Here was a vast room, dominated by an immense bed where numerous people lay. To put it simply, it was a scene of idyllic harmony between one man and N beautiful women, devoid of jealousy, tsundere antics, malice, or sharp tongues—a truly harmonious and loving spectacle.

Lin Luo felt utterly bewildered. How had things escalated to this point? What had happened before? Ah, he seemed to have forgotten… Never mind, it wasn't a major issue anyway; at a time like this, one should simply follow instinct.

The girls in his embrace shifted constantly: one moment it was Misaka, the next Rin, then Mugino, and suddenly Queen-sama herself… Wait, why was Mei Ling here? Wow, so many Misaka Sisters had joined in too! Hold on, why was Haruhi present? Dizzying, now the one cradled in his arms was the Great Goddess?

Eh? The shrine maiden in white and red beside him was engaged in a yuri embrace with the dullard in black and white… Sister Yomi and little sister Kagura were sharing a kiss… The Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha trio was being harmonious and affectionate as always… The dashing head maid was teasing the young mistress again, while the second young mistress watched with undisguised envy… Hold on, is that Zilla here? Zilla is here!

…Ah, this is completely shameless, what a terribly scandalous scene this is!

Watching more and more familiar faces appear in the room, coupling up here and there—how to put it… Lin Luo felt this was nothing short of paradise.

Despite the overwhelming incongruity and the temporal/dimensional chaos, perhaps… this was the harmonious and loving life of the new era?

He didn't know how long it had been, but Lin Luo felt as though he couldn't move a single finger. This must be what they meant by 'dying of exhaustion.' Instinctively, he opened his eyes, and what he saw was…

No Misaka, no Rin, no Misaka Sisters, no Danmachi cast, no Nanoha trio, nor the Touhou loli legion. Before him was only a wooden ceiling.

Ah… it was just a dream.

Staring at the ceiling for a long moment, Lin Luo finally realized it: he had just had a lewd dream… Right, how could something so perfectly harmonious and loving ever happen in reality?

Thinking this, Lin Luo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, there was a faint twinge of disappointment, but he would never admit to that sliver of letdown… Speaking of which, for him to have such a dream—was it truly a case of 'daytime thoughts manifesting at night'? Too wicked, too lacking in moral fiber.

Lin Luo savored the infinite beauty of the dream while simultaneously employing a self-scorn skill. Though his feelings were complicated, he found a strange enjoyment in the contradiction. However, he soon didn't have time to dwell in this conflicted state.

His mind gradually cleared, the previously fuzzy thoughts snapping into sharp focus… Earlier, while descending the mountain with Aoko, he had encountered an incredibly potent black cat. Although he had defeated it with his superior strength, he had inexplicably fainted…

Lin Luo surveyed his surroundings. He recognized this room; it was the residence of Touko Aozaki. This meant that after losing consciousness, he must have been brought here by Aoko or Touko. Yes, that must be it?

But why did he suddenly collapse? Was it a final desperate counterattack from that damned black cat? Indeed, it was a cunning feline… A cat?

Wait, a cat? A black cat?

A thought abruptly struck Lin Luo, making it impossible for him to remain calm.

While he wasn't exactly a paragon of purity, having such an absurdly detailed dream still seemed unlikely. Even accounting for 'daytime thoughts,' he shouldn't be this depraved… This meant that the reason for the dream must have been the influence of an external force.

And in Lin Luo's memory, the only entity capable of doing such a thing, and one connected to a cat, was Len, the familiar of the True Ancestor among True Ancestors, Hime.

Len, a familiar created from a human soul and a cat's remains, operated in the guise of a black cat, only manifesting in human form within dreams. Although she was Hime's familiar, their relationship wasn't strictly one of master and servant.

Len's ability, or rather, her nature, was that of a Dream Demon—literally causing her target to experience a specific type of dream: an erotic dream. The benefit of this was that the target's desired characters would appear in the dream, leading to the target’s arousal, which she would then absorb as energy.

However, Len’s true form was just an ordinary black cat, not possessing the distinct appearance of that knock-off Doraemon. Logically, it shouldn't have been her. Moreover, if it was Len, why would she seek him out? If she truly needed to absorb energy, she could simply find any man and induce a dream; there was no need to go to such lengths to confront him, a mere 'Magician.'

This was what Lin Luo couldn't fathom. Furthermore, Len's power was immense. Though he didn't know her exact limits, her 'copy,' Shiro Ren, was infinitely close to the Sixth Magic, possessing strength far exceeding ordinary True Ancestors and Dead Apostles, and Len seemed to be slightly stronger than Shiro Ren… Thus, Len's might was imaginable.

With his current strength, he stood no chance against Len, perhaps not even against ordinary True Ancestors or Dead Apostles… The multitude of contradictions left Lin Luo completely bewildered.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Touko appeared before Lin Luo with an air of detached indifference. "Awake?"

"Uh… yeah." Lin Luo blinked, nodded, and then asked, "Did you rescue me?"

"Aoko did." Touko shook her head, then stated, "Aoko already explained the situation to me."

"I see… Regardless, I must thank you both."

"No need for thanks. In fact, I should be thanking you. If it weren't for you, Aoko would have been in serious danger this time."

Maybe not, Lin Luo thought. I probably dragged her into danger. But there was no point in voicing that, so he skipped it. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Where are Aoko and that cat?"

"Outside," Touko said, pointing toward the door.

…In a bamboo grove, Aoko squatted on the grass, giggling while holding a blade of catnip. Before her sat the strangely shaped cat… Though it felt redundant, Lin Luo had to admit the cat was certainly unique in its appearance.

The monstrous cat had completely lost its previous aggression and stayed docilely beside Aoko, batting playfully at the catnip in her hand.

No matter how he looked at it, this bizarre cat bore little resemblance to Len's image. Given his knowledge of the Nasuverse, Lin Luo couldn't recall any familiar taking such a form, so he turned to Touko and asked, "What do you make of this cat?"

Lin Luo figured someone with her vast knowledge might know something.

"A Maneki Neko," Touko stated flatly.

"Huh?" Lin Luo froze. A Maneki Neko? This thing was a beckoning cat? Impossible!

"Not an ordinary Maneki Neko…" Noticing the doubt in Lin Luo’s eyes, Touko elaborated, "It's a very unique familiar in the Magecraft world. It absorbs magical energy and excretes magic crystals, possessing the characteristics of a beckoning cat. However, because it only existed in the distant past, it has no specific name. I've only encountered references in texts and always assumed it had vanished. I didn't expect…"

Seems to have quite the pedigree, Lin Luo thought, somewhat astonished after hearing Touko’s explanation. According to her, this bizarre cat was indeed incredibly formidable. Being able to endlessly produce magic crystals as long as there was mana—it was practically a boundless mana battery… But if so, it definitely wasn't Len?

Lin Luo felt a slight wave of disappointment about that.

They continued discussing the Maneki Neko for a while. Lin Luo glanced up at the sky and realized it was already morning. He couldn't help but ask, "How long was I out?"

"Aoko brought you here yesterday evening," Touko replied.

An entire night has passed? Lin Luo worried momentarily about the lolis back home. Would they be concerned? However, he didn't feel overly anxious; they were all adults now, and an overnight absence wasn't a huge deal… Wait, he had that backward—they were all still minors, in every sense of the word.

"Take this cat with you," Touko suddenly said.

"Eh?" Lin Luo was taken aback. From Touko's words, this strange cat was clearly a treasure. Being able to infinitely generate magic crystals was almost equivalent to having inexhaustible mana; no Magician would remain unmoved. While he had considered keeping the Maneki Neko for himself, it was on Touko's territory, so he hadn't harbored strong ambitions. Hearing her say this now felt peculiar.

"Don't you want it?"

"You caught it, so it’s naturally yours. Besides…" She trailed off, deciding it was inconvenient to explain. "In any case, take this cat. It's of no use to me here."

"Oh, alright then," Lin Luo nodded. Since Touko was insistent, refusing would seem disingenuous. Although he didn't particularly need the Maneki Neko, if he gave it to Rin, her strength would undoubtedly increase by a massive margin. But…

"Will she agree to it?" Lin Luo gestured helplessly toward Aoko, who was still playing with the cat. The moment the loli laid eyes on it, she declared she wanted to keep it; snatching the cat from her hands seemed like it would be quite difficult.

"It's not an issue," Touko said calmly. To her, it wasn't a significant problem.

She then called Aoko over and explained the situation. Sure enough, before she finished, Aoko let out a vigorous protest. However, when Touko mentioned, "If you want to keep this cat, you must enter the world of Magicians," Aoko's outcry immediately subsided.

Finally, after much hesitation, Aoko grudgingly handed the Maneki Neko over to Lin Luo.

However, the cat seemed somewhat fearful of Lin Luo, perhaps due to being roughed up earlier. The moment he took hold of it, it let out a 'meow' and jumped straight back into Aoko's arms. Lin Luo instinctively reached out to grab it, resulting in…

"Hey! You grabbed me!" Aoko glared at him, her face darkening, and said.

"Ah!" Lin Luo realized that, without thinking, he had grabbed Aoko’s… chest. Even though it was flat as a pancake, still… He retracted his hand awkwardly, mumbling, "Sorry… It's a habit."

"Huh? A habit?" Aoko froze, staring at him as if he were a pervert.

"..." Even Touko's gaze upon him carried a hint of strangeness.