Hearing the voices of Ganyu, Xianyun, and Luya, everyone in the shop immediately turned to look.
"Cloud Retainer?!"
"That Adeptus skilled in mechanisms—the one who improved the Guizhong Ballista?"
"I didn't expect yet another Adeptus to descend the mountain!?"
"Hahaha, so even among the Adepti, this Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel craze is spreading now!"
"First it was the Conqueror of Demons, then Ganyu and Yanfei, and now even Cloud Retainer has come to play..."
Originally intending to keep a low profile, Xianyun realized that was no longer possible under the current circumstances, so she decided to blend in.
"This Adeptus came here only to study..."
"To study these technologies, not for entertainment."
Yesterday, when Xianyun arrived at Luya's shop, it had already closed. The Duel Stage that had piqued her curiosity was unused. However, now there were many spectators, and a Duel was underway on the stage. Xianyun turned her gaze toward it.
Monsters—fierce, adorable, gentle—were being summoned by the customers! Now, Xianyun's curiosity was fully aroused. She realized these monsters were actually appearing from the cards in the customers' hands! Her scalp tingled at the thought. Those intricate devices she saw yesterday—so they had such incredible functions!?
Xianyun was completely stunned. For a moment, she even forgot to ask Luya about the schematics in his hands.
After a while, she murmured to herself, "This... these things are simply too marvelous..."
She glanced around. Customers nearby were playing on gaming machines—tiny screens displaying both visuals and sound!? And then, in the projection room, an anime—Yu-Gi-Oh!—was being shown. Its clarity and playback length far surpassed the image-recording devices she and the other Adepti had painstakingly developed! Seeing all this, Xianyun was dazed for a moment. To her, Luya's shop was like a paradise on earth.
How could there exist so many technologies she had never seen before? Moreover, Luya had even helped her dearest friend, Guizhong, reappear—though only in a soul-like form. Yet being able to converse with a long-departed friend was already enough to shock Xianyun beyond words. Even the Demon Gods themselves could not achieve such a feat!
Still, this young man before her had done it. And with so many remarkable devices in his shop...
Xianyun looked solemnly at Luya. "Shopkeeper, would you take me as your disciple?! Teach me these mechanical arts?"
Hearing Xianyun's sudden request to become his disciple, Ganyu gasped, covering her mouth. "Cloud Retainer...?" If Xianyun truly became Luya's disciple, then what would that make Ganyu and Luya? Employer and employee?
Or grandmaster and grand-disciple? As Xianyun's apprentice—and currently Luya's only staff member—Ganyu was utterly bewildered.
Luya, hearing Xianyun's request, felt his brain seize up a little. Xianyun was thousands of years his senior, and she wanted to learn mechanism craft from him? Yet he didn't even know any!
"Uh... Cloud Retainer, you... are you serious?!"
Seeing Luya's stunned look, Xianyun replied earnestly, "Of course I am. The technologies within your shop are at a level I could scarcely reach even in my lifetime. Ahem, so I wish to take you as my teacher... and learn from you."
Her expression was utterly sincere. Luya hesitated, unsure what to do. After all, Xianyun was ancient—and besides, he honestly had nothing to teach her. Nevertheless, after thinking for a bit, Luya decided to accept. After all, even the distinguished Adeptus Xiao had become his little Travel Frog. Adding Cloud Retainer as a disciple didn't seem all that strange. Besides, he could certainly put her talents to use.
The creation of the Portable Game Console still required the joint research of Xianyun and Guizhong. He himself couldn't understand the schematics, nor did he have the craftsmanship. In the end, it would be best for Xianyun to handle the technical side—that was her specialty, after all.
...
So, Luya nodded and accepted Xianyun's request. "Since you are so sincere, Cloud Retainer... very well, I'll accept you as my disciple."
Ganyu stared at Luya in disbelief. "Shopkeeper... then how should I address you now? Cloud Retainer is my master, but... you're my master's master... and I also work here..."
Seeing Ganyu's confusion, Luya laughed. "Let's keep things simple. Just call me 'shopkeeper.' After all, I'm still young—being called 'grandmaster' makes me sound ancient."
Ganyu smiled and nodded, then returned to her post behind the counter.
Seeing that Luya had agreed, Xianyun also smiled, pulling out a deposit slip worth 100 million Mora. "This is... my gift for becoming your disciple."
Luya, who'd been worrying about funds, was overjoyed. Not only did he need money to upgrade and expand the shop, but also to level up [Divine Hand]. He felt extremely lucky today.
That morning, Ganyu had given him 300 million Mora. Now Xianyun had gifted him another 100 million. In an instant, he had 400 million Mora! Luya suddenly felt a little wealthy.
With that kind of capital, he could do so much—hire staff, buy materials—everything required large sums of Mora. With 400 million in hand, both Ganyu and Xianyun looked even more pleasing to the eye.
...
While Luya was still imagining how to spend it, Xianyun's voice came again: "Master, please teach me the art of mechanisms!"
Hearing her, Luya nodded. "To master what I'm about to teach, you must first understand... what Yu-Gi-Oh! and Duel Monsters are!"
Xianyun nodded repeatedly. "I shall heed your teachings, Master!"
Luya pointed toward the Electronic Duel Game Machine, ready to have her get familiar with it first. After all, the device he intended for Xianyun to work on was precisely the Portable Game Console. So, understanding the shop's gaming machines was the quickest way to start.
"Spend this morning... playing—uh, I mean, studying—that machine. Once you've figured it out, I'll pass on to you a piece of mechanical craft."
Following his instructions, Xianyun quickly sat down before the Yu-Gi-Oh! gaming machine.
"Yu-Gi-Oh!... Start!"
...
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