"Someone wants to cause trouble. What's the plan? Should we kill her?" Tianqi said, lying on Ryn's body, looking at Mei with a cheerful expression.
Ryn followed Tianqi's gaze to Mei. Mei's eyes were currently closed, she was sitting cross-legged in meditation, her brow furrowed, evidently engaged in some intense internal struggle.
"The Herrscher of Thunder…?" Ryn softly spoke the name of the troublemaker Tianqi mentioned.
Whenever Mei was emotional, wronged, or frustrated, the Herrscher of Thunder would pop out to help her vent. Although most of the time the Herrscher of Thunder would end up getting shut down and retreating, her appearance definitely meant that Mei was very upset right now.
Connecting this to what had just happened, Ryn was already preparing to give Kukulkan a good beating.
It must have been Kukulkan's refusal to carry Mei on a flight through the sky that had hurt Mei's pride and made her sad.
That bastard Kukulkan, not only did it refuse, but it also ran off without a word.
"What's wrong?" Kiana, in Ryn's arms, asked when she saw his expression darken.
"Nothing, just thinking about how to deal with Kukulkan later."
Upon hearing about dealing with Kukulkan, Kiana raised her two little fists and shouted angrily, "Give her a good beating for me too! That thing is so despicable, it scared my retinue half to death, then ignored me and left!"
"Mhm, mhm. I'll definitely give her a good beating." Ryn pinched Kiana's pouting little face, so cute~
Then he held Kiana's face and had her look at Mei.
"Kiana, do you see Mei?"
"I see her. Hey… is Mei… meditating?"
"Yeah, calming her mind and cultivating her spirit. Mei's heart is just like yours, she's a child who never grew up. Both chuunibyou and naively romantic… when she saw you riding Benares in the sky, she was so envious. She also wanted a dragon-form Honkai Beast mount, to be a dragon knight and fly freely in the sky."
As Ryn spoke, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up. Who would have thought that Mei, who usually gave off a cold and unapproachable vibe, was privately a little girl who never grew up?
"Originally, I called Kukulkan over to give Mei a happy flight… but that rebellious daughter, Kukulkan, just ran off… so Mei is very sad and heartbroken now, and can only rely on sword meditation to calm down."
"Kukulkan is such a jerk! Ignoring me is one thing, but how dare it hurt Mei's feelings. I won't let anyone who bullies Mei get away with it!"
Kiana had already noted down a small grudge against Kukulkan in her little notebook. Now, feeling sorry for Mei, her little resentment towards Kukulkan in the notebook grew even stronger.
Kiana patted Benares's back and said with some pride, "My Bella is still the best. Don't you agree, Bella?"
"ROAR—"
"You two have such a good relationship. Most people probably wouldn't guess that you've only known each other for less than half a day."
"Ahem~ The bond between me and Bella is not something that can be measured by mere time!"
Ryn rubbed the happy Kitty Kiana's head, then looked off into the distance, deep in thought.
After checking on Tianqi's condition and the coordinates of that world, Ryn hesitated for a moment, then said to Kiana:
"By the way, Kiana, I might be leaving this world for a while. Don't worry, I won't be gone for long, and the journey will be very, very safe."
Kiana's happy smile instantly vanished, and she turned to look into Ryn's eyes.
She was silent for a long time before she slowly said:
"I can see you off."
"Uh… sorry, not yet."
Ryn shook his head with difficulty. He couldn't tell Kiana the coordinates, otherwise, she would definitely follow him right away.
Both worlds had their own different Honkai trials. Ryn came from outside the world and had the privilege of the Tree and the Sea, allowing him to travel between the two worlds.
But if he let Kiana and the others, who were in the middle of their trials, cross over, Ryn didn't dare to imagine the consequences.
He couldn't end up with a situation that exceeded everyone's expectations, where he could only blow up one of the worlds again and then reassemble it to save the world, could he?
"Hmph! If you won't, then fine. I'm going to find Mei. You can get lost. I'm going to give Mei a ride." Kiana pouted and pushed Ryn off Benares's back.
"Hey, don't push me. Benares's back is so wide, there's more than enough room for the three of us!" Ryn clung to Benares's armor, not letting Kiana push him off.
"ROAR—" Benares also roared, echoing Kiana's sentiment to get Ryn off.
But as soon as Benares finished roaring, Kiana's small hand patted it several times.
"Bella, don't roar! You're not allowed to chase Ryn away!"
"Mmph…"
Benares immediately deflated, its throat moving a couple of times. It didn't dare to breathe loudly and responded to Kiana in a soft voice.
Ryn also took the opportunity while Kiana was scolding Benares to pat it a couple of times and leave a coordinate on it. It would be convenient to find it later for a few beatings.
Then he quietly left to prepare the equipment needed for the world jump and a gift to bring to Penglaiji Ryn.
——————————————
After discovering that Ryn had left, Kiana punched Benares a few more times.
"Bella! It's all your fault! Why did you have to roar? Ryn really left!"
Benares turned its head, its big eyes blinking hard at Kiana.
*Was it my fault? Was it?*
But since the Queen said it was its fault, then it must be its fault.
Just as Benares was thinking about how to punish itself to beg for the Queen's forgiveness, Kiana stood up from its back.
Kiana walked to Benares's dragon head, raised her arm, and pointed at Mei on Bronya's Project Bunny in the distance.
"Alright, alright. Bella, towards Project Bunny, charge! Our evil dragon combo is going to kidnap Princess Mei! Giddy-up!"
"ROAR!" Benares roared and charged headfirst at Project Bunny.
This time, it would definitely not disappoint the Queen!
——————————————
"What crazy idea has gotten into Kiana's head now…" Bronya lowered her binoculars, looking helplessly at Benares charging towards her in the distance.
Benares was about to crash into Project Bunny, and it hadn't slowed down. Bronya raised her binoculars again to look at Kiana on Benares's head. When she saw Kiana's face flushed with excitement, Bronya knew that this idiot Kiana had definitely forgotten to tell Benares to slow down.
"Big Sis Mei, hold on tight! Benares is about to hit us!"
Bronya shouted to remind Mei, then had Project Bunny raise its shield in front of them, protecting both herself and Mei.
BOOM—
As expected, Benares crashed headfirst into Project Bunny's shield, sending Project Bunny flying.
At the moment of impact, Bronya felt Kiana's Honkai energy completely cover her, nullifying the damage from the collision.
But… what was the point of crashing into them?! To watch her get sent flying?!
Bronya turned her head in mid-air to check on Mei's condition, only to find that Mei was gone.
When she turned back, Kiana was holding Mei in a princess carry, standing on Benares's head and grinning at her.
"Kiana! You bastard!!"
"Hahahaha, foolish Knight Bronya, the Princess Mei you were guarding has been kidnapped by this Demon King!"