Having earned money through her own labor today and feasting in the evening, Kiana was exceptionally happy. She was humming songs and skipping around.
A genuine smile is contagious. Ryn was also very happy watching the cheerful Kiana, but he was also worried about how to proceed on their journey.
The TV was randomly playing a program. Kiana was leaning against Ryn, and Ryn was holding a copy of Homu Adventure, telling Kiana the story of the Homu King.
"Academy City is located in the suburbs of Nagazora City in the Far East. This Academy City gathers the world's most advanced equipment and facilities. The educational institutions in the city cover all levels, from preschool education to specialized institutes of high technology. Inside, there are various unique academies such as Senba Academy, Familiar Academy, etc. Among them, Senba Academy is an independent all-girls school dedicated to creating the perfect young women of the new era..." (According to expert speculation, the Far East is Japan, and Nagazora City is Yokohama, Japan.)
Halfway through the program, it entered an interesting commercial break. At this moment, an advertisement for the Academy City in the Far East was playing.
The cowlick on Kiana's head twitched. She seemed to have noticed some keywords.
"World, perfect girl, Senba Academy... Ryn, Ryn, my pretty-girl sensor is reacting!" Kiana pulled on Ryn's arm, pointing excitedly at her cowlick.
"Why does your cowlick have that function? Damn it, isn't that just like a certain pile driver whose badge moves whenever there's a female spellcaster nearby?" Ryn turned into a ruthless machine, mercilessly roasting her.
He pinched Kiana's cowlick with one hand and her small face with the other. *My head is so itchy. Oh no, am I about to grow a brain?*
"Speaking of which, Kiana is only 12 this year, so it's about time she went to school. What do you think, want to go to that Senba Academy? There will be many peers your age there. Kiana should be able to make a lot of friends."
"I don't want to go to school! I've seen them, they have to sit in a classroom every day. I can't stand staying in one place for that long." Kiana slapped Ryn's hand away and stuck out her tongue. "I just thought that my stinky old dad is a pervert, and Senba Academy must have a lot of pretty girls. Dad will definitely go there. We'll go there and wait for him!" (In Honkai Gakuen 2, Kiana went to Senba Academy because she detected the Honkai reactor underground. In Honkai Impact 3rd, it was really because she thought Siegfried was a pervert who would go to Senba Academy that she went there.)
"Wow, my little paramecium even knows four-character idioms. But I think you're just after those pretty girls."
"I'm not a paramecium! Although I am quite fond of pretty girls, finding my dad is more important."
"Then we need to hurry up. The commercial said that Senba Academy is about to start its school year. We're still quite far from there. When we get to Nagazora City, we'll find a job to earn some tuition for you."
"I don't want to go to school. I'm just going to have a look."
"Yes, yes, whatever Kiana says..."
They chatted for a long time. Eventually, Kiana got sleepy and went to bed first. Ryn looked up some information about Senba Academy for a while, planned their route, and then rested as well.
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[Tsk, tsk, tsk, in the end, they still took the old road to Senba Academy... What a boring fate... I need to prepare something for Ryn to help him get through what's about to happen at Senba Academy.
Hey, hey, is the main body there? Send me some authority or a Herrscher core.] The white-haired girl inside the Stigmata began to call out to her main body in another world.
"Sometimes I feel you're not like me at all." A hollow, oppressive voice echoed in the Stigmata space.
[Of course I'm not like you. I'm just a Stigmata consciousness with your memories. Isn't my current self the real you, Kiana Kaslana? You've forgotten what kind of person you used to be!]
"Whatever you say. It's been who knows how many billions of years. If my other half wasn't still by my side, I probably would have gone mad long ago. All I hope for now is that Penglaiji Ryn can truly reach me and either save me or kill me."
[Don't be silly, that other half of yours is just a puppet. You'd be better off checking on the Raiden Mei who still exists in the real world.]
"You're talking too much. Take the authority and get lost."
[You're yelling at me? You're actually yelling at me? Forget it, I won't stoop to your level. The fact that you can yell at me means you still have some emotions left. If they were all gone, I might as well cut ties with you and go live with Ryn.
By the way, he's very nice to Kiana, you know~]
"..."
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In the morning, when Ryn woke up, he felt that the Stigmata on his hand was a little different than usual, but he didn't think much of it. Anyway, the Stigmata was a part of his body, so it couldn't possibly harm him, right? Maybe Miss Stigmata was up to something new again? (Raiden Mei: Yeah, yeah, a Stigmata would never harm its host.)
After washing up, Ryn helped Kiana braid her hair into two pigtails. After a simple breakfast, they set off. They had originally intended to buy plane tickets, but neither of them had any form of identification. Taking a car was slower than running. Besides, Kiana didn't like riding in cars; she preferred to walk on the journey with Ryn.
Kiana hadn't had a chance to properly experience the warmth of this world before Siegfried left her. But now, Ryn was showing her the mountains and rivers, letting her experience the ups and downs of life. This was good. She liked it very much.
But Ryn wasn't going to indulge her. Once he knew the destination, it was best to get there as soon as possible. He downloaded a map on his phone and planned the shortest, most convenient route.
Originally, Kiana had planned to go to Europe to find Siegfried, but Ryn thought that since they were searching aimlessly anyway, they might as well go to Shenzhou, which was like the country from his original world. So, Kiana, who was supposed to wander in Europe for a month or so before heading to the Far East, skipped Europe entirely and came directly to the Far East.
It was also a good thing they came to the Far East first, as it would be faster to get to the Extreme East from there. If they had gone from Europe to the Far East and then to the Extreme East, they probably would have missed the start of the school year.
So they rushed for two months. Although they were always sleeping rough, they finally reached a coastal port in Shenzhou. After buying tickets to the Far East, the two of them, with one large bag and one small bag, boarded the ship.
Ryn was now 15 years old, but thanks to the enhancement from his Stigmata, he was already 1.7 meters tall. After his voice changed, although Ryn still looked like a pretty girl, one could still tell he was male when he spoke. (Female and male voice tones are different and generally easy to distinguish.)
Kiana was now 12 years old and only about 1.1 meters tall. Her chubby little face and sunny, cheerful smile made people on the road think they were a family on a trip.
Ryn just went along with it when they said he and Kiana were a couple, shamelessly admitting it every time. Kiana's skin was still thin, and she would shyly blush every time. Apparently, she also thought the passersby were saying she and Ryn were a couple, but she never objected.