Chapter 350: The Target Candidate
Haruto nodded in understanding. Though he didn't know the details yet, it seemed the worldline had corrected itself to some extent.
"Then we're comrades from now on. Please take care of me."
"Mm, so I'd like to ask you, Haruto, to teach me about sex right now."
Xenovia's expression was serious and earnest, but the words she spoke made even the other experienced beauties blush.
Haruto's face stiffened. He thought he'd dodged the topic, but unexpectedly, the seemingly airheaded Xenovia was surprisingly persistent.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to dual cultivate with Xenovia—the blue-haired, buxom Holy Sword Wielder's looks and figure were impeccable, her strength was decent, and she had the talent of a perfect Holy Sword adapter. By all accounts, she was an ideal partner for dual cultivation.
But under the disdainful stares of the other beauties around them, even Haruto, with his thick skin, couldn't bring himself to agree nonchalantly.
Moreover, he was certain that if he dared to agree, Xenovia would immediately drag him into daytime debauchery.
But refusing was out of the question for Haruto, leaving him momentarily stumped.
Ultimately, it was Rias who couldn't stand watching any longer and stepped in to mediate.
"Ahem, Xenovia."
"Yes, President? What is it?"
"Let's discuss the dual cultivation matter later. For now, take Irina and familiarize her with the surroundings."
Xenovia didn't understand what dual cultivation had to do with getting acquainted with the environment, but fortunately, bold as she was, she wasn't foolish. She smoothly let the topic of dual cultivation drop and went upstairs with Irina Shidou.
After the two of them left, the other women gathered in the first-floor living room also dispersed, though their glances toward Haruto were somewhat unusual.
Haruto breathed a sigh of relief and quickened his pace to catch up with Rias, whose crimson hair swayed elegantly as she walked.
"President, what's the deal with Xenovia and Irina?"
"You should ask them yourself for the details." Rias smiled faintly, a look of admiration appearing on her mature and enchanting face. "As expected of the man I've set my sights on. I never thought you could attract two talented beauties after just one meeting."
Haruto's heart skipped a beat.
Two?
His earlier feeling was indeed not a misconception. Irina Shidou, that self-absorbed, starry-eyed beauty, also had ulterior motives toward him.
Whether it was a honey trap or not, if lively and beautiful young girls—especially original heroines—had proactively thrown themselves at him in the past, Haruto would have undoubtedly taken them all without hesitation.
He could still do that now, wasting their virgin Yin energy as needed, but wasting too much would indeed be a pity.
Aside from Xenovia and Irina Shidou, Ravel might break through at any moment, along with Xuelan and Isabela.
Breaking through bottlenecks, completing the qualitative transformation of life, and becoming a divine-level being was indeed urgent.
As for how to achieve this divine evolution, Haruto currently had no clue.
This was the trouble with having no guide—without knowing the key points, one might toil in vain for a lifetime.
Since he had no master, he would have to find one.
After careful consideration, Haruto listed four potential candidates in his mind.
The first was Sirzechs, who had likely broken through long ago but had been concealing his strength. Out of consideration for Rias, this red-haired Satan would definitely not hold back.
The problem was, Haruto truly couldn't gauge this man's strength, and compared to seeking guidance from a male, he preferred the last two options.
The second was Toujou Jin, the man once known as the God of War, whose strength was undoubtedly at the divine level.
The reasons were largely the same as above, just replacing Rias with Toujou Basara.
The third was Chisato Hasegawa, who had been hiding her identity and working as the school doctor at Kuoh Academy.
This big-breasted, sexy older sister with long black hair was undoubtedly one of the Ten Chief Gods, and her strength was beyond question.
However, Chisato Hasegawa had yet to reveal her identity, and Haruto had no idea what she was thinking. Approaching her rashly carried certain risks.
The last was a female demon named Liala.
Her name differed from Rias by only one character. The information about this large-breasted girl with platinum blonde hair was brought by Katerea, who came regularly every month to "ask for food."
The information Katerea brought wasn't much, more like something mentioned casually during idle chat, but Haruto couldn't help remembering this beautiful girl from his memories.
After detailed questioning, he determined there was a ninety percent chance Liala was now god-tier. However, due to changes in the worldline, Liala still couldn't reveal her true strength. Without external intervention, she might have to live under surveillance for her entire life.
Katerea was still gathering more specific details. If given the opportunity, Haruto felt Liala would be the most suitable candidate to be his mentor.
It would be best if he could complete his life evolution directly through her guidance. If not, Liala would still be an excellent candidate to test whether dual cultivation abilities would take effect.
The thought of something like "disrespecting one's master" was thrilling just to imagine.
Haruto slowly collected his thoughts. Unconsciously, he had followed Rias to a bedroom on the second floor.
Looking at the nameplate that had clearly been recently hung on the door, he saw the names Irina & Xenovia written in a cute font.
He hesitated for a moment, but under Rias's amused gaze, he still gently knocked on the door.
"Coming~"
An energetic, lively female voice came from inside, followed by Irina's cute and charming face appearing before Haruto.
When she saw it was Haruto, the enthusiasm on the chestnut-haired twin-tailed beauty's face visibly faded.
The two stood at the doorway staring at each other for a good while. After some time, Haruto rubbed his nose and forced himself to say, "Um... aren't you going to invite me in?"
Worried that Irina might throw a tantrum, he quickly added, "Well, you see, I'm actually here to see Xenovia."
This only made things worse. The moment he said this, Irina's cute face instantly darkened.
She felt the impulse to slam the door right in Haruto's face, but remembering her mission and the gap in their strength, she ultimately didn't do it.
"Hmph, you bastard who can't appreciate this young lady's beauty."
Irina angrily twisted her slender waist and quickly walked back into the bedroom.
Haruto followed behind her, casually closing the half-open door and locking it.
The bedroom was large but had only one bed.
The desk and wardrobe were both clean, and the two Holy Sword Wielder beauties' suitcases hadn't even been unpacked yet, quietly sitting in the corner.
Haruto already had a general idea about Xenovia's situation. Though there were some deviations, it mostly matched his memories.
After learning that God no longer existed, Xenovia could no longer provide faith and would only burden the system. Even though she was a perfect Holy Sword Wielder, the Church still exiled her.
After being exiled, Xenovia decisively switched sides and joined the demon faction, becoming Rias's Familiar.
Now the situation was largely similar, except she wasn't exiled but voluntarily chose to leave and become Rias's Familiar.
What puzzled him was why Irina, who originally shouldn't have learned about God's absence until much later after being reborn as an angel, was appearing here together with Xenovia.
Moreover, Haruto sensed that, unsurprisingly, Irina had already been reborn as an angel.
If Fallen Angels could be reborn as demons, angels should probably be able to as well. But he didn't detect any demonic aura from Irina, which only deepened his confusion.
"So the two of you sleep together?"
"We always slept together when we were on missions, back at the church."
"I see. If you're not used to it, you can change rooms."
Haruto glanced at Irina, who was pouting as she sat on the edge of the bed, and deliberately remarked, "There are plenty of empty rooms. You could even have one to yourself."
The mansion had many rooms, but with more and more girls moving in, there weren't actually many left.
This was even with two or three girls sharing one bedroom.
Aside from a few individuals like Rias, most of the girls actually preferred living together in small groups.
The bedrooms were spacious enough to comfortably accommodate two or three people, and sharing a room with one or two close friends was far more enjoyable than being alone.
Not only could they laugh, play, and discuss topics of interest together during the day, but on lonely nights when they couldn't have Haruto's dragon, they could also comfort each other with affectionate touches.
As expected, upon hearing Haruto's words, Irina immediately puffed out her cheeks and glared at him.
Before she could speak, Haruto abruptly steered the conversation back on track.
"Xenovia, why did you suddenly say you want to have sex with me? Do you like me?"
The blue-haired, buxom beauty was taken aback for a moment but quickly replied candidly, "Because I want to try sex, and you're the most suitable person right now."
"As for whether I like you or not... I don't dislike you, at least."
Haruto nodded and suddenly asked, "Are you sure there's no other reason? I don't like being lied to."