At the center of the six-seat table, the steaming eel pizza was down to a single remaining slice.
Paimon clutched her noticeably round belly, her eyes still glued to that last corner of pizza.
She could swear—on everything—that she had never eaten anything this delicious in her life.
Amber was tempted too.
But as a knight of the Knights of Favonius, she had to maintain her image.
Besides, wasn't this pizza something Boss Jiang Yan had made especially for Acting Grand Master Jean?
She had never heard of him making this kind of pizza before.
And a Recon Knight's intuition was extremely sharp.
Amber's gaze darted back and forth between the two of them as she silently pondered the nature of their relationship.
Jean, seemingly unaware of her subordinate's subtle scrutiny, folded her hands atop the table and spoke to Lumine.
"I already have a general understanding of your situation. The Knights of Favonius will soon post missing-person notices across the city."
"Thank you."
"This is simply our duty as knights. There's no need for thanks."
Jean continued seriously,
"As Amber mentioned, it may be more effective for Lumine to consult Jiang Yan."
"So… you're handing her over to me?"
Jiang Yan raised a brow.
Jean looked a little conflicted.
"Although it's not ideal to burden you with matters related to the Knights… if it helps Lumine…"
"Here we go again. That could've been one sentence."
"Then… I'll be counting on you."
Jean said softly, her cheeks faintly tinged with red.
She stood up.
"There's still work waiting for me at headquarters, so I'll be heading back now."
As she spoke, she casually took the last slice of pizza with her.
Paimon's reluctant gaze followed Jean until she disappeared from sight, only then snapping back to reality.
Jiang Yan turned to Lumine.
"As for your brother, I don't know much either. But I believe that one day, you'll be reunited."
"Before that," he added calmly,
"I'll do my best to help you grow stronger."
"Grow stronger?"
Lumine hesitated before asking,
"Jiang Yan… it sounds like you know something?"
"You can just call me Jiang Yan."
He nodded.
"If the one behind all this was an unknown god, then even if you reunite with your brother someday, you'll need the strength to face a god head-on."
"Otherwise," he said quietly,
"something like this could happen again."
"Come to think of it," Amber interjected,
"Lumine can use elemental power without a Vision—just like you, Boss Jiang Yan."
"Maybe that's a trait unique to travelers from other worlds."
Jiang Yan himself didn't fully understand it either.
He had the system.
Lumine, on the other hand, was likely special by nature.
After all, Aether and Lumine were genuine interworld travelers who had passed through countless worlds.
He was just a transmigrator.
"You're right."
Lumine clenched her fist.
After battling a god, she had lost all her power. Now, she needed to start over.
"If you ever need help in the future," Jiang Yan said, extending his hand,
"just come to me."
Lumine met his gaze and reached out, clasping his hand.
At that moment, a long-unheard system notification echoed in Jiang Yan's mind.
[System Notification]: Key trainee added.
Name: Lumine
Level: Lv.2
Elemental Affinity: Anemo
Skills:
Wind Vortex Blade Lv.1Resonant Wind Surge Lv.1
Jiang Yan's heart stirred.
According to the system's rules, with Lumine now registered, the world-level restriction could finally be lifted.
Which meant—he could level up.
After helping Fischl reach Level 20, he had been blocked by the world level. He'd known then that he would have to wait for Lumine or Aether to arrive.
That was why all preparations to train others had been shelved.
To this day, Fischl remained his only trainee.
And she was currently out on Adventurers' Guild commissions—usually gone for at least a month, sometimes longer.
Even when she returned, she'd still have to wait for Lumine to progress first.
"Congrats, Lumine!"
Paimon spun in midair, hands on her hips.
"With Jiang Yan helping you, it feels like you can walk sideways all over Mondstadt now!"
She looked utterly smug, like a fox borrowing a tiger's authority.
"That's absolutely not happening!"
Amber scooped her up and tugged at her cheeks.
"Even Boss Jiang Yan follows the Knights' rules. Little Paimon, that's inciting misconduct, you know!"
"Wuuuh—!"
Paimon let out a string of muffled protests.
Jiang Yan was speechless.
Paimon really did have a talent for courting disaster.
At this rate, she might actually end up as emergency food someday.
"Walking sideways is a bit much," Jiang Yan said dryly.
"But if you mention my name, things will be more convenient."
"Mm."
Lumine nodded.
Something about it felt strange—almost as if Jiang Yan had become her guardian.
Yet she didn't dislike that feeling.
Back when her brother was still with her… it had felt like this too.
Curious, she asked,
"Jiang Yan, how long have you been here?"
"About a year."
Jiang Yan replied.
"What?!"
Paimon, who had finally broken free, stared at him in shock.
"You made this much money in just a year? Enough to run such a huge Good Hunter Restaurant in Mondstadt?!"
She stretched her arms wide for emphasis.
"Well, to be precise," Jiang Yan corrected,
"I bought more than half of the shares."
"Woooow!"
Paimon's eyes sparkled.
"Then can you teach us how to make money?"
Lumine was interested as well.
Having traveled through many worlds, she knew one thing very well—without money, it was impossible to get by in places where people gathered.
And she did want to buy proper equipment.
"Make money?"
Jiang Yan paused, then said honestly,
"I didn't really go out to make money."
"Then how do you have so much?"
Paimon asked, completely baffled.
"Oh, that?" Jiang Yan said casually.
"I raised a batch of Mora-mice. They spit out tens of thousands of Mora every day. It adds up."
A perfectly serious expression.
As if owning a Mora-printing machine were the most natural thing in the world.
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