Chapter 94: Punishment for Failure
"Of course it's real. It's even more real than the Coral Palace specialty."
"But when they are together in the Palace of Wisdom, they don't address each other as mother and daughter. After all, they are both gods."
Seno nodded affirmatively. After all, it was the Great Compassion Tree King who mentioned it himself.
"In this case, it makes sense that the Great Compassion Tree King would reorganize the Ministry of Education as mentioned in the teacher's letter. However, I never thought that these sages would be so bold as to imprison the gods..."
After getting Seno's confirmation, Tinari nodded.
His mentor, Nafis, was one of the only two sages who had not been punished, so he had time to write to Tinari about the situation in the House of Decrees.
"Yes, the little grass god is so pitiful..."
Cole nodded and said, she couldn't help but feel distressed when she thought about the fact that Nashida, whom she met in Huacheng Castle, had been imprisoned for five hundred years.
"As the disciplinary officer, I promise that they will receive the punishment they deserve, but we have to wait for the final judgment from the Tree King and the Grass King."
Seno said seriously.
"Oh, guest, you didn't bring any money, so why do you have to pay for everything every time you go out..."
At this moment, a girl's somewhat complaining voice came from the side.
"Haha, don't blame me, Hall Master, but we went out together for business, and it's normal for the Hall Master to reimburse the expenses of his employees."
"Alright, alright. Anyway, I can't argue with you. Fortunately, I brought some extra Mora this time."
A man and a woman passed by, looking around for an empty seat.
But there have been too many people visiting Xumi recently, and the Pushpa Cafe was quite crowded. They searched for a while but couldn't find an empty seat, so they had to move closer to Seno and his group, which only had three people.
"Hello, my friend from Xumi, can we share the table?"
A lively young girl with reddish-brown hair and twin ponytails came closer and asked Seno and Tinari and the others in a lively and polite manner.
"Sorry for disturbing you."
The man named Zhongli followed behind Hu Tao and spoke apologetically to Seno and the others.
"It's okay, please take a seat, since you are here, Xumi is a guest."
Seeing that the two were not from Xumi, Tinari invited them.
"Great, dear guest, let's sit down quickly. Today, I want to taste what Xumi's coffee tastes like~"
Not many people in Liyue drink coffee. Although Hu Tao has heard of it, she has never tried it.
Then Senor stood up and changed his seat to sit next to Tinari, while Hu Tao and Zhongli sat opposite him.
"From the looks of you two, you should be from Liyue? Did you just arrive in Xumi today?"
After the two sat down, Tinari couldn't help but ask.
Before the Chasm was blocked, merchants often entered and exited Xumi from the Chasm, so Tinari was quite familiar with the people of Liyue.
“Yes, this is the first time that Wangsheng Hall has a cross-border business, so this hall master must come and see it in person.”
Kurumi looked at the menu on the table and nodded affirmatively.
"Keqing, please go to the front desk and order. I want this coffee and these two desserts."
After selecting the coffee and snacks that she was interested in from the menu, Hu Tao handed the menu in her hand to Zhongli and gave him instructions.
"Okay, Master."
Zhongli had no choice but to take the menu and walk towards the counter.
"Transnational business...? Hall Master?"
Cole tilted his head in confusion.
"Hehe, that's right, little sister. Our Wangsheng Hall is very famous in Liyue, and the 77th head of Wangsheng Hall is me, Hu Tao."
Hearing Cole's voice, Kurumi said proudly with her hands on her chest.
"Little sister? I'm not little, and you're not that old either..."
Cole grumbled in dissatisfaction.
"I see. Nice to meet you. I'm Tinari, the ranger of Hua Castle. This is Senor, and she's my student, Kelai."
After learning Kurumi's name, Tinari introduced the two people around him to Kurumi.
"Nice to meet you, nice to meet you. But you are all from Xumi, can I ask you about someone?"
Walnut nodded in response, and after confirming that they were locals of Xumi, she couldn't help but want to find out more.
She and Zhongli had just wandered around Xumi City for a while, but they had no idea where to find Nashida, and the Ministry of Education wouldn't let them in.
"Okay, but you have to explain why you're looking for him."
Seno nodded in response.
"Okay, here's what happened. A little customer ordered our Wangsheng Hall's business and asked us to come to Xumi to send her off. But after we arrived at Xumi, we realized we had no idea where she lived."
Walnut explained the reason why they came to Xumi.
Then, Walnut explained the man's appearance to Seno.
"White hair, with a green gradient at the ends, pointed ears, and a leaf on one side of the head..."
This detailed description made Seno and the other two look at each other.
After learning that King Little Lucky Grass was in power, Cole knew that he didn't need to continue helping Nashida hide her identity, so he explained to Tinari that the girl was King Little Lucky Grass.
"Lord Cao Wang disappeared for a while. It turns out he went to Liyue..."
After a while, Seno nodded in understanding.
Where Nashida went during her missing days had always been a mystery before.
"You guys must know each other based on your reaction, right? Tell me quickly, please!"
……
In order to confirm whether Nashida was beautiful or not, Liu Bai took one of her hands.
While she was confused, Liu Bai leaned over and licked her palm at lightning speed.
Salty and sweet ~ with a hint of grassy aroma ~
"Huh?!! W-What are you doing!?"
Nashida blushed and quickly pulled her hand back.
"Woo... The Great Compassion Tree King is calling me. I, I'm leaving first!"
Then Nashida covered her red face and fled back to the Palace of Wisdom. She was so fast that Liu Bai almost couldn't see her clearly. After all, she was also +13 now.
"Wait for me, girl!"
Liu Bai reacted and had to follow.
But at this moment, the voice of the system suddenly rang in Liu Bai's ears.
"Ding ding, it's detected that the Flower God's Birthday Festival is about to arrive."
[Side Quest (Birthday of the Flower Goddess): Please find a birthday gift for Nashida, and Nashida must not know about it before giving it to her.]
[Mission Reward: Third Awakening Mission Card, Failure Penalty: Penalty for Failure]
"The Flower God's Birthday? What is that?"
It was the first time that Liu Bai had heard this term, and he asked the system with some confusion.
"Didi, the host can understand this as Nashida's birthday."
The system explains simply.
"My little girl's birthday? When is it?"
Liu Bai had never heard of Nashida's birthday, so he quickly asked the system.
"Didi, three days later."
"Three days... It's hard to prepare a birthday gift. I don't know what the girl likes..."
Hearing that Nashida’s birthday was in three days, Liu Bai scratched his head in distress.
"...Got it! System, do you think it counts if I give myself to her?"
……