On the way to Nagami's apartment, Kiana tilted her head and gave Nagami—who was clearly lost in thought—a hard slap on the shoulder.
"Hey! Snap out of it! My life is literally in your hands right now!"
"Relax. My driving skills are flawless. There won't be any accidents."
His voice brimmed with confidence, but coming from someone who still wasn't looking at the road, it wasn't exactly reassuring.
"Do you even have a license? Want me to take over instead?" Kiana glanced at him nervously, her words laced with suspicion.
"I do," he replied with a sigh, glancing at her. "Want to try driving yourself?"
"I do!!" Her eyes lit up as she grabbed his shoulder, a surge of excitement taking over her face.
She had been dying for a chance to go full throttle in a car.
But then, as if remembering something critical, Kiana's enthusiasm froze for just a moment.
Nagami, of course, didn't miss that flicker of awkwardness.
With a little snort, he glanced at the soft, pale hand gripping his arm and said with a deadpan look:
"You bought your driver license, huh?"
Bullseye.
A hint of embarrassment crept onto Kiana's face as her gaze started to dart around.
Her voice lost its earlier energy.
"I-I've driven before, okay? For a long time too! It's just… I couldn't take the test because of age restrictions, and…"
"Fine. I'll trust you. Just this once."
Nagami eased the car to a slower pace and eventually pulled over to the side of the road.
Hopping out of the driver's seat, he stood with one hand on his hip and looked at Kiana.
He really did trust her—someone who managed to make it all the way from Northern Europe to the Far East probably wasn't going to struggle behind the wheel.
Sure, she might be a bit of an airhead, but driving skill doesn't necessarily correlate with IQ.
"Woohoo!"
Grinning like a kid in a candy store, Kiana threw an arm around Nagami's shoulders like they were best bros.
With her other hand, she thumped her chest confidently.
"Just watch, Nagami! You're gonna be blown away by my driving!"
More and more, she was starting to really like this guy.
"Heh…"
Nagami let out a mocking chuckle and pushed her arm off with a look of disdain, hopping into the passenger seat and settling into a relaxed position.
"I'm just tired of driving, that's all."
"Uh-huh~ Sure, sure. You people from Japan call that 'tsundere' behavior, right?"
Kiana crossed her arms and gave him a sly smirk, her tone teasing.
"But just so you know—prideful guys aren't really in demand these days."
"It's not pride, it's tsundere!" Nagami smacked her lightly on the forehead with a karate-chop motion, rolling his eyes.
"Ow! What if you knocked all the brains out of me, huh?!" Rubbing her forehead, Kiana glared at him with gritted teeth as she expertly started up the sports car.
"No worries. Your IQ doesn't have any room to drop lower." Ignoring her death glare, Nagami leaned against the window frame, resting his fist under his cheek.
"I'm gonna bite you!"
"What are you, a dog?"
With the engine revving beneath them, the two bickered like childhood friends reunited after years apart.
————————————————————————
"This is way too easy."
Slouching in her chair, CC tossed the controller aside with a yawn, lazily watching her character kick the Collector's King across the screen.
Ever since he got this second body, that body reaction speed had tripled.
This game was a total joke to her now.
After quitting Dead Cells, she booted up League of Legends.
Her golden eyes, now devoid of focus, stared blankly at the loading screen as her thoughts drifted back to Kiana.
Maybe it was due to her sudden boost in mental strength—or perhaps some sort of soul evolution—but CC could now easily recall the rough plot of her previous life.
According to Sora and Mei, Chiba Academy was supposed to be an elite institution.
To get in, you either needed connections or to ace the entrance exams.
And let's be real—no one's buying the idea that Kiana got in on merit.
Which means someone had to have pulled strings for her.
So the real question is—who?
Kind of like how in Konoha, if something went wrong and you didn't know who to blame, you just pinned it on Danzo.
In the Honkai world, if you're unsure who's behind the scenes, just assume it's Otto.
And honestly, during this time period, the only one keeping such a close eye on Kiana would be Otto, thanks to his obsession with the Sirin Project.
Unfortunately, thanks to miHoYo's habit of retconning everything under the sun, Honkai Impact 3rd's plot was now as fragmented as Arcueid after a full combo from Shiki.
CC couldn't find any reliable intel from those messes.
That's part of why she preferred not to rely too much on knowledge from her past life, outside of the big picture stuff.
Otto clearly had a deep understanding of Kiana's personality.
He probably arranged for her fake ID through a shady, well-paid broker.
And since the guy got a fat paycheck, there's no way he'd harbor ill will toward Kiana—which means her inner danger radar wouldn't get triggered.
Now, what CC really wanted to figure out was—did Otto know about Cocolia's plans?
Was it a coincidence that Kiana and Mei met?
Or had Otto intended for them to cross paths in Nagazora City, maybe even hoping Cocolia would help awaken Sirin's consciousness?
Back at the café, when Kiana's eyes briefly flashed gold during their conversation, that tiny shimmer had been enough to confirm something for CC—the pufferfish was beginning to sense the outside world.
If this had happened before the chatroom opened before Nagami had gained any powers, he wouldn't have even considered such complicated possibilities.
It would've just felt like unnecessary overthinking.
But Otto… that wily old fox who's lived for 500 years… he's not someone you can take lightly.
In their previous life, if Otto had a visible health bar, Nagami could've confidently said, "I can kill this guy as many times as I want."
But in this life, it's the complete opposite. Right now?
Nagami can't die, sure.
But Otto could kill him as many times as he wants.
Nagami may have gained immortality, but that alone doesn't guarantee victory.
He can't lose—but he can't win, either.
CC's slender fingers flew across the keyboard, her right hand never stopping on the mouse.
The glowing Pentakill message that flashed across the screen didn't even make her blink.
Her thoughts were already racing ahead, sketching out possible future scenarios and devising countermeasures one by one.
The only thing she lacked now—was power.
Nagami's current body was entirely ordinary.
Immortal or not, a regular human body stood no chance against a Valkyrie in real combat.
In that regard, CC had the clear advantage.
Her manifested character body was far superior to Nagami's physique.
She didn't even need to consider using Fusion Spirit Techniques.
With Nagami's current state, even the Alpha Stigma would only serve as a secondary support skill.
As of now, CC's only real assets were her Code and Geass.
The Code gave her the ability to grant others Geass—and through that, build her own influence.
But two problems stood in her way:
There was no one they could trust.
The number of people she could bestow with Geass was extremely limited.
The first problem could technically be solved with her own Geass.
Although, to be honest, CC personally despised using any power that forcibly altered a person's mind or will. It just wasn't her style.
Still, she wasn't some idealistic fool. If it became necessary, she would use it.
But the second issue? There was no fix.
Because the energy source for her Code was no longer tied to the world of Lelouch—it now came solely from CC herself.
That meant her resurrection speed had slowed significantly, and the power to grant Geass had weakened as well.
There was no cap on how many she could give… but each one required support from Nagami's soul energy.
And right now, Nagami could only support one person receiving a Geass.
Just one.
One Geass wasn't going to move the needle on the grand scale—it was like tossing a glass of water on a wildfire.
With precise micro-control and sharp positioning, CC secured another Pentakill.
The enemy team voted to surrender.
As the blue Nexus exploded with a brilliant burst of energy, a wave of virtual force rippled across the screen, blurring everything out.
That chaotic swirl of thoughts in her head felt like it was blown away too.
CC stood up, stretched, and let out a long yawn, her graceful, curvaceous form arching as she relaxed her body.
She pushed all those tangled plans and worries out of her mind—for now.
'Whatever happens later… can be figured out later. Right now, it's lunchtime.'
With lazy steps, she walked to the kitchen, poked her head around the corner, and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, silently counting the minutes.
Hmm.
Still had some time to spare.
From her pocket, she pulled out a brand-new hair tie.
Gathering her long green hair into a high ponytail, she tossed it behind her back and rolled up her sleeves.
Then she tied on an apron with practiced ease.
Time to cook.