Adventurers' Guild.
Unlike the game's modest front, the real guild was quite grand.
Ken climbed the long steps into the hall.
For Genshin players, the Guild is among the most familiar places.
After all, who else gives you 60 primos in dailies, rain or shine?
At the front desk, Katheryne lifted a smile the moment she saw him. "Ad astra—"
"Katheryne." He cut off the catchphrase. "I'm here to check my order's progress. Did anyone take my commission?"
"Hello, Mr. Ken. Your order has been accepted by an excellent adventurer. It should take about two more days to complete," she replied with a practiced smile.
As an automaton, smiling service was her lifelong setting.
"Good."
He relaxed. With an adventurer on it, the ore would be handled soon.
"And the acceptor is an admirer of yours. She hopes to meet you when you pick it up," Katheryne added warmly.
"An admirer?" He was curious. "Who is it?"
Surely not... the unluckiest adventurer, Bennett?
Among guild adventurers, Bennett was most memorable.
"It's Miss Fischl, an excellent investigative adventurer."
"Fischl?" Ken paused.
He certainly knew the chuunibyou girl, Fischl.
A striking model and chuunibyou flair—unique charm. He'd even built her in his past life.
But...
If he remembered right, Fischl excelled at intelligence gathering.
Why was she taking a mining job?
He pictured the self-styled "Prinzessin der Verurteilung" banging away at rocks and almost lost it.
"Yes, Miss Fischl," Katheryne smiled. "She rarely takes such commissions. Likely because you're the client. She admires and respects you."
"I see... Then I'll meet her when I pick it up." He smiled wryly.
He hadn't invited Fischl via the Gate, but fate had arranged this.
He was curious whether her chuunibyou carried into reality.
"I believe Miss Fischl will be delighted," Katheryne said.
Leaving the Guild, Ken returned to his specialty shop.
…
The afternoon sun was warm and gentle; the air carried fresh floral scents.
As he arrived, he saw a familiar figure.
A black lace half-mask veiled half her face; loose blonde hair framed a refined profile; flame-red lips slightly parted—the essence of a mature big sister.
She sat on a plush sofa, legs elegantly crossed, alabaster thighs on display, her curvy form pressing a tempting arc into the cushions.
Mona sat on a stool nearby, eyeing the haughty woman with a resentful look.
"Miss Signora?"
Seeing the sultry, cold figure, Ken was surprised. "If I recall, our relationship isn't that close."
He walked up to her.
A higher vantage point is always the best view.
But his eyes fell on the book in her hands—the very one Lisa had returned earlier.
After Lisa brought it back, he'd left it in the shop.
He hadn't expected Signora to be reading.
"Unexpected taste, Mr. Ken. The content's not bad," she said, curling her lips, raising those glassy-clear eyes with a probing look.
"What do you want?" he asked flatly, taking the book back.
"Can't I come for no reason?" Her red lips quirked, tone icy. "I said we might become friends, didn't I, Mr. Ken?"
He ignored the hint and poured tea for himself.
"Heh heh..."
"Mr. Ken is truly heartless. I'm leaving Mondstadt soon, so before I go, I'd like to invite you to a private engagement."
Seeing his silence, she slowed her laughter, and with elegant fingers, lifted his cup and drained it.
He frowned slightly—this woman really didn't see herself as an outsider; it was her second time drinking his tea.
But he was more curious about something else. "So your purpose in Mondstadt is achieved?"
Her main goal in Mondstadt was to seize Barbatos's Gnosis.
She shouldn't leave before succeeding.
"Heh! That alley-strolling green hamster..."
Mentioning Mondstadt's god, she showed no respect—only mockery and pride.
"If you hadn't ruined my plan, I would have already seized the Gnosis—and given that idle green hamster a harsh lesson."
"Unfortunately, he used the Gnosis to reach an agreement with Her Majesty. Since that's the case, I have no need to stay."
"But... before I go, I invite you to a duel. Seven days from now, Starsnatch Cliff—shall we test each other? I want to see how strong the wielder of great prophecy truly is. Please don't refuse."
She rose, beauty like a night-blooming poison poppy—seductive, but toxic.
Though her words were polite, her tone was the same old hauteur.
Ken's lips curled. He looked up at her and suddenly asked, "Do you know how you die?"
Even without his interference—even with the Tsaritsa's power—she was no match for Barbatos.
The reason she took the Gnosis in the story was because Barbatos felt guilty and didn't fight back, not because she was strong.
Choosing arrogance without absolute power is unwise.
Meeting his deep gaze, she faltered.
"Sometimes, pride and self-importance are different things," Ken said coolly. "I accept your duel. See yourself out."
"Tch... so cold." She lingered on his handsome face for a moment longer, then swayed out of the shop.
She had come solely to issue the challenge.
Not out of bloodlust, nor because she disliked him.
Simply because... it was the Tsaritsa's will.
After Ken's prophecy ruined the snatch-and-grab plan, she reported everything to Her Majesty. Yesterday she received an order to invite Ken to join the Fatui.
Signora would of course carry out the will.
Yet although Ken could traverse worlds and invite the Knights to Blue Star, no Fatui had experienced such things firsthand.
Their initial probe was light; neither had gone all out. Signora had no way to be sure of Ken's true strength.
As for his great prophecy, she'd only heard it secondhand—never experienced it directly.
That unsettled her; she wanted to test him herself.
As for why Ken agreed so readily—simple.
Her arrogant attitude was over the line. He wanted to give her a sound thrashing.
And test how strong Signora was with the Tsaritsa's blessing.
…
"Boss, how does she die?" Mona hurried over once Signora left.
Signora's self-important arrogance made her easy to dislike; Mona wasn't a fan.
"Uh... simply put, she kills herself by over confident."
In the original plot, she never considered how strong Barbatos was, and dared attempt the theft with only two Electro Cicins.
If not for Barbatos's guilt and voluntary surrender, she'd have been no match—even with the Tsaritsa's power.
That was self-destruction.
She even dared to give attitude to Morax at full strength on the grounds of a contract—also self-destruction.
Thankfully, Morax was even-tempered and let it slide.
Later...
She grew even more arrogant in Inazuma, acting inflated, treating the Raiden Shogun with careless disdain—and got cleaved in one strike.
In short: "Barbatos: I'll let you have it." "Morax: Fine, take it." "Raiden Shogun: I'm done being polite."
"She is pretty arrogant," Mona agreed, not fully following but getting the gist.
Signora had visited twice, each time making an entrance Mona disliked.
"But... are you confident about the duel you accepted?"
Mona could feel Signora's power, but not Ken's true strength. Accepting rashly worried her.
"Don't worry. I've got it." Ken stood. "When you have time, keep an eye on my guild commision. We need that ore soon."
He could school Signora without a weapon, but schooling and thrashing are different.
He wanted to test his signature weapon on her.
"Got it, Boss. Also, we need to restock." Mona added, "At noon, merchants headed to Liyue bought a lot."
Liyue?
Ken raised a brow. Mondstadt goods with shockingly long shelf life flowing into Liyue would likely attract the attention of that profit-obsessed Ningguang.
Which was fine.
Once the goods found a market in Liyue Harbor, he wouldn't even need to advertise when opening a branch.
…
After checking stock gaps, Ken returned to Blue Star.
With the shop's sales taking off, he'd found a reliable supplier on Blue Star as a stable source.
They would deliver to his warehouse; staff would sign off.
He just had to load the goods into a magic chest and bring them to Mondstadt.
After handling orders, he was about to head back when the vortex gate rippled. Lumine and Paimon stepped through.
"Hm? Done talking with your brother?"
Seeing Lumine, Ken was surprised.
He thought she'd spend a couple more days with the Abyss.
"I had a good talk with my brother—and came to find you."
Lumine's face was rosy.
Seeing Ken brought back the image of toppling him into the snow and straddling him. In the moment, it had seemed necessary; in hindsight, her heart raced.
"Right! That guy who called Paimon a flying pig—the Abyss Prince—told Traveler and you to get married soon!" Paimon chimed in.
After returning from the mountain, Paimon had reported to the Knights so Jean needn't worry, then followed Lumine to an Abyss base.
So she knew their conversation and now rushed to show off in front of Ken.
"Paimon!" Lumine yelped, cheeks blazing.
"Lumine's shy," Paimon said, hands on hips.
"I—I'm not!" Lumine covered her face. "My brother just misunderstood our relationship, I..."
"Ahem... it's fine," Ken said, unconcerned. "What are your plans now?"
"I... I plan to continue traveling the Seven Nations," she said, lowering her hands, still red, not daring to meet his eyes.
Thinking of her brother's advice when she visited Blue Star made her even shyer.