She's actually laughing that hard.
Kiana watched quietly as Miko dissolved into helpless laughter, genuinely not having expected this.
She'd only meant to play along with Kaito's side of things — to help Wendy carry the blame nice and steady. Instead, she'd somehow set Miko off completely.
"Ahem, ahem. That does sound exactly like something that little brat would do, to be fair."
Feeling Kiana's expressionless gaze fixed on her, Miko hurriedly reined in her laughter after a good while of it.
She personally found the whole thing hilarious and delightful — but Kiana clearly did not share that view. Better to stop while she was ahead.
Otherwise, she'd end up making Kiana genuinely annoyed, and that would be bad.
Hmm...
Should she ask what exactly the little brat said back then?
The thought struck her out of nowhere, and Miko genuinely wanted to ask.
But after turning it over for a moment, she held back.
After all, the current Kiana looked like she actually cared about that memory. Poking at it just to satisfy her own amusement felt like a bad idea.
"Kids, you know. Brutally honest."
Once Miko finished, Kiana let those words drift out in a leisurely drawl.
"So did Kiana often used to—"
"Dropped the 'big sis' again, have we?"
The moment she caught that Miko hadn't used the honorific, Kiana cut her off immediately.
In truth, she didn't actually care about being called 'big sis' — her true self was male, after all. She just wanted to build a certain image for this particular body of hers.
Whatever the case, every persona needed its own distinct flavor. Otherwise they'd all blend together and that would just be strange.
"Understood — Kiana-nee~" Catching the reminder, Miko promptly supplied the title.
If Kiana enjoyed being called that so much, then she'd call her that. It wasn't even a loss on her end — by any reasonable reckoning, she genuinely ought to be calling her that anyway.
It was just that the number of people she actually owed that title to was quite small, so she kept forgetting.
"So, Kiana-nee — did you used to cook for Kaito a lot?" With that settled, Miko finally asked the question she hadn't gotten to finish earlier.
The way she figured it: if Kiana had cooked before, she must have cooked for Kaito at some point. And if so — she was very curious what Kaito's verdict on Kiana's cooking had been.
"I did, yeah."
Kiana hadn't expected Miko to ask that so directly, and she gave a quick nod.
She'd actually been wondering how to work that detail in naturally — and then Miko had gone and handed it to her. Perfect.
"Then... can I ask something, Kiana-nee~?" Miko tilted her head as though deliberating, then voiced the question she'd had ready for a while now.
Given what had just played out — Wendy's review of Kiana's cooking included — Miko had a strong suspicion that Kiana's culinary skills were, to put it generously, not great.
But suspicion wasn't knowledge. She'd have to ask to be sure.
"Go ahead," Kiana replied without hesitation.
She had no idea what strange question Miko was about to produce, but she'd hear it out first. Whether she'd answer it was another matter entirely.
"I just want to know — how did Kaito rate your cooking?"
With Kiana's go-ahead, Miko asked.
"He thought it was wonderful."
As though surfacing a distant memory, Kiana said it slowly.
Wonderful.
Really?
Miko wasn't buying it — not for a second. Her personal read was that Kaito had simply been too kind to let Kiana feel hurt, so he'd said it was good.
She even entertained the thought: maybe Wendy saying Kiana's food was terrible had actually been Kaito's doing — a deliberate move to get Kiana to stop cooking for good.
But thinking it was one thing. She absolutely could not say it out loud. That would only end up hurting Kiana.
And more importantly — she had no evidence whatsoever. Wild accusations without proof were off the table.
"So is that why you want Kaito to taste your cooking again, Kiana-nee?"
"Mm. But it's been so long since I last cooked, I wanted to try it out first and get a feel for it again."
Kiana gave a small nod at Miko's question.
Emmm...
So I've been drafted as the official taste-tester...
Listening to Kiana's answer, Miko had the sinking feeling today was not going to be kind to her.
Going by Kiana's own description, whatever came out of that pot was in all likelihood going to be a disaster.
If it were just that, fine — she could simply say it didn't taste good.
The problem was she'd already declared, with full conviction, that she would definitely eat it. And now that commitment was coming back to haunt her.
Looks like I'll have to drag Mei over here later...
Turning that thought over quietly, Miko spoke up: "Then I'll get the meat cut so Kiana-nee can get started sooner."
Much as she wanted to make a run for it, Miko decided she shouldn't.
"Mn, go ahead." Kiana gave a nod and turned her attention to the iron pot beside her.
Toss in the aromatics first, stir-fry for a bit, then add the chilies and meat — that should about do it...
But should she make it a little unhinged on purpose?
She was in the middle of building an image for herself as a practitioner of cursed cuisine, so Kiana was genuinely weighing whether to take things in a chaotic direction.
After all, both Miko and Lumine already knew that Wendy had declared her cooking terrible. She might as well lean into it.
And more to the point — Wendy could carry the blame, but the blame had to make sense. It couldn't just be anything.
Hmm...
Alright. That's the plan.
After thinking it over, Kiana made up her mind: she was going to make something gloriously unhinged.
"Kiana-nee, the meat's all cut." Miko announced from beside her.
"Thanks. Go rest for a bit — I'll call you when it's ready."
Kiana turned toward her and expressed her thanks.
And, truth be told, there was a faint trace of a guilty conscience in that gesture — because Miko was about to be subjected to the handiwork of a certifiably cursed chef.
Miko had sworn she'd eat it, after all. Kiana wasn't going to pretend she hadn't heard that.
"Then I'll go check on Mei and the others for now."
With a nod, Miko made her way toward the exit.
She'd been wracking her brain for a plausible excuse to slip away — and then Kiana had handed her one on a silver platter. It couldn't have worked out better.
Whatever happened, she absolutely could not be the only one sampling Kiana's cooking later.
Wonder what Ei and the others are up to right now...
Turning that over in her mind, Miko headed off in a certain direction.
But just then, she spotted Mei walking straight toward her.
Why is Mei coming this way...
Wait —
Actually, it might be Makoto.
With that thought, Miko quickened her pace to meet her.
"Are you Mei, or..."
"It's me."
____
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