Captain, Please Inscribe a Stigma on Me! / Captain, Please Defeat Me!

As for shogi, Ling Feng... knew absolutely nothing about it.

But that did not stop him from watching. Even if he could not understand it, he could still tell how fiercely the two sides were battling, like two peerless masters whose every move and breath brimmed with boundless power of laws!

The two supreme beings fought all the way to the edge of the universe.

The galaxy shattered, and every gesture was filled with primordial power, enough to grind even the Great Dao into nothingness!

In the end, while Ling Feng still had no idea what he had just watched, the match ended.

Rita surrendered, and this world-shaking battle finally came to an end...

Next came the matter of the rooms.

Just as Ling Feng had expected, Bronya was already yawning and badly wanted to rest. Since Mei and Kiana both cared so much about Bronya, they would surely reach a conclusion quickly!

And there was a ninety-percent chance that the conclusion would involve Mei.

Everything was under control!

"Ahem!"

Kiana spoke first. "Well, there are only two rooms, and there's only one bed in each room, so..."

"So two people have to share a room. Three people would be too crowded..."

Mei took over, staring straight at Kiana with a perfectly natural smile. "Kiana, Bronya is already very sleepy. You should take Bronya back to the room to rest first. Remember not to disturb Bronya when you sleep tonight!"

"Okay, Mei!"

Kiana immediately nodded and led Bronya toward the room.

But after taking two steps, she suddenly realized that something seemed wrong...

"Mei, you... No! I won't let you sleep with that perverted Captain!"

Kiana suddenly caught on. Although Mei had not said it directly, if she and Bronya slept together, then who else could the remaining two be?

Damn it, she had almost fallen for it again!

Mei was always taking advantage of the fact that she was not as smart as her.

But Miss Kiana was only a little dumb, not stupid. If those two slept together, and nothing really happened tonight, she would write her name backward!

Especially Mei—her first kiss had already been stolen.

She had to keep her first time, at least!

Hmph...

Mei clicked her tongue inwardly. Kiana had actually become smarter and was no longer as easy to fool as before.

This was going to be a little troublesome...

First of all, there were only two rooms. Having three people sleep together would indeed be terribly cramped.

It was not impossible, but... she did not want to!

And even if three people slept together, she absolutely could not let Kiana sleep with Ling Feng.

Kiana already had two prior offenses, and she was a little dumb. On top of that, Ling Feng's willpower was unknown. If Ling Feng sweet-talked that idiot a little, she might just give herself away. That absolutely could not happen!

Ling Feng: "..."

This did not seem to be going as planned. Should he speak up and help Mei?

But if he said anything now, his intentions would be far too obvious. At a time like this, he had to remain silent and trust Mei. She would definitely win!

Still...

It seemed he would not lose out even if Kiana won. Ahem, it looked like tonight was already as secure as could be!

"Um, have you forgotten about me?"

Just as Mei and Kiana were engaged in a silent confrontation, Rita quietly raised her right hand to remind them of her existence...

Ling Feng: "..."

Mei: "..."

Kiana: "..."

Alright, this was even more troublesome now...

"Well, what I mean is..."

Rita looked at Ling Feng, clasped her hands before her chest, and smiled in her signature voice. "I also booked a suite at this inn. It's the same kind of suite as this one, with two rooms. One room is enough for me, so Captain can have the other one!"

"Mm... that works!"

"Mm, good idea!"

Upon hearing Rita's words, Mei and Kiana both breathed a sigh of relief.

Though both felt a little disappointed, this was good too. They were back at the same starting line again...

Ling Feng: "..."

Rita, I hate you...

I thought that, as a flirtatious maid, you would surely bring some benefits when you came here. Who knew you would say something so utterly infuriating? Back when you weren't here, I had already planned out tonight's arrangements. Yet you ruined everything with one sentence. You're just a maid—don't ever appear before me again, or I'll pin you to the ground and rub you raw until you leave clutching your stomach and leaning against the wall!

I have never seen such a shameless person!

Captain, Please Imprint Stigmata for Me!

In the end, Mei and Kiana shared a room, Bronya had one room to herself, and Rita and Ling Feng each had their own room as well...

Rita's suite was not very far from here, but it was still nearly forty meters away, diagonally across from them.

Mei had nothing to worry about, though. Rita was an S-rank Valkyrie, after all. There was no way she could have anything going on with Ling Feng!

Ling Feng followed Rita back to her room, looking rather depressed...

Why, why did heaven make me meet you today? Wouldn't tomorrow have been so much better? If I could clear the level tonight, then I could clear it anytime and anywhere in the future. But there was definitely no chance tonight. And next time... who knew when that would be?

"Captain, you seem to be in a bad mood?"

In the living room, Rita habitually took out a teacup and poured Ling Feng a cup of black tea.

Then she sat across from him and asked with a smile, "Did I do something unnecessary?"

Ling Feng: "..."

I can tell you did it on purpose...

"I'm fine."

Ling Feng did not want to answer that question.

After all, he could not exactly tell Rita the truth directly...

He picked up the teacup, drained the black tea in one gulp, then stood up. "Thank you for the tea. I'm going to rest first!"

Since tonight's extracurricular activities were gone, he might as well sleep early.

He had not forgotten why he had come here. It was mainly to get to first base with Mei... ahem, mainly to retrieve the gift Ryoma had left for Mei. So sleeping early and getting up early tomorrow was the highest priority. Finding the gift came first!

"Don't be in such a hurry, Captain. I still have something I'd like to ask you to help me with!"

Rita maintained her original sitting posture and smile.

Her tone remained as languid and composed as ever. Although her voice was soft and sultry, for some reason, it always sent chills down one's spine!

"Help? What could an S-rank Valkyrie possibly need my help with?"

Ling Feng turned back to look at Rita.

He had wanted to refuse outright, since this flirtatious maid had just ruined his plans, but she was an S-rank Valkyrie after all. He had better watch what he said...

"Of course there is..."

Rita lightly pulled the clothing off one shoulder down a little, revealing half her shoulder, then smiled. "And it involves imprinting Stigmata. I've heard long ago that Captain can imprint Stigmata."

"Hey... you're an S-rank Valkyrie. It's impossible that no one has ever imprinted Stigmata for you, right?"

Ling Feng still doubted the flirtatious maid's motives.

As one of Schicksal's three S-rank Valkyries, she would definitely have a dedicated Stigmata master. So why had she come to him for an imprint?

"Does Captain not wish to?"

Rita seemed to reveal a disappointed expression.

Then she suddenly looked as though she had come to a realization and deliberately smiled. "My apologies, Captain. That was my oversight. I heard that you need to touch someone's boobs before you can perform an imprint, is that right?"

"Pfft..."

Ling Feng nearly spat out blood.

Damn it, had that rumor really spread already? Even an S-rank Valkyrie from Schicksal Headquarters knew about it. How was he supposed to survive in Schicksal from now on...

"That is slander, absolute slander!"

Ling Feng solemnly and seriously denied it.

He was very worried about the flirtatious maid's character. If he did not deny it, she might embellish the story and spread it everywhere. Do not think she would not—for example, would a normal girl take photos while bathing and send them to him? No!

"Then I truly misunderstood Captain. But..."

The smile returned to Rita's face. Sitting on the cushion, she looked up at Ling Feng expectantly. "Could I ask Captain to imprint Stigmata for me? Even if... you really need to touch them, that's fine too..."

"Don't, no, I..."

Rita had Ling Feng completely flustered. He could only nod helplessly. "Fine, I'll imprint them for you. But don't bring up touching boobs anymore. I already said it was a misunderstanding..."

To be honest, Rita's breasts were definitely no smaller than Mei's.

And based on his observations, their shape and size were both perfect. He could already imagine how they would feel in his hands!

But Ling Feng truly did not dare mess around with an S-rank Valkyrie recklessly.

If this flirtatious maid held a grudge against him, his future path would surely become very difficult...

"Then thank you, Captain. Please come to my room!"

A victorious smile appeared on Rita's face, as though everything had gone exactly as she expected.

Ling Feng truly could not see through Rita at all. He could not guess what she was thinking. This maid was even harder to deal with than Mei...

Could intelligence be directly proportional to breast size? But that doesn't seem right. If that were the case, Bronya would definitely be S-rank, and Tesla should be S-rank too. As for the Class President...

The two entered the room.

As though she were thoroughly familiar with the process, Rita spread her arms and let the upper half of her bathrobe fall, stopping at her waist. Then she very consciously lay facedown on the bed. Compared to the shy Mei and Kiana from before, why was this flirtatious maid so practiced...

"Don't you already have Stigmata on your back? And they're all five-star Stigmata?"

Before beginning the imprint, Ling Feng habitually examined Rita's back.

He discovered that she already had five-star Stigmata there, and the patterns looked very clear. They should have been imprinted recently!

"Well, it's because I don't like this set of Stigmata..."

Rita had already closed her eyes and seemed completely unguarded around Ling Feng. She merely smiled. "So I'd like Captain to imprint a new set for me. I want the Stigmata best suited for me, and the Eraser pen is by the bed!"

"A new set of Stigmata is no problem, but how could I possibly know which ones suit you best?"

Ling Feng really wanted to complain, and he also felt a little miserable.

Imprinting five-star Stigmata was truly rather complicated. Yesterday, he had only imprinted one piece for Kiana, but today he had to imprint an entire set...

"Then... Captain can decide. My back..."

As she spoke, Rita opened her eyes and turned to look at Ling Feng.

She smiled in a coquettish voice. "From now on, you may do whatever you want with it. Anything is fine..."

Ling Feng: "..."

"Ahem!"

Ling Feng dryly coughed, forcibly calming himself down.

Then he silently used the Eraser pen to wipe away every Stigmata on Rita's back. After that, he asked, "Rita, what kind of attack style are you used to? If you don't tell me, I have no way to decide your Stigmata!"

"Attack style..."

Rita turned back around, closed her eyes, and thought for a moment. "A scythe. But when I was young, someone told me that I had a strong affinity for ice-type power. He once wanted to imprint a set of exclusive five-star ice-type Stigmata for me, but I was too weak back then, so he never did!"

"Ice-type..."

Ling Feng tentatively placed his hand on Rita's back.

Rita showed no intention of resisting, so Ling Feng finally relaxed and began injecting his energy, simply checking her physical condition. Sure enough, she was indeed well suited to ice-type power...

"Rita!"

After confirming it, Ling Feng decided which Stigmata to imprint. "Your body has a strong affinity for ice-type energy, and ice-type power is extremely potent against enemies. So I want to imprint a set of Stigmata called Arctic Explorer for you!"

Arctic Explorer...

Hearing that name, Rita opened her eyes.

Then she recalled what that masked rider had once told her...

"Rita, your body has a strong affinity for ice-type energy, and ice-type power is extremely potent against enemies. Therefore, Arctic Explorer Stigmata are the most suitable for you. But you cannot yet accept this power. Still... please believe me. In the future, I will personally imprint this set of Stigmata for you!"

Captain, Please Defeat Me!

"Mmgh... no, so strong, so fast... clearly... ahhh... it's coming..."

The room was once again filled with inappropriate sounds...

Ling Feng: "..."

"Hey, enough already! I'm only drawing Stigmata. Do you really need to act like this?"

Looking at the flirtatious maid before him, who was making sounds that stirred all kinds of improper thoughts, Ling Feng felt as though ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his heart.

This inn was built of wood, and the soundproofing was terrible. What if the people next door heard them?

"My apologies, Captain. It simply feels too good..."

Rita turned back and asked with an ambiguous smile, "But... did Captain write anything on my back? Such as 'don't... use so much force,' or 'don't stop'...?"

Ling Feng: "..."

"Would you like me to write you a patriotic song instead?"

Ling Feng no longer wanted to complain about this flirtatious maid.

She was even harder to deal with than Kiana...

Still, Rita was quite cooperative.

During the imprinting, her body barely moved at all, making Ling Feng's work very convenient. And an S-rank Valkyrie truly was an S-rank Valkyrie—after he completed the entire set, all three five-star Stigmata, Rita still showed no signs of rejection. The Stigmata's energy was extremely stable as well. She was worthy of being S-rank!

Once the imprinting was complete, Rita put her bathrobe back on.

Then she closed her eyes and silently felt the new power that belonged to her. She casually picked up the black tea by the bed and held it in her hand, then...

The steam from the black tea instantly vanished.

The tea slowly solidified, finally turning into a block of ice...

"As expected of Arctic Explorer Stigmata. The power of ice has been enhanced so much!"

A trace of surprise flashed through Rita's eyes.

This set of Stigmata was even more powerful than she had imagined, finally satisfying her curiosity about it after more than ten years. If she had received this power a little earlier... (Yae Sakura: Isn't that my line?)

"Thank you, Captain..."

Rita bowed respectfully to Ling Feng.

She slightly raised her head to stare at him, smiling wickedly. "May I ask how I should thank you? As thanks, you may make any request of me. Even if it is something I cannot accomplish, I will do it..."

"No need for thanks. I'm leaving first!"

Although Rita's words were tempting, Ling Feng still intended to keep some distance from this flirtatious maid.

If she had been a B-rank Valkyrie like Mei, perhaps he could have teased her a little. But an S-rank was another matter, and he did not know her well...

After saying that, Ling Feng turned and prepared to return to his room...

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave..."

But Rita suddenly grabbed Ling Feng, forcing him to turn around.

Then Rita lunged at him, instantly knocking Ling Feng to the floor...

"Thud..."

Fortunately, the floor was wooden, so it did not hurt even when they fell.

It was just...