Lyney's words left Yuto utterly shocked.
"Aren't you my pal?"
"You called Clorinde to fill in for you. If the Meropide prisoners don't cause trouble, it's fine, but what if they do?"
"Aren't you really afraid of losing your workforce?"
Lyney looked at the slightly shocked sea-blue eyes, seemingly realizing he had forgotten to convey some important information, and then said with ease:
"I also told Clorinde to take it easy. Plus, that rule you proposed last time, using 'fines' instead of traditional punishments like solitary confinement, really works."
"In the past two years... except for those prisoners with deep grudges from the surface, most others don't cause trouble."
"After all, for the vast majority of them, living in Meropide is much more comfortable than living on the surface."
As Lyney spoke, he handed the long wooden box on the table to Yuto and raised his chin, motioning for him to open the mysterious wooden box now.
Yuto looked at the somewhat excited Lyney in front of him and smiled softly.
Click—
Accompanied by the sound of metal buckles colliding in Yuto's ears, the wooden box slowly opened.
Although no golden light burst forth, the silver-white staff lying quietly in the luxurious red velvet shimmered with a unique glow under the reflection of the sun.
A meticulously polished Electro Crystal was inlaid at the top of the staff, and the rich Electro elemental power it contained demonstrated the extraordinary quality of this crystal.
Looking at the artistic silver-white staff before him, Yuto was somewhat stunned, then gently took the silver-white staff out of the red velvet.
Yuto lightly weighed the staff, feeling its perfect weight, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
He knew why Lyney was so excited.
"This staff... must have taken a lot of effort, right?"
Yuto murmured.
"It took less effort than you spent helping me set those rules, anyway."
Lyney shrugged, and as he spoke, he took the silver-white staff from Yuto's hand and gently pressed the Electro Crystal at the top of the staff.
Click—
With the sound of gears meshing, the metal layer that originally enveloped the Electro Crystal at the top of the staff suddenly opened slightly as if it had lost its support.
A circular sword guard and a hilt inlaid with an Electro Crystal appeared within the staff.
Seeing this, Lyney unhesitatingly drew the meticulously forged ceremonial sword from the "scabbard" and handed it to Yuto.
"Here, a new design from the two researchers I hired. The staff's outer casing acts as the scabbard, and inside is the ceremonial sword. How is it? Does it meet your requirements?"
Lyney said with a faint smile.
Yuto took the long sword, weighed it slightly, and then said with some disbelief:
"Even the weight of the sword, you..."
Before Yuto could finish, Lyney handed the "scabbard" in his hand to Yuto and said:
"That's right, as an Assistant Administrator, you're busy all day, and even when you take time off, you don't get peace. Where would you find time to adapt to a weapon?"
"So I've precisely calibrated the weight to ensure you'll feel familiar with it right away."
"Oh, by the way, I also picked this Electro Crystal. It's one of the best quality among the recent batches of goods."
"It can help you speed up the attachment of Electro elemental power and slightly increase your sharpness after enchantment."
At this point, Lyney paused slightly, then continued:
"But don't use this as a Catalyst. I didn't design it with elemental loss reduction according to Catalyst standards."
Listening to Lyney's words, a peaceful smile appeared on Yuto's face, and then he softly said:
"Thank you, Lyney."
Lyney shook his head gently upon hearing this, and as he took his jacket, which he had casually placed on the back of the chair, he said to Yuto:
"There's no need for thanks between us. Without you... I'd probably still be oppressed by that guy for a while."
"Without your dedication, Meropide wouldn't be as orderly as it is today, and the mora harvested wouldn't be as much as it is today."
"Of course, without your deliberate matchmaking, my intelligence and business network wouldn't have reached Teyvat as it has today."
"I'll say it again: without you, there would be no Lyney today. There's no need for thanks between us."
With that, Lyney walked towards Yuto's office door without looking back.
However, before Lyney could take a few steps, he turned his head, looked at Yuto, who was returning his gentle smile, and softly said:
"There are some results from The Prophecy investigation. I'll come find you when my subordinates have investigated things thoroughly."
"'Fontaine people are born guilty'... Although I don't know why we were inexplicably branded with such a label, it doesn't matter, after all..."
"Everyone living in this world has made mistakes, more or less. If we were to demand with extremely harsh ideals..."
"Then we ourselves are all sinners."
After saying this, Lyney left Yuto's office, leaving only Yuto lost in thought, and the cute Little Sanhua.
...
After explaining for a while to the moderator, Nonomi's live stream was unbanned after a two-minute suspension.
Watching the screen gradually return, viewers who had not yet exited the live stream began to share it.
Of course, there were also playful bullet comments.
"Kids! Ye Zhi won the revival match against the boss!"
"Press 1 to get a piece of the No. 24 helicopter toy."
"111111, are you really sending it, bro?"
Nonomi looked at the meme-filled bullet comments in front of her and was momentarily torn between laughter and tears.
Sometimes she loved her audience of mischievous treasures. Although most of the time they brought operations that made one's eyes black, still...
At times like these, they knew how to make the streamer laugh.
Seeing more and more people return to the live stream, a smile appeared on Nonomi's face, and she immediately changed the live stream name to:
"Kids, I'm back!"
"1111 Streamer, did you see that part of the Bai Song Town plot later? Yuto's eulogy, did it feel very familiar?"
"Ahem, here's a joke: three 'roosters' combined might not be three-quarters as tall as Yuto."
"I'd call it the Fontaine version of 'A Winter Night's Lazzo,' but I didn't see the Assistant Administrator and the Judgment arguing."
"That's enough. If those two could argue, Fontaine would have been ruined long ago."
"Indeed, now it seems... Furina seems like the kind of person who would say things like, 'The three of us are really strong.'"
"But Yuto is really handsome, right? In that PV just now, if he wore a custom black suit, that solemn and dignified feeling would instantly come across."
"Yuto in casual clothes is the gentle and considerate Assistant Administrator. Yuto in a black suit is a top assassin hidden in Fontaine's dark side, clearing obstacles for Fontaine's development. How could I have such a dream?"
"Could he end up as a weekly boss...? Because of conflicting ideals or something...?"
"Don't even say it, don't even say it, it's really possible. Didn't the Vanguard always help us, only to turn against us in the end?"
"...Now that you mention it, indeed, eh?"
As the game screen appeared, the discussion in the live stream gradually shifted from the "revival" meme to the discussion of Yuto's performance in the main story's end PV.
And the biggest winner... was Nonomi.
After all, she really saw the possibility of Yuto becoming a weekly boss from the PV.
"Go, Yuto! You must become a weekly boss and protect my wallet!"
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