Since the bar's rules only allowed Chen Luo to attack others—not the other way around—the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't actually hit him.
But that didn't stop her from nearly breaking his neck with her furious shaking.
"You bastard! You tricked me into drinking bitter melon juice?! You know how disgusting that is?!"
"Of course I do. But 'good medicine tastes bitter,' right? As the Immortal Phoenix, you should know that better than me. Bitter melon might taste awful, but it's packed with nutrients," A'Luo explained.
"Then why didn't you drink it?!"
"Obviously because it's disgusting. Who would?" He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"So you fed it to me?! You have no conscience!" The Herrscher of Sentience yanked his ear.
"But you're the Herrscher of Sentience! You're omnipotent! Can't even handle some bitter melon juice?"
"Yes, I could alter my own perception to make it taste good—but that crap should be banned by the Geneva Convention! Only Theresa would willingly drink it!" The Herrscher of Sentience continued to yell at Chen Luo.
Hearing that the Herrscher of Sentience could technically stomach the juice, A'Luo grew even more envious of her authority.
"Did someone say... bitter melon juice? Are any of you talking about bitter melon juice?" A small head suddenly popped through the bar's entrance.
Both Chen Luo and the Herrscher of Sentience froze.
"...Theresa?!" The Herrscher of Sentience's jaw dropped.
What the hell? Is "bitter melon juice" Theresa's summoning chant?!
To invoke Theresa across worlds simply by mentioning that vile drink - this defied all logic.
"Oh, Fu Hua! You're here too?" Theresa visibly relaxed upon seeing the Herrscher of Sentience, stepping fully inside. "St. Freya suddenly had this weird little bar appear. I was suspicious at first, but seeing you here puts me at ease. Though... why are you dressed so strangely?"
The Herrscher of Sentience released A'Luo's ear, staring incredulously. "Th-Theresa... You're not scared of me?"
"Scared? Me? Why would I be? If anything, you should be scared! Students sneaking off to drink? Absolutely unacceptable!" Theresa puffed her cheeks in that familiar, childish way.
"..." Hearing this shocking statement, the Herrscher of Sentience looked at Theresa in surprise, went up to her and looked at her up and down. Did Kiana dropkick her head? How does she not recognize I was the Herrscher of Sentience?
Unless...
"Theresa, let me ask you something—" The Herrscher of Sentience took a measured step back.
"It's Principle! ...Though 'Theresa' is fine around strangers." The tiny woman said with her hands on her hips and her head raised.
"Erm, Principle..." The Herrscher of Sentience smoothed her expression into something resembling Fu Hua's calm demeanor. "How's Kiana been lately?"
"Well, Kiana? Why did you start paying attention to this matter? Well, it's fine to tell you. That irresponsible Siegfried took off with her again. I still haven't found them. That poor girl, stuck with such a flaky father—" The change in topic worked instantly. Theresa's face darkened. Her tiny feet stomped in anger.
"Any other troubles recently?"
"According to Schicksal intel, Anti-Entropy's been sniffing around Nagazora. No idea what those troublemakers want."
"Oh? How... unfortunate." The Herrscher of Sentience's grin turned razor-sharp, and even gave people a feeling of wanting to laugh wildly.
"Let's not talk about this. You mentioned bitter melon juice just now, right? What's going on with this bar? Does it sell bitter melon juice?" Theresa looked around, her little nose twitched slightly, and then looked at the glass of light green liquid on the table.
"That's premium bitter melon juice!"
Hearing Theresa's question, the Herrscher of Sentience quickly used her authority to control her emotions. "Ahem. This establishment connects different worlds. That person over there, for instance, is Teyvat's foremost bard. I merely... happened upon this place."
Don't laugh. At least, she couldn't laugh now.
"And in this bar, if one desires something strongly enough, you can get whatever bitter melon juice you want to drink." While answering Theresa, the Herrscher of Sentience did not forget to solicit business for Chen Luo.
"Oh, is it so magical? Then I want a glass of the same bitter melon juice." Theresa pointed to the glass of bitter melon juice that the Herrscher of Sentience had left.
[Ding! New Commission!]
At the same time, Chen Luo received a commission.
[The Finest Bitter Melon Juice]
commission: Serve Theresa a juice matching the Herrscher of Sentience's drink
Reward: 30 Primogems
Difficulty: One Star
"No problem." Chen Luo, the bar owner, nodded instantly.
Then Chen Luo immediately returned to the bar and began to prepare bitter melon juice for Theresa.
This beats Barbatos' wine commissions!
After all, Barbatos' orders typically paid 20 Primogems, but he got 40.
Chen Luo understands why Theresa's bitter melon juice pay more Primogem than Barbatos' commission.
Because Barbatos didn't think Chen Luo could really make a wine brewed with wind, so he didn't have high expectations.
The commission relies on the stronger the desire, the more you get.
However, because Venti didn't have too much expectation, he only got 20 Primogem, so Venti made up the reward and became 40 Primogem after providing exceptional wine.
Of course, in addition to this, this bitter melon juice is so expensive because Chen Luo added additional ingredients to it.
This bitter melon juice used three portions of Chen Luo's ingredients, which is 0.3 pieces of a Primogem. In order to prevent the Herrscher of Sentience from discovering that this was a cup of bitter melon juice, Chen Luo spent a lot of effort.
Therefore, the quality of this bitter melon juice is actually very high.
"Here!" After a while, a glass of bitter melon juice that looked nothing like the bitter melon juice that was served to the Herrscher of Sentience was placed in front of Theresa.
Theresa's first sip triggered a radiant smile. "It tastes good! It is indeed the best bitter melon juice!" Theresa instantly asserted.
[Ding! Commission Complete. Theresa's Favorability Increased]
"A'Luo. Corner. Now." The Herrscher of Sentience who had run to the corner of the first floor at some point beckoned him.
"Please enjoy, I'll go over there." After Chen Luo said this to the two guests, Theresa and Venti, he walked to the corner.
"You do your thing, as for me, I'll just have some wine to drink." Venti nodded.
As for Theresa, she didn't hear what Chen Luo said at all. Instead, she raptured by the bitter melon juice Seeing Theresa in this state, Venti also curiously picked up a straw and put it into the extra-large wine glass.
Will it taste better if you drink it with a straw?