Li Zihan's social circle was extremely simple.

Even among the generally reclusive magi, Li Zihan was one of the more isolated types.

Having lived year-round in a place like the Spirit Tomb of Albion, where nine out of ten who entered would die, and having studied under Jewel-翁 Zelretch, the fact that he was still alive and kicking made him an oddity in the eyes of other magi.

Dangerous. Bizarre.

Therefore, even among magi, very few would want to get involved with this guy.

Coupled with the fact that he himself rarely paid any attention to the outside world, his social network was as thin as paper.

He knew few people, and even fewer women. Among the women he knew, the number of capable ones could be counted on one hand.

After excluding old ladies like Lord Barthomeloi and the adopted daughters picked up on a whim, there were really only three age-appropriate women around him.

Aozaki Aoko, Aozaki Touko, and Kuonji Alice.

Therefore, Aozaki Touko had always possessed a baffling self-confidence that "as long as I can beat Aoko and Alice, this guy is mine."

But the sudden appearance of the girl before her made Aozaki Touko realize something.

The shota she had already mentally claimed for herself seemed to have flown the coop.

Her ideal, blissfully—and sexually—fulfilled life as a rich wife, where she could provoke Aoko all day, seemed to be game over.

At this thought, she couldn't help but size up the person who seemed to be snatching food from her pot, her expression twisting slightly.

Under the gaze of the "auntie"—a gaze filled with three parts anger, three parts sorrow, three parts confusion, and one part doubt (a classic pie chart)—the docile and even somewhat timid Miss Seele's heart instantly grew restless and uneasy.

Only after leaving the Sea of Quanta did she realize that she had arrived in a world completely different from the one she had lived in before; it was a world she didn't recognize at all.

She was all alone in this world and was on the verge of becoming homeless when the kind big brother who had saved her suggested she follow him for a while, promising to send her home when he had time.

And so, she had stayed.

Not wanting to be a freeloader, she decided to help her big brother with some chores, temporarily taking on the role of a maid.

Was… was there a problem with that?

Feeling that rather creepy gaze, Seele instinctively took a step back behind Li Zihan, like a young cub seeking shelter from danger.

She didn't know if it was her imagination, but ever since arriving at the place where her big brother lived, she felt that the people she met were all a bit abnormal.

Clearly, Big Brother is a very good person.

Why is everyone around him so strange?

"Seele Vollerei. You can consider her my attendant, who gets to enroll for free with me."

A rather simple introduction came from Li Zihan's lips.

"Is there a problem?"

Although the Clock Tower was a chaotic mess that completely disregarded the laws of human society, as the highest institution of magecraft, it had its own school rules.

For example, enrollment required passing an exam and paying tuition.

Those invited to enroll by the Association were exempt from the exam and had the privilege of bringing one attendant to enroll for free.

"A big problem."

Aozaki Touko, whose abilities as a magus were definitely exceptional, took a deep breath to calm herself, then pointed out the issue with pinpoint accuracy.

"The attendant you chose has no talent as a magus whatsoever!"

She couldn't feel the slightest trace of magical energy from Seele.

Magus? What is that?

Miss Seele, completely unaware that she was in what was essentially the world's largest mental asylum, looked increasingly bewildered.

Don't tell me this girl doesn't even know what a magus is?

Aozaki Touko looked at the girl named Seele's blank expression, and the corner of her eye couldn't help but twitch slightly.

She couldn't help but glance at the guy who had probably had another brain-fart, questioning him with her eyes.

Why would you bring a little lamb like this to the Clock Tower?

The Clock Tower, the "strongest" of the three great Mage's Associations in terms of unity, never guaranteed the personal safety of its students. Even if the heir of a prestigious family was killed, no official power would intervene.

A weak and timid person could not survive here.

Feeling the questioning look from Aozaki Touko, Li Zihan couldn't help but roll his eyes internally.

Although Seele had no talent for magecraft, her aptitude for Honkai energy was insane, and the amount of Honkai energy her body could withstand was terrifying.

Just as people from the Honkai world had pathetic resistance to magecraft, people from the Type-Moon world had pathetic resistance to Honkai energy.

As long as she released the Honkai energy stored in her body, any magus who didn't know secret arts like soul transfer or reincarnation would be laughing all the way to their "gg."

"That sort of thing doesn't matter at all," the youth, who had simply given his spare enrollment slot to Seele on a whim, said with a shrug.

"I won't let her stay here for too long. Giving her the free enrollment slot was simply so she'd have the credentials to wander around with me without being stopped by the guards."

Oh, for fuck's sake.

That was Aozaki Touko's true feeling.

Although the Clock Tower's management was lax, it didn't mean that its enrollment qualifications were easy to obtain.

Back then, after her falling out with the Aozaki family, Aozaki Touko had chosen to enroll and study at the Clock Tower.

To achieve this, she had sought help from many people and incurred a debt that took her a full two years to pay off.

This incident had caused quite a stir in the circle of wild magi at the Clock Tower.

Other wild magi without family funding and support often took a decade or even several decades to pay off their debts.

Aozaki Touko had done it in only two years, which was a remarkable feat.

And yet, this guy was using such a priceless qualification as a mere pass to get around the Clock Tower?

Heh, so what.

Aozaki Touko, who had almost been driven mad by her debts back then, consoled herself. Then, her gaze toward the guy became even more feverish.

If she could get this guy, she would have both the person and the fortune.

Unfortunately, he appeared and disappeared like a ghost, making it difficult to either raise his affection or drug him.

"By the way, now that you've managed to escape from Jewel-翁 with your life, where are you planning to go have fun and relax?"

Miss Aozaki Touko deliberately tried to probe Li Zihan's whereabouts.

"I imagine that after escaping death, you wouldn't want to go fight in the Holy Grail War right now, would you?"

"The Holy Grail War... that's a troublesome topic, indeed."

The youth, who had once wanted to modify himself into a Dragon Kind and a Pseudo-Servant, glanced at the long sword at his waist and sighed.

To be honest, having already reaped other benefits from the Honkai world, he wasn't particularly keen on fighting in the Black Holy Grail War at the moment.

The problem was, he had an agreement with Emiya Kiritsugu.

Should I ask Beo to help me tear up the compulsory contract?

Beo was a top-tier Phantasmal Species. In its eyes, the contracts of modern magecraft were just waste paper that could be destroyed at will.

The youth, who was no stranger to having Beo help him break contracts, fell into deep thought.