The afterglow of sunset slanted through the window lattice as Diona stood behind the bar, carefully mixing a new drink.
Ice mint, small lamp grass, hedgehog powder.
She added a string of odd ingredients to an ice-blue liquor. Once shaken and fully blended, she turned slightly and brought her mouth close.
Five seconds later—
Diona reverted to tsundere catgirl mode, chest out, carrying the glass to Ken.
"Respected Mr. Ken, please taste this special new drink I made for you."
She spoke impishly.
Those gemlike deep green eyes couldn't hide their smile.
"A new variant of Kuchikamizake?" Ken eyed the ice-blue brew; there wasn't the earlier spicy aroma, and it smelled cool and refreshing.
Diona said mysteriously, "Yup! A brand-new Kuchikamizake—lots of magical additions. It's definitely going to taste awful."
Seeing her eager expectation, Ken put the glass to his lips and took a light sip.
"Not bad. The ice mint makes it refreshing."
Even with just a small taste, he could feel the ice mint doing its work.
Except…
"This time it isn't sticky like before. The cat's saliva seems…"
As he spoke, he noticed Diona's petite body tremble slightly. Her cute face tried to stay stern, but she clearly struggled not to laugh.
He glanced at the glass again, then at Diona.
A suspicion rose in his heart.
"Diona!"
Ken grabbed the snickering catgirl and, before she could react, pressed her over his knee and smacked the seat of her denim shorts.
Smack!
The denim quivered; the sharp sound echoed around.
"Meow!"
Diona's fair cheeks flushed rosy. Her deep green eyes widened. Her small hands froze midair, stunned by the tingling.
Several seconds passed.
Diona snapped out of it and struggled. "Ken, y-you—you…"
"You what?" Ken looked at the clear liquor, holding Diona down. "You really made me drink your saliva? Someone needs a spanking."
"Let me go first!" Diona whispered, face red.
Ken didn't push it further. There were people around, and though the booth had partitions, making too big a scene would draw attention.
"Now, are you asking for a spanking or not?"
After letting her go, he spoke first.
Diona, clutching her rear, gritted her teeth. "Aren't you the one who said if I used my saliva, the taste would be better?"
"Couldn't you tell I was joking?" Ken said, exasperated. "And if you want me to taste your saliva, there's another way."
"You…" Diona took a few steps back. After holding it in for ages, she managed, "Uncle Ken, you're such a perv. I can apologize—just don't spank me again."
"That's called being a perv? Don't you know kittens apologize by showing their bellies?" Ken narrowed his eyes.
"I'm not doing that!" Sensing danger, Diona grabbed her butt and bolted.
When Ken smacked her just now, her cat tail got clipped, and that same feeling from Starfell Lake hit her out of nowhere again.
Diona felt she needed a change of clean clothes.
"What's up with Diona?"
Margaret watched Diona's retreating back and smiled as she came over.
She loved chatting with Ken; not everyone got the chance to be close to Mondstadt's hero.
"Mm… maybe she's a little down after that setback. Miss Margaret, thanks for the hospitality today. I'll bring you some new pizza recipes next time."
He'd freeloaded some good food at the Cat's Tail; a little payback was in order.
Blue Star had countless pizza styles.
"Thank you, Mr. Ken. Take care."
Margaret saw Ken out with an irrepressible smile.
That respect and warmth made other patrons envious—when would the boss be this kind to them?
...…
Timing the last minute of the double portal, Ken returned to Magic City.
Seeing it was still early, he opened his work documents and got to it.
With Genshin blowing up, many wanted to cooperate with Star Dome. Advertisers, other game studios, even platforms.
Normally, little games had to chase platforms and make concessions to get listed.
But Genshin's success had platforms lining up to curry favor.
They all wanted to ride the heat.
Though the company had a sound structure and managers, after staff filtered and assessed these matters, they still needed Ken's personal final say.
"Mm… Genshin's heat overseas is strong, too."
Looking at the partners in the report, Ken saw requests from platforms in Sakura Land and Spicy Land.
In fact,
Perhaps because it's a 2D anime-style game, Genshin's foreign revenue was no worse than domestic, even trending higher.
Especially Sakura Land—the place was tiny, but the revenue surged like a tide.
When the Genshin preview stream came, they couldn't neglect overseas.
After reading the staff's analyses, Ken carefully picked several domestic and foreign platforms. By then it was around 10 p.m.
Once the selection plan was set, he washed up and rested, to firm things up at tomorrow's meeting.
...
Without needing nighttime milk, Ken slept soundly.
At 8 a.m., he got up on time. After breakfast, he drove to the office and convened a staff meeting.
"Genshin's daily revenue has surpassed all domestic games, taking the number one spot.
"In Sakura Land especially, the response is as wild as at home.
"And per stats, 40% of players have already finished Liyue Harbor's story and are begging for a new map."
In the conference room,
Staff reported on launch revenue and various metrics.
Ken knew the numbers would be explosive, but seeing each country's revenue lined up was still startling.
A major factor was that Genshin was free-to-play.
That attracted tons of freeloaders.
As long as you grind, you can roll characters—indirectly fueling player motivation.
"Don't open maps too fast. Genshin's systems are many; it's not suited to rapid updates. Next version, open Dragonspine. No rush on the rest."
Genshin wasn't a fast-food game; it had plenty of hidden content.
World exploration and puzzles alone were numerous.
Finishing Liyue's story didn't mean you'd completed all its exploration—no need to hurry new maps. Take it slow.
If updates were too rapid, players wouldn't keep up.
"Got it, boss—much less pressure on us too," Kuro chuckled.
To launch Genshin quickly, they'd speed-run Mondstadt and Liyue. A little breather was welcome.
Anyway, the content packs already had story and maps. It wasn't brain-burning—just grind.
"Good. With partners decided, you can go sign in person. If there's nothing else, we're done here."
In his previous life, Ken had suffered enough three-day minor meetings and weekly big ones.
At his own company, once he assigned what must be done and set direction, he ended meetings decisively—no time-wasting vision-casting.
But since he hadn't come in for two days, there were many documents needing his sign-off.
He worked through them until evening.
"Boss, want to grab dinner together?"
Seeing he hadn't left, a staffer came over to ask.
A young, successful, handsome man like Ken was popular with the girls.
They knew he had a daughter.
But the thought of a daughter who looked like little Klee in the game made everyone adore her.
"No need. You all go, and expense it—dinner's on me."
Ken planned to eat in Mondstadt.
"Alright then… thanks, boss!" The employees exchanged regretful looks and headed out.
Ken packed up and went home to change out of his suit.
Mona had prepped Mondstadt-style clothes for him.
The style wasn't that different from Blue Star's, but the refined cut and embroidery carried that unique 2D aristocratic flair.
"Open the Vortex Gate."
Dressed, Ken spoke.
...
"Boss? I was just about to find you—great timing. The Adventurers' Guild sent word: the ores you wanted are ready."
As soon as he arrived at the Mondstadt specialty shop, Mona came to greet him.
"That fast?" Ken was surprised. Yesterday, Katheryne had said it would take about two days—he thought he'd get the ore tomorrow.
Mona nodded. "The Spindrift Knight also sent some Starsilver at noon—said she hoped it could help."
As she spoke,
Mona opened a nearby crate filled with high-purity Starsilver.
"As expected of the cold-outside, warm-inside Spindrift Knight. Those ores are in Dragonspine; even if adventurers collect them, they're pricey."
Looking at the pile of Starsilver, Mona sighed sincerely.
When she first met Eula, she'd thought Eula was very aloof. Later, she realized Eula just had a cold face—her heart was kind.
"Make sure to thank her properly."
Ken knew how hard Starsilver was to gather; his goodwill toward Eula rose again.
She moved people by quietly doing things.
"Let's move the ore to the backyard workshop, and I'll head to the Guild to pick up the rest."
Since the ore was dug up, Ken wouldn't delay.
He'd start forging signature weapons after dinner.
Because the double portal time was limited, he'd originally planned to forge on Blue Star to work around the clock.
But after thinking it through, he chose Mondstadt.
First, the system's weapon was a prototype, already formed; the rest wouldn't take much effort.
Second, Mondstadt's elemental energy was rich; he could use it to catalyze forging—better to do it here.
So in the back garden, Ken had Mona set up a workshop with blacksmith tools, ready to go once the ore arrived.
With enough Mora in hand, Ken went to the Adventurers' Guild.
But upon entering the hall, he saw a purple-clad girl sitting there.
Her purple butterfly-like long dress swayed in the breeze; her exposed shoulders were fair as jade. Two locks of golden hair were tied with black ribbons into little pigtails.
A black eyepatch covered her emerald left eye, adding mystery to her haughty aura.
Her beautiful legs, wrapped in irregular garter stockings, were crossed as she lifted her chin proudly, reading a book—none other than the chuunibyou girl, Fischl.
Ken's gaze landed on the fair skin of her neck.
Compared to the black garter stockings, Fischl's black choker was even more alluring to him.
"Mr. Ken."
As Ken entered, Katheryne called politely, "Your order is complete. This is Miss Fischl, who fulfilled it."
The sudden voice broke Fischl's reverie.
She stood instinctively; her soft, wing-like skirt fluttered with her movement. Her emerald eye fell on Ken, showing sparks of delight.
"I am Fischl, Prinzessin der Verurteilung, ruler of midnight's dark embers. By the summons of fate, I descend upon this realm. O traveler from another world, drawn by destiny to Mondstadt—my little garden. I hear you felled my sworn foe, the fell dragon Tatsulrak. In recognition, I grant you leave to walk beside me."
Fischl stepped up to Ken, raising her right hand with formal poise, and introduced herself in earnest.
...
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