The world once again became illusory, and the next moment, Li Ke's figure left this world again.
Time in this world instantly began to stagnate. Both Rin Tohsaka and Mai Shiranui were undoubtedly frozen in time within the torrent of time.
But Rias was the only one who wasn't.
Of course, she couldn't completely resist this power of time stagnation, because it was a reaction of the dimension. She only possessed some privileges as the most likely candidate to become the Dimension Lord, but complete immunity was absolutely impossible.
After all, she was only a candidate for Dimension Lord, not the creator of the dimension or the dimension itself, although they could generally be considered interchangeable.
Even if she truly became the master of this dimension, she wouldn't be able to achieve complete control.
This was one of the reasons she refused to become the Dimension Lord.
As the power of time drew closer, she shook her head helplessly.
"Did he leave again?"
After saying this, Rias's time also stopped.
Li Ke, however, was unaware of this. He was simply watching the figure gradually appear before him, and then—
He collapsed to the ground.
Feeling the immense pressure on his body, Li Ke finally remembered what he had forgotten.
The weight.
He had forgotten to deactivate the weight he had set to its maximum.
He quickly used all his strength to deactivate the gravity magic before his blood vessels and internal organs were damaged by the immense pressure.
But Erina turned her head at that moment and saw him.
Li Ke awkwardly raised his hand. He had intended to make a stylish entrance and hug Erina from behind, but due to this small mistake, he now looked rather miserable.
"Yo, Erina."
However…
"Li Ke!"
Erina didn't care about that at all. She looked at Li Ke, first in disbelief, then with determination, and then she pounced on him.
The girl's body collided directly with Li Ke, who hadn't yet regained his balance, knocking him to the ground.
Although the thick carpet prevented Li Ke from falling too hard, he hadn't had time to protect himself while trying to shield the girl's arm, so he still fell to the ground.
"Is it really you? Li Ke!"
Erina, overjoyed yet terrified, touched Li Ke's body, searching for familiar things.
Just when she thought she was going to die, Li Ke had brought her back to her world, and she had witnessed how he had detonated the gunpowder in despair and been thrown into the air.
She had thought Li Ke was dead, but now…
"Am I dreaming? You won't disappear, will you?"
Tears streamed down her face as Erina continued to search Li Ke's body. Li Ke couldn't stand up, but seeing Erina's tearful yet joyful expression, he smiled and lay down on the carpet, letting Erina touch his body to confirm his life or death. But he still didn't forget to hold Erina's waist.
"This isn't a dream, I just gained some kind of magical power."
Erina finally realized she wasn't dreaming, and the Li Ke in front of her was indeed him.
Although his body had inexplicably changed, the Li Ke before her was definitely her lecherous old man, the guy she hated to the core.
"Really?"
Erina's hair obscured her eyes, but Li Ke could see her teary eyes.
"Yes, really."
"You bastard!"
Erina raised her arm, wanting to slap Li Ke, but then thought better of it and didn't. She simply stood up from him and took out her phone.
"*Someone's coming, there's an intruder here.*"
With a voice uttered in Japanese that Li Ke couldn't understand at all, Erina coldly crossed her arms, looked at Li Ke, and remained silent.
Li Ke was somewhat confused. His Japanese level was about the same as most netizens—enough to watch adult videos—so he didn't understand what Erina had said.
However, he knew why Erina was unhappy.
It was because he had sent her away at the most crucial moment.
Erina had a very strong personality. Although she knew Li Ke's actions were right, she certainly wanted to fight alongside him to the end.
Especially after seeing Li Ke return safely.
She was angry that Li Ke had sent her back without even consulting her!
"Young Miss! Are you alright?!"
Hisako Arato rushed in almost immediately after Erina sent the message, followed by two female bodyguards.
The moment they saw Li Ke, the two well-trained bodyguards swiftly moved towards him.
Li Ke instinctively drew his gun and sword, his magic igniting unconsciously, but because this was Erina's house, he refrained from attacking.
In that instant, he was grabbed by the arms by the two bodyguards.
He looked at Erina with a bewildered expression, but Erina turned her head away.
"Just send him out. He's my fiancé."
Erina spoke directly to the two bodyguards who were about to use stun guns, knowing that Li Ke didn't understand Japanese.
"Huh?"
Hisako, who was furious and about to kick Li Ke, the intruder, was completely dumbfounded, staring at her young mistress in disbelief.
She immediately thought of the time her young mistress had been out of contact and couldn't help but gape.
"Young mistress, could it be..."
"That's right, we met during that time. I survived because of him, so I've decided to make him the son-in-law of the family."
Erina spoke, suppressing her embarrassment. Although she was really angry that Li Ke had taken it upon himself to send her away, she was serious about marrying him.
"Ah, this..."
Hisako stared wide-eyed at Li Ke, whose clothes, while not exactly tattered, were completely out of place in modern fashion, and remained speechless for a long time.
"It's just because he acted on his own initiative. I'm just going to teach him a lesson and send him to Totsuki Academy. Oh, and while I'm at it, I'll help him get a household registration; he doesn't have one in Japan."
"Young Miss, but what about the Director's side of this matter..."
Hisako was in a difficult position. Although she currently wished she could eat Li Ke alive because he had stolen her young lady, since he was the one chosen by the young lady, she wouldn't say much.
However, explaining it to Senzaemon was another matter. After all, Senzaemon was Erina 's grandfather, the de facto head of the family, and responsible for Erina's important life events.
If Erina didn't want to run away from home, then theoretically, she should obey Senzaemon 's wishes regarding marriage.
But Li Ke was an unregistered resident, and he didn't seem like a wealthy person, much less a chef. To be honest, she didn't think highly of the other person.
"Just do it. I'll naturally persuade my grandfather. And even if I leave the family, I'll stay with this person, so just go and tell him."
But Erina wouldn't say anything else. Seeing Li Ke's blank expression because she spoke Japanese, she suppressed the urge to rush into Li Ke's arms and looked earnestly at Hisako.
"This is my request, Hisako. I hope you can help me as a friend."
Hisako was immediately moved to tears by Erina. Filled with immense respect for Erina, she nodded immediately.
"I understand! Miss…"
Then, she immediately led Li Ke and two bodyguards outside.
Li Ke looked at Erina with a face full of question marks, but all he saw was her head turned away with an arrogant expression.
"You woman, if you keep acting like this, I'm going to find another girl to make you jealous."
Li Ke spoke to Erina, somewhat speechless, but his tone was teasing.
"You dare... Hmph! You think I care? You don't care what others think!"
Erina, who had specifically learned Chinese, immediately turned her head and roared at Li Ke, but then, remembering something, turned her head again, adopting an attitude of "I don't care what you do."
"Tsundere is really happiness destroyer."
Li Ke uttered his own complaint, but didn't resist further, obediently being led away by the two female bodyguards.
Watching Li Ke walk further and further away, Erina collapsed onto the bed, covering her face, her mind a jumbled mess.
She had been prepared for Li Ke's death, but his sudden appearance before her filled her with joy, yet also fear that it was all just a dream.
However, she was determined to take revenge to Li Ke for leaving her alone in a safe place to face danger by herself!
Erina, who had covered her face with a pillow, quickly soaked it with tears of joy, much to the distress of Hisako, who had returned.
Although the missing young lady seemed like a different person after her disheveled return, not only had she matured considerably, but even her "God Tongue" weakness had been overcome, and she had brought back a rather strange, yet incredibly delicious, type of beef.
However, Hisako could sense that a shadow still lingered in Erina's heart.
Although the man she had met today had given her a strange and unreliable impression, she could sense that the shadow in Erina's heart, now quietly being wiped, and slowly disappeared.
But…
"She's such a typical tsundere," Hisako thought to herself.
Needless to say, Li Ke was completely bewildered when he was brought out, had his photo taken, and then stared blankly at the pile of documents suddenly appearing in his hands.
But soon, he was transported to a rather luxurious complex, looking utterly lost at the dormitory building before him, and then, even more bewildered, was led inside by bodyguards.
So, he mentally cursed Erina.
As a mature adult and someone who had watched a fair amount of anime, Li Ke roughly understood Erina's thoughts.
She was simply angry that he hadn't taken her with him into this mess. As for sending him to this place, it was simply so he could learn some cooking skills, even the most rudimentary ones, so he could legitimately become the son-in-law of the family.
As for how he knew…
Although he didn't understand Japanese, the difference between Japanese and Chinese was actually smaller than some obscure dialects. Li Ke really wanted to pretend he didn't recognize the large characters for "Totsuki Academy," but unfortunately, he did.
"Tsundere is easily destined to become a loser, Erina."
He tossed his ID and wallet containing dozens of Fukuzawa Yukichi bills onto the table, took out a new phone similar to his own, looked at the number with only one name on it, hesitated for a moment, and then decided not to call that single number.
After all, Erina had already kicked him out; if he called now, he'd probably just get hung up on.
Tsundere is a really troublesome trait.
Li Ke, who had originally planned to have sex with Erina and then pour out his heart to her, lay down on his bed listlessly and stretched.
If he could, he really wanted to get a good night's sleep here, especially since he had arrived late at night and had been training all day.
So, he went to the fully equipped dormitory, took a shower, and then went to bed.
However, Erina wasn't as relaxed as him. All night, Erina was glued to her phone. Even though she would hang up when Li Ke called, this proud girl was still waiting for his call.
And, unsurprisingly, nothing came.
When Li Ke woke up, he wanted to find a place to eat, but unfortunately, in this culinary school, there was no place to eat without working. So, after looking around, considering the height of the mountain, and the dormitories with their rising smoke, Li Ke reluctantly decided to cook for himself.
Although the kitchen had various seasonings and beefs, Li Ke didn't know what they were like, or if they had any aphrodisiac effects like Erina's cooking.
Furthermore, he didn't know if Erina would come, so naturally, he didn't eat the food there, but instead took out the beef he had collected in 7 Days to Die.
"Speaking of which, the reason Erina and I officially got together was because of this kind of beef."
Looking at the haphazardly cut pieces of beef, Li Ke sighed, then placed them on the professional grill to cook.
Soon, a strange aroma spread, attracting the attention of students around the dormitory, especially a voluptuous, blonde-haired, tanned girl who looked up the moment she passed by.
"This smell!"
Beef she'd never seen before!
And of very high quality! Extremely high quality!
The unimaginable aroma assaulted the nose and brain of the girl named Ikumi Mito. Almost instantly, she looked towards Li Ke's room and quickly approached.
She had to figure out what this beef, which she'd never seen before, was!
The smell was truly indescribable; the only thing she could say was that it tasted even better than the top-grade beef from her family!
Therefore, this was something she absolutely had to figure out!