"Don't be nervous; we don't have any ill intent."
To make her words more persuasive, Lierre instructed Kiana, who was standing by, "Good niece, help me untie Miss Mei."
"Eh? We're untying her already? I worked so hard to tie her up..."
Kiana grumbled under her breath.
Despite her complaining, she moved nimbly and quickly freed Raiden Mei from her bonds.
After a series of struggles, Raiden Mei's pajamas had become somewhat disarrayed. One of the top buttons had gone missing at some point, leaving her collar wide open and revealing the soft curves hidden beneath.
Her shoulder was half-exposed, and a strand of long hair happened to rest against her delicate collarbone. Under the glow of the flashlight, her snow-white skin looked incredibly alluring.
Seeing this, Lierre said, "Before we talk business, let me tell you something: give it up. Seduction won't work on me. By the way, can I take a few photos of you?"
"What do you mean?"
Raiden Mei looked down in confusion and understood instantly. Heat slowly rose to her fair cheeks.
She hurriedly adjusted her pajamas, her face flushed as she tightly gripped her collar with both hands, a trace of shyness flashing in her eyes.
Lierre said calmly, "Raiden Mei, I have some unfortunate news for you: you've been targeted."
Raiden Mei froze for a moment.
"Aren't the ones targeting me you?"
They had kidnapped her and brought her to a place like this without a word, and she still had no idea what they were after.
Lierre shook her head slightly. "Not us. There are others who want to use the Conquest Gem inside your body to trigger the Third Honkai Eruption in Nagazora. You might not know what Honkai is, but all you need to know is that after the Third Honkai Eruption occurs, very few people in Nagazora will survive."
Hearing this, Kiana couldn't sit still anymore.
She stepped forward, re-examining Raiden Mei, and said, "No way. She looks like an ordinary girl no matter how you look at her. How could she become an accomplice to the Third Honkai Eruption? Auntie, what exactly is the Conquest Gem?"
Can't you ask me later? Don't you see I'm in the middle of fooling Raiden Mei?
Lierre explained helplessly, "That is the Herrscher Core of the Third Herrscher. You should understand now, right?"
"So that's how it is... But why would something so dangerous be inside her body? Ordinary people shouldn't be able to come into contact with such things," Kiana said, puzzled.
Lierre raised an eyebrow. She reached behind her and pulled out a long Swiss roll out of thin air.
Then, she jumped up high and stuffed the Swiss roll into Kiana's mouth.
"Good niece, you haven't eaten anything for an hour. Auntie is treating you to your favorite Swiss roll. Go over there and eat quietly. If it's not enough, just let me know."
Lierre smilingly pushed the meddling Kiana aside.
Honestly, you're asking every question for Raiden Mei. If she mistakenly thinks we're putting on a double act, I'll have wasted my breath.
Kiana instinctively took a bite, her eyes lighting up. "Mmph, mmph...! (Delicious! But Auntie, I really can't eat anymore!)"
Raiden Mei watched their performance silently, her brow furrowed. She spoke up, asking, "I'm sorry, but I still don't quite believe what you're saying."
If it were a steady, mature adult, she might have believed them a bit more.
However.
Looking at Lierre, who looked like she should be in elementary school, Raiden Mei simply couldn't convince herself to trust her words.
"As expected. But I have a way to make you believe me. Come here for a moment."
Lierre beckoned to Raiden Mei, signaling for her to come closer.
Raiden Mei hesitated for two seconds but eventually cooperated and walked over.
After all, she had no confidence in escaping from that girl with monstrous strength, so she could only cooperate.
Through observation, she had noticed that the blonde little girl was the weakest of the two.
If the other party couldn't provide substantial evidence to prove themselves, Raiden Mei planned to hijack Lierre to save herself.
Seeing that Raiden Mei had approached, Lierre reached out her right hand and lightly tapped Mei's arm with her index finger.
The moment they made contact.
Boom!
A bolt of purple lightning as thick as a thumb surged out of Raiden Mei, instantly striking the floor slab above and splashing hundreds of hair-thin electrical sparks.
Kiana, who had been gloomily munching on her Swiss roll, had a change in expression. She blurred into motion, rushing forward to scoop Lierre up and retreating several steps. She stared at Raiden Mei with a look of alarm and suspicion.
"What suddenly happened to her? Is she about to turn into the Third Herrscher? How are we supposed to save her now?" Kiana asked, worried.
"I only drew out a tiny bit of the Conquest Gem's power. Don't worry, she's fine."
Incidentally, she had also resolved the hidden danger attached to the Conquest Gem.
Lierre patted Kiana's arm, which was choking her neck, signaling for the girl to put her down.
"Ugh..."
Raiden Mei's face was now pale.
She clutched her chest, panting heavily.
In that instant, she felt as if her heart had been squeezed tightly by an invisible hand. The pain was so intense that a layer of cold sweat broke out over her entire body.
For a moment, she had actually thought she was going to die.
However, Raiden Mei also took this opportunity to feel the existence of the Conquest Gem within her body for the first time. This discovery forced her to believe Lierre's earlier words.
"Do you know why the Conquest Gem is inside me?"
Raiden Mei looked at Lierre with lingering fear and asked the question in her mind.
Lierre, back on her own two feet, did not answer directly but asked, "Did you suffer from a strange, serious illness when you were a child?"
"Yes."
Raiden Mei thought for a moment and nodded slightly.
She remembered it clearly. When she was young, she would often have mysterious fevers. As she grew older, the situation only worsened; persistent high fevers were the norm, and in severe cases, she would faint directly.
"That explains it. Your father was forced to implant the Conquest Gem into your body to save you," Lierre said.
Raiden Mei was an Awakened with a natural Stigma, but because the Stigma was unstable, it had once nearly cost her her life as a child.
As a last resort, Raiden Ryoma had pleaded with Tesla for the Conquest Gem and implanted it into Raiden Mei. By suppressing the power of the Stigma, he finally managed to save her life.
In the end, someone must have leaked the news, letting Cocolia know that the Conquest Gem, which was supposed to be in Tesla's care, had been implanted into Raiden Mei.
Perhaps it was to rescue Seele, who had fallen into the Sea of Quanta, or perhaps for some other reason, but in short, she planned to make Raiden Mei the Third Herrscher.
Perhaps in Cocolia's view, the Third Honkai Eruption was going to happen anyway; if it didn't break out in Nagazora, it would happen in another city. Since that was the case, why hesitate?
Raiden Mei knew nothing of Cocolia's plot.
She looked down at her hands, her eyes filled with confusion.
The Conquest Gem had saved her, yet someone wanted to use it to destroy Nagazora.
Where should she go from here?
At that moment, Lierre took the backpack off Kiana.
Inside were contracts she had conveniently printed out at a print shop.
Lierre handed the contracts to Raiden Mei, flashing an innocent smile as she said:
"Lost young lady, there's no need to fear this power. I can help you control the Conquest Gem, provided you sign these contracts. So, do you want to consider it?"