"Ah... Welcome, traveler, to Yae Publishing House. What kind of light novels are you looking for? In about three days, we'll have a new light novel release personally recommended by Lady Guuji herself. You can get a twenty percent discount on pre-orders—only 1,600 Mora."
Seeing a new customer finally arrive, the young female staff member, who had been listlessly slumped over the desk, darted right over to Youying and eagerly pitched the sale.
"Oh... I'm just browsing. It seems like it's not very busy today..." Youying felt a bit overwhelmed by the attendant's sudden enthusiasm.
"Sigh..." Hearing this, the girl's expression dimmed somewhat. "Business at Yae Publishing House has dropped quite a bit compared to usual these days. I just don't know if we'll be able to win back our popularity when the new books launch in a few days."
"What happened?" Hearing this, Youying grew a bit curious. "Could it be that a new light novel shop opened in Inazuma City? Who's bold enough to compete with Lady Guuji for business in Inazuma? And can they actually win?"
"Of course not! Our Yae Publishing House is the titan of Inazuma's cultural industry!" The young woman puffed out her chest with pride, though she deflated almost as quickly. "A trade caravan from Sumeru recently came to Inazuma, and they brought along a new kind of card game. It's called... what was it again? Some kind of Summoning?"
"Genius Invokation TCG?"
"Ah, yes! That's the name." The girl nodded. "Have you heard of it too, guest?"
"I've played it a little bit before, though I'm not very familiar with it," Youying said. "Still, this card game shouldn't have much to do with Yae Publishing House selling light novels, right?"
"Of course it does! This Genius Invokation TCG and our Yae Publishing House light novels fundamentally serve the same purpose: helping people pass the time in their leisure hours. The more people playing cards, the fewer people have the spare time to read light novels. Naturally, fewer people come to buy books."
"Hmm... that makes sense. After all, you could say they both belong to the entertainment industry," Youying nodded.
"It hasn't even been a full week since the Sumeru caravan arrived in Inazuma, but already..." The girl sighed. "They've practically taken over the entire Komore Teahouse. They sell Genius Invokation TCG cards on one side and set up matches right there on the other, making the place so packed you can barely squeeze through."
"I see..." Youying nodded calmly, planning to head over to Komore Teahouse shortly to check it out for himself.
"Wrap this one up for me, please." Before leaving, Youying casually picked up a copy of a light novel anyway. After all, the staff member had just told him so much, and it would feel a bit rude to walk out empty-handed—plus, it was a chance to support Yae Miko's business.
*(Kano Nana: I sure thank you for using my money to support my boss's side hustle.)*
A short while later, outside Komore Teahouse.
"Pardon me..." After some fancy maneuvering, Youying finally managed to squeeze his way into Komore Teahouse.
The interior of Komore Teahouse was packed to the gills. Even standing at the entrance, one could hear the pervasive sounds of dice and cards clacking everywhere inside.
"Hello, would you like to purchase a Genius Invokation TCG set? Starter decks are currently on special for 5,000 Mora, including three Mondstadt character cards and 30 action cards. For an additional 2,000 Mora, you can upgrade to a Casket of Tomes, which comes with two random character-exclusive special action cards!"
Seeing someone enter, Kozue, the Komore Teahouse attendant, greeted him. It seemed the Sumeru caravan had indeed established a cooperative relationship with Komore Teahouse.
"I'm just looking around. Is anyone teaching how to play Genius Invokation TCG here?" Youying asked.
"We haven't had dedicated instructors since the day before yesterday, but once you go inside, you can pick up a small booklet at the front desk that provides a brief introduction to how Genius Invokation TCG is played."
"Thank you." Youying thanked Kozue and stepped into Komore Teahouse.
After flipping through the booklet to confirm that the Genius Invokation TCG here was no different from the one in the game, Youying headed up to the second floor of Komore Teahouse.
The second floor was primarily a space for playing cards. Most of the card-playing commotion he'd heard from outside originated from here, and some people had even set up a makeshift arena to take on challengers.
Among them, the most popular spot by far was the arena at the very back of the hall.
A middle-aged man dressed in Sumeru scholarly attire sat on the stage, currently playing against a rather plain-looking Inazuman man.
Looking at the board state, it was clear the Inazuman had been driven into a corner. He had only a single character card left, and its HP had dipped into the opponent's lethal range. Meanwhile, though the opponent's characters had each taken some damage, all three of them were still standing healthy and intact.
After struggling through another round to barely trade away the Sumeru man's lowest-HP character, the Inazuman unsurprisingly lost the match.
"You lose." The Sumeru scholar wore a smug smile as he reached out and scooped up the Mora left on the edge of the game table.
"Is there anyone else who dares challenge me, Sanjela? You only need to put up 5,000 Mora as a stake for a chance to win this Shining Invocations-finish character card I have here—the big boss of Mondstadt's Dawn Winery, Diluc, valued at an incredible amount of Mora!"
For a moment, however, no one stepped up to challenge him. It seemed this fellow named Sanjela had won quite a lot during his time here.
"Hmph, I've heard Inazuma has always prided itself on the samurai spirit, but I never expected Inazuman samurai enthusiasts to be such cowards, too afraid to play a match with me." Seeing that no one was stepping up to the challenge, Sanjela grew somewhat disappointed and resorted to taunting them.
Yet this tactic didn't seem very effective either; it looked like Sanjela had used this provocation quite a few times over the past couple of days.
However, Youying felt a sudden itch to play. He had been watching from the sidelines for quite a while now, and frankly, this so-called Sanjela only had NPC-level skills. He could only bully ordinary people who barely knew how to play.
So you like seal-clubbing newbies, do you? Well, buddy, I'm about to turn you into the seal.
On one hand, Youying couldn't stand the sight of someone seal-clubbing while putting on airs; on the other hand, Youying genuinely had his eye on that Shining Invocations card.
After all, he was really strapped for cash these days, and this Sanjela was practically...
Just as he was dozing off, someone handed him a pillow.
"You're only good at bullying people who've barely played for a couple of days. Do you dare fight me?" Youying decisively spoke up as he walked toward the table.
"Oh? Has this friend played Genius Invokation TCG before?" Sanjela sized Youying up and asked.
"A little bit, just a little bit," Youying said, casually tossing 5,000 Mora onto the table, his tone suddenly shifting.
"If you dare to challenge me, I shall send you home in bitter defeat!"
"Good, good, quite the big mouth you've got," Sanjela laughed heartily. "I accept your challenge. What deck are you using?"
"Don't have one."
"What?"
Taking advantage of Sanjela's momentary stupefaction, Youying—who had just taken a seat—stood right back up and announced loudly across the hall:
"I left in a hurry today and forgot to bring my deck. Which of you kind brothers here would be willing to lend me a Genius Invokation TCG deck? Any deck will do—just watch me take this guy down."
The rest of the patrons in the hall, along with Sanjela, stared at Youying as if he were an absolute fool.
Come on, bro, you were just bragging about how awesome you are, and now you have to borrow someone else's deck? Are you for real, man?
"Brother, there's no need to let your pride get the better of you. If it's too much, let's just back out," a kind-hearted bystander advised Youying from nearby.
Just as the atmosphere turned somewhat awkward,
"If you don't mind, you can use my deck."
A gentle young girl's voice came from behind Youying, instantly drawing the gaze of nearly everyone present.