71 71. A Little Trouble Solved

Seeing the commotion in front of him, Ryūhei clapped as loudly as he could for them to hear him.

*Clap*

It was silence after he clapped his hands. Then, he said, "Everyone, I already knew this was going to happen. So, I've ordered my servant to give each of you a queue number if you want to play this game. You know, I only asked the Milelith guard to borrow this street for a while because I want to show you all how to play this game. In order to not disturb the activity in this area, I prepared the place inside my shop for you to duel. Of course, you can't get inside all at once. So you need to queue outside the shop to wait for your turn."

After that, almost everyone took the queue numbers. However, because just 1 game takes a long time, those who get big numbers give up waiting, especially if someone still has to work.

Today, the manga shop opened earlier than usual. And the thing that attracted people the most was that a new volume of each manga was released that day. Even though it's still celebrating the Moonchase festival, many people still stop by the shop to buy the latest manga volume. There was something different in the new volume, which was the addition of Ryūhei's publishing company on the cover, Shueisha Publishing Company.

This means that novelists in Liyue or other nations can send their works to his company. But, he couldn't do it now because he didn't have an editor to review all of their works.

All of the manga in his shop were creations from another world that had been reviewed by the editors. Naturally, Ryūhei didn't need an editor to review the manga since it would be a waste. However, his shop is soon to become a company, so he needs to hire an editor to review the works that novelists or mangakas submit to his company before they are finally published. More than that, he also needed to prepare formal royalty contracts if the editor approved the work of the novelists and mangakas.

Since Keqing was also in his shop, he talked about various things in preparation for his two companies, the Publishing Company and the Game Company.

And, Xingqiu came over as well, discussing cooperation between Ryūhei's companies and Xingqiu's guild. Regarding the agreement, they asked Yanfei to come over.

— — — —

Yanfei was about to go while muttering, "I wonder how she's been doing since she went back…" But then she remembered something.

She turned back while asking,

"Ryūhei, how was the situation at Inazuma before you came to Liyue?"

"Hmmm? Why do you ask?" Ryūhei was puzzled because Yanfei suddenly asked about the situation in Inazuma.

Yanfei tilted her head while looking in the direction of Inazuma.

"Well, I remember a girl from Inazuma who was supposed to graduate this year as a law specialist student. However, Inazuma was suddenly locked down in this early year. I was just worried that something happened to her."

Hearing that, Ryūhei nodded. It turned out that there was also someone from Inazuma studying in Liyue. Well, it's not surprising considering that Liyue is a land of contract, so the laws in this nation are better than other nations.

"Well, Inazuma is in a mess right now. In my opinion, only people from huge clans can still survive in that kind of situation as long as they pledge to the Raiden Shogun. If your acquaintance is from a small clan or she is just an ordinary citizen, then I don't know. There is a lot of conspiracy behind the scenes. If a small clan follows the wrong clan, then…"

Ryūhei didn't continue since his statement was already clear enough for Yanfei. Yanfei pondered for a moment.

"I don't know if she's from a clan or not. Her name is Kuki Shinobu. Is there a Kuki clan in Inazuma?"

"The Kuki clan? Ah, it's a family of shrine maidens. Members of that family regard service to the Narukami Shrine as a great honor. I recalled that there was a pair of sisters of the Kuki clan in that shrine a few years ago. However, the little sister disappeared one day, and only the older sister was there. If you're talking about a girl from the Kuki clan, it must be that little sister who didn't want to be a shrine maiden. Well, if your acquaintance is from that clan, then you don't need to worry since the backing is the Raiden Shogun's friend." Ryūhei is still remembered since he often met a shrine maiden from the Kuki clan called Miyuki when he visited the Narukami Shrine.

"In that case, I'm glad. I kinda wanted to see her future as a great lawyer, knowing how talented she is."

However, she heard Ryūhei continue.

"If my memory serves me correctly, she had a fight with her family because she didn't want to be a shrine maiden, then ran away from home, a sort of family drama or alike I guess. Or perhaps, because her father smells like a middle-aged man's scent, she was sick of it and immediately ran away. So, I doubt she'll ever come back home."

"..."

Yanfei didn't know how to respond to his half-baked joke.

"Ah, I know!" Ryūhei seemed to have any idea about the reason why Kuki Shinobu ran away from home.

"What?" Yanfei asked curiously.

"I'm sure she was in her period at the time and was very sensitive when she was offended. That's why she fought with her parents."

Yanfei twitched, then retorted.

"What kind of reasoning is that!? There's no way such a thing could happen!"

A moment after that, they heard a shout from outside.

"Who is Ryūhei among yours? Get out and show your face!"

Ryūhei wondered who was so brazen enough to shout in the middle of the street. He immediately got out of his shop to see a handsome man wearing wealthy attire, though Ryūhei was more handsome than him. And from his appearance, he seemed to be a guy from Fontaine.

"Do I know you?" Ryūhei looked at him closely. He didn't remember having an acquaintance from Fontaine.

"So, you're Ryūhei!?"

"That's right. Can you stop barking?"

"You bastard!! I challenge you to duel!!!" That man said angrily while pointing his index finger at Ryūhei.

Ryūhei responded by crossing his arms with a disdainful grin.

"Why should I? In the first place, who are you? I don't remember that I held a world martial art tournament. If you want to challenge someone in martial arts, go to Feiyun Slope or Yujing Terrace! There are a lot of martial art clans there!"

"I heard from some Milelith guards that you're very close to my beloved Ningguang! This is unacceptable! I'm more handsome than you! I'm wealthier than you! And I have known Ningguang longer than you! How could Ningguang set her eyes on a random guy like you?" That man shouted crazily while looking at Ryūhei angrily.

Veins popped up in Ryūhei's face. In terms of appearance, it is clear that Ryūhei is better than the man in front of him. How come he was so narcissistic after seeing Ryūhei's appearance?

However, Ryūhei contemplated because of what that man said.

'This, this is definitely a misunderstanding. Even though I was aware that I was close to Ningguang, it wasn't about romance or anything like that. Although I've only known Ningguang for about a month, I know that that woman only cares about money more than anything else. But, this man actually dared to say beloved Ningguang. Doesn't this man know that spreading rumors about women who aren't his gives off a negative impression? Well, it seems this man is going to be a client of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. In that case, let me shorten the duration of his funeral.'

Ryūhei looked at the man to ask.

"What's your name?"

"My name is *Beep*!"

"So, it's Sir *Beep*. Then, what kind of duel do you want, Sir *Beep*?"

"My name is not *Beep*! It's *Beep*!"

"Alright *Beep*."

"Dammit! Suit yourself! Call me *Beep* or *Beep*, it doesn't matter. I see you carrying a wooden sword, then let's have a sword fight. I'm so proficient with swordsmanship! If I win, don't get closer to Ningguang in the future!"

"What if you lose?"

"There's no way such a thing would happen! I know you're not a Vision holder. As long as you're not one, it's my guarantee to win!"

"Hey, hey! That would be meaningless. In that case, I refuse this duel. There's no benefit in accepting your challenge!"

"Fine! If I lose, I will never set foot in Liyue Harbor again!"

"Alright, wait a moment!" Ryūhei immediately went inside his shop. A few moments later, he already changed his clothes while carrying 2 Bokken on his hip.

The two walked toward the west which was the road to the Golden House. Across the bridge from Chihu Rock was a large field, and the two of them stopped there to duel. Apart from that, several people who heard the two of them arguing also followed toward the field to watch the duel.

"Hey, what happened exactly?"

"I'm not sure, but it seems they're fighting over Lady Ningguang."

"Oh, fighting over a woman? That's kinda interesting to watch."

The people began to talk to each other.

"Hey, where's your sword? If you don't have one, I'll lend it to you, as you like." Sir *Beep* asked Ryūhei.

"This wooden sword is enough. Let's fight like this!" Ryūhei said while pulling out his Bokken.

"Bastard! Are you looking down on me?"

"Sorry about that. I'm not exaggerating to the point where I easily gamble on other people's lives." Ryūhei shook his head. "Let's change this way. I'll use my life as a bet instead of Ningguang's. Even if you win, Ningguang won't be yours. Though, you can court her or whatever you'd like afterward."

Hearing this, not only was the man in front of Ryūhei was shocked, even the onlookers were dumbfounded as well. That means, whoever the winner, the woman would hate sir *Beep* to the bone.

"Hahaha, you sure are a man amongst men." Sir *Beep* threw his sword to the ground. A second after, a wooden sword stabbed the ground in front of him.

"Use that! It's my favorite wooden sword, Lake Toba!" Ryūhei said while pulling out the other Bokken on his hip. "Regardless of whether we win or lose, neither side will have a grudge."

"That's right. It's purely a showdown between men." *Beep* said as he prepared himself.

"Come on!"

"Let's fight!"

"Fair and square!"

As they spoke in turn, the two of them charged at the same time and swung their wooden swords simultaneously. However at the delicate moment, the Lake Toba in *Beep*s hand was broken.

"Wait! Hold on a sec!! Sword… The sword…" *Beep* looked at the broken sword in his hand and couldn't help but panic.

However, Ryūhei didn't give a shit. He directly swung the wooden sword at *Beep*s face. Then, he was thrown away by the hit before he fell to the ground.

"Y-You cheat…!" *Beep* said while holding his pain.

"Naive! How can you borrow a weapon from your enemy? I silently sawed that wooden sword carefully. It will break even for a little swing." Ryūhei replied smugly.

And hearing that, *Beep* spat a mouthful of blood before fainting.