Two breathtakingly beautiful girls strolled hand-in-hand down a road lined with cherry blossoms, their laughter ringing out in the quiet evening air.
Trailing behind them was a black-haired boy.
A gentle breeze carried the pink petals slowly drifting from the trees, swirling around the trio.
The orange-red sunset peeked through the gaps in the branches, casting a soft, dreamy glow on the fair skin of the girls.
"Mei~ Mei~ I want ribs again for lunch tomorrow!" Kiana beamed, her smile as radiant as the sun.
She slipped her slender, pale arms around Mei's and began to sway them back and forth.
"Alright, alright~ I'll make them for you." Mei smiled softly, her calm and elegant demeanor giving her the air of a perfect Yamato Nadeshiko.
She turned to the boy behind them, who seemed lost in thought. "What about you, Nagami? What do you want to eat?"
"Me? I'm fine with anything. As long as it's made by Mei, I'll love it~"
The words slipped out automatically, like a reflex.
With his hands resting behind his head and eyes on the sky, Nagami suddenly caught himself.
He rubbed his forehead sheepishly. "Ah—sorry, Mei. I was spacing out. What were you asking just now?"
A soft blush bloomed across Mei's delicate face.
Her radiant smile lit up like spring in full bloom, eyes lowered with a touch of shy sweetness. "It's nothing~"
"Ohh~"
'Wait a second—something's not right!'
This guy!
Seeing Mei clearly flustered, Kiana quickly let go of her arm and gritted her teeth at the boy who had already slipped back into thought.
She let her guard down!
Sure, maybe he had used a little charm, but Nagami could swear on C.C.'s dubious conscience that he meant every word.
Mei's cooking, as the so-called Herrscher of Rice, was truly divine.
'I would gladly fall into the kitchen if it means one of her meals!'
"Oh right, Mei—if there are still people sending you nasty messages or trolling you online, just ignore them."
"No need to stoop to their level. I mean, look at me—I don't even argue with Kiana most of the time."
Thinking ahead to how he'd explain Kiana's identity from this universe, Nagami walked up to the girls and gently spoke to Mei.
From the data visible to his Alpha Stigma, the Honkai energy around her had already reached a dangerous level.
If they didn't leave Nagazora City soon, she might lose control.
"Ugh! Nagami, you're bullying me again! I'm so going to make you pay today!" Kiana clenched her fists, swinging a few warm-up punches at the air before launching one at the boy beside her.
With practiced ease, Nagami dodged the attack at an angle he knew all too well and countered by poking her side right on her ticklish spot.
Instantly, her offensive momentum collapsed.
"Mmh! Don't worry, Nagami," Mei said, watching the two play-fight.
Her smile under the setting sun was as lovely as a blooming flower, and a breeze brushed past her cheeks like a gentle caress.
"Alright, alright—time out!" Nagami caught Kiana's next playful punch in his palm, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. "I have an announcement."
"Hm? What is it, Nagami?" Mei tilted her head slightly, hands clasped behind her back in a posture of innocent curiosity.
"Pfft, I bet you're just making up something again to trick me! I'm not falling for it this time!" Kiana glared at him suspiciously, her tiny fists raised once more.
"This time it's real!" Nagami chuckled as he ruffled Kiana's head like she was a puppy, clearly enjoying himself. "Do you remember when we first met, I said I helped you because you reminded me of someone?"
Kiana put a finger to her lips and tilted her head, thinking. "Because I'm cute?"
'That's... technically one reason,' Nagami admitted silently.
But no way was he going to say that out loud.
Rolling his eyes, he reached out and gently pinched Kiana's cheeks, stretching her soft face into a silly pancake shape.
"It's because you look just like an old friend of mine!"
He didn't use much force, so it didn't hurt, but Kiana still couldn't break free.
Her bright blue eyes blinked in dazed confusion as her cheeks were tugged outward.
"Oh! I remember! Wasn't her name… Rin or something?"
Nagami brought a flat palm down on her forehead like a karate chop, expressionless. "It's Sirin!"
"She came all the way from my hometown to visit. She might be staying at my place for a while, so I wanted to give you both a heads-up."
"Oh, and she's already there, so don't be too surprised when we get home." He tried his best to sound serious. "She really looks a lot like Kiana."
"Ohhh~"
At this point, they were speaking in the Far East language—Japanese—so both Mei and Kiana could clearly tell from context that "Sirin" was a girl.
But neither of them paid much attention to Nagami's warning.
It wasn't like they'd never met someone who looked similar to someone else before.
No way they'd be shocked just by that.
Watching the two girls casually brush off his serious attempt at a heads-up, Nagami sighed and shrugged, walking alongside them toward home.
......
Smack!
The schoolbag slipped from Kiana's hand and dropped to the floor.
She and Mei stood frozen, staring blankly at the girl in front of them—this so-called "Sirin."
The atmosphere in the living room turned eerily still.
It was as if the entire world had come to a halt—no sound, no movement, just silence hanging heavy in the air.
Right now, Kiana had the overwhelming urge to grab Nagami by the collar and slam his face next to hers.
'This is what he calls "similar"? We're completely identical!'
"How incredible…" Mei murmured, tilting her head left to look at Kiana, then right to look at Sirin.
"Nagami did say you two looked alike, Miss Sirin, but I didn't expect it to be this… um…"
She trailed off.
No other word fit except identical.
"Nice to meet you both," Sirin greeted them gracefully, her tone refined and composed.
"Nagami mentioned he met a girl who looked a lot like me. I just didn't think the resemblance would be this uncanny."
She executed the perfect greeting of a noble lady—elegant and dignified—something Kiana, the "brainless tuna," could never dream of pulling off.
"There's no way!!!" Kiana finally snapped out of her daze.
Even if her IQ tended to dip when things were peaceful, she hadn't gone completely brain-dead.
White hair. Blue eyes.
Those were the unmistakable trademarks of the Kaslana family!
She hadn't spent a ton of time with her father, Siegfried, but in those brief, precious moments of father-daughter bonding, every single thing he'd told her had been etched into her memory.
Especially the pride in his voice when he spoke of their heritage—it still echoed in her mind.
There was no way she was wrong!
'Could she be Dad's secret love child...?'
No no no, that's impossible!
Even identical twins didn't look this alike. The resemblance was beyond uncanny—it was surreal.
And then there was that…
Kiana's eye twitched as she studied the graceful, poised white-haired beauty before her.
This was a real noble lady.
Compared to her, Kiana's own confidence crumbled like a sandcastle in the tide.
"Alright everyone, let's eat while we talk~"
A gentle voice cut through the tension.
C.C. stepped out of the kitchen, wearing an apron, her long, willow-like green hair tied in a high ponytail, revealing her slender neck.
She carried a steaming dish with practiced ease.
Kiana had crossed worlds to come visit—how could C.C., as the host, not show off her cooking skills?
After learning from the Herrscher of Rice herself, it was time to show what she could do.
"I'll help you, C.C.!"
"I'll help you, C.C.!"
Two identical voices, faces, and tones rang out at the same time—both filled with suspiciously over-eager enthusiasm.
They froze immediately.
Their flawlessly identical faces twisted into disbelief before they turned their heads in unison to look at each other.
'This chick's trying to steal C.C. from me?!'
'This chick's trying to steal C.C. from me?!'
The air between them crackled with tension, like sparks flying from clashing swords. The atmosphere grew increasingly heated.
Mei, caught in the middle of this bizarre showdown, was utterly stunned.
'Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on???'