Liu Bai shook his head, snapped back to his senses, and unhesitatingly chose the Guardian Spirit skill from the five options before him.
S-rank evaluation detected. Final result confirmed. Spirit: Liu Bai Skills: Haunt lv.1, Persuasion lv.2, Guardian Spirit lv.1 Current hosts: Rita Rossweisse (compatibility: 0%, current host), Aponia (compatibility: 120%, abnormal status, unavailable) Remaining simulations today: 0 Note: When you meet a simulated character again in reality, you will automatically gain compatibility rewards. Note: Simulation attempts recover once per day and cannot be accumulated. Additional simulation attempts can be obtained through compatibility.
Meeting Aponia again in reality was only a matter of time. The only thing that concerned him was that abnormal status... Did that mean Aponia had ultimately fused with Elysium Ever After after all?
Neither Scientific nor Honkai
Liu Bai only considered Aponia's situation briefly before setting it aside. There would be plenty of simulation opportunities in the future; there was no need to rush.
Then, Liu Bai shifted his attention away from the System Panel and looked at Rita, who had a thermometer in her mouth.
"?"
What kind of ridiculous pose was that?
Liu Bai instinctively glanced at the clock, then at the large 0 under remaining simulation attempts on the System Panel.
That was right. Only one minute had passed since his simulation began, not an entire day. Why was Rita already taking her temperature?
(It appeared again.) Rita raised her head and looked at the pristine white ceiling.
The prickling sensation on her back had vanished for only a minute before returning.
Anyone else might have simply ignored it, but for Rita, an S-Rank Valkyrie and an assassin... it truly felt like a thorn in her back.
Rita silently took the thermometer from her mouth, wiped it clean, and put it back in the drawer. As for the temperature reading... forget it.
She had some sense, after all. How could a dignified S-Rank Valkyrie catch a cold or develop a fever so casually?
Watching Rita go through that entire sequence, Liu Bai could not help twitching his lips. Could all of that have been because of him?
Without the subtle connection between a spirit and its host, even a Fusion Warrior on Sakura's level would not be able to detect him. But once that subtle connection existed...
Perfect. He could test whether he could communicate with Rita using the Guardian Spirit skill.
"Ahem. Hello, Miss Rita?"
Rita took a book from the shelf, sat in a chair, and began reading, completely unaware of Liu Bai calling out to her.
"..."
Maybe this skill was not as useful as he had thought?
Liu Bai drifted over to Rita's side and craned his neck to look at the book in her hands.
Gardening? He could not understand this kind of book at all.
At the same time, Rita's hand paused as she turned the page, and she could not help falling into thought.
Why had she suddenly felt as though she could not understand this book?
"Whew..." Rita exhaled and calmly continued turning the pages. "Does Ghostly Gentleman not enjoy gardening books?"
"?"
This time, it was Liu Bai's turn to be confused.
Telepathy? Was this what they meant by "subtle spiritual communication"?
Though judging by it, it did not seem very accurate.
Fortunately, Liu Bai still had three skill points. He assigned one to Haunt, which he needed in order to act, and put the remaining two points into Guardian Spirit.
Guardian Spirit lv.3: Once per day, you may negate one fatal injury for your host. You may communicate with your host; non-hosts will not hear your voice.
"It is not that I dislike them. I just cannot understand them."
Liu Bai spoke calmly beside Rita. The instant he opened his mouth, Rita's body visibly tensed.
Watching Rita's state, Liu Bai finally understood what it meant to be ready to strike at any moment.
"..."
After a brief silence, Rita raised a hand and rubbed her temples.
Had she just hallucinated that?
That question had really just slipped out casually—!
She had never expected anyone to answer her—!
Sure, the head of Schicksal was still called the Bishop, but everyone knew this was a materialistic age, where technology reigned supreme. As for gods, believing in them was enough.
But... what had just happened?
Rita felt a headache coming on.
"Miss Rita, would you like a cup of black tea?"
The black tea in the pot was still warm. Seeing how tense Rita seemed, Liu Bai casually poured her a cup.
"Thank you... Hm?"
Rita accepted the tea on reflex, but just after thanking him, she abruptly realized something was wrong.
Rita stared at the premium black tea she had brewed herself, her expression complicated.
Should she... drink this tea?
"Would you like sugar?" Liu Bai asked considerately from beside her.
"..."
Hearing Liu Bai's second question, Rita was completely speechless.
If it had happened once or twice, she could still deceive herself into thinking she was hallucinating. But this question—would she ever brew black tea that did not suit her own tastes?
This was simply an insult to her!
Even if she developed a split personality one day, she would never ask such a question!
Rita took a deep breath. She had been mentally prepared, and had even suspected something, but when the moment truly came—she still could not accept it!
After all, a child imagining a ceiling fan falling on them while staring at it spinning overhead was entirely different from the fan actually falling down and going on a crazed slaughter.
Rita had previously felt that something was off, but at most she had been paranoid and imagining things. Now that Liu Bai had spoken, it was equivalent to the ceiling fan really falling.
As a materialist who was not quite so materialistic, Rita felt that she needed a moment.
Fortunately, Rita's mental fortitude was formidable. After only a few deep breaths, she recovered.
Upon thinking it through carefully, she even felt it was not necessarily a bad thing.
If that constant thorn-in-her-back sensation had continued, then even with her own strong will, she would probably have ended up in a sanatorium within a year—this was more exhausting than training an eagle.
Now that they had communicated, although... well, although Rita felt that her worldview needed to be rebuilt, that thorn-in-her-back sensation was gone.
Of course, more importantly, she had not sensed any hostility in those two short sentences.
No, it was more than a lack of hostility. It could even be described as... gentlemanly?
Rita compatibility +2%
Aponia's compatibility had started directly at 5%, then increased by 5%, sometimes even by 15% at once. Yet Rita's first increase was only 2%... Well, for someone like Rita, who appeared easygoing but was shrewd within, it was already good enough that it had not gone negative.
"Ghostly Gentleman, if you do not mind, would you be willing to have an open and honest talk with me?"
After realizing that he was not the "vengeful ghost demanding lives" she had imagined, Rita relaxed considerably and regained her usual composure.
"For instance, why you have appeared beside me."
Having no ill intent was one thing, but most people would not be able to accept having a ghost at their side, would they?
To put it another way, white-knee tarantulas were beneficial creatures, but that did not stop most people from panicking when they saw one.
"Of course."
Liu Bai was very agreeable. After all, it had been a very long time since he had been able to communicate with someone using his mouth.
"Hmm... First, regarding me, Miss Rita, have you ever heard of Guardian Spirits?"
"...So you are my Guardian Spirit, or rather, my protective spirit?"
Rita wanted to check whether she had somehow been transported to another world. This kind of thing was neither scientific nor Honkai!
"That is right."
After talking to his heart's content, Liu Bai instinctively tried to pick up the black tea beside him. Then he remembered that he could not drink anything and could only put it down awkwardly.
But compared to Liu Bai, who had enjoyed talking, Rita watched the teacup float up and then fall back down. Only one thought remained in her mind.
—Could Bishop Otto perform an exorcism?
Is the Simulation Location the Womb?
"...One final confirmation. None of what has happened so far is an illusion, correct?"
Rita took a sip of black tea, a rare helplessness appearing on her face.
Though she phrased it as a question, Rita was already absolutely certain that everything before her was not an illusion.
"Running from reality is not a good habit, Miss Rita."
"I do not think ghosts are something that should exist in reality."
Rita held her forehead and complained.
"In that case, Ghostly Gentleman, let us establish three rules."
"Three rules? Hmm, let us hear them."
"First, Ghostly Gentleman, you are not allowed to come in during private occasions such as when I am bathing, sleeping, or changing clothes. If you have any particularly perverse preferences... well, I can find you some old clothes, or those discs men like."
Rita said it half-jokingly—though such words were truly far too unrestrained for a lady.
"I would never do something like that! I am an honorable gentleman! I may be a ghost, but you cannot insult me like this!"
Liu Bai immediately flew into a rage.
"It is a deal!"
"..." Rita, who had been about to apologize and offer her real terms, choked on her words.
...Should you not have refused first, then I apologized, then offered the actual arrangement, and finally we reached an agreement?
"...Are all men like this?" Rita took a sip of black tea and asked the air gloomily.
"Miss Rita, sweeping generalizations are unwise. I truly am an honorable gentleman."
...For the sake of her privacy, she should ask Lord Otto whether he could perform exorcisms.
Even with these three rules, Rita still did not feel safe.
Had she gotten herself into trouble?
The normally poised and elegant maid suddenly felt a little flustered. If it truly came to that... clothes... it was embarrassing, but not impossible. Old clothes could still be put to use.
But discs... If anyone learned that she had secretly bought those kinds of discs, then her life as Schicksal's S-Rank Valkyrie and deputy captain of the Unfading Blade would be over, would it not?
Who told her to propose those terms herself? Was this what it meant to drop a stone on her own foot?
Fortunately, she could immediately tell that he was joking—although that joke had put a tiny bit of pressure on Rita.
After a brief period of adj(ustment)(headache), Rita continued, "Second, please do not haunt unrelated people around us, and do not touch me inappropriately while I am working. Of course, if you are offering assistance, I would welcome it. In return, I will keep Ghostly Gentleman's existence a secret."
"So that means I can touch you inappropriately outside of work?" Liu Bai asked curiously.
Were ghosts' priorities all this strange? Was the important part not keeping his existence secret?
"...Not at any time. As a gentleman, doing that to a lady would be extremely rude."
Before you continue