Akuta Hinako looked up at the man standing before her, her voice trembling with rage. "You did this, didn't you, asshole! How the fuck can you spread rumors out of thin air like that?!"
"Huh?"
Bai Ming paused, then cursed right back. "Has your menopause finally gotten worse? You pathetic unrequited-love simp doesn't even have a chance. What rumor did I spread?"
Watching the two of them bristle at each other, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt a little scared. She quietly left the training room, leaving the two who looked ready to fight some space.
She was going to find Mash and Roman to mediate.
"You're saying you didn't spread rumors? Huh?!"
Akuta Hinako shouted, stood on tiptoe, and shoved the documents in her hand into Bai Ming's face. "Open your two holes and take a good look at what this is!"
Bai Ming gave it a cursory glance. It was just about Martial God Consort Yu and her sworn brotherhood with Overlord Xiang Yu. There was nothing especially surprising about it.
So what exactly was this crazy woman thinking? Why had she come to settle scores with him? He had not even asked her to thank him, yet she had come to settle scores with him?
Thus, Bai Ming replied blandly, "So what?"
"So what? You're spreading rumors!"
"So what?"
Seeing Akuta Hinako's brows shoot up in fury, Bai Ming had no intention of explaining himself. Given her personality, she would not listen even if he explained.
He was not the one spreading the rumors, so Bai Ming did not care about this at all. If anything, the only rumor he had ever spread was wiping out Japan's Age of Gods under Consort Yu's name.
As for Xiang Yu and all that, it was entirely everyone else's imagination. He had not instructed anyone to say a single word.
"So what? You're asking me so what?!"
Akuta Hinako's blood pressure immediately spiked. She had never expected the man before her to be so unreasonable, and so Akuta Hinako—
"So what? With the relationship we have, what's wrong with me using your name?"
"Motherfucker, is that what I'm talking about?"
Bai Ming thought, Oh my God, this woman isn't even hung up on me stealing her name. Maybe she isn't that petty after all.
Bai Ming immediately replied, "Isn't it?"
"I'm talking about your rumor about sworn brotherhood! Face the problem properly."
"What the fuck does that have to do with me? Why are you pinning something unrelated to me on my head?"
"You motherfucker! I'm taking you down with me!"
Akuta Hinako said nothing more and blew herself up on the spot, splattering Bai Ming's face with uncursed blood. She could not beat Bai Ming, but she could dirty his clothes and pants, forcing him to change.
This was Akuta Hinako's path to victory.
Who would have thought Bai Ming did not care about the blood on his body at all? He crouched down at the spot where Akuta Hinako had exploded and placed a nearly ineffective evil-repelling talisman there.
As an elemental, Akuta Hinako herself possessed magical properties. Even this talisman that was nearly out of power still affected her.
Thus, as soon as Akuta Hinako reconstructed her body, she was sent flying by the evil-repelling talisman.
"King Mu, see? I told you this woman isn't the sort with a brain. Other people are at least big-chested and brainless; she's flat-chested and brainless."
The large white dog who had been addressed sighed as it watched the little white beast before it. Why was Chaldea full of such ridiculous creatures?
"Bai Ming! Only one of us is leaving alive today!"
Bai Ming's expression changed upon hearing that. BYD, was that a death threat?
"Then you go die. I don't want to die, anyway."
Bai Ming's words made Akuta Hinako's breathing stop, but his mouth did not pause, and his tone turned icy.
"You spend every day acting like you want to live or die, as though everyone owes you something. But who the fuck owes you anything? Forget Xiang Yu or whatever. That bullshit loneliness of yours—there are tons of ancient Chinese things that haven't died yet, so why the fuck are you lonely? What, nobody understands you? People can never fully understand one another, so what kind of understanding are you chasing? An elemental and a half-finished robot with preset programming, seeking understanding? If you went to Millennium Castle, kicked the True Ancestor Princess awake, and begged her for understanding, I wouldn't even criticize you. What kind of single-celled primitive organism are you? Can't live without other people?"
"I—"
Akuta Hinako had just wanted to retort when Bai Ming cut her off on the spot. Bai Ming walked toward her step by step, while Akuta Hinako unconsciously retreated.
She had been too busy being angry and had forgotten something: Bai Ming was a complete demon king. When there was no danger, Bai Ming himself was the greatest danger. She had never won whenever they traded insults.
"What do you mean, 'I'? As the terminal elemental of Earth's Inner Sea, tasked with managing the surface, have you fulfilled the duties of your position?"
"What do you know?!"
Akuta Hinako still grew agitated. Bai Ming retorted, "So what? Why do I need to understand you?"
Akuta Hinako was speechless. Although Bai Ming kept gripping her flaws and refusing to let go, whether he was mocking her or arguing with her, what he said was indeed what she thought about most deeply, what she cared about most.
Did he not understand her? He definitely did.
Akuta Hinako thought, Maybe I should just let it go. I'll settle things with him later.
But before Akuta Hinako could react, Bai Ming's next words stabbed into her heart again. "I can't get a single word across to a flat-chested, brainless woman like you."
Akuta Hinako exploded again. He could insult anything else, but not her figure—she simply preferred the ancient Chinese lilac-bud type of breast culture. What was wrong with that?
"Fuck you, this is called snow-white breasts hidden beneath a trace, contained but not revealed."
"But that's all you've got, isn't it?" Bai Ming paused. "If I remember correctly, you were pretty close to that Gao Changgong—"
"So what?!"
Akuta Hinako decided to use Bai Ming's own method against him. Bai Ming curled his lip. "If I remember correctly, Gao Changgong was the fourth son. His younger brother was held down and force-fed pepper until he died. His third brother fought the Turks and was ordered to die by their ninth uncle. His eldest brother was also forced to drink poisoned wine by that ninth uncle. And Gao Changgong didn't say a fucking word. In the end, even he himself was killed with poisoned wine—"
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Akuta Hinako's heart pounded rapidly. She had a feeling Bai Ming was about to say something even colder.
"Akuta Hinako, don't you understand yet?"
Bai Ming forced Akuta Hinako against the wall and spoke in an indifferent tone:
"A cowardly loser famous for nothing but his looks, and another cowardly loser famous for nothing but her looks, are pretty well matched. No wonder you became friends."
Akuta Hinako's mood suddenly sank. She fell silent for several seconds before her tone abruptly became calm. "If you're so high and mighty and look down on me so much, then you shouldn't have pulled me out of that framework in the first place."
Bai Ming sighed. "Sigh, whatever makes you happy."
Seeing Bai Ming appear ready to yield, the anger inside Akuta Hinako grew even fiercer. "And now you're telling me whatever makes me happy?"
"I actually have even more hurtful things I haven't said."
Akuta Hinako immediately went quiet.
But judging from Akuta Hinako's tolerance, if Bai Ming said them, she might just die in front of him on the spot.
This idiot would be fine after a few insults. Actually insulting her to death would not be worth it.
If Daybit did not only have five minutes of memory a day, and if Humanity Foundation incineration were not followed by the huge trouble of Humanity Foundation freezing, Daybit would not be able to handle things once he came out.
Bai Ming would have long since grabbed Daybit, gone "Woooosh!" through several Singularities in a few days, and ended all of this.
He had only pulled Akuta Hinako out because, unless she killed herself, she could not die before Earth did. Even if he and Fujimaru Ritsuka exited midway due to the butterfly effect he had caused, humanity could still place a little hope in this useless woman who was difficult to rely on.
The two ultimately parted on bad terms—or at least, that was how it looked to Roman, who rushed over in a hurry. Akuta Hinako left without saying a word, while Bai Ming also silently turned around and returned to the training room, resuming his training on his own.
"Um—"
Roman hurriedly tried to say something, but he did not even know why the two had argued, so he had no idea where to begin.
But Mash did not need to think so much. She bypassed Romani and entered the training room directly. "Senpai, did you and Miss Akuta Hinako argue because the history of Japan's Heian period was connected to you? After all, I saw someone in that period of history who had the same name as you..."
"More or less."
Bai Ming did not stop what he was doing, nor did he want to discuss the matter any further. Thus, he said, "This hardly counts as an argument. I know her. Before long, she'll come back and find a way to splatter blood all over my face to restore her mental balance... After all, Akuta Hinako hasn't said anything like cutting ties forever, never seeing each other again, or severing our friendship. There's no need to make that guy outside, who doesn't want responsibility, think about it—
Mash, I have a method to deal with your physical condition in one go. I think Da Vinci has similar methods too. Do you want to hear it?"
Upon hearing Bai Ming's words, Roman immediately cut straight in. "Regarding this matter, I think I need to know."
"The choice belongs to Mash, not you. But if you want to listen in, Mash, do you mind Roman listening?"
"Ah!" Mash let out a short cry. "I don't mind, Senpai. Doctor Roman is doing this for my sake too."
For some reason, after saying that, Mash felt her senpai's gaze change. It felt like a gentle elder looking at an unpromising junior.
To Bai Ming, both Roman and Mash were pitiable people.
Seeing Bai Ming's expression change, Roman spoke first. "Let's be clear first—don't scold me."
Bai Ming curled his lip. "Can't be bothered."
After all, Roman was the real deal when it came to being a seasoned old hand. Scolding him would go in one ear and out the other, and he might even make some strange-faced quips.
"Regarding Mash's condition, there are roughly three ideas. First, use a Holy Grail to make a wish directly. Second, have Da Vinci give Mash a new body, but Mash would also lose her Demi-Servant abilities."
"What about the third method?"
Roman asked, but Bai Ming did not answer. He merely stared quietly at Roman. Roman was silent for a moment before speaking. "Fine, I know what your third method is. Reject the third option outright."
What a joke. Was he supposed to turn back into Solomon, something that could barely be called human, and go look for that dove? Why the fuck did Bai Ming not go find the big shot behind himself instead?
Bai Ming fake-cried twice and spoke in a deliberately sorrowful tone. "Then I won't care about Mash anymore. Mash, look, this Doctor Roman you always call gentle and kind is making me watch my beloved junior reach the end of her life like this..."
Roman immediately realized that this bastard had deliberately stayed silent about the third method to mislead him and laugh at him.
Thus, after muttering an Israeli curse in his heart, Roman looked hopefully at Mash.
"Senpai is teasing Doctor Roman again—" Mash did not show much reaction, since she had seen Bai Ming tease Roman many times. "But what is the third option?"
Bai Ming did not answer. He only asked, "So, do you want a new body, or do you want to stay in your current one?"
"Of course I want to stay in my own body."
"Alright, I understand." Bai Ming nodded. "Then after we set out next time and retrieve the Holy Grail, we'll use it first. If the Holy Grail doesn't work, I'll arrange another method."
◇
After arguing with Bai Ming, Akuta Hinako stormed back to her room and grabbed the sunflower seeds Bai Ming had given her, tossing them all out in one sweep.
The seeds clattered all over the floor. After taking a deep breath, Akuta Hinako looked at the mess of seeds and fell silent again.
One step, two steps—Akuta Hinako walked to the nearest pile of seeds and squatted down miserably to pick them up. Why had she thrown all the seeds away in one go? Now she had to squat down and pick them up herself. This was so annoying.
"I know most of what you said was true—"
Where Bai Ming could not see her, Akuta Hinako muttered to herself as she picked up the sunflower seeds. "But that's just how things are. What can I do? I can't beat anyone, and no matter how much I learn, my command ability is still terrible. I was originally planning to just coast through life, then you dragged me out of that framework and forced me to work... And now I get scolded every few days. Is that my fault? It's not like I deliberately wanted to be useless. That damn terminal fixed me in a human form from the moment I was born, directly limiting how much power I could use. I have magical energy but can't do anything with it—"
Akuta Hinako quickly finished picking up the seeds. Then, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. After putting the seeds away, she rushed out of the dormitory a second time and headed straight for the training room.
"The more I endure, the angrier I get. The more I back down, the more I lose out. Bai Ming, if I don't make you miserable today, I won't feel right."
At that moment, Mash and Roman had already left the training room. Bai Ming was alone, having changed into clean clothes and continued exercising. He had barely trained for long when hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Bai Ming thought, As expected, this stupid woman came charging back again.
"Setanta, turn into a dragon. Not too big. Just big enough to block me."
"Woof?"
Setanta did not understand, but he still chose to obey Bai Ming. He obediently transformed from a black dog into a black dragon and blocked Bai Ming from view.
The instant the training room door opened, Akuta Hinako exploded into blood on the spot.
The blood splattered across Setanta's face. Setanta looked in confusion at his master, who was still exercising. Bai Ming did not even raise his head. "Turn back and go wash yourself."
As for why Bai Ming had Setanta block Akuta Hinako's self-destruction rather than King Mu, who was curled up asleep nearby—King Mu was covered in white fur, and washing him after he was drenched in blood would be a huge hassle. But Setanta, that black Shiba Inu, was different.
Setanta left the training room with a resentful look. At that moment, Akuta Hinako restored her human body and glared at Bai Ming in displeasure.
"I came to reason with you."
"Oh?" Bai Ming stopped training and watched to see what new trick this woman from Yan was trying. "You want to reason with me? Then I'm all ears."
"I'm saying—"
Akuta Hinako walked toward Bai Ming step by step, then splattered Bai Ming with blood again.
Bai Ming wiped his face and silently watched Akuta Hinako restore her human form.
Seeing Bai Ming's newly changed clothes covered in blood, Akuta Hinako's expression could not help brightening. She started rambling nonsense. "I thought about it, and that sworn brotherhood thing... No matter how much trouble you like causing, I don't think you would spread something so impractical..."
"So you want to apologize to me, but you're too embarrassed to lower your head, right?"
Akuta Hinako said nothing. She merely splattered Bai Ming with blood again.
Outside the door, Roman, still unable to stop worrying, sighed at the way the two communicated. As he walked away, he muttered complaints under his breath.
Before you continue