Regardless, these matters would have to be confirmed one by one after arriving at St. Lux Academy. For now, he still had a few days at this school. With no pressing matters, he could organize and practice his current abilities.
Alistair currently had three primary useful abilities: his Stand [The World], the 'Likeability Up' aura (for the opposite sex) from the strange item, and the self-healing ability from the Horse Talisman combined with the Stone Mask. As for blood-sucking, Alistair still felt a bit of resistance toward it, so it didn't quite count yet.
These belonged to combat and daily life, respectively. The benefits of the likeability aura were obvious, effectively increasing his ability to find girls. However, before shaking off his status as 'prey,' the utility of this ability was much lower. If he recklessly chased girls and converted 'Desire' now, he might attract that person back very quickly.
If he were 'sucked dry' again, Alistair wasn't confident he could find another strange item to restart his path to ascension. So, Alistair likely needed to lay low. Before going to St. Lux Academy, he would probably have to remain celibate. He had originally planned to have his way with Akane Nanao before leaving, but now it seemed that would have to wait until he returned from the exchange program.
Then there was the Stand [The World]. Although he could control it roughly, his 'Precision' was likely below even the original stats. Not because Alistair lacked potential, but because [The World] had been damaged during that previous devastation.
A Stand is a product of both physical and spiritual harmony. Alistair's body and soul had both been 'distorted' to varying degrees, so his control over [The World] was naturally obstructed. This was another reason why he planned to lay low at St. Lux Academy; it was hard for him to exercise fine control. If he accidentally pulverized someone in a literal, physical sense, his troubles would be endless.
"Tch, I feel like I would have been better off transmigrating to a purely slice-of-life world. At least the 'rich heir' status would let me live a comfortable life forever."
Alistair scratched his hair, muttering to himself.
"Alistair-kun, here are your egg tarts and strawberry daifuku~"
Liliana placed the tray in front of Alistair, her face beaming with a smile, her voice filled with joy.
"Thanks. Liliana, how have you been feeling lately?"
Looking at the lobby, which was still empty of customers, Alistair reached out and caught Liliana's hand as she lingered there. If it wasn't busy, it was a good time to chat. Liliana's hesitant posture clearly suggested she was waiting for him to stop her so she'd have an excuse to stay.
"I've been great! Everyone is very nice to me, and the customers are all very gentle."
Liliana's lips curled up, and her eyes squinted in delight. She was clearly having a good time here.
"Hey, Alistair-kun~ You haven't been to my place in quite a while~"
Liliana glanced left and right. Seeing no one watching, she quickly leaned down and whispered into Alistair's ear, her warm breath making his ear itch.
"Maybe in a while. These next few weeks are a bit busy."
Alistair pushed it off. He wanted to exercise some restraint before going to St. Lux Academy. Because he already had the 'nodes,' his progress was essentially unobstructed. If Alistair let loose, two or three days would be enough to recover to his previous level. But he wasn't sure what the 'harvest threshold' was for that entity. If it was around 10% or 20%, Alistair might get 'harvested' again within days, which he definitely didn't want.
"Okay then..."
Liliana looked a bit disappointed, but she didn't mind too much. She kept in touch with Chiaki and knew Alistair had been busy and seemingly unwell recently, so she wasn't overly let down.
"By the way, Alistair-kun, have you ever seen a real Demi-Human?"
Liliana suddenly changed the subject.
"Uh, yeah. I went to the Demi-Human District once. Why?"
Alistair took a sip of the clear tea Liliana brought over, feeling a bit caught off guard while also curious about why she'd mention them.
"Then have you seen a real Yuki-onna? A Snow Woman~"
Liliana's eyes were full of anticipation.
"A Yuki-onna? Maybe... probably? Why, do you want to see one?"
Alistair hesitated. He hadn't actually seen a 'Yuki-onna' type of Demi-Human. Was Liliana wanting to go see one?
"No, no, that's not what I mean. I mean, there's a Yuki-onna who frequently comes to our shop to buy sweets!"
Liliana held up a finger, looking very serious.
"A Yuki-onna comes here frequently?"
Alistair raised an eyebrow. A Snow Woman coming to the Human District for sweets? Frequently? That was interesting.
"Yeah. Because she always carries an umbrella and wraps herself up very thickly. In this weather, long sleeves are enough, but she wears a wool sweater. It looks so hot. We asked her once, and she told us very frankly. It was the first time we'd seen a real Demi-Human, especially a rare Yuki-onna. Her skin feels icy to the touch. I wonder if her blood is cold too."
Liliana recounted the incident, telling Alistair about this thing she found rare and fascinating.
"Your thoughts are quite interesting. I'm curious too. If she's icy cold, would holding her in the summer be like holding a natural air conditioner?"
Alistair nodded. He'd never seen a Yuki-onna before. But an umbrella and a wool sweater... that sounded like a familiar outfit.
"Maybe. But for a Yuki-onna, winter is probably better. They seem to prefer low temperatures. Now that it's warming up, it might be a bit hot for them."
Liliana agreed with Alistair's thought, though she was more inclined to empathize with the Yuki-onnas' perspective.
"Perhaps. I wouldn't know," Alistair replied casually. He suddenly wondered: if a Yuki-onna's skin was cold, was she cold on the inside too? Or was she the type where the surface is cold, but the 'secret valley' is warm? Or was she icy through and through? If so, he wondered what that experience would be like.
Ding-ling~
"Alistair-kun, a customer is here. I'll be right back. Let's talk later."
Liliana heard the door open, spoke to Alistair, and went to greet the customer.
"Sure, go ahead."
Alistair replied reflexively, glancing toward the door. A flash of near-white pale blue entered his field of vision.