Feeling the touch of Ishtar's excellent (?) figure pressed against his, Li Zihan's heart was incomparably calm.
It wasn't that Li Zihan was some modern-day Liu Xiahui, a man of unshakable self-control.
If he could sit still, he wouldn't be indulging his Chaotic Impulse day in and day out, flirting with girls everywhere.
In order to flirt with more girls while ensuring he could still take responsibility for them, he had even been researching time magecraft, to the point where he had completely broken through the limits of the Emiya family's magic, infinitely approaching a 'Miracle'.
To be honest, as a "time management master," Li Zihan was undoubtedly top-tier.
The reason was simple. Other masters of time management, no matter how skilled, only had twenty-four hours to work with.
Li Zihan was different.
He was an expert in time magecraft. Stretching a twenty-four-hour day into two hundred and forty hours was just a standard operation for him.
This was also why he was constantly provoking girls, yet the ones he had already won over were only slightly displeased, not driven to a yandere-like rage.
Because the amount of time Li Zihan spent with each of them never changed.
A boyfriend who could spend six or seven hours with you every day, sometimes even more than ten hours—no matter how you looked at it, that was incredibly attentive, perhaps even clingy.
Although the scumbag would sometimes go play with other girls, it would only be for half an hour or so (stretched to six to twelve hours, or even a full day when necessary).
Aside from being a bit of an eyesore, Li Zihan's philandering didn't affect their ability to act spoiled with their lover, play games together, chat, interact, cuddle, or even do embarrassing things.
Besides, if they did protest, a certain scumbag might just use his "persuade in bed" technique. Over time, the vast majority of the girls stopped caring too much about Li Zihan's constant flirting.
After all, no matter how many girls he chased, they still spent every day with their somewhat clingy boyfriend. As long as they ignored a few things, their love lives were actually quite blissful.
The girls only had twenty-four hours in a day. Li Zihan started with two hundred and forty.
That was the real reason he hadn't met a "hatchet" ending yet.
His enhanced version of the Emiya family's magecraft—Innate Time Control—was the greatest crutch that allowed Li Zihan to remain unrepentant and fool around everywhere.
So then, since he had basically no worries about the consequences, why was Li Zihan unmoved by the seduction of Ishtar, who, despite being a bit of a dork, was an absolute beauty?
The answer was simple.
"Why do I have such a troublesome sister!"
Within Ishtar's temple, the voice of a certain former goddess of the underworld rang out, laced with a hint of fury.
Under Ishtar's somewhat horrified gaze, the fist of the goddess—who, after exchanging divinities and gaining the divinity of the sun, was no longer bound to the underworld and could enter and exit it freely—was rapidly growing larger.
True Name: Ereshkigal
Class: Lancer
Strength: A
Endurance: B
Agility: D
Mana: B
Luck: B
Noble Phantasm: A
Ereshkigal's Strength is A.
What does that even mean?
To understand A-rank Strength, one needs to look at the stats of other Servants.
Cú Chulainn, one of Europe's three great heroes, has B-rank Strength. Karna, one of the three "golden benchmarks," has a B. Achilles, the greatest Greek hero after Heracles, has a B+. The Grand Chef, EMIYA, has a pitiful D.
The true protagonist of Arthurian legend, Lancelot, has an A after going berserk. The king of the Sixth Singularity, Cú Chulainn Alter, also has an A.
Ereshkigal's Strength surpassed a host of manly men like the Big Dog, the Little Sun, and a non-sprinting Achilles, putting her on par with Berserker Lancelot and Cú Chulainn Alter.
And...
Ereshkigal possessed a skill to temporarily boost her own stats—Mana Burst.
Mana Burst (Cage) A+
Ereshkigal is a diligent, serious, yet somewhat pessimistic goddess.
Whenever she has a spare moment, she accumulates mana in her spear-cage to use in battle.
One could only imagine the kind of force such a goddess would unleash when angered.
Like a meteor streaking through the night sky, the goddess named Ishtar let out a bloodcurdling scream and was sent flying.
Despite being the goddess of love and beauty, the prototype for femme fatales like Freya and Aphrodite, she made her exit like a common comedian.
"Eresh, don't you think you were a little too rough?"
Watching the Useless Goddess get sent flying, Li Zihan, the one who actually deserved the beating, swallowed hard.
Although the Useless Goddess had B-rank Endurance and definitely wouldn't be seriously injured from the fall, seeing her fly off like that was truly frightening.
And it probably hurt quite a bit.
Li Zihan began to recall the magic potions in his spatial pouch, pondering which ones were suitable for pain relief and treating bruises.
"Feeling sorry for her?"
Miss Ereshkigal, who had long sensed that a certain someone's relationship with Ishtar was anything but ordinary, glared at the man who had just proposed to her.
When he proposed, this guy had also admitted to being intimate with many other girls.
Miss Ereshkigal had been furious. She had slapped him hard several times and wanted to leave.
But in the end, she didn't.
He was, after all, the only person in her entire life willing to forsake all his radiance in exchange for the possibility of her dancing in a sunlit garden.
However, that being said, when she actually saw him being all lovey-dovey with another girl—especially with Ishtar and her unsettling smile—she just couldn't control herself...
And punched Ishtar.
"Hahaha."
Knowing Ishtar was fine but still feeling a little bad for her, Li Zihan let out an awkward laugh, imitating Theresa.
"It's almost time to fight Mother, and you still have the nerve to chase after girls. You're really too much."
Ereshkigal, knowing full well that this guy was about to face the awakening primordial mother goddess, said with puffed cheeks.
"And you're chasing after a woman like Ishtar, of all people?"
"I'm sorry."
The boy, who had expected his romantic path to hit some turbulence after confessing to Miss Ereshkigal, was a little dazed at having been forgiven so easily. His gaze drifted away.
Could he just say it was because he was a pretty-face chaser?
Besides, if he agreed to Ishtar's proposal, they'd probably reach home base pretty soon.
So Li Zihan thought.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."
"I'll take you to familiarize yourself with the authorities of the underworld."
The former mistress of the underworld grabbed her intended husband's arm and began to walk toward her domain.
Then, as if sensing something, she turned back to her lover.
Her voice became hesitant and stammering, looking utterly adorable.
"Also, if you... really need to solve that kind of problem, you can..."
"Can what?"
Li Zihan's eyes lit up, and a mischievous smile played on his lips.
"I-If it's just the bare minimum, I can help you solve it."
The goddess spun around, not letting him see her face, which had turned an excessive shade of red.