Dragon Raja.
In Caesar's impression, Qingque had always been a lazy little girl—people like her weren't uncommon in the student council. As president, he rarely interacted with such slackers and loafers. In his view, spending too much time around mediocre people would inevitably make him mediocre without realizing it.
"…Interesting." Watching Qingque's MVP-level performance on the light screen, Caesar felt doubt toward his past experiences for the first time—she was simply too smart, smart enough that it didn't match her position as the "sect leader" of the library at all.
Caesar gave a slight smile, a sharp glint flashing in his lake-blue eyes: "So she had been hiding her abilities all along."
Chu Zihang sat beside him, silently wiping Muramasa. The blade reflected Qingque's rare, serious expression from the light screen. Chu Zihang spoke calmly: "There is indeed an element of hiding, but the key reason… is probably that she simply doesn't care about her position at all."
"A low-ranking clerk who steps up at critical moments to save the Divination Commission from disaster… someone like that shouldn't be stuck in the library. Every second she wastes loafing there is squandering her talent. Once this is over, Fu Xuan should transfer her to a higher post—at the very least, her own deputy."
Chu Zihang glanced at him, voice even: "Not everyone thinks like you. Qingque just wants to choose the most comfortable way of life for herself—if she's forcibly promoted to a high position, she'll probably apply for a transfer in a few days, right?"
"…What a waste of talent."
"I don't see it that way." Chu Zihang said quietly, "Having the choice of 'whether it's wasting talent' is itself a kind of happiness. Just like how Minamoto no Yorimitsu is clearly the king of the Japanese underworld, the undisputed 'Emperor,' yet his dream is to sell sunscreen on the beaches of Montalivet in France."
"In my eyes, he and Qingque are the same—they haven't wasted their talent. They simply know exactly what kind of life they want."
——
["The universe is like the Qiongyu tiles on a card table. Once the shuffle is done, the overall trend of victory or defeat is often already set."]
["Although what cards get played at the table, what others want to play—all of that can be calculated. But if it's only calculation, then it loses that flavor."]
[Qingque raised one finger and said unhurriedly: "Adapting on the fly, blocking soldiers with generals, twists and turns, mountains exhausted and rivers exhausted. It's a bit of calculation, a bit of the unknown, a bit of loss of control that makes up the Qiongyu tiles—that is, the true fun of life."]
["If there's an inevitable loss right in front of me, does that mean my choices at the card table have no meaning? No—the meaning is the act of choosing itself." Qingque looked at Rhinofire, her tone more certain than ever: "Just like how I keep choosing in order to lose with dignity, the Master Diviner also makes her choices for a certain goal."]
["She has to sort through the tangled, complicated threads of fate day after day, year after year, to protect this great ship. In this cosmic card game where everyone is a loser, she keeps choosing and struggling nonstop, just to let the Luofu Xianzhou sail forward one more second. Hehe, she's truly the best card player in my heart."]
[In Qingque's eyes, the Master Diviner would never fall into pointless self-torment over predestined confusion. Precisely because of this, a Suiyang trapped in fatalism could never understand the joy of humans.]
[These words not only refuted Rhinofire but also reawakened Fu Xuan's own thinking. She began struggling hard, trying to break free from control while Rhinofire wavered.]
[Before this, Stelle couldn't even imagine what Qingque looked like when angry—this time she finally saw it. Qingque's gaze sharpened as she stepped forward and rebuked the monster trying to manipulate the Master Diviner in a deep, furious voice: "Rhinofire, leave the Master Diviner's body right now!"]
——
KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!
"Uwaa! Miss Qingque is way too cool and reliable!" Megumin cupped her flushed cheeks with both hands, completely unaware that her staff had dropped to the ground. "So all that previous loafing and slacking, acting like she didn't care about serious business—was it all an act? She hid it so well…"
"Heh heh heh~" Aqua suddenly put her hands on her hips, proudly wagging her index finger. "I get it now—she must be like me: usually doesn't put in effort, but actually only saves the day at critical moments. Just like Kazuma said… 'real pros only play the key games.' Looks like there are people on the Luofu Xianzhou who understand me~"
Kazuma rolled his dead-fish eyes: "No, you're just genuinely useless all the time—zero 'hidden' component."
"You slack off because you have 'real skills.' You're 'useless normally and even more useless in key moments.' Anyone who's not an idiot can see the difference, right?" Kazuma cut in mercilessly. "Remember last time we got attacked by monsters—you were the first to cry and run away?"
"Th-That was a strategic retreat!" Aqua's face turned bright red. "Retreat doesn't count as running… retreat! How can a goddess's actions be called running?"
Then she blushed and muttered incomprehensible excuses—"I just happened to have a bad stomach that day," "the flower-bird-moon-wind at the banquet used up too much mana," and so on—making everyone burst into laughter: the guild inside and out was filled with joyful air.
——
[The group quickly succeeded in collecting the wavering Rhinofire into the gourd.]
[After this incident, Fu Xuan looked at Qingque with new respect. Though she was usually lazy, when it mattered she was unexpectedly reliable. Even her words carried a few traces of approval: "Qingque, thank you for turning the tide."]
["Ah, no need, Master Diviner." Qingque smiled brightly. "You fired me earlier when the Suiyang was possessing you—that decision was serious, right? Next, I'd trouble you to issue a written notice unilaterally terminating the contract."]
["That way, with all the years I've put in at the Divination Commission, I can get a pretty hefty compensation… hehe." Qingque even started daydreaming about her bright future. "I've already decided—I'll use the money to open a card parlor, hire a few workers, live off profits, and start a new life of reaping without sowing, haha."]
["Ah… sigh, what a pity. This seat said a lot of nonsense earlier and doesn't remember a single word." Fu Xuan deliberately pressed her forehead, then looked up at Qingque again, her expression returning to the Master Diviner's seriousness: "Speaking of which, Qingque, why are you still here? Shouldn't you be on duty in the library right now?"]
[Qingque couldn't out-argue the Master Diviner and could only return with a disappointed face.]
[The matter fortunately came to a satisfactory close, and Fu Xuan resumed overseeing affairs. After throwing Rhinofire into the array, the group began searching for the next target. Soon, Huohuo came across a post about out-of-control Cloud Knights.]