Everyone went together to check out the properties, and in the end they settled on a shop not far from Dragon Potions.
Because the potions business was booming, property prices on that street had been skyrocketing lately.
But with Rosaria's help, they saved half the Mora outright.
Not that they were short on money, but Xia Zhi still made sure to thank her properly.
Rosaria shook her head. "No need to thank me, Mr. Xia. I've already agreed to be the manager of this shop, so of course I should look out for it."
So quick to slip into the role.
Xia Zhi chuckled. "Then let's go buy the furniture and fixtures next."
He pulled out his phone—inside were photos he'd taken at the Cat's Tail—and it'd be easy to shop the market using those as reference.
Rosaria noticed everyone holding those little square devices and couldn't help giving them a few extra glances.
She looked curious, but her personality kept her from asking questions.
Xia Ci handed her a brand-new phone. "Since you're one of us now, you'll need one too."
"What is this?" Rosaria asked.
"An alchemical item for long-distance communication. It's simple to use—you'll get the hang of it after playing around. For now, let's add you to the group chat."
The moment Rosaria entered the group, messages like "Welcome, newbie!", "Group rank 1", and "Newbie, post a pic!" started flooding in.
It felt strangely noisy, but in an oddly lively way.
They spent the whole day wandering, and by the end they'd bought nearly everything the shop needed.
All that was left was the paperwork.
That was even simpler—Xia Zhi just pinged Jean on his phone. She told him to drop by tomorrow and pick up the license.
At first, everyone thought Rosaria's personality seemed cold and hard to approach, but after spending the day shopping together, they realized she was just too laid-back. She didn't like talking or explaining herself, and she didn't care much about what others thought—but she was actually pretty decent.
--
Night.
Deep within the House of Daena.
A stack of unfinished books sat on the desk.
Nahida sat alone on her tree bed, head bent over her phone, chatting in the group while glancing at the time.
When the clock struck, she immediately put the phone away and lay down to enter her dream.
She'd been reading for five hundred years straight. Boring. Games were way more fun!
Tonight, she was going for a pentakill!
Nahida sat down at the computer, just about to pick her character when someone tapped her lightly on the shoulder.
She turned her head, surprised. "Brother Xia Zhi?"
Xia Zhi handed her a book, smiling. "Nahida, hold off on the games for a bit. Take a look at this."
"What is it?"
"There are several meditation techniques in here, along with some other things. They should be really useful for you—give them a try."
"Meditation techniques…"
"Mm. You're clever, you'll pick them up quickly."
Nahida blinked, then reached out to accept the book. A sweet smile spread across her face. "Of course, I love reading most of all."
Xia Zhi sat beside her, watching as she flipped through the pages.
This was the [Book of Erudition], temporarily borrowed back from Xiangling.
He'd heard from Xia Ci that Il Dottore and the Akademiya were working on a God-Creation Project in Sumeru, apparently trying to use a [Gnosis] to forge a new god.
Because of Collei's past experiences, Xia Zhi didn't have any fondness for Il Dottore.
But judging by Xia Ci's attitude, she wanted Nahida to handle this herself—to prove her ability in the storm, and reclaim the rights that had originally belonged to her from the Akademiya sages.
A test, of sorts.
But there was a problem: Nahida, as the God of Wisdom, wasn't skilled in combat.
She was also only five hundred years old, and most of Sumeru's faith still rested with Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. That meant her Divine Power wasn't all that high.
So, Xia Zhi inscribed several new offensive skills into the [Book of Erudition], such as [Planet Befall], to boost Nahida's combat strength. (WTF)
And if she still couldn't win—well, she could always call in reinforcements.
Nahida didn't know any of this yet. She just read intently.
Xia Zhi soon realized she was like her sister—only needed to read something a few times before comprehending the skills within.
Once she mastered the meditation techniques, she discovered her Divine Power was passively increasing, her eyes widening in shock.
"Brother Xia Zhi…"
"Stay calm. Keep reading."
"Okay."
After she finished the book, Xia Zhi patted her head, told her to go back to gaming, and left with the book in hand.
Nahida's gaze lingered on his retreating figure, then drifted to her sister's computer screen. There, a player named "Cream Puff" was racking up kills with the team's support.
But when she saw the pentakill icon on screen, she didn't feel the excitement she'd had the night before. Instead, she thought: Is that all?
Games were just for fun. Real fulfillment came from reading!
Xia Ci glanced at her sister, noticing her dazed look. "What's wrong? Thinking about something?"
Nahida hesitated. "Sister…"
"What can't you say?"
"It's just…"
"The meditation Brother Xia Zhi just taught you?"
"Eh? You know it too?"
"Of course. I just learned it this morning. Feels unbelievable, right?"
"Mm."
"I was shocked too. This kind of thing… Anyway, keep it to yourself. Don't go blabbing."
"I won't!"
Nahida nodded vigorously.
Then she leaned closer and whispered, "Sister… isn't this way too precious?"
Xia Ci gave her a look like she was an idiot. "What do you think? Back in the Archon War, what do you think everyone was fighting over?"
Nahida stayed quiet. She knew—they were fighting for Teyvat's faith. Gods collected faith to bolster their Divine Power.
But right now, she didn't need faith at all. Simply by running that mysterious meditation technique, her Divine Power grew on its own.
Xia Ci, still gaming, smiled. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to repay him properly."
Nahida seemed to picture something, her lips pressing together as her cheeks flushed.
Between cousins, fairness was key.
--
Xia Zhi entered another room and handed the [Book of Erudition] to Furina and Focalors so they could study too.
He looked at Furina with a touch of regret.
He'd gotten the book too late.
If he'd given Furina the [Primal Meditation Technique] five hundred years ago, then after all that passive accumulation, her mana bar and Divine Power bar would've been completely outrageous by now.
Furina tossed the book to Focalors to read first, then came over and clung to his arm.
In her heart, nothing compared to her cousin. That was five hundred years of buried emotion talking.
"Has Nahida been sneaking off to chat with you these past two days?"
"Sneaking off? No."
"Really? Not at all?"
Furina was surprised. She'd even sent Nahida that whole collection of cousin-themed novels. Don't tell her Nahida hadn't read a single one? Impossible, right?
"I saw in the group chat—Cousin, you're opening a pet shop?"
"Yeah. Mainly to take in the city's stray cats. If anyone's willing to adopt and raise them, they can come to the shop."
"That's a wonderful idea! I'm going to open one like that in Fontaine too!"
Focalors, still reading, lifted her head to give Furina a look. "It's not that simple. How do you make sure the adopters actually treat the cats well instead of abusing them?"
Xia Zhi thought for a moment. "Good point… I'm planning to set up a lie-detecting crystal ball in the shop. Anyone who wants to adopt will have to pass the test before they can take a cat home."
Focalors stared. "You can make something like that?"
Xia Zhi nodded. "Yeah."
"In that case, it'd solve the problem." Focalors dropped the matter and went back to reading.
Furina gazed at him with admiration. "Cousin, you can do everything!"
Xia Zhi laughed. "I just dabble a bit."
They chatted about the pet shop for a while before Xia Zhi played some games with Furina.
Eventually, Focalors mastered the meditation technique and let out a startled cry. "This—this…!"
Furina tilted her head. "What's wrong with you?"
Focalors gave Xia Zhi a complicated look, then carefully held up the book like fragile treasure and handed it to Furina. "Take a look. Hold it properly. Don't you dare damage it!"
Furina was baffled. "What are you doing?"
Focalors dragged her aside and sat down beside Xia Zhi, taking over her spot as his gaming partner.
After a while, she couldn't help asking, "Why are you teaching us something like this?"
"Because you need it," Xia Zhi said with a smile.
Focalors was silent for a moment. "…This kind of thing—you should've just kept it to yourself. Not told anyone."
Xia Zhi shook his head. "You're not 'anyone.' You're my sisters. Besides, it's just a meditation technique…"
"'Just' a meditation technique? Do you even know how—"
She stopped when she saw his faintly smiling face.
"…Forget it. You must have your reasons. Thank you."
"No need."