In the manor villa,
Yae and the others were chatting casually, their conversation floating along without much purpose.
They had been inside for quite a while. Initially, Yae Miko was quite shocked.
After all, in her imagination, a world shouldn't look so… peculiar and strange.
But as she became more familiar with it, she found that this blocky world strangely made some sense.
At any rate, Yae had already passed the initial stage of surprise.
She had seen most of the buildings inside the manor villa.
Whether it was from being stunned into numbness or some other reason, Yae didn't show much expression.
Most likely, when she went back tonight, once she fully processed it, she would roll around on her bed in confusion, trying to confirm if she was dreaming.
The "true consciousness fragment" had been marked the moment it entered this world.
According to Lumine, even if this consciousness fragment disappeared later, it could still be revived.
Kamisato Ayaka could sit still, quietly observing, occasionally speaking to Miko to answer some of her questions.
Lumine, on the other hand, couldn't.
The longer she stayed inside, the more impatient she became.
She kept glancing outside, specifically toward the Twilight Forest portal.
She didn't want to fall behind Ryen and the others. Initially, she thought this trip would take a day or two at most.
Ryen and his group probably weren't in such a rush, but Lumine hurried back as fast as she could.
Unexpectedly…
They had already set off.
Lumine had thought to rush to the Twilight Forest to catch up with Ryen and the others. After all, the true consciousness fragment had already been registered in this world.
The remaining matters were related to resurrection.
Going to the Twilight Forest would allow her to continue exploring with Ryen and the others, ensuring she didn't fall behind.
Also, the Resurrection Totem was still with Zhongli. To actually revive someone, she'd need to ask Zhongli to borrow it.
Two birds with one stone!
However, before Lumine could set out, she was stopped by Ayaka.
The Twilight Forest itself was full of dangers. If Lumine went alone, not only would it be risky, she wouldn't even have a map to find Ryen and the others.
After thinking it over, Lumine realized Ayaka had a point.
She reluctantly agreed to wait for them there.
But after waiting most of the day, the Twilight Forest portal remained inactive.
Lumine began to worry that Ryen and the others might finish dealing with the Snow Queen and head straight to the next location.
If that happened, it could be days before they returned.
Not only would waiting be in vain, next time Lumine entered, she might find that everyone had already completed another round of exploration, perhaps hunting the Naga again.
She hadn't even seen the Snow Queen herself yet.
"Why aren't they back yet?"
Lumine pressed her small face into her hands, worried.
Miko calmly sipped her tea and said softly:
"The twenty-eighth time."
"You little one, you really are impatient. It's only been less than half a day, and you've already said it so many times."
"Wouldn't it be better to quietly wait, like Ayaka?"
Hearing this, Lumine spoke righteously:
"Yae Miko, you don't understand! Back in this world, I never missed a single monster kill."
"My progress has always kept up with Ryen and the others!"
"Now that they've entered that world to advance progress, I'm already falling behind.
If they really plan to push straight to the end…
I'll fall too far behind and won't even know how to catch up!"
Miko pursed her lips and gave a light smile. She had wanted to comfort Lumine, thinking it had only been a day or two, so she shouldn't fall behind too much.
But then she thought: Liyue had developed from its original state to its current strength in just over four months.
And considering all the outrageous, strange technology she had seen in the manor villa…
Two days could really cause Lumine to fall far behind!
Realizing this, Miko also felt a bit helpless.
Liyue was growing stronger every moment, while Inazuma was weakening just as rapidly.
If things continued like this, without resolving the chaos in Inazuma within a month…
Who knew if Inazuma could even keep up with progress?
If they couldn't keep up, then there was no question of cooperation or mutual benefit.
At most, Inazuma could only appear as a side player when confronting Celestia in the end.
Participate in the battle?
Don't even think about it!
If they couldn't fight, failure would mean the untouched Inazuma nation would be destroyed by Celestia.
If they succeeded, when dividing the spoils, Inazuma would get almost nothing.
Only now did Miko understand why she and Lumine had said that taking a month to resolve Inazuma's chaos was too long.
They really couldn't afford to be delayed.
Lumine let out an annoyed sigh:
"Ugh! This trip to Inazuma, I didn't get anything good!"
"Except for one Inazuma-style dinner, I was just chased around and running for my life!"
"Now, I can't even keep up with Ryen's world progress! Why am I so unlucky?"
Ayaka felt a little embarrassed and whispered:
"Sorry… Lumine."
"Huh? It's not your fault, Ayaka!"
Lumine hurriedly waved her hand and muttered:
"Going to Inazuma with you was really fun, but falling behind in progress and being chased is what's really frustrating."
"Honestly, all this busy work… what's the point anyway?"
Miko blinked and teased:
"For the peace of Inazuma? Little one, you're quite the hero!"
"Tch…"
Lumine pouted and retorted:
"I don't want to be a hero! Ryen said it himself—heroes don't live long!"
"It's way better to be like Ryen! Have friends around, a lover, and then Klee and Nahida.
Relax and have some tea with Zhongli, flirt with Ningguang and the others.
Or just come to this world to have fun and catch up on progress.
That kind of life is so joyful!"
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