Honkai: Starting to Wander with Kiana

Looking in the direction Kiana pointed, Ryn saw a fried chicken shop. Alright, Kiana wants fried chicken legs.

Ryn felt his pocket for the few hundred dollars left after paying the rent. Still, he took Kiana inside the shop. He planned to buy a dozen fried chicken legs, knowing it wouldn't be enough for Kiana, but at least it would satisfy her craving.

The owner was a middle-aged man with weathered eyes that clearly told he had many stories to share. He was wiping knives behind the window display, easily visible to anyone who entered.

However, there to greet them wasn't the owner, but a girl about Kiana's age.

"Welcome," the girl greeted sweetly. She led Ryn and Kiana to a nearby table, then handed them a menu.

Ryn and Kiana looked at the menu and discussed briefly. "Just fried chicken legs, no crispy ones. Let's get one each of these plum, spicy, garlic, honey, and other flavors. We'll take it to go."

"Okay, that's quite a few, so please wait a bit." The girl jotted down their order, nodded at Ryn, and then went into the kitchen to tell her uncle.

Her uncle started frying the chicken legs, while the girl began mixing different sauces.

Ryn observed the girl's deft movements and glanced back at Kiana, who had her eyes stars-up and drooling over the treats in the window. Ryn shook his head at her.

"Hey, are you related to this kid, boss? She's surprisingly responsible for her age." Ryn remarked, turning to the shopkeeper.

The manager chuckled and explained, "No, that isn't my child. She's a student from Chiba Academy. She's here working part-time during the break to help out with her family's expenses."

"Child labor?" Ryn asked, showing concern. "That's no different from calling her your own child. You must be trying to ease your own workload. But that directly exposes how you're employing underage workers—it's against the law, uncle."

The manager paused, but upon seeing Ryn and Kiana didn't look like locals either, he assumed they were foreigners. Relieved, he smiled at them and said, "We're part of the academy district, a special area with favorable policies. The schools encourage students to work part-time, gain practical experience, and earn extra money for their families. There are rules though—we only let them do light jobs like serving customers or door greeter chores. Any dangerous or heavy work is strictly forbidden."

Ryn and Kiana struck a pose commonly seen in Far East anime. Punching their fists to their minds, they exclaimed with sudden understanding, "Let's go broke for a change."

"This is just how things work in our side of the school city. Who knows? Want me to find work for you two as well?"

"Thanks, boss, but let us think about it first," Ryn hesitated, then decided it wasn't such a bad idea. "Kiana, what do you think? Should we find jobs?"

Kiana glanced at the fried chicken and drumsticks, thinking she could buy delicious food if they earned some money—and maybe even gifts for Ryn.

"Sounds good! I'm up for it!"

"What a motivated kid you are! Take this street, go across the road, and you'll find a café nearby. The manager there is a friend of mine. She mentioned yesterday she was a bit short-handed. I'll give her a call and she should be able to take you two on!" The uncle chuckled heartily and pulled out his phone to make the call.

"Thank you so much, sir!"

While waiting for their fried food, they also learned the young girl's name was Kurui Shinano.

Ryn and Kiana arrived at the coffee shop as directed by the fried chicken store owner. The place had a nostalgic feel, with its elegant and peaceful atmosphere, and soft, beautiful music flowing gently in the background.

The coffee shop's owner was a sensual and flirtatious woman. However, her strong arms and slender, powerful legs hinted to others that any untoward advances could lead to dire consequences.

"Ah, my my... what a cute young couple! XX (fried chicken store owner) really sent me some good-looking kids. Come, come, come over here with your sister."

The owner enthusiastically greeted the pair and personally prepared two cups of coffee for them. But unfortunately, neither of them knew how to drink coffee, leading to some laughs at their antics.

After a brief exchange, they began discussing the job details and requirements. However...

"You both are very satisfactory to me, but I don't hire boys here. Ryn, if you're willing to dress like a girl, that's a different story!"

"No, no thanks. Kiana can stay right here. I'll pick her up for work and take her home," Ryn quickly waved his hands. If they want to keep Kiana, that's great. But since they don't want boys, that's a deal breaker. And as for dressing up in women's clothes? Forget it. Besides, he was busy. He needed to work on his game and find investors. He didn't have time to wait tables here.

"That's a shame," the shopkeeper said. "I was really looking forward to seeing Ryn |:little bro:| in a dress." Both Kiana and the shopkeeper shook their heads in disappointment.

"Since we don't have many customers right now, how about letting Kiana try on some of our uniforms? Here, try a few on and see which one feels right," the shopkeeper said, leading Kiana upstairs.

Mrs. Yamane smiled, watching Kiana. "She's growing up so well. She'll be quite the beauty soon," she remarked with a soft chuckle.

"Oh, Mrs. Yamane, please stop," Kiana's shy voice could be heard in response as their voices faded upstairs. The sound of laughter and light teasing followed.

Ryn picked up his coffee and slowly sipped it, as the shopkeeper had shown him. Why do those sounds upstairs sound so strange?

A moment later, the shopkeeper descended the stairs with a little angel in tow. The shopkeeper's face was glowing with smiles, while Kiana, beside her, blushed with embarrassment.

Kiana's two braids lay quietly on her shoulders, tied with blue bows. She wore a long dress in black and white, with an extra layer of white apron at the front. More adorable bows adorned her dress on both sides, at the waist, and on her back. She had donned cute leather snow boots and a white turtleneck suit.

Oh—

There it was.

That super-duper cute Kiana herself.

Her delicate pink skin made her blushing cheeks even cuter. Ryn couldn't think straight for a moment—she was truly too adorable to describe.

"You big dummy," Kiana teased. "Am I really that cute?"

"Heh-heh-heh, of course! Kiana's the cutest girl in the world!"

"I'm blushing now! You're such a big dummy, Ryn."

The shopkeeper watched the two young people playing and bickering, and couldn't help but sigh. Ah, how nice it is to be young. Unlike that Dash Steel guy, who spends all his time slacking off at his greasy fried chicken joint. Shame he never came to see her, never mind complimenting her—I dressed up all pretty just to hear him say something nice.