This time Beidou's fleet returned from Inazuma, followed by an exotic girl from the Electro Nation.
Her name is Yoimiya.
She is the talented successor of the Naganohara Fireworks Shop in Inazuma and a master fireworks craftsman. She was worried about the large batch of fireworks ordered for Liyue's Lantern Rite and was concerned that something might go wrong on the dangerous journey across the sea, so she followed the ship personally.
It was related to the approaching Lantern Rite Festival. If something went wrong, she would never receive such a large business contract from the Liyue Qixing in the future.
At the same time, this was also the first time that Yoimiya set foot on a foreign land and saw the real prosperity of Liyue Harbor.
"Big Sister Beidou, is the daily throughput at Liyue's pier so magnificent?"
Yoimiya was extremely shocked.
Looking up, she couldn't see the end of the merchant ships neatly arranged on the pier.
Looking at the offshore sea, there were thousands of sails dotting the horizon.
Just this magnificent sight made Yoimiya feel a kind of electric current crawling through her body—the thrill of witnessing a thriving civilization.
Beidou laughed heartily, slapping Yoimiya on the back.
"The pier is just one side of the prosperous world of Liyue Harbor!"
"There are many aspects to this city's grand scenery. You will know it after living here for a while!"
At this time, a boatman ran to the docking area and shouted up at the Alcor (The Crux flagship):
"Captain! That store is open!"
"Manager Hiroshi is back!!"
Hearing this, the workers carrying goods, the sailors chatting in twos and threes, and the merchants haggling politely—they all seemed to have stopped talking instantly.
A hush fell over the docks.
After a few seconds, the silence dissipated, and everyone started talking again, but with doubled excitement.
But this time, everyone's topic pointed to that store.
"Do you know Hongyi?"
"Hey, how could you not know? That kid has taken off! He bought a puppy Pokémon called a Growlithe and was even noticed by Lady Ningguang!"
"I'm not afraid to tell you, I bumped into Hongyi and his Growlithe training in the outskirts of Lisha... That dog was so fierce. It rushed into a crowd of Treasure Hoarders like a tiger descending a mountain!"
"You know nothing!"
"Why is it called a Pokémon? Is it because of its high IQ? Is it because it can breathe elemental flames? Did you know that a large Hilichurl tribe was burned down recently? It was Captain Hongyi and Growlithe—one person and one dog cleared the camp!"
"Speaking of these Pokémon... why is it that Lady Keqing's little one sits on her shoulder every day and doesn't show any signs of aggression? It just sleeps."
"You don't understand this, right? According to an uncle of mine who works in the General Affairs Department, Lady Keqing's current working method has changed. She uses that little Pokémon to pick up objects from afar and teleport herself around the office..."
"Hiss! So versatile! What is the true limit of Pokémon power?"
When Beidou, Kazuha, and Yoimiya hurriedly disembarked from the ship...
Yoimiya was confused when she heard these noisy discussions.
Now...
Liyue seems to have a grand event beyond the Lantern Rite itself?
...
Pokémon Home - Liyue Main Store.
When Hiroshi returned to the main store in Liyue, the first thing he did was to ask Meloetta to open the door to welcome guests.
He didn't plan to stay at the front desk all day. It was enough to let Meloetta and Cresselia handle the reception for now.
"Urgent matter."
"It's better to meet the Old Man (Zhongli) first and release the Ecological Zone."
"Then come back and finish the last part of the Auto Chess game code, followed by testing, closed beta, bug fixes, and then official launch!"
Hiroshi had also asked the Adventurers' Guild to provide the production technology for Katheryne puppets.
However, he found it troublesome to build them himself, so he simply asked the Adventurers' Guild to manufacture the dolls according to his specifications and then transport them to him. Therefore, Hiroshi still needs to finalize the personality settings.
The Store Manager is the Store Manager, and the Clerk is the Clerk.
Based on Hiroshi's perfected layout concept, there will be clerks in each branch across the Seven Nations, and then there will be a perpetual motion doll imitating Katheryne (maybe named Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny variant) which is highly efficient and saves labor.
"Where will the Old Man be now?"
With the little Mythical Pokémon Jirachi in his arms, Hiroshi asked Cresselia to release her mental power and focus on investigating a few key places in Liyue Harbor.
"Got it!"
"Ha, it is indeed the retired Emperor, drinking tea and listening to storytelling!"
Heyu Tea House.
This has always been a good place for Liyue people to go after work, and the business is very prosperous.
For example, the famous Yun-Han Opera Troupe and Yun Jin are based in the teahouse and have a fixed schedule of stage performances.
In addition to Liyue Opera, today is the special storytelling performance of Tea Master Liu Su.
"...But Captain Beidou consumed a lot of stamina!"
"Although Haishan was seriously injured, it became stronger and more desperate. The sea beast's instinct told it that it needed to wait and look for an opportunity to kill Beidou with one blow!"
"The cold wind was biting and whistling!"
"Beidou stood at the bow of the boat, holding the hilt of her claymore tightly, closing her eyes, and exhaled a breath..."
Tea Master Liu Su's tone rose and fell with the tension. When he talked about the heat of the war against the sea monster Haishan, the thousands of listeners in the teahouse were actually so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Just as the audience was intoxicated by the story...
Shua!
Hiroshi appeared silently in an instant and landed on a chair in a private box where distinguished guests usually sat.
This was the special box reserved for the Liyue Qixing or honored guests. It is not used normally, so Hiroshi calmly sat down on the empty chair.
Separated by a thin bamboo curtain, there was another VIP seat next to it.
"This sword broke the clouds and cut the moon with lightning speed!"
"The blood-soaked Beidou stood firm on the bow of the ship!"
"On the sea, the wind was high and the waves were rough, and the huge corpse gushing blood slowly sank into the depths."
"There was constant thunder in the sky, acknowledging the birth of a new legend!"
Clap! Clap! Clap!
There were cheers and applause everywhere. A waiter took a tray and walked along the teahouse auditorium. The rewards on the tray were piled up into a small mountain of Mora.
"Well said! Rewarded——"
Hiroshi smiled slightly and threw a handful of Mora onto the tray to add to the atmosphere.
The guests dispersed one after another as the story ended.
Zhongli, who was sitting in the box next door, and Hiroshi, who was sitting here, both had a tacit agreement not to get up.
Fan Er'ye, the owner of Heyu Tea House, was alerted by the waiter. He took a closer look and realized that this was serious—two heavyweights were about to talk. He quickly lowered his voice:
"You go and make a new pot of the finest tea for the two distinguished guests, and send some exquisite snacks along the way. Then leave them alone."
Afterwards, the balcony area was deserted except for them.
Hiroshi spoke first, breaking the silence.
"Should I call you Rex Lapis, or should I continue to call you the Consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?"
Zhongli took a sip of tea calmly. "..."
Hiroshi stepped up his offensive, grinning mischievously.
"Barbatos, the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt, told me to pass a message to the Old Man."
"He said: 'I received the initial Pokémon, Lapras. Although I can't beat you in a fistfight, my Pokémon can definitely defeat your Pokémon! Do you dare to have a Pokémon Battle? I'll beat you until your nose is bruised and your face is swollen!'"
Hiroshi leaned back, stroking Jirachi's head.
"No way, no way... the majestic Geo Archon, the Ancestor of All Adepti, the Warrior God Morax... has not yet obtained his first Pokémon?"