME Corp's technology. Not bad, right?"
The young man, now holding the tachi named Plasma Kagehide, swung his arm lightly. Hard ice spikes with a sub-zero chill materialized from thin air, easily piercing the floor.
Who the hell wants to see you demonstrate how to use the weapon?!
This old lady wants to hear the story behind it, its significance, not a damn showcase of its functions!!
Still unable to get the information she wanted, Miss Kiana roared silently in her mind.
For some reason, an unsettling feeling had taken root in her heart the moment she saw the tachi appear.
It was as if the blade was a legendary cursed sword, one that would bring misfortune.
"Ah Li, you should know that's not what I'm asking."
Forcefully suppressing the anxiety in her heart, Miss Kiana took a deep breath and pressed on. Her blue eyes, filled with firm resolve, locked directly onto Li Zihan's, trying to read something from them.
Seeing this, Miss Mei also started to panic.
She was aware that Kiana held feelings for her that weren't quite… normal.
If this white-haired dango, who clearly had improper feelings for her, were to find out that Li Zihan was holding her dowry, she would absolutely explode.
And that explosion would probably take a very long time to explain.
"Zihan, please be a little careful."
Miss Mei placed her slender, delicate hand on Li Zihan's shoulder, reminding him.
She wasn't asking Li Zihan to lie, only that he be a little more tactful in his words so that Kiana wouldn't blow up on the spot.
"Mm, I understand."
Seeming to grasp Mei's meaning, Li Zihan nodded gravely. Then, under Miss Mei's somewhat relieved gaze, he turned to the white-haired dango pressed against him and spoke with solemn formality.
"This is Mei's dowry."