"Lumine, why do I feel like you've gotten thinner lately?"
Koji saw the obvious exhaustion on Lumine's face. She looked like she'd just finished running a marathon.
"Don't bring it up. I picked up that Forest Book commission, and I've been running all over Sumeru these past few days." Lumine sprawled bonelessly on the sofa like a salted fish.
Koji suddenly understood. It was that long, time-consuming world quest.
Da-da-da-dum…
A random little tune echoed in his mind, making his body shiver. He really didn't want to remember that quest.
"Other than being tired, how did it feel?"
Lumine thought for a moment, then smiled. "It was pretty meaningful. I went through so much together with Rana, and in the end Greater Lord Rukkhadevata appeared. Rana didn't even have to burn through all of her power."
"The forest will remember everything. I really like that line."
"Koji, where did you go to have fun this time?"
Lumine made it clear that next time, she wanted to tag along too.
"The same world we visited together last time," Koji said.
"Oh. After that I remembered a few things. I've heard of beings called 'Aeons.'"
As a Traveler, Lumine had visited many worlds. Even if she hadn't gone to the universe of the Astral Express herself, she'd at least heard of it.
"Oh?" Koji was a little surprised, then asked, "Then have you heard of a calamity called 'Honkai'?"
Lumine frowned slightly and, after thinking for a bit, said, "I have some impression of it. Isn't it one of three disasters that can threaten civilizations?"
"I'm a little curious—what worlds have you and Aether actually visited?"
"That's the thing. We don't really remember clearly either. But the records on our ship should have everything."
Lumine shook her head. She and Aether had gone to so many worlds that there was no way they could remember every little detail.
"Lumine, in all the worlds you traveled to before, you must have made friends too, right?" Eula asked.
Lumine nodded, a wistful look crossing her face.
"Aether and I are long-lived beings. We don't stay in any single world, so we can only leave with regrets."
Right now, most of those friends were probably already gone.
"Sorry."
Noticing that Lumine seemed a little sad, Eula hurried to apologize.
"Don't mind it. I'm already used to it. It's something you can't avoid on a journey," Lumine said with a small shake of her head.
Chance encounters, meetings, farewells.
Traveling is freedom, but it isn't perfect.
"Come here, let me give you a hug. I'll comfort you," Koji said, pulling Lumine into his arms.
Feeling his broad chest, Lumine rolled her eyes. "I think you just wanted to take advantage of me, didn't you?"
That was what she said, but she still leaned into Koji's embrace and even adjusted herself three times to find a comfortable position.
Eula just smiled, picked up an apple, and took small bites.
Life like this really was nice. No slander, no cold stares from other people.
…
After returning to Mondstadt, Koji and the others went to see Jean.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had asked them to inform the Knights of Favonius about the Anemo Archon being imprisoned. This kind of thing was something the Knights needed to know.
"Sigh… can Lord Barbatos really not do something proper for once?" Jean rubbed her brow in a headache.
He'd been locked up in Inazuma, locked up in Sumeru.
If it really couldn't be helped, could he at least not run around everywhere? If he stayed in Mondstadt, problems would be much easier to handle.
But their Anemo Archon just had to go abroad to embarrass himself. Fortunately, aside from other gods, no one could recognize Venti's true identity.
Jean was starting to suspect that if Venti went to Fontaine, he'd probably get thrown into a cell there too.
"Our dear Anemo Archon really is… quite the personality," Lisa couldn't help laughing.
She had only known that he'd been imprisoned in Inazuma. She hadn't expected that in Sumeru, he'd continued his steady performance.
"Little junior Cyno mentioned in his letter that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata has returned. That was probably your doing, right?" Lisa asked with a gentle smile.
"Eh? Lisa knows Cyno?" Paimon asked in surprise.
"You didn't know? I once studied for two years at the Sumeru Akademiya's Spantamad Darshan. I just didn't stay there in the end—I came back to Mondstadt and became the Knights' librarian instead." Lisa smiled.
As a genius, she had been highly valued by the Darshan and had taken part in many core experiments. But she hadn't wanted to participate in that kind of crazy work, so she chose to leave.
The professor who had taught her had tried to persuade her to stay, but she'd had no intention of going back.
"Little junior Cyno is really busy these days. It sounds like he's training a military force of Sumeru's own." Lisa had heard a bit about the changes in the Akademiya, but even so, she had no plans of returning.
"What does Greater Lord Rukkhadevata look like? I haven't seen her yet."
There was no way Lisa wouldn't be curious about Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. She was the faith of all scholars. Even far away in another nation, there would still be believers devoted to the Dendro Archon.
"That so."
Koji used energy projection to show an image of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. Lisa nodded—she looked just like Lisa had imagined, combining both benevolence and wisdom.
"Sigh. Compared to Lord Barbatos, there's just no comparison at all," Jean said helplessly. It wasn't that Barbatos was weak, but that Barbatos never did anything serious.
"Lisa, if you want to go back to Sumeru for a visit, I can approve some leave for you. You can take the chance to rest a bit too," Jean offered.
"Is Lisa's work really that tiring?" Paimon asked dubiously.
From her point of view, Lisa's job looked like a cushy, idle position.
"How could it not be tiring? Sorting and categorizing all those books takes a lot of brainpower." Lisa chuckled.
"Then I'll gladly accept this vacation. When I get back, I'll bring you some specialties from Sumeru," she added.
Jean nodded. Lisa's last official vacation had already been split into three separate parts.
"Little one, I remember you have those teleport waypoints, right? Take me along when you go," Lisa said.
"No problem. We're going to stay in Mondstadt for a few days first, though," Lumine replied.
"I'm in no rush," Lisa said casually.
Jean looked over everyone, then asked, "Eula didn't come back with you?"
"Captain Jean, do you really think it would be good for Eula to return to Mondstadt right now?" Koji asked, gazing out the window.
"The Lawrences, huh… Eula's been dragged down by them. What a pity." Jean immediately understood what he meant.
If Eula had been born into another family—or even if she were just an ordinary commoner—she wouldn't be in her current situation.
"Eula's doing quite well right now. If you all want to meet up, you can choose somewhere outside Mondstadt."
Koji obviously didn't want his woman to be subjected to other people's malice and slander.
"That's good then. Eula definitely wouldn't be happy staying in Mondstadt," Jean said. She cared deeply about Eula, but when it came to the Lawrence household, she truly was powerless.
Eula really had drawn the short straw with a family like that.
The Lawrence who guarded the city gate had been having a hard time of it too. Even though his name was only "Lawrence," there were still some Mondstadt citizens who pointed fingers at him.
He'd already started thinking about changing his name. Carrying that surname around was, without question, a real headache.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]