Valerius sat there in a daze for a long while before finally snapping back to reality.
The next second, he exploded into motion and sprinted toward the podium.
"Alright, alright, it's over! Everyone go home! Hurry up, hurry up!"
With microphone in hand, he began shooing people away with undisguised urgency.
"What's with the rush?"
"Why are you suddenly in such a hurry?"
The crowd looked baffled.
"Come on, I still have a lot of important things to do."
Most people had no idea what was going on.
But a fair number had noticed the interaction between him and Bronya earlier. Those people immediately understood and started getting to their feet.
Zhongli stood up first.
"I also have some matters to attend to, so I'll be taking my leave."
With him leading the way, Jing Yuan rose as well.
"In that case, we'll head out too."
One by one, the rest of the players said their goodbyes and exited the special space.
Only Raiden Ei remained, clutching a bag of candy and a package of dango as she walked up to Valerius.
"Do you have more of these dango? Give me some more."
She adored them.
Compared to the dango of Inazuma, these were on an entirely different level.
The only flaw was that there wasn't enough.
She intended to ask Valerius for another batch.
After all, hadn't his wife won thanks to her?
Surely she deserved a little extra reward.
"Here."
Valerius immediately handed over a giant bag of dango.
Right now, he had no interest in bargaining with her.
The sooner she left, the better.
Raiden Ei blinked in surprise.
She had expected at least some negotiation.
Instead, he gave it to her without hesitation.
"Then… can I have a little more?"
"Take it."
"And maybe… just a bit more?"
"Give me that."
Valerius finally snapped.
Can't you see I'm busy?
"Uh… never mind. See you."
Seeing that he was genuinely getting annoyed, Ei quickly stopped pushing her luck.
No point risking him taking the dango back.
Hugging her candy and dango happily, she left.
The moment Valerius returned home, he rushed to close all the curtains.
His bedroom window directly faced Serval Landau's.
Who knew if that troublemaker might peek in?
Once everything was secured, he sat in his room and waited with anticipation.
Time passed.
Bronya still hadn't shown up.
"Huh? Didn't we agree?"
Valerius started to feel uneasy.
Was she going to stand him up?
He immediately opened the livestream chat.
Valerius: Bronya, what are you doing?
Bronya: I just got home. What's wrong?
Valerius: Uh… you're not busy right now, are you? I need to see you.
Bronya: Pfft… Wait for me a little.
Bronya couldn't help smiling.
So impatient.
At the same time, a warm sweetness blossomed in her heart.
It seemed she really was irresistible to him.
Then another message appeared.
Xianyun: Valerius, when are you going to fulfill your promise to me?
Watching Shenhe once again carrying her spear down the mountain, Xianyun quickly reminded him not to forget.
Valerius: Uh… tomorrow. I'll come tomorrow.
The moment he sent the message, Valerius regretted it.
That sounded unbelievably scummy.
As expected, Bronya's mood immediately soured after reading it.
"Men are the worst."
But recalling her mother's analysis, she knew Valerius was never going to belong to only one woman.
"No. I need to take action."
Just as Cocolia had said—even if she couldn't have him entirely to herself, she would at least be the first.
Taking a deep breath, Bronya hugged the box containing the bunny girl outfit and headed toward Valerius's house.
When she entered, Valerius wasn't in the living room.
Jingliu was leisurely toying with a small item in her hand, while Phantylia was actually cleaning the room.
Bronya couldn't help marveling.
To get a Lord Ravager to do housework…
Valerius was truly one of a kind.
"He's upstairs."
Jingliu gave her a knowing look.
Bronya nodded and climbed the stairs.
Knock, knock.
The door opened.
Valerius's eyes instantly locked onto the box in Bronya's arms, and they lit up.
"Hehe, you're here."
He welcomed her inside, his gaze never leaving her.
"Do you look at other girls like this too?"
"Of course not."
Valerius shook his head.
"I'm looking at my own wife. That's perfectly legal."
"Hmph."
Bronya snorted softly and leaned against him.
"You're really going to pick up Shenhe tomorrow?"
"Uh…"
Valerius was instantly speechless.
There was no safe answer to that question.
Seeing him freeze, Bronya straightened and looked at him seriously.
"I want to ask you something."
"I'd save your mom, choose the baby, I've loved, I have no regrets, I drink yogurt without licking the lid, eat chips without licking my fingers, and I'm not a Virgo—"
"You…"
Bronya was completely speechless.
"You really have no sense of seriousness."
But at the same time, she found it oddly endearing.
How was this man so handsome and yet so hopelessly inexperienced?
Then she remembered his famous "drink more hot water" response back in Liyue.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
He probably really had never dated anyone.
Bronya took a breath.
"I… finished everything I needed to do today. And I don't have anything scheduled for tomorrow."
"Huh?"
Valerius stared blankly.
What exactly was she trying to say?
This wasn't like her at all.
Normally, she was straightforward.
Her cheeks turned red.
"My meaning is…"
"I… don't want to go home tonight."
At first, Valerius nodded thoughtfully.
Oh.
That was easy.
He reached into his inventory and pulled out a brand-new PlayStation 5.
"Your husband will stay up all night gaming with you."
Bronya: "…"
Her face turned scarlet.
From pure frustration.
For a moment, she seriously considered walking out.
Then Valerius blinked.
Wait.
No way.
Did she mean… that?
His body trembled.
The more he thought about it, the more certain he became.
After years of being single…
Was he really about to skip straight to the final stage?
He looked at Bronya.
As if sensing his realization, she lowered her head shyly.
Something in Valerius suddenly settled.
He walked over, gently wrapped his arms around her, and spoke softly.
"I've decided."
"I'm never leaving Belobog."
Bronya looked up.
"Really?"
"Really."
He nodded solemnly.
"I'm making my home here. No matter where I go in the future, as long as my home is here, I'll always come back."
Hearing his promise, the last traces of uncertainty in Bronya's heart melted away.
Moonlight spilled through the window, coating the small room in silver.
Warmth filled the air and lingered for a very long time.
Much later, Valerius lay on the bed, marveling at how wonderful life could be.
And somewhere nearby, a familiar female voice echoed.
"Minions have spawned."
"First Blood!"
Beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful.
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