"It is indeed me. For now, I am merely borrowing Miko's body to come here."
Raiden Makoto smiled faintly and briefly explained the situation to the two of them.
"A soul exchange with someone from 500 years ago? That's unbelievable!"
After hearing the story, Venti's face was filled with astonishment.
As one of the Seven Archons, his status and power were among the highest in the world.
And yet—he could still be forcibly subjected to a cross-time soul exchange by one of Boss Han's rewards, without even noticing it himself.
Just thinking about it was hard to believe.
"From a standpoint of universal rationality, it should be impossible. However, Boss Han's rewards are the exception."
Zhongli pondered before speaking.
He recalled that in the manga Doraemon, there existed a device called a time machine that could travel through time.
With that as a comparison, a cross-temporal soul exchange didn't seem entirely impossible after all.
"That's true."
Venti nodded in agreement, then looked at Makoto with a trace of emotion in his eyes.
"Ever since what happened 500 years ago, I never thought we Archons would have another chance to gather again."
"There will be many opportunities in the future. The moment I arrived here, the future already began to change."
Makoto spoke with a serious expression.
Both of them nodded.
The war with Khaenri'ah had come too suddenly.
None of the Seven had been fully prepared.
Otherwise, Raiden Makoto would not have fallen in that conflict.
Now that the future was known, and with the possibility of obtaining powerful rewards from Boss Han,
there was a strong chance the past tragedies could be changed.
If that happened, perhaps Inazuma's current crisis could finally be resolved.
As Makoto's old friends, Venti and Zhongli naturally wished to see that outcome.
Makoto Goes to Read
"Alright, time is short. I won't linger chatting with you. I need to start reading manga."
Makoto raised the book in her hand— Digimon—then walked deeper into the shop.
Venti and Zhongli did not stop her.
They wanted to help, but they had no way to do so.
Because this was a soul exchange.
Even if they obtained powerful rewards themselves, they could not pass them to her.
So the best thing they could do was stay out of her way and silently hope she had good luck.
Venti Reacts to the Shop
"Sigh… Boss Han, the things in your shop keep getting more and more incredible."
After Makoto left, Venti turned to Han Feng with a look of amazement.
It hadn't been long since his last visit, and now even soul exchange items had appeared.
Who knew what strange reward would show up next?
"If you're interested, you can try reading the same manga Yae Miko did. It's still on the shelf."
Han Feng chuckled lightly.
"Cough—no thanks!"
Venti waved his hands repeatedly.
Makoto needed that kind of help.
He didn't.
And the thought of someone else using his body— or worse, him ending up inside a woman's body—
made him shudder.
That was scarier than cats.
Even worse, if his luck turned bad and he ended up swapping souls with a cat—he might as well smash his head into a block of tofu.
"Boss Han, why don't you recommend something interesting instead? Otherwise I won't have anything good to tell stories about tomorrow."
Seeing Han Feng about to keep recommending, Venti spoke helplessly.
"Something interesting for storytelling, huh?"
Han Feng's thoughts stirred.
If it could emotionally devastate an entire audience, that would be quite entertaining.
With that idea in mind, he flicked his hand.
A manga appeared in his palm.
"You can try this one. It's very interesting. The audience will definitely respond enthusiastically."
"Oh? Let me see."
Venti accepted the book curiously.
Your Lie in April.
What a strange title…
Would a story like that really be entertaining?
Well, if Boss Han recommended it, it had to be good.
"Alright, I'll go read now!"
After bidding farewell, Venti left with the manga in hand.
Zhongli Declines the Same Recommendation
"Zhongli, would you like to try Your Name?"
Han Feng made another suggestion.
"Cough—Boss Han, that won't be necessary. I'll choose something myself."
Zhongli politely declined.
Though he was curious, that particular reward was best avoided.
He then decisively placed a pouch of Mora on the counter.
Seeing both of them refuse, Han Feng stopped recommending.
However, noticing how readily Zhongli paid, he grew curious.
"By the way, how has that Future Market Rune been working for you?"
"Extremely convenient. Because of my excellent credit history, my limit has already been raised to one million Mora."
At the mention of this, a faint smile appeared on Zhongli's face.
In the past, whenever he went out, he often forgot to bring money for various reasons.
He had to send the bill to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor or the Northland Bank.
Now things were different.
He could simply accumulate the bills and settle them all at once later.
Thinking of this, Zhongli looked at Han Feng and said:
"By the way, Boss, you'll need to issue me another bill."
"Good grief—how many days has it been? Your credit limit already doubled?"
Han Feng's expression turned strange.
What a big spender.
Hu Tao and Childe were going to have a rough time.
Still, he didn't refuse.
He took out a sheet of paper and quickly wrote the bill.
"Thank you, Boss."
Zhongli accepted the receipt with satisfaction and then walked toward the bookshelves.
Zhongli Chooses a Manga
"What should I read today?"
Looking at the dozen or so manga titles on the shelf, Zhongli fell into thought.
But when he saw the very first cover, his interest was immediately piqued.
"This one looks rather intriguing."
After examining Ultraman Tiga for a moment, Zhongli picked it up and left contentedly.
New Customers Arrive
Not long after the three Archons moved deeper into the shop, two new customers entered.
They were Xingqiu and Chongyun, who had hurried over.
However, Xingqiu's expression looked extremely gloomy.
"Chongyun, why didn't you remind me to change clothes earlier?"
Thinking about how people had stared and whispered at him the whole way here, Xingqiu felt miserable.
He was quite famous in Liyue— often held up as the model child.
And now?
He had embarrassed himself beyond belief.
By tomorrow, the rumor that Xingqiu liked wearing women's clothing would probably spread throughout all of Liyue.
"Hehe, you ran too fast. I just didn't get the chance to say anything."
Chongyun showed a faint smile.
Of course, he would never admit that he had done it on purpose.
Otherwise, Xingqiu might beat him to death.
"Forget it. I'll take you to read some manga."
Xingqiu sighed.
What was done was done.
There was nothing else he could do.
He would deal with it later.
Right now, reading manga was what mattered.
"Alright!"
At the mention of manga, anticipation appeared on Chongyun's face.
The two of them then headed toward the counter.
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