"Holy—!"
"This consumption…!"
The moment Rowan finished chanting the final spell, the magic circle flared to life.
Then Rowan felt the magic power inside his body get yanked away in an instant—more than half of it vanished on the spot.
He nearly toppled to the ground, legs going weak, barely keeping himself upright.
The drain had been far too sudden. He truly hadn't expected it to consume this much.
Using a Heroic Spirit summoning spell across worlds… was practically a bottomless pit of expense.
"What's wrong?"
"Is it… taking that much out of you?"
Zhongli asked with concern.
Because if this succeeded, then his old friend could return.
But if the consumption was too severe… whether Rowan could summon again later would become a problem.
Anyone with a brain knew summoning an ordinary person and summoning a god were two completely different things.
If summoning just one Hydro Yaksha like Bonanus already cost this much…
Then a god would be far worse.
The price would only be heavier, and the favor owed would only grow.
This was a serious issue.
Rowan steadied himself and took a deep breath.
"It directly consumed half of my magic power."
Zhongli and Xiao blinked, not understanding what "half of magic power" meant.
After all, what they used was elemental power—not magic power—so the concept didn't click for them.
Seeing their blank looks, Rowan explained another way.
"You remember the Contract Victory Sword I used last time, right?"
"I remember."
"Of course!"
The two nodded, answering in unison.
"This drain… is enough to use that Contract Victory Sword three times."
"What?!"
This time, both of them were completely stunned.
That heaven-piercing beam of light had been noticed by everyone above the level of adepti across Teyvat.
That single blow—anything below god level would have had only one ending: death.
And yet Rowan had only spoken a few lines… and it burned that much power.
Could it really succeed?
The two stared nervously at the magic circle beneath Rowan's feet, praying for a miracle.
There were still things Rowan hadn't said.
Back then, the Contract Victory Sword had only used the Knight King's magic power—it hadn't even included Gilgamesh's total magic reserves.
Now, Rowan's total magic power was more than five times what it used to be…
And yet it still got ripped away by half.
Terrifying.
But the result was good—because Rowan could already sense it.
In the unseen depths, his magic power had connected to a petite figure.
And on Rowan's right arm, three Command Seals appeared.
Proof that he had successfully summoned a Heroic Spirit.
At the instant the summoning succeeded, a dark-red figure on Celestia cast her gaze downward.
But Rowan didn't care in the slightest.
Because someone would block her attention for him.
Istaroth noticed her good sister's gaze and looked over, puzzled.
She also saw the silhouette condensing under Rowan's magic power—and couldn't help feeling speechless.
Her king… really never gave anyone peace.
He was already trying to "revive" people.
Even if shaping a Heroic Spirit wasn't "revival" in the traditional sense, as long as magic power remained, they could keep existing.
Wasn't that just another kind of revival?
No wonder she had projected her gaze down.
This was basically dancing back and forth on her rules.
Everyone knew that on Teyvat, other than the Heavenly Principles, Phanes—no one was allowed to revive others.
That was the duty of the Ruler of Death.
But when Jonawa realized the commotion was caused by Rowan, she withdrew her gaze without another word.
As if nothing had happened.
Did she look stupid?
Not only was Istaroth right beside Rowan—
Even Naberius, whose body had once been seized by Rhinedottir, had already settled down in Mondstadt.
What, did they expect her—alone, sitting up on Celestia like a widow every day—to go pick a fight over Rowan reviving people?
In her dreams.
For that kind of pay? Why would she risk her life?
Did they take her for a sucker?
Out of the Four Rulers, only she was still stubbornly doing her job—slacking off wasn't fragrant enough?
Why would she turn against her own good sisters?
Hmph. Compared to the sleeping Phanes, her relationship with the three sisters mattered more.
So… she'd just keep one eye open and one eye closed.
She definitely wasn't going to admit it was because Naberius and Istaroth were staring at her and she chickened out.
Definitely not!
After Jonawa withdrew her gaze, Istaroth also retracted her attention and went right back to playing mahjong with Lumine, Jean, and Paimon.
Rowan had brought more "hometown" entertainment into Mondstadt.
Especially playing cards—he'd practically sparked a nationwide "Landlord" craze.
Now Mondstadters had another pastime besides Genius Invokation.
Mahjong wasn't bad either, but Mondstadt liked cards more—especially gambling-style games.
The moment it was introduced, within two days it was already being played in the biggest casino in Mondstadt.
And the owner behind that casino… was none other than Diluc.
After dominating the wine industry, Diluc—wanting Mondstadt to remain stable—quietly bought up the gambling businesses most likely to stir chaos.
Outsiders rarely knew the truth, but the Knights of Favonius were well aware.
And since Diluc kept Mondstadt orderly, they didn't have much to say.
Lord Diluc was one of Mondstadt's biggest taxpayers—especially after making huge profits from Rowan's formulas.
He'd even donated ten years' worth of taxes from Angel's Share as repayment.
Meanwhile, mahjong spread like wildfire in Liyue.
Especially for Zhongli.
The moment he laid eyes on mahjong, he became hooked.
He no longer went strolling with birds as often—three days out of five he'd sit down and play for an entire day.
Whenever he had time, he'd play a round.
And playing mahjong while listening to storytelling…
That feeling?
Absolutely blissful.
Back to the top floor of Wangshu Inn.
Zhongli stared at the magic circle with a calm, expressionless face—steady as a mountain, without a trace of impatience.
But Xiao wasn't the same.
Unlike his usual cold restraint, he asked anxiously,
"Rowan-dono… did it succeed?"
"It should've."
Under their gaze, Rowan slowly sat back down, took a sip of water, and said,
"Then… where's Bonanus?"
"Why hasn't she come out yet?"
Xiao stared at the still-empty magic circle, confused.
If the summoning succeeded…
Then where was she?
(End of Chapter)
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