The following morning, Henry arrived at Austell & Byrne Services shortly after nine o'clock, where a conference room had already been prepared for the closing process.
For perhaps the first time since arriving in the USA years ago, Henry found himself sitting on the same side of the table as people casually discussing eight-figure transactions, and what struck him most was not the scale of money involved but how normal everyone else seemed to find it, as though moving tens of millions of dollars between accounts was just another routine Tuesday that required nothing more than a pen, a signature, and a bit of patience.
Representatives from Austell & Byrne Services handled the formal closing process, confirming ownership transfers, verifying identities, and executing the legal filings required for each property. The process remained methodical and procedural, consisting of signatures, confirmations, and final authorization steps that steadily converted intent into legally registered ownership.
By noon, the first closing was complete, and the lakeside apartment building officially belonged to Henry Fernandes, along with every lease agreement and tenant contract tied to it.
By mid-afternoon, the second property near Austin's technology district was transferred as well, its paperwork finalized without complication.
By early evening, the third transaction was completed, bringing the mixed-use development under his ownership and finalizing all three acquisitions in a single day.
Shortly before leaving, the Austell & Byrne representative handed over the thick ownership packets, neatly organized and bound, each one representing a significant piece of real estate.
Three buildings, hundreds of individual rental agreements, and multiple commercial leases, all consolidated into neatly bound legal documentation that now represented ownership of entire revenue-generating systems rather than just physical structures.
As he walked back toward his car afterward, he found himself thinking not about the money itself, but about how strange it was that only a few years ago he had considered a small apartment in Texas to be a major achievement, back when saving a few thousand dollars had required careful planning, budgeting, and restraint, whereas now he owned properties capable of housing entire communities without even needing to think about cash flow in the same way.
His attention shifted elsewhere.
He needed to do a lot of Shopping before he returned to Teyvat.
The mall became Henry's next destination. Although he had never considered himself particularly good at buying gifts, it still felt wrong to return empty-handed for his friends from Teyvat.
He moved through the stores with a level of focus that confused staff more than once. He did not browse casually or spend time comparing aesthetics for long periods; he simply walked in, scanned the options, selected what he needed, and moved on. The entire process felt closer to a checklist than leisure shopping.
For Alina, he chose a simple but elegant white dress with soft blue accents along the hem, light enough for casual wear yet refined enough to suit her presence without feeling out of place.
[This dress is nice. I like it.]
"See? My choices are great."
"Also, this dress is for Alina, not you, Orianna. Even if you like it, you can't wear it."
[Hmph.]
For Jean, he chose an elegant silver hairpin with a blue sapphire accent, simple yet refined enough to match her composed nature without appearing excessive.
For Lisa, he selected a set of purple earrings and a finely bound leather journal embossed with subtle floral patterns along the edges, paired with a set of high-quality ink pens that felt more suited for personal writing.
For Eula, he chose a deep navy shawl with delicate embroidered snowflake patterns along the edges, something warm yet understated that aligned with her preference for dignity over unnecessary display.
For Noelle, he picked a delicate charm bracelet decorated with small metallic stars, chosen less for extravagance and more for the quiet sincerity it represented, something that felt personal rather than ornamental.
For Ningguang, he selected a designer pen set for her office use, and a silk scarf woven with faint gold-thread patterns that caught the light subtly at different angles, understated in design yet refined enough to suit her presence.
For Yelan, he chose a sleek blue silk scarf with faint line patterns that only revealed themselves under light, chosen simply because it matched her preference for blue and suited her understated sense of style.
For Atsuko, he selected a soft pastel-toned silk hair ribbon set, simple, light, and easy to wear in everyday life without effort or formality.
For Yanfei, he picked a compact, high-quality legal notebook with reinforced binding and smooth paper, practical in nature but still refined enough to suit her professional habits.
For Kuki Shinobu, he selected a minimalist wristwatch with a clean design and durable frame, functional above all else, reflecting her practical and no-nonsense approach to life.
He did not forget his male friends either.
For Albedo, he chose a precision drafting compass set with finely calibrated tools suited for detailed work and technical accuracy.
For Varka, he selected a sturdy travel flask made from reinforced steel with thermal insulation, practical for long journeys where reliability mattered more than aesthetics.
For Anthony, the shop mechanic, he picked a designer wristwatch.
For Xingqiu, he chose a fountain pen set with smooth ink flow and a classic design, subtly acknowledging his love for writing and literary expression.
[I thought you were only going to pick gifts for your "female" friends.]
"Ok. Ouch."
"Orianna. I am not a horn dog."
[Yes, yes. Totally. I believe you.]
Henry ignored Orianna's sarcasm.
By the time he left the mall, he was carrying more bags than he could reasonably manage at once, drawing several curious looks from passersby, until he reached a quiet corner and transferred everything into his system storage with practiced ease, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
[You should be thanking me again and again for giving you system space.]
"Yes, yes. Thank you, Orianna."
Back home, he organized everything carefully before storing each gift securely within his inventory space, ensuring nothing would be damaged or misplaced during travel between worlds.
Next came the power banks, each one carefully charged to full capacity, a habit that now bordered on unnecessary but still provided a sense of preparedness he preferred not to abandon entirely.
Only after that did Henry settle down in front of his computer, and the house gradually fell into a rare stretch of quiet.
He had something important to finalize now.
The café menu.
What he needed was not experimentation or constant revision, but consistency, something stable enough to anchor the business across time, staff changes, and eventual expansion into something larger than its initial concept.
After hours of research, comparison, and refinement, he finalized the menu and wrote it down exactly as intended, treating it less like a draft and more like a permanent reference that would only change if absolutely necessary.
Teyvat Café: Snack Menu (Reference Version)
• Apple Strudel (Mondstadt) – Flaky pastry with spiced apple filling, a café classic.
• Pretzel Bites (Mondstadt) – Soft, lightly salted pretzel pieces perfect with dipping sauces.
• Bao Buns (Liyue) – Steamed buns filled with savory pork or vegetables.
• Egg Tarts (Liyue) – Sweet custard tarts, light and snack-sized.
• Onigiri (Inazuma) – Rice balls with fillings like salmon, tuna, or pickled plum.
• Dorayaki (Inazuma) – Soft pancake sandwiches filled with sweet red bean paste.
• Samosa (Sumeru) – Crispy pastry triangles filled with spiced potatoes.
• Baklava Bites (Sumeru) – Sweet layered pastry with nuts and honey syrup.
• Creme Puffs (Fontaine) – Choux pastry filled with rich vanilla cream.
• Éclairs (Fontaine) – Filled pastry with glazed topping and custard cream.
• Mini Empanadas (Natlan) – Small hand-held pastries filled with spiced beans, meat, or vegetables, inspired by pre-Columbian and Latin American cuisine.
• Spiced Plantain Fritters (Natlan) – Bite-sized fried plantain-based fritters, lightly spiced, reflecting Sub-Saharan African and Oceania culinary traditions.
• Pirozhki Minis (Snezhnaya) – Small hand-held buns filled with meat, potato, cabbage, or mushroom.
• Medovik Bites (Snezhnaya) – Tiny versions of the classic Russian honey layer cake.
Satisfied, Henry shut down his PC and then sat cross-legged closing his eyes, ready to travel to another world.
"I am not teleporting into Alina's room."
[You finally stopped being a horn dog. That is good character progress.]
"Thank you."
[But I think she wouldn't mind if you did teleport into her room again. Maybe you should take her on a date first.]
"That's a bold assumption. How do you know she wouldn't mind?"
[Female intuition.]
Henry blinked slightly. "So you are a female, then?"
[Well yes, I am a female system. My voice sounds feminine to you, doesn't it?]
"No."
[Well… fuck you!]
Henry sighed. "Sorry, sorry. Orianna, you have the most beautiful voice and the best system."
[Hmmpf. Good. At least you know your place.]
Henry ignored her tone and focused inward, letting the reconstructed image of his room in Mondstadt solidify in his mind until every detail locked into place and the world around him began to fade.
Space twisted around him, reality folding inward as the room dissolved into a seamless transition between worlds, pulling him cleanly out of the space he had been standing in.
Moments later, he disappeared.
---
Quick note for everyone reading -some of the gifts Henry picked are from Earth and don't exist in Teyvat yet. That's intentional and part of the modernization idea in the story, not filler.
Teyvat is already advanced in a lot of ways, but at the same time not everything matches Earth-level everyday items.
Power Stones, please! My collection count hasn't moved in two weeks. Send help.
📖 Advanced Chapters on Patreon- we are ahead by 13 chapters
https://patreon.com/A_Peverel