Ronova: What Does "Getting Off Work" Mean?

The Adventurers' Guild.

The journey had cost quite a bit, and he had paid six months' rent in one go. Feeling his empty purse, Mo Fan had no choice but to start earning money as soon as he arrived in Liyue.

As an adventurer, his way of making money was quite simple: taking commissions from the Adventurers' Guild.

However, adventurers needed a rating before they could accept high-level commissions. As an ordinary D-rank adventurer, Mo Fan could naturally only take the lowest-level jobs.

For example, finding missing cats and dogs, gathering herbs in the wild, or delivering letters and packages for someone...

Mo Fan could have considered revealing his strength to raise his adventurer rank, but that would greatly increase the chance of his identity being exposed. In the end, he chose to remain an ordinary D-rank adventurer.

"Ad astra abyssosque."

"Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild."

As Mo Fan entered the Adventurers' Guild in Liyue, Katheryne's familiar voice rang out.

Mo Fan nodded to the receptionist, who could be found in every nation and looked almost identical in each one, then silently walked over to the commission board.

Sure enough, one glance at the board told him that the only commissions his rank qualified him for were still the most ordinary gathering jobs.

He didn't mind. He casually accepted a task to pick ten Qingxin flowers, then promptly turned and headed for the mountains of Liyue.

Just then, he suddenly noticed an astonishing commotion at Liyue's Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Out of simple curiosity, he went over and discovered that the ministry was greatly expanding its staff.

"Why is the Ministry of Civil Affairs suddenly so short-handed?"

Mo Fan curiously asked a passerby beside him.

"It's all because of that video of Asura Yaksha." The passerby seemed quite happy to share what he knew. "The video has had such an impact that the ministry has been extremely busy lately and is short on staff. Of course, the main reason is that Secretary Ganyu seems to have left Liyue Harbor."

"Ganyu left Liyue Harbor?"

"Yes. Maybe the shock was too much for her, or maybe she felt guilty about Asura Yaksha. She gave up staying in Liyue and returned to Jueyun Karst. I'm afraid she won't be back anytime soon. Secretary Ganyu used to handle a frightening amount of work-as much as a hundred secretaries could manage. Now that she's gone, the ministry has to keep hiring more people to fill the gap."

"I see..."

Mo Fan hadn't expected the video of Asura Yaksha to have such an astonishing impact, directly landing the entire Ministry of Civil Affairs in serious trouble. He couldn't help showing a complicated expression.

After all, he was inextricably involved in all of it.

But Mo Fan didn't blame himself.

He didn't think the responsibility lay with him. It was entirely the fault of whoever had played the video.

By now, Mo Fan hated the culprit who had exposed the video more and more.

If he found out who had done it, he definitely wouldn't let them off lightly!

With those complicated thoughts in mind, Mo Fan ultimately set off for the mountains of Liyue to complete his adventurer's commission.

Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

After Ronova accidentally let slip the identity of the consultant, Zhongli, Hu Tao, director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, immediately looked suspicious.

She looked at Ronova in confusion, then glanced at Zhongli, who appeared unmoved but was actually panicking like crazy. She couldn't help asking, "Miss Ronova, what are you saying? Did you just call Consultant Zhongli the 'Geo Archon'?"

"Uh..."

Ronova was no fool. Although she had blurted out Zhongli's identity without thinking, she immediately realized he seemed to be hiding it when she saw how stiff he looked.

Recalling that she, too, was currently concealing her identity as the Ruler of Death, Ronova tried her best to salvage the situation so he wouldn't expose her identity in turn.

"Ahem, well, I think I made a mistake just now..."

"A mistake?"

Ronova's words failed to convince Hu Tao.

The director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, known for her quick wit and intelligence, still looked plainly suspicious.

Faced with a situation that seemed somewhat beyond saving, Zhongli finally stepped forward and spoke up. "To tell the truth, Director Hu, Miss Ronova and I were old acquaintances, in a manner of speaking."

"Huh? Zhongli, you actually know Ronova?"

"Yes. A long time ago, when I was still very young, I met her once."

Zhongli spoke calmly, and his words were indeed no lie.

"Then why did she just call you the 'Geo Archon'?" Hu Tao couldn't help scrutinizing Zhongli, seemingly considering how likely it was that he really was the Geo Archon.

"Do you think I look like Liyue's Geo Archon?" Zhongli waved a hand, making no attempt to avoid her scrutiny.

"No. Never mind that the Geo Archon in that earlier video looked completely different from you... What kind of god freeloads at our funeral parlor every day and runs up tabs all over the place every few days, then sends the bills to me?!"

"Uh..."

Zhongli was a little embarrassed by Hu Tao's words.

But her complete lack of trust was undoubtedly the response he wanted most.

So Zhongli said quietly, "Exactly. You misunderstood just now, Director Hu. Ronova called me the 'Geo Archon' because of a role-playing game we used to play in Liyue. I played the part of Liyue's Rex Lapis."

"A role-playing game? I see!" Hu Tao immediately believed Zhongli. "I played role-playing games when I was little too. I played the Crimson Fire-Bearing Phantom Butterfly of Liyue's Eight Wonders, Xiangling played the Wuwang Child, Xingqiu played the All-Phenomena Wind-Horned Spirit Official, and Chongyun played the evil Yaksha God... Those were fun times."

"I-is that so?"

Hu Tao's words left Zhongli with complicated feelings, but he couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.

At least the fact that his identity hadn't been exposed was the best news he could have hoped for.

Meanwhile, Ronova knew what a terrible mistake she had just made and couldn't help giving Zhongli an apologetic look.

That surprised Zhongli greatly.

His impression of the Ruler of Death was still of an arrogant, ruthless and indifferent being who held mortals in contempt.

The impression the Ruler of Death gave him now could be said to be completely different.

If the dense aura of death around her couldn't be faked, he would have thought she wasn't even the same person.

"This is great. I didn't expect Miss Ronova and Consultant Zhongli to be old acquaintances. I'm sure you'll be able to settle into the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor quickly, Ronova." Hu Tao smiled. "After work today, let's go eat at Wanmin Restaurant. It's all on me."

"Huh?"

At Hu Tao's words, obvious surprise appeared on Ronova's face.

Hu Tao assumed she was surprised by the offer to treat her, so she smiled and said, "It's a custom at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. When someone new joins, we always give them a little special treatment."

"No, that's not what I meant." Ronova hesitated for two seconds, then voiced her confusion. "What I mean is, what does 'getting off work' mean?"

"???"

As soon as Ronova said that, Hu Tao and Zhongli both looked at her strangely.