"I understand your concerns, but from a standpoint of universal rationality, insiders can provide unique information. Please wait." As the oldest God, Zhongli also knew that their experience might indeed have been somewhat... "extensive."
The screen shifted, revealing a toy salesman who looked utterly dead inside (; -_-).
Pretending not to notice Childe's lifeless expression, Zhongli said, "Tartaglia, I have a favor to ask."
Childe looked at the Gods who had just finished eating, the disastrous state of the table, and Morax, who had no Mora. He immediately guessed why he had been summoned.
"Got it, you want me to foot the bill again!" Honestly, Childe did not mind paying for them. After all... it was not his money. He was merely annoyed that a certain God treated him like a wallet.
[Pantalone: Again? Footing the bill? I see, I see...] (Pantalone is one of the Fatui Executives, The Rich Man. He will be referred to as The Rich Man from now on.) [The Rich Man: @Tartaglia, Ajax! Is this what you called "necessary expenses"?!] [Tartaglia: Hey, hey, hey, wait, wait, wait, The Rich Man, listen to my explanation.] [Tartaglia: When I first arrived in Liyue, I needed to gather information to quickly understand the situation, right?] [Tartaglia: Then I heard that Mr. Zhongli of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was highly knowledgeable and quite renowned.] [Tartaglia: So I thought of asking Mr. Zhongli to be my guide. Who knew he was actually...] [La Signora: Who knew he was actually Morax, the Geo Archon, right!] [The Rich Man: And what does that have to do with the bills for Liyue antiques, tea, and all those restaurants?!] [Tartaglia: If I wanted to build a good relationship with someone, I had to treat them to meals. And if I wanted their help, I had to give them gifts, right? So...] [The Rich Man: Is that why your expenses alone are greater than those of all the other Fatui Executives combined?! Answer me! Ajax!!!]
The Rich Man was not particularly dissatisfied with Tartaglia's expenditures. After all, they were only slightly more than Mondstadt's and Inazuma's combined budgets. Besides, several Fatui Executives were research money pits, and compared to them, this was nothing.
What truly enraged him was this: Childe had taken his money! Gone to his hometown! Wooed his idol! Used The Rich Man's money! In Tartaglia's name! And even won his idol's favor!
[Hu Tao: So you were the great benefactor of our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor! If you want one of our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor packages, I'll definitely give you a fifty percent discount.]
Zhongli also realized that Childe seemed to have misunderstood. Really, it was as if Childe thought he summoned him every time just to pay the bill.
Zhongli confidently patted his chest. "I'll pay the bill this time." (He just had to take the Mora out of his wallet, right...)
Hearing that he would not have to pay this time, Childe was not happy in the slightest. Instead, he asked with some difficulty, "Is this... that troublesome?"
Childe truly could not think of anything Zhongli might need his help with besides paying bills. It could not be that Zhongli wanted him to leave Snezhnaya, could it? Hahaha, how could that be possible? As a Fatui Executive from Snezhnaya, how could he possibly leave Snezhnaya? At most, he could only temporarily part from it.
Watching the two get along so harmoniously, Marika could not tell that one was Liyue's God and the other was a member of the Fatui. For who knew how many times, she complained, "What kind of gathering even is this?!"
Under the gaze of several Gods, Childe "voluntarily" told Marvika about Captain.
"I see. Captain truly would not be defeated so easily." Marika wore an expression of realization.
Then she declared confidently, "But that only makes me even more eager to fight!"
"Given your strength, I am certain there will be no issue," Zhongli said from the side as he drank tea.
Seeing that they were more or less done eating, Venti and the others planned to wander around while there was still time.
"It is still early. Let's go look around somewhere else together," Venti said as he walked outside, conveniently taking a cup of wine with him.
"Sure, sure. I want to buy some Liyue desserts to take back." Although the dishes had been delicious, Furina still wanted something like little cakes.
"Me too." As a dessert lover, Ei naturally would not pass up the chance to taste Liyue sweets.
"Then let's hurry!" Seeing that everyone else intended to leave, Nahida also wanted to have a good look at the nation governed by her seniors and see whether there was anything she could learn from it.
The Gods quickly left the place.
Only a toy salesman with a dead expression remained, along with a waiter waiting to collect payment, a cash register that kept spitting out bills, and a pile of receipts deep enough to submerge someone's thighs.
Childe looked at the bills that had already reached his waist. Thinking about how his budget had been withheld this month, he had originally wondered whether he could skip out on the bill. But when he saw the waiter staring at him closely, he ultimately abandoned that idea.
But with this month's budget already insufficient, there was clearly only one way to settle all these bills...
"Put it on the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's tab."
At last, Childe spoke the words that would make Director Hu's blood pressure explode on the spot.
[The Rich Man: Well done!] [Hu Tao: Childe, you ******! Why the ** are you putting it on the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's tab?!] [Zhongli: Director, from a standpoint of universal rationality, this was something Zhong agreed to.] [Hu Tao: Then pay for it!] [Zhongli: From what I observed, the Zhongli in the video probably did not bring any Mora.] [Hu Tao: Then bring some!] [Lumine: Didn't you bring your wallet in the end?] [Tartaglia: My friend, surely the wallet you mean isn't me?] [Lumine: Who else would it be?] [Tartaglia: I do not mind paying for Mr. Zhongli, but calling me a wallet is a little...] [The Rich Man: Shut up! That's my damn money! My money!!!] [System: Alright, alright, you two wallets, stop arguing (*^▽^*)] [System: Why should wallets make things difficult for other wallets?] [The Rich Man: **********] [The Rich Man has been muted] [Rewards will now be distributed!](Pretending nothing happened) [Congratulations to Zhongli, Venti, Raiden Ei, Furina, and Nahida for receiving Erosion -10%] [Zhongli: What?!]
Zhongli carefully sensed himself and discovered that his erosion really had decreased considerably.
[Venti: Th-this, this can actually restore erosion too?!] [Ei: The erosion has lessened significantly.] [Furina: I feel much more relaxed.]
Unlike the other two Gods, Furina was human. She did not possess their strength and had only the mental state of an ordinary person.
If Furina's true self had been a God, then with her mental state, she would likely have long been unable to endure the erosion and gone mad like Azhdaha.
[Nahida: It feels like taking a sip of ice water after eating a mint.] Nahida's reaction was not as strong as those of her seniors. After all, she was only five hundred years old, still a very young God compared to Zhongli and the others. [Congratulations to Marvika for receiving...]
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