After receiving a thank-you kiss on each cheek from Yoimiya and Klee, Jack carried the blessings of the beautiful girls to the next location.
It was still designated by Nahida.
This time, she wanted to see how the girls of Sumeru were doing here.
...
After briefly activating Creative Mode to enter an omniscient state, Jack found the location of Nilou and the others.
"Hmm, they're a bit far from us. They're in the beach area by the sea, and it seems they're... playing volleyball?"
"Volleyball?"
"A type of sports competition."
"Oh, is it from Jack's original world?"
"Yes, but I don't know much about it either. I don't know where they found information about this sport."
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, both of them could mostly guess.
The only people who could bring modern knowledge to Teyvat, besides Jack, were the Traveler, Lumine, who was known for her unpredictability.
"Lumine really is something. Although she's often not around, her presence is felt everywhere."
Nahida found this scene very interesting.
Jack saw that she also wanted to participate, so he took Nahida's small hand and said, "Should we join them?"
"Let's wait a bit, or we can just watch them from afar."
Nahida shook her head.
Because she knew that if Jack went over, the atmosphere among them would definitely become awkward and strange.
It wasn't that she was blaming Jack for disrupting the bond between sisters.
Rather, as the only man among a group of women, if he went, he would definitely be the center of attention. Everyone's focus wouldn't be on the game, but on how to perform in front of this man.
Once the competition began, Nahida's little devotee, Dinazade, would be at a great disadvantage.
So, this was a small, personal desire of Nahida, the Grass God.
At least until Dinazade had absorbed enough Dendro essence to grow up and not feel inferior due to her lack of strength, she would set aside these worries that a mother should have.
...
At the beach volleyball match.
"I never thought I'd stand opposite you, Candace. Heh heh, I won't go easy on you."
"Please, by all means, give it your all, Dehya."
Across a simple net, there was a 2v2 beach volleyball lineup.
Dehya and Dinazade were on one team, while Candace and Nilou were on the other.
Klee and Layla were substitutes on the sidelines.
Dori was taking bets, but no one was interested in placing any.
Faruzan lay listlessly on a beach chair.
Among the eight Sumeru residents mentioned above, Layla and Faruzan were new 4-star characters released just before Jack quit the game, so their friendship level wasn't at the maximum Level 10; it was only around Level 6.
Therefore, Jack hadn't invited them to the previous internal harem gathering, planning instead to meet them later and start as friends.
Unexpectedly, this virtual MC game had attracted these two reclusive girls.
"Ready! Serve!"
With Klee's whistle, Dehya tossed the volleyball high.
"Let's... play!"
Whoosh!
A flame ignited from Dehya's hand, and then she slammed the volleyball.
Boom!
The volleyball instantly shot across the net like a meteor, heading straight for Candace.
"You're not aiming for the dead corner, but rather serving a good ball directly to face me head-on. Heh heh, that's really your style, Dehya."
Candace smiled gently, but her movements were not slow at all.
She brought her hands together, her arms forming a 90-degree angle with the fireball.
Thump!
The flaming volleyball didn't bounce off Candace's arm like a normal volleyball; instead, it continued to fall.
If the force behind it had left Candace's arm, it probably would have directly created a huge crater in the ground.
"Hmph!"
Candace spread her legs, Water Element gathered on her body, subtly forming a shield on her back.
Sizzle!
Water and fire evaporated, a large amount of white smoke rose from the volleyball, and the sand beneath Candace's feet continuously vibrated as she used this method to dissipate the force.
Thump~
With a soft thud, the seemingly intact volleyball bounced into the air.
"Oh, she actually returned it. Not bad."
Although Dehya knew Candace could definitely return it, she didn't expect her to do so with such ease.
Judging by the fact that she wasn't even out of breath, she clearly had energy left.
Candace ignored her and looked at her teammate, Nilou.
Nilou nodded, her fair, long legs striding forward as she leaped into the air, simply striking the ball with a palm and sending it vertically towards Dinazade's side of the court.
This ball was also straightforward, without any deviation.
"Uh, I... I'll get it! Dehya, you don't need to help!"
Dinazade stared intently at the volleyball, which was much slower than Dehya's hit.
She held her breath... caught the ball, dissipated the force, and passed it, all in one smooth motion!
"You're amazing, Young Miss!"
"Phew~ I did it."
Dinazade sat on the sand, watching the volleyball float high, a sense of satisfaction welling up within her.
"Leave the rest to me!"
Dehya clapped Dinazade on the shoulder with a bold spirit, then quickly retreated to a suitable hitting position.
She raised her hand and delivered a Lion's Bite Spike!
Boom!
The extremely aggressive fireball struck again.
Candace also raised her Flowing Water Shield again, extinguished the fireball, and passed it to Nilou.
Nilou then gently hit the ball, feeding it to Dinazade, who had the physique of a normal person.
This formed a closed loop.
"Good shot!"
"Amazing!"
"Go, Dinazade, big sister!"
Collei cheered everyone on from the side.
Layla yawned and glanced at the score, which was still 6 to 6; it would be a long time before she and Collei played.
"Hmm, just a little nap, just... a little nap~"
Layla hugged Collei and quietly stood there, falling asleep.
Dori idly picked at her nails.
She, Dori the great merchant, had initially thought that opening a betting market for this type of competitive sport would be very profitable.
But she misjudged one thing: this group of people wasn't much for gambling!
However, volleyball as a sport was quite good.
When it's brought to Teyvat, and then there's a prize-winning guessing game to expand the game's popularity... Tsk tsk, wouldn't that be an evergreen cash cow!
"Hehe~"
"Hey! What are you laughing at? It's so creepy."
Faruzan walked over, rubbing her waist, and immediately saw Dori making a cunning merchant's smile.
"Cough cough, what I laugh at is none of your business, Faruzan, old granny."
"Hey! You little squirt, that's so rude. Isn't it better not to bring up people's shortcomings when scolding them? Calling me'senior' is fine, 'old granny' is not!"
"You're tired and out of breath after just a few steps. If you're not an old granny, who is? Could it be the wise and wealthy Qu Master Sangonomiya Kokomi?"
"You... you shorty!"
"Heh, old hag~"
"Wah! You're bullying your senior too much! You! Do you dare to challenge me to a beach volleyball match?!"
"Bring it on, but if you want Qu Master Sangonomiya Kokomi to take action, you'll have to pay a price."
"Pri... price? What do you want?"
Dori looked behind Faruzan; although it was empty, her intuition told her that this person had good treasures.
"Jack must have also sent you a weapon, right? How about using that as collateral? Of course... my greatsword is also collateralized here."
"No!"
A male voice appeared, immediately attracting everyone's attention.
Jack pinched Dori's cheek and said.
"Little Dori, what do you take the weapons I gave you for? Goods that can be traded at any time?"
Dori stared blankly at Jack.
Seeing his unprecedented angry expression, she felt an inexplicable panic in her heart.
"I-I didn't! I was just joking with Senior Faruzan. I... even if I won, if she said something, I would have returned it to her!"
Dori desperately explained; more than losing mora, she was now more afraid of losing favor.
-------------------------------
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