"Alright, take the snacks and go see Mei... wait, you bought this much?"
The corner of Michael's mouth twitched uncontrollably. Kiana let out a dopey laugh and placed eight of the largest, overflowing shopping bags on the floor. After rummaging through them for a while, she sorted all the snacks into two separate bags.
"Hehe, I couldn't help it! You're the one who gave me so much money, Uncle Michael!"
"...First, don't call me 'uncle.' Second, I didn't tell you to spend it all!"
"Heehee! Here! This is for you!"
Kiana handed Michael a pile of loose change and a receipt. Michael glanced at the receipt; she really hadn't kept a single yen for herself.
Michael felt a little dizzy, but also a sense of "I should have known." He knew Kiana wasn't living a great life on her own—not exactly destitute, but not well-off either. He had deliberately given her extra money as a reward for taking care of Mei today. He hadn't expected the girl to not even get the hint... or maybe it wasn't a matter of getting the hint. She probably hadn't even realized it, not even keeping a little something for her trouble.
"Sigh..."
Michael had barely managed to sigh before Kiana swung her arms, grabbed the two bags full of snacks, and darted back into Mei's bedroom. She left Michael alone, staring dumbfounded at six massive bags of pre-cooked fried food.
"There's so much, it won't even fit in the fridge..."
Well, if he had to blame someone, it was himself for not being clearer. Besides, dealing with this stuff wasn't hard for him. If it didn't fit in the fridge, it wasn't like he didn't have other places to put it.
Snap!
With a soft snap of his fingers, only one giant shopping bag remained in front of him. The rest had been sent to the dark side of the moon. It was a vacuum and provided a frozen environment—the best refrigerator in the world, at least until the lunar day began.
He then picked up the remaining bag of pre-cooked food and ambled into the kitchen. He organized some of it into the fridge, leaving some out for later, until only a pile of instant noodles remained in the bag.
Kiana might be a bit of an airhead, but she followed instructions. Michael had repeatedly told her to buy instant noodles, and she hadn't forgotten, but...
"What kind of flavors are these... Dark Chocolate Tonkotsu, Milk Tom Yum Goong, Honey Super-Spicy Fire Chicken... These must be all the flavors she wanted to try but couldn't afford!"
Michael weighed the noodle cups in his hands, feeling a mix of speechlessness and curiosity. What does chocolate-flavored tonkotsu even taste like? Milk with Tom Yum Goong soup should be delicious, right? Can the sweetness of honey really neutralize the spice of fire noodles?
Michael chuckled, melted some oil in a pan, and once it was hot enough, tossed in the pre-cooked fried food... ahem, for convenience's sake, this step was completely unnecessary. It would have been much easier to have Kiana buy the finished product. But Michael had his own little scheme—pre-cooked food was more trouble, but it gave him a chance to cook himself, which seemed more sincere.
Perhaps it was just a pointless self-consolation, but Michael simply wanted to use this method to give back to Mei some of the warmth he had personally taken from her.
No, Michael laughed self-deprecatingly. He wasn't that kind. He was just using this as a way to get closer to Mei. It was purely utilitarian, with no real thought of care or concern.
Sizzle—
The aroma of meat began to fill the kitchen, but Michael was unmoved, instead casting an inconspicuous glance at the instant noodles.
"Sigh..."
Realizing his train of thought was being derailed by Kiana, Michael quickly shook his head. Curiosity was one thing, but actually trying them? No thanks.
If he was purely curious about the taste of something, he'd be more interested in the flavor of a certain chocolate-colored metabolic byproduct, but that didn't mean he had to try it himself.
Besides, he couldn't taste it anyway.
He had forgotten exactly when it started, but sometime toward the end of the Previous Era, he had lost the ability to eat. Because he was no longer human.
Michael touched the bangs on his forehead. He didn't need to eat or excrete. Aside from his hair, which continued to grow as usual, almost all of his metabolism had ceased. But that was just the beginning. By now, even his hair had stopped growing. The last proof of his humanity was gone.
But it didn't matter. Fifty thousand years was enough time for him to get used to most things, whether he liked them or not.
"Kiana... there's something... I want to talk to you about."
"Huh? What's up?"
Kiana reluctantly put down her potato chips and turned to look at Mei. The latter glanced at the news on her phone screen—"Raiden Ryoma has been taken into criminal custody"—then decisively turned it off. She forced a bitter smile, raised her hand, and used her thumb to wipe away the crumbs from the corner of Kiana's mouth.
"I was thinking... this mansion is just too big. I never noticed when my father was here, but now that I'm all alone, it feels a little scary... So, Kiana, for a while, could you please... um..."
"Oh, I get it! This young lady has a kind heart and can't bear to see you suffer. After school tomorrow, I'll go to my rental and pack up my things. Hmm, I have some stuff to take care of, so I might not be able to come over tomorrow night. I'll come the night after, okay?"
"Um, how about Michael and I come to your place tomorrow to help you pack?"
"No, no, no, no, you don't have to, really..."
Kiana turned her face away slightly. She had told a small lie. How much stuff could she possibly have in that dump of a rental? The main issue was some things related to the Kaslana family. Though she hated deceiving Mei, it was better not to reveal her family's identity just yet. Telling Mei wouldn't be a problem, but the main thing was...
Although Michael had been nothing but nice to her and Mei since he appeared, Kiana couldn't shake the feeling that she couldn't completely trust the guy.
"Uh... should we tell Uncle Michael about this first?"
"Uncle... Michael?"
Mei felt a laugh bubbling up, but her nose and eyes were still sore from crying, leaving her in a state of wanting to both laugh and cry.
"It's fine. Although he's technically my legal guardian now, he probably won't mind. And... I have a feeling..."
Mei pressed her lips together tightly, not finishing her sentence. She had a feeling that Michael was intentionally trying to maintain the bond between her and Kiana. Their friendship had only started yesterday. In such a short time, even with all the unexpected events, their friendship still lacked depth. If not properly nurtured, it could easily fizzle out.
But wasn't it Michael who had brought Kiana from school all the way back home? Even though not much had technically happened this afternoon, Kiana's simple presence by her side had, without her realizing it, carved out a place in her suddenly desolate heart.
So, if Kiana wanted to move in, Michael probably wouldn't object, right?
Mei pursed her lips, feeling a growing warmth in her heart.
Click—
The door lock made a soft sound, and the scent of "happiness"—a mixture of sugar, fat, and protein—instantly filled the bedroom.
Gulp—
Kiana silently hid the bag of chips behind her back. Mei's lips twitched, and the tip of her pink tongue darted out to moisten them.
"Come on, let's eat!"
The fried food wasn't anything special, just the usual stuff they got tired of eating, but that was the charm of a calorie bomb. No matter how sick you were of it, when you were in a bad mood, you craved it like crazy.
Another coffee table materialized out of thin air, identical to the one Mei had knocked over earlier, and in the same spot. Michael placed the platter on it, slapped away Kiana's outstretched hand with a glare, and then pulled out two cups of instant noodles from behind him.
Kiana looked a little wronged, but when she saw the flavor of the noodles, she let out an embarrassed, dopey laugh—out of the ten cups she had bought, only these two were a normal tonkotsu flavor.
Michael tore open the packaging. With a snap of his fingers, hot water rose from the bottom of the cup to the fill line. Amidst Kiana's gasps of amazement, Michael casually grabbed two books from Mei's bookshelf and placed them on top of the cups.
A moment later, the aroma of instant noodles wafted out. It was quite similar to the ramen from lunch, but perhaps because she'd been hungry all afternoon, Mei's stomach actually started to growl, and saliva quickly filled her mouth.
"Alright, if you're hungry, eat something else first," Michael said with a gentle smile.
Mei swallowed, started to raise her hand, then pulled it back.
"What's wrong?"
Mei fiddled with the hem of her clothes and explained softly, "Michael, Kiana and I just talked. She's going to pack her things tomorrow, and starting the day after, she's going to move in here... is that okay?"
She had been so sure that Michael would support this, but when it came time to actually ask, she still felt a little timid.
In reality, she didn't need to be. The mansion and the two million US dollars Raiden Ryoma had liquidated were theoretically her property. She could let whoever she wanted live here. She just hadn't recovered from this morning's events yet. Her habit of trying to please everyone around her was really just a fear of them leaving her.
Michael knew this perfectly well. He deliberately didn't answer right away, letting a moment of silence hang in the air, returning the world to a state of stillness.
Mei's heart leaped into her throat. She thought Michael was about to refuse. She quickly held down Kiana, who was about to speak, and looked up, only to find Michael staring out the window with a hint of surprise.
Rustle—
It sounded like the rustling of leaves outside the window.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Michael came back to his senses and shook his head with a smile. "Why should you pack by yourself? After school tomorrow, Mei and I will go help you. You can move in tomorrow night."
"No!" Kiana jumped up from the bed. She had already prepared countless excuses, but when she met Michael's somewhat vacant gaze, she couldn't remember a single one. "I just don't want you to! I can handle these things myself!" Kiana stomped her foot angrily.
Michael narrowed his eyes and returned her a smile. "Alright, if you don't want us to, then do it your way. But you're staying here tonight."
Michael turned and took a couple of steps toward the door, then stopped to survey the bedroom, muttering loud enough for Mei and Kiana to hear, "There should be enough clothes... the bathroom and bathtub are included in the room, good."
He placed his right hand on the doorknob and, for the first time, spoke in a commanding tone. "Remember, no matter what happens tonight, do not leave this room."
"Huh?" Far from being alarmed, Kiana became eager to see what would happen. Mei quickly held her down.
"Are there enemies comi—"
Bang!
The door was slammed shut with unprecedented force, shaking the entire mansion.
"..."
Michael gently gripped the doorknob, then squeezed it tightly, feeling the unique coldness of the metal.
"Huu..."
He took a deep breath before slowly turning his head, leaning against the second-floor railing to look at the sofa in the living room below.
There was a small, emerald-green figure there. She was tiny, but she gradually filled Michael's entire field of vision. In his blurring world, that emerald green became the only color.
"Not even a greeting?" she asked, her voice uncharacteristically soft and gentle.
"Mobius, it's been a..." Michael started, then forced himself to swallow the rest of the sentence.
"What's wrong? Can't even finish a sentence?" Her words sounded like a question, but her tone was flat and even, lacking any of the emotional fluctuation that should accompany such a query.
"I just... don't want to say 'long time no see' again. It's so cliché." Michael closed his eyes gently. There were stairs, but he simply flashed down to the center of the living room.
"Hah—"
His body slowly sank into the soft sofa. Michael let out a long breath that sounded like a low groan.
Mobius stared at his closed eyes, her emerald snake pupils blinking softly. A crimson light flashed in her sleeve, and the next moment, it was resting against Michael's neck.
Michael opened his eyes and stared fixedly at the bright chandelier. A normal person would have been blinded or at least had their vision blur after staring for so long, but Michael didn't feel the slightest discomfort.
He raised his hand and pinched the red feather, blocking the light from the chandelier.
The light dimmed slightly. "Mobius," Michael said wearily, "this won't kill me."
He didn't even have a heart anymore. What would slitting his throat do? Even if his entire head was removed, it would only give him some pain he hadn't enjoyed in a long time.
"I know."
After saying that, Mobius stood up. She wasn't leaving, but rather sitting down next to Michael.
Michael tilted his head to the other side but said nothing.
Five hundred years apart... had things become a little distant even between them? No, of course not. Michael knew this was something that used to only happen between him and Elysia—
So many things to say at once, all stuck in his throat, not knowing where to begin.
But wasn't there a good place to start right here?
Michael flicked the feather in his hand and asked in a serious tone, "How is she?"
Though he didn't say a name, it wasn't hard to guess who "she" was.
"I told that Cocolia woman she had two broken ribs and a broken left arm, but I just knocked her out. Don't worry, since she's your person, I naturally wouldn't be too rough."
"Hehe, isn't she Cocolia's subordinate? How did she become my person?" Michael asked, feigning ignorance.
"Oh? Then why don't you tell me why that little girl's opening move was the standard Fire Moth combat style? Besides us, who else could have taught her that? If I remember correctly, Gray Serpent reported to me back then that a girl named Natasha, one of the individuals with excellent Honkai Energy adaptability collected in Siberia, went missing on the way back. That's her, right?"
Michael's fingers tapped lightly on the sofa. He didn't deny it; there was no need to. It was the truth—Natasha was someone he had snatched from Gray Serpent, trained for a few years, and then sent out as a spy.
"Tsk. The you from fifty thousand years ago wouldn't have used the power of Sentience on such a 'normal person'." Mobius extended her index finger, hesitated for a moment, and then poked Michael's arm.
"You're overthinking it. I didn't use the power of Sentience. I just made a deal with her. I found the brother she was separated from when Gray Serpent took her, and let her spend the last month with him. In return, she swore to serve me for the rest of her life. It's that simple."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. See, Michael, you're becoming more and more twisted."
"Huh?"
"Michael, what's the difference between forcing a debt of gratitude and directly altering someone's cognition with the power of Sentience? It's all just hypocrisy. The former just makes you feel like you're not so evil."