Liyue Harbor.
Tea House.
"Young friend Kaito? Has he taken another step forward?"
Sitting at a seat in the tea house, Zhongli held a teacup in His hand. He neither set it down nor took a sip, appearing as though something was weighing on His mind.
Then, He closed His eyes and responded internally.
"I understand."
After responding to him in His heart, Zhongli quickly opened His eyes and stood up from His seat.
"Mr. Zhongli, you're leaving already?" Seeing Zhongli rise to leave, the tea house owner was somewhat puzzled.
After all, Mr. Zhongli had only just sat down. For him to leave now, had something gone wrong?
"Yes, something has come up, I must take my leave for a moment. Also, put the bill on Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's tab."
After saying this, Zhongli walked towards the entrance.
Although He hadn't drunk a single sip of tea, the money still had to be paid.
"Very well, Mr. Zhongli." As Zhongli walked out the door, the tea house owner's voice came from behind.
It had to be said, the tea house owner felt a bit of a pinch this time—a pinch over Mr. Zhongli leaving too quickly.
Otherwise, if He had stayed to drink tea, He might have continued to order those expensive teas and snacks.
And now that He suddenly left due to some matter, that meant earning much less money. How could that not hurt?
Of course, Zhongli did not notice this display from the tea house owner. Walking on the street now, He was pondering a question—a question regarding Kaito.
Truth be told, it was rare for a person to make Him feel so puzzled and gain His attention in such a way, and Kaito was precisely such a person.
He remembered clearly that when He first met Kaito, He hadn't perceived anything different about him; he was merely an ordinary person.
Of course, this might also have been because His attention had been drawn away by Miss Wendy.
But one thing was undeniable: at that time, He actually hadn't noticed anything different about Kaito himself.
"It feels... like Liyue is still livelier," a young girl's voice came from ahead just then.
"That's for sure. Liyue is definitely livelier. Leaving aside Liyue Harbor's status here, Inazuma is still under the Sakoku Decree. How could it possibly be as lively as Liyue Harbor?" followed a young boy's voice.
Naturally, Zhongli recognized both of these voices, and He did not feel surprised.
"Kaito, Mr. Zhongli is ahead," Lumine said, seeing Zhongli approaching them, and hurriedly reminded Kaito.
"That's quite a coincidence."
Raising his head, Kaito looked at Zhongli ahead and quickened his pace.
Indeed, a bit of a coincidence...
Looking at Kaito who had sped up, then at Mr. Zhongli ahead, Lumine also thought this silently in her heart.
Originally, she was wondering where Kaito was taking her to find Mr. Zhongli, when Mr. Zhongli suddenly walked over from ahead. This was inevitably too coincidental.
Therefore, she felt the two must have contacted each other beforehand through means she didn't know, and then agreed to meet here.
Of course, this was just her own guess; things weren't necessarily so.
"Long time no see, young friend Kaito, and Miss Lumine."
Stopping in front of Kaito, Zhongli spoke first, considering it a greeting.
Actually, He now had a guess: Kaito must have returned to Liyue this time for some important matter.
He just didn't know why Kaito had only brought Lumine, and not Wendy or that Miss Kiana.
There must be some consideration involved in this, right?
Thinking about this question, Zhongli continued to look at Kaito before him.
It had to be said, the current him was even more different than before, though He couldn't quite say specifically where the difference lay.
"Long time no see, long time no see, Mr. Zhongli. How is retired life treating you?" Kaito said with a joking expression on his face.
He couldn't help it; the idea that a god would actually want to retire was interesting no matter how you looked at it.
"Not bad. Such a life is hard to come by."
Zhongli nodded, then continued, "Have you two eaten? If not, let's have dinner together?"
Regardless of what business Kaito had coming here this time, He had to fulfill the duties of a host first.
And amidst the exchange of cups and plates, many things could be discussed directly.
"Then we'll trouble you, Mr. Zhongli." Kaito didn't stand on ceremony regarding Zhongli's invitation.
After eating foreign food in Inazuma for so long, it was time to eat some Liyue cuisine.
He just didn't know if the bill for this treat would be paid by Wangsheng Funeral Parlor or Northland Bank. Anyway, it definitely wouldn't be Zhongli himself; Kaito was very confident about this point.
Afterwards, under Zhongli's lead, the two arrived at a place that looked very high-end at first glance.
Wow...
Feels like eating a meal here would cost quite a lot of money, right?
Walking in, looking at the surrounding decor that appeared quite extraordinary, Lumine thought silently to herself.
However, she didn't need to worry about money problems; someone would solve it.
Anyway, if not Kaito, then it would be this Mr. Zhongli. She just needed to be responsible for eating.
By the way...
Paimon will definitely regret sleeping now...
Suddenly remembering Paimon who was currently sleeping in the inn, the corners of Lumine's mouth couldn't help but lift.
Truth be told, Lumine was very much looking forward to Paimon's reaction after learning she had eaten here. It would surely be very amusing.
But soon, Lumine began to worry about one thing.
That was, if she really told Paimon about this, what if Paimon kept clinging to her afterwards?
In that case, it would be hard for her to do anything.
Forget it...
Better not tell her...
To avoid her following me all the time later...
After thinking for a moment, Lumine ultimately gave up on the idea of telling Paimon.
Although she really looked forward to Paimon's reaction, for the sake of future matters, she'd better hold back.
"Sit, Lumine, don't just stand there." Just then, Kaito's voice snapped Lumine back to reality.
"Oh... okay."
Coming back to her senses, Lumine realized that Kaito and Mr. Zhongli had already taken their seats, while she was still standing there in a daze. She hurriedly sat down in the seat next to Kaito.
Sigh...
I was thinking too seriously...
After sitting down as if nothing had happened, Lumine felt incredibly awkward.
She had been thinking so seriously just now that she hadn't noticed they had already sat down.
And at this moment, Zhongli spoke up, "Regarding the matter of the Conqueror of Demons, thank you for your help, young friend Kaito."
"A small matter. I just handled the aftermath."
Kaito was not surprised in the slightest that Zhongli already knew what he had done.
He knew very clearly that when he and Lumine had just arrived at Liyue Harbor, Xiao had already told Zhongli about his affairs.
____
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