Miss Mei was troubled.
Very troubled.
She had no idea what was going on, but her father, who had always presented a calm and reliable image, was now acting like a monkey with its backside on fire, pestering her with questions.
At first, he asked when she and Li Zihan had gotten to know each other, and what they talked about when they were together. Then, it shifted to what kind of conflicts might arise between them.
Later still, it became, "How do you two plan to live your lives from now on?"
Initially, Raiden Mei was rather bewildered. As the questions delved deeper, not being a fool, she understood.
Raiden Ryoma thought she and that Li Zihan fellow were a couple.
Raiden Mei had very directly explained that she and a certain magus were merely friends, but—
Raiden Ryoma didn't seem to think so. Instead, with a grim expression, he blurted out her three-sizes, then said with a heavy face,
"No need to hide it from me. Just tell me directly."
Thinking of this, a layer of gloom clouded Miss Mei's eyes.
Tell him what?
That she had been kidnapped, locked in a little black room for several hours, and then slept on a sofa for a night all in one day?
Even after telling the truth, she still couldn't gain her father's trust and was almost sent to the hospital for a full-body check-up. For the first time, Miss Mei understood what it meant to be unable to argue her case effectively.
Also, how on earth did that Li Zihan fellow know her three-sizes?
The girl, completely clueless as to how her measurements had been leaked, recalled the three numbers, took a deep breath, and exhaled, trying to calm herself.
The girl, who now had a new appreciation for someone's intelligence-gathering capabilities, looked dejected.
That guy, what was his deal?
Miss Mei, who had even learned from Raiden Ryoma that a certain fellow had called him "Esteemed Father-in-Law," had her beautiful, pale purple eyes filled with bewilderment.
If it were anyone else behaving this way, Miss Mei would definitely think that person was interested in her, walk up to them, and reject them directly.
During her school days, Miss Mei had been confessed to countless times; her rejection rate was so high it had almost become an inherent skill.
How to reasonably refuse someone who gave her a decent impression but clearly wasn't at the level of a romantic partner was not difficult for Miss Mei.
But—
Was that guy interested in her?
Judging by the "sleeping on the sofa" treatment she received, the girl, feeling this possibility was rather slim, hesitated as she looked at the youth who seemed to be taking a nap at a table in the restaurant, separated from her by only a glass wall.
Or was it to gain her father's trust in the shortest possible time?
Or perhaps he was simply bored, with nothing better to do, and was just messing around?
Miss Mei, feeling that the probability of the latter two options was not low, hesitated at the restaurant entrance, unsure of what to do for a moment.
After a long pause, Miss Mei finally made up her mind and walked towards the restaurant door with slightly hurried steps.
Perhaps rashly asking Li Zihan and getting the latter two answers would make her seem conceited, troublesome, and affect their future interactions...
But this matter already involved a romantic relationship; she had to ask clearly.
And then—
The person slumped over the table suddenly vanished.
"Are you spying on me?"
Without any warning, such a voice sounded from behind the girl.
Even though she knew the fellow possessed spatial movement abilities, Miss Mei, still startled, turned around to see a familiar face.
"Good day, Li-kun."
The girl, startled for a moment, took a deep breath and then greeted him.
"That sounds so formal."
The youth, not particularly fond of such overly polite forms of address, blinked and said,
"Just call me Zihan or Ah Li."
"Then... I'll call you Zihan."
The girl, not quite used to addressing males by their first names, chose the former of the two suggestions.
"May I take up a bit of your time?"
Miss Mei, who had actually come here with questions, then added.
"Sure, I'm quite free until the people from Anti-Entropy's North American headquarters and Schicksal's Far East Branch arrive."
The youth, who indeed had nothing much to do for the time being, sounded quite cheerful.
He casually snapped his fingers. The ripple of space occurred once more, and the two of them were already inside the restaurant.
Indeed, no matter how many times she saw it, it still felt magical.
Protected by Raiden Ryoma, Miss Mei hadn't had much contact with Honkai and wasn't very knowledgeable about supernatural events. She looked at her surroundings, somewhat lost in thought.
It wasn't that she hadn't seen people who could control Honkai energy. Kiana had shown her more than once her monstrous strength, enhanced by Honkai energy, capable of kneading steel bars and iron pipes like playdough.
However, that was, after all, on a physical level. The visual impact, compared to something like spatial transfer, was still a bit lacking.
I really want to understand how this works.
The girl, who, if not for external interference and focused on her studies, would likely be quite close to Dr. MEI's level, thought to herself.
"If you have any questions, just ask."
Li Zihan gestured towards the waiter, who had long since been hypnotized by magecraft, and passed the menu to Miss Mei.
"Is this... for me to order?"
"If you're not familiar with this restaurant's specialties, I can order for you."
Said the youth, who had practically eaten everything on the menu just moments ago.
Miss Mei, who had previously been relegated to sleeping on the sofa and practically not treated like a girl at all, was taken aback. A strange feeling, akin to being pleasantly surprised, even welled up in her heart.
Could it be that this guy really was interested in her?
In her impression, the fellow before her should be a titanium-manganese alloy grade straight man, utterly oblivious to the feelings of those around him. The girl's heart pounded a little.
"One should be gentle with girls; I do know that much."
The youth, whose gentleness towards girls basically depended on his mood at the time, smiled and said.
...
Raiden Mei's beautiful eyes widened. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but no sound came out.
What do you do when you encounter a steel-straight man who thinks he's being "yasashii"?
Waiting online, urgent!
Miss Mei, unsure what to say for a moment, ordered her food, then looked at the fellow across from her, contemplating how to begin.
"Right, what did you want to ask?"
The youth, who roughly knew what she wanted to ask, inquired with keen interest.
Receiving the expected reply, Raiden Mei's heart beat a little faster, and her palms began to sweat.
The question she was about to ask was, admittedly, a bit embarrassing.
"This might be a bit presumptuous, but I still want to ask, Zihan, what were you thinking when you called my father 'Esteemed Father-in-Law'?"