The next day arrived in Mondstadt.
The sun rose as usual, bringing with it a brand new morning.
Inside the Solace Book House, in Noelle's room—
the little maid slowly woke up.
"Hss! My head hurts so much…"
She rubbed her temples, wincing at the pain.
What on earth had happened last night?
Why did her head hurt this badly?
After a moment of dazed recollection, she frowned.
It seemed she had drunk the boss's homeland liquor…
It burned terribly…
And then her mind had gone fuzzy before she blacked out.
"Is the boss's homeland liquor really that strong?"
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Just one cup was enough to knock her out cold?!
She remembered Mondstadt's alcohol never being this strong.
Clearly, she shouldn't touch alcohol again.
Drinking only led to trouble!
"Wait a second… if I fainted, then how did I get back to my room?"
Noelle suddenly realized something important.
Could it have been… the boss?!
At the thought, her cheeks flushed pink.
As a maid, she had actually forced her employer to take care of her.
How shameful—what a dereliction of duty!
Determined to make up for it, she quickly freshened up.
The sun was already rising—business would open any moment now.
She had to be ready.
When she came downstairs, she found Han Feng already seated behind the counter.
"Morning, Noelle,"
he greeted with a smile.
"G-good morning, boss!"
Noelle bowed her head shyly, still embarrassed about last night.
"Go ahead and open the shop."
Han Feng didn't tease her this time, simply giving instructions.
"Yes!"
She nodded, went to the door, and flipped the sign to Open for Business.
The day's operations had officially begun.
"Come on, let's have some breakfast. Customers won't be coming so quickly anyway."
Han Feng chuckled, watching Noelle stand at the entrance so earnestly.
She reminded him of hotel greeters from his previous life—
"Welcome" when guests arrived, and "Please come again" when they left.
"O-okay!"
Noelle obediently sat down.
With the Gourmet Tablecloth's help, Han Feng's breakfast spread was, as always, abundant—
steamed buns, pan-fried dumplings, wontons, and more.
The two ate together as they waited for the first customer of the day.
Meanwhile, on the road near the Solace Book House—
Lumine was skating along on her rollerblades, with Paimon floating beside her.
After yesterday's incredible reward from Journey to the West,
they had decided to come back again.
If they got lucky and scored another amazing prize, it would be perfect.
"Lumine, watching you rollerblade makes me want a pair too."
Paimon said enviously.
Flying all the time was getting a bit boring—
she wanted to try this fun-looking skating herself.
"You wanted a motorcycle yesterday, and now it's rollerblades?"
Lumine pinched Paimon's cheeks and teased her.
"Didn't you just learn transformation magic? Why not just turn into a pair of rollerblades yourself? Then you can skate all you like."
"Hmph! I'm not turning into a shoe!"
Paimon huffed angrily.
Who would even come up with such an idea?
This Traveler was getting cheekier by the day…
Why couldn't she just be as calm and steady as Paimon?
"Aiyaa…"
Paimon sighed deeply, preparing to lecture Lumine properly.
But just as she looked up—
she noticed Lumine standing frozen in place, her face full of shock.
"What's wrong with you?"
Paimon waved a hand in front of her face curiously.
"Look behind you—the manga shop…"
Lumine pointed.
"The manga shop? What about it?"
Paimon tilted her head.
Had Boss Han taken his cute little maid and skipped town after earning some quick mora?
Confused, she turned around—
and instantly froze as well.
"Where's the little shop?! What's with this giant building all of a sudden?!"
The astonishment on her face matched Lumine's.
Originally, the manga shop had been tucked away in a small alley,
surrounded by abandoned buildings.
But now the alley was gone.
The neighboring houses had vanished too.
In their place stood a massive two-story building.
No wonder Lumine had been so shocked.
The reason was right here!
"This… looks like the manga shop itself…"
Lumine pointed at the familiar signboard.
The same four characters were carved on it: Solace Book House.
"It really is!"
Paimon's jaw dropped.
They had just visited yesterday morning—barely a day had passed.
How on earth had it transformed like this?!
Could it be that Boss Han had made so much money that he expanded overnight?
"Hmph, don't forget—I chipped in too!"
Thinking of the 300,000 Mora she had spent, Paimon felt a pang of heartache.
That stingy boss must've used it all on construction!
Lumine, unaware of Paimon's thoughts, was full of awe.
"Boss Han is amazing. To pull off something this big without anyone noticing!"
Renovating a building was no small feat—
let alone creating an enormous two-story structure.
And yet, the change had happened silently, overnight,
as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
"Come on, let's check it out!"
Lumine retracted her rollerblades and hurried forward, brimming with excitement.
If the outside was already this impressive, the inside had to be spectacular.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Paimon flapped along after her.
But the instant they stepped inside—
they were stunned speechless again.
Compared to before, the manga shop was now vastly more spacious—
easily ten times larger.
The once-empty interior was now full of decorations:
walls covered in character art, figurines from different series displayed everywhere.
The whole place radiated a unique atmosphere.
Finally snapping out of her daze, Paimon pointed at Han Feng behind the counter and cried out in disbelief:
"Stingy Boss—You call this a manga shop?!"
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