A few days later, an admission letter stamped with Senba Academy's official seal was placed expressionlessly by Kael in front of Kiana, who was wrestling with a bowl of noodles.
"Wow! That fast?!"
Kiana dropped her chopsticks, snatched the letter, her blue eyes wide, repeatedly confirming the name and the word "Admitted" on it. A brilliant smile, comparable to the sun, instantly bloomed on her face. "This is great! This Young Miss is indeed a genius! I didn't even have to take an exam to be directly admitted!"
She excitedly waved the admission letter, twirled around the living room, then pounced in front of Kael, grabbing his arm and shaking him excitedly.
"Kael! Your friend is amazing! He actually pulled it off! Now I can openly go to the academy to look for clues about that scoundrel father!"
Kael calmly pulled his arm from her grasp, his tone still flat: "Yes, the procedures are complete. You'll officially start next Monday and be assigned to the first year. Here are your student ID and class schedule."
He pushed a few other items in front of her.
Kiana picked up the student ID, which had a somewhat silly-looking photo of her, and caressed it as if it were a rare treasure.
"Don't worry, Kael! This Young Miss will definitely not let you down!"
She puffed out her chest and vowed, "I will definitely find that scoundrel father and make him cough up all the living expenses from all these years, principal and interest! I'll split half with you then!"
Kael: "..." He wasn't counting on that.
He looked at Kiana, who seemed eager, as if about to embark on a grand journey, and couldn't help but remind her: "Remember, you are there to 'study'. Your investigation should be low-key; don't cause trouble."
"Got it, got it!" Kiana readily agreed, but her sparkling eyes certainly didn't look like they would take the words "low-key" to heart... Early Monday morning, Kael arrived at Senba Academy as usual, put on his dark blue work uniform, and began his daily patrol as a school staff.
His gaze swept over the empty playground and the quiet corridors of the teaching building; everything seemed normal.
However, when the preparatory bell for class rang and students poured into the campus like a tide, a subtle, restless atmosphere began to permeate the teaching building.
Whispers, suppressed excited exclamations, and many boys deliberately straightening their collars and smoothing their hair, all pointed to one focal point.
Kael was checking the fire safety equipment in the first-floor corridor when he heard several boys quickly run past him, talking excitedly:
"Did you hear? A transfer student arrived in the first year today!"
"More than just heard! I saw her near the office just now! My goodness, long silver-white hair, blue eyes, she looks like a doll!"
"Really? More beautiful than Raiden Mei?"
"Different style! But definitely a top-tier beautiful girl! Let's go, let's go, hurry to their classroom door to see!"
Kael's movements paused slightly.
Silver-white long hair, blue eyes... It seemed that the "trouble" had arrived on schedule.
He continued his work calmly, but his perception spread out like an invisible spiderweb.
He could clearly "hear" the noise, several times louder than usual, coming from a certain classroom on the first floor, as well as many deliberately light footsteps gathering at the classroom door and by the windows.
Indeed, it was as he expected.
The morning classes proceeded, and the campus temporarily returned to a surface calm.
But Kael knew that the undercurrents surging beneath this calm would only grow more turbulent with time.
As soon as the lunch break bell rang, as if a switch had been flipped, the entire teaching building instantly erupted.
Countless students, especially boys, surged towards that first-year classroom like soldiers hearing a bugle call, their objective clear.
The corridor was instantly packed, and the clamor, laughter, and cheers almost blew the roof off.
Kael stood at the end of the corridor, looking at the dense, impassable crowd, his brow furrowing imperceptibly. This was even more exaggerated than he had anticipated.
And Kiana, at the center of the storm, seemed completely unaware that she had become the focus, or rather, she simply didn't care.
Through the gaps in the crowd, Kael could see her sitting in her seat, in front of her... the bento he had prepared for her?
She was eating, blinking her clear blue eyes, curiously looking at the three-layered crowd around her, even sporting a silly smile that seemed to say, "It's so lively here."
A few bolder boys tried to strike up a conversation, asking her name and where she came from.
Kiana, her mouth full of food, mumbled in response: "My name is Kiana, Kiana Kaslana! From... a very far place!"
Her straightforwardness and natural cluelessness, without any pretense, made the boys, who were accustomed to either reserved or affected girls, even more excited.
"kaslana? Is she a foreigner?"
"Classmate Kiana, your hair color is so beautiful, is it natural?"
"Your bento looks delicious, did you make it yourself?"
Questions came one after another, and Kiana answered them all while eating, though her replies often left people not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"My scoundrel father said it's natural!"
"Kael made the bento! His cooking is the best in the world!"
Hearing his name shouted so loudly by her, Kael's temple throbbed faintly.
He noticed some students around him, following Kiana's gaze, looking curiously in his direction.
He immediately turned around, pretending to inspect the notice board on the wall, avoiding those probing gazes.
Just then, a slight commotion came from the outer edge of the crowd, accompanied by a few gasps.
"It's Raiden Mei!"
"Mei is here!"
The crowd automatically parted to form a path.
A tall, graceful, and serene girl slowly walked over.
She had smooth purple hair, delicate features, and especially those purple eyes, like tranquil lakes, carrying a maturity and elegance beyond her years.
She was the recognized school beauty of Senba Academy, and also the daughter of the president of ME Corp, one of the largest enterprises in the Far East—Raiden Mei.
Her appearance seemed to carry an invisible aura, causing the noisy atmosphere around her to unconsciously quiet down a few notches.
Mei's gaze calmly swept over the crowd around Kiana's seat, finally resting on Kiana, who was engrossed in her meal, completely oblivious to the changes around her.
A trace of imperceptible surprise flashed in her eyes, but it quickly returned to calm.
She did not crowd around like the others, but simply stood at the periphery of the crowd, observing quietly.
And Kiana, seemingly sensing this unique gaze, finally looked up from her bento box, a piece of fried pork chop still dangling from her mouth.
Her gaze pierced through the crowd, directly meeting Mei's.
Their eyes met.
Kiana blinked, then... flashed Mei a wide, unclouded smile, glistening with food oil.
The smile was pure and direct, as if saying, "You're here too."
Mei clearly hadn't expected such a reaction from the other party; she was slightly startled, then politely returned a faint smile before turning and leaving.
The midday commotion finally subsided temporarily with the ringing of the afternoon class bell.
Kael watched the crowd reluctantly disperse, and Kiana's seat finally returned to quiet, only then secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
However, he sighed too soon.
At dismissal time, Kael was organizing items in the tool room, preparing to finish work.
A student council officer ran over, panting, his face filled with anxiety and helplessness.
"Mr. Kael! This is bad! That new transfer student in Class 2-3, Classmate Kiana, she... she..."
Kael's heart sank, but his face remained impassive: "What happened to her?"
"She... she tore off a small piece of the climbing wall in the gym!"
The student council officer looked distraught, "It was during free activity in PE class. She said she wanted to try, and then, who knows how, she just... just pulled off a piece!"
Kael: "..." He silently put down the wrench in his hand.
He knew it.
When he arrived at the gym, he saw a small piece of the climbing wall's handholds scattered on the ground. Kiana stood beside it, at a loss, surrounded by several dumbfounded PE teachers and students.
Seeing Kael approach, she looked as if she had seen a savior, immediately running over, her small face filled with grievance and confusion.
"Kael! I didn't do it on purpose!"
She tugged at Kael's work uniform sleeve, explaining in a low voice, "I just gently jumped, wanting to reach that point above, who knew it was so flimsy..."
Kael looked at the handhold on the ground, clearly torn off by immense external force, then at Kiana's "I'm innocent" expression, speechless for a moment.
The monstrous strength of the Kaslana Family... truly lived up to its reputation.
No matter how harmless she appeared, this latent power in her bloodline was still a significant hidden danger.
He took a deep breath and said to the PE teachers and staff who had arrived: "I apologize, this was our oversight; we didn't properly check the equipment's sturdiness beforehand. I will take responsibility for repairing the damaged part."
His sincere attitude, steady tone, coupled with his usual low-key and reliable image on campus, eased the expressions of the initially annoyed teachers.
"Mr. Kael, this..." The PE teacher seemed a bit troubled.
"Please rest assured, I will handle it," Kael reassured again, then looked at Kiana, who was hanging her head nearby, "Classmate Kiana, you should go home first."
Kiana secretly glanced at Kael, then at the "evidence" on the ground, softly said "I'm sorry...", and then slowly left the gym, looking back three times.
Kael watched her retreating figure, rubbing his brow.
On the first day of school, she already caused property damage.
This "observation" mission, it seemed, would be far more... mentally taxing than he had imagined.
He not only had to watch her to prevent her from causing major trouble, but also had to clean up her messes afterward.
Siegfried... your entrustment really gave him a "great job"... As the sun set, Kael repaired the climbing wall, and after confirming it was sound, locked the gym door and walked towards the school exit with slightly weary steps.
A Fusion Warrior's body wouldn't easily feel fatigued, but this feeling of mental exhaustion was particularly clear.
When he returned to the apartment and opened the door, a smell of... burnt mixed with a peculiar sweetness wafted out.
Kiana, wearing a Haxxor Bunny-patterned apron that was too large for her, was in the kitchen, flustered over a smoking non-stick pan.
Flour and sticky liquids of unknown color were scattered all over the counter and floor.
Well, at least it proved it was truly a non-stick pan.
Hearing the door open, she whipped her head around, her face smeared with several white streaks of flour, like a little calico cat.
Seeing Kael, her eyes lit up, then she showed a guilty expression, like someone caught doing something wrong.
"Fu-Kael! You're back!"
She quickly turned off the stove, hid the disastrous pan behind her, trying to block the mess in the kitchen with her body. "Um... I-I wanted to try making a cake... as an apology gift for you... but it seems... I messed up..."
Kael looked at the kitchen, which resembled a small Honkai impact site, then at Kiana, who was clearly distraught but still forcing a smile, trying to please him. The helplessness he felt from cleaning up the mess suddenly dissipated by more than half.
He silently walked into the kitchen, picked up another apron hanging on the wall, and tied it.
"Go wait outside," he said in a flat tone, betraying no emotion.
Kiana was startled, then obediently said "Oh," untied her apron, and slowly shuffled out of the kitchen, sitting on the living room sofa, hugging her horm doll, secretly observing Kael's back.
Kael said nothing, simply and skillfully began to clean up the aftermath.
He cleared away the burnt failures, scrubbed the pots and pans clean, and wiped away the stains from the counter and floor.
Then, he took out fresh ingredients from the refrigerator, tied on his apron again, and began to prepare dinner.
What more could he say? At least the kitchen didn't explode, which, compared to Siegfried, Cecilia, and Theresa, meant she was already quite good at cooking.
The entire process was quiet and efficient, as if the previous disaster had never happened.
Kiana watched his busy, reassuring figure in the kitchen, smelling the familiar aroma of Kael's cooking gradually filling the air again. The apprehension and guilt in her heart slowly gave way to a warm feeling.
She hugged the doll, resting her chin on its soft head, and softly, almost to herself, mumbled:
"Kael... is indeed a super nice guy..."
As night deepened, the apartment returned to its quiet and cozy atmosphere.
A simple meal of three dishes and one soup was laid out on the dining table. Kael and Kiana sat opposite each other, quietly eating dinner.
Kiana seemed to have completely recovered from the day's "setbacks," and began chattering again about the new things she encountered at school, such as which teacher was interesting, which classmate seemed to know something about "suspicious people," and, of course, about "Raiden Mei."
"Kael, let me tell you, that Raiden Mei, the way she looked at me was so strange."
Kiana bit her chopsticks, recalling, "It was like... she was observing me? But she's really beautiful and has a great demeanor, like someone out of a painting."
Kael's movement of picking up food paused slightly.
Raiden Mei... the daughter of ME Corp's president.