Meanwhile, on the other side, at the location Cocolia referred to as the experimental site...
Led by Mr. Driver, a smiling young man and a young woman, whose smile looked even more forced than a grimace, walked towards a motel on the outskirts of Nagazora City.
"Sir, please, you and your wife get some good rest."
Mr. Driver, having received professional training, retrieved two keys from the front desk and promptly handed one to Li Zihan.
"I am not this guy's wife!"
If it weren't for the Ashina Isshin Sword Style incident, which forced her to perform the Classic French Maneuver before being knocked unconscious, Raiden Mei's face wouldn't be flushed so red.
This was clearly not shyness, but anger.
To focus on her studies, she had rejected every boy who confessed to her and hadn't even been in a relationship yet.
Life was going perfectly fine, and then suddenly, the title of "wife" was slapped onto her. No matter how good-tempered Raiden Mei was, she couldn't tolerate this!
However, Mr. Driver completely ignored Raiden Mei's words. Instead, he chatted amiably with Li Zihan, describing the local customs and scenery of their next stop—Nagoya.
It was as if he was completely unaware of the girl he called "wife" standing right in front of him.
Can't they see me?
An extremely chilling sensation, like lightning exploding in her mind, struck Raiden Mei. She looked around, waving at the guests who were there to rest and at the motel staff.
An employee in a waiter's uniform walked towards Raiden Mei.
Raiden Mei let out a sigh of relief.
Then, her expression suddenly froze.
The waiter bypassed her and placed three glasses of juice in front of Li Zihan and the driver.
"Your juice, two glasses."
The waiter politely placed three glasses of juice before the young man.
The young man then took out the wallet he had "borrowed" from Raiden Mei and paid for three glasses.
"You've overpaid, sir."
The waiter said, surprised, looking at the extra money.
He hadn't noticed the young woman named Raiden Mei at all, even though Raiden Mei was closer to him than Li Zihan or the driver.
"There's one for my wife as well."
Seemingly indulging a twisted sense of humor, the young man calling himself Ashina Isshin gestured towards Raiden Mei beside him and said.
As if waking from a dream, the waiter suddenly noticed the young woman standing before Li Zihan, a girl whose beauty would make her the center of attention anywhere.
Clearly flustered for having ignored a guest, the waiter hurriedly bowed in apology.
"S-Sorry, miss, I didn't mean to—"
"Snap—"
With a crisp snap of fingers, the waiter's expression became vacant again.
The waiter scratched his head, completely bewildered as to why he had just bowed. Coincidentally, a new guest called for him, so he apologized to Li Zihan and went to attend to his duties.
It was as if his preceding memories had been snatched away by some ghost.
Humans without powers like magical energy or spiritual energy found it very difficult to resist the effects of magecraft.
Perhaps Honkai energy could resist magecraft to some extent, but ordinary people like these couldn't control Honkai energy.
"What... on earth are you?"
Raiden Mei, her worldview completely shattered, felt a chill run through her body, and she couldn't help but shiver.
In front of strangers, Raiden Mei wasn't some gentle housewife; she was a rather assertive and stern, flawlessly perfect queen.
However, truly perfect things didn't exist in this world.
The last guy who was called perfect had already flown into the sky to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun, becoming humanity's most ancient piece of space junk.
Raiden Mei, not being a perfect lifeform, was afraid of ghosts and monsters.
Not just ordinarily afraid, but terrified to her very core.
If one had to make a strange analogy, it was probably like Wolffy's instinctive fear of Wolnie's frying pan.
Clearly, the abilities displayed by a certain kidnapper resembled those of ghosts from urban legends more than humans with special powers.
Under these circumstances, she even forgot to refute the very damaging claim of being his "wife."
"Calling a person a 'thing' is quite rude, you know."
The young man, whose skills in hypnosis and suggestion magecraft were likely superior to more than half of the Lords, raised an eyebrow.
"Though, I suppose I might not exactly count as human myself."
Beings known as magi originated from among humans, yet they were aberrations with vast differences from humanity.
The girl, hearing words laden with immense information, shivered. As if possessed by the 'Scum Boss' himself, Miss Raiden Mei couldn't help but take a step back.
This guy really is some kind of demon or monster!
"Do I look that scary?"
Seeing Raiden Mei's terrified expression, Li Zihan couldn't help but look troubled.
In the Moon World, he was quite popular with women. How did things change so drastically just by switching worlds?
Suddenly being feared by a beautiful girl like this was actually quite damaging to his pride.
Could it be that in the Honkai World, human aesthetic preferences leaned towards the same sex, and marrying someone of the opposite sex to have children was merely for procreation?
Li Zihan mused aimlessly.
The young man, who had ordered three glasses of juice, handed one to the trembling Raiden Mei.
"Have some juice to calm down."
Raiden Mei tremblingly took the juice but didn't drink it, merely staring at the young man who handed it to her.
"Don't look at me with such frightened eyes. I'm a law-abiding magus, one who could even be called a hero candidate."
The young man, chosen by the Hero Cultivation System, said with a smile, then extended his hand towards Raiden Mei.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Li Zihan. Age, hmm, if you just add it up, it's about 33, I guess. I live in the Spirit Tomb Albion, beneath the Clock Tower, and I'm currently working for a certain someone."
"I'm Raiden Mei, age 16, a student."
Raiden Mei, having barely recovered from her fear, managed a stiff smile and mechanically shook the young man's hand.
The warmth from his palm made her sigh in relief. According to legends, ghosts, evil spirits, and the like shouldn't have such warmth.
Although a magus who could control human perception was also terrifying, it was still better than encountering actual ghosts.
For a moment, the grip of her long, slender fingers tightened considerably.
Li Zihan, whose hand was being squeezed tightly by the girl, feeling a slight ache, narrowed his eyes.
And then—
"Ngh!"
A pained sound escaped Raiden Mei's lips as an immense force suddenly emanated from the hand holding hers, hurting her so much she nearly cried.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
Raiden Mei, her hand aching from the powerful grip, momentarily forgot the other party's ghost-like demeanor and exclaimed sharply.
"Weren't you the one who wanted to compete in hand strength?"
The young man, who frequently used certain magical secret rituals to strengthen his body to the point where his physical strength approached inhuman levels, said matter-of-factly.
"I'm a guy. It would be really embarrassing if I lost."
Miss Raiden, forced into a hand strength contest, was stunned. Her delicate, flower-like lips opened and closed several times, but she couldn't utter a word.
When shaking hands with a girl, is it really okay to turn it into a contest of strength?