A bug pretending to be asleep tastes quite delicious.
Otto slowly closed the door to Kiana's room. He leaned his back against it, looking out at the living room where he was now alone.
"Does this count as our relationship taking a step forward?"
He chuckled softly. He had taken advantage of the situation. If this were the Kiana who had already met Mei, forget pretending to be asleep—she would have jumped up and beaten him half to death.
Is this the joy of being one step ahead?
The feeling was truly wonderful. Kiana's lips were so sweet.
"My dear little kitten, just like this, slowly become mine. And then, become the firefly that shines only for me."
There were no regrets. Otto shook his head, humming a little tune as he went to get breakfast.
As for waking Kiana, he figured that in her current state, she wouldn't have any appetite.
---o---
The moment he closed the door, a pair of azure eyes snapped open in the dim room.
Kiana sat up, pulling her knees to her chest. She stared blankly to the left, then to the right.
Then, in disbelief, she pressed her fingers to her own lips.
Like an actress changing masks, her fair-skinned face instantly flushed crimson, and her ears burned hot.
How dare he! How could he dare!
She buried her face in her knees, but her fingers remained on her lips, where the phantom sensation of his touch lingered, impossible to erase, as if it had been branded there.
That was her first kiss!
In her single-minded search for Siegfried, she'd never had time for romance. Her only real interest had been admiring pretty girls.
She had wondered what her first kiss would be like. Perhaps she'd give it to a noble young lady with long, black hair, or maybe to a stoic, tough girl.
But she never, ever imagined that it would be claimed by a man she had known for less than a day!
AND!!!
How dare he use his tongue!
Wasn't he afraid she would wake up?!
She had actually been awake when Otto knocked. Having lived alone for so many years, Kiana was sensitive to her surroundings and was easily roused by the slightest disturbance.
She hadn't felt like getting up yet, but then she heard Otto enter the room and had instinctively feigned sleep.
But she never expected him to launch a sneak attack. To steal a kiss from her?
Damn him!
Kiana thrashed about on the bed, her long white hair flying in a messy tangle. After rolling around for a good while, she finally flopped onto her back, limbs spread wide.
She stared up at the ceiling, murmuring to herself.
"A place to belong... huh?"
---o---
After finishing breakfast in the hotel restaurant, Otto returned to the suite with a newspaper in hand.
His gaze fell on Kiana's closed door. The girl probably hadn't come out yet. He had no idea when her anger would subside, but he wasn't particularly concerned.
He sat down leisurely on the sofa, twisted the cap off a bottle of Assam milk tea, and poured it into a glass.
What could he do? He didn't know how to brew proper tea.
I really wish Rita were here to make some for me.
Otto leaned back, unfolding the newspaper to see if there was anything interesting.
Just then, the communication terminal in his pocket vibrated.
He pulled it out and saw it was a message from Rita.
He had just been thinking of her, and she sent him a message. Could this be the fabled telepathic connection?
See? Rita and I are a perfect match.
He opened the message. Rita began by inquiring about his health before reporting on the mission he had assigned her.
She had already extracted Raiden Ryoma from prison.
And moved him to a Schicksal prison.
Her efficiency is truly impressive, Otto praised her internally. He then noticed a photo attached to the message.
In the picture, Rita, dressed in her maid outfit, stood before a set of iron bars, holding up a peace sign with her right hand. Behind the bars, Raiden Ryoma was slumped against the wall, a look of utter despair on his face.
It couldn't be helped. When Cocolia had him thrown in prison, there was still hope; the conservative faction of Anti-Entropy would have eventually rescued him.
But he never imagined he would fall into the hands of Schicksal.
Escaping from here would be nigh impossible.
What concerned him even more was that if Schicksal had found him, it meant Cocolia's every move was under their watch.
And in that case, his daughter...
In short, his expression was one of complete and utter hopelessness.
Seeing Raiden Ryoma's face, Otto smirked. He hoped his future father-in-law would enjoy his stay in Schicksal's dungeons.
He then manipulated the terminal, cropping the photo.
He carefully cut out the part with Rita making the peace sign and saved it.
With Raiden Ryoma in hand, his trip to Nagazora City was now much more secure. Not even Theresa would be able to snatch Raiden Mei away from him now.
Smiling, Otto put the terminal down and began reading the newspaper. As far as he could remember, nothing major happened in Italy. The places to watch were Nagazora City, Arc City, London, and Singapore.
For now, he just needed to focus on Nagazora.
After all, besides Mei, there was something else there that he absolutely had to obtain.
Jizo Mitama.
Although the legendary Divine Key wasn't heavily featured in the lore, it was an eternal god-tier weapon, a treasure Otto was determined to acquire.
Otto glanced at the system interface. The three main missions could also be completed in Nagazora City.
Snatch Mei, capture Cocolia, and then kill Cocolia.
He would show no mercy to that troublemaking vixen. Sparing her would be a disrespect to his own life.
But... why did my Friendship Points increase by 300 after kissing Kiana? he wondered. Even touching her hand before only gave me 50.
It was strange.
He now had 350 Friendship Points, enough for a single pull on the Friendship Supply, but he decided to save up for a ten-pull when he had more time.
In the game, the Friendship Supply was mostly junk, but the things this system put in its prize pool might be less conventional.
If it dropped something like the Judgement of Shamash, Fenghuang Down, or the Star of Eden, Otto would die on the spot for the system to see.
---o---
Time trickled by. A delivery from Schicksal arrived. Before he knew it, it was nearly noon. Otto placed the newspaper he'd finished reading on the coffee table and was about to stretch.
He heard a door open.
Finally decided to come out?
"My sleepy little kitten, have you finally decided to grace us with your presence?"
Otto watched with a smile as Kiana emerged from her room. When she saw him looking, her eyes darted away with a hint of guilt.
But then she seemed to reconsider. Wait, he's the one who stole a kiss! Why should I be the one feeling guilty?!
So, she turned her gaze back to him, her expression somber.
She tried to act as if nothing had happened, but her eyes kept drifting towards Otto's lips. That was the accursed mouth that had chewed on her.
"My dear little kitten, am I that handsome?"
"This young lady just isn't fully awake yet," Kiana mumbled, quickly looking away and heading for the bathroom.
As long as I don't bring it up, it's like it never happened.
Next time I go to sleep, I will definitely lock the door. I absolutely will not give that villain another chance to ambush me! Kiana thought, swearing a solemn vow.
She looked just like an old general on a stage, covered from head to toe in flags, just begging for disaster.