Watching Bronya hopelessly cocoon herself in her blankets, Mei smiled helplessly. She picked up the empty plate, quietly left the room, and gently closed the door behind her.
With Bronya down, it was time to deal with the others.
Mei didn't know exactly how many people had recklessly disregarded their health last night, but she was absolutely certain of at least three culprits.
Bronya, Kiana, and Shu.
How did she know?
Her room was right next to Kiana's. Thanks to the enhanced senses provided by the Key of Genesis, she could hear every single sound in Kiana's room with crystal clarity.
Furthermore, around the middle of the night, Kiana had apparently gotten too lazy to type and switched entirely to voice-to-text, loudly announcing every single person she was chatting with.
Ai-chan was an AI; she had no concept of sleep, and nighttime wasn't her scheduled maintenance window. Mei certainly wasn't going to get angry at an AI for playing games with them, or accuse her of "being a bad influence" on Kiana and Bronya.
As for the "Doctor" Kiana kept talking to, Mei listened for a bit and deduced the person was currently located in Future City.
The time zones were different. For Kiana and the girls, it was the dead of night, but for Arc City, it was a perfectly normal hour. Besides, Mei could hardly police the sleep schedule of someone living on the surface, right?
That wouldn't make sense legally or logically.
Therefore, the only ones who needed to be held accountable were Kiana and Bronya.
Wait, why wasn't she holding Shu accountable?
Obviously, Shu had been corrupted by Kiana and Bronya's bad influence. He was a victim. That added an extra charge to the girls' rap sheets.
No, wait. Shu was still in poor health. Forcing him to stay up all night could severely exacerbate his condition.
Add two extra charges.
Mei decided she was definitely going to add a little extra spice to her report when she snitched on Bronya to Seele later.
She placed Bronya's empty plate in the sink, picked up the rather hefty "breakfast" she had prepared for Kiana, and walked over to the adjacent bedroom. She didn't even bother knocking; she just pushed the door open.
On the bed, Kiana was hopelessly tangled in her blankets. She was sprawled out in a bizarre position, her rear end sticking up in the air and her face buried deep into her pillow.
She was probably playing dead.
"Kiana, time to 'wake up' and eat breakfast," Mei said, her voice just as gentle and perfectly normal as it always was.
"Huh? Oh..." The moment she heard Mei's voice, Kiana struggled to flip over. She squinted her eyes, forcing a look of complete disorientation, and stared blankly at Mei. "I'm getting up..."
My acting is flawless! Plus, I have a great attitude! Mei definitely doesn't suspect a thing!
In her sleep-deprived delirium, Kiana decided to overact, adding completely unnecessary flair to her disguise.
"Hehe... Mei... I think I just saw an angel... Mei~ I want Salisbury steak... three... no, five of them..."
Next door, watching this entire performance through the window, Shu: "..."
That is the worst acting I've ever seen!!
Kiana was, as always, a terrible liar. Although she had managed to avoid looking guilty this time, the lack of sleep had clearly turned her into a complete idiot. She had forgotten exactly how she normally behaved.
Did she honestly not realize that every single time she was woken up, she invariably whined, begged for five more minutes, and stalled as long as humanly possible?
Since when did Kiana ever wake up immediately just because someone called her name?
Predictably, upon seeing Kiana's reaction, the smile on Mei's face deepened.
"We don't have Salisbury steak for breakfast. Just a sandwich and milk." Mei looked at the groggy, flushed face inches away from her. Unable to resist, she reached out and pinched Kiana's cheek.
Wow, so soft and warm...
No, Mei. You must not yield to temptation.
Mei turned her head slightly and hardened her expression.
"Before we eat breakfast, we need to address what happened last night."
"Hap... happened?"
Kiana's sluggish brain slowly turned over, instinctively sensing a hint of danger.
"What happened? Mei, I'm hungry. Can we eat first..."
"No, we cannot."
Still smiling, Mei casually picked up Kiana's phone, which was lying haphazardly on the pillow next to her.
A phone check?!
It is a universally acknowledged truth that a smartphone is modern humanity's ultimate taboo. It cannot be touched, it cannot be looked at, and it absolutely cannot be searched.
Of course, the reason it cannot be searched rarely has anything to do with chat logs.
Some fear the exposure of their ugliest selfies. Others fear the unearthing of embarrassing, edgy posts they made during their middle school chuunibyou phase. Still others fear the revelation of their browser history...
And then, there are those who...
"Mei?! What are you doing with my phone?!"
Kiana managed a brief, 0.1-second flash of absolute lucidity. She lunged forward, desperately trying to snatch the phone back, but Mei easily dodged her.
"Since Kiana loves staying up all night playing video games so much she doesn't even care about her health, I believe it's my responsibility to help you manage your screen time. Don't you agree?"
As she spoke, Mei expertly unlocked Kiana's phone.
She didn't even glance at the social media apps. Instead, she tapped directly on the game icon and navigated straight to the Parental Controls setting menu.
WHAT?!
My own mother didn't even micromanage me this hard!!
"No! Mei! I was wrong! I'm so, so sorry!"
Watching Mei navigate the menus, Kiana let out a blood-curdling scream of pure despair.
"I won't stay up late anymore! I promise I'll go to sleep on time! Please don't turn on the Anti-Addiction lock! My rank! My event rewards! Waaahhhh..."
"Oh, now you're begging for mercy? Why didn't you think of the consequences last night when you dragged Bronya and Shu into pulling an all-nighter with you?"
Mei remained completely unmoved, her heart forged of iron. Her fingers tapped rapidly across the screen, setting up a strict, uncompromising minor-lock on Kiana's gaming account.
Kiana was currently seventeen. She was, in fact, a minor, and was therefore legally subject to the Anti-Addiction sanctions.
Furthermore, given Kiana's genuine signs of video game addiction, Mei felt absolutely no guilt in activating the restrictions.
Of course, she wasn't completely unreasonable. She wouldn't completely ban Kiana from playing.
People needed things to occupy their time. If Kiana couldn't play games, what else would she do? Study? Did people really think the only two paths in life were gaming and studying?
Wasn't there a famous story about a kid who, after being banned from playing video games, out of sheer boredom, became a master at absolutely everything else?
If Kiana got bored, she might start... experimenting with cooking for everyone.
Even Shu, the mighty Herrscher of Dreams, had nearly been assassinated by Kiana's sudden burst of culinary inspiration. Besides Bianka and Kallen, who among them could possibly survive the lethality of a Kaslana's home-cooked meal?
Nobody.
Absolutely nobody!
"Alright. All set." Mei put the phone away with a satisfied nod and picked the tray back up. "Now, be a good girl, eat your breakfast, and go to sleep. Don't wake up until 2:00 PM for lunch."
Kiana was completely defeated.
Crying anime tears, she resigned herself to her fate, picked up the sandwich, and began stuffing it into her mouth.
Well... at least there's food.