Who am I?
Where am I?
What have I done?
Childe (Tartaglia) stood frozen, completely dumbfounded.
His Peace Star wasn't real—fine, he could accept that.
But now even the fake one had run off?!
It literally flew away?!
"Boss Han, what's going on here?!"
Childe hurried to the counter, visibly anxious.
From his point of view, since this "reward" came from Han Feng, surely the man must know what was happening, right?
"That was a Fake Peace Star," Han Feng said calmly, sipping his tea.
"When it attaches to an object, it enhances that object's properties."
"No, no, I mean—why did it fly away?!"
Childe's tone grew desperate.
"Oh, that," Han Feng replied nonchalantly.
"Fake Peace Stars have to be watched carefully.
Otherwise… they tend to run off on their own."
"If it has such a ridiculous flaw, why didn't you tell me earlier?!"
Childe looked like he was about to explode.
"Because some idiot got so excited about his reward that he didn't listen,"
Han Feng said lazily, eyes half-lidded.
That one hit right where it hurt.
Childe's expression froze— because that idiot was obviously him.
Still, he wasn't about to just let it go.
Even if it was fake, the Fake Peace Star did have real effects.
He couldn't afford to just lose it.
So he leaned forward across the counter, eyes sharp.
"Boss Han, my reward disappeared in your store.
Don't you think you should take responsibility?"
If Han Feng offered him a replacement, that would solve everything nicely.
Han Feng calmly set down his teacup.
"Sorry—once the reward leaves your hands, the store is no longer responsible."
"Wait, what rule is that? You never mentioned anything like that before!"
Childe frowned.
"Well," Han Feng smiled faintly, "you didn't ask."
"And besides—"
"All final interpretation rights belong to this store."
"I… what—?!"
Childe just stared blankly for a moment.
This was… this was bandit logic!
What kind of store had policies like these?!
Even the Northland Bank wasn't this shameless!
'Check your reward before leaving. No refunds. Final interpretation belongs to the store.'
He was speechless.
But at the same time—he had to admit…
"Heh… not bad. I'm stealing that policy for the bank."
Yes.
When he got back to Snezhnaya, he was definitely putting that on the wall of the Northland Bank.
"Boss Han, if I chase it now, can I still get my Fake Peace Star back?"
After calming himself, Childe asked seriously.
Han Feng had already made it clear he wouldn't compensate him— so all he could do now was go find it himself.
As much as he wanted to throw a tantrum, he didn't dare.
He was in Liyue, after all.
If he caused trouble here, the Qixing would jump at the chance to arrest him.
Not to mention, Keqing and Ganyu had both visited this shop personally.
Clearly, this manga store wasn't ordinary.
And above all—Han Feng himself was the most intimidating factor.
Anyone who could hand out such bizarre, reality-bending "rewards"
wasn't someone a Fatui Harbinger wanted to mess with.
If he pushed too far, he might not live to regret it.
"If you're fast enough, you might catch it," Han Feng said with a small grin.
"After all, it's still your reward."
"Much appreciated, Boss Han. I'll come back tomorrow!"
Childe nodded and turned to leave.
He decided that after retrieving the runaway Fake Peace Star, he would dig up every bit of information he could on this mysterious shop.
He had to understand it better.
"Boss, can he really catch that thing?"
After Childe left, Noelle asked curiously.
"If he'd reacted the instant it flew off, maybe."
Han Feng shrugged.
"But now? It's probably halfway across Liyue by now.
I wouldn't bet on it."
"Then why did you tell him he could?"
Noelle chuckled softly.
The boss really was getting mischievous lately.
"Didn't you see how frustrated he looked?" Han Feng said, amused.
"If I told him the truth, he might've smashed the store in anger.
Then you'd be out of a job."
He reached over and gently pinched Noelle's cheek with a grin.
"Hmm… not quite the same as Paimon's,
but still very nice."
"B-Boss!"
Noelle's cheeks flushed bright red as she swatted his hand away.
"You're terrible sometimes…"
Han Feng just chuckled and went back to sipping his tea.
Outside the shop —
Childe had just stepped into the street, intent on tracking down his missing Fake Peace Star, when he was once again stopped—this time by the Qianyan Army.
"Apologies," said the captain.
"By order of Lady Ningguang, everyone who enters the Solace Book Store must report their reward.
False reports will not be tolerated. Please cooperate."
"My reward already flew away! What's there to report?"
Childe's patience was hanging by a thread.
"Flew away?"
The captain blinked.
"You mean that blue, shooting-star-like object just now?"
"Yes! Exactly that! Did you see which way it went?"
Childe's eyes brightened with sudden hope.
"Toward the coast, that way."
The captain pointed toward the seaside.
"That way, huh?"
Childe confirmed the direction, then grinned.
"Thanks, brother. I owe you dinner sometime!"
And with that, he sprinted off toward the harbor.
When he was gone, the captain exhaled and turned to his men.
"Send someone to the Northland Bank.
Find out exactly what kind of 'reward' Childe received."
"Yes, sir!"
His subordinates nodded and set off.
The captain then turned his gaze back toward the Solace Book Store, eyes full of curiosity.
"What a strange store…"
He'd now witnessed four completely bizarre "rewards" come from it:
—A rune that let people borrow money,
—An umbrella that made it rain when opened,
—A "Grim Reaper Physique" that caused death wherever its owner went,
—and now a flying gem that escaped into the sky.
Every single one defied reason.
The more he saw, the more tempted he became.
"Once I'm off duty," he thought to himself, "I'm definitely going in there."
—------------------------------
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