"Traveler! We're back! Did you miss me?"
Paimon waved her tiny hand energetically, floating straight toward Lumine, who was sitting on a bench beside Nagami. "Now you have to explain what's going on already!"
"Well… why don't you let him explain it himself?"
After giving the little mascot a quick hug, Lumine tossed Paimon into Nagami's arms.
Her own gaze, however, was locked on the green-haired figure in the crowd, her lips curving into a smile that looked more than a little suspicious.
If they weren't in the middle of a public square, Lumine would've already leapt over for a tackle-hug.
Feeling the lingering sensation of C.C.'s delicate hands interlocked with her companions', Lumine's eyes shifted toward Seele and Kurumi.
She lifted her chin, her pretty face blooming into a radiant smile like spring sunlight, and gave them a friendly nod.
The sunlight bathed her snow-pale skin, making her glow like a flower in full bloom.
For once, Lumine thought being Nagami's counterpart wasn't so bad.
Not just male or female—but both at once! And with someone as stunning as C.C. around? Talk about hitting the jackpot.
Thanks to their telepathic bond, Lumine already knew who Seele and Kurumi were.
Nagami—well, calling him "that guy" felt weird, since he was technically another version of herself.
Lumine wasn't the type to insult herself, but… the truth was inescapable.
This guy was a harem protagonist through and through.
Little Seele, frail and timid, had been rescued from the horrors of the Quantum Sea.
Falling for Nagami after that was inevitable.
As for Kurumi… well, the flashes of memory Lumine picked up from Nagami's mind made it very obvious that things had gone far beyond simple affection.
She was already his, through and through.
And those time manipulation powers… even Lumine, who had seen a lot in her long life, couldn't help but be stunned.
Some of Kurumi's abilities were just plain broken.
Honestly, Lumine's feelings toward the two girls were… complicated.
Logically speaking, Nagami's harem = her harem, since they were the same person.
No flaws in the reasoning at all.
But Lumine—though snarky, mischievous, and always teasing pretty girls—was straight as an arrow. So yeah… things felt awkward.
"My, my… such an adorable girl~."
Kurumi's wine-red eyes glimmered as she raised a slender finger to her lips and smiled elegantly at Lumine.
Her voice wasn't loud, but in the noisy crowd, Lumine shouldn't have been able to hear it.
Yet C.C., standing right beside her, clearly did.
Which meant Lumine, linked through their shared senses, heard it too.
'Adorable girl…'
Hearing herself described that way, Lumine nodded with satisfaction, her favorability toward Kurumi rising a little.
'See? Of course I'm an adorable sixteen-year-old girl!'
'Anyone can tell at a glance! It's only when Nagami opens his mouth with his endless self-deprecating nonsense that—'
Her face froze.
Alarm bells rang in her head. In a flash, she darted to C.C.'s side and clamped a pale, delicate hand over her mouth.
'Oh hell no!'
Nagami had actually been about to spill the beans about her real age to Kurumi!?
Over her dead body!
If that came out, she'd rather dig a hole and bury herself on the spot.
Her amber eyes glared daggers at the green-haired girl.
If looks could kill, Nagami would already be stewing in the same pot as emergency rations!
But under that perfectly sculpted, porcelain face, Lumine's teeth-gritted fury didn't last long.
C.C.'s silky green hair fell like willow branches in summer, her golden eyes gleaming with mystery and nobility beneath her fringe.
Sunlight danced across her fair skin, giving it a faint crystalline glow.
Even in Lumine's long, long life, she'd rarely met a girl this breathtaking.
Her heart gave an unsteady thump, leaving her staring blankly, words forgotten.
The warmth of C.C.'s lips brushing her palm, the soft, moist touch of her tongue—it jolted Lumine back to herself.
She yanked her hand away in shock, staring at C.C. as though accusing her of exposing the perverted side of her own heart.
Wiping the dampness off on C.C.'s skirt, Lumine's expression turned uncharacteristically flustered, a faint pink spreading across her snow-white cheeks.
A genuine blush on Lumine's face? That was something you might not see in a hundred years.
'Oh? You're blushing?'
C.C. leaned close, whispering into Lumine's mind with a teasing lilt.
'Come now… let me take a good look.'
"Tch!"
Clicking her tongue, Lumine quickly turned her head away, stubbornly refusing to meet C.C.'s eyes.
To be honest, for just a fleeting moment, Lumine actually felt a trace of… narcissism.
And the worst part was—Nagami must have picked up on that thought too.
"Uh… Lumine onechan, C.C. onechan, what are you two…?"
A soft, slightly timid voice came from Seele.
She held her hands close to her chest and tilted her head, as if worried that Lumine and C.C. were about to start arguing.
Of course, C.C. had already introduced Lumine to Seele and Kurumi, simply saying she was a very close friend from another world.
There was no need to bring up the matter of being a counterpart.
"It's fine, it's fine. We were just messing around," C.C. said gently, ruffling the girl's smooth, short hair with a softened expression.
Lumine quickly returned to her girlish demeanor as well, her expression noticeably less stiff when she looked at Seele.
After all, no one could resist such a pure, gentle, and adorable little girl.
"Wow, so Traveler's made new companions already?"
A green-clad figure popped into the scene from who-knows-where—Venti.
His gaze drifted over C.C., Kurumi, and Seele, before finally settling on Seele.
His expression turned just a touch odd as he remarked, "They all seem like pretty amazing people!"
But what was with this cute little girl?
Venti narrowed his eyes, suddenly on guard. Normally he'd laze about without a care, but something about this situation was going far beyond expectations.
That seemingly delicate, frail frame of Seele's was brimming with an immense, turbulent energy. And disturbingly… it felt just like that one.
Seele had only become the Herrscher of Death less than a day ago.
She couldn't yet control the Herrscher's energy within her perfectly.
To ordinary people—or even ordinary Vision holders—this power was undetectable.
But the Anemo Archon was hardly "ordinary."
Honkai and Teyvat might not be the same world, but both existed beneath the same multiverse, as leaves on the Imaginary Tree.
Their fundamental structures didn't prevent their powers from manifesting across worlds.
And on Teyvat, Herrscher power could only be perceived as one thing: the power of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
To Venti's senses, the energy around Seele felt eerily similar to that of the Sustainer—yet not quite the same.
Still, it wasn't something he could ignore.
If this girl wasn't in Mondstadt, he'd happily turn a blind eye; his lazy nature wouldn't push him to pry.
But now? A dangerous presence sitting right in Mondstadt itself?
If something unforeseen happened and Mondstadt was destroyed, he'd have nowhere to cry about it later.
After a moment's hesitation, Venti carefully tugged the Traveler aside.
Once they were out of sight from C.C. and the others, he leaned in close to Lumine's ear and whispered, "Traveler, just who exactly are your companions? That little girl… mm, they all have something very dangerous about them."
"Come on, now's really not the time to brush me off with excuses like before, right?" Venti pressed his palms together and gave a playful wink.
There was no way he'd believe Nagami was Lumine's "brother."
Five hundred years ago, they had crossed paths, if only briefly—and there wasn't a god alive who could ever forget that person.
"Something very dangerous, huh…"
A thoughtful glimmer flashed in Lumine's amber eyes.
Thanks to her mental bond with Nagami, her mind instantly jumped to the connection between Herrschers and the Sustainer.
"Don't worry, Venti. They're absolutely no threat—I promise!"
…Besides, whispering to me in secret doesn't help at all. Nagami can hear every single word without missing a beat.
Lumine sighed internally.
———————————————————————
Daily Uploads!
Unlock bonus chapters by reaching specific milestones with [Power Stone] votes!
Go to p-atreon.com/InsomniaTL to access more than 50 advanced chapters.