"No one's fighting you for it, Kiana. Eat slower."
Watching Kiana grab his lunchbox and wolf down the food, Elias could only sigh. In just a few seconds, half the meal was already gone, and the little white-haired glutton's cheeks had puffed up like a hamster's.
Too cute. Absolutely overpowered!
"Mmph! Mmmph! Water, water!"
"Told you to slow down."
Should he even be surprised? That's just how paramecium are.
Elias couldn't help but laugh as he watched Kiana's face turn bright red while she desperately pounded her own chest. He quickly stepped in to pat her back and hand her a cup of water.
Kiana snatched it up and chugged it down in huge gulps.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp—hahh! I'm alive! I thought I was gonna choke to death!"
"Haha, well, congratulations then. You almost unlocked one of the most ridiculous causes of death in history."
"Hmph! I was just exaggerating! I'm a proud warrior of the great Kaslana family—there's no way I'd go down from something like that!"
Striking a confident shooting pose, Kiana dramatically held up Elias' water cup with one hand while making a finger-gun gesture with the other.
She had expected her cool pose to earn her admiration from Elias and Mei, but instead—
"Alright, alright. Oh mighty Kiana of the Kaslana family, first wipe your mouth. You're a girl—at least pay some attention to your appearance. And by the way, where exactly were you after school yesterday? You got yourself all bruised up again. Try to be a little more careful, will you?"
"Ehhhhh?! Elias, why do you sound exactly like my annoying old man—wait, no, you're even worse than him! Ah—hey! Don't touch that spot, it hurts!"
Elias smirked and poked her arm, instantly making Kiana drop her cool-girl act.
She had gotten a little careless while fighting zombies and Honkai Beasts last night and almost got into serious trouble.
Luckily, Kaslana's genetic physique was absurdly strong—after just half a night, she had mostly healed. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have even made it to school today.
"Here, take this ointment. It works well for bruises. I don't know what exactly you're up to, but whatever it is, make sure you prioritize your own safety first. Got it?"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Seriously, Elias, you nag even more than my old man—ugh, this ointment smells terrible!"
"The stronger the medicine, the worse it smells. Hey, hey—quit squirming. Forget it, I'll do it. You're way too clumsy."
"Who are you calling clumsy, Elias?!"
"Whoever gets worked up over it~"
[Dear Host, aren't you overdoing it? For someone with Kaslana blood, this level of injury wouldn't even matter, even if left untreated.]
The system calmly and objectively pointed out.
But Elias simply shook his head.
Sure, for a Kaslana, these were just minor injuries that would heal on their own.
But just because they heal fast doesn't mean they don't hurt.
For someone like Kiana, whose bodily senses were exceptionally sharp and sensitive, any injury she sustained would naturally feel more painful than it would for an average person.
Moreover, a girl spending every night hunting down Honkai Beasts—she was already starting to resemble the future Void Drifter.
[Based on your actions over the past few days, dear Host, it seems you have an unusually high level of concern for Kiana Kaslana.]
"System, what exactly are you trying to say?"
[I'm saying—you spoil her way too much.]
"Oh? And what's wrong with that?"
Gazing at the virtual screen that only he could see, Elias raised an eyebrow and countered.
This was the ultimate, ridiculously, absurdly adorable Kiana we were talking about! As a proper Captain, what was wrong with spoiling her to the heavens? Absolutely nothing!
Thinking about all the hardships she would have to endure in the future, Elias figured—better spoil her while he still could.
[Alright, fine. You're the Host, you're always right.]
On the other side, Kiana eventually gave in and accepted Elias' kindness without further argument. Looking at her freshly treated wounds, she felt a small warmth in her heart.
For Kiana—who had been traveling alone from Europe to the Far East since she was twelve—though she had secretly been watched over from the shadows, she had still faced far more hardships and dangers than most.
She had encountered both good people and bad people along the way. She had received kindness, but she had also suffered from malice.
So even though she might seem clumsy and airheaded, this white-haired furball actually had an incredibly keen instinct for judging people's intentions.
And from Elias, all she felt was pure kindness and concern.
Because of that—even though they hadn't known each other for long, Kiana had already come to sincerely see Elias as a true friend.
"Grumble—"
"…Ahem!"
Just then, Elias' stomach let out a growl.
He hadn't been idle these past few days.
After school, he had been running all over Nagazora City, trying to find a way to infiltrate ME Corp's branch office, while also subjecting himself to brutal physical training to strengthen his body.
His energy expenditure was no joke.
"Elias, you're hungry too? Here, you can have—uh… oops. I, uh, ate everything."
Kiana looked down at the now completely empty lunchbox in her hands—licked clean, not a single grain of rice left.
Scratching her head awkwardly, she gave a sheepish laugh.
"It's fine. I've got Mei!"
"Eh?"
"Heh! I thought being Mei's fake boyfriend meant I was protecting her, but turns out—I'm the one getting all the benefits! I get to eat Mei's delicious homemade bento every single day."
"I-it's really not that big of a deal…"
Blushing slightly, Mei pulled out two bento boxes.
The moment she opened them, Kiana's eyes immediately sparkled.
Sweet pepper curry with tempura, several pieces of golden fried chicken, and a steaming miso soup with tomatoes and seaweed.
The aroma was divine, and the presentation was immaculate—it was clear that a lot of care had been put into it.
Kiana swallowed hard, staring at Elias with undisguised envy—drool practically threatening to cascade like a waterfall.
"Wow! Mei's homemade love-bento! I wanna eat it too!"