The living room of the Nagami household was wrapped in silence.
Even now, the atmosphere remained incredibly awkward.
Soft lighting bathed the wooden floor, and a gentle breeze flowed in through a cracked-open window, causing the white curtains to ripple like waves.
C.C. and the heiress Kiana sat across from each other on the plush sofa.
The sunlight spilled onto their delicate, striking faces, painting them with a faint golden hue.
With her long, fair legs pressed tightly together and slender arms wrapped around her knees, C.C.'s elegant posture accentuated her graceful curves.
Her lips curled ever so slightly, and she gazed at the silver-haired girl opposite her—a girl who looked uncannily like a certain tuna-brained companion with a half-smiling, half-amused expression.
Kiana was still in a daze.
Head lowered and eyes cast down, she stayed silent, a trace of embarrassment lingering in her gaze.
"W-Wait—Nagami… You… You're not a guy?"
Her voice was hesitant, guilty even.
After a long silence, she finally spoke up.
Her pale fingers nervously twisted together from sheer embarrassment as she slowly raised her head to look at the green-haired beauty in front of her.
Meeting those elegant golden eyes, Kiana instinctively averted her gaze, her posture shrinking, her words stammered and unsure.
Objectively speaking, as girls, seeing each other naked shouldn't be something to get flustered over.
But for some reason, faced with this green-haired beauty she had just met, Kiana's heart was pounding with an unfamiliar rhythm.
Wait a minute… this feeling—blood flowing through the left atrium, then into the left ventricle, into the aorta, through the veins, looping into the right atrium and ventricle, then into the lungs, back again into the left atrium—
This must be…
Could this be… love at first sight!?
"I am a guy," C.C. said calmly.
She lifted a strand of her smooth green hair that had fallen over her cheek, twirling it between her slender fingers as if toying with something interesting.
"…"
Kiana couldn't help but glance at her side profile, bathed in the soft glow of the fading sunlight.
Her long, silken hair cascaded down her back like mercury, lashes fluttered lightly, and her golden irises sparkled like stardust in the depths.
There was something otherworldly and elegant about her—like a mysterious, seductive sorceress.
A faint scent of body wash lingered in the air, mixed with a soft fragrance unique to girls.
It was intoxicating.
Had anyone else said they were a guy, Kiana would've laughed in their face—and possibly sent them to the hospital for good measure.
But the one saying it now was the person in front of her.
There was no brushing this off as a joke.
"You know about Herrschers, right? Usually, when a human becomes one, a Herrscher personality manifests and shares the same body with the human soul."
"In my case, it's the opposite. One soul, but two bodies."
C.C. nodded slightly and held up two pale, slender fingers in front of Kiana, amusement flickering in her eyes.
"My other body is male—my original body. This one came later. So it's best if you just treat me as a guy."
"…"
Silence.
Silence was the soundtrack of the evening.
The explanation made perfect sense.
C.C.'s way of putting it was actually very easy to understand. And yet… this bizarre situation was still something Kiana couldn't quite wrap her head around.
"With your intelligence, this shouldn't be that hard to grasp, right?" C.C. asked, eyeing the white-haired girl's conflicted expression with a hint of doubt.
"...Of course I get it. I totally understand. It's just… just…"
Kiana forced an awkward but polite smile, her mind quietly spiraling.
The problem wasn't understanding—it was that she understood too well, and now she was really confused.
She had just met someone who might be the embodiment of love at first sight.
She had even already decided to pursue her... and then—bam.
Turns out she's a guy!?
Kiana furrowed her brows and tried to think it through calmly.
Maybe… maybe it's not so bad?
She shook her head furiously and pressed her palms against her temples, trying to purge the chaotic thoughts from her mind.
'What the hell am I even thinking!?'
Oblivious to the mental meltdown happening in front of her, C.C. stood and made her way to the kitchen.
As the host, she had to show at least some hospitality.
Soon, she returned with two cups of steaming black tea, placing one gently in front of Kiana.
"Is black tea okay?"
"Yes, thank you!"
Kiana quickly reached out with both hands to receive it, her expression a little hard to read.
She looked down at the fragrant, steaming tea and took a careful sip.
She quietly peeked at the green-haired girl sitting across from her.
C.C. held her teacup gracefully, her moist red lips gently touching the rim as she sipped.
Her posture was casual, yet carried a strange sort of elegance.
It had been mentioned before—character cards carried over the original character's aura, and when C.C. was still and silent, that presence was unmistakable.
As the subtle warmth of the tea spread through her chest, Kiana found herself watching the girl who shared the same face as her tuna friend… and began to think.
From the very beginning, C.C. had never intended for Kiana to act in the shadows.
With the limited resources and equipment they currently had, it would be impossible to stay completely hidden from the powerful eyes of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
Information is a double-edged sword.
Those who thrive on intelligence gathering always want to keep everything under their control—they hate being left in the dark, and that includes enemies full of unknown variables.
So, what kind of expression would Otto make upon discovering a Kiana who had crossed over from the Honkai Gakuen 2 world?
She was honestly a bit excited to find out~
Otto, without a doubt, was the type of person who loathed things slipping beyond his grasp.
The sudden appearance of "Honkai Gakuen 2 Kiana" was something even he could never have predicted.
If Kiana were simply moving aimlessly and recklessly, then perhaps one could believe she had randomly drifted over from another world bubble.
But if her actions were deliberate—structured, purposeful—then there was no doubt about it.
As someone who's lived over 500 years and has the instincts of an old fox, Otto would instantly sense there was something else… a shadowy figure pulling strings behind the scenes.
It wasn't even a hard deduction to make.
Anyone with more intelligence than a plankton could connect the dots.
And once that truth was established, there could be no other logical explanation.
Naturally, until Otto could uncover exactly what lurked in the shadows, he wouldn't act too aggressively. He'd test the waters first.
That alone would buy them precious time to grow stronger.
And with C.C.'s cheat-like "Alpha Stigma" ability, her growth speed would be terrifying—far beyond anyone's imagination.
Eventually, the lie they had constructed would become indistinguishable from truth.
"… Nagami?"
A soft voice called out beside her, pulling C.C. out of her thoughts.
As her consciousness returned to the present, she found herself face-to-face with a pair of icy-blue eyes—just inches away.
At some point, Kiana had moved from the couch opposite her to sit right next to her, shoulder to shoulder.
Her delicate cheeks were tinged with the faintest blush.
"Hm?"
C.C.'s golden eyes widened slightly. Her lips parted in surprise.
She had been so deep in thought, completely immersed in her plans, that her response was purely instinctive.
But when the ever-composed witch let slip such a dazed and unguarded look, it was like she'd been struck by one of Kyubey's magical arrows.
Kiana could only stare in stunned silence, her heart pounding like thunder in the quiet room.
So this… this must be what they call the charm of contrast~
"Right, Kiana—how should we introduce you to Mei and the paramecium? Kiana? Kiana!"
Snapped out of her trance like someone waking from a dream, Kiana quickly jerked back and covered her mouth and nose, as if trying to hide something.
"I—I wasn't… I didn't! I—I…!"
It was clear she desperately wanted to explain something, but the words just wouldn't come.
Her mind was a complete blank.
"???"
C.C. blinked in confusion, watching Kiana's bizarre behavior, a sea of question marks practically floating above her head.
This reaction… it's way too much like the paramecium.