Can I say I feel like she's my mom?
Facing the gossiping shop owner and recalling the Immortal's recent, family-like actions, Li Zihan couldn't help but think this.
Her wife aura was a bit too overwhelming.
Honestly, Li Zihan was quite bewildered.
He now truly understood just how chaotic time could become when a person unaffected by a time loop lived within one.
It was a complete mess.
All he knew was the cause—he had gone to the past—and the result—his relationship with the Immortal now resembled that of family.
And that was it.
The entire process in between was gone, erased more cleanly than King Crimson ever could.
Should I use Clairvoyance?
The young man, who had a rough grasp of the current situation, felt his thoughts waver.
"Probably… we're just very good friends," he said, his words deliberately ambiguous as he felt the owner's intensely gossipy gaze.
That's it?
Clearly unsatisfied with his answer, the shop owner's expression showed her displeasure.
"Little Hua is not one to dress up. There aren't many people who could make her go to the trouble of getting all dolled up like this."
Perhaps because Fu Hua was a gacha game addict with terrible luck and was thus always short on cash, the owner, who often hired students for temporary work, knew the part-time warrior's situation very well.
Fu Hua never went out of her way to dress up; her only requirement for her appearance was to be clean and tidy.
But today, she was in full formal attire, as vibrant as a flower in full bloom.
Recalling the girl in that magnificent dress, looking like an Immortal from Shenzhou mythology, the shop owner's gaze toward Li Zihan gradually took on a different quality.
"Are you genuinely clueless, or are you just pretending not to know?"
"I guess… I understand a little," said the person who, in truth, only understood a little, taking a sip from his teacup.
"That's good."
The shop owner, not having received a blockheaded response like "I don't understand," looked quite satisfied.
Then, she glanced toward the kitchen and sighed.
"That little girl, Fu Hua… she's had it really tough."
No kidding. Which super-soldier has ever had it easy? Li Zihan thought.
The Previous Era was truly unfortunate.
The essence of the Honkai was imaginary energy that flowed into the Imaginary World after real number energy was consumed.
Unaware of this, they frantically climbed the technology tree to defeat the Honkai.
But as technology developed, the consumption of real number energy accelerated, which in turn buffed the Honkai.
Seeing that things were going south, the people of the Previous Era doubled down, madly advancing their technology, even creating things like Divine Keys, the Super-Transformation Factor, and Stigmata to fight the Honkai head-on.
And then…
And then there was no "and then."
Without a deus ex machina, the most logical solution to defeat the Honkai would have been to reduce the use of real number energy and establish a civilization based on imaginary energy.
That way, they could have constantly worn down the Honkai's power and, through a cycle of real energy to imaginary energy and back to real energy, could have exploded their technological capabilities. That was the proper path forward.
Acting recklessly like the Previous Era and just madly climbing the tech tree… it would have been a miracle if they hadn't been hammered.
But it was pointless to think about that now.
Having stolen the third Noble Phantasm from the Beast of Pity, I am like a god from a Greek tragedy for this version of Earth, whose tech tree has yet to fully develop, thought the young man.
A deus ex machina plot device might be a bit cliché, but it was certainly more effective than other methods.
But speaking of which, should I go to the Campione! world next to find the Divine Sword of Salvation, and then try to find Kevin Aotian to clear that Re:Creators side mission?
It felt like using the Divine Sword of Salvation as a holy relic for the Eternal Destruction system would be an unexpectedly good fit, the young man mused.
Although the core of Mercury's secret-breaking method was to force those with the potential for "Emanation" to achieve it prematurely, culling anyone without that aptitude along the way…
But—
The System did say I have a high compatibility with this esoteric rite.
Thinking about it, even if he couldn't use this method to achieve full "Emanation"—to transform himself into a "human-form single universe" or gain the power to "overwrite the multiverse with his Law"—it could still help him achieve a metamorphosis.
He only planned to use this method to quickly reach his own limits before shifting his focus to cultivating other forms of power.
Clearly, this unofficial Herrscher, a traitor through and through, intended to continue down the path of the deus ex machina and directly smash the Honkai, and perhaps even the Imaginary Tree itself, rather than build a civilization based on Honkai energy.
Interesting, but before that, I have to solve other problems first.
Recalling the Immortal's face, Li Zihan couldn't help but press his temples firmly.
He had to figure things out first.
Also, he needed to prepare for weddings with the other girls. If he remained married only to Mei, more than a few vinegar jars were going to be overturned.
I love watching other people's shurabas, but I absolutely don't want one happening to me, the hypocrite thought.
By the way, I wonder how the Doctor is doing now.
Li Zihan recalled Merlin's number one fan.
After finishing the Absolute Demonic Front, he had opened a loot box and gotten a gender-bender potion, which he then poured into Merlin's bowl when he came to Chaldea to celebrate the conclusion of FGO 1.0.
And so—
Merlin is dead, long live Meli!
Out of pure mischief, Li Zihan had calmly used the authority of Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had become the new director of Chaldea thanks to her merit in saving the Human Order, to group the Doctor, Meli, Da Vinci, and his actual wife, the Queen of Sheba, all together.
I really wonder how those guys are doing now.
The young man, who was a complete and utter bastard, mused to himself.
"Hey, hey, young man. Were you just thinking about something very strange?"
The shop owner, feeling that the expression on the guy next to her looked like he owed the tax bureau fifty million, frowned, sensing something unusual.
"It's nothing."
The young man, clearly not intending to speak of the completely inhuman things he had done, shook his head.
Sirin was already pregnant; it was only a matter of time before he became a father.
Although he himself didn't care much about his reputation, he should probably rein it in a little for the sake of his child.
A soon-to-be father still needed a decent reputation to maintain his image in front of his future children.
"By the way, do you know if there's anything Fu Hua particularly likes?"
Feeling that he should get a small gift for Fu Hua while she was cooking for him, the young man stood up and asked the owner seriously.
"Little Hua… she would probably like some small trinkets, I think."
The shop owner, not actually knowing for sure what Fu Hua liked, scratched the back of her head as she thought.
Although she didn't know the specifics, most girls would probably appreciate small accessories from their lover.
"I understand."
Li Zihan nodded and then bid the owner farewell.
"I'm going to go look around. I'll be right back."