Seeing "Sakura" Fuli and "Dragon Girl" Kiana getting more and more into their banter, Mei the "little monster" hurriedly cut in, "Fuli, are you okay?"
The question was painfully awkward. Abrupt and radiating a weak, pitiful, and helpless vibe.
Fuli paused his bickering with Kiana and spun around on the spot with his arms open.
"See? Safe and sound!"
The Silver Haze Flower Seed that had tanked several attacks was completely scrapped, but with Bronya's "original flavor" leg ring as an equivalent replacement, it wasn't a big deal.
He then handed the hair ornament and neck brace he'd pulled off earlier to the two girls. "Star Stone shields, one for each of you. Inject Honkai energy to activate them if you run into danger."
Mei subconsciously took the butterfly-shaped hair ornament, but quickly tried to refuse after realizing what it was. "No! This is too valuable, I can't take it!"
"Oh, come on, Mei! If he's willing to give it to you, just take it!"
Kiana, on the other hand, was not polite at all. She picked up the neck brace and put it on.
"How does it look?"
"Not bad," Fuli praised. "Add a leash and you'd have one-third of Sauce's charm."
"Hmph! Of course!" the girl declared, proudly lifting her head.
"You smelly Ah-Li, who are you calling a dog!"
"The thing I just gave you is a Star Stone shield, you know?"
"Damn it!"
Having knocked around for four years, Kiana had of course heard of the famous Star Stone. She stomped her foot and said, a little unhappily, "Just this once, okay!"
Seeing the girl was actually gearing up to 'woof woof', Fuli quickly covered her cherry-like mouth. "Can you grow a few more brain cells? You're selling yourself out for a single C-rank shield?"
"It's not like it costs me anything to bark for you a couple of times," Kiana shot him a glare.
Of course, that was only because they were close. She wouldn't be just anyone's dog!
But soon, the girl noticed Mei beside her, hesitating to speak.
Realizing she had accidentally ignored her friend again, Kiana hurriedly asked, "Mei, is there something you want to say?"
Hearing this, Fuli also looked over.
Under the gaze of one pair of rose-blue eyes and one pair of crimson-red, Mei said in a small voice, "It's just, um..."
Her slender, scallion-white index finger pointed at Fuli's back. "I think there seems to be some... protrusion there?"
"Oh, you mean this."
Fuli slipped off his loose kimono, revealing the little angel Bronya tied to his back with Tracer Ropes.
This was the "small thing" he mentioned at the end of the last chapter that was convenient to hide.
"Th-This?!"
Mei was utterly dumbfounded.
Kiana was also shocked to see it. "Fuli, you're actually a child trafficker?!"
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm just the kidnapper, not the seller."
Fuli put his clothes back on, hiding the unconscious Bronya again.
"Not selling, huh? As long as you're not selling."
Kiana nodded in relief, then asked, "She won't wake up halfway and cause trouble, will she?"
Fuli gave a thumbs-up. "I give her a little tap on the back of the neck every so often. I guarantee she'll enjoy a premium, first-class sleeping experience on this journey!"
"That's great!"
Kiana gave a thumbs-up in return, her pearly white teeth flashing.
Is that really a "that's great" kind of problem?!
Mei felt like she really couldn't keep up with these two's thought processes. An enemy unit with such a huge potential safety risk should be executed immediately after capture, right? Or did Fuli have further plans for this girl?
As Mei's mind was storming, something flashed before her eyes.
A swordsman's instinct prompted her to reach out and catch it. "What's this?"
"An Escape Dagger. It's for teleporting. It's also long enough to use as a wakizashi."
Fuli briefly explained the weapon's ability. "I was going to lend it to you when we split up, but I still needed it for the fight, so it got delayed."
From this, one could see that Bronya's loss was not unjust. There is never a case of the weak defeating the strong in this world; it's always the strong defeating the weak. The only difference is whether one is strong overall or strong in a specific area.
A B-rank and an A-rank were already on the same level in close combat, and Fuli, with all the intel, had calculated all her reactions and the course of the battle from the very beginning.
Mei looked down, examining the forty-centimeter-long dagger in her hand.
She gripped it tightly and nodded softly. "Mm."
Having settled things on this side, Fuli turned and grabbed Kiana's left arm, which she had been hiding well.
Caught off guard, the girl didn't have time to dodge. A howl like a pig being slaughtered echoed through the store: "Ow ow ow, it hurts! Let go, let go! My injury there hasn't healed yet!!!"
"Kiana, you're hurt?!!"
Mei was so shocked that her voice cracked.
"I got smashed by a Titan earlier by accident. It didn't feel like a big deal, so I didn't tell you," Kiana said, tears in her eyes, trying to downplay it but failing. "...Hiss! You Smelly A-Li ! Why are you using so much force?!"
She had indeed hidden it well. It was only when she gave the thumbs-up just now that the corner of her mouth twitched for a split second, which she quickly covered up with a smile.
If not for that, Fuli might not have even noticed.
"Didn't I give you two healing bullets? Why didn't you use one?"
Fuli wasn't surprised at all that she was injured.
Passing through an army while protecting Mei, and Kiana didn't have a Silver Haze Flower Seed.
"It wouldn't have been cost-effective."
The girl scratched her braided pigtail with her good hand and said with meticulous calculation, "I estimated the potency. If I took another similar hit and then used it, the healing bullet's effect would be maximized. Besides..."
"Besides, you had to save one for Mei, right?"
Fuli had guessed as much. He flicked his thumb, sending a healing bullet into Kiana's body.
"Ngh..."
The girl moaned softly and hugged her arms, her skin gradually turning an alluring shade of pink.
"What's this?"
Mei blinked, casting an inquisitive gaze at the culprit.
Fuli observed for a moment and speculated, "To put it simply, healing is just accelerating cell division. When your metabolism speeds up, it's normal to have a reaction similar to an intense workout."
"Then, then why didn't you have that reaction when you hit that pink-haired miko?"
Kiana looked over with her large, watery eyes, her tone carrying a hint of complaint and ripple, urged on by her panting.
Unfortunately, Fuli was not moved in the slightest. "I'm different."
Ever heard of the Human Immortal Dao?
That's right, absorbing it directly into the body is just that awesome.
That being said, Kiana's reaction always made Fuli think of the [Developed by the anti-mating Faction] in the healing bullet's description.
He hadn't paid attention before, but thinking about it now, that name seemed very wrong, no matter how you looked at it.
Of course, this wasn't to say the mating Faction was any better; the two sides were pretty much two of a kind.
Fortunately, the awful state, similar to being in heat, only lasted until the wound was healed.
"This Miss is... resurrected!!!"
Her face returning to its fair complexion, Kiana the cat stepped on the pile of mannequin parts, pointed a single finger to the sky, and loudly proclaimed her rebirth.
"Ooh, ooh, ooh!"
Fuli and Mei clapped from the sides.
Kiana stepped down, embarrassed. "So? What's next?"
"Does Miss Kiana, the Mourner Returned, have any brilliant ideas?"
"Then I command you, General Fuli! Use your amateur cat-style sword skills plus third-degree Blood Rage to cut the Dragon King in two!"
"Please, what kind of Dragon King gets killed that easily?"
"The one who fell in love with a bratty kid would."
The two goofballs looked at each other and simultaneously got EMO.
Oh, and you have to add the out-of-the-loop Miss Mei to the EMO list.
I don't understand this chuunibyou stuff!
...