While Bronya was contemplating her future, what were Li Zihan and Sirin up to on the other side?
The answer: getting intimate.
Sirin's lips were soft.
That was a fact Li Zihan could confirm.
Holding the white-haired girl in his arms, he gently nibbled on her petal-soft lips before sliding his tongue inside, greedily savoring her unique, sweet fragrance.
Then, as if indulging a wicked whim, the boy injected saliva imbued with a spell into her mouth, stirring it around with vigor.
"Mmmph—"
The girl, who clearly sensed that a spell called "Shared Senses" had been cast upon her, widened her eyes.
Without a moment's hesitation, she shot her hands out and pushed the scoundrel away.
"Hey, hey, Ah Li, what do you think you're doing?" The girl, whose skin had gained incredibly potent magic resistance after she defeated the God King Melqart in the Campione! world, glared at the boy who was up to no good.
Casting spells through kissing and negative-distance contact were among the few methods capable of bypassing a God-Slayer's magic immunity.
Evidently, after that round of kissing, this person had already completed his "spell."
"Nothing much. Just making my regular contribution, right on schedule," the boy said breezily, making no effort to hide his desire to engage in some negative-distance contact with Sirin right then and there.
"That's not what I'm asking!"
Seeing no other girls around, Sirin's delicate brows furrowed.
Perhaps because she was so used to having this kind of spell cast on her, Miss Sirin wasn't overly concerned about having a shared-senses buff applied.
She was more worried about something else.
"Whose senses did you link me to?"
Sirin continued to scan her surroundings.
"Is Ana still here?"
"I just linked you to yourself," the boy explained, adding that he was about to take a trip through time to the era of the Second Honkai Eruption.
He had promised to marry Mei, and he had also promised to go to Siberia to prepare for Seele's wedding.
On the surface, the timelines were in conflict.
But what if he simply adjusted the timeline?
For instance, he could marry Mei during the Second Honkai Eruption, and in the present, prepare for Seele's wedding.
Wouldn't that work out perfectly?
The boy, who had gained authority over time after triggering the First Great Eruption at the Clock Tower, smiled faintly.
He could resolve the wedding conflicts with Mei and Seele in one go, and while he was at it, he could also take care of the matters concerning Herrscher Sirin and Cecilia.
Wasn't that a brilliant plan?
Li Zihan thought to himself.
But before he revisited the Second Eruption, he needed to ask Queen Pufferfish a few questions.
Clearly intending to have a word with a certain queen who should have woken up long ago, the boy pulled Miss Sirin into his embrace. His nimble fingers began to gently caress the full, soft curves that could bring a tear to an immortal's eye.
"A-Ah Li, what on earth are you trying to do?"
Sensing that something was very wrong with her lover, Miss Paramecium slapped his restless hand away and shot him a reproachful look.
"Have you forgotten?" The boy, who was obviously trying to awaken Queen Pufferfish, looked perfectly composed. He retracted his hand, only to puff out his chest with an air of righteousness. "Waking your primary personality requires a certain amount of stimulation."
"I have something I want to ask her, so....."
That statement left Miss Sirin completely stunned.
Her eyes flew wide open, and a blush of shame and indignation flooded her face.
This guy... what in the world was he thinking?!
"So you're planning to awaken her by linking her senses to mine?!"
Forcibly restraining the impulse to rip his face off, Miss Sirin viciously twisted the skin on his waist.
"Well, it can't be helped," he said, explaining why he wouldn't use Fenghuang Down as if it were a perfectly serious matter. "The mental shock from Fenghuang Down is extremely damaging. One wrong move and it could injure both you and your other self."
"No matter how you look at it, creating stimulation through a roll in the sheets will cause far less damage, right?"
---o---
...This guy. This guy was truly a lost cause.
Miss Sirin, vaguely recalling how much of a gentleman he had been when they first met, was suddenly overcome with a sense of melancholy.
He was still a gentleman now, but...
He was very clearly a "gentleman" in the Japanese sense of the word. A pervert.
"Do you really think a request like this is reasonable?" Miss Sirin sighed, completely unable to fathom how the mysterious and elegant pretty boy from the past had degenerated into the lecherous fiend before her.
"Of course it's reasonable." The boy, who made little effort to suppress his own Chaotic Impulse, nodded with utmost seriousness.
"Reasonable my ass!"
Without a shred of hesitation, the furious Miss Sirin slammed a fist into the old pervert's chest.
"I haven't even settled the score with you for what you did to Kiana, and now you're trying to make a move on my other self!"
"That couldn't be helped either," the boy muttered, dodging her attacks. He had, in fact, slept with the little princess during the Absolute Demonic Front.
"You two are one and the same, aren't you? When your lover is two souls in one body, it's actually weirder to only make a move on one of them."
"In any case, don't even think about using such a despicable method to awaken my other self!" Miss Sirin sneered, chasing the scumbag around.
"Hey, hey, you're the one who told me to use Fenghuang Down less often."
"I haven't used my spiritual powers in a long time. My control over a pseudo-Fenghuang Down isn't very strong," the boy said with a look of pure innocence. He had delved into various Herrscher powers to different degrees, but when it came to the Herrscher of Sentience, he had only ever used the most minimal mental shocks.
"Huh? Your control isn't strong?"
Miss Sirin froze, as if she had just heard something unbelievable.
This guy was a master at using the Might of An-Utu, the Star of Eden, and the Oath of Judah, yet he was telling her he wasn't proficient with Fenghuang Down's power?
"It was a promise, after all," said Li Zihan, who truly had barely used the power of Fenghuang Down. "I promised you I'd use it less. It wouldn't be right to still treat it like a basic attack."
"Don't tell me... you really haven't been using its power much?"
A strange feeling began to stir in Miss Sirin's heart. She had been angry for a long time back when he had first sealed her memories.
Did he really use it less... just because I hate it?
"I told you, it's a promise," the boy said, his voice completely serious. His use of Fenghuang Down truly remained at the most rudimentary level.
"And promises can't be broken."
"..."
The girl fell silent.
The strange feeling in her heart intensified, swirling into a powerful current.
"So, let's spend the night together."
The boy's voice dropped into her ears, and the emotional current surging within her came to an abrupt halt.
She turned her head to see his smug, scummy face.
"It won't affect our normal lives, and we can awaken your other self in the process."
A delicate vein throbbed on the fair forehead of the girl, who felt as if her tender feelings had just been thrown to the dogs.
"Ah Li, just go die!!"