Another week passed after that.
Teyvat and the MC World returned to their busy daily work lives.
Barbara shed her title of melancholy princess, returned to her sweet persona, and became increasingly alluring due to her physical and mental growth.
Originally only very popular among Mondstadt youth, now from small children of seven or eight (maternal love) to seniors of sixty or seventy (maturity), everyone recognized this idol, truly becoming a national idol.
As for Fischl.
She hung out with the Traveler and also fell in love with entertainment products like manga.
But her self-control was infinitely stronger than the Traveler's; after buying a large stock of manga with her salary (world coins), she simply traveled back and forth between Teyvat and the MC World, becoming a cross-world adventurer.
...
One leisurely afternoon.
At a seaside tea house in Liyue Harbor.
Jack, Zhongli, and Venti gathered together, each sitting on a small stool, fishing.
Two hours passed.
None of them caught even half a fish.
"Traveler, you seem to visit Liyue often recently. Have things over there been settled?"
Zhongli flipped through the "Records of the Grand Historian" he bought from the general store, chatting idly while multitasking.
"Pretty much. All the wizard's eyes I could find have been found. Only the wizard's eye is left. I've refreshed the random shop over a thousand times and it hasn't appeared, so I'm ready to come out and change my mood."
Jack sighed.
The real-life MC game he played had high freedom, but also because it was too free, it lacked even basic guidance.
Originally, he was still trying to synthesize the wizard's eye using old version formulas.
But after countless failed attempts with Lisa and others, Jack gave up on that idea.
There was still a long time ahead, so he might as well spend tens of thousands of world coins refreshing the shop every day; it would appear one day.
"Then would you like some fine wine? For changing your mood, this is the most effective."
Venti handed over a large bowl of white liquor.
The mellow aroma of the wine was enough to make one feel tipsy just by smelling it.
"Drinking strong liquor first thing in the morning? It's a good thing you're a god, otherwise, you'd definitely get alcohol poisoning."
Jack shook his head, refusing Venti's hospitality.
Venti pouted, "Tsk, I wouldn't even offer it to ordinary people~"
Tap ~ tap ~ tap ~
The sound of high heels on the stairs approached from a distance.
A qipao-clad beauty with blue hair walked towards them.
"A Qu, here's a letter for you."
"For me? Who sent it?"
After handing over the letter, Ganyu obediently stood behind Jack, proactively massaging his shoulders.
Zhongli watched from the side, very pleased, showing a fatherly smile.
"It's from the Divine Priestess. Last time, when I was writing to her, I mentioned you, and this time her reply was sent directly to you, A Qu, do you think the Divine Priestess might also…"
"Cough, cough, that's right, it's exactly what you're thinking."
Jack knew what Ganyu wanted to say.
It was nothing more than asking about the Friendship Level.
Jack initially didn't dare to tell Keqing how many confidantes he had outside, but now that he had evolved, he could tell everyone without hesitation.
He had maxed out the Friendship Levels of all the Inazuma girls, including little Sayu.
Originally, Jack had planned to contract Xiangling and others who were out before heading to Inazuma.
However, since Miss Yae Miko had already sent a letter, he should first see what she had to say.
...
To the Traveler, personally.
I recently chatted with Sister Ganyu and learned that you have returned to the Teyvat continent.
You ungrateful little fellow, you stayed in Mondstadt and Liyue for so long and didn't even come back to see your sister.
Without you, sister doesn't feel as happy eating fried tofu as before; she always feels like something is missing from her life.
But actually, sister is still one of the more restrained ones.
Do you know that the young lady of the Kamisato Family sent her ninja squad to the Sumeru Desert to find you?
That was also the first time I saw little Sayu so actively going on a mission.
Obviously, they didn't find any trace of you in the end and returned from Sumeru disheartened.
And there's the little girl from the Naganohara Family.
Because the fireworks she made often misfired, her father has forbidden her from making fireworks.
Every day, she either stares blankly at the street outside her door or goes to Gankin Island and sits there all day.
Little Kokomi is also the same; her recent diary entries are all like, "Still no news of the Traveler today, energy -100."
(P.S. Sister didn't intentionally peek at little Kokomi's diary, absolutely not~)
And little Sara, little Shinobu...
Counting them all, little fellow, you've certainly charmed quite a few lovely girls in Inazuma.
Oh, right, I forgot about a certain shut-in.
The dignified Electro Archon, Raiden Ei, thought the Traveler had left this world and was so upset that she broke down crying and wailing. Oh, so pitiful.
Traveler... Are you really planning to abandon us?
... (Signed with a fox paw print)
"Tsk tsk, full of affection."
"From a conventional, rational perspective, this Grand Priestess of Inazuma is indeed deeply in love with you."
The Anemo and Geo Archons had, at some point, gathered behind Jack, peeking at the letter a young girl sent to her beloved, and shamelessly making comments.
Jack rolled his eyes at them, then put away the letter and sighed.
"The hardest to bear is a beauty's kindness, and a beauty's affection is even more so."
"A Qu, are you planning to go to Inazuma first?"
"That's right, Yae Miko clearly wrote the letter to urge me to go. If I don't heed it, I don't know what kind of trouble this little fox will cause. And compared to her, I'm more worried about Raiden Ei."
It was mentioned before.
According to normal progression, a character like Raiden Ei is basically impossible to reach Friendship Level 10.
To reach that level, one needs to break through the shadows of Raiden Ei's departed friends and family, and then firmly occupy a large part of her heart.
Jack's current behavior is like finally getting someone to the most perfect stage of a relationship, only to disappear completely right before marriage.
Even an ordinary person would break down, let alone the more childish Raiden Ei.
And when this person is also the Electro Archon, who possesses the power to destroy continents, then things become very terrifying.
So Jack unhesitatingly pulled up his fishing rod and packed his gear: "I'm not in the mood for fishing today. I'm leaving first, you two do as you please."
Jack left the port fishing ground decisively.
Ganyu also followed him, carrying his empty fishing basket.
Zhongli and Venti exchanged glances, losing their interest in fishing as well, and pulled up their rods, preparing to leave.
It was only then that the two saw what bait the other was using.
Zhongli's was a top-grade Cor Lapis.
Venti's was a bare rod with nothing on it.
"Pfft! Old man, the Traveler asked you to fish, and you're just going to brush him off like that?"
Zhongli looked upwards with his eyes.
"I don't like slimy seafood; catching it would only make me more uncomfortable."
"Heh heh, I know, old man, you're afraid of catching more fish than the Traveler and hurting his feelings, right?"
"Alright, it's enough that you and I know." Zhongli was well-versed in the art of workplace fishing, never catching more than the boss, and doing so flawlessly.
"I'm going to the Heyu Tea House next. Are you coming?"
"Can I drink there?"
"Then don't go."
"No! Liyue people speak so nicely and wittily, I just love listening to Liyue storytellers!"
Venti quickly caught up with Zhongli, completely unfazed by Zhongli's displeased expression. The two were like the classic 'no brains' and 'unhappy' duo, their atmosphere unusually harmonious.
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