"So that woman was Inazuma's Archon! No wonder..."
Paimon suddenly understood.
Now she knew why the woman had been so confident when she said they could simply mention her name in Inazuma.
As the god of an entire nation...
She certainly had the right to say something like that.
"Looks like we'll be able to stroll around Inazuma without a care."
Lumine stretched lazily and smiled.
She hadn't expected that the person borrowing her Super Telephone would turn out to be the Electro Archon herself.
Still...
She was only mildly surprised.
After all...
She had already met the Anemo Archon, the Geo Archon, and even various other gods.
And after seeing so many incredible things inside the manga shop...
Her horizons had expanded tremendously.
An Electro Archon...
Wasn't really all that shocking anymore.
"Not quite."
Han Feng shook his head.
"Inazuma is still rather unstable. There's an active resistance movement."
"It won't really affect the two of you, but you should still be careful."
"Chaos? That's great!"
Paimon's eyes sparkled.
She wasn't happy because people were suffering.
It was simply...
If things were chaotic...
She might finally get a chance to summon Granzort and look incredibly cool.
Otherwise...
What reason would she have to summon it?
"If you ever say something like that in Inazuma..."
Lumine laughed as she pinched Paimon's soft cheek.
"You'll definitely get chased down and hacked to pieces."
"Don't worry!"
Paimon flashed an OK sign.
"I'm smart!"
"But..."
Lumine frowned slightly.
"How are we supposed to get to Inazuma?"
"I've heard it's out in the middle of the sea."
"...Are we supposed to fly there?"
"That sounds exhausting."
She still didn't know that the manga shop had already opened a branch in Inazuma.
She simply assumed Raiden Ei had happened to visit Mondstadt or Liyue.
Even Paimon was stumped by the question.
If it had been yesterday...
Maybe they could've snuck aboard Beidou's aircraft carrier.
But by now...
It had almost certainly already reached Inazuma.
Still...
Just because they couldn't think of a solution...
Didn't mean Boss Han couldn't.
Paimon immediately looked at Han Feng with watery puppy-dog eyes.
"Boss Han..."
"You wouldn't want us to go through all that trouble, would you?"
"So you're pretty clever after all."
Han Feng laughed as he pinched her little face again.
He had to admit...
When this little girl acted cute...
She was incredibly adorable.
With a casual wave of his hand...
Two rays of light descended from above, enveloping Lumine and Paimon.
"When you leave the shop..."
"Simply think of Inazuma."
"That'll do."
"Wow!"
"Long live Boss Han!"
Paimon cheered excitedly.
As expected...
No problem was ever a problem in front of Boss Han.
There truly seemed to be nothing he couldn't do.
"Go on, then."
Han Feng smiled.
"And remember to sell plenty of carrots."
The more they sold...
The more he'd eventually collect.
"Got it!"
"I'll sell tons of them!"
"Just wait and see!"
Paimon was overflowing with motivation.
She immediately grabbed Lumine's hand and hurried toward the exit.
Not long after the pair left...
Movement came from the virtual pod nearby.
"Awake?"
Han Feng smiled as he noticed Ayaka stirring.
"Yes."
After stepping out of the Virtual Pod, Kamisato Ayaka still wore an expression of lingering excitement.
"It was a fascinating experience."
The Ready Player One dungeon was almost identical to the manga.
The only real difference...
Was the creator.
In the manga...
The mastermind behind OASIS was James Halliday.
But inside the virtual world...
The creator had become Boss Han.
Clearly...
He had altered the story.
Although there were a few differences...
She had still enjoyed herself immensely.
Racing.
Solving puzzles.
She had tried everything.
Though...
She'd finished dead last.
Even without clearing the dungeon and earning a reward...
The experience alone had been worth it.
"If you enjoyed it..."
Han Feng smiled.
"You can always experience it a few more times."
"No."
Ayaka gently shook her head.
"I should return home."
"Inazuma's troubles haven't been resolved yet."
"I can't afford to relax completely."
"Once everything settles down..."
"I'll come back and enjoy it properly."
She politely bid Han Feng farewell.
Stored away the Virtual Pod.
And departed from the manga shop.
With that...
Every customer from the morning rush had finally left.
"I wonder..."
Han Feng took another leisurely sip of tea.
"Who'll be next?"
Not long afterward...
Two familiar customers entered the shop.
It was none other than Beidou and Kaedehara Kazuha, who had just arrived from Ritou.
"So this really is the manga shop."
Kazuha looked around the interior with admiration.
"Boss Han certainly works quickly."
"We were lucky enough to run into Thoma."
Beidou smiled.
"Otherwise, we'd have spent a long time searching."
Along the way...
They had asked countless people.
Yet none of them had ever heard of the manga shop.
If they hadn't happened to meet Thoma...
Who pointed them to its location...
Their trip might have ended in failure.
After all...
Inazuma City was enormous.
Without plenty of time—or someone familiar with the area—
Finding a tiny manga shop hidden inside an alley would have been nearly impossible.
"That's true."
Kazuha nodded.
"But what surprised me..."
"Was that the shop had only just opened..."
"And Thoma had already visited it."
"I wonder what kind of reward he received."
"Let's ask the boss."
Beidou laughed.
The two walked over to the counter.
"Boss."
"We're back."
Beidou grinned.
"But this time, we've come all the way from Inazuma."
"You found the place surprisingly quickly."
Han Feng looked at them with mild surprise.
They had departed for Inazuma yesterday.
Most likely arrived this morning.
Yet within only half a day...
They had already located the shop.
That was quite impressive.
"We were just lucky enough to meet Thoma."
Beidou shook her head.
"Otherwise we'd never have found it."
She felt even more grateful now that they had such a useful acquaintance.
Who would've guessed...
That the Inazuma branch would be hidden away inside a tiny alley?
"Boss."
Kazuha stepped forward curiously.
"What manga did Thoma read earlier?"
He felt it would be rather impolite to ask someone directly about their reward.
So instead...
He planned to approach the matter from another angle.
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