บท 21: Chapter 21: Unrestrained Moonlight
One of Zeke's experimental setups was destroyed by Kia's kitchen explosion, forcing him to spend extra hours at the underground research facility to repeat the process.
By the time he staggered upstairs, night had fallen, and bright wall lamps illuminated the living room.
Kiana, holding Vera, watched cartoons together; both were dressed in their pajamas, indicating they had already taken baths.
"You finally made it back! Hurry up, or we won't wait any longer for dinner."
Only Kiana could speak so commanding and authoritative to Zeke.
Zeke didn't bother looking at Kiana's smug expression, instead focusing his attention on Vera's demeanor.
Vera's face showed no discomfort or suspicious blush; it seemed she was simply being held without any inappropriate actions taking place.
That made sense. Zeke had already programmed Icarus with strict instructions: upon detecting any abnormalities in Vera's body temperature, heartbeat, etc., regardless of circumstances, to immediately bind and suspend Kiana.
More than half of Kiana's suspensions resulted from this directive, and most weren't unwarranted.
Since Icarus took no action, it indicated that Kiana wasn't engaging in anything indecent.
How peculiar!
"Could it be that even she has finally matured?" Zeke muttered skeptically under his breath.
"Hey! What're you spacing out for? This young lady is starving—how much longer do you expect me to wait? Hurry up and serve dinner!"
"..."
Scratch that thought—it must have been a momentary lapse in judgment, not genuine growth. It couldn't possibly signify any maturity on her part.
Zeke, unwilling to dwell too much on such a simple-minded creature, issued commands to Icarus before heading back to change his clothes.
After satisfying her hunger, Vera cuddled with the now-popular yellow bunny plushie and continued watching children's cartoons produced by Anti-Entropy Entertainment.
In another corner of the living room, Zeke was engrossed in a book, with a cup of steaming tea nearby.
Surprisingly, Kiana wasn't teasing Vera but had instead approached Zeke, gazing at him with her wide, innocent eyes.
"What do you want?" Zeke asked without looking up from his pages.
"Heh heh!"
Kiana chuckled mischievously, then pinched Zeke's arm, measured his height against hers, circled around him once, and nodded approvingly.
"Not bad! You've gained some weight, and your physique looks much stronger now. Your complexion is great too. Even though you seem healthy already, remember to eat well, get plenty of sleep, and take care of yourself, okay, Zeke?"
Zeke paused momentarily in turning the page, finally lifting his head to see Kiana's content smile.
"Hmm..."
Taking a moment to ponder, Zeke drew a deep breath, mentally preparing himself before responding mildly:
"Alright, spill it. Did you get yourself into some trouble I'm not aware of, or did another whim strike you to ask for something from me?"
Zeke could only think of these two reasons for Kiana's seemingly unprovoked concern.
Kiana blinked blankly, then puffed up her cheeks and stomped her feet angrily.
"You big dummy, Zeke! Can't you see I'm genuinely concerned about you? And yet, that's what you think of me? So rude, hmph!"
Is she just being genuinely caring?
Zeke instinctively doubted it but couldn't fathom Kiana's true intentions. After a moment of hesitation, to avoid unfairly accusing her, he clapped his hands.
"Icarus, chocolate ice cream."
"Yes, My Lord."
A robotic arm delivered a premium ice cream cup, which Zeke handed to Kiana, still glaring at him intently.
She snatched the ice cream away swiftly.
"Don't think this will make me forgive you so easily. You better do some serious soul-searching, hmph!"
With a half-proud, half-satisfied huff, Kiana carried her ice cream towards the balcony outside.
Zeke silently watched her retreating figure.
Kiana leaned against the balcony, bathed in moonlight. Her small silhouette seemed somewhat melancholic.
"???"
Question marks appeared above Zeke's head.
What was up with her this time?
Finding no answer, Zeke got up and walked over to Vera, asking:
"Vera, did anything happen between you and Kiana today?"
"Huh? With Big Sister Kiana? No, nothing happened."
Vera looked up, puzzled, responding without any hint of guilt.
That made sense; given Kiana's silly nature, how could there be conflicts between her and the gentle, well-behaved Vera?
If it wasn't due to a disagreement with Vera, not caused by mischief, nor driven by any request, then what prompted her sudden concern?
Could she genuinely have grown up and matured?
Did I misjudge her?
Zeke frowned, feeling troubled.
Why does my superior intellect only serve me in rigorous mathematics and scientific theories, yet fail to decipher a girl's thoughts?
It's utterly baffling—what is Kiana thinking?
Collecting himself, Zeke asked Icarus for another piece of cake and headed towards the balcony.
"Here, extra dessert." Approaching Kiana, Zeke placed the cake on the railing ledge and pushed it towards her.
Kiana glanced at the cake, then looked at her barely touched ice cream before moving the dessert closer to herself. With a hint of pride yet unable to hide her delight, she said,
"Consider yourself lucky this time, but don't think I'll forgive you just like that."
Honestly, forgiveness didn't matter much; rather, this tsundere behavior... was quite amusing.
Zeke almost blurted out his thoughts, eager to see Kiana's indignant reaction. However, upon further consideration, he felt it might be too harsh. If she genuinely meant well, deliberately provoking her could hurt the girl's feelings.
As a responsible parent who understood when to draw the line, Zeke softened his tone and asked,
"So, is there anything else you want?"
"I... never mind. Just treat Vera better from now on."
"That's it? It's not like I've mistreated her."
"Then even better! She's so adorable—what's wrong with spoiling her a bit?"
Absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Recalling their routine, Zeke provided for Vera's meals, shelter, clothing, playtime, homework help, and occasional affectionate pats... Hmm, aside from not being accustomed to grinning widely around little girls, he believed he had been doing pretty well, right?
"I mean put effort into it! Effort, do you understand?"
"I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. I believe I've been doing my best."
"Agh! You're driving me crazy, you... Taking care of someone casually and genuinely caring for them are different. Treat Little Vera as attentively as you treat me."
"As attentively as you? Do you mean I should add a program to suspend Vera alongside Icarus when necessary, just like with you?"
Kiana's eyes widened, initially fueled by anger. But upon seeing Zeke's bewildered expression, her fury dissolved into a stifled laugh, which then erupted into uncontrollable laughter.
"Hahaha! Zeke, buddy, you'll never find a girlfriend!"
"Don't worry; staying single wouldn't bother me if that happens."
After all, Zeke had zero experience or knowledge about girlfriends, so their presence or absence didn't affect his mindset.
However, Kiana patted him on the shoulder, tears welling up from laughter, and offered reassuringly:
"Don't give up! With your intelligence, if you set your mind to it, you can definitely succeed. I have faith in you!"
"...What's gotten into you? Something seems off."
Zeke keenly sensed something was amiss; he felt as if Kiana had some hidden concerns.
Kiana's smile gradually faded away, and she gazed up at the moon. After a moment, she softly spoke:
"I actually didn't want to mention this. But as friends, leaving without saying goodbye doesn't seem right, does it, Zeke?"
"Hmm, yes, it wouldn't be polite... Wait, what do you mean 'leaving without saying goodbye'?" Zeke's pupils contracted, a sudden sense of unease gripping him as a realization dawned on his mind.
"Exactly. Don't forget, I came out here searching for my grumpy old dad... Even though he's grumpy, I miss him terribly, and I know he must be thinking about me somewhere too. I can't just stay put forever; I have to continue looking until I find him. And when that day comes, I'll give that big dummy a satisfying punch right in the face! It'll feel so cathartic, ha-ha!"
Holding her ice cream cup high, Kia seemed to toast the moon or perhaps honor Siegfried, whose whereabouts were unknown beneath the same sky.
"So, you're leaving?"
"Mm-hmm."
"All by yourself?"
"What else? Vera is still so young, and you've finally found some peace. Don't wander off with me now. Besides..."
Our worlds are different; if I took you along, you'd only get hurt. Kiana didn't voice these thoughts to spare Zeke any worry.
Images of her past battles against Honkai Beasts flashed through Kiana's mind. Though she didn't fully understand Honkai yet, she knew that she and her father were not like ordinary people.
"The Kaslana name signifies those born to protect the world," Siegfried had once told her. "It carries both honor and responsibility."
To Kiana, confronting disasters like Honkai Beasts seemed destined as her mission. Therefore, involving Zeke was out of the question. All she needed was for him to live well, ready to give her another stern lecture when they next met.
Bathed in moonlight, Kiana's face lit up with an incredibly tender smile.
Zeke watched her, his mind completely blank.
Despite having contemplated parting ways with Kiana long ago, Zeke found it impossible to describe his feelings now that the moment had arrived. It felt as if he'd merely considered the idea but never truly made a decision—nor imagined what saying goodbye to her would be like.
Can't you stay? The thought surfaced in Zeke's mind.
Then he met Kiana's gentle yet resolute gaze.
Yes, who could stop Kiana once she set her mind on something?
She was leaving, just like this moonlight, impossible to hold onto.
This reality left Zeke rooted under the moonlit sky, unable to move for a long time.
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