"Hey, Tubby? How do you decide which women can join the UHA?" asked Mavuika all of a sudden. "It seems like anyone who wants in usually gets in."

Across the table, Citlali gave a sharp cough, which everyone ignored. Arlecchino seethed in silence.

Tubby looked at the Pyro Archon. "It's not that simple. Believe me, I've written rejection letters in the past. When I decide who to admit, I always try to ask: Will this person make Aether happy? That, I find, is an excellent baseline."

Katarina frowned. "So, you have rejected people? Anyone we know?"

"Probably. Let me think…" Tubby paused. "Ah, yes. That Ying-er applied once. I rejected her because I felt that she was more in love with innuendos than Aether. Judging by her current relationship with Timaeus, I was right. Plus, Yae Miko scared her off."

Tubby floated around the living room. She opened a file cabinet drawer and took out a manilla folder. The Adeptus perused through the pages.

"Let's see, this week, I rejected Frost Operative, Wind Operative, Sappho amidst the Waves, Rilai, Eremite Galehunter, Eremite Floral Ring-dancer, Eremite Axe Vanguard, Eremite Scorching Loremaster, three Oceanids, and Wayward Hermetic Spiritseeker. Beyond that, I'm not sure. There're so many it's hard to remember them all."

"Really?" said Ganyu. "How many applications do you usually see in a day?"

"Hundreds," Tubby replied.

They all went slack-jawed.

"Hah, s-surely you're joking," said Furina with a nervous laugh. "You couldn't possibly…"

Tubby wasn't laughing. She reached into her sleeve and produced a key. She floated over to the staircase and inserted it. Immediately, a portion of the wall slid up, revealing a set of stairs leading downward.

They followed Tubby into the dark catacombs for half a mile before they emerged in a pocket of the Realm Within. It was a secretary's worst nightmare. Towers of bookshelves stuffed with manilla files lined the chamber, stretching higher than the peaks of Dragonspine. They couldn't even see where the bookshelves ended.

"Holy…"

"This," said Tubby, "Is just last month's."

Ganyu fainted. Suddenly, Citlali felt like she owed Tubby an apology for ragging on her about joining the UHA. Everyone looked on in abject amazement.

"Why are you all surprised?" asked Tubby. "You know Aether's popular."