They stayed at Cat's Tail Tavern until evening.
During that time, Bonanus didn't just sit around watching people drink. She had to find something to do. And that something was playing Genius Invokation TCG.
She didn't have her own deck, but Diona had plenty. This girl had collected a lot of cards.
Bonanus had thought Diona only had the one deck she lent to Noelle. But she turned around and pulled out several more boxes from under the counter.
It felt like that space under the counter was bottomless. You could pull anything out of it. Had some blue cat been here before?
Clearly, Diona really enjoyed Genius Invokation. She wouldn't have collected so many cards otherwise.
Bonanus wasn't new to the game. She didn't need to be taught. Back in Liyue Harbor, Yanfei had already explained the rules to her.
Even though she understood how to play, she was still terrible. In match after match, Diona had crushed her more times than she could count.
"Why can't I win..." Bonanus muttered. Did she have some kind of curse that made her lose at every game?
She had been bad at games in her previous life too, but never this bad. How embarrassing.
"You're so slow." Diona said bluntly. She was young, after all. Sometimes she just said whatever came to mind.
Even though Diona's words stung, she wasn't wrong. After every match, she tried to teach Bonanus.
She even patiently explained new deck combinations. But Bonanus was just too dense. She didn't play the right cards at the right times. She would hold back when she should attack and go all in when she should defend.
Even the best deck would lose with a player like that.
"But it's really hard." Bonanus rubbed the back of her head.
Her head felt itchy lately. Maybe she was growing a brain.
"Aren't you a merchant? Merchants are supposed to be smart!" Diona said, confused. She had been taking it easy on Bonanus the whole time.
"Ahem, Diona, you need to understand that not all merchants are good at everything. Take me, for example." Bonanus said without flinching.
"That actually makes sense..."
Diona had no comeback for that. She didn't know how Bonanus could say that without blushing.
"I'm done. I keep losing. Genius Invokation is no fun." Bonanus complained, grabbing her hair in frustration. Was she really a black hole for games?
She rubbed her forehead, packed up the cards, put them back in the box, and handed it back to Diona.
"Trust me. Practice more and you'll get it." Diona said comfortingly. Losing that many times in a row would affect anyone's mood.
"It doesn't matter anymore..." Bonanus slumped over the table, looking defeated. At least her opponent wasn't mocking her. Otherwise, she would have been furious.
For Bonanus, she had never really enjoyed Genius Invokation. She didn't want to play ever again. She had lost too badly.
Diona didn't disturb her after she quieted down. Let the gaming failure rest.
She had been playing Genius Invokation for years, and this was the first time she had met someone like Bonanus. There was no joy in crushing a noob like that.
Sometimes Diona even wanted Bonanus to win. She tried her best to leave openings, but Bonanus just couldn't take the hint.
Diona shook her head and glanced toward room two. Just as she looked over, she saw Noelle slowly pushing the door open and walking out.
Huh? Where was the blonde girl? Had she teleported away with her black crow again?
That blonde girl was Fischl, the girl who called herself the Prinzessin. Extremely chuunibyou, always walking around in black stockings and a short skirt.
A big black crow was always by Fischl's side. The funny thing was that crow could talk. Very interesting.
"Noelle!" Diona waved when she saw Noelle finally come out.
Bonanus, who had been lying there, turned her head lazily. She looked so strange that Noelle thought she was sick.
"Sister, what's wrong?" Noelle hurried over and patted Bonanus's back. Her sister's complexion looked really bad.
"Don't worry. She just lost too many games and tilted." Diona said casually, standing on a stool to clean her shaker.
"Um... Sister, don't be sad. We'll try again." Noelle comforted her gently. It didn't seem to help much.
"I'm not sad. Just annoyed. How did your lesson go?" Bonanus asked flatly. With Noelle's learning ability, Genius Invokation was probably easy for her.
"I've learned it. I can use the deck properly now. I'm not very skilled yet, but I can handle real matches." Noelle said happily.
"Noelle, you're a genius. Where's the person who taught you? I don't see her." Bonanus sat up slowly, looking around.
When Diona mentioned the blonde girl and the black crow, she had already guessed it was Fischl.
She thought Fischl would come out with Noelle. But she was nowhere to be seen.
"You mean Fischl? She's a Prinzessin from another world! She has a familiar with her. Its name is Oz, the Midnight Crow."
"We've met before. Fischl sometimes tells me about her adventures. They all sounded very dangerous."
Noelle said with admiration. Fischl's way of speaking could be hard to understand, but Noelle always felt there was deep meaning behind her words.
Bonanus smiled awkwardly at that. Probably only Bennett and Noelle actually believed the whole "Prinzessin" thing.
"I see. Where did she go?" Bonanus propped her chin on her hand. She wouldn't mind hearing some chuunibyou talk. No gentleman would refuse a girl in black stockings with a dramatic flair.
"While we were sparring, her familiar suddenly flew out. Didn't you notice, Sister?" Noelle asked, confused.
"No, I was too busy losing to Diona." Bonanus shook her head. She hadn't noticed a big bird flying past her and out the door.
"After that, Fischl said something like, 'My nemesis! You dare lay waste to my garden! I shall punish you with my Eye of Judgment!'"
Noelle imitated Fischl's tone and said that very chuunibyou line. She even copied the pose Fischl had made.
"Then she laughed like 'hehehe' and vanished. That's what happened. So I came out." Noelle was still holding that dramatic pose. It looked ridiculous.
Bonanus burst out laughing. She never expected cute Noelle to strike such a pose. It was hilarious.
Realizing how awkward she looked, Noelle covered her face, crouched down, and turned bright red. She couldn't show her face anymore.
Why did she imitate Fischl like that? How embarrassing.