My name is Levi, and I work in anime.

"So, what brings you here, Yang Nai?"

From various perspectives, addressing an older student by their first name is disrespectful and, in old Japan, might have resulted in a serious reprimand. However, from another perspective, it can be seen as a sign of a close relationship. Being overly polite might make it seem like the relationship isn't close enough.

Moreover, thanks to the lie detector test a few days ago, the boy almost blurted out the question, "Are you Xiangcao?"

"Does she not even call Yang Nai-jie anymore? She used to be so affectionate. This child is getting less and less adorable as she grows up. I'm so sad~"

That's what she said, but neither her tone nor her expression showed the slightest bit of sadness.

"Stop making trouble."

"Call me Yang Nai-jie (older sister)."

"We're already that close, is there really any need for this?"

"Call me Yang Nai-jie (older sister)."

"Is this some kind of weird game? Addressing someone is a war. In this war, whoever addresses you respectfully first loses? Miss Haruno wants me to call her 'older sister'~ A battle of wits between childhood friends?"

“Call her Haruno-neechan.” The large Yukinoshita repeated her opinion over and over again, like a broken record.

"Alright then. Haruno... Sister?"

Although it still felt a little strange, theoretically there was nothing wrong with calling her "Yono-neechan" (older sister Yang Nai). Seeing how serious and determined she was, Li Wei called out to her helplessly.

"!!!"

“——Great!”

After the boy tilted his head and tentatively called out, Yang Nai on the other side suddenly opened her eyes wide, emitting a strange light, and subconsciously opened her arms, wanting to hug Li Wei and do this and that, and then do this and that with affection.

Of course, the boy easily dodged such a weak attack.

"Speak quickly if you have something to say, my time is very valuable." Li Wei said seriously, "What brings you here this time? Is it something that requires men to show up, and you're looking for me to conscript men?"

Although the elementary school student's attempt to adopt him failed, they still formed a friendship. The three Yukinoshitas interacted with him quite frequently, and for events that required a male presence, they would often ask Levi for help.

"That's pretty much what it means."

Whether intentionally or accidentally, Yang Nai pulled a small card from her chest, imbued with her warmth and scent, and gestured for the boy to accept it.

“Our family went through a lot of trouble to get these. They’re invitations to the highest-level parties in all of Tokyo. We only managed to get three.” The large Yukinoshita said, “Don’t you want to see what high society is like? This time you don’t have to be your mom’s date like last time. You can just stay with Yukino the whole time, okay?”

She's such a good older sister, in every sense of the word.

But that invitation looks a little familiar; it's like I've seen it somewhere before.

Is this banquet very important?

“Of course, this is a banquet hosted by a major conglomerate, one of the top conglomerates in all of Japan.” Yang Nai’s tone was somewhat longing: “The Yukinoshita family is somewhat famous in their hometown of Chiba City, but compared to these truly established aristocratic families, it’s like a firefly compared to the bright moon in the sky, it’s far inferior.”

More importantly, it's said that people from the underworld will be attending this banquet.

"The Other World?" Li Wei raised an eyebrow.

“That’s right, people from the other world.” Yukinoshita said in a relaxed and cheerful tone: “They are legendary beings such as magicians, espers, fantasy species, magical beasts, and monsters. Even a noble family like the Daizo family rarely gives them the honor of meeting a powerful member.”

"If you can get to know a few people like that at the banquet, it will definitely be a great help to your future."

"Actually, the inner world isn't as mysterious as you think," the boy said. "They also need to live, go to school, and eat. Apart from having special abilities or other extraordinary qualities, they're not fundamentally different from ordinary people. You might even know someone from the inner world without realizing it."

People always like to romanticize and emotionalize what they yearn for, and the end result is either that the emperor uses a golden hoe to work in the fields, the empress of the East Palace rolls pancakes, and the empress of the West Palace peels scallions, or that beautiful girls don't poop [beep], they only poop rainbows.

However, Li Wei, who had actually interacted with magicians, knew very well that most of them were far more despicable and shameless than ordinary people. The Tohsaka family, capitalists who only occasionally exploited their employees in Fuyuki City, were like saints in front of a group of insects in the Otherworld, standing out awkwardly among the other magicians.

"You make it sound so easy, as if you're a VIP from the other world." The large Yukinoshita stuffed the card into Levi's hand: "Anyway, you must go, get along well with Yukino, help her take care of her, and help your mother out while you're at it."

"Aren't you going?" The boy didn't take it.

“We only managed to get three invitations, so we won’t be going.” Yang Nai’s tone was relaxed, as if she hadn’t lost anything very important. “You have to keep trying! Mom said she’ll come visit us again sometime.”

"No need, you can keep it yourself."

Li Wei stuffed the small card back into Yang Nai's chest and said very seriously, "I have my own way."

Chapter 19 Massage is a craft

"...Do you have the connections to get an invitation to a gala of this caliber?"

The large snow-covered figure looked the boy up and down, as if she were getting to know him all over again.

From childhood to adulthood, apart from being a little more handsome, having better medical skills, being more popular, having better grades, and having more girls who like him, he doesn't seem to have anything special about him.

He lived in an ordinary middle-class community and volunteered at a kindergarten every week. I never saw him come into contact with any high-society figures.

The Ryougi family is quite powerful, but it seems they weren't invited to this party. Could it be that this kid is trying to get an invitation from the Hiratsuka family?

“Some things don’t necessarily require connections to get,” the boy said. “Besides, I hate using dirty adult terms like ‘connections’ to describe friendship.”

"Really? Then I'm really looking forward to it!"

As she said this, Yang Nai's tone became much gentler.

It's clear she's expecting something, but she's not placing all her hopes on herself.

After all, I'm an adult now, and I'm gradually taking over family affairs. I can no longer fantasize about miracles and the future filled with the saccharine scent of romance like I did in high school. This is the price of growing up.

"Will you choose to dance with your mother again, just like before?"

"Guess," the boy replied.

In terms of dance skills alone, the two children are about the same as Mrs. Yukinoshita, but in terms of experience, Mrs. Yukinoshita is undoubtedly far superior to her daughter.

Unlike her shy daughter, Yukinoshita, who is much more experienced, is much larger. Even for someone like Levi who isn't very good at changing poses, she can instantly understand his movements and change her body language to make him move more gracefully.

This is the overwhelming power that a seasoned, experienced older woman can deliver to her calloused daughter.

"Then, let's keep in touch when you have time?"

"OK, all right."

After bidding farewell to the heavy snow, Li Wei returned home alone. The journey was smooth, and nothing unexpected happened.

As usual, I exercised, went online to help people with their medical problems, reviewed my textbooks, and went to sleep, giving my teacher a massage.

You seem to have something on your mind today.

In the boy's dream, the queen of the land of the dead, a purple-haired Valkyrie with an enviable figure, named Scáthach, was enjoying a massage from her disciple while saying this.

As a successor to the medical traditions of Dr. Bian, he possessed an exceptional grasp of the body's veins and acupoints, making massage, acupuncture, and bloodletting procedures effortless. When his teacher, Scáthach, first discovered this ability when he was ten years old, she naturally required him to massage her daily.

There was no room for negotiation; it was as if the queen was giving orders to her subjects.

Li Wei said he didn't care.

According to etiquette, as a stranger who had trespassed into Scáthach's territory, it was only natural for the host to ask the guest to do something. Moreover, the two had a master-disciple relationship, and she had taught him magic and martial arts for many years; a mere massage was simply a matter of course.

The only slight difference is that when giving massages to Hiratsuka or Saeko Ryougi, the Shadow Queen's physical condition far surpasses that of ordinary people, so there's no need to worry about injuring her with too much force.

In her words, since there are only two living people here, wearing too many clothes would affect the massage effect.

Li Wei remained indifferent to this.

The only problem is that Scáthach-sensei doesn't always appear here consistently. Just like how three personalities exist simultaneously within Ryougi's body, another version of her often appears in Scáthach-sensei's realm—Skadi, Levi's magic teacher.

At first, it was indeed difficult to distinguish them, and there were even instances where the wrong name was called during mana replenishment, resulting in Li Wei suffering extremely severe punishment.

However, over time, he was able to discern a little bit of it.

For example, Skadi is slightly younger, her breasts are slightly perkier than Scáthach's, and her skin is slightly smoother. Scáthach has a more assertive personality, more evenly distributed muscles, and is more toned and elastic.

It's been Scáthach-sensei all by herself lately, so there's no need to worry about mistaking her for someone else.

"These are all things that happen in the real world."

Li Wei gently massaged the Yongquan acupoint with both hands. The Shadow Queen's arch curved into a seductive curve. Between her slightly reddened, rounded heel and delicate forefoot, the sole of her foot, with its fine wrinkles and lines, was slightly concave, forming an attractive and adorable indentation. The pale blue veins on the instep were clearly visible. Her five delicate toes playfully twisted and spread open with the boy's movements, and a satisfied expression appeared on her face.

"I bet it has something to do with girls?"

"..."

"Oh? Judging from your expression, I guessed right."

The purple-haired queen squinted comfortably: "After all, you're a young person your age. It's hard to imagine anything else besides the opposite sex that could make you feel conflicted."

"Hmph, how adorable, my disciple."

As a reward for the massage, Her Majesty held Livy in her arms, just as she had done many times before, allowing him to smell her body fragrance.

Perhaps because they had been together for a long time, the boy always felt a sense of peace and tranquility whenever he smelled a familiar scent.

As an orphan, Livi thoroughly enjoyed being cared for by his teacher Scáthach, which seemed to compensate for the lack of maternal love in his childhood. Perhaps it was because Scáthach discovered this that she used it as a way to reward her disciple.

This is Her Majesty the Queen of the Land of Shadows, a ruler who combines kindness and severity, exuding both majesty and grandeur.

"I'm not interested in what happens to you in the real world. After all, you're still human. Your teacher is quite open-minded in this regard."

As she said this, Scáthach hugged him a little tighter. An ordinary person might feel uncomfortable, but it was just right for Levi.

"But remember, you belong to me. When your life comes to an end a hundred years from now, you must stay here with me forever."

That's what Sister Enma said too. Do you people who control life and death and guide others like to talk like that?

However, it's clear that Enma is no match for Scáthach, and it's likely that her soul will eventually be taken away.

"Take it, this might cheer you up."

As she spoke, she pulled out a key from somewhere and placed it in Li Wei's hand: "This is the key to the treasure vault of the Land of the Dead. You can take whatever you want from inside. I'm sure you'll find something suitable."

"Yes, teacher."

There were no need for formalities or thank yous; their relationship had long since transcended politeness.

Chapter 20: The Older Female Teacher Will Eventually Reach Her End

In the faculty apartment assigned by Hakuo Academy, there lives Hiratsuka Shizuka, a 27-year-old female teacher who is eager to get married.

She lifted her leg, changed into high-quality black stockings that felt great to the touch, and revealed the beautiful, well-proportioned curves of her legs.

Because they were both martial artists, their eyesight was excellent. During the process, Li Wei could even easily see Hiratsuka-nee's underwear—it was also black, perfectly matching her bra. Generally speaking, experienced kids understand one thing: if a girl is wearing this outfit and changes clothes in front of you without hesitation, there are only two possibilities.

Either you've already won her over, or she might have come prepared and you're the prey.

Either the two of you are already very close, like you've known each other since childhood, and you don't see each other as opposite sexes at all.

Based on Li Wei's experience, Hiratsuka is clearly the latter.

Their friendship has remained strong and unchanged over the years, truly standing the test of time. The lie detector test mentioned that there were older, desperate female teachers at the school, including myself. Looking back, Hiratsuka-nee really did a lot to help me shield myself from them; she truly is as trustworthy as ever.

Come to think of it, how could Hiratsuka-nee possibly have feelings for him, or even have the same Genji-like plans as some half-baked mage, treating him, who was like a brother to her, as prey?

You must know that she never puts any defenses on him, and even gave him the keys to her front door and bedroom. Young man, you absolutely cannot betray this trust!

Of course, even though he often helped Hiratsuka-nee with her laundry, he had touched all of her underwear, and in some unavoidable situations, he had even seen his homeroom teacher's private parts. But even in those situations, Li Wei was still able to refrain from looking at anything indecent and strictly adhere to the principles of a gentleman.

"So, what brings you here?"

The female teacher's voice carried a hint of helplessness, as if she had seen the pig she had raised run off to graze on the cabbages, without even glancing back at her.

"Um, the big collector is hosting a banquet this weekend, and I'd like to ask Hiratsuka-nee to be my date." Li Wei's voice was sincere, honest, and unpretentious, just like his long-standing personality.

"Huh!? Why...why me?" This answer clearly surprised the older female teacher: "Why don't you go to Saeko about this?"

"But Saeko is preparing for the national tournament and can't find the time at all."

The boy was also helpless about this, as the timing just happened to coincide with the events.

Last year at the National Kendo Championships, Saeko suffered a crushing defeat to Sayo Kisaragi from Sanjou Academy. She has been training diligently for the past year, hoping to avenge her defeat. Under these circumstances, Li Wei really couldn't afford to interfere with her training time.

Ryougi is far away in Kanbuko City, and Tohsaka is even further away, currently studying at the Clock Tower in England. After counting all the girls he's close to, compatible with, and who he has time for, Hiratsuka-nee is the only one left.

After explaining his problem, Li Wei looked at her with a pitiful expression, hoping that Hiratsuka-nee would help him.

Although Li Wei usually presents a mature and reliable image to outsiders, he also knows how to use his good looks to his advantage and act cute when necessary.

When things reach an impasse, they must change; change leads to progress; progress leads to longevity.

Just like it is now.

"!!!!!!"

Instantly, the older female teacher's heart rate nearly doubled.

"So cute, so cute, so cute, so cute, so cute."