Amber shot a mock glare at Eula and Barbara outside Galehaven Comics, her cheeks still flushed from her Fly Card chant, though her irritation was more playful than sharp. "You two are enjoying this way too much—mocking me while I'm stuck with that ridiculous spell!"
She hefted her newly transformed wand, its feathered tip gleaming, and turned her focus outward. "I'm heading outside the city to test this thing properly—anyone want to tag along?"
The Fly Card's promise of flight beckoned her scout's heart—she needed open skies, not cramped alleys, to see what it could really do beyond her awkward debut.
Eula paused, her Duel Disk glinting on her arm, then shook her head with a faint smile. "I'll pass—I'm heading home to write Yanfei about this; I'm too excited to wait."
Her reward had lit a rare spark in her usually disciplined life, and she itched to share the thrill of summoning Blue-Eyes White Dragon with her Liyue friend.
"Then let me walk you back—want to try flying with me on the wand?" Amber offered, her enthusiasm bubbling past her earlier embarrassment as she waved the staff.
"Sure," Eula agreed, her curiosity piqued—sure, the incantation was over-the-top, but the wand's smooth hovering looked promising enough to risk a ride.
"Boss, Miss Lisa, Barbara—we're off!" Amber called, waving to Harlan, Lisa, and Barbara still lingering near the shop's entrance after the dragon spectacle.
With a quick spin of her wand and a muttered "Fly!"—thankfully quieter this time—she and Eula lifted off, soaring into Mondstadt's sky like a pair of giddy birds.
Lisa watched them vanish upward, then turned back inside with Barbara, the shop settling into its cozy rhythm—readers buried in comics, Harlan sipping tea at the counter.
"Oh, by the way, two comics are free now if you three want a go," Harlan said, glancing at the Lady, Luke, and a newly arrived Fatui grunt, Daryl, huddled in their corner.
The Lady snapped out of her reverie, her voice clipped but polite. "Thank you, Boss—I'll consider it."
She had no intention of rushing in—Harlan's one-book-a-day rule meant her first pick had to count, and she wasn't about to waste it on a dud reward.
She'd seen Yu-Gi-Oh spawn Eula's dragon—impressive but toothless—and Cardcaptor Sakura's Magic give Amber flight, albeit with that mortifying chant.
The dragon was a spectacle, sure, but useless in a fight, while the wand's magic, though practical, demanded a performance she'd rather delegate than endure.
"I'll hold off—let others test the waters," she decided, her mind calculating—Luke and Daryl could guinea-pig it, sparing her the risk of a lame prize.
She nodded at her subordinates. "You two—grab that Cardcaptor Sakura's Magic and read it; I want to know what it yields."
"Yes, ma'am!" Luke and Daryl replied in unison, scrambling to the shelf with a mix of nerves and excitement, their earlier awe of Harlan's power still fresh.
They'd caught Amber's wand show—sure, the spell was a bit theatrical, but the payoff looked worth it, especially under Fatui masks hiding their blushes.
Soon, their low voices drifted through the shop, brimming with fanboy glee. "Hey, Sakura's adorable—those outfits, that charm!"
"Totally, but Tomoyo's my pick—gentle, sweet, and loaded; she's got it all!" Daryl shot back, his tone dreamy as he flipped a page.
Luke scoffed, grinning. "What, you're just after her cash? Why not both—Sakura and Tomoyo, best of both worlds!"
"Hiss—genius, we're on the same wavelength!" Daryl hissed back, their chatter growing louder, oblivious to the stares it drew from Lisa and Barbara.
Lisa's eyes narrowed, a spark of mischief flickering—were these fools flirting over fictional girls in her presence?
Barbara's gaze turned impish too; if not for Harlan's no-fight rule, she'd have zapped them with a Hydro burst just to see them squirm.
The Lady had no such restraint, her patience snapping as she barked, "You two morons—shut it before I freeze you myself!"
Luke and Daryl flinched, their mouths clamping shut under her glare, though their sneaky eye signals kept their private hype alive.
Harlan barely glanced up from his tea—readers geeking out was fine by him, as long as they didn't cross into chaos or annoy his regulars.
The shop hushed again, pages rustling softly as Lisa and Barbara resumed their reads, the Fatui duo's antics fading into the background hum.
Half an hour later, a bold, dramatic voice shattered the calm, echoing off the walls. "This Prinzessin decrees—henceforth, the True Evil King's Eye reigns supreme as the mightiest force in all realms!"
Fischl leapt from her sofa, her eyepatch gleaming, her spirit ablaze with fervor as she thrust a fist skyward, radiating triumph.
Her hunch had paid off—Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! was her fated tome, its heroine Rikka Takanotsume a mirror to her soul, a kindred dreamer of grand delusions.
She ached to befriend this comic girl, their shared flair for the theatrical binding them across worlds—two peas in a chuunibyou pod!
"Could she be a lost kin of meine Nachtpureland, cast adrift through time's rifts to another plane?" Fischl wondered, her mind spinning epic tales of cosmic separation.
Harlan's system pinged, its panel lighting up, and he leaned forward, intrigued. "Let's see what the Prinzessin pulls from this one."
He grinned to himself, speculating—would it be Rikka's florid catchphrases or that signature Evil King's Eye she'd wield with such relish?
Amber's flight, Eula's dragon, and now Fischl's turn—the shop buzzed with potential, each reward a new thread in Galehaven's growing legend.
***
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