My name is Diona.
I'm the most popular bartender at Cat's Tail Tavern.
I have a grand dream— to mix the most disgusting alcohol imaginable, and then destroy Mondstadt's entire wine industry.
For that noble goal, I came to this legendary, mysterious manga shop.
But I never expected that here…
I'd see such a lazy cat!
And yet—
This indolent purple cat was enjoying the ultimate treatment.
Sometimes her chin was gently scratched.
Sometimes her belly was rubbed.
She looked so comfortable it was unbearable to watch.
"Damn it… I want my ears petted too, meow~!"
Watching the purple cat's blissed-out expression, Diona felt overwhelming envy.
But since she didn't know that black-haired young man, she couldn't exactly say it out loud.
No.
I'll have to come here more often in the future.
While she was deep in thought, a hand suddenly waved in front of her eyes.
Then a pleasant voice sounded beside her ear.
"Miss Diona, would you like to read manga?"
"Huh? Yes—yes, of course!"
Snapped back to reality by Noelle, Diona nodded repeatedly.
She had almost forgotten her real purpose.
Manga—that was why she came.
She stepped forward, placed a pouch of Mora on the counter, and then walked toward the bookshelves.
But before leaving, she couldn't help glancing back at the purple cat a couple more times.
Her gaze was filled with complicated emotions.
"What's with that girl…?"
The purple cat felt a little confused.
Judging by her outfit, she even looked somewhat similar to Keqing's human appearance.
Ah, whatever.
Better to just enjoy Boss Han's massage properly.
Mm—so comfortable.
And… Boss Han smells really nice too.
Thinking that, the purple cat snuggled even closer into Han Feng's arms.
"Looks like that cat-eared girl's ears are itching."
Watching Diona's retreating figure, Han Feng smiled faintly.
He knew this tsundere little loli pretty well.
But there was no rush.
There was plenty of time.
Under Noelle's guidance, Diona soon arrived in front of the bookshelves.
But seeing more than a dozen manga lined up, she immediately felt troubled.
"So many manga… which one should I read?"
Scratching her head, Diona hesitated.
She had no idea which manga might help her goal.
"If you're not sure which one to read, you can choose the newest one—like Your Name."
Noelle pointed to a manga and suggested it.
Most customers did the same.
Aside from personal preferences, people usually chose the newest releases.
Reading a new manga before others gave a strange sense of superiority—in short, it felt good.
And Your Name was the latest manga Boss Han had just put out.
"Alright, then I'll read this one."
Diona nodded, accepting Noelle's suggestion.
She felt it made sense.
Taking Your Name, she followed Noelle into the quiet reading area.
After casually finding a seat, Diona felt a bit excited.
"I heard from other customers that the manga here is not only rewarding, but also incredibly good.
I wonder just how good it is."
With curiosity, she opened Your Name.
The story itself was actually quite simple.
It told of a boy and a girl from different times who woke up one day to discover that their souls had swapped bodies.
They experienced all kinds of amusing situations, gradually developed feelings for each other, and eventually set out on a journey to find one another.
At the beginning of the manga—
A girl wakes up in her room, but her actions are extremely strange.
Her face red, she starts touching herself.
"Why is this girl touching herself right after waking up?
Does she have some kind of weird habit?"
At this point, Diona hadn't figured it out yet and looked completely confused.
But as the story progressed, everything became clear.
"W-Wait… their souls swapped bodies?!"
Realizing this, Diona cried out in shock.
She had never seen such a setting before.
Her mind was blown.
And instantly, her interest skyrocketed.
She wanted to see—
After switching bodies, how different would their lives become?
So she buried herself completely in the story, even forgetting her original goal.
Until—
She reached the scene where Miyamizu Mitsuha, wearing shrine maiden clothes, was making kuchikamizake.
Diona's eyes widened in disbelief.
"S-So… alcohol can be made like that?!"
She felt like her horizons had just expanded.
Turns out she'd been far too innocent before.
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed through her mind.
"What if I mix the drink properly first, then hold it in my mouth and spit it back into the cup?
Or better yet—do it right in front of the customer!
Even if, because of my constitution, it still ends up delicious…
Mentally, there's no way they'd be okay with that, right?!"
Thinking of this, a delighted smile appeared on Diona's face.
"This is perfect!
Why didn't I think of this before?
Coming to this manga shop was absolutely the right choice!"
She felt smug with happiness.
But for now—
Reading the manga came first.
She was really looking forward to what happened next.
Liyue
Outside the alley entrance of the Solace Book House Branch.
…
At this moment, a green-haired man wearing glasses, with a white snake wrapped around his neck, arrived here with a small zombie girl.
It was Baizhu, owner of Bubu Pharmacy, and his apprentice, Qiqi.
"This should be the place the Traveler mentioned, right?"
Baizhu muttered to himself while surveying the alley.
He had originally gone out to gather herbs.
But upon returning, he unexpectedly ran into the famous Traveler.
She told him about a mysterious manga shop in Mondstadt—
One where simply reading manga could grant rewards.
And now, there was even a branch in Liyue.
If you wanted to read, you could just go directly.
Naturally—
Baizhu didn't believe it.
In fact, any normal person wouldn't.
But Qiqi kept insisting that she wanted Coconut Goat, and also said she wanted to read zombie manga.
Left with no other choice, Baizhu brought her along.
After all, it was rare for Qiqi to want to go somewhere.
He couldn't bear to refuse her.
He figured he'd just treat it as taking Qiqi out for a walk.
Once the scam was exposed, she'd understand on her own.
"Qiqi, let's go in and take a look at this so-called manga."
Baizhu said with a gentle smile.
"Coconut Goat… manga!"
Hearing that, Qiqi grew visibly excited.
Her memory wasn't very good.
Even though Klee had told her many things about the manga shop before, she barely remembered any of it.
Except for one word—
"Manga."
And of course—
That place might have Coconut Goat.
That part, she remembered clearly.
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