Chaldeas.
The Director's Office.
The Director of Chaldeas had his brow tightly furrowed. He held a pen with intense focus, meticulously sketching lines onto a sheet of paper.
If any employee of Chaldeas were to see this sight, they would surely be filled with a profound sense of respect.
After all, it was already half-past two in the morning, yet the esteemed Director was still toiling away, consumed with concern for the future development of humanity.
The scene was simply too moving for words.
But—
There is always a gap between the ideal and the reality.
"Captain, are your bridal gown designs still not finished?"
The Scummy Maid's voice chimed in, revealing a truth that would shatter the worldview of many a Chaldean employee.
Li Zihan was not, in fact, processing documents, nor was he strategizing a new project.
In truth, this man—who played the role of world savior and beacon of humanity to so many—was, in a rare moment of intense focus, indulging in the completely unrelated business of drawing.
He needed to prepare weddings for Seele and Mei in the near future, and the weddings for his other girls had naturally been added to the schedule.
And of all the wedding preparations, the bridal gown was the most important.
"Since I'm designing bridal gowns, it's only natural that I put a bit more thought into them."
The boy, who had spent a fair bit of the 960-yuan equivalent on wedding dress skins in Honkai Impact 3rd in his past life, was now recreating those designs from memory, modifying them in two distinct directions: conservative and revealing.
One version was for the ceremony itself. For such an occasion, Mihoyo's original designs were a touch too risqué and unsuitable.
The other, naturally, was for after the wedding. For that occasion, the so-called bridal gowns were far too conservative and also required… alterations.
"I'm not done yet."
Li Zihan sighed, placing a freshly completed drawing to the side.
"Director, you have a surprising talent for fashion design."
The maid with long, dark-gold hair casually picked up the design sketch he had set aside. As she examined it, she couldn't help but marvel.
"It's decent enough. I mainly have good reference material," Li Zihan replied, reaching up to press his temples with a sigh. "However, the workload is a bit much for me."
And it was true.
Mihoyo's clothing designs were exceptionally good.
However, Mihoyo was, at its core, a game company. When brought into reality, many of the finer details of the gowns needed to be filled in.
Clearly, this task of adding detail was mentally exhausting.
Although he was skilled at drawing, the prospect of designing two unique bridal gown sets for every single one of his lovers was proving to be a bit overwhelming, even for him.
After all, his primary profession was a Hero, not a tailor.
Although...
His methods for saving the world were admittedly a bit on the rough side.
"Speaking of which, would you like me to design a set for you?"
Li Zihan raised an eyebrow and asked the Scummy Maid, with whom he shared a rather close history.
It was true. He and Rita had become intimate long before Chaldeas was even fully operational. To call them old lovers would be perfectly reasonable.
"Oh my~ Captain, what is this?"
As if witnessing a truly rare event, the maid—whose relationship with Li Zihan was closer to being friends with benefits—let a playful smirk grace her lips.
She raised a slender finger to her lips, her charming smile enough to make a heart skip a beat.
"Have I managed to captivate you?"
"You're overthinking it."
"My desire to design a gown for you is purely because I think you would look beautiful in one," the boy, who possessed zero resistance to girls who were pure, pristine, and beautiful, stated ruthlessly to the very mature Scummy Maid.
"If you want to captivate me, please start by adjusting your physical age down to fifteen or sixteen."
"What a heart-wrenchingly cold thing to say," the maid replied, her bewitching face suddenly taking on an expression as if she were about to cry. "Even though I, even though I, am so—"
"You can spare me the talk of 'love'," Li Zihan cut in, sighing at the sight of her impersonation of a pure maiden who had been deceived.
Li Zihan and Rita were cut from the same cloth.
As kindred spirits, he could easily see through her intentions, just as she could easily read his emotions. Their dynamic was much like that of a certain blonde, red-eyed vampire and a certain very sexy, dark-skinned clergyman.
He could tell with absolute certainty that she was only saying this to tease him.
The Scummy Maid loved to tease everyone she was close to.
"On that note, if I were to say that I love you, that I want to marry you, have children, and build a family, how would you answer?" the boy, who was no saint himself, challenged, raising an eyebrow at the maid whose tearful expression had already vanished.
"Emmm—"
As if faced with an impossible question, Rita furrowed her slender, alluring brows.
"How should I put it? That... doesn't sound too bad, actually."
Eh?
Li Zihan froze.
The Scummy Maid's answer seemed a little off-script.
"Is it strange?" Rita asked, apparently noticing his expression as she prepared a cup of tea for him. "It's quite normal to feel your heart stir when you meet a member of the opposite sex who is both exceptionally capable and can understand your every action with such ease."
"Unfortunately..."
A look of genuine difficulty appeared on Rita's face, as if she were facing a difficult choice.
"Unfortunately, you have to take care of Dull Goose?" Li Zihan finished for her, looking at the Scummy Maid who always had such yuri vibes with a certain goose. He spoke the name of the strongest goose in history.
"I suppose I really can't bring myself to leave Lady Durandal's side," Rita confirmed with a nod and a small smile, acting for all the world like Durandal's bound accessory. "Therefore, there's no need for you to take responsibility for me."
"Because I, who must look after Lady Durandal, simply do not have the energy to bear the responsibilities of a 'lover'."
"What a truly saddening reply."
The boy stood up, planning to find Seele and Mei to discuss the next steps.
"It is a bit of a shame, isn't it?" Miss Rita said with a faint smile.
Then, her tone shifted.
"Speaking of which, could I entrust you with a small matter?"
"What is it?" the boy asked, raising an eyebrow. He rarely refused a request from the girls around him.
"And let me be clear, asking me to turn back time and become a child to act as your pillow is out of the question."
"I know, I know," Rita said, her expression tinged with a hint of regret at his response. But then, thinking of the potential developments to come, her smile quickly returned.
"Could you use your power... to return Lady Durandal to how she was in the past?"