"Huh?! Host, I want to beat her up!"
"Oh really?! I want to beat you up too!"
"You two, stop bickering. If you want to fight, do it later. The most important thing now is to get Xiao... er... the adeptus to come out!" Ying said helplessly, looking at the two.
(I almost slipped up again...)
"Hmph... just you wait until tonight, you emergency food!" (Hmph hmph hmph... my combat power is twice yours, I'm definitely winning!)
"That's what *I* should be saying! And *you're* the emergency food!" Paimon retorted.
"Alright, alright, you two, truce for now. I'm going to call the adeptus." Lumine rubbed the heads of the two little ones and called out the adeptus's name, and Xiao reappeared before them.
"You again... and two more..."
"Ah, this, cough cough~ Don't mind me, I'm just a passing traveler~"
(Didn't Xiao was supposed to be here already? Did the plot change a little because of me?)
"You've used that line many times already, Host ->_->"
"Ah this... hee hee~ Classics are timeless~" Ying stuck out her tongue and smiled sheepishly.
"She is... hmm... my family. This was made by Yanxiao, please try it." Lumine said, handing over the almond tofu.
(Hmm... yes, family, family without blood ties~)
"Exactly! It'd be a shame to miss out on such good tofu!" Ying quickly chimed in, then tugged at Lumine's hand, gesturing for her to quickly explain the situation to Xiao while she had the chance.
A little time passed...
"Rex Lapis... to suffer such a calamity... I... cannot imagine. No matter how times change, I have never imagined Liyue without the Geo Archon..."
(Hmm, Rex Lapis turned into a freeloader... truly unimaginable... a singer, a freeloader... you know what, it actually suits him quite well... (//∇//))
The group quickly finished their conversation with Xiao...
"Phew... finally done. Huh~ Where should we go next?" Ying yawned and asked Lumine.
"Everyone hasn't had a good rest for a long time. Let's just rest here tonight. I'll go rent two rooms from the innkeeper."
"Mhm mhm, okay, then I'll sleep in one room with Paimon~"
"Dream on. You're sleeping with me, Paimon will sleep with her."
"Huh?! Why?!" Ying asked in surprise, and Paimon was also surprised.
"Yeah, yeah! Why do I have to be with that mascot!"
Paimon: "Hey! *You're* the mascot! You emergency food!"
"Hmph... then you're worse than emergency food!"
"Stop! Look, you two still have an unfinished duel. You can settle it in one room, and I have some private things to tell Ying. It's decided~"
With that, Lumine scooped Ying up and quickly ran into the room they were in earlier. After putting her on the bed, she went out to get another room next door for Paimon and Paimon. Once the two went in to duel, she returned to her and Ying's room with peace of mind.
"I'm back~ Did you miss me, Ying? (^～^)"
"Uh... it probably hasn't even been ten minutes since you left this room..."
"Ten minutes is still time. Besides, haven't you heard the saying that ten minutes feels like an eternity? (￣へ￣)"
"That's true... By the way, where are we going tomorrow?" (I know we're going to find the Fatui Harbinger, but I should still play along...)
"Tomorrow, we're going back to Liyue to visit the Northland Bank. You need to stick close to me then! Don't get lost again."
"I'm not that clumsy..."
"Hee hee~ We'll talk about future things later. Now, I have some questions for you." Lumine said, quickly changing into her pajamas and snuggling into the warm quilt that Ying had already heated up.
"Huh? What is it?" Ying turned sideways and asked Lumine curiously.
"It's simple. Just tell me everything you've experienced recently, *everything*!" Lumine earnestly instructed.
"Uh... okay..." (Can't hear it, can't hear it...)
Ying quickly "told" Lumine all her experiences from the journey...
"Mhm hmm... I didn't expect you to have raided a nest of thieves. Not bad."
Ying scratched her head and said sheepishly, "Hee hee~ It was okay, I mainly helped with the directions."
"Mm, and then you met Hu Tao and traveled with her for a while."
"Mhm mhm, exactly!"
"Is that so... Speaking of which, I heard a few things about you from Hu Tao a few days ago... Do you have anything to explain? (^～^)"
"Pfft...?! N-no! Those are all things she made up!"
"Really?" Lumine looked at Ying with suspicion.
"Really, really! The part about me being older and bullying you the same way I bully her is all false!" Ying vowed earnestly.
"Hmm? What do you mean by bullying her?"
"Huh? Didn't Hu Tao tell you?"
"No, she only said you claimed I was the younger sister." Lumine recalled for a moment.
"This... so I was tricked by that little rascal into giving her a set of photos?! Σ(|||▽|||)"
"Photos? What are those?"
"Uh, nothing, nothing, it's just... just ordinary pictures!"
"Really?"
"Really, really!"
"Mhm hmm... then I'll believe you..." Lumine deliberately drew out the end of her sentence.
"Phew... as long as you believe me..." (Damn Hu Tao... I'll get revenge!)
"Not exactly (^～^)"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Hmph~ Let's not talk about how you hid all your injuries. Maybe it was because you were afraid I'd worry. But most importantly... your lying skills are too poor, Ying! I feel like you were treating me like a child just now, do you know that!"
"Ah this, is it that bad... Σ(|||▽|||)"
"Yes!"
"Uh... I'm sorry (*￣з￣)"
"Hmph... I missed you so much, and you've really disappointed me, Ying." Lumine angrily turned her body to the other side.
"Wow! Lumine, don't be angry. I really know I was wrong... ≥﹏≤" Ying realized Lumine was truly angry and quickly hugged her back affectionately.
"Hmph... I missed you, but you didn't miss me, and instead had so much fun with others (￣へ￣)"
"Aiya~ Don't overthink it, how could I not miss you... Look how much I like you, I like you so much I don't want to let go." Saying this, Ying pressed her body even closer to Lumine.
(Speaking of which... why is it that I'm comforting Lumine now? Normally, the process should be Lumine forcefully breaking through my resistance, making me unable to sleep all night...)
"Hmph... then you should do something to prove your words, shouldn't you?"
(It can't always be me taking the initiative, sometimes I need Ying to be proactive too... (￣へ￣))