2 A Shop Like No Other
At the current time, Isamu could be seen sitting down inside his store, which appeared as a rather modern-style building with pure white walls and an entire front made of clear transparent glass, no doubt reinforced to the extreme as well.
Inside the shop was a simple resting area with black couches that surrounded a black coffee table that stood atop a black circular carpet. Everywhere else in the store, display cases could be seen lining the walls, each with strange boxes that were tightly sealed with built-in locks.
From the looks of it, there were three different kinds of boxes on display, the bottom layer had a fancy copper box with a golden lock. The next layer had boxes made of shining silver, with a darker silver lock attached to them, and on the third were shiny golden boxes with pale gold locks on them.
Aside from all of that, a curved white desk was situated at the back of the shop. With how the entrance to the store was two glass doors lined at the centre of the front, the desk was directly ahead and against the opposite wall.
Sitting at this desk was none other than Isamu, who at this time could be seen scanning his eyes over a number of documents. On each piece of crude paper were countless words, though he was quickly reading through them with no difficulty.
As Isamu skimmed through the documents, a certain purple-haired girl no older than himself could be seen standing tall in front of him. Wearing rather exotic clothing, and with her stern expression, she gave off the vibe of a calm, serious, and beautiful girl.
This person was none other than Keqing herself, one of the seven members that made up the Liyue Qixing here in the nation. At this time, Keqing had paid a visit to Isamu's shop, and for business purposes of course.
"Okay, I understand everything. Thank you for the work." Isamu finally nodded as he then looked up at Keqing, no change in his expression as he did so. "After signing these documents, I should now have full ownership and the right to do business here in Liyue Harbor, correct?"
"I-Indeed, every official business requires a permit."
Keqing snapped out of her funk before replying to Isamu. She couldn't help but look around, the design of the building was nothing like anything she had ever seen. It was both clean and very well organised. Albeit a bit on the empty side...
"Very well, then the contract here will be sealed." Isamu nodded before reaching over and picking up a pen from the small container on his desk. Biting off the cap, he gently held it in his teeth as he began to sign everything he needed to. "With that... the contract is sealed."
"Thank you." Keqing nodded, her eyes curiously glancing at the pen that Isamu had now just placed the cap back on. She had never seen such a writing utensil, people here all used quills with ink to write. "If you don't mind, I'll have to now inspect your business."
"In what way exactly?"
"As you know, Liyue Harbor is a city all about business. Therefore, the legitimacy of its stores are one of Liyue Harbor's greatest points of pride, so we cannot allow any kind of extortion or questionable business operations."
"In other words, you want to prove whether or not my business is a scam."
"That is one way of saying it." Keqing nodded her head before once again glancing at the array of strange boxes that lined the store. They were obviously on display for a reason. "From what can be seen, I assume your shop is based on those boxes?"
"You would be correct." Isamu smiled slightly as he stood up from his seat. Keqing watched as Isamu turned to face the wall behind his desk, she then widened her eyes as something rather miraculous happened once he snapped his fingers. "Tell me, are you willing to gamble with the devil?"
As soon as Isamu snapped his fingers, Keqing could only watch in stunned silence as black bold letters began to take form on the wall. They looked as if invisible hands were drawing them in, and it didn't take long before a chunk of text was now on the wall.
.
『Are You Willing To Gamble With The Devil?』
● Bronze Box - [Cost: 5,000 Mora] [Limit: 30/week]
● Silver Box - [Cost: 50,000 Mora] [Limit: 15/week]
● Gold Box - [Cost: 500,000 Mora] [Limit: 5/week]
● Game Box
.
Keqing couldn't help but become a bit still when she saw the prices, and while these values weren't much to a person like herself, it was definitely a price that an ordinary citizen would have high reluctance in spending.
Even the lowest-costing box was pretty much half the price of a high-end dish, and the prices only multiplied ten-fold as you went down the list. The highest cost was an astonishing 500,000, definitely not something some ordinary folk can afford!
"Th-These prices are ridiculous...!" Keqing couldn't help but shout as she placed both hands on the desk. Isamu expected the reaction, so he merely kept a smile on his face, not flinching at all as Keqing narrowed her eyes. "Just what kind of business are you running here? Explain!"
"Calm down, I can assure you that the prices on here are quite reasonable." Isamu responded simply as he then gave a small wave of his hand, and to Keqing's surprise, three boxes of each variant flew over before gently landing on the desk. "You're here to test my shop, right? How about buying some to test their authenticity?"
"...Very well then." Keqing narrowed her eyes further before saying this. Glancing down at the boxes, Keqing once again couldn't help but become a bit confused, just what was the purpose of these things? And why were they so expensive? "What do these boxes do?"
"I'll give a quick explanation. Each box here contains something random, random to the point that even I don't know what lies within them. Obviously, the more expensive the box, the more miraculous the reward you can get from opening them."
Keqing was going to say something, but Isamu quickly interrupted her.
"However, keep in mind that just because you may buy a higher-grade box, that doesn't mean you're guaranteed a great reward of that level. The better boxes just unlock greater rewards while lowering the chance of getting horrible ones, but the chance is still there."
"So, you're saying that even if I buy a gold box, there's a chance the reward would only end up being something I can get from the bronze or silver?" Keqing frowned a bit as she heard this. Isamu didn't answer directly, merely giving a small nod. "I see, so it's really a big gamble..."
"Exactly. However, what you want to do is not judge the chance of getting something good, but whether or not my prices are truly worth it. With that in mind, which box would you like to buy?"
Keqing couldn't help but feel a slight sense of oppression as soon as these words came out of Isamu's mouth, she could see the trick he was playing here. Considering there is a chance of getting a worse reward compared to the given box, she couldn't immediately call him a shady businessman if she got something bad from a gold box since he had already explained the concept of chance with these boxes.
He could just say that she was just unlucky, and there would be nothing she could say about it.
"And what about the last one?" Keqing couldn't help but ask as she finally paid notice to the fourth and last item listed. She had noticed the expensive-looking green and gold box safely secured in a reinforced case on the desk. "It doesn't have a price or limit."
"That box is a special one. You can only open one of them up once a week, and its rewards are guaranteed to be at least at the gold level. Though it obviously doesn't come free of charge, you just need to beat me at a game."
"A game?" Keqing asked, suspicion clear in her tone. Despite that, she was definitely quite interested when he mentioned the guaranteed reward quality. If she could win this so-called game, she only needed to determine if the reward she gets is worth 500,000 or more. "What kind of game?"
"Hmm... how about a simple game of chess? Though, whether or not you win won't matter, I'll just give you a free Game Box regardless of the outcome." Keqing blinked in confusion at this, obviously not understanding his intentions. "After all, you won't be able to win against me. I still need you to verify my shop, after all."
"You're really arrogant..." Keqing felt her eye twitch heavily after hearing Isamu's words. The fact that he said all of that with a calm and straight tone really pissed her off. "I hope you don't regret those words."
"Oh, I won't. I'll even give you two if you actually manage to win."
"Fine then, you WILL regret that arrogance of yours!"
"Then the terms of our game have been decided." Isamu smirked, to which he then raised his hand before snapping his fingers. Keqing watched as a strange golden scroll suddenly materialised above them. "Have a read, and if you agree with everything, we can begin."
Keqing took hold of the scroll that floated down to her, she then looked up to see Isamu taking out a chess board with all of the pieces from under the desk. He then began calmly arranging the pieces as Keqing slowly looked back down at the scroll in her hands.
.
『Game Contract Scroll』
● Game Name: Black And White
● Host: Takazawa Isamu
Participants:
● Takazawa Isamu
● Keqing
Winning Conditions:
● When the host gets checkmated
● The host admits defeat
Losing Conditions:
● The player fails to meet any of the winning conditions
Reward Conditions:
● If the player loses, the host must give the player a Game Box
● If the player wins, the host must give the player two Game Boxes
.
"What is this...?"
"That's a Game Contract Scroll." Isamu answered simply as he finished setting up the pieces. Confused, Keqing looked up at him, waiting for an explanation. "If all parties involved agree to the listed information, then the contract will be sealed. At the end of the game, whatever was agreed has to be fulfilled, and if not, the contract will forcefully endorse it by taking control of the necessary variables."
Hearing this, Keqing could only widen her eyes considerably. Despite Liyue being the City of Contracts, all contracts made are supposed to be upheld, but that didn't mean someone couldn't run away from it. If they don't fulfil their end of the contract, they would be punished accordingly.
But Liyue's contracts weren't all-powerful, the person who fails to fulfil their end of the deal is punished upon being captured before, and by the popular saying, is then punished by the wrath of the rock.
Unlike theirs, based on Isamu's words, the person who refuses to fulfil their losing conditions will be forced to by some miraculous force. If she understood what Isamu had just told her, just what kind of scroll was this in her hands that it could force someone to do something?
"So, do you agree to the contract?"
"I agree."
"Very well, then to finalise it, we must both say the word 'Aschente'."
"Aschente?"
"To put it simply, it's a word that means that you agree to abide by the rules of the game and have understood the circumstances. Once we both say the word, then the contract will be sealed, and the game will officially begin. Do you agree to abide by the rules?"
"I, Keqing of the Liyue Qixing, agree to play by the rules and conditions."
"Then I, Takazawa Isamu, too agree to abide by the rules set within this game. Now..."
Isamu smirked as Keqing narrowed her eyes.
"Aschente!"
As soon as both of them lightly shouted, the contract in Keqing's hands shattered into fragments of light before disappearing. Both Keqing and Isamu were then covered by a light golden aura that constantly began to rise from their bodies.
"The contract is sealed, and the game begins!" Isamu spoke up as he watched with amusement as Keqing confusedly looked down at the aura covering her. "I'll allow you to take the first move."
"Th-Then I'll be happy to oblige."
Keqing immediately calmed herself down after hearing Isamu speak. Looking down at the board, it didn't take long before she made her first move. Though, immediately after she moved her piece, Isamu moved his own not even a second after.
As the game progressed in total silence, Keqing couldn't help but bite down on the tip of her nail as her eyes danced from place to place on the board. On the other side, Isamu looked as calm as ever, his smile never leaving his face as he continued making his moves.
While Keqing wouldn't say that she was a master at chess, she wouldn't say that she was bad either, she was actually pretty decent at the game. However, that didn't seem to matter here, Isamu would always make a move immediately after she did.
This obviously placed quite a lot of pressure on her as she tried to think of the best course of action in the game, but whatever she did would be in one way or another countered by Isamu. He didn't even take a moment to think after she made her moves!
"You might want to calm yourself, panicking like that isn't going to help you focus." Isamu spoke up, and she could hear the slight tone of concern hidden in his calm and reserved voice. "Chess is a game that can only be played with a cool head."
"..." Taking his advice, Keqing took a deep breath to calm her nerves before glancing up at him with a frown on her face. "How do you keep playing like this? You don't even think of your moves before you make them, I don't understand..."
"It's not that I'm not thinking of my next move, it's just that I can make a decision based on the state of the board in less than a second." Isamu chuckled a bit as he said this. "It helps quite a lot when you have the ability to comprehend and calculate a strategy based on all ten to the power of one hundred and twenty possible states of the board."
At that, Keqing could only stare at him with a blank look of disbelief.
