「 "General, you really are adept at utilizing people, sparing no effort." Fu Xuan glanced at Jing Yuan, a smile playing on her lips.
"Well, since they're here already, I may as well make use of them." Jing Yuan said with a nonchalant expression.
Fu Xuan walked towards Stelle and the others, wasting no time as she straightforwardly explained the two crises currently facing the Divination Commission: first, the Matrix of Prescience's base terminals needed to be restarted, and second, they needed to eliminate the Stellaron spirits along the way.
The former could be handled by Qingque, while the latter was entrusted to Stelle and her companions.
"Psst, Stelle... I have divined our future — we're destined to be errand runners forever."
March 7th leans in and whispers to Stelle.
"Just say the magic word!" Stelle said with a teasing expression.
"…Wh-what? What magic word?" Fu Xuan tilted her small head, looking utterly bewildered, her chestnut-like, round eyes staring blankly at them.
"Oh~" March 7th understood perfectly, placing a hand on her chest.
"It's a simple word, effective everywhere: 'Please'."
"..." Fu Xuan's gaze instinctively drifted elsewhere.
Although her position as the Divine Foresight required her to maintain the composure and seriousness of a superior at all times, the blush that spread across her delicate pink cheeks quickly betrayed the girl's inner panic.
"Ugh... Please!"
March 7th was finally satisfied: "Good enough." 」
「 .....」
〜Genshin Impact World〜
"Such a cute girl, why didn't Stelle tease her more? What a pity…"
Inside Yae Publishing House, Yae Miko was enjoying the girl's embarrassment with great relish.
Just as she was pondering, a sudden, hurried knock sounded from outside.
It was Hirayama, the editor-in-chief of Yae Publishing House, a figure whose status was second only to her, the "General Editor."
"Oh? Hirayama, coming so late, has the sales ranking for Inazuma's light novels for the past month been released?"
Yae Miko's tone was filled with joyful anticipation.
Inazuma wasn't home to just one light novel publisher, but Yae Publishing House was undoubtedly the largest.
Thanks to Yae Miko's unconventional and unconstrained manuscript review approach, a few works released by Yae Publishing House each quarter always became hugely popular across Teyvat… even in Natlan, thousands of miles away, demand outstripped supply.
The sales ranking list almost covered all the latest light novels released, and Yae Publishing House usually held at least three of the top five spots.
Because of this, Yae Miko never doubted her judgment.
"What place did 'Reincarnated as Raiden Shogun and Becoming Invincible' take?"
Before she even took the list Hirayama offered, Yae Miko had already asked,
"And 'Please, My Fox Priestess'… that one was also very interesting, the results should be good, right?"
Hirayama wiped the sweat from his forehead, lowering his head into the shadow by the candlelight:
"General Editor Yae, why don't you take a look yourself?"
"Oh…?"
Sensing that something was off, Yae Miko reached out and took the list, her beautiful eyes scanning from the tenth spot at the very bottom all the way to the first.
Strange. None…
Not a single one? How could this be?
Yae Miko frowned slightly; this had never happened since Yae Publishing House was founded.
"General Editor Yae, the hottest topics right now are those related to 'Fu Xuan' and 'Qingque'. Stories about Raiden Shogun, fox priestesses… they're outdated."
Hirayama swallowed, finally stepping out of the shadows:
"Look at the entire top ten list, they're all related to the two of them."
"Things like 'Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in the Divination Commission?', 'Little Qingque's Underdog Rise Doing Whatever It Takes to Become the Divine Foresight of the Divination Commission', 'My Neighbor Fu Xuan-sensei Who Occasionally Drops Bookish Hints to Hide Her Shyness', 'As the Sect Master of the (Xiaoyao) Gate, I Started Living with the Beautiful Divine Foresight I Reunited with After Seven Years'… and so on."
"Especially the number one, written by the author of 'A Youthful Slacker Diviner Does Not Dream of a Fierce White-Stockinged Divine Foresight'… It's said that after seeing Qingque, they stayed up for three days straight without eating or sleeping, finally finishing the entire novel before the deadline, and then instantly topped the charts—"
"…Alright, I didn't expect my vision to be so short-sighted this time."
Yae Miko's beautiful eyes lowered slightly. After a moment of contemplation, she slowly looked up.
"Hirayama, tomorrow morning, notify all authors under Yae Publishing House and create relevant materials. Immediately launch a light novel submission campaign related to Divine Foresight Fu Xuan! The day after tomorrow… at the very latest, the day after tomorrow! I want to see Izumo Island covered with submission advertisements and posters!"
"We must, with the fastest speed, let 'Fu Xuan' and 'Qingque' dominate the Teyvat light novel market!"
—
「 Under Qingque's lead, the group quickly cleared out various Mara-struck within the Divination Commission and restarted the three array foundations.
Upon returning to the core of the Matrix of Prescience, Fu Xuan walked towards them: "Well done, all of you. I can sense the Matrix of Prescience symbols re-illuminating. Now, to interrogate Kafka. Those of you in the core may feel a few... impacts. Are you ready?"
"Please proceed, Divine Foresight Fu," Welt made a "please" gesture.
Then, two Cloud Knights escorted Kafka over.
At this moment, Kafka had removed her makeup; without eyeshadow and lipstick, her slightly sharp beauty was completely stripped away, but after it was gone… a hint of tenderness finally diffused from her eyes, like mist over a spring lake.
"Is this really necessary? I said I'd cooperate with you." Kafka's tone sounded very submissive. 」
「 .....」
〜Chainsaw Man World〜
"She's so beautiful! Is this what Kafka would look like without makeup?"
Denji let out a howl and sprang from the sofa, pulling out his phone from his pocket and continuously snapping pictures of the sky screen.
For a moment, a continuous "click" sound echoed in Aki Hayakawa's living room.
"…Is that still Kafka?"
Power was a bit incredulous; the Kafka in her memory wasn't this delicate. Could this be her true nature?
No, no, no! Power quickly shook her head, trying to remove the image of "gentle Kafka" from her mind.
"Denji, don't let women like her fool you. The prettier a woman is, the more she'll lie! Don't look at her acting like she needs protection now; she might kick your head with her high heels the moment you turn around!"
Power put on a deliberately intimidating expression, her two cute little fangs accidentally showing.
"Hmm… that wouldn't be so bad, would it?"
Denji thought for a moment with his almost useless brain.
"…N-no, it'd be amazing! If she's willing to go on a date with me, I'll do whatever it takes!"
"Even betray Makima?"
Power instinctively threw out a "loaded question."
"About that question… Although Miss Makima and I went on a date, we only watched a movie and held hands a little."
Denji hesitated, then, after much thought, said:
"If Kafka is willing to kiss me and be my girlfriend… it's not impossible, but I can't guarantee that I won't fall in love with Miss Makima again in the future."
"Tsk, Denji… disgusting."
Power disdainfully averted her gaze from him.
—