On the balcony of the apartment, a girl with a strong sense of presence stood there, her eyes carrying a hint of charisma, reminiscent of the term "Majestic." She exuded a commanding presence, yet the reason behind her imposing posture seemed to revolve around trivial matters that might have been misunderstood somewhere.
"The proper way to eat melon bread?" Fang Li looked at Shana with a speechless expression on his face.
Shana met Fang Li's gaze with an air of righteous confidence and began to explain, "First, take a bite of the crispy part, then a bit of the soft part, followed by another bite of the crispy part, and finally, a bit of the soft part. This way, you can balance the two textures and truly savor the essence of melon bread."
Shana spoke as if she were stating an undeniable truth about the world. While the content could deflate anyone's enthusiasm, she delivered it with an incredibly serious expression.
Pointing at Fang Li, she spoke with the authority of a judge accusing a criminal, "Your way of casually munching through melon bread is simply disrespecting it. It's worse than the 'Denizens' recklessly devouring the Power of Existence, causing the distortion of the world, and that's unforgivable!"
Fang Li was beyond bothered to retort.
Although he bought a bunch of melon bread to lure this girl out, he never expected that her reason for appearing was for such a trivial matter.
So, Fang Li said to Shana, "What's the point of this complicated way of eating for you Flame Haze, who pursues efficiency?"
"Of course, it has meaning!" Shana replied without hesitation. "Because melon bread is justice!"
Fang Li's mouth twitched involuntarily.
Again, Fang Li really didn't feel like retorting.
However, Fang Li couldn't help but think that only in the realm of 2D could someone speak such resolute words. Therefore, Fang Li could only narrow his eyes slightly and say, "Is that so? Why don't you demonstrate it for me then?"
"Demonstrate?" Shana's eyes immediately lit up, but shortly after realizing she shouldn't have reacted that way, she deliberately restrained herself. Stammering, she said, "I... I don't eat other people's food."
"Is that right?" Fang Li said with a half-smile. "But you said melon bread is justice, right? If I randomly ruin it, as a Flame Haze who maintains the balance of the world, wouldn't that be a bit unfitting?"
"Well... you're not wrong," Shana glanced back, staring at the melon bread on the table.
Seeing this, Fang Li poured on the final bit of fuel.
"This is freshly baked melon bread. If you don't eat it quickly, it'll get cold and turn hard. By then, you won't be able to enjoy both the crispy and soft parts."
"That absolutely won't do!" Shana immediately approached, sat down, and as if genuinely afraid that the melon bread would get cold, she quickly tore open the packaging of one melon bread. Opening her small mouth, she took a bite.
The next moment, Shana's usually tense and charming face completely relaxed. Blush appeared on her cheeks, and while chewing the melon bread in her mouth, she wore a blissful expression.
The charm of that expression was undeniably high.
If the previous Shana appeared quite mature despite her youthful appearance, displaying various qualities befitting a skilled warrior, the current Shana was just an ordinary girl. A girl who had found her favorite candy and was delighted and happy because of it.
And that candy for Shana was melon bread.
Watching Shana in this state, Fang Li's expression couldn't help but relax.
"Aria seems to eat peach buns in a similar way, doesn't she?"
These words slipped out of Fang Li unconsciously.
"Aria?" Shana's movements paused slightly. She raised her eyes, looked at Fang Li, and asked in a puzzled manner, "Who is Aria?"
Fang Li only realized that he had unintentionally let something slip.
However, it wasn't something that needed to be concealed.
So, Fang Li smiled slightly and said, "That's the name of my partner."
"Partner?"
"Yes." Fang Li shrugged and continued, "We fought together, ate together, and faced all evils together— we are partners."
As he spoke these words, Fang Li couldn't help but reveal a nostalgic expression on his face.
After leaving the world of "Hidan no Aria," Fang Li spent a whole six months in the world of "Gakusen Toshi Asterisk" for training.
In other words, Fang Li hadn't seen Aria for almost half a year.
And in every aspect, Shana carried a faint shadow of Aria.
So, Fang Li couldn't help but recall that willful little girl.
Seeing Fang Li like this, the happy expression on Shana's face began to disappear, replaced by a hint of irritation.
Why was she irritated?
Shana almost immediately understood.
Because, compared to Fang Li, she, as a Flame Haze, had no partner to fight together, eat together, and face all evils together.
Flame Haze typically fought alone.
That was common sense.
Shana had grown accustomed to it, considering it a matter of course.
However, looking at Fang Li's somewhat nostalgic expression, Shana felt like she had lost to this human in something crucial, causing her usually high self-esteem to feel a twinge of irritation.
In this situation, Shana uttered somewhat cold words.
"Needing a partner proves that you're still immature, unable to stand alone."
This was completely venting her frustration.
What was more infuriating was that Shana herself was acutely aware that she was venting her frustration onto someone else.
So, Shana's mood became even more irritated.
Conversely, Fang Li, watching Shana's troubled expression, smiled meaningfully.
"If that's the case, does it mean every Flame Haze is immature?"
"After all, within your bodies, there's also a lifelong companion— 'Crimson Lord.'"
Shana was momentarily stunned.
Even the starlight on the pendant in front of Shana faintly glittered, making it clear that although Alastor hadn't spoken, he had listened to every conversation between Fang Li and Shana.
Then, both Shana and Alastor fell silent.
At this moment, both of them harbored a similar thought.
That thought was, as Flame Haze, perhaps this human in front of them understood them better than they understood themselves.
Just as the two were contemplating this, Fang Li spoke again.
"By the way, if you don't have anywhere to go tonight, stay at my place."
...