Inside Tenshukaku…
Raiden Ei looked intently at the assembled players below.
"So?"
"Who has confidence this time?"
Inazuma had been the first team eliminated in the previous game. Their performance had been less than impressive, so Ei wanted to achieve a better result this round.
As she spoke, she couldn't help glancing toward Kujou Sara, who stood off to one side.
Sure enough…
Sara quietly clicked her tongue.
It was subtle, but most people still heard it.
"…"
The players who had been considering volunteering immediately fell silent again.
Participating in the game wasn't what scared them.
It was the punishment afterward.
Even Kujou Sara had become like this.
If they ended up being punished too…
What then?
Sara was the Shogun's trusted subordinate.
Perhaps the Shogun wouldn't hold it against her.
But they weren't.
What if Her Excellency got angry?
Seeing that no one was speaking, Ei frowned slightly.
"You don't even have this much confidence?"
She couldn't understand it.
Weren't all of you full of confidence before?
Why is everyone silent now?
Raiden Makoto, however, immediately understood what was going on.
"You don't need to worry about the punishments afterward."
"Just do your best."
"Oh… right."
Ei quickly realized the problem.
She felt slightly annoyed.
Do you all really think I'm that unreasonable?
"You don't need to worry about the punishment."
"Then…"
"I'll go."
With nobody else volunteering, Kirara hesitated for a moment before raising her hand.
She had spent years traveling all over Teyvat making deliveries.
Finding a place to hide…
Was something she was quite confident in.
"Good."
"You'll go."
Ei nodded in satisfaction before reminding her,
"Remember."
"Don't spend too many points."
"You'll still want some left for the prize draw afterward."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Kirara hurriedly nodded.
Do I really look like someone who wastes points?
…
Sixth Street.
Belle kept tapping rapidly on her phone.
Since every player was scattered around different locations, texting was the easiest way to discuss things.
Zhu Yuan: "So? Who's confident this time?"
Belle: "This one isn't too hard. If nobody else wants to, I can go."
Nekomata: "Hehe! This round is definitely mine… meow!"
For most games, Nekomata didn't think she was particularly suited.
But hide-and-seek?
This was her specialty.
Her senses were naturally incredibly sharp.
Avoiding Valerius should be easy.
Jane: "If it's Nekomata… she really is suitable."
Nicole: "Go for it."
"If you win…"
"I'll treat you to ramen."
Nekomata: "I want grilled mackerel."
Nicole: "No problem!"
"As long as you bring the reward back to Cunning Hares, I'll buy you all the grilled mackerel you can eat."
Nekomata: "Really~~~~"
"Woohoo~~!"
"I'll definitely win for you!"
Belle: "Wow."
"You're treating her that well?"
"So… when are you paying back your debts?"
Nicole: "Uh…"
"Boss~~~"
"Can you give us a few more days?"
Amber: "Looks like you'll be sleeping on the streets."
Wise: "Fine, fine."
"A few more days."
"You people are way too experienced at this."
Once the representative had been decided…
Two pillars of white light descended into the game space.
"Oh?"
The moment Kirara arrived…
She immediately noticed Nekomata's highly distinctive twin tails.
"You're a nekomata too?"
"I am."
Nekomata blinked in confusion.
"How did you know my nickname?"
But when she noticed Kirara also had two tails…
She immediately became excited.
"W-Wait…"
"Your Inazuma has Thirens too?"
"Uh…"
"I'm not a Thiren."
"I'm just a little yokai."
"Oh!"
Nekomata finally understood.
"So 'nekomata' is a yokai."
"A little yokai, huh."
She didn't mind at all.
In fact…
She instantly took a liking to Kirara.
The two cat girls immediately gathered together as though they were longtime friends who had finally reunited.
Their enthusiasm was contagious.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
Several more beams of light descended.
Looking over this round's participants…
Valerius couldn't help wearing a strange expression.
The representatives from Inazuma and New Eridu had both picked cat girls with exceptional senses.
But…
The rest of you?
Mondstadt: Lisa.
Liyue: Hu Tao.
Inazuma: Kirara.
Sumeru–Fontaine Alliance: Sigewinne.
Penacony: Sparkle.
Xianzhou Alliance: Bailu.
Belobog: Pela.
New Eridu: Nekomata.
"Alright."
Valerius clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"Since all participants have been decided…"
"You may now purchase your own abilities."
"And remember…"
"This time, I won't know what any of you buy."
After tapping on the interface several times…
A shopping screen appeared before each participant.
Only they could see it.
The moment they saw the available items…
Quite a few of them widened their eyes.
At first…
They had assumed the purchasable abilities would help them hide.
Instead…
Almost every item was designed to sabotage the other players.
"So that's how it is."
Lisa smiled knowingly.
She had suspected the game wasn't as simple as Valerius had described.
When he'd first explained the rules…
He'd only emphasized one thing.
Hide well.
Don't let Valerius find you.
But now…
The entire strategy of the game had changed.
Without hesitation…
She selected an item from the shop.
Meanwhile…
After browsing the entire list, Sparkle looked up.
"Valerius, Valerius."
"You really don't know what we've bought?"
"I don't."
Valerius shook his head.
"Don't worry."
"I won't cheat."
"Not only do I not know what you've purchased…"
"I don't even know what items are available."
"Oh~~~"
Sparkle nodded thoughtfully before revealing a mischievous smile.
"That's good."
"Then I definitely won't tell you…"
"That one of the items lets us expose each other's locations."
The entire arena fell silent.
…What are you doing?
Are you seriously exposing us like that?
"Hehe."
"Why are you all staring at me?"
Sparkle blinked innocently.
Then, as though suddenly realizing something, she gasped dramatically.
"Oh no!"
"I accidentally revealed such important information!"
"It was an accident!"
"You believe me… right?"
Everyone simultaneously turned away.
No one wanted anything to do with this troublemaker.
An accident?
If we didn't know you were a Masked Fool…
We might've believed you.
"Heh."
Valerius gave Sparkle a thumbs-up.
As expected…
Sparkle started causing chaos the instant she arrived.
"You have one hour."
"Find a place to hide."
"During that time, you can also complete various missions to obtain powerful rewards."
"As for me…"
"I'll leave now."
"I look forward to seeing all of you again in one hour."
After tapping a few buttons on the interface…
Valerius disappeared.
[Timer Started.]
As Valerius vanished…
The countdown officially began.
"Let's split up."
Lisa was the first to distance herself from Sparkle.
She had already sabotaged everyone before the game had even started.
Who knew what she would do next?
Better to stay as far away from her as possible.
The others quickly dispersed as well.
There was no way they were sticking with Sparkle now.
"Hehe."
Sparkle wasn't offended in the slightest.
You don't want to play with me?
That's fine.
I'll play with all of you instead.
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