As night deepened, Kael finally finished cleaning the kitchen, which looked like a post-war ruin.
Wearing his plain apron, he started the stove again, preparing a simple dinner.
Soon, a comforting aroma of food, completely different from the previous burnt smell, wafted from the kitchen.
Kiana, clutching a Haxxor Bunny doll, curled up on the living room sofa, but her ears were perked up, constantly monitoring the activity in the kitchen.
Listening to the rhythmic chopping and the gentle sizzle of the frying pan, the apprehension she felt from messing up the "surprise" was gradually replaced by a warm sense of security.
A relaxed expression unconsciously appeared on her small face, which was covered in flour and soot.
When Kael brought two steaming bowls of soy sauce fried rice and a plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables to the small dining table, Kiana immediately darted over like a summoned puppy, dropping her doll.
"Wow! It smells so good!"
Her eyes sparkling, she eagerly picked up her spoon, scooped a large mouthful of fried rice into her mouth, and though it was scalding hot, she didn't spit it out, instead praising it indistinctly, "Mmm! Delicious! Kael, you're amazing!"
Kael sat opposite her, watching her devour the food, and said helplessly, "Eat slowly, no one's going to snatch it from you."
"But it's really too delicious!"
Kiana struggled to swallow the food in her mouth, her blue eyes filled with genuine admiration, "It's better than anything I've ever eaten outside! Kael, whoever marries you will be incredibly lucky!"
Kael's hand, holding the spoon, paused slightly. He didn't reply, just lowered his head and ate his own meal.
He remembered Theresa had said similar praise before he became the captain of the Asgard.
"Oh, right, Kael," Kiana said, shoveling rice into her mouth, suddenly remembering something, "Did you hear anything about suspicious people at Senba Academy today? Like… did anyone see an uncle with silver hair, looking a bit down-and-out, maybe with stubble?"
Here we go again.
Kael sighed inwardly but kept a straight face: "My job is just to inspect the facilities; I rarely pay attention to student gossip. Besides, there are many faculty, school staff, and outsiders at Senba Academy, so it's hard to notice a specific person."
"Oh…"
Kiana's shoulders slumped in disappointment, but she quickly perked up, "No problem! This Young Miss will continue investigating tomorrow! I don't believe that bastard dad can hide without a trace!"
Seeing her determined look, Kael couldn't help but remind her, "Don't forget your main task is to study. In class today, I think I saw a certain student from Class 1-C… catching up on sleep?"
Kiana's face instantly flushed, and she retorted defensively, "That, that was a tactical rest! It was to conserve energy for better investigation activities in the afternoon!"
Kael raised an eyebrow noncommittally, not exposing her… After dinner, Kiana voluntarily offered to wash the dishes, to make amends for her previous mistake.
Kael was happy to relax, so he sat on the sofa and picked up the history book he hadn't finished reading.
However, a crisp "clatter" soon came from the kitchen, accompanied by a soft exclamation from Kiana.
Kael put down his book and walked to the kitchen doorway, only to see a porcelain plate sacrificed on the floor, shattered into several pieces.
Kiana was frantically trying to pick them up, almost cutting her finger.
"Don't pick it up with your hands."
Kael stopped her, walked over, took out a broom and dustpan, and skillfully cleaned up the fragments. "I'll handle the plate; you go wipe the table."
Kiana looked at Kael's calm profile, feeling even more guilty, and whispered, "I'm sorry… Kael, I seem to always cause you trouble…"
Kael poured the fragments into a designated trash can and glanced at her upon hearing her words.
The girl hung her head, her silver hair falling loosely, and even her ahoge seemed to have lost its vitality, making her look pitiful.
"Good that you know."
Kael's tone was still calm, yet it didn't convey much blame, "Be careful next time."
These simple four words made Kiana suddenly lift her head, her eyes once again shining. She nodded vigorously: "Mm! I'll definitely be careful next time!"
After tidying the kitchen, they both washed up.
When Kael came out of the bathroom, wiping his hair, he saw Kiana sitting cross-legged on the living room carpet, drawing on a map of Senba Academy, with a student handbook and… a crumpled copy of the "Haxxor Bunny Adventures" comic spread beside her.
"What are you doing?" Kael asked casually.
"Formulating tomorrow's battle plan!"
Kiana didn't even look up, drawing circles on the map with her pen, "The library has a lot of foot traffic, so there might be more information; the small woods are secluded, suitable for hiding; and there's the warehouse behind the gymnasium… Hmph, that bastard dad might be hiding in some corner, drinking!"
Seeing her serious expression, Kael suddenly felt that perhaps giving her something to do, to distract her, was better than her aimlessly causing trouble everywhere.
As long as she didn't tear down the school, he'd let her be.
"Get some rest early." Kael said, then walked towards his bedroom.
"Got it! Goodnight, Kael!"
Kiana responded energetically… Over the next few days, life at Senba Academy continued in a delicate balance.
Kiana still dozed off during cultural classes, conducted her flawed "investigations" during lunch breaks, and occasionally, during physical education, inadvertently displayed superhuman physical abilities, drawing glances from teachers and classmates.
Kael, meanwhile, appeared in time before she could cause greater damage, either intervening as a school staff or silently cleaning up the mess after she caused minor trouble.
For instance, she would almost knock over the equipment rack in the chemistry lab while chasing a "suspicious-looking" person, only to be pulled away by Kael under the pretext of "checking the wiring."
Or, she would try to climb over the wall into the old school building area, which was off-limits to students, and be stopped by Kael, who claimed, "The wall in that area is loose and needs repairs."
After numerous incidents, even Kiana herself started to feel a bit embarrassed.
One day after school, she and Kael walked back to the apartment together.
The setting sun cast long shadows of the two.
"Kael," Kiana kicked a small stone on the path, her voice a bit muffled, "Am I… really useless? Not only haven't I found Dad, but I always cause you trouble…"
Kael turned his head to look at her.
The afterglow of the setting sun gilded her silver hair with a warm golden edge, and her usually vibrant blue eyes were, for once, tinged with a hint of dejection.
"Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses."
Kael's voice was as calm as water, "Your… athletic ability is very good."
He chose a more tactful way of putting it.
"Really?"
Kiana immediately looked up, her eyes brightening, but then her face fell again, "But studying is so hard… those characters, they know me, but I don't know them…"
"Cultural classes can be caught up on slowly."
Kael said, "As for finding your father… it requires patience and meticulousness. Impulsiveness and recklessness won't solve the problem."
"Oh…"
Kiana nodded, half-understanding.
She looked at Kael's profile, which appeared particularly gentle in the sunset, and suddenly asked, "Kael, you seem to know everything, and can do everything… What did you do before?"
Kael's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained impassive: "Before… I was just an ordinary maintenance engineer."
This was the background story he had prepared for this identity.
"Engineer? That's amazing!" Kiana's attention was indeed diverted, "So you can fix a lot of things, right?"
"Yes, I suppose so."
"Then… can you fix game consoles?" Kiana's eyes lit up, "My old game console seems to be broken, and I haven't had the heart to throw it away…"
"I can take a look."
"That's great!" Kiana instantly forgot her previous worries and became cheerful again, "Kael, you're truly omnipotent!"
Watching her smile bloom again, the taut string in Kael's heart also relaxed a little.
Perhaps, such an ordinary and mundane life wasn't bad after all.
If only… there weren't those shadows and mysteries hidden in the dark… That night, Kael contacted Otto again. He needed to know more about K423, about Kiana Kaslana.
On the screen, Otto seemed to have just finished a meeting; he was still wearing his elaborate Bishop's formal attire, with a hint of appropriate fatigue on his face, which added a touch of languid charm.
"Kael~"
When she saw Kael, her lips curved into a pleasant arc, "This is a pleasant surprise, your frequency of contacting me has increased~ Is it because of that little girl?"
Kael ignored her teasing and cut straight to the chase.
"Bishop, regarding K423, Kiana Kaslana, I need more information about her background. Siegfried Kaslana confirms she is his daughter, but her existence contradicts Bianca Ataegina's timeline."
Otto gently swirled the red wine glass in her hand, her emerald eyes appearing deep and unfathomable under the screen light: "Oh? Siegfried went to see you? It seems he still cares a lot about this 'daughter'."
She knew, as expected! Kael's heart tightened.
"As for her background…"
Otto drew out her words, as if enjoying Kael's serious expression, "Kael, some truths, knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing. Especially for you right now. You only need to know that she is our important 'observation subject,' and ensuring her 'safety' and 'stability' is your primary mission."
It was this kind of ambiguous, mystifying answer again!
Kael clenched his fists, suppressing the dissatisfaction in his heart.
"At least tell me, does she pose a danger? Her power…"
"Her power stems from a certain… peculiarity."
"That is… a pure and powerful force. It's just sealed for now. So, Kael, keep an eye on her, don't let her lose control, and don't let… others get their hands on her."
Seal? Pure and powerful force? Kael caught these keywords. This intensified his unease.
"So, what about Bianca? Does she know about Kiana's existence?"
Kael changed the question.
"Bianca?" Otto chuckled, her gaze somewhat distant, "That child is one of Schicksal's brightest rising stars now; she has her own path to walk. As for Kiana… she doesn't need to know for now."
The conversation again reached a stalemate.
Otto clearly had no intention of revealing more core information.
Just as Kael was about to end this fruitless communication, Otto suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Oh, right, Kael, Changkong City might have some small 'excitement' recently. ME Corp seems to have some restless movements. Although it's unrelated to you, it never hurts to pay attention. After all, your current 'sister' seems to be quite close to ME Corp's young lady?"
ME Corp? Raiden Mei?
Kael's brows furrowed even more deeply.
Otto's words were like a stone thrown into a lake, creating larger ripples in his heart.
He ended the communication and walked to the window, looking at the dazzling yet cold night view of Changkong City below.
Kiana Kaslana… Raiden Mei… ME Corp… Siegfried… Otto… All these clues seemed to point to this seemingly peaceful city.
He felt as if he was standing in the calm center before a storm.
And that silver-haired, blue-eyed, carefree girl was the most unpredictable and dangerous variable in this impending storm.
He turned and looked at Kiana's closed bedroom door.
Behind the door, her faint, steady breathing could be heard, seemingly mixed with a few mumbled words in her sleep, probably chasing her "bastard dad" in her dreams again.
Kael sighed softly.
Regardless, until he figured out the whole truth, he had to keep an eye on this "troublemaker."
This was not only for the mission, for Siegfried's entrustment, but it also seemed… to involve some personal will that he himself hadn't fully clarified yet.
It's not like he cared about her…