After settling her grievances with Scaramouche, Ei flew back to Tenshukaku carrying his remains. Only now was the gathering of four Archons truly complete.
Ei said, "Sorry to keep everyone waiting. Some personal matters took longer than expected."
Zhongli said, "No matter. We witnessed a splendid match, too. That alone made the trip worthwhile."
Venti, meanwhile, called out boisterously, "Ei, Inazuma has a rule, doesn't it? Anyone who arrives late to a gathering has to drink three cups as a penalty."
Ei swept Venti with a fierce glare, looking as though she might draw her blade and slash him the very next moment.
Seeing that things were going wrong, Venti immediately changed his tune. "In that case, don't mind if I do."
With that, Venti hoisted the entire jar of fine wine and began gulping it down, unable to stop smiling. Making a drunkard drink as punishment was no punishment at all-it was clearly a reward.
Seeing Scaramouche's shattered body, Nahida hurried over to check on him and asked anxiously, "Ei, how is Scaramouche?"
Ei said calmly, "I avoided his core with that slash. All that suffered damage was his outer shell. That fellow, The Doctor, modified Scaramouche's original body so much that even I barely recognized it. I might as well take this opportunity to rebuild him from scratch.
"I'll create a more advanced body for him, and fill the hollow that used to be in his chest as well.
"Don't worry, Nahida. I promise I'll have him repaired before you return to Sumeru. You'll have a brand-new Scaramouche to take back with you."
Hearing this, Nahida breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's how it is. That's good, that's good."
Standing nearby, Yucheng offered a teasing suggestion. "Ei, since you're rebuilding him anyway, why not find a way