"Right, Yingda."
"What about that Traveler? How's she doing now?"
Stuffed and content, Taro sprawled back in his chair like some great lord at rest, and asked about Lumine and Paimon almost without thinking.
The situation in Liyue was already nothing like the version he remembered.
Weren't they supposed to release Osial to wreak havoc?
How long had it been now? Not even a shadow of that scene.
The Fatui who were supposed to come and steal the Geo Archon's Gnosis were nowhere to be found.
Childe had even sailed away long ago.
Zhongli, that guy, kept going on about "plans, plans."
All the hints between the lines were about "trials" and "tests."
And what happened?
The "plan" changed as soon as he turned his head.
The so-called "test" never even showed up.
New plan?
Fine, but could he at least say what it was?
It wasn't like there was anything he couldn't tell Taro.
These past few days he hadn't even come to hang out.
Who knew where he'd gone off to with Ronova.
The Hu Tao and Xingqiu who'd promised to come play with him had also vanished.
Xiangling wasn't on duty at Wanmin Restaurant either.
Beidou's ship, the Death Omen Star, had already left Liyue Harbor.
Liyue Harbor… had mysteriously stabilized just like that.
It was as if no unrest had ever been planned at all.
But compared to before, Liyue had definitely changed too much.
So would Lumine, who'd come from Mondstadt, still experience all those events he remembered?
Judging from how things were going, it seemed… highly unlikely.
That made Taro a bit curious.
After meeting Tianquan Ningguang, what would Lumine end up doing?
Would things go the way she wanted?
Or would something else happen?
"As for that Traveler…"
"Ai, let's not mention it."
Yingda, who was peeling an orange, first let out a sigh—
then couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"That girl walked right into Ningguang's trap."
"She's been running all over the place, used as a high-grade tool-person."
"But you have to admit, Ningguang really knows how to use people."
"That Traveler? She's doing it very willingly."
Being used as high-class labor?
How did she get roped into that?
Who would've thought—
even without the 'Assassination of the Geo Lord' spectacle,
and without Tartaglia around to trick her,
Lumine had still ended up living a life of ceaseless running around.
Was that just… her fate?
"What's she been doing?"
Taro's curiosity suddenly spiked.
"Her?"
Yingda fought to keep a straight face. "She's been doing everything."
"Digging up the finest Cor Lapis in the Chasm."
"Knocking loose top-grade Noctilucous Jade at Tianqiu Valley."
"Heading out toward Nantianmen to look for ore around Cuijue Slope."
"Gathering Qingxin in Huaguang Stone Forest… and so on, and so on."
"She basically hasn't had a single day off."
"…"
Taro fell speechless.
That kid really could run.
Whatever price Ningguang had offered, it must have been a number she absolutely couldn't turn down.
Tsk, tsk. Truly tragic.
Couldn't her brother spare her some money?
He just watched his little sister run herself ragged for a living?
How was that okay?
(Lumine: Exactly, how is that okay? Big bro has a whole entourage waiting on him hand and foot, living free and easy, going wherever he wants. Little sis is sleeping rough, worrying about basic necessities. This is not okay. Not even a little bit okay!!!)
"Achoo~!"
Somewhere else, a certain blond himbo halfway up a cliff suddenly sneezed.
He scratched his head in puzzlement and looked around.
…A cold?
No, no, someone was definitely talking about him behind his back.
"Lumine, are you okay?"
Up in the air, Paimon leaned over to peer at Lumine, who was just a little distance away from reaching the top of the stone pillar.
"I'm fine~"
"Paimon, move a bit, I'm coming up."
"Oh, okay!"
Paimon nodded and floated back.
Lumine rubbed her nose, braced a foot against the rock, and pushed hard.
Her hands shifted up in turn, and she covered the last ten meters in a burst, landing steadily atop the stone forest.
"Wooow~"
Paimon raised her hands happily and clapped.
"We finally made it up! The two of us really had it rough, huh."
"…"
Lumine rolled her eyes hard.
Who exactly had it rough here?
You fly. And you're comparing yourself to me, the one who had to climb?
Also, you can fly just fine, can't you?
And you got tired after picking three Qingxin for me?
How is that reasonable?
It's absolutely not reasonable at all!
Paimon, of course, ignored Lumine's silent complaints.
She just held up her little hands, counting the money they were about to earn.
"Once we turn in the commission, we'll get a full eight hundred thousand Mora."
"Our savings are already close to ten million!"
"Hehe, when we get back, we've gotta have a proper feast."
"…"
All you think about is food, huh.
Lumine sighed helplessly.
Did Paimon know why their savings had been unable to break ten million for so long?
This little glutton had eaten through more than two hundred thousand Mora worth of snacks in just half a month!
And that was only the snacks. Two hundred thousand!
They weren't even counting proper meals yet.
If you added those in, they'd probably be up in the two or three million range.
Ever since they came to Liyue, it felt like Paimon's stomach had evolved or something.
She ate every day, all day.
She just kept eating. Non-stop.
As emergency food, she only ate and never put on weight—
that alone made her a failure at her job.
As a guide, she wasn't passing either.
Lumine had gotten lost between Jueyun Karst and Huaguang Stone Forest no less than five times.
She was exhausted. Utterly exhausted.
I really have it so hard~~~
"Lumine, are we going straight back now?"
"Mm~"
Lumine glanced at the sun and nodded slightly.
"Let's go back early today and hand in the commission."
"Yay~!"
Paimon instantly lit up.
"After we eat, let's go stroll around Feiyun Slope, okay?"
"No."
Lumine squinted at her. "We've got serious business today."
"This afternoon, we're going to look for that Mister Taro again."
"Huh?"
Paimon scratched her head.
"We're still going?"
"We went by twice these past few days and he wasn't home either time."
"He's probably not even in Liyue Harbor anymore."
Both times they'd gone to knock on his door, it had been firmly shut.
There hadn't been anyone home at all.
"We've got to keep trying."
Lumine's expression turned serious.
"I want to meet him."
"There will be a time when he's actually at home."
These past days, she hadn't just taken Ningguang's commissions;
she'd also been steadily doing requests from the Adventurers' Guild.
In Liyue—aside from a handful of places that were simply too far—
she had practically been everywhere.
Unfortunately, she hadn't found any trace of her brother anywhere.
On the other hand, through Ningguang's introduction, she had met Dust King Guizhong.
But regrettably, even Guizhong didn't know anything about her brother.
As for the previous Geo Archon, Morax—
she still hadn't met him.
Even the Qixing and Guizhong didn't know where to find that Geo Archon.
Still, Lumine hadn't given up. She was still looking for a chance.
There had to be some way to meet him eventually.
Aside from that—
there was another person in all of Liyue whom she was determined to meet.
That was the Mister Taro who lived across from Wanmin Restaurant.
One brief glimpse last time had already etched his peculiar presence into her memory.
Since then, she'd gathered quite a bit of information about Taro.
A man who could resurrect an archon…
was definitely no ordinary person.
Maybe he would know something about her brother.
The strong had their own circles.
They had their own channels for information.
Even if it was like a blind cat stumbling into a dead mouse—
she still had to at least take a shot.
What if it worked?
Right?
(End of Chapter)
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