"Alright! Let's not talk about that stuff! Let's eat, I'm starving!"
Kiana grabbed the bento boxes and turned around with a flourish, then sat down, leaning against the rooftop railing.
Mei's lips curved up, then down, then up again, finally managing to squeeze out a smile. "You, be careful not to get your skirt dirty."
"Ah! It's fine! Sit, sit!"
Mei looked like she wanted to say something else, but in the end, she helplessly took Kiana's hand and pointed to a nearby bench. "Isn't there a seat over there?"
"Ah... huh? Oh, I didn't see it!" Kiana jumped up with a silly grin, handed the bento boxes to Mei, and briskly brushed the dust off her skirt.
The two of them ran to the bench and sat down. Mei took one bento for herself, and the other two were snatched up by Kiana.
"It's a shame. I made three bentos. I was thinking one for each of us, and one to share with everyone. Now there's an extra one. I should have saved it for Michael..."
"Hah, what's the big deal?" Kiana said, hugging the remaining two boxes with a grin. "Leave it all to me! When it comes to not wasting food, Mei definitely trusts me, right?"
"You... sigh, Kiana!" Mei gently untied the knot on her bento box and chided, "You can't force yourself if you can't eat it all. Don't upset your stomach!"
"I know, I know! You Far East people have such small bento boxes. These two together might be just enough for me!" She huffed, then suddenly clapped her hands together and shouted, "Time to eat!"
"Mmm!" Mei nodded vigorously and opened her own bento.
Probably because of all the jostling earlier, the bento's presentation was no longer as exquisite as it had been that morning, but it still looked decent—especially when compared to Mobius's fried eggs, which were made at the same time.
But good-looking food doesn't always taste good.
Mei picked up a piece of cabbage and put it in her mouth. After one chew, she immediately had to force it down. She then tried a small piece of the potato pancake, and her vision blurred once more.
"What's wrong, Mei?" Kiana, who had just opened her bento and shoveled in two large mouthfuls of rice, was about to stuff a whole potato pancake into her mouth. But hearing Mei's sobs, she quickly turned to ask.
"It's nothing, it's just... just... my own cooking, it tastes so bad..."
The cabbage was salty to the point of being bitter, while the potato pancake had no flavor at all. Only the rice, steamed in the rice cooker, could escape the verdict of "unpalatable." Although this was her first time cooking, the result was... as terrible as ever...
"Huh? Is it bad?" Kiana scratched her head, looked at the golden-brown potato pancake, and took a big bite without hesitation. "Mmm... mmm! It's delicious!"
"See, I told you it's bad... huh?"
"It's delicious!"
Mei wiped away her tears and saw Kiana's smile. It wasn't a fake smile, not at all. It was a pure smile of enjoyment.
"No... that's impossible, right?"
"What? Would I lie to you?"
Mei frowned. The bite she had from her own bento really wasn't good.
While she was still puzzled, Kiana had already picked up a piece from the other side of the potato pancake she had just bitten and brought it to Mei's lips. "Here! Just try a bite and you'll know!"
"This..." Mei was too embarrassed by such an intimate gesture, but Kiana, taking advantage of the moment Mei opened her mouth to breathe, quickly slipped the chopsticks into her mouth.
Mei chewed a couple of times with a glimmer of hope, but her expression gradually turned to confusion. She had thought Kiana found it delicious because she hadn't mixed the seasoning evenly, but now... it tasted no different from what she had eaten before. Just the pure taste of potato, not even a hint of salt. How could food like this possibly be delicious!
"Kiana, you lied to me..."
"Huh? No, I didn't! I really think it's delicious! If you don't believe me, watch—hic!" She mixed the potato pancake, cabbage, and rice together with her chopsticks and, like a whirlwind, devoured the entire bento, even letting out an unladylike burp.
"You..." Mei hadn't even finished wiping her tears. Seeing Kiana's actions, she was both worried and amused. "Um... don't you think the potato pancake is too bland? And the cabbage is a bit too salty, isn't it?"
"It's fine!" Kiana swallowed the last bite and wiped her shiny lips. "A little, yeah, but it's still delicious! Hehe, mainly because compared to my old man's cooking, anything is delicious!"
"Eh? Your father... you seem to mention him a lot. Can you tell me more about him?"
"Uh, well... there's not much to tell, really." Kiana felt a little guilty. The name of the Kaslana family was still a forbidden topic. Although she could talk about her old man without mentioning the surname, it still gave her a sense of guilt for not being completely open with Mei.
So she instinctively didn't want to talk about it, but if she refused directly, it would only make Mei more curious, right?
Kiana closed her eyes and scratched her head, silent for a moment as if recalling the past. After a while, she spoke. "Actually, I don't remember much! But back in Siberia, we didn't have much to eat. We basically ate whatever we could find. Occasionally, on birthdays or holidays, we'd have something good like toast, and then my old man would have to cook. And his cooking skills... hehe! In his own words, the ancestral talent of our Kaslana family is—the ability to turn any ingredient into something unpalatable!"
That's right, she wasn't going to avoid it anymore. It was better to just tell Mei. Instead of hiding it with guilt, it was better to be open and let her know everything. After all, Mei was... the person she trusted most.
It should be... fine, right?
"Kiana..." Mei held Kiana's hand, her heart aching. It took a full half-minute before she belatedly asked, "The Kaslana family? Wait, that name sounds familiar. Let me think... ah! Isn't that one of the three great families of Schicksal?"
"Yeah! What do you think, surprised? I'm actually a noble, you know!"
"No wonder... no wonder you always call yourself 'this young lady'..."
Kiana had braced herself, but was surprised when Mei only said that. Then again, what could a girl Mei's age understand?
"Ah, ah! Let's not talk about this. If you're interested, Mei, I'll tell you more tomorrow night!" Kiana tapped the bento box with her chopsticks. In the upbringing Mei had received, this was a rude gesture, but in her eyes now, it was just cute.
"Anyway, I think your cooking is delicious, Mei. Um... Mei, can I ask you for a favor?"
"What is it?"
"Come on, just say yes first! Please?"
"O-okay..."
"Hehe!" Kiana made a mischievous face and patted Mei's shoulder heavily. "Young Miss Raiden Mei! From now on, this young lady's daily lunch is in your hands!"
"Ah... but, my cooking really isn't that good, not nearly as good as the chef my father used to hire..."
At this, Mei herself froze. That's right. The reason she and Kiana had different opinions on the same food was because their points of comparison were different.
In Mei's perception, anything less than the bento made by her father's chef was bad. But in Kiana's perception, any food better than what she could scavenge was delicious.
Besides, it was her first time cooking. Although it was just two simple dishes, they looked good, and in terms of taste, one was just a bit too salty and the other a bit too bland. It wasn't a huge problem. Couldn't they just be mixed together like Kiana did to balance it out?
Moreover, this was the first time someone had asked her for a favor.
Perhaps people had asked her for things before, but they were really asking her father, using her as a medium. This was the first time someone had truly asked her for something within her own power.
Honestly, she still didn't have much confidence, but something inside her had changed, or rather, had suddenly appeared—the feeling of being needed.
Especially at this moment, when she was unsure of her own existence, when her existence was constantly being denied by those around her, for someone to stand in front of her and tell her they needed her, and that this need had nothing to do with anything else, but simply because she was Raiden Mei.
Mei suddenly looked up, gripped Kiana's hand firmly in return, and replied with a smile, "Alright! Then from now on, the bento for the young miss of the Kaslana family will be handled by yours truly—but you'd better not complain!"
This time, it was Kiana, who had been on the offensive, who couldn't take it. Her cheeks flushed a visible red. She lowered her head and let out a barely audible "mmm."
And so, the atmosphere between the two girls suddenly became strangely peculiar. They had already wasted a lot of time. In this strange atmosphere, they quickly finished their bentos and left the rooftop hand in hand.
Bang!
It seemed that no matter what, the metal door of the rooftop would only respond with the loudest noise and the most violent collision. But that was fine. The door closed quickly and decisively, giving the girls no chance to look back. And so, two figures who had been standing on the rooftop from the beginning were revealed as the light shifted.
"How nice..." Mobius stared blankly at the plain metal door and sighed.
"What's so nice about it?" Michael's retort was a bit of a mood-killer. He regretted it the moment he said it. According to Mobius's habits, such a meaningless and slightly Elysia-like teasing question would at most earn him a cold snort...
But he was wrong again. Mobius actually lowered her head and thought for a moment before replying with a hint of nostalgia, "Maybe it's their age, or their carefree nature... Other than that, there's nothing to be envious of."
Michael shook his head. It wasn't that he disagreed with the answer. It would be a lie to say he wasn't moved at all, but he didn't think it was anything to be praised. "No matter what, it's just because of ignorance. Because they don't know the truth of the world, they can still indulge in this false happiness and joy. When they each embark on their destined journeys... they will be just like us, envious of these ignorant and happy times."
The words were harsh, but largely true.
"Michael, so you believe that happiness and joy can also be real or fake?"
Michael turned his head in surprise. "Mobius, when did you start studying these things?"
Mobius's brow lifted. She sighed, a hint of helplessness in her expression. "Setting aside the fact that I've always been interested in these things, Michael, I'm human too. After so long, I'm bound to have changed a little, right?"
Michael's tongue darted around his slightly parted lips, at a loss. Honestly, he had felt Mobius's change from the beginning, but he could never believe that the once paranoid and crazy Mobius would now show her gentle side more often.
In fact, Mobius probably viewed his changes with the same disbelief.
But soon, Mobius followed up with her signature cold snort. "But you're right. I'm too lazy to think about such problems now. It's just that over two thousand years ago, I witnessed a debate among the humans of this era. One side believed that escaping pain and pursuing pleasure leads to happiness, while the other believed that such happiness is false, and that true happiness can only be achieved by tempering one's character."
"Oh? So what were your thoughts?"
"What thoughts could I have?" Mobius sneered, glancing at Michael. "For me, constantly thinking about the reality or falsity of happiness is completely unnecessary. No matter what method is used, as long as I can feel happy, how can that feeling be fake?"
Michael felt a sudden coldness in his palm as Mobius unexpectedly grabbed his hand.
He didn't resist. He just gently bit his lower lip, his fingers squeezing slightly, letting Mobius feel his strength and warmth in return.
"Alright, let's talk about the Herrscher of Conquest's host."
"What about her? That she looks like MEI?" Michael made a clever joke, but found Mobius staring at him silently from the side.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Mobius shook her head slowly. "It's just... Michael, you seem very happy today."
"Do I..." Michael touched his cheek with his free left hand. Mei had said the same thing this morning, but he hadn't paid it any mind.
Of course, he didn't seem to be paying it any mind now either. He cleared his throat and continued along the lines of Mobius's original question. "Mmm? So, about Raiden Mei, what did you want to say?"
Mobius took a deep breath but held it for a long time. She maintained this posture for about ten seconds before saying with a hint of irony, "Nothing. I just think that, rather than looking like MEI, her personality is a bit like yours."
"Heh, how could that be? She's much stronger than me."
Mobius shrugged and spread her hands, as if to say, See? I knew he'd say that.
"Although there are some things that make me want to beat you up when I think back on them, Michael, the fact that you could become the person you are today is proof of many things."
"Oh."
This lukewarm response made the muscles in Mobius's cheeks twitch violently.
"Actually, I'm more curious. She wasn't always this timid, was she?"
"That's normal! At her age, in this situation, she's afraid of more people distancing themselves from her, so she takes the most humble approach—constantly trying to please others. It's quite pitiful when you think about it!"
Hearing this familiar tone, Mobius's free right hand clenched into a fist. She then replied with a phrase Michael used to use to deflect: "Perhaps."
Michael chuckled, and a silence fell between them.
They had a lot to talk about—about the Honkai, about Project Stigma, about the beginning and the end, or about memories so blurred that even their outlines were gone.
But they also had nothing to say. In the roaring wind on the rooftop, perhaps it was better not to talk about such heavy things.
But besides those, what else was there to talk about? The last five hundred years? It wasn't impossible, but they couldn't bring themselves to start. Perhaps five hundred years had made things awkward, or perhaps their relationship didn't need such topics as lubricant.
"Hua is also in the Far East."
"Hmm?"
"She arrived this morning. Heh, that one, she's gotten slow after retiring on Mount Taixuan for so long. The Taixuan Sect doesn't have a branch in the Far East, but she fought alongside Theresa of Schicksal's Far East Branch during the Second Honkai Eruption. Knowing her, she'll probably want to chat with her old friend, right?"
Mobius seemed to be talking to herself, giving Michael no chance to speak. "Alright, I'm going to find Gray Serpent 114514 to get some information. See you tonight..."
As her voice faded, Michael turned his head to see only a fleeting arc of green electricity.
"Am I... happy today? No, I shouldn't be."
Michael paced around anxiously. He realized that this anxiety, like the happiness, was an emotion that should have been suppressed.
"Is it because of this?" He placed his right hand over his heart, feeling the powerful beat. "No, not this. Could it be..."
He silently walked to the metal door of the rooftop. The door was polished smooth enough to serve as a makeshift mirror.
And so, Michael saw, in his silver-gray eyes, an indelible trace of pink.