"Huh?"
Rias looked at Li Ke in surprise, not understanding why he refused.
"You need to understand one thing: my goal is to leave here as soon as possible. And if you want to train here, then there's a problem: what about the newcomers? This world will keep recruiting people. What are their character like? Will they accept this method of returning? Have you considered that? My abilities have limits, and I don't like this world, nor do I like doing things with men. Rias, you need me, not the other way around. You need to understand that."
Li Ke pointed to this damned place. Although this world possessed magical powers, the risks were simply too great.
Although he already had an invincible room and a safe house, who knew what kind of monsters the next batch of zombies would be? Since he could escape to the Arad Continent to become stronger, why stay here?
Wouldn't it be better to have Seria, the Primordial Fragment he slept with, protecting him on the Arad Continent? Although training there was slower, he was protected by the Creator God; at the very least, he could become a demigod, right?
So what if the rules of the 7 Days to Die world were powerful, whoever wanted to stay could stay. Li Ke was too lazy to continue struggling in this apocalyptic world.
"Besides, while there might be pretty girls, what if a man wants to go home? If I only send girls home, I'll face a moral dilemma. And what if a super ugly old woman comes? Rias, you only see the opportunity to become stronger, but if you stay here, only I'll be in trouble, and I'll obviously not get any reward."
Li Ke directly stated his problem.
He didn't need what Rias offered, but everything he had was something Rias desperately needed. Even though Li Ke did like Rias's body, he wasn't particularly lacking in women.
Although he would do his best to build a harem and pursue girls, that didn't mean he would give everything for a woman without any boundaries, right?
Although he liked the red-haired female Devil's appearance, he hadn't read much of High School DxD's books, so he didn't even have the mindset of collecting Rias.
She was indeed beautiful, but Tsunade, Lux, and Erina weren't much less so.
"I understand."
Rias nodded. Everything Li Ke said made sense, something she, as the young lady of the Gremory family, hadn't considered. She was used to others fawning over her, and she was subconsciously accustomed to it.
"Then I'll exchange my power for yours. I have a wealth of magical knowledge here. If you're willing to stay with me for a while, I'll not only guarantee your safety but also teach you how to use magic efficiently. Incidentally, I can also give you these grimoires. And although you shouldn't be short of money, I can also provide you with some gold."
Rias finished speaking and held out her hand, and books appeared in her palm.
"How about exchanging your companionship for knowledge and wealth?"
"..."
Li Ke looked at Rias, then nodded.
"Sure, Miss Rias."
He hadn't really wanted a reward; he just wanted to tease Rias. Since she was willing to exchange, then it was fine.
"But I need to take care of some things first. I'm letting you know in advance so you won't worry if you can't find me."
However, since Rias was willing to offer a reward, and this world was suitable for training, he needed to inform his teammates to avoid Lottie and Miss Lucia worrying.
After all, he had made an agreement with them first.
"Oh? You're going to another world again? Aren't you going to make a contract with me first? You must really need this magical knowledge, right?"
Rias came to Li Ke's side with great interest, but also a little nervous, because once Li Ke left, she wouldn't be able to go back.
"It's not really necessary, so Miss Rias, please be more polite in the future so we can cooperate better."
Seeing that it only required 200 energy points to travel to Seria's location, Li Ke breathed a sigh of relief. He waved to Rias, and then, to Rias's astonishment, his body began to fade into intangible form.
"Wait, I…"
Rias reached out to stop Li Ke, but it was too late. Li Ke could no longer hear her. He watched as Rias kept opening her mouth to say something, but could only express his helplessness.
The next moment, the sensation of teleportation appeared, and Seria's back appeared before him. She had clearly just taken a bath; Li Ke could clearly see water droplets on her neck, and she was tidying up the messy bed with a complicated expression.
It was obvious that she was very saddened by not waking up in Li Ke's arms.
Li Ke directly picked up Seria from behind. Feeling that familiar warmth, Seria's face immediately turned red. "Mr. Li Ke…"
Her voice was filled with anticipation and fear. Miss Lucia, who had left her room intending to take Li Ke and Lottie to the forest for some practical training, sighed helplessly, then covered Lottie's eyes and led her back to the room.
Li Ke and the others didn't appear until noon. Lucia took the aching Li Ke to the jungle, teaching him the correct training methods. Lottie was also taught some basic magical knowledge before the group returned to the inn.
"So, you're leaving for a week?"
"That's right. I have some things to take care of. You two can rest and train at Seria's inn during this time. I'll be back in a week. Here's your commission, Miss Lucia, and Lottie, this is for your meals."
Li Ke simply pulled out two bags of gold coins and placed them in front of the two girls, one big and one small.
"While I don't mind making money, I still hope you won't waste it too much."
Lucia hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the money, as her commission for this period had been roughly the same. Lottie, however, simply waved her hand and refused.
"No, if I haven't done anything these past two weeks, I won't accept this much."
Lottie was very serious, then took out a few gold coins and returned the rest to Li Ke.
Li Ke didn't say much, gave the gold coins to Seria, asking her to make some good food for Lottie, and then, under Seria's reluctant gaze, entered the jungle.
He wouldn't appear beside Seria next time. This time it was because of time constraints; next time, to maintain secrecy, he had to go to Kiri, and who knew when he would be able to return? That's why he gave her the money and explained in advance.
When Li Ke's figure reappeared beside Rias, the worried Rias breathed a sigh of relief. She was truly afraid that Li Ke would never return, but the feeling of her body rapidly evolving and developing forced her to take the risk. After all, she genuinely didn't want to marry someone she didn't love.
Seeing her sigh of relief, Li Ke couldn't help but tease her.
"What, you hate me coming back so much? Don't worry, I'm leaving again next time, so I won't be coming back."
"It's not good to joke like that with a lady. We have an agreement."
Rias gave Li Ke a disapproving look, then looked at him seriously.
"But since you can travel to other worlds, could you buy me some clothes and some food? I'll pay with a grimoire."
With that, Rias held out her hand and took out a grimoire.
"This grimoire allows you to temporarily control people's bodies and read their memories. It's not very useful for those with magical power or strong willpower, but it's incredibly effective for ordinary people. You don't need to learn these abilities; just place your hand on the pages to use them. However, this book cannot erase memories, so be careful when using it. If you use it for bad purposes, you'll be discovered."
As expected of a Devil!
Li Ke couldn't help but admire it inwardly.
But Li Ke agreed to Rias's conditions without any pressure, reaching out to take the book.
The instant he touched it, invisible knowledge appeared in his mind, allowing him to quickly understand how to use the book.
Indeed, as Rias said, no special method was needed; just hold the book and think. It was incredibly simple and convenient.
Although, as Rias said, it couldn't block the memories of those being controlled, and only three people could be controlled at a time, it was enough for some mischievous teenagers to do many things.
What he hadn't expected was that Rias rattled off a long list of things: underwear, clothes, food, and snacks. She rattled off a whole bunch, and Li Ke diligently wrote it all down.
Leaving aside his plans to go to Seria's world and the world of Nakiri Erina, which he intended to visit, carefully recording a client's requests was never a bad thing, was it?
So Li Ke meticulously recorded everything Rias liked, then waved to her.
"I'll go now..."
Li Ke smiled and opened the door, intending to first find the merchant to buy some supplies, but the next moment, he slammed the door shut.
Because the yellow sand obscured the sky, zombies kept appearing outside, constantly lurking, and the moon began to change accordingly.
Is the blood moon really getting faster and faster?!
Li Ke looked through the window at the dense swarms of zombies that were now moving in one direction, and glanced at Rias beside him. "Did the world consciousness tell you this?"
His previous guess was actually true!
"No, the will of this dimension is already very weak, otherwise it wouldn't have been unable to reclaim your power or directly authorize me, the Dimensional Lord."
Rias also saw the wandering zombies at this moment, a helpless expression appearing on her face.
If she knew everything, how could she not know what will happen here?
"I almost forgot about this place."
Li Ke was somewhat helpless, because life in the Arad world was much more comfortable than here, and he had completely forgotten about this.
"But it doesn't matter, with me here, you don't need to worry too much."
Rias was quite calm. Her strength was no longer the same as before. Now, she could easily maintain a magic shield for an entire day without rest.
"I can't increase my control over this dimension any further, so if any zombies threaten this house, I'll need your help. But until then, we don't need to worry."
With that, Rias snapped her fingers, and a deep blue magic circle instantly appeared above the house. The next moment, all sound outside completely disappeared. Although Li Ke could still see the zombies, he couldn't hear them anymore.
Soon, under Li Ke's watchful eye, the Blood Moon arrived. However, thanks to Rias's magic and the protection of the steel house, Li Ke encountered no trouble at all. He even fell asleep out of boredom, only waking up when Rias, who had been engrossed in reading a magic book, reminded him that the Blood Moon had passed.
Although he desperately wanted to 'duel' Rias, Li Ke knew that teammates would appear after the Blood Moon. He planned to observe the situation. If it was a man, he'd see if there was any way to deal with him besides physically assaulting him. If not, he'd train him, provide some supplies, and let him go once he was capable of handling things independently. If it was a girl, Li Ke planned to see if she wanted to return.
As for physically assaulting a man, that was out of the question, absolutely not in his lifetime.
However, just as he adjusted the weight on his arms to the maximum, feeling a slight pressure, and stepped out of the house to find his teammates, he witnessed a truly bizarre scene.
Two figures gradually appeared in the air, but…
They weren't on the ground.
They were above the abyss that Tsunade had dug.
"Rias, save them!"
Li Ke called out to his teammates without hesitation, intending to help, but just as he called out, the two figures that had been gradually solidifying finally arrived in this world.
"What?!"
A beautiful girl in a red top with stunningly long legs stared in disbelief at the ground she was suddenly suspended in mid-air. Before she could react, she plummeted towards the earth.
Another beautiful woman in a red ninja outfit that Li Ke recognized didn't fare much better. She seemed to move slightly in mid-air, but without any foothold, she too plummeted towards the ground like the other girl.
Li Ke quickly threw out his grappling hook, but unfortunately, by the time he reached the edge of the cliff, he could only see the two beautiful girls landing one after the other.
At that moment, Rias emerged from the doorway.
"What's wrong?"
Looking at Li Ke clinging to the cliff edge, Rias asked her question.
Li Ke thought for a moment, then tried to speak tactfully.
"Well… I think this round we don't need to worry about new friends."