My name is Levi, and I work in anime.

I laughed at the Gremory family for their lack of strategy and the Tohsaka family for their lack of wisdom; they still fell into my trap.

The silver-haired man with naturally curly hair let out a smug laugh, but his smile quickly faded.

Because Li Wei didn't laugh. Not only did he not laugh, he was also looking at him like he was an idiot.

"Hey Li Wei, why aren't you smiling..."

“I admit you’re right. In principle, there’s nothing wrong with this way of playing.” The boy’s tone was calm and soothing, with a hint of resigned acceptance: “But is it possible that they are the very principles that set up this way of playing?”

"In other words, Director Sakata, do you think this kind of wordplay works on them? If it does, then what's the point of having an exorcism squad?"

Sakata Gintoki's smile froze completely on his face.

Chapter 36 The Confidence of Yin and Yang as the Empress

OTL, Sakata Gintoki is totally OTL.

Li Wei is absolutely right. Rules of the game are fine for ordinary people, but if you try to play word games with demons in the underworld, they'll show you that the underlying logic of this world is violence.

If everyone in the underworld could abide by the law, the Exorcism Group could be completely abolished and simply merged into the police department.

Even if demons obey the law, they are obeying demonic laws. Are you going to take a human sword and kill a demon official?

"Avi, I really didn't want things to get this far."

The silver-haired, naturally curly-haired woman cried her heart out, her face a mess of snot and tears: "At first, everyone was laughing and joking around. It was nothing more than owing a few bucks from playing mahjong and not having any money in your pocket, or casually mentioning it after having a few drinks with someone. I've made countless similar promises. Don't even mention you, I've even mortgaged myself out of the bank countless times, and nobody has ever taken it seriously."

"Who knew these bastards would act so unpredictably, each of them targeting you and refusing to let go, and that's how things turned out."

"Are you telling the truth?" Li Wei found it hard to believe this silver-haired, naturally curly man.

"Of course, otherwise if I really wanted to mortgage you, I wouldn't only sell you for 2000 yen for mahjong, would I? At the very least, I would have to give you a 50% discount card from Yoshiyuki."

That makes it much more credible.

You can doubt Sakata Gintoki's character, but you can never doubt his ability to take advantage of others.

Given his personality—always looking for a bargain, considering it a loss if he doesn't find money on the street, and always thinking of getting something for free when he goes to Jiyuan—it would be too much of a loss for him to sell himself cheaply for such a simple reason.

"Then tell me honestly, how many of these marriage certificates have you signed?"

Sakata Gintoki covered his head and thought for a long time before finally blurting out, "I really can't remember these. It's been so many years. And many of them were promises I made when I was in a good mood, or just jotted down when I was drunk. I can't even count them all."

"But to be fair, Avi, you're quite popular. At least I've sold so many marriage certificates and almost never encountered a family that didn't want them."

Haha, are you praising me? But why don't I feel happy at all?

However, this guy said "almost," meaning that some people rejected his offer.

That's great. There are still normal people in this world. Li Wei regained a little more confidence in this crazy world.

Who are these few normal people?

"Who are the people who didn't sell their products?"

After the boy voiced his doubts, Sakata Gintoki pondered for a moment before giving an answer that Li Wei hadn't expected: "It's the girl you like the most, the Ryougi family of Kanbuko City."

At first, I discussed this matter with her parents, and everything was progressing smoothly. However, just when we were about to arrange the marriage, their daughter stopped us.

I don't need things that only women lacking emotional foundation value. Even without an arranged marriage, I will eventually beat all my rivals and bring the boy I like home.

That's what she said at the time.

Ryougi is still the same familiar Ryougi, confidently and honorably defeating all competitors. No wonder she is my favorite girl.

This is the best news the boy, who has suffered many setbacks today, has heard.

Although he didn't mind being betrothed to Ryougi, Li Wei was even happier than if he had been betrothed.

"Then there's the Busujima family and the Hiratsuka family." As he said this, the silver-haired man with naturally curly hair subconsciously touched his back, as if he had been beaten up there.

"I went to Busujima's house to ask if her son was interested, but her parents weren't home. Only Bang and Bomb were there. They were furious when they found out what I was looking for."

Gintoki, you're even thinking of trading away the feelings between children? I had no idea you'd fallen so low. Grit your teeth and watch me correct you!

After saying that, the two old men hung me up and beat me with a whole set of Flowing Water Rock Shattering Fist. I almost died.

Gintoki, you should thank them for sparing your life if you're still alive.

"Then the noise alerted Master Takashi and Mr. Akuma of the Hiratsuka family. I casually asked Shizuka if she wanted to sign a copy too, and as a result, I got beaten up by the two of them again, taking a whole set of Hadouken and Shungoku Satsu."

After enduring so much martial arts torture, he didn't even develop a chronic illness. Should we say that comedic characters are invincible, Principal?

"Finally, there was someone who refused the arranged marriage. I really can't remember who it was. I think she graduated from our kindergarten, but I have no recollection of her at all. She seemed to have a very low profile."

The silver-haired, naturally curly man racked his brains but couldn't remember who this unassuming little girl was: "I only remember her saying one thing to me at the time."

【Although I really want this, it will cause Avi a lot of trouble. Zhong accepts it without any regard for propriety, what good is ten thousand bushels of grain to me? Director, don't you know the meaning of "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you"? This so-called marriage certificate without Avi's consent is completely worthless.】

Then she burned the already written marriage contract without a second thought. Ugh, it made me, an adult, feel embarrassed, so the matter was dropped.

Upon hearing Gintoki say this, the boy's face showed surprise.

I had no idea there was such a gentleman in the kindergarten!

A gentleman is respectful and makes no mistakes; he is courteous and polite to others; all within the four seas are brothers.

This is my own problem. If I have the chance, I must find this child and have a deep and simple conversation with him.

"One last question," Levi pulled Icarus closer, "Have you ever arranged a marriage between me and an angel?"

"Well... although I, the headmaster, can say that all people under heaven are brothers, I'm really not familiar with those birdmen in the celestial realm."

I think you're more like a creditor to everyone in the world.

"This child calls himself a 'recreational angel,' do you have any clue why he calls himself that?"

"An all-purpose entertainment device? This... this doesn't mean what I'm thinking, does it?"

Upon hearing this title, Sakata Gintoki's expression turned strange: "Um, I heard that in Norse mythology, Valkyries guide warriors to heaven after they die, and while they're at it, they throw a party with them. Do you think this entertainment title is something the gods in heaven created because they see you've done good deeds all the time..."

"Sakata Gintoki, please grit your teeth."

Li Wei really didn't want to listen to this guy's nonsense, so he fired a cannon.

Her naturally curly silver hair turned into a charcoal-roasted marshmallow.

Chapter 37 Men’s friendship is so simple

Legend has it that magical girls have an ironclad rule: any opponent blasted by their beam cannon will be added to their harem.

In Sakata Gintoki's case, being hit by a cannonball will instantly sober him up, making him a kind of carbon gene biological calmer in the underworld.

"So what should we do now, Avi?"

Sakata Gintoki, blasted into complete darkness, looked utterly hopeless; in that state, he could easily become sworn brothers with Itoshiki Nozomi.

Using a child as a child husband might seem like a quick fix to pay off debts, but the engagement could lead to disaster.

“What can I do? I can only go to their door and apologize.” Now that things have come to this, Li Wei has relaxed: “The root of all the mistakes lies with us. This kind of thing is already very harmful to others. If we keep thinking about running away when things come to this, then it is a mistake that even the iron of the whole country cannot make.”

"Are we going to get killed?" The silver-haired, naturally curly-haired man couldn't help but shudder at the thought of those girls.

"There's nothing we can do about that. No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. But to make a mistake and not correct it is a mistake indeed."

The boy sighed: "Let's get ready, we're going to hell now to apologize to the devil."

How novel! I've always heard of demons deceiving people, but it's truly rare to find someone deceiving a demon.

From this perspective, the homeowner has achieved something.

"If all else fails, just leave me there and let them do whatever they want with me." Gintoki looked like he was going to die for his country. "I have a decent relationship with Geoticus, so they shouldn't want to kill me. At most, they'll hang me on hellfire and roast me for ten years."

"Gintoki, what are you saying? Of course we should share the blame if something goes wrong. After all, in other people's eyes, I'm the one who benefits from getting engaged to so many girls, right?" The boy looked at the silver-haired, naturally curly man strangely: "If you really have to be punished, then we'll each take half the blame. I won't abandon my teammate."

"..." Sakata Gintoki fell silent.

He had considered many possibilities before being arrested, but he still underestimated his own child's character.

Have you been corrupted by the adult world for too long? You can't even hold your head up in front of your own children. What right do you have to be an adult?

I was overwhelmed with shame and felt utterly ashamed.

Regardless of whether his old illness will relapse in the future, at least Sakata Gintoki is ashamed at this moment, and he will be much more normal for at least half a month.

"What if, I mean, what if," the silver-haired man with naturally curly hair couldn't help but say, "what if Geoticus gets so angry that he's planning to kill us both?"

"Of course we're running! You don't think I'm going to stay there and get stabbed, do you?" The boy's eyes looked even stranger. "Otherwise, what do you think I asked you to prepare? It's just in case this happens, and we each take a knife and fight our way out of hell!"

If you take a small beating, you should accept it; if you take a big beating, you should walk away. The premise of reasoning is that the other party is also reasonable. Even if you are in the wrong, you can't really take the lives of both of them, right?

The idea that a gentleman can be deceived in a way that is not true would not happen to Li Wei; only a bookish pedant would be so rigid.

The two had prepared for the worst. After settling Icarus in the kindergarten, they were ready to go to hell—it was already awkward enough, and bringing an angel along would make people think they were there to show off.

Fortunately, things didn't turn out the worst.

The imagined scenario—that as soon as the two entered the Gremory house, the patriarch Geotix would smash a cup as a signal, and five hundred burly demons would rush out from both sides shouting "waaagh!" and chop them into mincemeat—did not materialize.

The other party was somewhat surprised to personally greet them, then looked Li Wei up and down, and after showing a satisfied expression, invited them to the living room for a grand reception.

Anyone who didn't know better would think that nothing had happened during the day, and that Li Wei had come to successfully ask Rias for help.

"Hey, Geoticus, aren't you angry?" Sakata Gintoki asked awkwardly, sitting slouching in his chair.

"Of course I'm angry, I'm furious!" Geoticus glared at his old friend, making Gintoki shrink back in fear. "When has my precious daughter ever suffered such a loss? She's still hiding in the house and won't come out."

"However, the fact that you two have come to apologize has calmed my anger considerably." The head of the Gremory family glanced at Li Wei, his appreciation evident in his eyes: "Initially, I planned to capture both of you and put you on fire in hell for ten years, but since you're willing to admit your mistakes, I'll let it go."

Then I looked at a silver-haired man with naturally curly hair:

"I already knew you were an unreliable person, but I didn't expect you to be this unreliable now."

"Actually, I used to be quite reliable."

"Yes, I'm also very curious about where the silver samurai who used to wield Lake Toya and wreak havoc in Hell went."

"Sigh, those are all things of the past."

The two middle-aged men (the devils) inexplicably started reminiscing, and the scene was unexpectedly harmonious.

If it weren't for their clothes and identities indicating that these two were not ordinary people, in a different setting like a street food stall, they would at least look 80% like middle-aged men eating skewers.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Gremory, how did you meet Director Sakata?" Levi asked with some curiosity.

"My relationship with this guy can be described as a case of 'enemy turning into acquaintance.' There was a samurai named Tachibana Ukyo who, in order to save his lover Odagiri Kei, led a group of companions into Hell to obtain the Demon Flower. This guy was one of them." Rias's father glanced at Gintoki and began to recount the past.

"The flower was blooming on the Gremory family's land, but these guys only knew how to talk with knives. They clashed with our guards, and the two sides fought each other to the death, their brains almost turned into dog brains."

Sakata spotted me immediately and assumed I was the leader. He launched into a combo of ABC↓CA→BCAB↓↘→B followed by Instant Kill: Gale Three-Moon Slash, then Instant Kill: Quick Blade Chaos. I was so engrossed in the combo that I didn't fall to the ground for a long time.

How come nothing happened after going through all that?

Sakata Gintoki once said that they became friends after fighting, but the fight was really too intense, wasn't it?

"Of course, I wasn't at a disadvantage either. Taking advantage of his moment of respite, I countered with a Dragon Break Slash and instantly killed him."

Speaking of the past, Geotix sighed: "I was almost killed by this guy, but luckily I was more skilled."

No matter how advanced the skill, it is ultimately useless in the face of absolute numerical superiority.

"Looking back, I almost beat you to death back then, and I still feel a bit scared now."

"Hey, it's no big deal, we're all buddies." Sakata Gintoki waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned about the near-fatal danger.

After catching up, Geoticus turned his attention back to Levi.

He was an outstanding young man, and he was very satisfied with himself, his wife was very satisfied, and although his daughter didn't say anything, she could tell from her expression that she was extremely pleased.

"Li Wei, I'm giving you a task: appease my daughter. If you can do it, this matter will be over. If you can't, you'll stay in hell forever and appease my daughter."

Finally, the head of the Gremory family gave the order, his words leaving no room for refusal.

PS: Gintoki's combo and special move are from Moriya Minakata in The Last Blade.

Chapter 38 Dirty Deals

"I see."

All I can say is that I'll do my best; Li Wei isn't really confident.