"So, you spent half a day just to give yourself a stigmata?"
The pretty, long-haired girl stared with some confusion at the vibrant mark on the young man's back, which resembled three tomoe.
"Ah Li, are you sure you were fighting the Herrscher of Erosion and not just getting a stigmata implant?"
The white-haired dango, who had sidled up at some point, reached out and poked the mark that looked like the famous red-eye disease from the world of Naruto.
"This is the first step of the plan."
The bare-chested young man picked up his discarded clothes from the bed, turning to explain to the two girls with whom he could now arguably be said to be cohabiting.
Not long ago, he had moved Yae Sakura by recounting the tale of Mr. Otto's five-hundred-year struggle for love, rekindling her will to live.
Immediately after, he had explained to Miss Yae Sakura that while he was very willing to help her, he first had to deal with Higokumaru, who was attached to her.
"To completely resolve the Herrscher of Erosion, we must utterly destroy its evil aspect."
Having completed the first step of his plan, the young man spoke.
To fully master Jizo Mitama, a prerequisite was to thoroughly defeat Ling's dark side—Higokumaru. And Higokumaru's will resided within Yae Sakura's stigmata.
Therefore, Li Zihan had simply had Yae Sakura temporarily transfer the stigmata, which carried both her will and Higokumaru's, to himself.
"Will you be alright?"
Miss Mei, who had been catching up on Honkai-related knowledge these past few days, looked extremely worried.
That thing, a stigmata, was capable of carrying consciousness to a certain degree.
By accepting Yae Sakura's stigmata, Li Zihan had essentially stuffed the consciousness of both Yae Sakura and the Herrscher of Erosion directly into his own body.
Shoving a Herrscher into one's own body was a risky move. The slightest misstep could lead to being infected and turned into a Pseudo-Herrscher, and then having one's body seized.
"I'm not that fragile."
The young man, who had already integrated Judah into his body long ago, shrugged.
The Key of Binding—the Oath of Judah. Kallen had used this very weapon to pierce Higokumaru through the heart when it was attached to Yae Sakura, and then sealed it away.
And now, that Divine Key was inside Li Zihan's body.
If Higokumaru wanted to counterattack, it would have to break the seal of a complete Judah, annihilate the will of Yae Sakura—who was now reinvigorated by Otto's story—and then devour Li Zihan's consciousness before Welt could arrive to rescue him.
For a Higokumaru whose Herrscher authority was almost entirely crippled, such a feat was, to put it mildly, a little difficult.
"Instead of worrying about that silly fox, you should be more concerned about Schicksal's Overseer, Green Otto, noticing something is off and sending Durandal the Silly Goose or the Scum Maid to cause trouble."
Li Zihan said.
It was a certainty that Otto would notice him.
In the span of a few days, he had first made contact with Otto's most important current experiment—K423—then tricked his granddaughter into trotting over to Nagazora City, and followed that up by swallowing Kallen's relic, Judah...
It would be stranger if Otto hadn't noticed him by now.
That cunning old fox was probably already investigating him; it was only a matter of time before he made a move.
Only a very small part of Li Zihan's reason for keeping Old Yang on standby was to prevent Higokumaru from having a sudden power-up. The vast majority of the reason was to prevent Green Otto from sending people to mess with him before he had finished dealing with Jizo Mitama.
"What are 'Durandal the Silly Goose' and 'Scum Maid'?"
Kiana, completely clueless about the two names Li Zihan had mentioned, embodied the spirit of asking when you don't know, and posed the question bluntly.
They are the big goose who will beat you to a pulp in the future and the loli-complex maid who lusts after your maternal aunt's body, Li Zihan thought, before speaking aloud.
"Two very powerful Valkyries. Both are very difficult opponents."
"How strong can they be?"
Miss Kiana, who had clearly relapsed into her old habit from her previous life—arrogance—grinned and wrapped an arm around Miss Mei's shoulders, much to the latter's embarrassment.
"If they dare lay a hand on Mei, this young lady will knock them flat in minutes."
She then glanced at the certain young man who seemed a more likely target for the so-called "Silly Goose" and "Scum Maid," and let out a huff.
"Ah Li, if you beg me, this young lady wouldn't mind reluctantly giving you a hand."
A hand sending me to my death, you mean?
Li Zihan rolled his eyes internally.
If he were defeated and captured, the worst that would happen is he'd be interrogated and his peculiarities discovered.
Due to his extremely high value and the potential he held for reviving Kallen, it was basically impossible for Otto to kill him.
At most, he'd take a hit from Fenghuang Down and become a mindless answering machine for a short period.
But he could counter Fenghuang Down by using Magecraft to make some preemptive alterations to his own memories.
If the Paramecium righteously decided to fight alongside him, however, it would be a different story.
With her current, frankly average, combat power, the Paramecium fighting beside him would absolutely be defeated within three minutes, shipped off to Schicksal overnight to keep the real Kiana company, and then become a bargaining chip for Otto to use against him.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."
The magus, feeling there was one more very important thing to do before entering the stigmata space, clapped his hands.
"I have something very important I want to say to you."
"What is it, Zihan?"
Miss Mei habitually reached out and patted the Paramecium's arm, which was draped over her other shoulder, signaling her to let go and listen seriously.
"Ah Li, just say what you need to say."
Shoved away once again and unable to continue her tofu-eating, Miss Paramecium was clearly a bit unhappy, and the look she gave the one who had interrupted her fun turned unfriendly.
"I've recently fallen for someone."
He, who had been contemplating how to confess while discussing how to deal with Higokumaru with Yae Sakura, calmly dropped a topic that was nothing short of a bomb on the two girls opposite him.
Miss Mei was instantly at a loss.
Her pretty little face flushed bright red, a mix of shyness and bewilderment blooming on her cheeks into a pitiable peach-pink.
Is he going to confess right now?
Isn't this way too fast!!
For something like dating, you should at least get to know each other for three years first!
Is this bastard going to confess to Mei?
Completely different from Miss Mei's reaction, Kiana's hands and feet went cold.
She remembered: the most important piece of Mei's dowry was still in Li Zihan's hands.
Although Plasma Kagehide had fallen into Li Zihan's hands due to a misunderstanding, it also meant that Raiden Ryoma was, at least grudgingly, able to accept this guy as a son-in-law.
And Mei seemed to have a good impression of this guy, too.
What do I do?
Miss Paramecium looked at the crimson cheeks of the girl beside her, feeling the situation becoming more and more dire, and a fierce glint appeared in her eyes.
"I think... we could try dating."
The young man faced Miss Mei's direction and extended his hand towards her.
And then—
A fair, delicate hand shot out, clamping down on Li Zihan's hand like a vise.
"I think so too, Ah Li."
What met his eyes was Miss Kiana's incredibly unsettling smile.