Because Kairo wasn't a native of Mondstadt — and was, just like her, someone from "outside" — Lumine had always felt an odd sense of kinship with him.
Add to that the fact that Kairo could buff her with those weirdly powerful "path skills," and it became very simple in Lumine's mind:
She had to rope him in for the journey.
"If Kairo had been there just now, we definitely wouldn't have had any trouble."
Paimon puffed up beside her. "Yeah! That Fatui woman — she snatched the Gnosis and ran right away!"
Thinking about that arrogant woman again, Paimon got angry all over.
"That's to avoid witnesses from the Knights," Venti said lazily, folding his hands behind his head. "If the Fatui leave proof they attacked a god inside Mondstadt, then the whole 'diplomatic ally' thing between Snezhnaya and the Knights would blow up."
Paimon pouted hard. "Doing stuff like that and still calling themselves allies? Tch!"
Venti sighed. "In the face of the Abyss Order, the Seven Nations should've been allies from the start. But the Fatui… they have the strongest military among the seven — and they're using it to steal the Holy Lyre, covet godly power, and pressure the Knights through the dragon disaster…"
"Jean was right," Venti added, looking at the swaying branches. "The reason the Fatui can run wild across Teyvat is because of those eleven Harbingers. Each of them wields power on a level mortals can't even approach."
Lumine thought for a bit. "She mentioned it this morning too."
Venti nodded. "The Tsaritsa granted them authority. Power above mortals. But… five hundred years since I last saw her, I really don't know what the current Cryo Archon is thinking anymore."
He looked at Lumine, eyes softening. "And I don't know which of the Seven took your brother, either. Maybe the answer to all that will end up affecting your journey to find the rest of the Seven."
"Anyway — Vision holders are what this world calls 'Genshin.' They can go to Celestia. A Gnosis is a higher-level elemental core — proof you actually sit among the Seven."
Lumine glanced at him. "But you don't really… look like a god."
"Ahem." Venti coughed once, eyebrow twitching. "But as you can see — I am."
Then he grinned. "Say, once you find your brother, interested in becoming a new Four Winds guardian?"
"…Maybe."
Lumine didn't totally reject it, just didn't sound excited.
"Huh? Traveler, you don't sound very hyped?" Paimon wondered. Then she spun to Venti. "Hey, bard! If being a Four Winds guardian means free food, maybe I can—"
Venti laughed and let the wind carry him away, vanishing like he'd never been there. Paimon puffed her cheeks again.
"Hmph! Just say no if you're saying no!"
Then she looked back at Lumine. "So, are we going to Liyue next?"
Lumine shook her head right away, lips curling. "Not yet. I promised Kairo I'd help him as his assistant for half a month."
She folded her arms, eyes shining. "And while I help, I'll try to convince him to come to Liyue with us. If he comes along, the trip will be ten times easier."
Paimon's eyes lit up. "Oh! Right, right! Let's impress him first, then he'll have to come with us!"
Lumine laughed. "Then that's settled."
So they turned back toward Mondstadt.
The city was still buzzing — dragon crisis solved, fruit wine discounted, people singing in the square. By the time Lumine and Paimon pushed open the door to Good Hunter, the smell of roast meat and bread rolled over them like a warm wave.
And there, at the window table…
Kairo was sitting with Fischl and Barbara, drinking black tea and looking like he'd been relaxed since noon.
Kairo held a cup in one hand, posture lazy; Fischl crossed her long, bare legs and nibbled at a dessert, violet eyes sparkling with noble self-satisfaction; Barbara was holding hot cocoa, cheeks still faintly pink from earlier, listening seriously whenever Kairo spoke.
It was… unexpectedly harmonious.
"Kairo!" Lumine walked straight over, not even bothering to sit first. "I'm free now. I can be your assistant!"
The moment she said it, Kairo's vision flashed — and the familiar, game-like system text scrolled right in front of him:
[By helping the Trailblazer, you established initial trust with the Trailblazer.]
[Especially when the Trailblazer first arrived in the Underworld and was unfamiliar with everything, you chose to establish a friendly connection, provided intel, arranged Clara to introduce Svarog, and even helped seal the Stellaron — the Trailblazer thinks you're a very reliable partner.]
[Congratulations on obtaining Option 1 reward: Trailblazer's Baseball Bat — a mysterious bat carrying the power to bear all burdens, indestructible.]
Kairo's brows lifted slightly.
"Finally got it."
He'd been waiting for that prompt forever. Honestly, it wasn't that the task was slow — it was that he cleared everything too fast. From discovering Dvalin's corruption to solving it had been, what, two days and a night? In Belobog, he'd also given the Trailblazer full info, solved Svarog, and jumped straight to the Stellaron.
Now he'd finally been paid.
A near-melee weapon, too. Tonight he could pull it out and test it.
He looked at Lumine and smiled. "Perfect. Then tomorrow we take commissions. We'll clear all the piled-up ones at the Adventurers' Guild."
He tapped the table with one finger. "This time we act together — and we clean out every resource point we can."
"Eh?" Lumine blinked. "You wanna stockpile?"
"Can't be helped." Kairo spread his hands, utterly serious. "I don't have much Mora left. Only one, two million. That's enough for now, but not later. I need to earn while it's easy."
Lumine: "......"
Only one or two million?
She dropped her gaze to her own purse.
…Thankfully he didn't ask to borrow.
Fischl set down her cup, crossed one leg over the other, and declaimed, "Hmph. So even a sovereign of destiny may be chained by mundane currency… How lamentable. Yet, this Prinzessin does comprehend — even those walking above must secure worldly nourishment to stride this earth."
Then she smiled — a very obvious, very I'm coming too smile. "Thus, this Prinzessin shall also accompany you on this journey of wealth and plunder."
Kairo stared at her for a beat, then laughed. "Since Her Highness is so motivated, let's all go."
Barbara had been listening silently. Seeing everyone nod, she gathered her courage and said, a little shyly, "Um… if it's okay… I'd like to help too."
She clutched her staff gently. "Now that the dragon crisis is over, I have more time. And I can… heal, on the road."
"Oh?" Kairo raised a brow. "That's perfect. Our party was missing a healer."
"H-Healer…?" Barbara's blue eyes blinked, not understanding the term right away. Then, realizing he was talking about her, her cheeks flushed. "Ah… Is,is that… how the adventurers from out of town said…?"
Paimon leaned over, excited. "Hehe! We've got long range — Fischl! We've got melee — Lumine! We've got healing — Barbara! And we've got Kairo who prints Mora! This party is stacked!"
She could practically see Mora flying into her purse.
"Da-da-da—!"
Right then, someone's little boots clattered across the floor.
The door to Good Hunter slammed open — and a small, red-and-white blur shot inside like a miniature cannonball.
"Kairo-gege!!"
A crisp little voice filled the whole restaurant.
Everyone turned.
A little girl in red with a white beret, golden eyes sparkling, was sprinting toward Kairo with star-level enthusiasm.
Klee.
"Easy, Klee. Don't run people over." Kairo reached out and steady-caught her.
Klee didn't care — she just tipped her head back, eyes shining. "Kairo-gege! Klee wants to go fish-blasting with you this afternoon!"
Kairo: "…"
Fischl: "…"
Barbara: "…"
Paimon: "Eh???"
For two seconds, the whole restaurant went very, very quiet.
Kairo coughed. "Not this afternoon. We can't bomb Cider Lake, and the nearby water sources are off-limits. If we want to blast fish, we'd have to go all the way to Starfell Lake. It's already late."
"Eeeeh—"
Klee puffed up, clearly unwilling — but she also knew the rules. Mondstadt had a lot of "Klee, you can't blow this up" areas, and it was almost evening.
But she remembered something. Her eyes lit up again and she patted her little bag. "Oh, right, right! Albedo big brother asked me to tell you!"
"Albedo?" Kairo blinked, then nodded. "What did he say?"
Klee tilted her head, thinking hard. Then in her milky little voice: "Albedo big brother said that he used some of your Whopperflower parts, and he wants to know when you're free tonight. He'll go to the Adventurers' Guild when he's done!"
"If you don't want to go to the Guild, Albedo big brother can come find you too!"
Kairo chuckled. "It's our Whopperflower. We're splitting it."
Klee shook her head frantically. "No no! If it weren't for Kairo-gege, Klee couldn't have blown it up so easily! Klee doesn't want the reward — Klee just wants Kairo-gege to keep helping Klee make better bombs!"
She said it with such serious, sparkling conviction that Kairo couldn't help but laugh.
"Okay, okay."
"Then Klee will tell Albedo big brother now!" Klee saluted, then did what Klee always did — ran.
"Da-da-da—" She flew out of Good Hunter, turned a corner, and was gone.
Paimon watched her leave and sighed. "That kid… is still nuclear energy."
"Hmph. A troublesome little creature," Fischl said, arms folded — but her eyes were soft. She liked Klee too; she'd just never admit it.
Barbara covered her mouth and giggled. "Klee一直都是这样,挺可爱的."
Paimon tilted her head. "So… who is this Albedo?"
"You don't know?" Barbara blinked, then explained, "Albedo is the Knights' chief alchemist. Also one of Mondstadt's greatest scholars. Even Acting Grand Master Jean trusts him a lot."
"Oooh…" Paimon stroked her chin. "Sounds super impressive."
Kairo didn't add anything, just picked up his tea again, eyes thoughtful. This morning Katheryne said Albedo wanted to talk; now Klee came. He'd clearly finished analyzing the Whopperflower remains.
So… what was Albedo going to offer in exchange?
Time passed.
Evening came — lanterns outside Good Hunter lit up, the smell of roast boar thickened. Lumine and Paimon were chewing on skewers when the door opened again.
This time, Klee didn't blast in.
She was holding someone's hand obediently — chin up, eyes proud, like: Look, I brought him!
A youth with silver-blond hair, turquoise eyes, and a calm, almost glasslike gaze walked in. A pale teal alchemist's cloak, the Knights' emblem on his shoulder, that unhurried, analytical air that said: I figured this out on the way here.
Albedo.
People in the restaurant stole glances.
The chief alchemist was coming to see that adventurer — the one who'd just helped end the dragon crisis.
Everyone pretended not to look while definitely looking.
"Good evening, Mr. Kairo." Albedo walked over and offered a hand, smiling faintly. "This should be our first proper meeting."
Kairo stood, shook it. "Albedo."
Albedo's eyes paused on him for half a breath — sharp, assessing, then mildly pleased.
"I've finished analyzing the Whopperflower specimen you brought…" he said, voice low and even. "And…"
He looked up, that rare, interesting light flashing in his eyes.
"…I found a few things you'll want to see."
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