After driving away everyone who tried to approach, Jean made up her mind—she would keep a close eye on Klee for the foreseeable future.
No matter how nicely those people spoke about "helping Klee evolve," no one could be sure what they were really thinking.
Jean had already decided—until Klee fully understood that nuclear bombs were absolutely not to be used recklessly, she would not be allowed to evolve at all.
"Next one, come on."
After Klee, it was finally Alhaitham's turn.
Taking the five coins Valerius handed him, Alhaitham asked, "Does ranking affect the lottery results?"
He felt it should. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for second place to have worse rewards than third.
"It does," Valerius nodded. "The higher your rank, the higher your chance of getting a grand prize."
"For example… Acheron, as third place, has a 10% chance. You, as second place, have a 30% chance. First place gets 50%."
That cleared things up for Alhaitham.
Ranking mattered—but luck still played a role.
He dropped in all five coins and pulled the lever.
Clink.
A small transparent bottle fell out.
"Oh? Not bad."
Valerius smiled. As expected of Alhaitham—one draw, and he might have just solved one of Sumeru's biggest problems.
"This… is useful to me?"
The bottle was palm-sized, filled with an ordinary-looking liquid.
"Not necessarily for you personally—but for Sumeru, yes."
"This is Purification Spring Water. Sprinkle it on anything or anyone affected by harmful influences, and it will cleanse all negative effects."
Alhaitham frowned slightly.
It sounded powerful, but didn't seem directly useful to him.
"You don't have to understand now," Valerius said with a meaningful look. "Just keep it. It'll be very useful."
"…Alright. Thank you."
Even if he didn't fully grasp its value yet, he trusted Valerius enough to keep it.
Just as Valerius implied—its true purpose might reveal itself later.
"Don't worry. I wouldn't mislead you."
Valerius nodded, then glanced toward Nahida.
He briefly considered telling her—if that water were poured onto the Irminsul, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata could return instantly.
But he held back.
After all, Nahida was the God of Wisdom. Once she saw it, she'd figure it out on her own.
With rewards finished, it was time for punishment.
Valerius brought out another machine.
"Alright, you three."
"…Uh, maybe I shouldn't draw."
Bennett scratched his head nervously.
If he drew, things might get even worse.
"Yeah, definitely not you," Gorou nodded seriously, then turned to Lucy. "Um… are you lucky?"
"I… I think so?"
Lucy wasn't sure.
But she felt it was better to trust herself than risk the other two.
She stepped forward.
"Please don't be like Caesar's…"
She silently prayed. She could accept anything—except whatever Caesar got.
A card dropped.
Lucy grabbed it.
"…Big Mouth?"
The three words made her freeze.
That… wasn't a good term.
"This… isn't what I think it is, right?"
"It is. Lasts for a week."
Thud.
Lucy collapsed on the spot.
Bennett and Gorou jumped in shock.
Was it really that terrifying?!
The card dissolved into light and entered all three of them.
Everyone watched closely.
If they heard correctly, the punishment was "Big Mouth."
The three trembled slightly.
Then Bennett and Gorou casually walked back to their groups.
"…Huh? Nothing happened?"
"Yeah… where's the punishment?"
As if responding to the whispers, Gorou leaned toward Kokomi and lowered his voice.
"Lady Kokomi, let me tell you a secret."
"Oh? What secret?"
Kokomi leaned in curiously.
"The daughter of the Nagashima family… I think she's cheating. I saw her with another man."
"…Gorou, that's…"
Kokomi covered her face.
So this was "Big Mouth."
Spreading rumors about others' private lives?
And this sounded completely unverified!
"I'm serious! I saw it myself!"
Meanwhile, Bennett was also surrounded by people.
"…You're serious?"
"Of course! You didn't see it back then—wow, it was unbelievable…"
"…Bennett, maybe say less?"
"What? If he did it, why can't I talk about it?"
"Go on, keep talking."
Kaeya was amused.
Bennett had completely changed—he was nonstop gossip, spilling random stories left and right.
"And another thing—you know that Roert from the Adventurers' Guild?"
"He's still single at his age, saying he wants to dedicate his life to adventure!"
"I think… no one wants him."
"You should see what he looks like… wow… just wow."
Bennett got more animated as he spoke, as if everything were true.
Jean quietly closed her eyes.
This was a disaster.
If Bennett acted like this back in Mondstadt, he'd definitely get beaten.
And chaos would follow.
At the same time, she realized something terrifying—
This punishment was horrifying.
If she ever ended up like this…
She didn't even dare imagine it.
Bennett was just an adventurer, yet he could already reveal so many "secrets."
What about her?
Would she end up exposing all of Mondstadt's confidential information?
She shuddered.
That thought alone was terrifying.
"Alright, game's over. Save the gossip for when you get back."
Valerius waved his hand.
Hearing gossip here was nothing compared to letting them loose outside.
He had a feeling—this was going to cause chaos.
"Let's go, let's go! I'll tell you everything when we're back!"
Bennett was the first to leave.
He couldn't wait to spill everything he knew.
Whether it was true or not didn't matter.
If he heard it—
He'd say it.
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