"So, you're saying that in the end, Ah Li, you didn't modify Alice's mind, nor did you change her past?"

Deep beneath the Clock Tower, the top-tier Phantasmal Species with short golden hair, beast ears, and the appearance of a human girl let out a yawn, her interest clearly lacking.

"When she proposed the 'game,' she had already compromised."

The young man, who had spent a wonderful half-month dragging the shut-in Alice around with Aoko, traveling and going on dates, was in high spirits.

He was certain that Alice had chosen to turn a blind eye to his behavior.

"If she hadn't hesitated at all, she never would have proposed settling things with a 'game' in the first place."

"Since she already compromised, why would I waste the Grail's power?"

"This story is too boring."

The Phantasmal Species, who thought she would hear many interesting stories by following Li Zihan, felt her ears droop with boredom.

"There were no twists or turns at all."

"It's not nearly as fun as that other story you told me, about Lin Daiyu at the Mountain God Temple on a snowy night, or Jotaro beating up Joseph three times."

"What kind of twists does a natural progression of events need?"

The young man shrugged. During their half-month together, he had easily figured out why the witch, whose expression had previously been on par with a certain duck's, had fallen for him.

A breakthrough in a romantic relationship is about a qualitative change, not a quantitative one.

The moment that triggers that qualitative change is what love is.

If a so-called quantitative change could lead to love, Bronya would have been head over heels for him by now.

The young man thought about how using Jizo Mitama on Bronya twice to raise her affection level to three hundred percent had been completely useless.

The next step should be to take Seele back to the Honkai world and then establish Chaldeas.

Thinking of this, Li Zihan's expression became a little wistful.

He originally could have had Su send him directly back to the Honkai world with the Second Divine Key—Thousand-Realms in One Thought.

But, in order to grind for affection points, he had insisted on dragging Seele into the Type-Moon world.

And what was the result? He fought in a chaotic Holy Grail War, even more chaotic than the Fifth, and then got dragged around on a trip by Aoko.

For the better part of a month, Gilgamesh had basically not been given a day off. Where was there time to grind Seele's affection?

Alice's physical constitution was poor, and Aoko's wasn't great either, but they were both magi and could use magecraft to enhance themselves.

On top of that, both of them were very passionate on the inside. Once they got going, things were measured in hours.

Li Zihan, who had found absolutely no time to take Seele on a trip and grind her affection, sighed inwardly.

He had been talking about getting his hands on Gilgamesh's Saint Graph, or using Big Dog and Gilgamesh as nourishment to create the Armor of the Three Greats, but he ended up having no time at all.

Right now, Gilgamesh was probably cursing his mother all day long in the Stigmata Space.

After the Holy Grail War ended, he had tossed both Gilgamesh and Mad Doggy into the Stigmata Space, asked Karna to be the warden, and tied up the crazed dog with Judah. The young man's gaze drifted.

He had approached Gilgamesh right after the war ended, saying he would find him later to negotiate...

"Heh heh, so Lancer's Master is a brazen rebel who covets the King's power?"

Big G, who had been blown away by Karna—a Servant he should have a theoretical advantage against—all due to the difference in their Masters, had worn a playful smile.

He wasn't angry at all about his defeat.

It was as if that loss was nothing more than a game.

For him, defeat was a far more interesting affair than victory.

"Interesting, interesting. It has been a long time since this King has seen such an interesting fellow."

Mr. Gold, for once not using his "mongrel" moniker, looked delighted, as if he had just seen a hundred Mapo Tofu priests in need of his guidance.

"Go back and prepare your arguments properly. Do everything in your power to persuade this King."

"If you can find something that stirs this King's emotions, then just as I bestowed the Holy Grail upon you before, it would not be impossible for me to bestow upon you the right to use the Gate of Babylon."

That Big G, who treated the Holy Grail as his own property, had sipped his divine sake with a look of pure glee, completely ignoring the fact that Li Zihan had actually gotten the Grail by having Aoko rewind time.

And then, Li Zihan, who was supposed to go back and prepare his arguments, stood Gilgamesh up for half a month.

He hadn't sent a single message since.

It couldn't be helped.

On one side was a charming and cute beautiful girl, and on the other was a hedonistic and arrogant Big G. Was there even a choice to be made?

Li Zihan decided that power was important, so he solemnly spent his nights with the age-regressed Aoko, discussing matters related to the Fifth Magic.

Whatever, I've already stood him up for half a month. What's a few more days?

Li Zihan, who had been ghosting Gilgamesh for a long time, thought to himself.

"By the way, Ah Li, you didn't come looking for me just to reminisce, did you?"

The top-tier Phantasmal Species, who had been guarding the magus workshop beneath Albion, stared at her somewhat dazed contractor and asked seriously.

"Mhm, I came to ask you to look after a child for me."

The young man, who would likely be leaving the Type-Moon world for a considerable amount of time and couldn't conveniently entrust this to Alice or Aoko, spoke up.

"Who?"

Beo, who might get beaten by a Heroic Spirit due to her pathetic combat experience but could tear through a magus like paper, perked up her ears, and they began to twitch.

"Which human female is it?"

"Hey, hey, how did you know the child I was talking about is a girl?"

Li Zihan, who indeed planned to ask Beo to protect Miss Reines, looked somewhat astonished.

The future Reines had lopped off Director Kenneth's arm with one slash. If no one protected her, the current Reines would definitely have a hard time.

"Because you're an old lecher, Ah Li."

Beo's ears twitched as she stated this as if it were a matter of fact.

"If the child were a boy, your request would definitely be 'accelerated training,' not 'protection'."

"Let's be clear first. If you don't bribe me with at least two stories, I'll tell Touko and Aoko."

"Plus the fee for protection, that's five stories in total."

"Of course, if you can awaken my Stand, or let me pilot a Gundam, or transform into a Kamen Rider, I can waive the fee."

The Phantasmal Species, who had become so engrossed in his stories that she once wanted to go to Egypt to fight DIO and collect Stand Arrows, had a look of yearning in her eyes.

She really wanted to transform into a Kamen Rider and summon a Stand to pilot a Gundam!!

"Five stories. I'll tell them to you later."

The young man, who also wanted to summon a Stand, transform into a Kamen Rider, or pilot a Gundam, sighed.

But, speaking of which, if he combined the knowledge of destroying the existing order of time from the Fifth Magic with the Emiya family's Reality Marble, he could probably derive many interesting skills.

The magus, whose own attribute was Imaginary and thus had a high affinity for time and space, thought to himself.

If he could deploy a complete Innate Time Control as a Reality Marble and then disrupt the flow of time within it, he might really be able to achieve time stop or time erasure within a certain range.

"Then hurry up and tell them."

The Golden Wolf, who loved to listen to stories, broke Li Zihan's train of thought.

"Agh, I know, I know."

"Last time, we left off with Xue Baochai pacifying Tianshan with three arrows. The Lord of Mount Liang, Da Qiao, hearing of his divine bravery, consulted with her strategist, Diavolo, on a plan to trick him into joining them on the mountain..."

end of volume 2