The "Lighter" that Nekomata mentioned sounded similar to the "Neuvillette" Paimon spoke of, but they were two completely unrelated people.
Among everyone present,
only Sam Li seemed to know this.
Sam Li couldn't help but chuckle.
Paimon tilted her head, puzzled. "Sam Li, what are you laughing at? Neuvillette's here and you didn't even tell us?"
Sam Li smiled softly. "This Lighter isn't that Neuvillette. To be precise, the one from the Sons of Calydon isn't called 'that' Lighter—it's just Lighter."
Paimon blinked in confusion. "Huh? But Nekomata clearly called him Neuvillette just now. Could it be that—"
Before Paimon could finish, Hu Tao grinned.
"I get it—it's that Lighter, the person named Lighter. Just like calling you 'that Paimon' or calling the Traveler 'that Traveler.'"
Nekomata nodded immediately. "Exactly. Miss Hu Tao is really sharp—I was talking about the one named Lighter."
Having her explanation stolen,
Paimon puffed out her cheeks and planted her hands on her hips.
"Hey! I was the one who figured it out first! Traveler, Itto, you both saw it—it was me!"
Traveler: "..."
Arataki Itto: "..."
Hu Tao laughed. "Alright, let's just say you thought of it first."
"It was me who thought of it first…" Paimon muttered indignantly.
Still, the names "Neuvillette" and "Lighter" did sound alike. If Sam Li hadn't explained, they probably wouldn't have realized they were different people.
...
Nekomata and Billy, hearing the exchange, also realized that Lighter and Neuvillette were not the same.
Nekomata tilted her head curiously. "Meow, do you also know someone named Lighter?"
Paimon corrected seriously, "Not Lighter—Neuvillette."
"Is he strong?" Nekomata asked.
"Of course," Paimon replied without hesitation.
Nekomata's curiosity deepened. "As strong as your friend Xiao?"
Paimon nodded firmly. "Definitely. Remember when I mentioned the Geo Archon? Neuvillette's probably on the same level as the Geo Archon—anyway, he's really strong…"
Truth be told, Paimon didn't know the exact limits of Neuvillette's strength.
But ever since Neuvillette regained the authority of the ancient dragons, he had become a complete Dragon King, replacing the Hydro Archon as Fontaine's actual ruler. Naturally, that put him on the same level as the Seven Archons.
...
Nekomata, Billy, Anby, and Nicole all exchanged glances, taking in this new piece of information.
They had once lamented the passing of Morax.
Now they learned there was not just one, but more than one being whose power rivaled or even surpassed Xiao—and someone comparable to the Geo Archon himself.
Anby quickly asked, "Then how could we invite this Neuvillette you're talking about?"
Paimon shook her head. "That's impossible. Neuvillette is Fontaine's Chief Justice. He governs the entire nation and is far too busy to leave…"
Nekomata then asked, "So how many people are there who are as strong as the Geo Archon or Neuvillette?"
"Seven, of course," Paimon answered without hesitation.
Seven? That many?
Nekomata looked from Paimon to Sam Li, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Those at Hare's House had seen Sam Li's strength in the Outer Ring. She couldn't help but wonder—how would this "Geo Archon" or Neuvillette compare to Sam Li?
Anby was thinking the same thing.
She recalled how Paimon and the others had said the two mysterious statues that appeared looked like the Geo Archon—and yet were closely tied to Sam Li.
Could it be that Sam Li had some deep connection to the late Geo Archon?
Or… could Sam Li be the Geo Archon?
No, that was impossible. Paimon and the others had just said the Geo Archon was dead.
Anby glanced at Paimon, about to ask more,
but Billy cut in confidently.
"No need to overthink it. Once we've been to the banquet the Sons of Calydon are hosting for the Overlord, we can all visit Paimon's city together. If we're lucky, maybe we'll meet those powerful figures she's talking about."
"That's right," Nekomata chimed in. "I'm dying to see what Paimon's hometown is like, meow."
Paimon waved her hands. "It's not my hometown. The Traveler and I just passed through there on our journey."
...
As they chatted, the two sides exchanged plenty of information.
Billy, Anby, Nekomata, and the others learned a lot about the continent of Teyvat.
Paimon, the Traveler, Hu Tao, and the rest learned more about New Eridu.
Since there were still two days until the Sons of Calydon's banquet,
Billy spent the time taking Arataki Itto, Paimon, the Traveler, Hu Tao, Kazuha, Kuki Shinobu, and the others around New Eridu for fun.
They even ran into Zhu Yuan and Qingyi twice on the streets and got a good deal of information from them.
It turned out the Outer Ring had suffered several Hollow disasters recently, leaving its residents in misery.
In particular, Hollow Zero's Ether activity had been growing more frequent, showing signs of expanding again…
Zhu Yuan spoke gravely. "Mr. Sam Li, if Hollow Zero erupts again and causes a large-scale Hollow disaster like the one over a decade ago, please protect New Eridu."
"I will," Sam Li promised without hesitation.
Hearing his firm answer, Zhu Yuan exhaled in relief.
"Thank you. When the time comes, I'll fight by your side."
"And me," Qingyi added with a smile.
...
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, two days had gone by, and it was the day of the banquet invitation in the Outer Ring.
They had originally planned to wait for Keqing and Xiao so they could all go together, but even after two days, there was no sign of their return.
"Then let's not wait for them," Arataki Itto suggested.
Paimon shook her head at once. "No way. Keqing and Xiao went into Hollow Zero to investigate—when we go to the Outer Ring, we have to let them know."
"Then what do we do?" Itto asked, puzzled.
Nekomata suggested seriously, "Why don't we send Billy over to the Hollow Special Operations Unit to ask when Miss Keqing and Mr. Xiao will be back?"
Billy groaned and covered his face. "Alright, I'll make another trip. Wait for me to come back, then we'll head out together…"