"Cousin, the shop already has five hundred thousand Mora on hand," Xingqiu said.
Ryou glanced at him, pulled him aside, and whispered a few instructions into his ear.
"Got it. I'll arrange it right away." Xingqiu hurried off with several people.
Very soon, the area around the shop was decked out with festive decorations. Red carpet was laid down, and a large banner was hung up that read:
[Congratulations to Klee for winning second prize! Prize amount: 500,000 Mora!]
The moment the banner went up, it drew countless eyes. Before long, a crowd of Mondstadters had gathered outside the lottery shop.
In almost no time at all, the entrance was packed solid.
As soon as Jean received word from the Knights of Favonius, she rushed back into the city.
"Make way, everyone! Let me through!" Jean moved to the front, and with the help of the knights, she managed to push her way inside.
"Jean!" Klee called out.
"Klee, how could you buy lottery tickets?" The moment Jean thought of all those people who had lost everything because of them, she couldn't help worrying.
"J-Jean... I... um..." Klee fumbled, unable to explain herself.
"Jean, I'm the one who brought Klee here to join the fun. Who could've guessed she'd win five hundred thousand Mora? This is my fault," Bennett quickly stepped forward to explain.
Jean still wanted to say more, but seeing how the crowd around them was already watching closely, she held back.
"Our lottery shop prides itself on fairness and transparency," Ryou said. "All winning numbers are posted publicly, and we've already prepared the five hundred thousand Mora."
"Klee is still very young, so that's why I had someone call you over."
As he spoke, Ryou gave Xingqiu a look.
Xingqiu had the Mora brought out at once. "Jean, here is the full five hundred thousand Mora."
"There's one more thing. I sent someone to your office earlier today, but you weren't there, so I'll say it here instead."
"From all lottery profits, we'll set aside seven percent as a contribution. That money will go toward helping struggling families in Mondstadt. I hope you'll accept this as a small gesture of goodwill."
Jean was visibly startled. "...On behalf of Mondstadt, thank you."
Then she added, "When I came in, I saw the warning sign you posted outside. That was very well done. I also hope everyone will spend rationally."
"That's right. Buying a few tickets for fun is enough. If you win, great. If you lose, just laugh it off."
"That's easy for you to say. I heard some people spent hundreds of thousands of Mora and lost everything."
"How is that the lottery's fault? That's their own problem."
"Exactly. The shop is already giving back part of its profits to help the people, and the taxes alone must be huge too. I'd say they've done more than enough."
...
Jean didn't comment on any of that. She simply took the five hundred thousand Mora and handed it over to Klee.
"I'll hold on to this for you," she said. "If you need it later, I'll give it to you then."
"But Jean, you need this Mora more than I do. You should keep it," Klee said seriously.
"That won't do. I'll save it for you, and that's final. Come on, let's head back to the Knights of Favonius first."
Jean took Klee by the hand, nodded to Ryou, and left.
As soon as Jean was gone, Ryou noticed that there were even more people outside than before. All of them were clamoring to buy tickets, their excitement practically boiling over.
"Won't this cause trouble?" Keqing asked, standing beside him with some concern.
Ryou gently stroked her and shook his head. "Don't worry. We've already put up the warning sign, and even Jean spoke up just now. If anything still goes wrong after that, it can only be blamed on the people themselves."
"Now that the five-hundred-thousand prize is gone and only the one-million-Mora prize is left, of course they're going crazy," Lumine said with a smile.
"Let's leave through the back. It's too noisy here." Ryou glanced inside, then spoke to the others.
He led them to the second floor of Good Hunter. After ordering a few dishes, they finally sat down.
"I ran into Yanfei just now," Lumine said, giggling over her toast. "She swore she was going to throw you in jail someday. Better watch out."
Earlier, she and Shenhe had returned to the city with Jean. She had wanted to mention it before, but the lottery shop had been far too crowded.
Now that they were finally eating, she brought it up.
"Looks like Yanfei really has her eyes on you now," Keqing said, rubbing her forehead.
Ryou drained his teacup and set it down. "There were some problems when Xingqiu first started this, but those problems have already been dealt with. Even if something happens now, there's no need to panic."
"That's good." Keqing nodded.
"Mm... so what are you doing later? I can be your guide if you want," Lumine offered with a grin.
"We're planning to stop by Windrise first, then go see Starsnatch Cliff tonight."
"Those are two of Mondstadt's most famous spots. Since we're already here, we should obviously take a look." Ryou smiled as he squeezed Keqing's hand.
"I want to go too," Shenhe said suddenly.
Keqing looked from Lumine to Shenhe and immediately felt annoyed. She wanted to spend time alone with her husband, so why were these two trying to tag along?
"There's no need," Ryou said, looking at Lumine. "You know Mondstadt better than we do, and Shenhe's here for the first time. She needs you to show her around."
"Besides, it'd be a little strange if the two of you came along while a married couple was out walking together."
Then he added, "I'll cover all your expenses in Mondstadt. Tonight, just come back and bill me."
"Really?" Lumine looked at him.
"I keep my word." Ryou patted his chest.
"Good. Shenhe, then let's go buy some clothes later," Lumine said, turning to her.
"I... alright." Shenhe had noticed Ryou give her a look.
She didn't fully understand it, but she guessed he didn't want her tagging along and ruining the mood.
After thinking it over, she decided not to follow.
...
Back in Mondstadt, Eula had already taken Yanfei to see fourteen different victims.
"One ticket only costs a hundred Mora. I never thought something so cheap could have such a huge impact," Shinobu said.
Eula looked at Yanfei, Shinobu, Itto, and the others. "I know the lottery is a problem, but all this really shows is what those people chose to do themselves."
"That's probably why Jean didn't agree with you."
Just then, Yanfei spotted someone sprinting past them, with several burly men chasing after him.
"Where do you think you're going?" Itto noticed the commotion too. In just a few strides, he caught the man and dragged him back.
A middle-aged man hurried forward and grabbed the one who had been running. Then he turned to Itto. "Thanks, brother. You really saved us there."
"It was nothing. What did this guy do?" Itto asked, seeing how fierce the others looked.
The middle-aged man snorted. "What else? He heard we won five hundred thousand Mora on a lottery ticket and tried to steal it."
Then he pulled out a thousand Mora. "Thanks for the help. Please, take this."
"No need." Itto waved him off.
"...Then thank you all the same." The man smiled awkwardly and quickly left with the others.
"A single ticket can be exchanged for five hundred thousand Mora. No wonder that guy tried to snatch it," Itto muttered to Shinobu.
"That's exactly why people are willing to take risks," Yanfei said from the side. "They think that if they buy more tickets, their chances of winning the one-million-Mora prize will go up. Otherwise, they wouldn't be acting this crazily."
"A hundred Mora a ticket. I'd say they've already sold well over ten thousand."
"And as long as the one-million-Mora prize hasn't been won yet, they could sell a hundred thousand tickets."
"A hundred thousand tickets means ten million Mora in sales. And all the prizes combined probably don't even add up to two million."
"That means they're making eight million in profit?" Itto's eyes went wide.
"Even though I have plenty against Ryou, I have to admit this idea is incredibly effective."
"At this rate, he'll make a fortune in Mondstadt. Pulling in profits in the tens of millions wouldn't be hard at all." Yanfei looked toward the direction of the lottery shop.
Shinobu nodded. "Ryou was smart to price the tickets low. If it had been one thousand Mora a ticket, a lot more people would have hesitated."
"But at one hundred Mora, most people don't think twice. And once enough people buy in, the profits become enormous."
"That Ryou really is something," Itto muttered.
Just then, Yanfei overheard a middle-aged woman telling her husband nearby, "Go buy a ticket later and try your luck. A little girl won five hundred thousand today off a single ticket!"
"Seriously? That lucky?" the man said.
"Of course. The lottery shop paid out on the spot," the woman said, full of envy.
"Alright, then I'll go buy one later."
Yanfei glanced over, then turned back. "Now that the five-hundred-thousand prize is out, only the one-million-Mora jackpot is left."
"I'd bet the shop's sales are about to hit their peak."
"More and more people are going to lose their heads over this. The Knights of Favonius are going to have a real problem on their hands."
"I know." Eula nodded. "You should keep investigating as fast as you can. The sooner the lottery shops get shut down, the better."
"If they stay in Mondstadt too long, panic and resentment will eventually turn into unrest."
"I understand." Yanfei's tone turned heavier.
"Let's go back to the lottery shop first. I have an idea. If it checks out, it'll help us a lot."
"Alright, then let's go together. I'm pretty curious about who won that five hundred thousand too," Shinobu said.
"Then let's move!" Itto strode out in front.
And with that, the whole group headed back toward the lottery shop.
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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