"Why are you always fixated on teaming up with Zhongli? Isn't clearing dungeons with girls more enjoyable?"
Traveler couldn't help but ask.
"Perhaps it's curiosity."
Jack thought for a moment and told Traveler.
Ever since liberating Dragonspine and gaining some of Teyvat's authority.
In fact, Jack could already produce a certain degree of Jade Screen.
But he was very curious how far his current level was from the Martial God who pacified the chaotic world.
Clearing dungeons and having Zhongli descend were no longer necessary, but with his assistance, wouldn't Jack himself be able to slack off quite nicely?
Traveler pouted.
She didn't understand a man's sudden competitive spirit.
She just felt that her man underestimated himself a bit too much. Although his position was indeed as part of the management at the center of the gods, he didn't need excessively high combat power.
But he possessed potential that surpassed the multi-verse, something mere Teyvat natives couldn't compare to.
...
The two, one floating spirit and one dragon, traveled south along the main road.
They soon arrived at Springvale, a small town that coexisted with nature.
Similar to Mondstadt.
Springvale had also been scaled up proportionally.
The total population was probably around one hundred thousand.
On Blue Star, it would at most be a small county town in a fourth-tier city, but in Mondstadt, Springvale was already one of the largest towns.
"Huh? You're the Traveler?"
Just as Jack finished activating the Waypoint and was about to continue his journey, a middle-aged man's voice came from behind him.
He turned to look.
A stubbled uncle with beast ears on his head walked forward.
The young Ice Dragon Sevia let out a roar.
Duraf, who had originally intended to embrace him, chuckled and stopped in his tracks.
"It really is the Traveler! Why didn't you tell me, Duraf, when you returned to Springvale? Come on! Let's have a drink!"
Unable to resist his father-in-law... the uncle's enthusiasm.
Jack and Traveler walked a short distance with him.
"Thank you for your warm hospitality, Uncle Duraf. Traveler and I still need to reach Dawn Winery before dark today, so we shouldn't trouble you any further."
"Ahem, this... actually, it's not me who wants to see you, it's my daughter..."
Upon reaching his doorstep, Duraf finally revealed the truth.
"For some reason, the drinks my Diona has been mixing recently, while still as delicious as before, cause people to feel an intense longing after drinking them. Everyone becomes so sad that they can't help but shed tears."
"One night, my craving for alcohol struck, and I got up to find a drink. Then I saw little Diona squatting alone by the spring, crying, seemingly muttering your name, Traveler... It just so happened that you returned, and I thought if it were you, Traveler, you could definitely cure Diona's strange illness of mixing sad drinks."
Congratulations, you have received the side quest: Sad Wine!
In a daze, Jack felt a blue exclamation mark appear above his head.
Traveler and Paimon also felt it.
[Traveler: This feels so troublesome, should we refuse?]
[Jack: But it's a cat girl, I haven't seen a Teyvat cat girl since I got here.]
[Traveler: Tsk, tell me, how high is her favorability?]
[Jack: Hehe, Level 10. Of course, I have absolutely no ulterior motives towards little Diona. I just want to taste how miraculous Diona's special concoction really is!]
The couple's voice channel ended.
Traveler snorted, reluctantly agreeing to Jack visiting Diona.
Jack shook Duraf's hand, "No problem, Uncle Duraf, leave your daughter to me!"
"Huh? Okay, okay, thank you for your trouble."
Duraf happily watched Jack and Traveler enter his daughter's room.
He replayed Jack's words just now, feeling that something was off.
"According to what he said, it sounds like I'm giving my daughter away. Strange, was that what the Traveler meant just now?"
...
On the pink cat-paw bedspread.
A petite cat girl lay on the bed, feeling gloomy.
Suddenly, her furry ears twitched, hearing someone enter through the door.
So she said impatiently.
"I'm fine! Don't worry about me! Just leave me alone!"
"Oh, is that so? Then it seems I'll have to eat the grilled fish in my hand all by myself."
Jack said regretfully.
But the grilled fish was only deliberately taken out and held in his hand after he had finished speaking.
Diona first paused at the sound of his voice, then her nose twitched.
With a whoosh, she sprang from the bed.
"Traveler!!"
The little cat girl's face lit up with joy, and her spotted tail wagged incessantly.
"Here, this is specially for our adorable Diona-chan."
Jack lied without batting an eye.
This cooked salmon was one of the emergency rations always kept in his backpack.
His home lacked nothing else, but fish and bread were especially abundant.
Diona leaned in and sniffed the grilled fish, then her eyes lit up.
It was a taste she had never experienced before!
"Meow~"
Little Diona bit into the grilled fish, her small fangs gnawing on the fish meat as she righteously declared, "Since you gave me fish, I'll reluctantly forgive you for not coming back to play with Diona for so long."
The tsundere little cat girl puffed out her chest, and Jack couldn't resist reaching out to stroke her twitching cat ears.
Meow!
Diona stopped eating the fish.
Her eyes looked up, and her face beneath her pink hair turned the same color.
However, she didn't refuse; instead, as Jack stroked her, her eyes gradually narrowed in comfort.
She really is like a cat.
Jack sighed, appreciating the sensation.
It was similar to the big fat orange cat at home, perhaps even better to the touch.
"Is it that nice to touch? Let me try too!"
Paimon leaned in.
"No!"
Diona took two steps back, directly breaking Paimon's heart, then explained.
"Only... only the Traveler can touch..."
You might as well not have explained.
Jack saw that Traveler's gaze was no different from looking at a scumbag, so he decided to act like one to the end, directly taking out an empty Maid Charm.
"Uncle Duraf told me that Diona has been worrying about me all the time I was gone?"
"Huh?! I... I wasn't worrying about you at all~"
Standard tsundere dialogue.
And it was from a pink-haired loli cat.
One could only say that MiHoYo understood otaku.
Jack stroked her cat ears again, making Diona so shy she couldn't even eat her fish, constantly rubbing against him.
Hmm? Why are these symptoms so similar to when a big orange cat is in heat...? Diona is so young, it shouldn't be, right...?
Jack didn't dare to continue stroking Diona's ears. Instead, he began to explain the function of the Maid Charm in his hand, as well as the pros and cons of accepting it.
After listening.
Diona looked at him seriously, "So, as long as I accept this card, I can become the Traveler's cat, right?"
Did she just admit she's a cat directly?
Jack nodded, "Yes."
Diona wasn't as childish as she appeared on the surface. Compared to Klee and others, having started working and interacting with society early, she possessed the maturity of an ordinary adult.
"If I accept this card, will the Traveler agree to mate with Diona?"
Diona looked at Jack with clear eyes.
"??"
Jack: When I type question marks, it's not that I have a problem, it's that you have a problem!
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