"He has never been far from me."
Chewing on these words, Kiana's expression changed slightly.
"Ah Li, what do you mean?"
"Nothing much."
The young man, who didn't actually know where Siegfried was, smiled and said.
That way he had of speaking—like an old charlatan, clearly able to explain things thoroughly but deliberately choosing not to—seemed rather detestable to Kiana.
She wanted to press further, but before she could open her mouth, the young man's voice beat her to it.
"Alright, I'll talk to you about Siegfried later."
Li Zihan, who had contacted the Principal of Student Aid in the first place to get in touch with Welt, cleared his throat and, under Kiana's slightly disappointed gaze, spoke to Theresa.
"Principal, may I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
Miss Principal of Student Aid, who was being treated like a child by everyone around, devoid of any dignity, felt a pang in her nose and nearly shed tears upon hearing the honorific in Li Zihan's words.
Finally, someone who can recognize my abundant dignity!
"Is there a male history teacher at the Saint Freya Academy you founded?"
The young man, unsure if Einstein and Tesla had notified Welt after hearing his suggestion, asked.
Based on the architectural modeling of Yae Village in the Sanbengzi game, it wasn't hard to see that it included a Tenshukaku, symbolizing status.
A "village" that had even built a Tenshukaku and was located near Edo Castle had no reason not to be recorded.
Without too many surprises, Li Zihan found descriptions of Yae Village in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gazetteer. Although not very detailed, it marked out a general area.
With this general area and the constraints of "the edge of a Tama River tributary" and "within Nagazora City," finding the ruins of Yae Village, and subsequently the sleeping place of the donkey-eared fox, wouldn't be difficult.
Having already dispatched his familiars to search for Yae Village, the next priority was to find helpers.
The helper Li Zihan chose was Welt Yang, who was currently undercover at Saint Freya Academy.
After the Second Honkai Eruption, Welt Yang's body had almost completely broken down. He spent several years recuperating in the Beacon Country before showing some improvement.
Unfortunately, in 2005, Schicksal prepared to encircle and annihilate Anti-Entropy. Auntie Himeko's father, Murata Ryusuke, also made a deal with a very strange entity, one that could even devour the Void Archives, wanting to exchange it for intelligence on real aliens.
What exactly happened during that undescribed period of time was still unknown.
However, judging from Welt's significant decrease in strength in the following years, to the point where he would vomit blood just from using a powerful move during the Anti-Entropy Invasion Arc, he was probably dealt a heavy blow during that time.
Still, it was good enough. Even a heavily injured Welt was still a top-tier combatant in this world.
Adding Yae Sakura, who was integrated with Higokumaru, himself, and—
The young man, who needed to take the Key of Erosion, Jizo Mitama, for his upcoming objectives, glanced at the S-rank Valkyrie Judah's launcher.
In the manga's storyline, it was this little shorty who, with her sincere emotions, moved Higokumaru, causing it to let go of its hatred.
Li Zihan hadn't ruled out having this shorty replicate that feat.
But considering his consistently less-than-stellar luck, Li Zihan felt it was better to opt for a direct assault.
Therefore, he abandoned the idea of tricking Theresa into emotionally swaying Higokumaru and instead set his sights on the S-rank Valkyrie Judah, who had sealed Higokumaru five hundred years ago.
Yae Sakura herself, a heavily injured Welt Yang, S-rank Valkyrie Judah, and himself—it would be more than enough to seal Higokumaru.
The young man, having already figured out how to persuade Yae Sakura and Welt, narrowed his eyes, awaiting an answer.
"Are you talking about Teacher Yang?"
Theresa, though very unreliable, at least remembered she had a male teacher surnamed Yang under her command, and frowned.
PS: Old Yang is truly something else. When he was recovering at the California Institute of Technology, he used the name Welt. During his undercover period at Saint Freya, he used the name Yang.
"Are you asking about him for a reason?"
Theresa, vaguely sensing that something was off, asked.
"Not really, I just wanted to greet him on behalf of my dear Esteemed Father-in-Law."
The young man, his eyes turning blood-red, smiled and said.
"Zihan, watch what you're saying!!"
Raiden Mei, who knew perfectly well who Li Zihan was referring to as "Esteemed Father-in-Law," blushed furiously and couldn't help but snap.
Running your mouth like that with me and Father is one thing, but saying this in front of others, what are you trying to pull?!
"Next time, definitely next time."
The young man, who would probably phrase it differently next time, said with great sincerity.
"Wait, what Esteemed Father-in-Law?!"
Kiana, who had stopped asking questions and was focusing on her meal because Li Zihan had said he would talk to her about Siegfried later, suddenly lifted her head like an alert hamster.
She turned to look at Li Zihan, her azure eyes carrying the sharp glint of a husky that had been starved for a day staring at an empty food bowl.
"Ah Li, I thought of you as a brother, and you actually want to NTR me?!"
This girl, who didn't mind at all if others knew she was a lesbian, yelled loudly.
"Don't think that just because you tell me information about Dad, making me owe you a favor, I'll withdraw from the field of love!"
"Mei is mine!!"
Miss Kiana threw her arms around Miss Mei's arm, thus declaring her sovereignty.
"Kiana, what are you talking about?!"
The red on Miss Raiden Mei's face deepened even further, the flush even spreading downwards, dyeing the girl's slender neck the same color as her face.
The girl, already deeply troubled by Li Zihan's "Esteemed Father-in-Law" comment, pushed away the girl扑 (pū - pounced/lunged) towards her, both angry and annoyed.
Then, she rarely raised her voice to scold.
"Kiana, in front of outsiders, show some decency!!"
"Eheh, Mei, does that mean when there are no outsiders, we can—"
"How could that be possible!"
Miss Mei, suddenly realizing that Li Zihan wasn't the only problem child around, shouted loudly.
"What's so impossible about it?"
Just as Kiana was about to continue teasing, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.
"Everyone quiet down, people are still watching."
A young man's voice sounded.
Kiana turned her head and saw the already stunned Auntie Himeko and Great Aunt, then sheepishly closed her mouth.
Miss Mei, feeling like she had been saved, also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, hey, hey, are young people these days all this wild?"
Miss Himeko, feeling that the relationship between the three people opposite her was suspiciously like a stable triangle, felt her eye twitch slightly.
"How would I know."
Theresa, who had only ever had feelings for Cecilia in her entire life, only to be tragically NTR'd by Siegfried, retorted weakly.
"My apologies for the scene."
The person who, in a sense, had caused this rather unseemly argument, shrugged and said.
"So, can you tell me your purpose for looking for Teacher Yang?"
Theresa, having already realized that there was definitely a big issue hidden with this so-called Teacher Yang, looked at Li Zihan and asked.
"Nothing much, just paying a visit to the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy."
The young man, who did not belong to Anti-Entropy, said to the two individuals affiliated with Schicksal.