Holding the mission card, Lisa pondered for a long while.
Should she really expose some of Jean's little secrets?
In the end, she decided to give it a try.
Maybe the audience reaction requirement wasn't actually that high.
"Jean drinks an entire month's worth of coffee within the first few days of every month."
[Seele: Uh… that's it?]
[Albedo: That doesn't really count as a secret.]
[Kaeya: Everyone already knows that. How is that a little secret?]
[Barbara: Sigh… Big Sister is still the same.]
[Ningguang: Coffee… Is it really that good?]
[Himeko: So Miss Jean is also a coffee enthusiast? If we get the chance… we should exchange notes.]
As the number one coffee advocate, Himeko felt like she had found a kindred spirit. Since they both loved coffee, they absolutely had to chat about it someday.
[Jean: Uh… sure.]
Jean quietly let out a sigh of relief.
At least Lisa hadn't revealed anything embarrassing.
Her best friend was still reliable after all.
If all she exposed were harmless little habits like this, Jean had no objections.
Lisa would get a reward, and she wouldn't die of embarrassment.
A perfect outcome.
[Audience response: Average. Mission Failed.]
Unfortunately…
Neither of them had expected the audience to react so indifferently.
"So it failed after all."
Lisa thought for another moment before deciding to try something else.
"Jean once kept a pet turtle."
[Amber: She kept a turtle? That's hardly a secret.]
[Eula: Exactly. I even know Jean locked Klee in solitary confinement before.]
[Diluc: That's not much of a secret either.]
[Stelle: Disappointing… Looks like there aren't any interesting secrets to dig up about Acting Grand Master Jean.]
[March 7th: I even got my notebook ready. What a shame.]
[Sampo: Ah… utterly disappointing.]
Everyone had been excited.
Jean was always so serious and proper.
Surely someone like her must have some amusing hidden secrets?
Instead…
That was it?
Their enthusiasm immediately died down.
[Audience response: Average. Mission Failed.]
"Failed again!"
Lisa frowned.
She finally understood.
Things everyone already knew didn't count as secrets.
If she wanted that reward…
She had no choice.
Sorry, Jean.
After gathering her thoughts, Lisa spoke again.
"Jean enjoys reading romance novels."
"I think the title was… Vera's Melancholy."
[Kaeya: Hm?]
[Diluc: Now that's something I've never heard.]
[Feixiao: Romance novels… That's quite the contrast.]
[Jing Yuan: You people can play gal games, yet Jean isn't allowed to read romance novels?]
[Bronya: I honestly can't picture it.]
[Jean: …]
She knew it.
She just knew Lisa would eventually reveal this.
Thankfully, not many people inside the Knights of Favonius knew about it.
If only people from other worlds found out…
She could still survive the embarrassment.
She just hoped Lisa would stop here.
Please don't continue…
[Yae Miko: Curious. What kind of romance novel is it?]
[Albedo: It tells the story of a girl named Vera living in Delphi Town. She has a childhood friend named Sachi. Later, a man named Aik moves into town. Vera visits his house, but countless tentacles suddenly burst out of Aik's wardrobe, plunging Vera into a terrible crisis.]
[Yae Miko: Wait. Hold on. What burst out exactly?]
[Raiden Makoto: Tentacles… Are we talking about the kind I'm thinking of?]
She was stunned.
Had the times changed so much?
Were modern people really this wild?
[Jade: Wait… Your world's romance novels are like this?]
[Yukong: Why does this sound less like romance and more like something else?]
[Sampo: Hohoho! This has to be adults-only! There's no way this isn't rated eighteen-plus!]
[Robin: Ah… Seriously? Acting Grand Master Jean actually reads books like that?]
[Stelle: Mondstadt, we'd like a private word with you.]
[March 7th: Don't you dare bring books like that onto the Astral Express!]
[Jean: It's not what you're all thinking! This… This is just a normal romance novel!]
Jean hurriedly explained herself.
If they kept misunderstanding…
She'd be branded as someone with very questionable tastes.
[Stelle: What kind of romance novel has tentacles in it????]
[March 7th: Exactly! I may not read much, but don't try to fool me!]
[Ningguang: Then… what happens afterward?]
Ningguang couldn't quite believe this suited Jean's personality.
[Albedo: Aik appears and, together with Vera, defeats the tentacles. He then explains that the tentacles belong to an ancient god from another galaxy. Because he stole something from it, the creature tracked him down. After that, Aik invites Vera and Sachi to travel across the universe together.]
[Albedo: Aik can also rewind time and travel through space. He's a great sage.]
[Yae Miko: And you're calling this a romance novel? Where exactly is the romance?]
[Xingqiu: Sounds more like an adventure novel to me.]
[Albedo: Later, the Princess of the Andromeda Empire appears and wishes to marry Aik. But Vera is in love with Aik, Sachi loves Vera, Aik tries to help Sachi pursue Vera, while Sachi helps the princess pursue Aik… Then, while helping the princess, Sachi gradually develops feelings for her as well.]
See?
Wasn't that romance?
[Feixiao: Stop… please stop… My stomach hurts.]
She couldn't make heads or tails of this emotional train wreck.
[Yae Miko: I see now. So Mondstadt likes this kind of story. I'll have someone start writing one immediately.]
[March 7th: Is this… a love triangle…? No… a love quadrangle?]
[Bronya: So novels can be written like this…]
[Seele: Don't believe it. The novels where I come from aren't like this.]
Inside the game…
Lisa waited for the result.
But the mission still hadn't concluded.
"No notification…"
"Does that mean the audience reaction still isn't strong enough?"
Thinking about it, merely admitting Jean liked romance novels really wasn't explosive enough.
Fortunately…
She still had one final card to play.
"I remember Jean once told me that Aik from the novel reminded her a lot of Valerius…"
"So it's obvious she really likes Aik as a character."
"As for which heroine she imagined herself to be…"
"I'll leave that to everyone's imagination."
[Jean: !!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[Diluc: Heh… Hehehe… The Knights of Favonius are doomed sooner or later.]
[Eula: Heh… Hehehe… She definitely imagined herself as Vera.]
[Amber: Oh my goodness…]
[Belle: I think I'm starting to smell White Album.]
[Wise: You even know White Album? Who gave that to you?]
[Belle: Silver Wolf did.]
[Silver Wolf: Don't look at me. I got it from Valerius.]
[Qingyi: If Jean is Vera, and Valerius is Aik… then who's the princess? Bronya?]
[Cocolia: …]
Something's definitely going on.
Cocolia suddenly felt uneasy.
Surely Acting Grand Master Jean wasn't planning to move to Belobog too?
At this rate…
Belobog was turning into everyone's relocation destination.
Meanwhile…
Still waiting alone in the preparation room…
Valerius suddenly felt something was off.
For some reason…
He had the distinct feeling that everyone in the livestream was talking about him.
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