Vivian suddenly feels her throat tighten. She hurriedly grabs a nearby sunflower to cover half her face, her voice coming out muffled from behind the petals: "Do you think… calling someone you've only just met 'dear' is a bit too frivolous?"
Belle blinks, then suddenly leans in close enough that Vivian can see her eyelashes clearly: "Does Vivian want to try it?"
"Wha—" The sunflower in her hand drops to the ground with a "plop." Vivian feels all the blood in her body rush to her face, making it burn even hotter…
Belle casually squats down to pick up the flower and gently hands it back to the still-dazed girl: "Like this—" She suddenly flashes a sly smile, "'Dear' Vivian, your flower fell~"
"P-Proxy-sama—"
Vivian feels her head starting to spin. Her heart feels like it's turned into a little blue bird desperately flapping its wings inside her chest, crashing around so wildly that she's completely flustered and at a loss.
"…That's way too unfair!"
—
[""Looks like I was overthinking it. Herta was just acting on a whim… very much in character for her." Ruan Mei lets out a long breath of relief. "Fortunately it was just a false alarm. But meetings are the thing I dread most… it seems I won't be able to get out of this one. I'll have to stay here for a while.""]
["She notices that Stelle has already recovered the lifeform from the main control cabin segment, but there are some things she needs to explain to Stelle in advance: the recovery of her lifeforms isn't limited to just that one—there are others, stored in a certain sealed cabin segment."]
["Because of the Legion invasion, that area is no longer open to the public. Right now, it holds her [big trouble]."]
[""Herta authorized you to use it?""]
["Ruan Mei nods: "Yes. She gave me access and hasn't asked about it since. But I can share some information: that place is also used to receive non-humanoid visitors. There's a shuttle connected to outer space.""]
["Ruan Mei hands Stelle her access card. After recording Stelle's fingerprint, she grants her full entry and exit privileges."]
[""Dear, be careful. If you encounter any danger you really can't handle, just send a signal. I'll come forward personally, regardless of the consequences.""]
[""Remember: in the center of the cabin segment, there is a huge… cultivation vat. That's where my [big trouble] is stored.""]
—
Jujutsu Kaisen.
"Big trouble? How big could it be? Bigger than the Doomsday Beast? Or bigger than Cocolia?"
Kenjaku counts on his fingers. "She can't possibly be unaware of Stelle's strength, right? She's even beaten an Emanator of Destruction. Don't tell me Ruan Mei can cultivate something on the level of an Emanator?"
If she has that kind of ability, wouldn't her own power already be completely on par with an Emanator's?
"Humans are always so enthusiastic about creating dangerous things, then killing each other over them… though it is pretty entertaining."
Ryomen Sukuna lazily leans against the headboard, his collar wide open, chest brazenly exposed to the air. The black curse marks across his skin are stained with faint traces of blood.
He holds up a piece of vivid flesh in his hand—pale pink shot through with soft red, still flecked with tiny bits of ice. It looks like it would burst with juice in one bite.
All this sorcerer meat was freshly captured and slaughtered on the spot by Uraume. In the past Sukuna would have savored this taste, but ever since experiencing the Swarm Disaster, he's completely lost interest in it.
—Not because he's suddenly into bugs, but because after personally feeling the power of an Aeon up close, the faint, lingering cursed energy left in human flesh can no longer satisfy his "appetite."
"…No appetite?" Kenjaku props his chin and chuckles lightly.
"Mmm. Just wait. Once I kill Gojo Satoru, maybe that'll finally satisfy this hunger."
Kenjaku licks his lips. "Then can I have one of his eyes when the time comes?"
"Do whatever you want."
—
["After arriving at the sealed cabin segment, darkness pours over her like thick, sticky asphalt."]
["Stelle swallows hard. Her boots echo lonely against the metal floor with every step. With each movement, it feels like something invisible is watching her from the darkness."]
["Suddenly, her footsteps halt. Not far ahead, a fried rice robot is floating in midair."]
["And just as she gets only a few steps away from the robot—"]
[""Click.""]
["The robot abruptly turns around. Its mechanical joints produce a teeth-grinding screech. Immediately after, blinding red light flares from its display eye. The mechanical arm starts spasming violently. Stelle lets out an involuntary scream, stumbles backward several steps, and slams into the cold bulkhead."]
["Right after scaring her, the lights in the cabin segment suddenly turn on. The timing is so perfect it feels like a haunted house prank."]
["The out-of-control little robot from earlier is still nearby. Through it, Stelle learns that this is one of the very few "high-risk alert zones" on the space station—not only are Ruan Mei's creations stored here, but also Herta's dangerous curios."]
["Stelle takes the elevator down to a deeper room. On the computer here, she finds a previous experimental log about Ruan Mei."]
[""The seed of the Phase Spirit Fire is very interesting. Unfortunately, before the research could be completed, it disappeared. I began a new attempt.""]
[""This time, both experimental subjects are growing well. They simultaneously possess two sets of emotional traits: cute, weak, sensitive, prone to crying; ferocious, instigating, domineering, confident.""]
[""Interestingly, they also share one tendency: longing for their creator, developing a strange emotion toward her that feels innate—like an infant toward its mother, life toward food, or human toward human.""]
["Just as Stelle is about to keep reading, a strange noise suddenly comes from the laboratory door. She steps outside and sees a little cat pastry curled up on the floor, letting out adorable "meow meow" sounds."]
[""…This is the big trouble Ruan Mei was talking about?""]
—
Akame ga Kill!
"How can this be called big trouble? This is clearly super cute~"
With every soft "meow meow," Mine feels like she's melting entirely. Stars sparkle in her pink eyes: "Ms. Ruan Mei truly is a genius! To be able to create such an adorable creature! Najenda! I want to raise one too!"
"But we don't have animals like that here. If you want to raise a cat, that would be fine…" Najenda reminds her. "But you'll be fully responsible for your own pet, okay!"
"Still, no matter how you look at this little thing, it doesn't seem related to any [big trouble] at all, right? Don't tell me the real trouble is still coming?"
Lubbock shrugs: "I once read a novel where something similar happened—a creature that looked like a small animal on the surface but was actually a demon in disguise. Maybe this pastry-like cat is just pretending to be cute, and the moment Stelle turns her back, it'll suddenly grow huge and swallow her in one bite!"
Just as Lubbock is getting really into his theory, the little cat pastry on the Celestial Screen lets out another perfectly timed, soft, drawn-out "meow~," causing Stelle to immediately pick it up and start cuddling it.
This is clearly the correct way to interact with Ruan Mei's creations!