Jun An's team split into two groups. Fu Hua went with Orange and Cyan Vita to search for information about Moriarty in Froth, while Jun An wandered around Froth with Vita Prime, looking for traces of Sa.
The reason Jun An stayed with Vita was simple—he was keeping an eye on her. Someone like her couldn't be left alone; it would be too worrying.
However, their search wasn't particularly effective. Jun An only managed to gain a general understanding of Froth's terrain and glimpsed a portion of Sa's limbs in the sky.
Jun An even tried flying up for a closer look, but it was merely Sa's projection, like a mirage, not the real Sa.
Having found nothing useful, Jun An returned with Vita to the home they shared with the Little Vitas. After all, even Jun An could get tired from spending several days in the Sea of Quanta with his avatar, carrying supplies while swimming through the ocean depths with Vita and Prometheus.
His avatar did, after all, consume Jun An's actual Honkai energy.
Of course, there were many ways to rest, and massage was one of them.
"Ahh~ That feels good," Jun An sighed as he lay on the large bed.
As soon as they returned to the room, Vita skillfully knelt down and tied up her long hair, just so Jun An could see her face clearly during the massage, enhancing his satisfaction.
After several days of careful training, Vita had not only developed a proper service mindset, but her previously terrible technique had finally become somewhat acceptable.
She was no longer just mechanically going through the motions but had learned some alternative methods to solve the problem.
Since Jun An and Vita's transaction time was limited—meaning her time as his sexual slave would end when their cooperation concluded—the compulsions from the Precepts would remain, but the time for free services would be over, and they'd have to negotiate new terms.
Currently, Vita owed him five days, which meant 120 hours of service to Jun An. If he could cure the Little Vitas' memory loss, that debt would increase further.
But not taking full advantage of this time to completely reshape Vita into his form would be quite a shame.
"Speaking of which, since you're Sa's fragment using the body Sa had before her spiritual ascension, couldn't you use that connection to find Sa?" Jun An asked.
"If I could do that, I would have done it long ago," Vita replied with a pout. "Maybe I could have before my adorable sisters were separated from me, but she has already separated what she considered her 'excess virtues.' Besides, Sa wouldn't allow a situation where you could pleasure me and she would feel it too."
A truly excellent tool, after all, dies when its master dies, but not the other way around.
"That's precisely why I need your power to help me. My only remaining connection to Sa is that she still holds my lifeline," Vita explained.
Being near Jun An was currently manageable; under his protection, she could temporarily gain freedom and breathe easily from Sa's crushing pressure.
But this only treated the symptoms, not the cause. She couldn't stay by Jun An's side forever just to breathe. She wanted to go out and find her own fun.
But if resolving the Sa situation was a prerequisite...
Vita guided the little Captain through the skylight on her chest to continue the massage. "Do you have the power to defeat Sa?" she asked.
"My former self might have been able to solo her, but now I'd say it's 30-70, with me breaking apart in three minutes."
Jun An was confident he could maintain a top-ten position among Earth's existing combat strength, but the power gap was simply too vast. Anyone below Finality-level would be instantly defeated.
Back when he led the three founders to the moon, it was only because Jun An was at his peak strength and Kiana had absorbed about half of the Finality's power, significantly weakening Kevin, giving them a chance.
Now, Jun An's strength was barely a tenth of what it once was. Unless Sa turned out to be as weak as in the original storyline—at most Herrscher of the End Kevin level—there might be a chance to fight.
But the problem was that in this ridiculous world, Sa's strength had certainly increased. Whether it was doubled or more, Jun An wasn't sure.
"Then why come here at all?" Vita asked, not quite understanding.
From her perspective, Jun An was actively seeking death. If it were her, after finding Griseo and Fu Hua, she would immediately capture the remaining seven Little Vitas and take them back to Earth, problem solved.
But Jun An clearly had other plans. He even had the leisure to play house with her despite these schemes.
"That's because the reward is rich enough," Jun An replied.
He helped Vita up, then tore open the silk fabric blocking the good view through the skylight he'd opened on her chest, his hand grasping the pleasingly soft breast.
Seeing the Captain's enjoying expression, Vita fell into thought.
Though she knew the Captain was risking danger here for her body, and that helping her deal with Moriarty was surely a pretext, at least ten percent of his motivation had to be for her body, right?
Coming for her body ≈ coming for her.
Vita's face reddened at the thought. "D-do you like me that much?"
Though it was just a transaction, Vita inexplicably felt a ticklish sensation in her heart.
"Well, you do have such a beautiful face," Jun An replied brazenly, like a playboy.
But it didn't matter—after all, she wasn't one of his Valkyries, and no one here would hear him. Besides, appreciating beauty was natural for everyone, wasn't it?
"Am I more beautiful than anyone else you know?" Vita deliberately asked.
"Oh, that's impossible," Jun An answered without hesitation. "But if I were forced to judge solely on appearance, then... world's number one?"
[...]
The System recalled that one time with "Theresa is the world's cutest, and the other Valkyries tie for first place with Theresa."
"!!!"
Vita suddenly felt her head heating up. No one had ever said such sweet words to her before, making her heart race.
"Even if you flatter me like this, we still only have a transactional relationship!" Vita declared, as if warning herself. "Captain, you don't think you can win me over with just a few deceptive words, do you?"
"That's a shame."
Jun An was naturally fine with either outcome—if he could win Vita over, great; if not, it didn't matter. For now, he didn't want to establish any emotional foundation with Vita.
After all, it was like playing a game—if you had all the CGs from the start, who would bother going back to see the story?
Before Jun An could think much further, Vita grabbed his shoulders. After a swift reversal, their positions were flipped, with Jun An becoming the one pinned down.
"Ouch, what are you doing?" Jun An asked.
Being forcefully flipped while still joined with her, switching from offense to defense—this was an experience Jun An had never had before, and he nearly lost his haploid cells.
"Though my technique isn't great, I do have a secret move," Vita said.
She lowered her head and actively offered her first kiss.
"!!!"
Jun An was genuinely shocked by Vita's action. Though Vita had been proactive before, Jun An could clearly feel some resistance, stemming from the so-called "transaction."
Although that resistance had diminished under Jun An's disciplinary training, and she had learned to accommodate him, it still existed.
But the Captain could clearly feel this time was different. The sweet, soft treat in his mouth made Jun An shudder, instantly losing a large number of haploid cells.
Seeing the excellent effect of her action, Vita wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth, her face flushed.
Though she had been setting the stage for a long time, this was the first time she had defeated the Captain's big, long BOSS before reaching her own peak.
"Hehe, the Captain is so innocent, having such a strong reaction to just one kiss~"
Vita suddenly felt intoxicated by this sense of victory, but she still told herself in her heart: this is just a transaction!
This is just part of the deal!
She was only demonstrating her service spirit, definitely not because she couldn't resist...
But before Vita could enjoy her victory for long, someone knocked on the door, and a Little Vita's voice came through.
"Sister Vita, are you there?"
"!!!"
"Ouch~"
Vita's mind instantly tensed, nearly causing Jun An to lose his haploid cells again.
"That's Little Orange. What's she doing here?"
"Perfect timing!"
After hearing a Little Vita had arrived, Vita clearly became nervous. Jun An immediately seized the opportunity to counterattack by pushing her to the floor.
The sound of Vita falling to the floor immediately caught Orange's attention outside the door. "Sister Vita, are you okay? What was that loud noise?"
Jun An whispered in her ear: "Well? If you don't answer, she'll get suspicious~"