"Yanfei, they're trying to accuse me and throw me in prison! Look, even the Knights of Favonius are here to arrest me!"
"I know for a fact I haven't done anything illegal, so... help me!"
"Uh... Tabibito, calm down. Tell me what happened first," Yanfei said.
She and Lumine might not always see eye to eye, but if Tabibito had really run into trouble, there was no way Yanfei would stand by and do nothing.
Behind them, Kaeya rubbed his forehead, thinking, I only came to bring you in for questioning. Why are you making this into such a huge scene?
He stepped forward and said, "Tabibito, I'm only asking you to come back and cooperate with the investigation. After all... winning two five-million-Mora jackpots in such a short time is hard for anyone to believe."
"Tabibito, y-you won ten million Mora?" Shinobu asked, utterly stunned.
Ryou's lottery shop had not even paid out a one-million-Mora prize yet, so where had Lumine supposedly won ten million Mora from?
"Kaeya, you can't put it like that!" Tabibito shot him a glare. "This is obviously Goth's lottery shop being sore losers."
"I won five million at one shop, then I figured my luck was good, so I went to another and won another five million."
"So what if I got lucky?"
Kaeya opened his mouth, then closed it again, not knowing what to say.
"Wait," Yanfei said, sensing something was off. "From the sound of it, there are now several lottery shops open in Mondstadt?"
"Yeah. Their tickets cost one thousand Mora each, and the top prize is five million Mora." Tabibito grabbed Yanfei's arm. "They're clearly targeting me on purpose."
"Fine, I'll help you," Yanfei said, looking at her. "But my legal fees won't be cheap."
"Don't worry. I'll back you the whole way through."
"And if you have any specific demands, tell me now. I'll do everything I can for you."
"Really?" Tabibito asked.
"Of course."
"Hmm... Paimon, do you remember what Sara said to those customers when we passed by Good Hunter earlier?"
Paimon scratched her head. "S-Said what?"
"Sara said that if a shop's food had a problem, they'd compensate you tenfold."
Tabibito turned to Yanfei and said very seriously, "So if Goth is falsely accusing me, I want tenfold compensation too. I want him to pay me fifty million Mora!"
"T-Tabibito, what did you just say? Fifty million Mora?" Even Shinobu was dumbfounded.
"Tabibito, isn't that a bit too much?" Kaeya coughed and reminded her, "I'm not saying Goth can't pay it, but if it really came to that, he'd probably have to sell the Goth Grand Hotel."
"When I left that shop, I was in a great mood. Their manager said the ticket was fine and handed me the money on the spot."
"There were so many people there who can prove it too, and now they're suddenly turning around and accusing me of using a fake ticket!" Tabibito glared at Kaeya in anger.
"Kaeya, we fought side by side during the Stormterror incident. I thought we were friends. And now you're helping outsiders gang up on me?"
Kaeya smiled bitterly after being pointed at like that. "Tabibito, you really can't say it like that."
"I'm only doing routine work and asking you to come back with me. I haven't done anything to you. Honestly... I do believe you're not that kind of person. But your luck was just a little too good. It's hard not to be suspicious."
"Hmph. Better." Tabibito's mood eased a bit. She clung to Yanfei's arm and said, "Yanfei, you have to help me."
"Didn't you want to investigate Ryou's lottery shop anyway? I can help with that, but you absolutely have to sue them for those fifty million Mora."
Yanfei was tempted when she heard that. She had already heard rumors that Tabibito's relationship with Keqing was a little... complicated.
Then there was Ryou in the middle of it all too.
The relationships here were a complete mess.
Still, suing someone for fifty million Mora would not be easy.
"Let's leave that aside for now. We'll head to the Knights of Favonius first," Yanfei said. "I'm sure Jean will at least hear us out."
"Alright. Let's go."
Kaeya brought the whole group back to the Knights of Favonius headquarters, but the moment they arrived, he saw that Ryou and the others were already there, inside Jean's office.
The two groups looked at each other.
Jean coughed lightly. "So... which side wants to go first?"
"You go ahead," Ryou said. "We're not in any hurry."
Keqing looked toward Tabibito, Yanfei, and the others, clearly unsure how that group had ended up together.
Jean looked at Tabibito and said, "Honorary Knight, normally I would not doubt you, but... winning five million Mora twice in such a short time is hard not to question."
"You are also a member of the Knights of Favonius, so... can you explain what happened?"
"Explain? Explain wh—" Tabibito started angrily, only to stop when she noticed Yanfei tugging at her.
So she changed tack and said, "I've entrusted Yanfei with handling this matter for me. Let her answer on my behalf."
"I see. Then what is your position, Yanfei?" Jean asked.
Yanfei looked at her and said, "Acting Grand Master Jean, I am now representing Tabibito in this case."
"But before you question her further, I have a few questions of my own. Is that alright?"
"Of course," Jean said with a nod.
"Good. Then let me ask you this first: what evidence does this old man Goth have for claiming the lottery ticket was fake?"
"Second, the ticket has already been returned to the lottery shop. From this point on, they can say whatever they want. That is unfair to my client."
"And third, I have already heard Tabibito's version of events."
"She confirmed the ticket with the person in charge at the shop, and that person paid her the Mora on the spot. More than that... Tabibito also said they hung up a congratulatory banner."
"There are even witnesses who can prove she bought the ticket and claimed the prize within less than ten minutes. So tell me, how exactly was she supposed to forge a winning ticket in ten minutes?"
Jean fell silent after hearing that.
After a moment, she said, "The Knights of Favonius will investigate this matter properly. I also hope you can help us find the relevant witnesses."
"If there are witnesses, a lot of this will become easier to resolve. For now, we were only bringing in the Honorary Knight to ask some questions."
"That is naturally acceptable," Yanfei said with a nod.
"Good. One more thing," she added. "I would like Acting Grand Master Jean to pass a message to those two shops for me."
Jean looked at her. "Go ahead."
"When my client claimed the prize, there was no issue whatsoever. If the ticket had not been valid, she never would have received any Mora."
"They even hung up a banner to congratulate her. That alone proves the winning result was accepted."
"Now they regret it, and they are trying to backtrack. If so, then they must bear legal responsibility for that."
"My client is demanding tenfold compensation for false accusation and fraud. If those shops cannot produce proof, then I will demand fifty million Mora in compensation from each one."
"And in Liyue, my win rate in legal disputes is close to ninety-eight percent. They should prepare themselves mentally."
Click.
The door shut behind her words.
But inside the office, everyone fell silent and exchanged looks.
"F-Fifty million Mora? If both shops have to pay, that's one hundred million Mora..." Mona said in disbelief. "Tabibito's going to get rich."
"Ryou..." Keqing tugged at his arm, worried things might spiral out of control, because she knew this scheme had started with Ryou giving Tabibito the idea.
Now that Yanfei, a top-tier legal expert, had stepped in, it was hard to imagine anyone turning the situation around.
Ryou patted Keqing's hand to calm her, though even he found it unbelievable.
He had only expected Tabibito to make ten million Mora from those two shops.
What he had never expected was for her to go this hard and demand tenfold compensation, turning it into a one-hundred-million-Mora lawsuit.
Too ruthless.
Then again... it was Tabibito.
Ryou coughed and turned to Keqing. "Keqing, is the Goth Grand Hotel really worth fifty million Mora?"
"Hmm... it's an old establishment, so it does have value, but fifty million Mora is pushing it," Keqing said after thinking it over.
"Then if this goes through, it might end up taking Tabibito's surname," Ryou said. "If she actually gets her hands on a hundred million Mora, she can retire on the spot."
Jean rubbed her forehead, then said to Kaeya, "Kaeya, please go inform those two shops of the situation."
"Alright. I'll go now." Kaeya nodded and left.
Once he was gone, Jean turned to Ryou and said, "Sorry... that was embarrassing to watch. So, what did you come here for?"
"We'd like to see Klee. We have something important to ask her," Ryou said.
"Klee? Alright, I'll call her over."
Jean stood up and went out. Not long after, Klee came bouncing in and threw herself into Ryou's arms.
"Ryou-nii, are you taking Klee out to play?"
"Acting Grand Master Jean is so mean! Just because Klee bought a lottery ticket, she locked Klee in her room!"
"Klee," Jean called from the side.
"Hmph! Acting Grand Master Jean is mean!" Klee turned her head away, hugged Ryou's leg, and pleaded, "Ryou-nii, take Klee out to play! Please?"
"Alright, alright." Ryou crouched down and rubbed her head. "But actually, this girl needs something from you too."
"Huh? What is it?" Klee tilted her head and looked at Mona.
"It's like this..." Mona gave her a brief explanation.
"Ohhh, so you want that box. Wait here a moment. I'll go get it!" Klee said, then bounced away to fetch it.
Standing beside Keqing, Mona lowered her voice and said, "Honestly, I'm still a little nervous."
"What, do you think there's treasure inside?" Keqing asked with a smile.
"I don't know. That old hag didn't tell me. But she was very serious about it, so whatever's inside has to be important," Mona said.
"Old hag?" Keqing asked, puzzled.
"My master. She's a true master astrologer, incredibly powerful. But... one day I'll surpass her. Just wait," Mona said proudly.
Ryou let out a quiet laugh at that, but the next moment, the door to the room on the left opened.
A tall beauty in purple stepped out and smiled the moment she saw him.
Ryou's heart started pounding.
Lisa.
What a breathtaking figure.
"Keqing... I-I only looked once..."
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]