"A woman's dowry is property her parents give to the husband's family."
There is such a line in the Ming Gong Shu Pan Qingming Ji¹.
The meaning is simple: the dowry a daughter brings upon marriage is property gifted by the woman's parents to the man's family.
Since ancient times, the purpose of a dowry has been to display the bride's family's economic strength and to secure her status in her husband's household.
The Plasma Kagehide, with power rivaling a Divine Key in its normal state, was undoubtedly a worthy dowry. In fact, it was so lavish that it could make one imagine a veiled threat from the esteemed father-in-law.
After all, it wouldn't be difficult for a master of swordsmanship, who could forge a weapon like the Plasma Kagehide, to spend a little more time designing an even more dangerous weapon and then hammering a son-in-law who mistreated his daughter into a pixelated mosaic.
However, none of that mattered to Kiana right now.
Because the Plasma Kagehide—the dowry bound to Raiden Mei—had not fallen into her hands, despite her having pursued Miss Mei for over two months. Instead, it was being held by Li Zihan.
It seemed the position of the Raiden family's son-in-law had already been taken, and it had nothing to do with her.
"Ah Li, you're joking, right?"
A smile so strained it looked somewhat distorted hung on Miss Kiana's face as she continued to ask.
Just as Raiden Ryoma had chosen selective deafness when he heard the words "Esteemed Father-in-Law" in the Nagazora prison, Miss Kiana also chose to filter out certain words, treating them as a joke.
Even so, as she smiled, the girl's slender, beautiful hands had already clenched into small fists.
Anyone who understood the significance of the Kaslana surname would know that if one were to be hammered in the chest by those little fists, the person on the receiving end could probably realize one of humanity's dreams.
—To overcome gravity and fly freely.
"I'm not joking. The Plasma Kagehide is Mei's dowry."
The young man, who rarely lied, spoke with perfect naturalness and proceeded to explain the reason.
"Mei has a chance of awakening as a Herrscher. The Plasma Kagehide was created specifically to suppress her potential Herrscher personality, so you could say it's equipment that is bound to her."
"It's still unknown what else will be included in Mei's dowry, but this blade, meant to restrain her, will absolutely be a part of it."
Kiana stared in disbelief at the famous blade emanating a cold aura. She simply couldn't comprehend how the entire world had changed after she had just spent an afternoon eating, drinking, and having fun with her maternal aunt.
Dizziness, a trembling mind, her sanity rapidly approaching zero.
The exact same situation that had once befallen Raiden Ryoma was now perfectly replicating itself in Miss Kiana.
So… I'm green now?
Mei's getting married, but the groom isn't me?
Such thoughts echoed in Miss Kiana's mind.
She clutched the ample mounds on her chest, her expression pained, as if she had been shot through the torso with a rifle.
At the same time, her sapphire-like eyes gradually lost their luster.
This scene, falling upon Miss Mei's eyes, was truly a bit horrifying.
"Kiana, listen to my explanation."
While Kiana was suffering from severe psychological trauma, Miss Mei was also on the verge of tears.
She had just reminded Li Zihan to be a little more considerate of Kiana's feelings, only for him to deliver a critical hit with the most concise words possible.
Goddamn "I understand," you clearly don't understand at all!!
She shot Li Zihan a fierce glare, then walked over to Kiana and began to explain.
"You're being too hasty. Zihan wasn't finished speaking."
"What else is there to say?"
Seeing the lovely figure walking toward her, the white-haired dango instantly perked up.
Before this, Li Zihan had said that he and Mei were discussing how to return the Plasma Kagehide. Looking at it that way, there was definitely a twist coming, right?
Like a husky waiting to be fed, she gazed at Miss Mei with eyes full of expectation.
Then, she shot another glare at the certain someone who had scared her half to death, making a funny face at him.
"Father only gave this blade to Zihan for temporary safekeeping."
With almost no hesitation, Miss Mei began to state the facts.
Standing to the side, Li Zihan was stunned for a moment when he heard these words.
Since when is there such a thing as "temporary safekeeping" for a dowry?
Even if there were, you wouldn't ask a member of the opposite sex, who is the same age as your daughter, to hold onto it for you, would you?
The only reason Raiden Ryoma had left the Plasma Kagehide with him was because he had been influenced by a series of factors, completely misjudged his relationship with Mei, and then pinched his nose and accepted his fate.
Raiden Mei was too flustered; she hadn't organized her words at all.
Kiana just disliked thinking, but that didn't mean she was stupid and couldn't notice details.
Once Kiana heard such a problematic statement, there was a high probability it would cause a misunderstanding.
Li Zihan watched Miss Mei and the white-haired dango opposite her with great interest.
As if sensing Li Zihan's gaze, Miss Mei turned her head and saw his rather peculiar look.
Thump.
After noticing that strange gaze, Miss Mei's own expression became rich with emotion.
Li Zihan was a person who enjoyed wicked humor. For him to make such an expression, something truly dramatic must have happened.
So, where was the drama?
Suddenly realizing there was a problem with her statement, Miss Mei stiffly turned her head back to look at Kiana's face.
The result was just as she expected.
The girl, who wasn't stupid at all, just lazy, trembled. An expression of utter despair appeared on her face, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
It seemed she had really, truly GG'd amidst all the laughter and joy.
Raiden Mei wanted to take a step forward, to hug and comfort her, but for a moment, she couldn't think of any comforting words and could only stand there stiffly.
What should I do?
Completely out of ideas, she turned and looked behind her, gazing with pleading eyes at the young man who could, in fact, be considered her fiancé.
If it's him, he should have a way, right?
Hurry up and help! Think of something!
Li Zihan, reading this kind of information from her gaze, simply shrugged.
Raiden Mei had misspoken herself. Even if he went to explain now, it would be very difficult to clarify things.
However, one didn't need explanations to handle this kind of situation.
With that thought, he walked around Miss Mei and stood before Kiana.
"Want to try settling this emotional dispute the old-fashioned way?"
In terms of Honkai energy alone, he was on par with Kiana, and he directed his question at the white-haired dango.
"If I lose, I will back out."
Hearing these words, Kiana's body jolted.
"Do you really mean that?"
Instantly recovering her spirit, Kiana's gaze was as sharp as a husky that had just seen its empty food bowl.
"Of course."
Li Zihan's answers were always so concise.
Like a gladiator in an arena, the white-haired dango stared at the man who already held Miss Mei's dowry, her eyes burning like flames.
"Ah Li, let's duel!"
She reached a hand under her skirt. The black hem fluttered up slightly, and a small pistol fell into the girl's hand.
"Beauties only belong to the strong!"
Miss Paramecium roared, her expression furious.
Footnotes:
Ming Gong Shu Pan Qingming Ji (名公书判清明集): "Collection of Clear Judgements by Famous Officials," a real collection of legal case records from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 AD), offering insight into the law and society of the time.