Seeing Lumine looking so surprised, Dainsleif gave her a pitying look. He raised his hand and pointed to the large Abyss portal that had just opened beside them.
"I know you have many questions. It's perfect timing, he's coming. You can ask him directly."
"Huh?" Lumine gasped, she put aside the one world truth she heard from Eiji.
From the pitch-black Abyss portal, she saw a familiar figure step out. It was her brother, Aether.
[The plot has gone this far! It started a long time ago like Amagi Brilliant Park. But this is good, it will save me more time.]
Many heroines wondered what made Eiji happy.
But those who have known him for a long time. For example Sona, she knows... It must be about wooing other beautiful women.
"Aether...?" Lumine called out to her brother.
Aether looked up at his sister. His face was expressionless, his eyes cold and empty, no warmth that Lumine remembered.
He was wearing a dark Abyss robe, not a dancer's outfit with a visible belly button— Ahem, I mean their adventurer's outfit.
Everyone's gaze including Eiji's was fixed on him.
Lumine ran towards her with an expectant expression. "Aether! I finally found you! I—"
Before she could hug him, Aether raised his hand. A transparent wall of Abyss energy appeared between them, forcibly stopping Lumine and making her bounce back slightly.
Lumine was shocked and confused. "Wh-why? Aether, it's me, Lumine!"
"Lumine. It's been a long time since I heard that name from my own lips." Aether said with a flat voice and no emotion on his face.
Lumine froze.
[The drama has begun! Aether, a siscon was pretending to be cold and had almost forgotten about his sister whom he loved so much.]
[He had clearly told his subordinates to stalk Lumine since the beginning of her journey. But right now, he was acting as if he didn't really care about her and was even a little hostile towards her.]
[Lumine was pitiful. She has been traveling on foot from one country to another... Ah, using teleportation too at some point. Aether knew this, but he insisted on letting her down.]
[Evil brother!]
Eiji vigorously added fuel to the fire.
Miss System shook her head. This guy was clearly sowing discord between the female protagonist and the male protagonist.
Leme laughed and praised the cunning of her contractor.
Lumine's beautiful face looked grim. What Eiji said made her angry. Not at him, but at Aether.
Whether it was true or not.
She knew how much her brother doted on her almost like a siscon.
So, she was sure he was pretending. And that was why she was angry.
Did he know how much energy and time she used to search for him in various countries?
On her journey, she even had to help many people in order to get information and money to survive.
She faced many problems and almost died several times.
Aether could have come to give her some financial help. But no, he didn't even do that and let his sister live like a homeless person.
There was Paimon with her, but she was emergency food. She alone had to support her like a mother.
Aether had completely let her down and she was very sad because of that.
In the original work, Lumine was not angry and hated her brother after their encounter in The Chasm.
But now?
"Why are you doing this?" Lumine's voice was rather cold.
Aether did not realize his sister's anger, he did not think she would hate him and continued to act according to the script.
He coldly said, "Dainsleif is a remnant of the miserable past. He is blind to the reality of Teyvat. You... you are still searching for something that is already in front of you."
His words were somewhat mysterious.
Lumine clenched one of her fists, a vein bulging on her forehead.
Dainsleif and Aether were the same.
Could they stop being annoying and say every single thing clearly?!
"I wasn't talking about Dainsleif and I was just looking for you all this time!"
Aether was a little surprised by Lumine's high tone, she was usually a quiet woman and never snapped at her brother.
I understand, she must be very sad. She's not angry to the point of hating her brother.
This is still going according to my plan.
"No, you're looking for a fairy tale. You're looking for a world you want to explore, not a world we have to destroy."
"What are you really saying? I asked you about why you're doing all this, but you keep talking about something else! Aether, do you not understand human language now?!"
[Hahahaha! I almost disabled my ability and was seen in front of everyone. What Lumine said was very funny.]
[Because Aether kept talking about things she didn't understand like a teenager with eighth grade syndrome. Lumine doubted whether he still understood human language.]
Hearing this, several other heroines out there also laughed.
Lumine fell silent.
She wasn't being funny, okay?
"....." Dainsleif knew Aether was mocking him, but he did not say anything.
Still, his lips twitched as if he was holding back laughter.
Aether was a little embarrassed.
Even so, he tried to maintain his cold expression. Suddenly, he pointed at Paimon.
"Your attitude towards your brother is rude now, Lumine. This blind guide of yours must have misled you as well."
"Hey, why are you suddenly blaming me?! And I'm a professional guide, I've helped Lumine a lot. As her brother, you should thank me! You should also apologize to me!"
"Apologize, apologize to Paimon right now!"
Paimon puffed up her cheeks and activated her chatty mode.
Eiji laughed again.
[Paimon is a cute mascot.]
Lumine nodded in her heart, she agreed.
She glared at her brother, "Don't blame Paimon. I became like this obviously because of your attitude, Aether."
"Hmph!" Aether snorted, he answered question A with answer B again. There was no way he was apologizing to Paimon. "The time is not right yet, Lumine. For now, you are better off not knowing the truth of the world."
He then turned around and re-entered the Abyss portal. Lumine ran to the invisible barrier and hit it with all her might.
She managed to destroy it but by then it was too late, the portal her brother had entered disappeared.
"Aether, you...!"
Failing to catch Aether and beat him up for his attitude, Lumine was frustrated.
She still didn't know the reason why Aether had become like that.
But as if knowing what she was thinking, Eiji's inner voice rang out.
[Actually, Aether had traveled longer in Teyvat than Lumine (who was fast asleep after the initial battle). On his journey, he witnessed the terrible destruction of Khaenri'ah 500 years ago and learned that the Gods called Archons and even the "Heaven" of this world, Celestia were involved in the tragedy."]
[By then, he had developed a lot of affection for the people of the country called Khaenri'ah and became their prince.]
[His affection for them seemed to surpass the affection he had for his sister. Therefore, rather than having a happy family reunion, he was more concerned with taking his revenge on the gods and Celestia.]
[By taking on the role of leader of the Order of the Abyss, an organization that actively opposed and wanted to overthrow the Gods in Teyvat. He regarded Dainsleif and Lumine who still sided with the Archons as blind or misguided.]
[In short, Aether became cold because he wanted Lumine to stop looking for fairy tales and open her eyes to the harsh reality that Teyvat was not a good place. He tried to make Lumine understand the "truth" in his own harsh way.]
Eiji slightly changed some things for his own purposes, but he wasn't completely lying.
Aether's goal was none other than to challenge the system that oppressed Teyvat. He also joined the Order of the Abyss to take revenge on Celestia and find a way to free this world from the Gods.
Still, Lumine didn't really care about that. She only cared about the fact that her brother was more concerned with the people of Khaenri'ah than her.
He really... annoyed her.
Speaking of which, how long will Eiji continue to hide?
With his power, he might be able to help her stop Aether from escaping.
"Don't be too sad, Lumine. He doesn't hate you. He hates this world. And now, he's chosen a different path than you. That's the unexpected reality you must face."
Dainsleif walked over and said that.
Lumine looked at him flatly. Who was so sad? She wanted to hit him. But before she did—
*Boom!*
Dainsleif was thrown and his body was stuck on the wall, "Gugh! You... Who are you?"
He spit out a mouthful of blood and looked at a silver-haired man who suddenly appeared beside Lumine with a surprised expression.
The other party seemed to have just kicked him in the stomach.
An ordinary person could not possibly injure him this badly with just a kick. Not only that, he was unaware of his existence until now!
"Eiji!?" Paimon was the first to call out his name.
"Why are you here?" Lumine feigned surprise, but was also happy that Eiji had hit Dainsleif.
She didn't have to do it herself.
From the start, Eiji did not look at Dainsleif when kicking him. Instead, he looked at the beautiful face of the female protagonist and Aether's sister.
"...!"
At a certain location in the Abyss, Aether suddenly shuddered and felt something was wrong.
He did not know what it was, but he was suddenly worried about his sister. Did Dainsleif dare to do something to her?
"I came to play. But, I didn't expect to see the drama of you and your brother."
Hearing what Eiji said, Lumine doubted it.
She felt he had a greater purpose for coming to Teyvat.
"How did you come here?"
"If I have to explain... I used you as my teleportation point, Lumine."
Eiji wasn't lying despite not saying the details.
Lumine and Paimon had not expected him to do that.
Dainsleif was confused. Who was Eiji? What was the relationship between him and Lumine?
Since he suddenly attacked him, was he an enemy?
For now, he should probably run away.
"Ah, he's running away!" Paimon exclaimed when she saw Dainsleif running as fast as a thief.
Eiji casually said, "Should I catch him or kill him? I can do both."
"Eh, that's...!" Paimon didn't know what to say.
Lumine hesitated and shook my head, "Just ignore him, I'm already satisfied watching you kick him, Eiji."
"Alright."
[Lumine, you're still too soft on someone like Dainsleif. If he didn't like mysterious talk, you wouldn't have worked so hard to come here.]
Eiji had secretly poisoned Dainsleif with the world serpent poison. In the near future, he will die.
To be honest, he just didn't like men who had taken advantage of his future wife's kindness time and time again.
The same went for the other men including the Archons out there.
Lumine knew what Eiji said was true, but forget it, okay?
Just then, the Abyss portal suddenly opened again. She thought her brother had somehow returned.
But the figure that came out of the portal was the Abyss Herald. He was one of Aether's strongest subordinates who had come to confirm Lumine's condition.
Even so, he didn't know who Eiji was and thought he was an enemy. So without hesitation, he lunged at him and swung his sword made of Hydro, the water element in Teyvat.
As a high-level elite agent of the Abyss Order, his movements were so fast that Lumine was too late to parry his attack.
"Eiji...!"
She panicked in fear that Eiji would be unable to block the attack.
However, they were stunned.
"Hm? What is this? A sword made of water? You think a weapon at this level is enough to hurt me? This doesn't even tickle me. Go back to your prince and tell him that his sister has fallen into the hands of Eiji Seiya, her future husband."
Eiji said that while clamping the Abyss Herald sword with both fingers. Under everyone's shocked gaze, he broke it.
Then, he activated his ability as the Herrscher of Genesis. She used
He was thrown into the Abyss portal and as if the scene was played out quickly, the portal instantly closed.
It felt like time was being turned back but at the same time it wasn't.
But what really happened was... Eiji had denied the Abyss Herald's actions to attack him and send him to the point where Aether had not ordered him to check Lumine.
However, he still had the memory of what happened earlier and felt the pain in his head.
Eiji had only flicked his forehead, but it had almost crushed his head like a watermelon hit by a stick.
On the other side, Aether was stunned when he saw the Abyss Herald suddenly appear in front of him and roll around in pain.
After hearing what Eiji said from him, he had an ugly expression and his face looked green.
"Eiji Seiya? Lumine's future husband? He's looking for death! My sister will never marry another man, she belongs only to me!"
Aether's acting collapsed and his true face as a siscon was revealed. Fortunately, there were only the Abyss Herald and some of his other subordinates there.
He opened a portal to return to the deepest part of The Chasm. But at that time, he found no one.
"Where is Lumine? Was she taken away by that bastard? Damn it!"
On the other side.
More than 1000 meters above ground level, The Chasm. Eiji had brought Lumine and Paimon teleported out of that place in an instant.
They were now standing in front of the mine entrance and could see the false sky of Teyvat.
Lumine and Paimon were once again amazed by Eiji's power. But putting that aside, Lumine's face was still slightly flushed.
How could she not?
"Eiji, what did you say before..."
"Ah, I just wanted to make your brother lose his cool. Now, he must be going berserk knowing you were taken away by me."
Eiji smiled wickedly.
In Lumine's eyes, he still looked very handsome. She was moved that he must have done that for her, he was taking revenge on Aether.
However, she didn't know why.
There was a hint of disappointment in her heart.
"Nyam! Nyam! Hmm~! This is the most delicious bread Paimon has ever eaten!" Paimon had exclaimed in the background, now she was eating the sandwich made by Grayfia that Eiji had given her. She was busy chewing with stars in her eyes.
She did not notice the ambiguous atmosphere between her partner and Eiji.
Eiji was a veteran of love. In this situation, he threw the ball straight.
"Still, what I said earlier is true. After all, I consider Lumine as my future wife in my heart."
"Wh-What?! Eiji, don't joke around! It hasn't been long since we met each other! How could you..."
Lumine stammered, she was too embarrassed to say the last part of her words.
Eiji shamelessly said, "It was love at first sight."
[Lumine is very beautiful and has a good figure, she really deserves to be the female protagonist. What man wouldn't want to marry her? At least if it's me, I want her to be my wife.]
"!!!"
Lumine's face looked funny at this moment, she was unable to maintain her stoic expression and made a strange expression.
This was the first time that the opposite sex had confessed to her and even thought of making her a wife.
Her brain short-circuited, she did not know what to say and fell silent.
[Yare-yare. Am I being too hasty? Lumine is more innocent than I thought. It seems that before coming to Teyvat, Aether had always kept the men around her away with various excuses to cover up his possessiveness.]
[The result was... Lumine grew up to be a woman inexperienced in love between men and women.]
Eiji was just guessing.
But Lumine gasped.
That was right.
In the past, Aether had always prevented her from interacting too deeply with men other than him.
She thought it was because he was worried they would cheat on her or something.
But now she realized the immoral feelings her brother had for her.
She felt disgusted.
[Hahaha! Our king, you're getting good at sowing discord and making your targets like you more and more at the same time.]
Ahem! Leme, I didn't do it on purpose.
[You should consider changing your hair color again. I recommend the blonde color.]
Miss System, I feel like you're mocking your host.
But changing hair color again, huh?
Forget it, he's just too lazy to do it.
"Lumine, Paimon! Thankfully, you two finally returned to the surface safely. And this is... Who is this?"
At this moment— the serious and relieved voice of a woman was heard.
Lumine who was at a loss as to how to react to Eiji's confession was relieved.
They all turned to a young woman with a distinctive appearance and unique style of dress. Her clothes combined traditional Liyue elements with a touch of modernity and functionality.
She had long light purple hair that faded to pale blue at the ends. Her hairstyle was also very distinctive, she styled it into two buns (odango) on top of her head that resembled cat ears.
Eiji's eyes lit up.
He instantly recognized the cat woman's identity. Ah, I mean...
"Keqing!" Paimon shouted her name.
Lumine nodded, "We're safe and unharmed. The man beside me is..."
She was about to introduce Eiji.
However, he disappeared from beside her and appeared in front of Keqing while grabbing one of her hands.
"Hello, I'm Eiji Seiya. I am a visitor from another world. May I make your acquaintance?"
"....." Lumine.
"....." Paimon.
In their eyes, Eiji seemed to be very interested in Keqing.
Was this the man who confessed to her a moment ago?
Lumine's lips twitched.
He was probably a guy who liked to play around!
Fortunately she did not immediately accept his confession.
Even so, she felt a little uncomfortable seeing him touch Keqing's hand so gently.
[Is this part of your love strategy, host?]
Eiji: Of course.
Seeing such a handsome man in front of her dare to hold her hand all of a sudden, Keqing didn't get angry. Cough! Don't get me wrong, this has nothing to do with his appearance.
It's just that the other party seems to have a good relationship with Lumine and Paimon.
Not only that, he's a visitor from another world! That is, he has something in common with a traveler like Lumine!
"O-Oh, sure." Keqing stammered slightly as she herself was not used to this kind of physical contact with the opposite sex. Especially Eiji, his face made her a little dazed. "I am Keqing, Yuheng (one of the seven leaders) of Liyue Qixing. Nice to meet you, Eiji."
Wait.
Eiji's voice sounded familiar.
She subconsciously kept staring at his face without blinking while trying to remember something.
[This woman is really Keqing. She's one of the heroines of this world!]
Keqing finally remembered.
Eiji had the same voice as the male voice she had heard since a few hours ago!
He was the one who said Teyvat was some sort of upside-down, artificial world, or prison created and controlled under the False Sky.
Keqing was skeptical about this, but what did he mean she was one of the heroines?
She also remembered Eiji had also mentioned Lumine as a female protagonist and wanted her to be his wife.
"Keqing, you seem like a high status woman. Sorry, my actions may have been a bit too presumptuous."
Eiji pretended to be polite, he immediately let go of her gentle hand.
Keqing had a good impression of him because of that, although she doubted the things she heard from his inner voice, and wondered why she could hear him.
But just like Lumine, she realized that there was some sort of external force preventing her from telling Eiji about those things.
Eiji didn't seem to know the inner voice was being heard by her.
"I don't mind. For now, how about you come with us to Liyue?" Keqing suddenly made a suggestion.
Eiji without hesitation said, "Alright, I'll come with you guys."
[This is a good opportunity to meet the other heroines. At least before I go back, I should establish a good relationship with some of them.]
Is it just us or are you as obsessed with the women as we are, Eiji?
Lumine and Keqing were silent for a moment.
Only the heroines in the other world knew Eiji's purpose for coming to their world was to conquer every beauty called a heroine.
[I wouldn't mind helping them with some problems either. But according to the current storyline... No, I'm actually not sure if the arrangement of the storyline is still the same as in the original work. Has Lumine defeated the Ancient Sea God, Osial who broke free from his seal and almost destroyed Liyue?]
Liyue was almost destroyed because Osial broke free of his seal?!
Keqing and the other heroines of Liyue became anxious. The meaning was clear, it didn't seem to have happened yet.
This was strange, Eiji thought.
Because Lumine should have completed all the storylines in the three countries (Mondstadt, Liyue and Inazima) including defeating Osial before meeting with Aether in The Chasm.
"?" Lumine had a question mark above her head.
She had solved many problems in Mondstadt and Liyue before this. But defeating an Ancient Sea God? She hadn't done it yet and wasn't sure if she could defeat him.
After all, it was a God!
...
A/N: Lately my vision has been deteriorating, I had it checked this morning and found out that my right eye is minus 6.50. As for my left eye? That's 0.50. I can still see clearly, but it shadows a bit and makes me dizzy easily especially when writing. I'm getting glasses made but it will take a few days at most for me to pick them up. But more than that, I'll likely have to reduce my time in front of phone and computer screens because I'm afraid my vision is getting worse rapidly. Just to be on the safe side, I might not be able to write a chapter a day anymore from now on. I'm dividing my time between writing, doing other work, taking care of my eyes by not staring too long at the screen at close range and reducing my stress. And actually, my dental problem hasn't healed completely.
Of course if I can, I'll still write one chapter per day. But unlike before, I won't force myself and if I don't release a chapter tomorrow, it means that I feel dizzy because my vision is bad before my glasses arrive. Sorry to tell you guys this, my health this year has declined drastically and I had to make this decision for the sake of my health.