A big question mark appeared above Zephyr's head. How did the conversation end up here?!
"We are lacking materials, that's true," he admitted.
"How about this, big sis," Chloris offered sweetly, "since we're friends, I'll give you a discount on some materials. What do you think?"
"How much?"
"Snapdragons, 280 Mora; Mint, 150; Valberries, 600; Windwheel Asters, 1000. How's that?"
Zephyr was shocked. "That's not okay!"
"Damn, the average monthly income in Mondstadt is only 2000 Mora, and you dare sell these materials for that much?!"
He was stunned. He already thought the materials were overpriced in the game, but this was even worse.
Back in the game, you could casually farm tens of thousands of Mora just by hitting a few gold flowers. But now? Making money was tough. Mondstadt's average monthly salary was just 2000 Mora, and here she was—selling a single mushroom for such an outrageous price.
"Expensive? But these are ascension materials for Vision holders! They're incredibly rare," Chloris argued.
She paused in thought, then added, "Okay, how about this—I'll give you a 50% discount on a Valberry. Just 1500 Mora each."
"Damn, and that's a discount?! That's 500 more than the original price!"
In the game, a Valberry only cost 1000!
"Wait… how do you know the original price?" Chloris looked stunned. How could she know what I used to sell them for…?
Suddenly, it hit her. She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.
Zephyr's mouth twitched. "Damn, I thought I'd just run into a lost little girl, but turns out I met a scam artist."
Paimon chimed in, "Yeah! Scam artist!"
"Scam artist? Chloris is not a scam artist! Chloris just wants to earn money so she can find and study rare plants she's never seen before!"
"That's all?" Zephyr raised a brow.
"Of course! But considering there are few plant species in Mondstadt City, and the Windrise area has a much richer variety, I plan to buy the whole Windrise region. Is that a problem?"
"Whoa—seriously?!"
Zephyr was completely stunned. This wasn't just a scammer—she was trying to become a landowner!
"Do you even have the money?"
"No, that's why I'm saving up. So Chloris isn't a scammer!"
"Are you kidding me?! And you still claim you're not a scammer?!"
"How am I a scammer? What's wrong with my logic?"
For a moment, Zephyr was speechless. Thinking it through… Chloris kind of had a point.
"Wait, are you saying I can't come here unless I buy from you? And don't build your dreams on the pain of my wallet! Also—now that I think about it, Mint isn't even an ascension material, is it?"
Chloris froze. "Haha, sis, you must be remembering wrong. Of course Mint is an ascension material."
Paimon crossed her arms. "Mint is literally everywhere—how could it be an ascension material?!"
"Of course it is!"
"For who?"
"Uh… Well, Vision holders are all high and mighty people. How would I know who exactly uses it?"
Paimon retorted, "Wrong! Over the years, Vision holders have compiled data—there are only 100 ascension materials total, and Mint isn't one of them!"
"Uh…"
Paimon raised her little fist. "Little scammer, looks like it's time to teach you a lesson!"
"W-Wait! I'm still a minor! According to Mondstadt's Minor Protection Law, this is illegal—!"
Paimon huffed, "Hmph! Little scammer, you clearly don't understand law. Mondstadt doesn't even have a Minor Protection Law. It's just part of the Criminal Code!"
"C-Criminal Code sounds even more serious…"
"Too bad! Paimon is not human. Mondstadt law only applies to humans!"
Chloris was dumbfounded. Wait, what?! You can do that?!
"Hold on! You just said you were human!"
"That was earlier. Now Paimon is a cute spirit."
"You're cheating! Even if you're not human, that sister is!"
"Sure, the Traveler is human. But she's a minor too."
Paimon flashed a devilish grin.
Lumine nodded in agreement.
Zephyr muttered under his breath, Why are you nodding? You're a minor? You've been asleep for who knows how many years... you ancient— ahem —my dear wife, I'm sorry, I was wrong.
At this point, Chloris was completely overwhelmed. Terrified, she collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Wuuu wuuu wuuu…"
Paimon was stunned. "Why is she crying now?"
Zephyr said, "Poor psychological endurance… or maybe she's faking it."
Thinking that, he stared at her expressionlessly—and even shot her a glare.
That one look made the great botanist cry even louder.
"…Alright, looks like the tears are real."
Lumine said, "Let me handle this."
She squatted down, gently patted Chloris on the head, and said, "Little sis, don't cry."
"S-Sister…"
"If you keep crying, I'll beat you up."
"Waaahhhhhh—!"
Zephyr said, "That wasn't comforting at all! You just made it worse!"
Lumine panicked. "H-How did this happen? That's how my sister used to comfort me when I was little…"
"…Was your sister a demon or something? And after all that, you still want to save her? If it were me, I'd have left her to fend for herself a long time ago."
"I was just a naughty kid back then. My sister was actually really nice to me. Like… um… uhh…"
Paimon said, "You can't even think of one example! That sister of yours sounds totally deranged!"
Zephyr looked concerned. "Could it be Stockholm syndrome?"
"What syndrome? You're just spouting nonsense! My sister and I really have a good relationship!"
Paimon sighed, "Okay, fine, but what do we do about this situation now?"
The group scrambled to figure things out, and finally, after an hour of chaos, they managed to calm down Mondstadt's esteemed botanist.
"I-I'm sorry… blonde sister, and, um… plant… I mean, animal sister."
"You just called Paimon a plant, didn't you? Move aside, Paimon gonna smack her!"
Chloris quickly hid behind Ying.
Lumine said, "Paimon, let it go. Don't stoop to a child's level."
"Child? She's sixteen!"
"True, but look how tiny she is. Could you really bring yourself to hit a kid who looks like she's seven or eight?"
"…Fine, Paimon willl let it slide this time."
"Bleh bleh~~"
"Nope, Paimon take it back—Paimon is going to smack her!"
Zephyr rubbed his temples. He finally understood: this little loli wasn't actually bad. She was just… extremely quirky.
Sure, her prices were steep, but the transaction was fair—buy it if you want, walk away if you don't. No coercion involved.
"Oh right, blonde sis."
"Don't call me 'blonde sis'. I have a name. It's Lumine. And she's Paimon."
"Lumine-sis, as an apology, Chloris wants to give you these ascension materials. They're yours."
Lumine blinked. "Eh? For me? But aren't these materials really valuable?"
Chloris answered seriously, "An intelligence report in business might be crucial to a merchant—but to an ordinary person, it might be completely worthless."
//END
------------------
❇❇❇
Support me on Patreon - Read Up to 25+ Advanced Chapters There!
patreon.com/RedX43
❇❇❇