*Lady Bianca Is Grilling Meat* (Part 2)

"Okay, after all, I'm not some kind of yandere, it's just... well, a little bit of revenge."

Rita gave a knowing, mocking smile.

You'd never guess that a maid almost gave herself away half an hour ago.

"Please understand, Liu Bai."

"Then can I get revenge?" Liu Bai asked quietly.

He realized it.

He had already realized Rita's true nature—strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

"Huh?" Rita blushed slightly.

While being proactive is great, being passive... isn't unacceptable either.

However, before she could respond, Bianka's untimely voice rang out.

"Hmm? Did you two have a fight?"

"...No."

Lady Bianka, when will your brain finally clear up?

Come to think of it, my original intention in coming here was actually to be Bianka's wingman, right?

How did it inexplicably become her domain again?

... Well, objectively speaking, we can only say it's about compatibility.

Although Liu Bai often complains that others are out of touch with reality, he himself is actually quite out of touch as well. Rita, on the other hand, is the kind of person who can always pick up the conversation, no matter what. Even if the topic has died, Rita can bring it back on track if she wants to. So, when the two of them are together, there is basically no situation where they have nothing to talk about.

It truly lives up to its reputation as the original host.

Rita sighed for Bianka, and Liu Bai also lamented for Xiangqin.

"... I always feel like there's a thick barrier between me and you guys." Bianka sensed the awkward atmosphere again and couldn't help but complain.

"I hope it's just us."

Rita sighed, "It's no wonder that you, a competitor who hasn't even stepped onto the track yet, have no barriers to overcome with us!"

If you couldn't find the track, that would be one thing, but you stepped onto the starting line and then walked away several times!

This was the first time Rita had ever felt so exhausted by Bianka.

It's not that she's betraying her best friend; heavens have mercy, she's been trying her best to take care of Bianka, but Bianka just won't cooperate. What can she do?

I can't carry it, I really can't.

She couldn't possibly feed Bianka bite by bite, could she? If she did that, what would she eat?

"Rita, here, the meat's ready." Bianka, puzzled, handed the grilled meat skewers to Rita.

"..." Rita's eyes twitched as she looked at the grilled meat that had been delivered.

"... I'm full, Lady Bianka, please eat."

I've decided. When I'm dealing with Liu Bai in the future, I'll send Bianka out for barbecue.

Ideally, it would resemble a world-famous painting like "Bianka at a Grill" or something similar.

"Who is this?"

"This is Miss Rita."

"Who is this man?"

"Liu Bai."

What are they doing?

"Exercising in bed"

"And what about Lady Bianka?"

["Bianka is grilling meat"]

Perfect!

The next day.

Early in the morning, Shibao flew to Sky Dome City, but afterwards Liu Bai pulled her into a clothing store.

"Ah... Teacher Liu, is it really necessary to go through all this trouble?" Shibao looked at the T-shirt he was wearing with displeasure.

"You need to dress up so Otto won't find you."

Liu Bai said this while dressing up Shibao.

He's like a master of time management now. He's watching Rita and Bianka's barbecue late at night, and in the morning he has to take Shibao to Sky Dome City and dress the kid up.

Fortunately, Liu Bai wasn't completely clueless about this.

Although he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. He had taken care of three little girls before. Although he couldn't do anything fancy, he could still tidy up Shibao in a simple way.

For example, changing your hairstyle or choosing a new outfit.

"I beat Otto up, he definitely won't dare come," Shibao said dismissively. "Unless he wants to experience the feeling of having his head flattened again."

"If he were so easily dismissed, he wouldn't be Otto."

Liu Bai tapped Shibao on the head.

"Anyway, it's better to be prepared... What do you think of this outfit?"

Shibao's originally loose long hair was tied up by Liu Bai, and she changed into a slightly fashionable casual outfit, wearing a baseball cap on her head.

At first glance, she looks like an ordinary, fashionable young woman, and most of her wildness has disappeared.

... In a way, most of the cuteness factor has disappeared.

However, in this case, the "cuteness" factor doesn't matter.

"I love anything you wear, Teacher Liu!"

... The moment he opened his mouth, that crazy, silly energy returned.

This answer was exactly what Liu Bai had expected.

However, in his own opinion, this outfit wasn't ugly at all; Liu Bai felt that his aesthetic sense was still quite normal.

"Alright, now get on with your prepared 'senior sister aura' and let's go."

Actually, this strategy is mainly to defend against those members of the Unfading Blade faction. After all, Fu Hua is quite famous in Schicksal, and most of the Unfading Blade members, being Schicksal's elite, recognize her, such as a certain abandoned Alvitr, etc.

Although Shibao ability to alter another person's consciousness is prohibited from being used indiscriminately, there is still a possibility that the ability to alter another Shibao's consciousness may be discovered without their knowledge.

Of course, there's no need to discuss such a slightly complicated matter with Shibao, lest Shibao cause any more trouble.

However, on the other hand, these people's superiors are all their own people, so this behavior is just to prevent any unforeseen complications.

"Alright! Just you wait and see! I definitely won't let you down, Teacher Liu!" Shibao said with great enthusiasm.

... I feel more at ease if you don't have this kind of drive.

Liu Bai sighed inwardly, then led Shibao around several of the Unfading Blade's routine patrol points and entered the Shencheng Pharmaceuticals office building through the back door.

"Hey! Isn't that... who..."

"... Gray Serpent." Gray Serpent, the greeter, introduced himself concisely.

With just this one sentence, Gray Serpent understood the difference between this Herrscher of Sentience and the original "Lord Hua".

In his limited memory, Hua Daren never spoke in such a whimsical tone.

Such a carefree tone... is quite suitable for communicating with that Miss Kiana —although Kiana has become quite serious most of the time these days.

"Oh right, Gray Serpent, I remember now. I didn't expect you to still be alive and kicking. Have you eaten?"

Shibao patted Gray Serpent on the shoulder as if they were old friends.

"Now that old woman Mobius isn't around, if you need anything, just come to me. I'll protect you."

Gray Serpent: "... Thank you, Lord Hua."

The Herrscher before me has inherited all of Hua Daren's emotions and memories.

Could it be that "old woman" is what Lord Hua refers to in his heart as his esteemed master?

Gray Serpent felt as if he had discovered some incredible secret.

... The Gray Serpent silently categorized this secret as "keeping it to himself".

He doesn't meddle in the affairs of the big shots—in a way, Gray Serpent has figured things out.

However, Shibao, who was standing next to him, was not such a shrewd person.

"To be honest, following that old woman Mobius is a dead end. You'd be better off..."

"Shut up, you bastard."

Unable to stand it any longer, Liu Bai dragged the unlucky kid away. "You really did something like poaching someone's talent!"

"Don't worry! I'll protect you from now on!"

Even as they were being dragged away, Shibao didn't forget to emphasize this point again.

"... Although, shouldn't our World Serpent be considered a legitimate organization?"

Watching Shibao being dragged away by the air, Gray Serpent sighed silently.

Don't make their World Serpent look like street thugs collecting protection money.

But why does it feel like there are fewer and fewer serious guys in World Serpent?

The Gray Serpent felt inexplicably sad... so it decided to let the other Gray Serpent do everything.

Whether he can succeed or not is another matter, but at least he can uphold the dignity of the World Serpent as a hidden boss.

Leaving aside the Gray Serpent, Liu Bai had already dragged the unlucky child, Shibao, to the main control room of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals.

"Hi! Long time no see, Junior Sister Mei~!"

Shibao greeted Mei cheerfully as she operated the computer with Jackal's help.

"..."

Mei turned around and silently pushed up her glasses as she looked at the source of the sound.

"... Although I was prepared, this situation was still shocking."

Mei muttered softly.

That Fu Hua actually greeted people with such a quirky expression; it was so funny it made me want to rub my eyes—because she was wearing glasses, she just pushed them up instead.

"Huh? Mei, what are you talking about?" Shibao looked at Mei's reaction with dissatisfaction. "Don't you have anything you want to say to your senior sister?"

"Hmm... I was thinking... how about we draw some blood first?"

Mei, maintaining her perpetually icy expression, pulled an enormous syringe, as large as an adult's forearm, from under the table.

"... Huh?"

Shibao never expected that Mei's first words would be this.

"Um... a long-awaited reunion... blood test?"

Faced with Mei's icy expression and the enormous syringe, Shibao's tone immediately softened.

"Shouldn't we be talking about something more intimate?"

"I'm just concerned about whether Otto has done anything to your body, so it's necessary to have a blood test."

Mei's expression remained unchanged, as if she were stating a truth about humanity.

Just kidding. It's rare to have a reason to draw Herrscher's blood. If she doesn't draw as much as possible, wouldn't she be living up to her status?

As for this syringe... well, it was hastily made.

"Teacher Liu, you be the judge! Isn't this syringe excessive?! Who uses this kind of syringe for blood draws?! Am I a whale or something?"

Although he had previously felt deeply disgusted by Einstein's act of suing his parents, Shibao still sincerely asked Liu Bai to come and judge the matter at this moment.

"Because I'm not very skilled—after all, Dr. Mobius is more knowledgeable in biology, so it's reasonable for me to take a bigger cut, right?"