Rias blanked out for a second. But when she factored in Li Ke's highly specific reaction upon first hearing her name, everything clicked into place for her.
"Ah... I apologize. That was entirely my fault for not making myself clear," she corrected herself quickly. "What I meant was, after I convert you into a devil, I will immediately dissolve our master-servant contract. That way, you will become a completely independent, free devil. You won't be bound to me or restricted by my commands in the slightest. Since you already recognize the name Rias Gremory, you should know that the Gremory House never compromises its integrity on matters like this. If you are still worried, I am more than willing to sign a formal covenant with you first."
Rias was being completely genuine. Looking around at this desolate, unforgiving world where even she struggled to survive, she simply felt that an ordinary human like Li Ke would be infinitely better off transforming into a devil. At the very least, he would never have to worry about aging or basic safety again—as long as he didn't get careless the way she had, he would be virtually untouchable.
"I simply have zero desire to become a devil, that's all. Besides, no matter how prestigious the Gremory name is, it doesn't really carry any weight for either of us in our current situation, does it?"
Li Ke shook his head. His refusal wasn't born out of fear that Rias would manipulate or exploit him post-reincarnation; he simply had a fundamental aversion to giving up his humanity for a devil's mantle.
He knew Rias wasn't lying to him. Although she could be a bit naive and dense at times, her personality was exceptionally kind-hearted by devil standards. Her love and fierce protectiveness toward her household members were completely authentic. If he truly chose to become her peerage member, based on the original lore, his personal safety would be practically guaranteed. In fact, she would willingly risk her own life to protect his, so there was no doubt she would honor her word.
Furthermore, in the world of High School DxD, devils placed immense value on contracts. There were almost zero recorded instances of a devil willingly breaking a sealed pact.
However, there were three massive catches.
First, he was currently just a completely ordinary human. He didn't possess any latent talent or Sacred Gear that would make Rias truly treasure him as a valuable piece.
Second, he wasn't particularly crazy about Rias anyway. Back when he watched the anime, his personal preferences had always leaned far more toward Grayfia, Raynare, and Akeno Himejima.
Third, a devil's racial identity was a massive logistical nightmare.
While a human identity and reputation might seem baseline and ordinary, it possessed one undeniable advantage: in the vast majority of universes and across countless different races, being a human rarely automatically flagged you as a "mortal enemy."
The exact opposite was true for devils.
There were very few worlds where a devil wasn't instantly hunted down and slaughtered on sight. Granted, he didn't have the means to hop dimensions right this second, but the moment he summoned one or two more easygoing, slice-of-life girls—hell, even just one more—he would finally unlock the ability to traverse worlds.
When that day came, a permanent devil identity would be nothing but a massive, radioactive anchor dragging him down.
"I see..."
Rias stared at Li Ke, drawing her own conclusions. She assumed he was just like some of the rare humans back home who flatly refused to give up their mortal lives, so she had no intention of forcing the issue.
After all, her Evil Pieces were a finite, highly precious resource.
But as far as she was concerned, Li Ke had just saved her life, and a debt of honor absolutely had to be repaid.
"In that case, Mr. Li Ke, what kind of compensation do you want?"
"Just follow my lead, follow orders, and let's all make it out of here alive," Li Ke scoffed dryly. "In a godforsaken hellhole like this, as long as you don't repeatedly make boneheaded mistakes and trigger some irreversible catastrophe, I'm not going to give you a hard time."
Compensation? If he demanded Rias lie down right here and let him have his way with her, she obviously wouldn't agree. And as for her magical energy or whatever, he was just an ordinary guy from Earth; he wouldn't even know what to do with it.
As for hoarding personal wealth or demanding private collateral? Doing that in this kind of setting was a literal death sentence. In a world where failure to cooperate meant immediate, gruesome death, trying to play those kinds of petty games was sheer lunacy.
Besides, he hadn't forgotten the single most crucial fact.
In terms of raw combat power, he was the absolute weakest link in this entire camp.
So what else could he really ask for? Ensuring she would fall in line and listen to instructions in the future was more than enough.
"...I understand. But I will find a way to repay you eventually."
Rias could hear the sheer exhaustion and pragmatism in Li Ke's voice. Remembering what he had previously explained about the mechanics of this world, she instantly realized why he wasn't pressing her for an immediate material reward.
"The same goes for me, Mr. Li Ke," Lux chimed in from the side, biting her lip as she echoed Rias's sentiment.
But Li Ke still brushed it off.
"Drop it. Save your energy so we can figure out a way out of here."
Taking a deep breath, Li Ke pointed up toward the compacted soil sealing their ceiling.
"Right now, we're all stuck in the exact same boat. If you've got a trick up your sleeve, use it."
His singular, hyper-focused priority right now was solving the immediate threat of those mutated zombie birds, not wasting breath exchanging pleasantries with these two reckless girls.
"I see," Rias nodded slowly.
She finally had a clear reading on the type of man Li Ke was. Looking directly into his eyes, she asked a highly specific question.
"So... if I borrow a fraction of your strength, you wouldn't mind, correct?"
Li Ke shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, sure. As long as it doesn't threaten my life or ruin my health. And let's be completely honest here—you're the one who actually holds the big guns between the two of us."
Rias offered a solemn nod. She completely understood the underlying frustration and friction in his tone. Without a single word of warning, she stepped forward, took Li Ke's hand, and pressed it firmly against her bare chest.
"Then, I understand. Please, feel free to touch my body as much as you like. Consider this the price for borrowing your strength. I imagine... you must quite enjoy this, don't you?"
In an instant, an incredibly soft, remarkably elastic sensation surged straight through Li Ke's palm. It was an entirely different physical experience from before. After all, even with someone as flawlessly conditioned as Tsunade, a bust of that sheer, gravity-defying scale still possessed a natural, slightly heavy teardrop contour.
That was the natural law of physics for an extraordinarily large bust, a completely normal structural reality.
But these? They were completely gravity-defying!
Li Ke stared in shock as he sank his fingers into the heavy, perfectly rounded flesh. The moment he squeezed, the warm, silky soft mounds pushed back against his hands with youthful elasticity, the upper slopes remaining proudly upright instead of sagging. The skin was smooth and slightly warm, the weight of each breast filling and overflowing his palms as he kneaded them.
Immediately afterward, a sweet, intoxicating fragrance washed over his face. Rias's slightly flushed cheeks came rapidly closer, and her soft, full red lips pressed firmly against his.
An inexperienced but eager tongue slipped into his mouth, flooding him with a rush of sweet, warm saliva. Li Ke swallowed instinctively, then couldn't stop himself from wrapping his own tongue around hers, greedily sucking and drinking the delicious fluid from her mouth. The wet, slippery friction of their tongues sliding and twisting together made heat explode through his body. His hands tightened automatically, fingers digging deeper into the plump, resilient flesh of her breasts, roughly squeezing and rolling the heavy mounds, pinching the stiffening peaks of her nipples between his fingers.
"Nngh…"
Rias let out a soft, pained moan, but she didn't pull away. She simply remained still, allowing him to knead and squeeze her full, sensitive breasts as hard as he wanted.
Beside them, Lux stood frozen in shock. At the same time, she caught the same sweet, natural scent rising from Rias's body. The fragrance made her own skin flush hot, and without realizing it she pressed her thighs together and rubbed them against each other, a restless heat spreading between her legs.
Meanwhile, Li Ke felt something steadily being drawn out of his body. He knew it was his stamina — his limbs were growing weaker — yet the sensation was intensely pleasant, almost euphoric, so good that he wanted to sink into it forever.
Just as he was about to lose himself completely, the feeling abruptly cut off.
Rias's tongue withdrew from his mouth.
She wiped her lips, her face still flushed, and spoke while trying to maintain a calm expression.
"That is enough, Mr. Li Ke. I have collected sufficient life energy. If I continue any further, your body will be harmed."