While Ryen and Hu Tao were enjoying their intimate moment, Lumine and the others were wandering aimlessly through the streets.
They hadn't left the private manor for long, yet Paimon had already gone on a shopping spree, nearly filling up Lumine's inventory space.
And that's even with most of the food being eaten by Paimon.
In Paimon's words, "It's not often we don't have to worry about Mora, and with the Rite of Descension going on and merchants from all over gathering here, of course we have to enjoy all the different cultures!"
To Paimon, the best way to experience a nation's culture was—unsurprisingly—through its cuisine.
Lumine only complained for a bit before joining in on the feasting. After all, it was rare for Paimon to treat her; if she didn't enjoy it now, who knows when she'd get another chance?
But Nahida wasn't in the mood to play tourist at all.
Her large eyes scanned the surroundings repeatedly—more precisely, she was searching for Ryen.
She even activated her Elemental Sight for this.
Unfortunately, Ryen had no elemental energy whatsoever, so he couldn't be found that way.
If Nahida wasn't constrained by the rule that forbade her from using her godly powers in Liyue, she probably would've scanned the entire harbor by now.
"Nahida, try this! It's sakura mochi from Inazuma! Super sweet!" Paimon chirped, munching on one herself and offering another to Nahida.
Food directly from Paimon's hand—now that was a rare gesture.
Nahida didn't reject the kind offer and took a bite, though her mind was clearly elsewhere.
It really was delicious, but she couldn't enjoy it right now.
She was deeply worried—because while she'd let her guard down, Hu Tao had snuck into Ryen's space. If anything else happened between those two, Nahida would be absolutely livid.
"Thinking about Ryen?" Lumine asked with a teasing smile, waving her hand.
"Relax! He's a grown man; he'll be fine. We're out to have fun, and that's what matters most!"
"Exactly!" Paimon mumbled, her mouth still full.
"Even if Nahida is… well, you still look around my age! Why act all mature and serious all the time?"
Nahida pressed her lips together and didn't respond. She couldn't—what could she say? That she had feelings for Ryen?
Given her small frame, Lumine and Paimon would probably be stunned if she admitted that.
She sighed inwardly, wondering why the previous Dendro Archon, the Great Lord Rukkhadevata, had chosen such a mature and graceful form.
Seeing Nahida stay silent, Lumine shook her head, a bit helpless.
"Never mind then. We're pretty much done eating anyway. Let's find Ryen and have him take us somewhere fun."
Surprisingly, Paimon didn't object either.
To be honest, she was stuffed and already missing the way Ryen would rub her tummy to help her digest.
The three quickly agreed to start looking for him.
But with the sea of people around, they had no idea where to begin.
Not many in Liyue Harbor even knew Ryen. Asking around would be useless.
As they fretted, a cheerful and bright voice suddenly called out from behind Lumine.
"Looks like you're looking for someone? Need a hand?"
Lumine blinked and turned to look.
She recognized the speaker and knew who he was.
The Fatui's lowest-ranking Harbinger—Tartaglia, also known as Childe.
Her thoughts stirred as she recalled what Diluc had said recently: that Tartaglia seemed to be looking for a way to approach her.
Now it seemed he intended to use her as a starting point to explore Liyue's secrets.
But Lumine decided to see what his game was.
Exchanging subtle glances with Paimon and Nahida, she didn't reply immediately—she was waiting to hear more from him.
Tartaglia scratched his head and grinned openly.
"Sorry to interrupt all of a sudden. I'm Tartaglia, the eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui. But I much prefer people call me by my name—Childe."
Lumine raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected Tartaglia to so bluntly reveal his identity.
Did he not know how much people disliked the Fatui?
"Fatui Harbinger?" Lumine's tone sharpened slightly, her expression showing a hint of distaste.
Tartaglia wasn't bothered by this at all. He just shrugged.
"Looks like the actions of one of my colleagues left a bad impression on you, Miss Lumine," he said casually.
"But please don't worry—not all Harbingers are like that."
Lumine played along, her anger seemingly rising.
"You've been spying on me!"
"No, no, no," Tartaglia waved his hands, chuckling.
"That's not it at all. I just think you don't realize how famous you really are."
"Honorary Knight of the Knights of Favonius, the hero who saved Dvalin the Stormterror, and a Traveler from another world—these titles are pretty well known by now."
Lumine wasn't surprised by his explanation. Even if the average citizen didn't know about her slaying of the Storm Dragon, the higher-ups of the Seven Nations certainly did.
But still… she had a strange feeling that what Tartaglia really cared about wasn't the dragon or the heroism—but her identity as a Traveler.
He hadn't learned about her from public intel alone. There was something more going on, something she didn't know about...
Lumine wasn't naïve.
Back then, Dvalin had already been greatly weakened by corruption.
She later heard from Jean that if they hadn't already suspected Dvalin's unusual identity, Lisa would've struck him down the moment he appeared.
Even in his prime, Dvalin might not have been able to handle Lisa.
That witch's strength wasn't something that could be measured by normal standards—not even those of Genshin's so-called powerhouses.
Let alone Tartaglia…
Although he hid it well, whenever the dragon incident was mentioned, he always seemed... a bit dismissive.
It was as if—
He didn't think of Dvalin as someone worthy of being his opponent.
"So what?"
Lumine said softly.
"What's your goal?"
"Just to make myself known a bit."
Tartaglia shrugged, making no effort to hide his intentions.
"Of course, if possible, I'd really like to have a battle with Miss Lumine. A strong warrior like you is a worthy opponent."
Paimon frowned, puffing up angrily:
"Lumine! See? I told you the Fatui are all bad news! This guy's clearly here to provoke us!"
"Go teach him a lesson! So annoying!"
Tartaglia laughed awkwardly and quickly waved his hands.
"No, no, you've misunderstood. When I say 'battle,' I mean a fair and friendly sparring match."
"This is just the warrior's natural thirst for combat."
"Of course, I'm only here today to get acquainted. I didn't come intending to spar with Miss Lumine right now."
"Also, if you're looking for someone, you might want to check the beach."
With that, Tartaglia didn't linger. He turned around and strolled off casually.
"Well then, goodbye. If possible, I'm really looking forward to a friendly duel with Miss Lumine someday."
He disappeared into the crowd.
Lumine turned to glance at Nahida, who shook her head and said,
"He really did leave."
"Tch..."
Lumine clicked her tongue.
"What a strange guy... Seems different from that annoying Harbinger woman."
After thinking for a moment, Lumine decided to put Tartaglia out of her mind for now.
It seemed like he really had just come to make an appearance and leave an impression.
Their interaction had been brief, and Lumine couldn't figure out what exactly he was thinking.
But that didn't really matter.
She turned around, smiling brightly, and made a beeline for the beach.
"Let's go find Ryen!"
"But... Liyue Harbor is huge. How are we supposed to know which beach?"
Paimon spread her hands, confused.
"Dummy!"
Lumine gave Paimon a disdainful look.
"If it's a date, obviously they'd pick a secluded beach!"
"D-D-Date?!"
Paimon's eyes went wide in disbelief. Then, a bit worried, she added:
"Wouldn't it be rude to bother Ryen if he's on a date...?"
"No way!"
Nahida instantly rejected the idea, clearly displeased.
"It's not bothering! We're just going to play with Ryen!"
Lumine and Paimon didn't dwell on it too much. After chatting for a bit, they headed straight for the sea.
They weren't familiar with Liyue Harbor's layout, so they decided to use the most straightforward method—
Just follow the coastline. Eventually, they'd find Ryen.
Northland Bank.
Tartaglia returned to the second floor in high spirits.
This trip had been quite fruitful—at the very least, he had made an impression on Lumine.
That was enough. He was reckless, sure, but not stupid.
If he acted too aggressively, the Fatui's reputation would only make Lumine more suspicious of him.
She'd probably go back and tell the others about this meeting.
But...
Sincerity was his trump card.
His intention had been simple. He didn't have any schemes in mind this time—just wanted to make himself known.
Of course, if there was a chance to fight, he wouldn't mind.
Given his reputation for being battle-hungry across Teyvat, this wasn't an unusual request.
As for Ryen...
The moment he appeared, Tartaglia had noticed him.
Originally, he had planned to approach personally, but—
Before he could get close, a suffocating sense of death enveloped him.
At least three adepti had locked onto him. Tartaglia understood very clearly:
If he dared take another step forward, those adepti wouldn't hesitate to strike—even in Liyue Harbor.
So, he chose to observe from a distance, then left quietly.
Still, that was enough to confirm one thing:
Ryen was indeed connected to the recent changes in Liyue.
In fact, it wouldn't be wrong to say he caused all of it.
Staring at the letter in front of him, Tartaglia thought for a moment, then decided not to include Ryen's name.
He just made a rough record of the recent events in Liyue and handed it over to the Debt Collector to send back to Snezhnaya.
Stretching, Tartaglia said casually,
"How's the alchemical potion and the enchanted weapons project going?"
The Debt Collector replied in a deep voice,
"The alchemical potions are extremely effective. They've essentially doubled the strength of our operatives in a short time."
"However, we've been completely unable to analyze or reverse-engineer them. My lord, should we forward them to the Doctor?"
Tartaglia frowned slightly.
"The Doctor? Forget it. Let that freak stay out of this."
He clearly didn't want to talk about the Doctor, and turned to ask,
"What about the enchanted weapons? Anyone from the Snezhnaya Merchants' Guild manage to purchase one?"
The Debt Collector looked a bit embarrassed.
"Yes, someone did... But the weapon won't be delivered until the week after next."
"My lord, I observed that these enchanted weapons are extremely powerful—even imbued with elemental energy. Several adventurers have already tested them."
"Should we intervene?"
Tartaglia gave the Debt Collector a cold glance, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.
"You trying to get the Fatui kicked out of Liyue?"
The Debt Collector broke into a cold sweat and quickly lowered his voice:
"I overstepped, my lord!"
"Hmph."
Tartaglia withdrew his gaze.
"If there's nothing else, then—"
Before he could finish, hurried footsteps echoed outside the room, accompanied by a strange aura—
Freezing cold and scorching heat intertwined.
Tartaglia raised an eyebrow, then suddenly laughed aloud.
"Tch... Looks like that arrogant comrade of mine just suffered a major loss."
~~----------------------
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