"Little Island Boom-Boom Duck, gimme an apple juice."
The World Serpent bar—this was Raven's turf. As a mercenary who handled all kinds of jobs, she had plenty of skills. Bartending was one of them.
"Don't you think calling people that is pretty rude?" Raven snapped. Of course she understood what that nickname was getting at.
"And also, this is a bar. If you're ordering juice, you might as well not come here at all."
She said that, but Raven—Natasha—still poured Koji three glasses of apple juice.
It was an ingredient for mixing drinks, but nobody came to a bar just to order juice. If you weren't drinking, what were you even doing at a bar?
"Natasha, want me to make Schicksal pay you back with a well-located little island?" Koji asked.
"Really?" Natasha leaned forward, staring at him with bright, expectant eyes.
With her current savings, there was no way she could afford a good island. Having one really was her "triple-zero" goal—so she could move Xiao Kong and the others there to live.
The goal had been basically within reach, but because of the Herrscher of the Void… her island was gone.
And who was she supposed to complain to? As a World Serpent member, go cause trouble at Schicksal?
Yeah, no. She wasn't trying to die.
"To the filthy-rich people at Schicksal, an island is nothing," Koji said. "They've got more islands under their name than you can count. They can just toss you one."
Even if there wasn't a suitable island, Schicksal had the ability to reclaim land on the spot and build you three islands from scratch.
Raven's figure was also… very good. She wasn't showing any skin, but the thickness of the "armor" on her chest was, frankly, horrifying.
"Capitalists," Raven muttered.
She'd spent most of her life savings just to buy an island, yet Schicksal had no idea how many unused ones they were sitting on.
"If you can, then I'll be counting on you. Besides, it's Schicksal that owes me," she said.
Her island disappearing because of the Herrscher of the Void was pure collateral damage.
She hadn't even been involved in that incident—yet her island still got blasted out of existence. She'd literally cried and made a scene over it.
"It's a one-call problem."
If reviving Kallen was on the table, then let alone an island—Otto would hand over all of Schicksal without hesitation.
"This juice tastes good. Fresh-pressed?" Koji took a sip. It was crisp and sweet. He drained the whole glass in one go, then asked Raven for another.
"Honeycrisp apples from the good ol' U.S. of A. The sweet-and-tart balance is perfect, and they're insanely juicy," Raven said casually. "Great for juicing. Cocktails mixed with it end up with a really distinctive taste."
Anyway, World Serpent was paying, so she didn't care about the price.
"Let me ask you something," Koji said, sounding completely casual. "If the Honkai ended, what would you do?"
"That question… I've never really thought about it," Raven answered. "If I have to come up with something on the spot? I'd retire on my island."
She was blunt about it. After grinding for years as a mercenary and a World Serpent cadre, she absolutely intended to rest properly.
If not for the Honkai, her life would've been much simpler.
She was like Rita in that way—no special bloodline, no outrageous talent. Just a fighter without any cheats.
"Too bad," Koji said with a grin. "Without me, your island situation has no hope."
Raven's face darkened. Could he stop bringing that up?
"Ahem!" Koji cleared his throat and started imitating someone—so vividly it was almost creepy.
"I still remember what Sensei looked like back then."
"She had a blank expression and didn't say a word—pacing back and forth in the room, running around, rolling on the floor… all while muttering, 'It's fine, it's fine.' But her tears were just drip, drip, drip, pouring down."
"In the end, Sensei couldn't take it anymore. She rushed out and—toward the far end of the sea—she bawled her eyes out. Like a little kid. Heartbroken."
"She cried and cried until her tears ran dry and her throat went hoarse. Only then did she stand up."
"I'll never forget that moment. She made her vow to the setting sun—"
"No matter the cost, humanity will definitely defeat the Honkai!!"
…
After hearing that, Raven's blood rushed straight to her cheeks. She went beet-red in an instant, humiliation flooding her whole body.
She could guess exactly who had said that.
That tone—and someone who'd actually seen her like that—there was only one: Xiao Kong, who lived with her.
Oh, Xiao Kong. So this is how you go around sharing your teacher's black history.
"How was my impression?" Koji asked, grinning.
"Perfect."
Raven was embarrassed and annoyed, but she had to admit it—Koji sounded almost exactly like her.
"So what are you gonna do to teach that little brat a lesson?" Koji asked. "Spank her?"
This time, Xiao Kong hadn't even met Mei, and she hadn't told anyone else about it—so she was getting blamed for no reason at all.
"I'm going to cook her a whole bunch of delicious food."
Raven knew her cooking was bad. Xiao Kong and the others didn't like it. But kids couldn't be picky eaters.
"Brutal…" Koji gave her a thumbs-up.
Xiao Kong had personally admitted Raven's food tasted awful. This time, she was absolutely doomed.
Koji observed a moment of silence for her. She was about to suffer.
…
Back in Teyvat, Koji went to find Venti.
"Hic… what is it?" Venti asked.
Every time Koji saw him, he was—unsurprisingly—drinking.
"Teyvat is about to be destroyed."
Koji's mouth twitched. He needed to scare the booze right out of him.
"?"
Venti sobered up instantly, then rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"Even if Teyvat really were going to be destroyed, with you here, it'll be fine in the end."
All of Teyvat's strongest fighters put together still weren't Koji's match. How could it possibly be destroyed?
"I'm not the Sustainer," Koji said. "If Teyvat's actually getting destroyed, go ask the Sustainer."
He tossed Venti a bottle of cocktail.
"A booze I've never had before." Venti sniffed it, and his eyes lit up immediately. Just the aroma alone screamed "good stuff."
"Wine from another world," Koji said. "I only brought that one bottle."
"My guy! Now that's friendship—otherworldly wine," Venti said, taking tiny sips. "Even the old man hasn't had this."
There was only so much. He wasn't about to chug it. Who knew when he'd get another chance?
"So how are Old Man and Guizhong doing lately?" Venti asked. "I want to drink at their wedding banquet."
"It's not far," Koji said. "Why don't you just go to Liyue and take a look yourself?"
Venti looked awkward. "Last time, I accidentally offended him. If I go now, I'll definitely get beat up."
"What did you do?" Koji asked, intrigued.
"Nothing much," Venti said. "I just… secretly sold a few of his antiques for wine money."
Koji immediately understood.
You really had guts. The antiques Zhongli bought were definitely things he genuinely liked. And you sold them—just to trade for alcohol. The fact he didn't drop a full-on Heaven and Earth on you was only because he didn't want collateral damage in Liyue.
"Yeah, that tracks," Koji said. "You know Old Man. No way he's gonna do some sweet, youthful romance arc."
Venti rubbed his chin, then suddenly thought of something.
"I know where the Desire Demon God fell," he said. "There should be something left behind. It might help Old Man."
Koji stared at him, dumbfounded.
You're seriously trying to… "drug" Zhongli?
At that point it'd be: the Anemo Archon falls, citywide lockdown, full-scale investigation.
(End of Chapter)
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