Chapter 20: Planning in Progress

"Hehe, sorry to interrupt your good time!"

Raiden Makoto playfully winked at Liam, laughing as she spoke.

"No! No! Sister, you really misunderstood!"

Ei denied repeatedly, her face turning red from embarrassment due to Makoto's teasing.

"Yes, yes! You misunderstood!" Liam chimed in, his tone as insincere as it could be.

Ei's face was as red as a monkey's bottom, her gaze wandering as she quickly took a sip of her dango milk to calm herself.

"By the way, Makoto, you haven't said why you're here."

Liam asked Raiden Makoto again.

"Hehe, I heard from Ei last night that you come over every day to tell her stories. I just wanted to see what it was all about. But it seems I came at the wrong time!"

Raiden Makoto winked at Liam again, looking quite cute.

Liam: "..."

Liam was speechless after hearing this. Your timing is way off! And you show up at a crucial moment—are you serious?

"Hehe, how was it? How did Ei's lips taste? The Shogun didn't kiss you this deeply before, did she? Should I start calling you brother-in-law now?"

Raiden Makoto laughed as she tidied Liam's somewhat disheveled clothes, then whispered softly in his ear, "Or do you want to taste mine?"

Liam's heart skipped a beat at her words, and he quickly collected himself. It was hard to deny that Liam was momentarily tempted, but he dared not respond. Kidding aside, he had just kissed the younger sister, and now he's being tempted by the older sister. If this continues, the infamous "chopper ending" might become real!

No, no, no! I'm not worried about my own life; I'm thinking about the safety of all of Teyvat!

But how did the gentle and intellectual sister Makoto turn into this teasing figure? She used to be so elegant!

Seeing Liam's awkward expression, Raiden Makoto chuckled and stopped teasing him.

"Hehe, although I came to listen to stories, it seems that won't happen now. I'll just leave first. You two continue!"

After saying this, Makoto turned and left, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

Once Raiden Makoto left, the atmosphere in the room turned awkward. Neither Liam nor Ei knew what to say. Both of them were complete novices in this area. Finally, Liam broke the silence.

He cleared his throat and smiled, placing his hand on Ei's head and ruffling her hair.

"Ahem! As I said before, Ei, don't live in the past. They wouldn't want you to do that!"

"I... I understand now!"

Ei was momentarily stunned, then nodded, her eyes regaining their usual color. It seemed she had come to terms with many things.

Seeing this, Liam smiled in relief. Usually, people wouldn't act like this, but Ei was stubborn. Without guidance, she would persist down a dark path, hitting walls until there was no way forward.

In the game's story, she was that stubborn, like a bull. If it weren't for Yae Miko and the Traveler's intervention, she would have remained the same.

"Alright Ei, I'll leave now. I hope you think it over!"

After saying this, Liam turned and left.

Ei quietly watched Liam's departing figure for a long time. After he left, she opened the window and sat there, watching the cherry blossom petals dance in the wind.

After leaving, Liam didn't return to his room but instead used a few space jumps to arrive at a location over the sea.

Liam slowly descended from the sky. The moment his toes touched the sea surface, it instantly froze into solid ice, which continued to spread. Liam then stood on the thick ice.

"If I were in the game, I'd definitely have a spot among the Ice Crossing Adepts!"

Feeling the solid ice beneath him, Liam couldn't help but sigh. Indeed, he came here to test the power of the Herrscher of Ice core, to see if it was as weak as rumored. So far, it wasn't as good as the Herrscher of the Void core, but it wasn't as useless as he had imagined.

With a thought, tiny ice spikes appeared around Liam, and with a wave of his hand, they shot out rapidly.

"The speed is not bad!"

Liam nodded. His development of the Herrscher core was still too low. When he first obtained the core, he would occasionally create small ice blocks, but now the development was only 5/100.

Liam then opened the real-time monitoring panel for the Herrscher cores.

[Gem of End: 10/100]

[Core of the Herrscher of the Void: 50/100]

[Core of the Herrscher of Ice: 5/100]

"I guess I'm holding a treasure trove without being able to use it," Liam thought to himself.

[Ding~! The system has not set any limitations. The host can immediately ascend to become a true Herrscher if desired. Why lament?]

"Oh, right, right! You didn't set any limitations, but even an ordinary ascension to a true Herrscher would trigger a major Honkai event! A Herrscher-level Honkai event! Who knows what would happen to Teyvat then? Not to mention awakening as the Herrscher of the End directly—Teyvat would be done for!"

Liam was exasperated by the system's response. Even when Kiana awakened, she turned the entire Changkong City into a dead zone, wiping out hundreds of thousands or millions of people!

Liam decided to ignore the system. He took the Judgement of Shamash from the system's inventory. In the manga, Kevin could freeze the Judgement of Shamash; he wondered when he could do the same.

"Zzz! Zzz! Crack—! Crack—!"

Liam raised the Judgement of Shamash with one hand, striking a pose like Huaqiang about to slash someone. Flames began to flow along the greatsword, and the intense heat started melting the ice layer beneath, causing it to crack and sizzle.

Although the ice couldn't withstand the temperature of the Judgement of Shamash, Liam felt much more comfortable this time, without the burning sensation he experienced when he first used it.

Liam swung the Judgement of Shamash, sending out a wave of fire that instantly vaporized the ice beneath him. Since Liam didn't use too much power, the commotion wasn't as big.

Liam then put away the Judgement of Shamash and continued using his abilities on the sea, hoping to speed up the development of the Herrscher cores.

...

In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed since Liam announced his plan. During this time, Liam had been quite idle. Every day, he would head to the sea to continually use his powers, increasing their activation. Hard work paid off, and both of Liam's Herrscher cores had significantly increased in activation.

[Core of the Herrscher of the Void: Activation Level: 70/100]

[Core of the Herrscher of Ice: Activation Level: 35/100]

Liam estimated that at this rate, the Void core would reach full activation in about half a month, which would significantly enhance his abilities.

In the afternoons, since he mastered cooking, he no longer bought desserts from outside. Instead, he prepared various delicacies for Ei and the Shogun, constantly feeding them with new dishes.

Currently, both the Shogun and Ei gave Liam the feeling of raising children in an orphanage. They were almost always idle, waiting for Liam to bring them food and tell them stories.

Looking at her face, which resembled Mei's, Liam fell silent. Despite being busy, he noticed that both Ei and the Shogun were getting closer to him. Ei was more reserved, while the Shogun was very mischievous, often taking any chance to sneak up on him, making it hard for Liam to cope.

Makoto, too, would occasionally tease him, leaving Liam with three different impressions from essentially the same face—a very strange feeling indeed.

Daily check-ins didn't yield anything significant: limited edition Homu plushies, Mei's lunch, and old-friend-flavored instant noodles, along with 1120 units of imaginary points.

[Limited Edition Homu Plushie: Some people actually like these strange plushies! Essentially a regular plushie, but it might increase favorability with certain individuals!]

[Mei's Lunch: A delicious meal prepared daily by Mei. Restores some energy upon consumption.]

Although these items seemed useless, Liam couldn't deny they might come in handy someday, so he stored them in his infinite system inventory.

What bothered Liam most was that in the past ten days, Kujou Takayuki hadn't made any moves. However, Liam didn't think for a moment that Kujou Takayuki had given up.

Kujou Takayuki must be planning something big in secret. But Liam wasn't worried at all. He could now hold the Shogun in one arm and Makoto in the other—what could Kujou Takayuki possibly do against them?

Moreover, Liam had secretly infiltrated Watatsumi Island recently. The residents there had indeed started to stir after being provoked, giving Liam the excuse he needed to deal with them.

He also left a spatial restriction at the Sacred Objects on Yashiori Island. If anyone tried to tamper with them, Liam would know immediately. Although with both Makoto and Ei present, even if the Malevolent Deity escaped, it wouldn't be a problem, Liam didn't want to risk the lives of ordinary people.

"System, Initiate the check-in!"

Liam, sitting on the top floor of Tenshukaku, spoke to the system.

[Ding~! Check-in successful! Congratulations, host, for obtaining 160 Imaginary Points and the Divine Key: Incredibly Infinite Intimidator! Items have been delivered!]

"Divine Key, Incredibly Infinite Intimidator?"

Liam was stunned, then saw the red brick engraved with the image of a small Judah in his inventory.

"Well..."

Liam didn't know what to say for a moment. He never expected to get this item. He then checked the detailed information of the Oath of Judah.

[Divine Key: Incredibly Infinite Intimidator: A Divine Key created by the cute Herrscher of Sentience. It has no physical form and can take on various shapes.]

[However, the system believes the most practical use is to smash it against the enemy's head. Due to the Herrscher of Sentience's power, the probability of stunning or knocking out the target is significantly higher than that of an ordinary brick!]

Liam: "..."

The last time I was this speechless was... well, the last time. Is this an introduction or just sarcasm?

Liam took out the Incredibly Infinite Intimidator and weighed it in his hand. It felt quite handy.

Liam was pleasantly surprised. With this, he now had another useful weapon for ambushing. No matter what kind of monster, a brick to the head would do the trick!

Liam put away the Incredibly Infinite Intimidator and prepared to leave Tenshukaku. He had a feeling that Kujou Takayuki was about to make his move. Staying in Tenshukaku meant they wouldn't dare to trouble him.

But before leaving, Liam went to the Shogun's room. As soon as he entered, he felt himself enveloped in a soft embrace, his face buried in a soft spot.

"Liam, you're here!"

A calm voice sounded as the Shogun, giving Liam a face wash, hugged him.

"Uh, Shogun, please let go for a moment!"

Liam quickly said, his voice muffled. Although the face wash was nice, he had important matters to discuss. The Shogun's body, enhanced by the Heart of Puppet, had become much stronger.

Hearing this, the Shogun released Liam.

"What is it?" she asked, tilting her head with a calm expression.

"I need to go out for a few days. I feel some people are getting restless and might try to harm me. If I call for you, please come to me immediately."

Liam smiled, patting the Shogun's head. Recently, the Shogun hadn't tied her hair into a braid, and her long, purple hair cascaded down like a waterfall, combined with her beautiful yet expressionless face, giving her a doll-like beauty. Though, she was indeed a doll.

"Someone wants to harm you?"

The Shogun's brows furrowed, lightning flickering around her. Even Inazuma's Electro element began to become more volatile. It was clear she was very displeased with the idea of someone targeting Liam.

"Calm down. You know my abilities. If I can't win, I can still escape. I'm asking you to stay calm and not kill them immediately when we meet!"

Liam patted the Shogun's head to soothe her. The Shogun's strength had greatly increased after nearly completing her Heart of the Puppet enhancement.

Liam was sure that if he didn't warn her beforehand, even if Scaramouche himself came, he'd likely get killed on sight by the Shogun.