The moment Lumine and Paimon appeared, Shenhe genuinely believed they had purchased something from Valerius.
She immediately handed the invoice to Lumine.
"This is what you bought. Ten million Mora."
"…Me?"
Lumine's eyes widened.
When the hell did I buy anything from Valerius? Don't frame me!
Her gaze shifted repeatedly between the invoice and Valerius.
Then…
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
Signora, huh?
Time to make you cough up a fortune.
"Oh! Right, right!"
She slapped her forehead as if she'd just remembered and walked over to Valerius's side.
Then, in a voice only the two of them could hear, she whispered,
"I want five million."
"You're way too greedy."
"Am I greedier than you?"
"…Three million."
"Deal."
The two immediately reached an agreement.
Lumine cheerfully confirmed that the invoice really was from the purchases made before the Rite of Descension.
Signora was completely dumbfounded.
The blond girl…
Was actually acting as a witness?
"You think I'll—"
"We'll pay."
At that moment, Childe stepped forward and took the invoice.
"What do you mean by this?"
"You wouldn't understand."
Childe couldn't care less about Signora's attitude.
It was obvious she wanted to stir up trouble.
He couldn't let her use this as an excuse.
Besides…
Shenhe possessed a Rule Skill.
If a fight actually broke out…
She might really demolish the Northland Bank.
Signora was completely confused.
Why had Childe admitted the debt so readily?
Then she realized something.
The four of them seemed to be on the same side.
Even Childe.
She was the only outsider here.
Successfully obtaining the Mora, Valerius felt a little embarrassed.
But inwardly…
He was thrilled.
Scamming Mora from the Fatui…
That felt surprisingly satisfying.
Looking at Signora, Valerius decided to repay her kindness—just a little.
"I'll give you one piece of advice."
"Want to hear it?"
"What is it?"
"If you ever arrive in Inazuma…"
"And you meet a woman with a braided hairstyle…"
"Run."
"The farther away, the better."
"I'm saying this for your own good."
"…What nonsense?"
Signora couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Why should she avoid women with braids?
Wouldn't that just make her look cowardly?
"Your fate clashes with braided hairstyles."
"Remember that."
Having leaked a tiny bit of future information, Valerius pulled Shenhe away from the bank.
He still had plenty of shopping to do.
After all, it didn't feel right returning from a trip without bringing back souvenirs.
"…Completely ridiculous."
Signora paid no attention whatsoever to Valerius's warning.
"You would do well to listen."
At that moment, Zhongli unexpectedly offered his own opinion.
He knew Valerius was aware of many things.
Since Valerius had specifically warned Signora to stay away from braided women…
It certainly wasn't an empty warning.
Besides…
He couldn't help feeling that Valerius was subtly telling her to stay away from Raiden Ei.
After all…
One of Ei's defining features was her long braid.
"…?"
Signora blinked in confusion.
What was going on?
Zhongli was the Geo Archon.
Even he agreed with Valerius?
A trace of unease appeared in Signora's heart.
Could it be…
Do I really have bad luck with braided women?
I'd better be careful in the future.
…
Inside Tenshukaku…
Raiden Ei knelt behind Raiden Makoto, gently combing her sister's long hair.
"Big Sister…"
"Since you've returned…"
"You should take charge of Inazuma again."
"I'm really not suited to governing."
Makoto sighed helplessly.
Her poor little sister truly wasn't fit to rule.
She had actually created the Raiden Shogun puppet to govern in her place.
Fortunately…
Valerius's games had descended upon Teyvat, delaying the Vision Hunt Decree.
Otherwise…
Who knew how badly Inazuma would've suffered?
"Ei…"
"Don't braid my hair anymore."
"Hm? Why not?"
"There should be some difference between us."
Now that they were both players…
Makoto wanted people to be able to distinguish them more easily.
"Alright…"
"I'll style it differently for you."
…
After spending an entire day shopping, Valerius finally returned to Belobog, completely satisfied.
"Jingliu."
"I brought you a little gift."
"Phantylia."
"This one's yours."
"…I get one too?"
Phantylia looked genuinely surprised.
She hadn't expected Valerius to buy her a present as well.
"Of course."
"You're family."
"I can't play favorites."
"…Family…"
Holding the gift, Phantylia felt her heart tremble slightly.
"…Thank you, Lord Valerius."
"Don't mention it."
After handing out everyone's presents, Valerius arranged a room for Shenhe.
"Too bad Bronya's busy."
With the Xianzhou delegation currently visiting Belobog, Bronya had been swamped with work.
He'd have to give her present another day.
…
Two days later.
Inside the livestream chat…
Hanabi: "Are we starting another game or not? It's been forever."
Yae Miko: "Exactly. I've been getting restless waiting."
Valerius: "Are you all really this free?"
Yae Miko: "Obviously."
Life had never been better for Yae Miko.
Raiden Makoto had returned.
Everything was moving in a positive direction.
She no longer had anything to worry about.
Every day she simply waited for the next game to begin.
Even though she'd already used up her participation slot…
She could still enjoy watching.
Valerius: "Of course you've got nothing to do…"
"What about everyone else?"
Nahida: "Nothing urgent."
Raiden Ei: "Go ahead. We don't have anything pressing."
Xiangling: "The Geo Lord was assassinated. I'm not in the mood."
Yun Jin: "Indeed. Liyue has suffered a sudden tragedy. It's difficult to think about anything else."
Ningguang: "..."
Keqing: "..."
Ganyu: "..."
Their morale…
Didn't seem very high.
Ningguang briefly wondered whether she should tell everyone that Rex Lapis was perfectly fine.
Hu Tao: "What are you thinking? Even if the Geo Lord is gone, shouldn't we work even harder?"
"Don't you agree…"
"Consultant Zhongli?"
Zhongli: "…Ahem."
"Director Hu is absolutely right."
Everyone here was smart.
Zhongli immediately realized his identity had been exposed.
As expected…
Once Hu Tao got over her initial shock, she had quickly pieced everything together.
And Zhongli had become her prime suspect almost instantly.
Valerius: "Heh."
"Alright."
This interval between games really had been rather long.
Since everyone wanted another game…
And he'd had enough fun over the past few days…
Valerius decided not to delay any longer.
"System."
"Start the next game."
[Command received.]
[Attention! The Game Arena has opened.]
[This game's title: Evolution Cricket Battles.]
[Rules:]
[1. Each team shall select one participant. Before entering, participants must spend points to draw their starting creature.]
[2. Participants will be transported to an unfamiliar world and provided with a biological cultivation chamber. They must collect genetic material from various plants and animals, then fuse those genes into their starting creature to evolve it.]
[3. The game lasts one month. During that time, participants are responsible for their own survival.]
[4. After one month, all cultivated creatures will enter the battle arena. The last creature standing wins the game.]
The rules were remarkably brief.
Yet…
Many players' eyes lit up.
They actually got to raise and evolve their own creatures?
Instantly, even those who hadn't been confident before found hope.
If victory depended on cultivating a powerful creature…
Rather than fighting personally…
Then the advantage held by the strongest combatants would be greatly reduced.
This game…
Had real potential.
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