Liyue Harbor, Adventurers' Guild.
"Welcome—"
"Katheryne, we're here to turn in a commission!"
Before the receptionist Katheryne could even finish her line,
Paimon flew up and cut her off, shoving over the Adventurer's Certificate.
"Very well~"
Katheryne accepted the certificate, compared it carefully with the items for the commission, and then nodded.
"Mm. All right, the items are complete, and the quantity checks out."
"Congratulations on completing the commission."
"Here, this is your Mora."
"Yay~!"
Paimon couldn't wait to grab the pouch of Mora.
She weighed it up and down in her hands, then nodded with a serious face.
Mm. The full amount of Mora.
"…"
Lumine was speechless.
As if the Adventurers' Guild would ever short-pay their commissions.
You're just pretending to be all professional…
Ignoring Paimon at her side, Lumine lowered her voice.
"Katheryne, has there been any news about the information I asked for recently?"
This was the question she asked every single time she came to the Adventurers' Guild.
Though most of the time, the answer only left her disappointed.
"There is. Please wait a moment."
Katheryne smiled lightly and took out a letter from under the counter.
"This is a letter from the Mondstadt Adventurers' Guild. It arrived this morning."
"The information inside might be what you're looking for."
"Really?"
Lumine, who hadn't been expecting much, suddenly brightened.
She took the letter without hesitation and tore it open on the spot.
A strangely dressed blond stranger had appeared in Mondstadt City, wearing a half-mask over one eye.
He also claimed to be a traveler from afar.
What's more, he only accepted commissions related to the Abyss Order.
He seemed to be searching for something.
The Mondstadt Katheryne wasn't sure if it was related to the intel Lumine wanted,
but she still sent the letter over.
A blond traveler? Unusual clothes? An eye patch? The Abyss Order? Searching?
Even though some of the details didn't quite line up,
Lumine still couldn't help the sudden thump in her chest.
What if… what if it was her brother in disguise?
After all, that white-haired god who had defeated them was still roaming Teyvat.
Maybe her brother was just being careful.
"Thank you. This information is very helpful."
Lumine took a deep breath and forced down the tremor in her heart for now.
"You're welcome." Katheryne nodded with a smile. "As long as I can help an adventurer, I'm glad."
"Lumine, you don't think that…"
Beside her, Paimon stared at Lumine with wide eyes.
"The chances aren't high…"
Lumine shook her head slightly. "Once we're done with everything today, we'll get a good night's rest."
"Tomorrow morning, we'll go back to Mondstadt and have a look."
No matter how small the chance,
she had to see it with her own eyes.
A few days ago, she had clearly sensed her brother's presence here in Liyue.
It had been faint, and gone in an instant,
but she had definitely felt it.
She still didn't know why her brother hadn't sensed her in turn,
but that wasn't important.
If she went by normal travel times:
from Liyue to Mondstadt, then from Mondstadt to Liyue for the letter to arrive—
that schedule simply didn't add up.
But—there was one thing she couldn't forget.
She and her brother both possessed the power to purify.
Across Teyvat there were Teleport Waypoints scattered everywhere—no one knew when they had been built, and no one could use them.
But she and her brother definitely could.
As long as they went up and touched them, purifying the Waypoints that had been tainted by some unknown power when they activated them,
she could then use those Waypoints, following a specific network of connections, traveling back and forth between them.
As long as she remembered the "paths" between two Waypoints, once she'd used that route three times, it became easy.
That was why, after just one full trip through Liyue, she dared to accept so many commissions at once.
Waypoints others couldn't use, she could.
Her back-and-forth trips were smooth and easy.
If she could use them and find them, then her brother naturally could too.
If her brother could also use the Waypoints, then him being in Mondstadt right now… made perfect sense.
And it wasn't as if traveling through the Waypoints back and forth took much time, either.
"Let's hope everything goes smoothly."
Paimon rubbed her chin and nodded.
"If this guy really is your brother in disguise, that'd be even better."
"So, Lumine, what are we doing now…"
They now had news about her brother, even if they couldn't be sure it was true.
But that was still better than having nothing at all.
"No rush~"
Lumine shook her head.
"Let's go see if Mr. Taro is home first."
"Today's schedule stays the same."
The person in Mondstadt who might be her brother was still taking commissions related to the Abyss Order.
That meant he wouldn't be leaving any time soon.
There was still time.
"Let's go, Paimon!"
"Let's go see whether Mr. Taro is at home."
Putting the letter away and giving Katheryne a small nod,
Lumine took the lead and walked toward the rear streets.
"All right~"
"I'll follow your lead!"
"Katheryne, we're heading out first, okay~"
Paimon spread her hands and waved at Katheryne,
then spun around and floated after Lumine.
"Take care, you two."
Katheryne's voice echoed behind them,
but the two didn't stop.
They headed straight for their destination.
Before long, the open front door of a residence came into view.
"Hey, Lumine, look, the door's open!"
"That Mr. Taro has to be home today!"
Paimon pointed excitedly at the open door.
Finally, they'd caught him.
They'd come up empty the last two times.
Let's see where you run off to this time!
"…"
Lumine's steps slowed for a moment.
She couldn't help glancing at Paimon beside her.
"Lumine, what's wrong?"
"Paimon, you don't see the people standing at the door?"
"People at the door?"
Paimon blinked, then turned her head.
Her brows pulled together.
"There's no one at the door, Lumine. Are you seeing things?"
"There's definitely someone there." Lumine rolled her eyes. "Why would I lie to you?"
"A man and a woman. The woman's wearing white clothes, and her hair's silver-white too."
"The man has black hair and is wearing… a light blue long robe."
"You really can't see them?"
"Eek~"
Hearing Lumine describe them in such detail,
Paimon broke out in goosebumps all over.
She shot behind Lumine and hid there.
"Lumine… y-you don't mean you're seeing… you know, those 'ghosts' the people of Liyue talk about, do you?"
Spooked, Paimon could only get half her words out at a time.
Obviously, she was completely rattled.
"…"
Now Lumine was sure Paimon couldn't see them.
Was this the same as last time?
So the people passing by weren't used to seeing scenes like this—
they simply couldn't see them either?
Could they really be ghosts?
Lumine suddenly felt like things ahead were getting a little dangerous.
Ghosts and such…
Just as she was hesitating,
a woman in a red robe came out of the house, carrying a tray with tea.
"That's… Yingda?"
Lumine froze on the spot.
"Yingda?"
Hearing the name, Paimon popped back out from behind her, but she still didn't see anything.
"Oh no, don't tell me Yingda's a ghost too?"
"She's not a ghost."
Lumine let out a long, inexplicable breath of relief.
"It's probably some kind of illusion spell."
"More likely, she's one of Liyue's adepti."
"Adepti? Don't lump me in with Liyue's adepti!"
Paimon's eyes bulged.
"Lumine, are you saying Yingda's an adeptus too?"
"Didn't she say she was just—"
"Oh~"
Lumine fixed Paimon with an utterly deadpan look.
"And you just believed her because she said so?"
"I…"
Paimon opened and closed her mouth, then scratched her head.
So annoying!
She had nothing to say back to that.
(End of Chapter)
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