"Ryou… I… I understand," Xingqiu said. He looked genuinely moved.
"Ryou-san, thank you for saving me!" Chongyun added, full of gratitude.
"Focus on recovering," Ryou said. "We'll talk about everything else after you're back on your feet."
Both of them were still pale, so Ryou gave a few more reminders before leaving with Keqing.
The moment they stepped out, they ran into Cloud Retainer and the other two. Ryou simply said, "Let's head to the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
"Mhm." Cloud Retainer nodded.
At Yujing Terrace, Ryou led them into a temporary office.
Everyone took a seat.
Ryou glanced at Cloud Retainer, then lifted the teapot, added tea leaves, and began to brew. Before long, a gentle fragrance filled the room.
Cloud Retainer watched him in silence, puzzled. What's so special about this tea?
Once it was ready, Ryou poured a cup for Ganyu, a cup for Cloud Retainer, and a cup for Shenhe.
But as the tea flowed, it was visibly infused with adeptal energy.
The aroma became far richer than before—clean and refreshing, the kind that cleared the mind in an instant. It was nothing like the tea from moments earlier.
Cloud Retainer stared at her cup for a long time, confusion written all over her face.
She'd watched the entire process. The tea leaves were normal. The water was normal.
So why did the tea change the moment it was brewed?
What was going on?
"I'm sure you noticed," Ryou said softly. "I can infuse items with adeptal energy. That's why the fruit and the chicken soup were different. My hands carry that energy."
He took a sip, then added, "As for why… I can't tell you yet. I just hope you'll keep it confidential."
"This…" Cloud Retainer tasted the tea for a while longer, then finally nodded. "Fine."
She looked up at him. "This one has some fruit on hand. Could you help this one as well?"
"Fruit? Sure," Ryou said without hesitation.
Getting on good terms with Cloud Retainer wasn't a bad thing. Besides, her personality wasn't difficult, and she was Ganyu's Master. An extra friend never hurt.
"Good. Then it's settled," Cloud Retainer said, smiling at once.
When she brought this fruit back to Mt. Aocang, she'd make those two old fossils see it with their own eyes—what it meant to have real resources.
They were always so stingy. This one was not the same.
After agreeing to help, Ryou escorted them out of Yujing Terrace.
Ganyu wanted to stay, but it wouldn't have been appropriate, so she returned to her own office.
"Hey—stop touching me," Keqing said, catching Ryou's wandering hand and shooting him a look. "And you come to the Ministry every day just to sit around like this? You don't handle any work at all?"
Ryou smiled. "We're management. We steer the direction."
Then he added casually, "If you work the way you used to, I'm telling you—within a year, maybe less, you'll burn yourself out."
"Hmph. And what if I do?" Keqing snapped, giving him a sharp pinch. "You'd better not start disliking me."
Then she glared even harder. "And stop thinking nonsense. This is an office."
"Alright, alright. No nonsense," Ryou hissed, sucking in a breath.
He caught her hand, held it in place, and patiently showed her a few massage techniques.
Keqing's face went so hot she felt like it might melt off.
This awful man.
He dragged her to the Ministry just to bully her, and now he was making her massage him on top of it.
"This is all your fault," she muttered. "Are you sure this is really okay?"
Keqing still felt uneasy.
The Ministry didn't have as much work as Ganyu's group, but plenty of it was still important. Handing everything down the chain was risky.
If someone leaked something, the consequences would be serious.
Ryou leaned down and kissed her once. "Relax. Zhongli-san sorts everything by priority first, then assigns it. That way, there's much less room for trouble."
He continued, calm and matter-of-fact. "And the Ministry staff have improved a lot. Even if something's off, Zhongli-san catches it, fixes it, and logs it."
He smiled. "All we have to do is hand out bonuses."
Keqing clicked her tongue. "So you've even got Rex Lapis running errands for you."
Then she sighed, giving up on scolding him. "Fine. I'm not even going to start."
Her expression shifted as she remembered something else. "But what about Mora? Are we really okay?"
She shot him a look. "You're the one buying all those weird clothes. You've spent nearly three million Mora lately."
"Don't worry. Covering things for now isn't a problem," Ryou said.
Then his tone turned a little more serious. "As for earning more… that depends on a certain Mondstadt alchemist. With Yanfei and Tabibito sending a letter together, I think we can get Albedo to come."
He picked up a sheet of paper and pressed it into Keqing's hand. "Here. Wipe it."
"Ugh, all your fault," Keqing muttered, rolling her eyes as she tidied herself up. Then she asked, "Why are you calling that alchemist here, anyway?"
"That's a secret," Ryou said, amused.
He paused, then added, "But if you're thinking of recruiting him to Liyue… that'll be difficult."
Keqing sighed, thinking of past attempts. "Ningguang invited a lot of alchemists before, trying to bring them in."
"Almost all of them refused," she continued. "We got a few ordinary ones, but the impact was… tiny."
She looked at Ryou. "Do you have any better ideas?"
"Maybe we start with Sumeru," Ryou said. "It's the nation of wisdom, so recruiting talent from there won't be easy either."
He thought for a moment. "Instead of wasting time begging people to come, we could buy learning materials and train our own alchemists."
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," Ryou called.
Zhongli entered and set a stack of documents on Ryou's desk.
"Two hundred thousand Mora?" Ryou said, surprised. "They've gotten that competitive?"
Zhongli cleared his throat. "The Mora incentives have them all fired up. The main tasks get finished quickly, so they've started chasing every minor errand they can find."
He sounded faintly amused. "Because of them, a lot of Liyue Harbor's small issues have practically disappeared lately."
"They're really… working themselves to the bone," Keqing said, stunned. "No wonder the harbor's been so quiet."
She couldn't help thinking: When did my department turn into a nest of workaholics?
"Isn't that a good thing?" Ryou said with a light laugh. "The faster they work, the more they learn."
He looked at Zhongli. "Zhongli-san, I'll leave it to you to keep an eye on things."
Then he pushed a packet of tea leaves across the desk. "I've got some good tea. It calms the mind. Take it back with you."
These leaves had been infused by Ryou's hands. The effect wasn't bad at all.
Zhongli's eyes lit up the moment he saw them. He could tell at a glance this was even better than the "Spirit infused tea" he already had.
"Thank you. I'll accept it," Zhongli said, taking the tea.
But he didn't leave. Instead, he asked, "Ryou… do you have more of this tea?"
"I'd like to keep some on hand. The Ministry's been busy lately, and it would help."
Ryou hesitated. "Honestly, it's not some rare tea. Selling it feels unnecessary, and besides…"
He paused and looked Zhongli up and down. "Wait. Do you even have Mora?"
Keqing immediately tugged at Ryou's sleeve, warning him with her eyes.
Zhongli cleared his throat. "The Director complained at me recently, but she still gave me fifty thousand Mora."
He did the math quickly. "I have thirty thousand on me now. In four days, when the work rewards are paid, I should get about a hundred thousand Mora. That should be enough to buy some."
"…Zhongli, you've really changed," Ryou said, genuinely impressed. "You're actually budgeting now."
Keqing was too shocked to speak.
Zhongli's reputation in Liyue was legendary—brilliant, learned, refined. The one flaw was that he never looked at prices, and between Northland Bank and Wangsheng Funeral Parlor always covering for him, he spent Mora like it grew on trees.
Yet now he was counting it… and he was carrying thirty thousand Mora?
It was unbelievable.
Zhongli coughed again, as if mildly embarrassed. "Seventy thousand Mora a week. If I handle three tasks a day, my wages come out to another thirty thousand."
He continued, unfazed. "I only handle part of the workload—the complicated tasks others can't."
"And right now, everyone's desperate to take on work," he added. "They fight over it."
He shrugged. "All told, I can earn close to six hundred thousand Mora a month. That's more than enough."
Ryou considered it for a second, then shook his head. "Alright. Every seven days, I'll give you some tea as a reward. No Mora."
He glanced toward the door. "If they've finished the work, let them clock out."
Then he added, "Tell them dinner's on me tonight."
He thought briefly. "Liuli Pavilion and Xinyue Kiosk still aren't repaired, so we'll do Wanmin Restaurant."
"Go tell Chef Mao for me," Ryou said. "Just say I'm treating everyone."
"…Alright," Zhongli said, and didn't argue.
After Zhongli left, Keqing grabbed Ryou's arm. "Even if they cleared a lot, more tasks will still come in."
She frowned. "Letting everyone go home early—if someone wants to make trouble out of it, it'll be a headache."
"It's fine," Ryou said, unconcerned.
He pulled her into his arms. "They've been running themselves ragged. Letting them off early is a good thing."
Keqing shoved at his chest. "What are you doing? Don't mess around."
Then she seemed to remember something and froze. "Oh—right. Did you put any of my clothes in your pocket world?"
"Clothes? No," Ryou said, shaking his head.
He stayed in the pocket world often, but he'd never stored spare clothes there. Keqing's question actually made him realize how awkward that could get one day.
"That's a good idea," Ryou said. "When we get home, I'll put a bunch of clothes in there. Just in case."
Then he paused, as if he'd caught a scent.
"Keqing, you—" Ryou started.
"Don't say it!" Keqing's face went completely red. She slapped her hand over his mouth.
The next second, she felt his tongue brush her palm.
"Y-You're still bullying me!" Keqing glared at him, mortified.
"What are you scared of?" Ryou said, tightening his arm around her. "We'll buy something later, or just go home."
"No," Keqing snapped, wrenching herself free. "Let go. I'm going to see Ganyu."
And with that, she hurried out.
Ryou watched her go, shook his head, and unhurriedly brewed himself another cup of tea.
Before long, Keqing reached Ganyu's office. Ganyu was still working, but the pile of documents looked far smaller than Keqing remembered.
"Ganyu— I came to see you," Keqing said, stepping to her side. "You look way less buried than before. Is it because the Ministry's moving faster now?"
"It is," Ganyu said with a smile. "Thanks to Ryou."
She set her pen down. "Your Ministry handles things very quickly now, and with Zhongli-san watching everything, the work that reaches me is much lighter."
Then she looked up. "What brings you here?"
"I…" Keqing lowered her voice. "I want to borrow some clothes."
"Clothes?" Ganyu blinked. "I do have a few outfits here, but they might not fit you."
Her gaze flicked over Keqing, and she paused. "And… you seem to have… grown quite a bit."
"Ganyu!" Keqing hissed, face burning. "What are you even saying? I-I…"
She swallowed and forced herself to continue. "It's… because Ryou helped, okay?"
Then she barely got the words out. "Do you have… um… underwear?"
Ganyu rolled her eyes, thinking, Are you really here to borrow clothes?
But the moment she processed the last part, heat rushed straight to her face.
Underwear?
What did you two even do at the Ministry?
And you didn't bring anything?
"Ganyu, why are you looking at me like that?" Keqing said quickly, panicking. "I-I didn't do anything in the office!"
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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