Thanks for the invitation! I am in Honkai, still connected

What was bound to come, still came.

He clearly hadn't had enough time to prepare before being cornered by the girl he was very fond of, demanding an explanation for his reckless behavior.

How should he explain it?

If he lied and was found out, it would make their future interactions very awkward.

Li Zihan thought.

However, telling the truth didn't seem very good either.

He couldn't just say that he thought Kiana was quite cute, and since that girl was acting like "this young lady has taken a liking to you," he might as well take advantage of the situation.

How should he explain it properly?

For once, Li Zihan was a little troubled.

He couldn't just say that only children make choices, adults want them all, right?

"Mei, why were you out for so long?"

Just as Li Zihan was thinking about how to gloss things over, a very energetic, or rather, very silly, voice sounded from the side.

Clearly, this voice belonged to a certain white-haired dango.

"Eh—, Ah Li, you're here too!"

The girl, who had probably given up thinking and whose silliness was growing ever more concentrated, exclaimed loudly upon seeing the guy who had kissed her not long ago.

Subsequently, a certain white-haired shorty and a certain red-haired onee-san who, even in a hotel, insisted on drinking canned beer, also popped out.

"Eh—, Rita, you're here too!"

A certain white-haired shorty, who had a very good impression of Miss Rita, saw the charming maid standing behind Li Zihan and quickly trotted over on her short legs to greet her.

Miss Mei, who was on the verge of getting an answer, found her expression suddenly becoming quite colorful.

It didn't matter that Kiana had arrived; after all, the matter she was asking about concerned the three of them—her, Kiana, and Li Zihan.

However, Theresa the Silly and Murata Himeko were different; they were unequivocally elders.

Theresa was even Kiana's direct elder!

And discussing the tangled mess of a relationship between the three of them, which was like a ball of yarn, in the presence of a direct elder...

She turned to look at the group of people who had, for some reason, come out together, wanting to say something but unable to speak.

Her intuition told her that the answer to why Li Zihan had suddenly kissed Kiana would probably be very difficult to get.

It looks like I don't need to rush to explain.

The youth thought, feeling as if he had been saved by a certain white-haired shorty and Aunt Murata.

The youth, not knowing which "later" was being referred to, looked at Theresa who had suddenly appeared, opened his mouth as if to say something, then stopped.

He remained silent for a few minutes, then tilted his head and spoke to Miss Mei.

"Mei, about the question you asked, let's talk about it later."

Miss Mei fell silent, then nodded, her heart heavy.

"Lord Theresa, may I use the equipment in your branch to contact Lord Overseer?"

Miss Rita, whose original mission was to capture Li Zihan but who had been utterly defeated by the Key of Erosion, performed an elegant salute to Theresa.

"For certain reasons, Lord Overseer needs to see this little mister. However, this little mister doesn't want to go to Vienna, so we can only find a nearby branch to contact him remotely."

"Of course, you can."

Miss Theresa, completely unaware of what kind of character she was in Rita's eyes, nodded.

She licked her lips, her expression somewhat excited.

Miss Rita, whose skills as a maid alone were considered perfect, was exceptionally good at cooking. If Rita were to stay here for a while, then their group would be in for a treat.

"Thanks, then."

Li Zihan thanked the white-haired shorty, it wasn't clear if he was thanking Theresa for being willing to lend the communication equipment, or for helping him stall for a while.

Of course, perhaps the factor of lending out the so-called Eleventh Divine Key, the Oath of Judah, was also involved.

"You're welcome."

Ms. Theresa, completely unaware that the Judah Siegfried had "borrowed" was in the hands of the person right in front of her, waved her hand, looking very generous.

Subsequently, Theresa looked towards Li Zihan again, staring intently, waiting for an answer.

"By the way, I invited Mei to attend St. Freya Academy earlier, and she wanted to ask for your opinion."

Was there such a thing?

Li Zihan looked towards Miss Mei.

"My Stigmata awakened, and I wasn't too sure about the situation, so I wanted to ask you," Miss Mei said, her expression slightly gloomy as she sensed Li Zihan's gaze.

She had been practicing her cooking skills at home earlier. Halfway through making a dish, a certain white-haired shorty who came to visit Kiana accidentally blurted out that Mei possessed Stigmata during their chat.

The white-haired shorty exclaimed "expert!" and then dragged her and Kiana directly here, trying to persuade them to go to St. Freya Academy.

"Stigmata, huh?"

Li Zihan, who didn't actually understand Stigmata all that well, looked a little hesitant.

Don't be fooled by his ability to casually activate various designated powers of the Divine Keys; when it came to Honkai energy, he was truly an amateur. To this day, he hadn't figured out what special effects his own Stigmata might have.

He could use Divine Keys at will entirely because they were black technology, requiring only the conveyance of intent to command.

However, this didn't affect his ability to answer the question.

"For this kind of thing, the answer should already be in your heart, right?"

Li Zihan spoke.

Although Mei appeared gentle, weak, and very quiet, her personality clearly didn't quite match her appearance.

A gentle, weak girl with no particular desire to win, could she practice swordsmanship to the level of Menkyo Kaiden?

That joke was a bit too absurd.

However, if Mei truly and urgently desired power, she probably didn't need to excavate the power of her own Stigmata.

After all, the God of Honkai would respond to her.

Li Zihan thought.

The positions of the Apostles of God—the Herrschers—were entirely predetermined.

The reason Raiden Mei could become the Third Herrscher wasn't strongly related to the Gem of Conquest.

As long as she encountered Honkai, she would naturally become a Herrscher.

This matter, it's best to find a way to resolve it.

Li Zihan thought.

"I understand."

Deep down, the girl who indeed yearned for power and had chuunibyou tendencies looked somewhat absent-minded.

She was still very concerned about why Li Zihan had suddenly kissed Kiana.

But—

She looked at the Valkyrie who seemed to be on the same level as Theresa, recalled some of the terms she had mentioned earlier, such as "Overseer," and chose silence.

Li Zihan had very important matters to deal with. If she kept asking questions now, it would actually disturb him, right?

Just like she had chosen not to disturb Raiden Ryoma before, Raiden Mei chose to remain silent for a while longer.

I'll ask again after some time.

Miss Mei sighed inwardly.