Kaito's residence.
Lumine should be here soon...
Sitting on the living room sofa, his legs currently being used as a pillow by Kiana, Kaito couldn't help but think this.
He knew that later, Lumine would surely look for Aether, and then Lumine would start thinking about Kiana.
And in that case, she would very likely come to ask him about the situation.
But...
Will Aether come too?
Thinking this, Kaito subconsciously looked towards the door.
And just then, a knock came at the door.
Speak of the devil...
Getting up from Kaito's lap, Kiana walked towards the door.
Oh?
Aether actually chose to hide to the side...
Opening the door and seeing only Lumine, Kiana thought this to herself.
Just as Kaito had thought, Lumine had indeed appeared.
But she hadn't appeared at the door with Aether; instead, he was hiding to the side, seemingly wanting to observe the situation in secret.
"Are you here to see Kai?"
Looking at Lumine, who clearly had something on her mind, Kiana asked.
Although Kiana already knew her true purpose, she still had to put on an act.
"Is someone looking for me? Who is it?"
Just then, Kaito's voice came from the sofa; it seemed he had heard the conversation at the door.
"A... 'good friend'~ you know here in Mondstadt."
Turning her head to look at the sofa, Kiana deliberately emphasized the last two words, "good friend."
Umm...
I feel like...
Kiana really cares about this...
Lumine felt a bit awkward about what Kiana said.
However, this actually made her believe even more that the unknown god Aether had just encountered was Kiana herself, and that everything she did was to make her stay away from Kaito.
But...
Is that really the case?
There's no need to frame Wendy, right?
When Lumine recalled what Aether had just told her he'd heard from that unknown god, she became very suspicious of her own guess.
After all, no matter what, Kiana probably wouldn't drag Wendy into this.
It can't be that...
Wendy was also involved, right?
No...
Wendy couldn't possibly be involved in this way...
Thinking carefully again about what Aether had told her, Lumine felt that her guess about Wendy was unlikely.
After all, basically no one would be willing to get involved in something just to take the blame.
Of course, if Kiana held a higher or more dominant position with Kaito, it was indeed possible that Wendy would do so.
And just as Lumine was making all sorts of wild guesses, Kaito had already walked to the door.
"Oh, it's you, Lumine. Are you ready to set out now?"
After speaking, Kaito even looked up at the sky, as if checking the time.
Coming back to her senses, Lumine quickly shook her head.
In truth, she was only here to check on Kiana's situation, while Aether was observing from the side.
"Do you two like talking while standing so much? Or is this... something you usually like to do? Never mind, I'm going back inside."
Just then, Kiana, who was behind Kaito, suddenly said these few words before turning and heading back into the house.
"Then let's go inside to talk, Lumine."
After hearing Kiana's words, Kaito also invited Lumine to come in and talk.
"Mm, okay."
Nodding, Lumine also went inside with Kaito.
Normally, she probably would have left in a hurry, but things were clearly different now.
Besides, at least Kiana had invited her in; she hadn't overtly or covertly told her to leave or anything.
Afterward, the characteristic morning tranquility returned to the area outside the house.
But beneath this tranquil facade, someone was silently watching Kaito's residence.
She looks exactly like the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles...
And that strange power is very similar to the power of the person I met before who claimed to be the Sustainer...
But...
Would the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles be like this?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Based on his understanding of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, Aether felt that the girl he had just seen, who was clearly vying for Kaito's affection against Lumine, was definitely not the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
After all, no matter what, the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles would never be jealous and compete with someone like this.
It was just that the extremely peculiar and abnormally powerful energy she possessed made it really difficult for him to understand the situation.
It was obvious that this girl's power far surpassed that of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
Could it be...
That something has changed with the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles?
Unable to figure it out no matter how much he thought about it, Aether could only guess like this; otherwise, he truly had no idea what was going on.
Wait...
Could it be...
That "she" wasn't actually referring to the Anemo Archon...
But to that girl called Kiana???
Suddenly, Aether thought of another possibility.
Before, he had always thought the person mentioned in that sentence—the one trying to steal a man from an outlander—was the Anemo Archon, but now it seemed possible that the person who looked like the Sustainer was talking about the girl named Kiana.
And if that's the case, does the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles have some kind of twin-like background???
Thinking about this possibility, Aether felt it was quite likely and could also explain many things.
For example, why there would be two Sustainers of Heavenly Principles.
But even so, he still couldn't understand why the Sustainer who had just appeared was different from the one he had met before.
How strange...
Inside Kaito's residence.
"Kai, just give me a call when you're ready to leave. I'm going to sleep for a bit. We were up so late yesterday, I didn't get much sleep."
Once again using the seated Kaito's legs as a pillow, just like before, Kiana closed her eyes after saying this, looking as if she were about to sleep.
Because she had spent some time outside completing the mission yesterday, she hadn't slept much.
"Okay." Kaito nodded.
Up so late???
Don't be...
So blunt...
I'm still here...
Listening to Kiana and Kaito's conversation from the side, a shocked Lumine's eyes widened.
Of course she understood what Kiana had just said, but for her to say it so openly in front of her was a bit too bold; it wasn't like she couldn't understand.
Wait...
Could it be that Kiana...
Deliberately said this in front of me?
It was obvious she was asserting her claim.
"What do you mean, 'up so late'? What were you doing last night? And you didn't even include me."
Just then, Wendy also arrived in the living room.
"Getting into trouble~"
With her eyes closed, Kiana replied leisurely.
Wendy wasn't with them...
For some reason, Lumine was very surprised that Wendy hadn't been involved.
______
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