After asking the staff for the locations of the other Liyue Bank branches, the two of them left.
Before long, they entered another branch office.
This time, there was no need for explanations.
Fujin simply took out her card and handed it over.
"I want to participate in the raffle."
The moment the staff member saw the card's design, her expression shifted slightly.
"Very well, honored guest… I've checked your account. You currently have 38,000 Consumption Points, which allows you to participate thirty-eight times. Would you like to redeem all of them at once?"
"That's right."
"The points have been deducted. You may begin drawing now."
Fujin reached into the box and casually pulled out a handful of tickets, spreading them open.
Some were winners—but none of them were the Grand Prize.
Lingyuan stood off to the side, shaking her head. "Looks like your luck's pretty average."
Fujin ignored her and drew another handful.
Still no Grand Prize.
Only three chances left.
Unhurried, Fujin reached in once more.
Three tickets came out.
The first—no win.
The second—still nothing.
Lingyuan stared at Fujin without blinking, barely daring to breathe. She felt even more nervous than she had during her own draw.
The third ticket was unfolded slowly.
[6666].
"Congratulations to this lucky guest! You've won the special Grand Prize of this event, a Seaview Villa!"
Fujin nodded calmly.
She took out her phone, snapped a couple of selfies, posted them to her Moments, then smoothly exchanged the tickets for her prizes like she'd done this countless times before.
The two of them walked out of the branch.
Lingyuan's steps were noticeably lighter as she tilted her head and said, "You know, Fujin, your luck isn't bad either. I really thought you were out of chances."
---
The Jade Chamber.
Ningguang was still handling official affairs.
Baiwen suddenly stepped up beside her and lowered her voice. "Lady Ningguang, the Adepti Fujin and Lingyuan both just drew Grand Prizes in our newly launched points raffle."
"Oh?"
Ningguang lifted her head, surprised.
"Two Grand Prizes?"
Baiwen nodded. "Yes. They posted about it in their Moments—at two different bank branches."
"Let me see."
Ningguang picked up her phone and scrolled through her feed.
Sure enough, she saw the two posts Fujin had made not long ago.
Each displayed a very distinctive Raffle Ticket.
The comments underneath were filled with envy, bitterness, and barely concealed jealousy.
Interesting.
A thoughtful surfaced in Ningguang's eyes.
Baiwen hesitated before speaking. "Lady Ningguang… could it be that..."
Ningguang turned her head and finished the unspoken thought for her. "You're wondering if they cheated?"
Baiwen lowered her voice. "I just… feel like this is a bit too unreasonable."
Ningguang shook her head, smiling. "Don't worry. They didn't cheat. Their luck is simply that good. Have you forgotten Ganyu? Her luck has always been unreasonable as well."
"…I understand."
Baiwen withdrew.
Ningguang lowered her gaze to the photos on her phone.
She knew perfectly well that cheating was impossible.
After all, those raffle boxes were personally warded by Vice Principal Zhongli when she went to the academy to set them up.
---
In Inazuma, at the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Ganyu had also seen Fujin's post in her Moments.
"A Seaview Villa in Yujing Terrace… the two of them really are lucky. They just arrived in Liyue Harbor and immediately stumbled onto something like this."
Compared to that, she had worked diligently in Liyue Harbor for thousands of years and never once encountered such a prizes…".
Could it be that their luck stacked together, surpassing her own?
No. It was only a villa. No matter how good it was, it couldn't compare to the one at home.
So in the end, I'm still the luckier one.
Ganyu lowered her head and smiled, fingers brushing the bell tied at her neck. Besides, she still had this.
Following the trend in the comments, she added a mildly "jealous" sticker beneath the post.
In truth, Ganyu wasn't jealous at all.
But Mona was genuinely a little sour.
She knew exactly how expensive houses in Yujing Terrace were.
If only she could get her hands on a Seaview Villa too.
In any case, she had no intention of ever going back to that old hag's place.
At least not until her strength completely surpassed hers—absolutely not.
After digging up so much dirt on her, going back now would be suicidal.
Mona sighed and, like everyone else, added a "jealous" sticker beneath the post.
Then she began to think seriously.
If she wasn't going back for a long while, she needed to start preparing now.
For example... buying a house in Liyue.
She couldn't keep living in inns forever like before. You couldn't even invite friends over that way.
As for why Liyue instead of some cheaper country, the reason was simple: Mr. Xia lived in Liyue.
And buying a house required Mora.
That was the real problem.
Earning money wasn't actually difficult for an astrologist like Mona.
But she refused to use astrology to directly make money.
It was a principle she'd kept ever since studying under that old hag.
If she wasn't going to rely on astrology, then there was only one other way.
That's right!
Her powers as a Magical Girl combined with her identity as an adventurer!
Mona muttered to herself, "Looks like I'll need to take on more commissions from now on… Come to think of it, if commissions are taken as an Adventure Team, the reward gets split evenly, right?"
---
Inside the shrine, Yae Miko lay sprawled across her desk, scrolling through Moments on her phone, a contemplative look on her face.
Ningguang's marketing strategy was quite interesting.
She could apply the same idea to Yae Publishing House.
For instance.... buy a light novel, get one raffle chance.
The special prize could be an author-signed edition.
Yae Miko narrowed her eyes, murmuring, "We can test it at Yae Publishing House first. If it works well, we could roll out a similar large-scale event during the Summer Festival."
A knock sounded from outside.
Yae Miko lifted her head. "Come in."
The door opened, and Hanachirusato stepped inside. "Miko."
Yae Miko looked at her. "You're here about the youkai prison matter, aren't you?"
Hanachirusato shook her head. "No. I know Urakusai has already started handling that."
Yae Miko blinked. "Then what is it?"
Hanachirusato said, "Last night, we formed an Adventure Team and accepted a bounty mission to subjugate the Thunder Manifestation. I came to ask if you had any information."
Yae Miko nodded slowly. "So it's the Thunder Manifestation…"
Hanachirusato looked at her. "How much do you know about it?"
Yae Miko's expression turned strange. "I do know a little. You still remember the old thunderstorm seal at Amakumo Peak, don't you?"
Hanachirusato recalled it. "I remember. There was once a Thunderbird on Tsurumi Island. Later, due to Erosion, it suddenly went mad, flew out of Tsurumi, and wreaked havoc everywhere. It was eventually shot down by Ei at Amakumo Peak. After its death, the Electro laws in that area became extremely unstable. Even Ei, with her authority, couldn't calm it, so she had no choice but to seal it away."
Yae Miko nodded. "That's right. The Thunder Manifestation is a monster born from that very seal."
Hanachirusato frowned. "When I fell, that seal hadn't been damaged."
Yae Miko looked at her, tone playful. "You?"
Hanachirusato caught herself and quickly amended, "What I meant was when Lady Kitsune Saiguu fell, that seal hadn't been damaged…"
Yae Miko withdrew her gaze, her voice soft. "That seal really wasn't harmed during the calamity five hundred years ago. It was unsealed later by someone."
Hanachirusato's eyes widened. "That's impossible… Ei set that seal herself. Only the Grand Narukami Shrine preserves the method to lift it. An outsider shouldn't have been able to..."
Yae Miko let out a quiet sigh. "Which is why it wasn't an outsider. It was someone from the Grand Narukami Shrine. Do you remember Asase Hibiki?"
Hanachirusato froze. "Hibiki…? It was her?"
Yae Miko nodded. "Yes."
Hanachirusato was utterly bewildered. "Why would she do that? Seirai Island was her home…"
"I don't know what she was thinking back then," Yae Miko said faintly. "Perhaps something in her heart changed. That calamity five hundred years ago took both her respected teacher and the man she secretly loved. At the time, she even raised a banner of rebellion against Ei alongside the people of the island…"
Hanachirusato fell silent for a moment. "I don't recall ever teaching her how to undo the seal."
"Most likely she learned it on her own," Yae Miko replied quietly. "Seirai was her home—it's only natural she wanted to understand the dangers lurking there. While you were gone, the Grand Narukami Shrine was left without proper oversight. Things were chaotic inside, and some important items even went missing…"
She paused, then continued, "In short, that's what happened. At the end of that rebellion, Asase Hibiki unsealed the barrier on the island. She probably misjudged the power of the thunderstorm. The result was Seirai Island reduced to ruins. Even now, the environment there is so hostile that it's completely uninhabitable. And the Thunder Manifestation was born from the lingering resentment left behind by that Thunderbird."
Hanachirusato thought for a moment. "I see. Have you fought it yourself?"
Yae Miko looked helpless. "Please. Ei hasn't involved herself in worldly affairs for years, the three Commissions have all rotted away, and Inazuma's a complete mess. I can't spare the time for something like that. Besides, the Thunder Manifestation has behaved itself—it's stayed put at Amakumo Peak and hasn't gone wandering. I haven't fought it personally, but plenty of adventurers have tried to subjugate it over the years. I'll have people gather their combat experiences and bring them to you later."
"Alright. I'll come back then."
"Mm."
----
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