As time passed, the dim yellow sunlight gradually disappeared, sinking below the horizon.
The breath of night permeated the air, weaving a soft net that enveloped all the scenery, casting upon them a hazy, ethereal hue.
The youth, not having fallen asleep early, sat on the balcony of Raiden Mei's apartment, gazing at the distant moon.
Perhaps it was due to the Stigmata Dracula, but Li Zihan felt quite energetic at night.
He stretched out his hand, and the gem symbolizing the authority of the Herrscher of Thunder materialized, floating.
Next up was facing Otto directly.
The youth, who always had the Key of Erosion hanging at his waist, looked at the gem which, judging by its Honkai energy intensity, could turn the entirety of Nagazora City into a living hell if it erupted, and thought.
He was checking the things on his person that he might need next.
Divine Key: Oath of Judah, Divine Key: Jizo Mitama, and the Gem of Conquest as a power bank.
Although borrowing the facilities of St. Freya Academy to connect with Otto could, with a very high probability, avoid contact with most of Schicksal's top combat power.
However, there was, after all, a Shenzhou's Flatboard there. If negotiations broke down, Otto would very likely have Shenzhou's Flatboard make a move on him.
Therefore, before that, it was very necessary to make some preventive preparations.
The youth, clearly inspecting his "table-flipping" weapons, tossed the floating Gem of Conquest into his own shadow, then stretched lazily and looked up at the sky.
He had spent a fair bit of time in this world called Honkai.
He had acquired a lot of weapons and equipment, and it seemed he had also met quite a few beautiful girls.
Unfortunately, he hadn't successfully wooed a single one yet.
Thinking of this, Li Zihan felt a little regretful, a myriad of emotions welling up in him for a moment.
"The moonlight is beautiful, a pity there are no girls around."
"Ah Li, are you always thinking about girls, girls, girls?"
Just as Li Zihan was lamenting about girls, such a voice came from behind him.
"Is that Kiana?"
Without even turning his head, Li Zihan identified who it was. In this world, there was only one person who would call him "Ah Li."
"Who else but this young lady would come looking for you at this hour?"
The girl with a very distinctive voice hmphed a few times.
Li Zihan turned his head and saw a white-haired dango who was slightly different from the one in his impression.
She was wearing simple loungewear, and her hair, usually tied in two pigtail braids, was undone and cascaded over her shoulders.
The moonlight, like white silk, shone on her shoulders, dyeing her silvery-white hair with the color of the brightest star in the sky. The sparkle in her azure eyes even outshone the moonlight.
If Miss Paramecium didn't speak, she was a super beautiful girl.
Li Zihan thoroughly confirmed this point.
"What do you want from me?"
The youth, not quite understanding why Miss Paramecium wasn't sneaking food in the kitchen at this hour but had come to find him instead, asked.
"I'm just here to ask the question Mei didn't get to ask, on her behalf."
The not-at-all-stupid white-haired dango grinned and hopped over to Li Zihan's side, shoulder to shoulder.
She had two things she wanted to ask today, and this was one of them.
"Ah Li, you were actually intentionally avoiding answering Mei's question, weren't you?"
Li Zihan, who felt that everyone he met was somewhat different from their game impression, turned his head and saw an exquisitely flawless side profile.
She pursed her lips; her large, clear azure eyes, soft, full red lips, and delicate, small, pretty nose were as standard as if they had been meticulously measured.
"Your character setting has collapsed, Paramecium."
The youth, feeling like he might have encountered a fake Kiana, sighed.
"Hey, hey, hey, Ah Li, am I really that stupid in your eyes?"
The white-haired beauty's eyes widened, her expression indignant.
The moment she spoke, the aura that had easily brought to mind a moon goddess shattered completely.
The so-called ice beauty might just be a silly beauty who hadn't spoken yet.
"If you don't encounter special circumstances, you should be a very smart person."
The youth, who knew very well that Kiana had given up thinking after meeting Raiden Mei, her brain perennially rusty, sighed.
"Hmph, hmph, this young lady is a genius."
The white-haired dango, who was indeed a genius, hmphed.
She preened for a long time, then suddenly remembered she still had something she hadn't asked.
"Right, you should answer my question now."
"That kind of question, is there even a need to ask it?" the youth, feeling like he might have encountered a fake Paramecium, retorted.
"What do you think?"
Kiana reached out and touched her lips, seeming to recall something, and then her expression suddenly became fierce.
Even Mei hadn't kissed her, yet this bastard actually went for it!!
If it weren't for the fact that this guy had helped her so many times, she would have hammered this scoundrel into little pancakes.
"Do I need to take responsibility?"
The youth, who also found Kiana quite pretty, said very seriously.
Although he called himself a loli-complex, he actually liked all beautiful girls except for perverted痴女 (chī nǚ - obsessed women).
"I still need to woo Mei! Who needs you to take responsibility!!"
The white-haired dango bared her small, white, neat teeth, looking like a fierce little kitten.
"Hurry up and answer the question!"
Her speech was rapid, almost rushed.
After all, Mei wasn't the only one who wanted the answer to that question.
"Probably because I thought you were very cute, so I just kissed you."
Li Zihan chose to tell the truth.
"Huh? Just because I'm good-looking, you went for me?"
Miss Kiana's voice jumped several octaves.
And here she was, imagining a whole bunch of things. Turns out the answer was so ridiculously frustrating.
My girlish heart!!!
"If I had to add more reasons, it's probably because I've seen you before and know you're a good girl, right?"
Li Zihan shrugged and said.
"If you're lecherous, just say it."
Kiana rolled her eyes, indicating she wasn't buying this guy's act.
"Anyway, as long as a pretty girl is in trouble, you'll lend a helping hand, huh."
"You, you must have flirted with a lot of girls before you met me and Mei, right?"
"Are you jealous, my dear Miss Girlfriend?"
Seeing Kiana rolling her eyes, Li Zihan smiled, a hint of teasing in his tone.
"Hey, hey, hey, who's your girlfriend!!"
Kiana's face instantly turned red, and she嚷嚷 (rāngrang - yelled/shouted).
"You were the one who confessed to me first."
The youth, who had indeed been confessed to by the white-haired dango, spoke in a lighthearted tone.
Kiana had indeed pulled off a genius move before.
Using herself as a shield to force him not to bother Mei anymore.
However, Li Zihan was an out-and-out carnivorous type and simply kissed her directly, leaving Miss Kiana stunned and almost fleeing in panic.
Hearing this answer, Kiana was suddenly choked up.
She really had confessed to this scoundrel.
"That kind of thing doesn't count."
Miss Kiana clearly didn't want to admit it.
"Then I'll go propose to Lord Ryoma right now."
The youth, clearly not just any ordinary scum, showed a slight smirk, and then, the tachi that could even freeze the air when swung appeared in his hand.
Miss Kiana's eyes widened slightly.
She recognized that thing, one of Raiden Mei's dowries. The person holding it was definitely someone recognized by Raiden Ryoma.
Although there was an element of misunderstanding in how this item fell into Li Zihan's hands, Miss Mei's favorability towards Li Zihan wasn't low to begin with. Once Raiden Ryoma realized this, he definitely wouldn't care about the previous misunderstanding...
Taking this to the Raiden family, it was unlikely they'd get married on the spot, but the success rate of getting engaged was definitely sky-high.
"Fine, fine, fine, this young lady will accept you as a spare tire."
Miss Kiana, feeling that if Li Zihan got a whim, he really might take this thing to propose, had a dark expression.
Li Zihan didn't show any dissatisfaction at being called a spare tire.
After all, while Miss Mei was still straight, there were no tires on the Paramecium (Kiana) at all.
After saying this, Miss Kiana fell silent, standing beside Li Zihan, sometimes looking at the youth beside her, sometimes looking ahead.
She seemed to want to say something, but before she could, she pressed her lips tightly together.
She looked extremely hesitant.
"Is there anything else you want to ask, my dear Miss Girlfriend?"
Li Zihan, feeling that Kiana seemed to want to ask more than just about him kissing her earlier, asked.
Kiana, who was originally organizing her words to refute Li Zihan's address,愣了愣 (lèng le lèng - paused/was taken aback), then her expression became hesitant.
She looked as if she had encountered something extremely troubling.
"Go on, I'm your boyfriend, after all. No matter what happens, I'll stand by you and help you."
The youth's voice was as lighthearted as ever. He placed his hand over the girl's slender one.
No matter what happens, he'll stand by my side and help me?
Kiana mulled over this sentence, her eyes downcast, her thoughts unknown.
She felt that the warmth of Li Zihan's hand seemed... not as low as she remembered.
"What's wrong, very moved?"
Li Zihan then removed his hand from the girl's, wrapped his arm around the slender neck of the girl beside him, and chuckled lightly.
"Just a mere spare tire, don't be too arrogant."
Kiana, clearly very unaccustomed to being hugged around the neck by a male of the same age, suddenly bristled.
"Get your claws off me!!"
"Off they go then."
The youth very quickly withdrew his hand under the girl's resentful gaze, continuing to chuckle lightly.
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you."
"Also, that very troubling thing you've encountered, you can tell me now. I'll listen and help you solve it."
He'll help me solve it?
Miss Kiana looked at the youth's face beside her, somewhat lost in thought.
After a long while, she finally reacted, her pretty face slightly red. She then turned her head away, her back to Li Zihan, and recounted her dream.
"Um, I dreamed of a girl, a girl with long purple hair."