"Has Enkanomiya been completely sealed off this time?"
"Mm. After observing these past few days, the Holy Soilification has been successfully reversed. As expected, the source of the anomaly really was those Void Towers."
"Those nasty Abyss-dwellers, they sure ran fast!" Paimon said fiercely, then suddenly grew wistful. "But… Enkanomiya won't open again for hundreds of years, right? Forget those Abyss guys—how many of us will still be around by then…"
She looked around seriously—Lumine, Victor Wang, Sangonomiya Kokomi, Gorou, and a few soldiers whose names she didn't know. On this entire Watatsumi Island, how many could withstand the erosion of time?
"Matters hundreds of years in the future should be left to those who live then. To prevent any further accidents, I've made you stay on Watatsumi Island for quite some time. I truly feel sorry about that." Sangonomiya Kokomi smiled with complicated emotions. Though she tried to change the topic, the heaviness in her heart only deepened.
This was the second time she'd bid farewell to Lumine and Victor Wang. Between people not bound by kinship or fate, how many chances does life grant for reunion?
She knew well—unless something extraordinary occurred, Watatsumi Island could not hold anyone.
Each meeting might be the last.
"It's alright. If something comes up, you can still contact us. If you can't reach us, just have Katheryne deliver a message—she has plenty of connections," Lumine said.
"Mm. Farewell."
The ship departing the island set sail.
In an instant, Paimon tossed her melancholy aside. She tilted her head toward the sky, squinting until the sunlight dazzled her eyes. "The sun's so bright—it's making me hot and thirsty!"
"Paimon, we just got on the ship…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just mean—it's summer now, so the Summer Festival is coming up soon!"
Paimon affectionately clung to Lumine's arm, swinging it back and forth. Lumine remained unmoved, but hearing mention of a festival she hadn't experienced before, Victor Wang asked, "Summer Festival?"
"It's a celebration Inazuma has to have every summer! Lots of great food and fun games. By my count, it starts in three days!"
"So soon?"
"It only feels sudden because you weren't paying attention to the date! I already—cough, I mean, Lumine and I have already explored all of Inazuma, even Enkanomiya! We were supposed to move on to the next stop, but festivals are an important part of travel too! What's that word again? Hu—human…?"
"Culture."
"Right! Culture! Culture's just as important as geography!" Having gotten the word right from Victor Wang, Paimon turned to Lumine. "A journey isn't just about passing through one piece of land after another. It should have meaning!"
Lumine sighed. "Paimon… you don't have to justify it that much. I know you just want to eat."
"I do not! And besides—besides, didn't we just bring back a bunch of treasure from Enkanomiya?"
"It's not about money. I don't mind joining the festival, but have you noticed something? You've… gotten fatter."
"I have not! I'm the type who can't gain weight!"
"Oh?" Lumine shifted her arm still caught in Paimon's hold. "Then it must be my imagination?"
"Definitely!" Paimon shot back without hesitation.
As Lumine and Paimon bickered, Victor Wang turned his gaze back toward Watatsumi Island, now just a dark speck in the distance.
Yeah… without realizing it, the journey across the seven nations had reached its third chapter's end.
Inazuma was unlike Mondstadt or Liyue—perhaps even less stable than Fontaine. Because of the Raiden Shogun's isolation, countless hidden issues had built up over time. Beyond waking the Shogun, there were still so many tangled problems left behind, problems that Yae Miko had been shouldering alone.
So, their time in Inazuma had involved more meddling than expected—but in the end, everything had settled down. All of it was now becoming the past.
Leaving was a lie.
Watatsumi Island, wait for me. Once I disembark… I'll return—to finish one last thing in Inazuma.
…
Once he stepped off the ship, Victor Wang rubbed his eyes—and spotted Arataki Itto.
"Victor! Where've you been these past few days?"
"I went to Watatsumi Island."
"That much I know! But—summer festival! The Summer Festival's almost here, do you even know that?"
"Ah, I just found out." Victor turned toward Paimon, suspecting those two might've planned this together.
"You—ugh! The 'Teyvat First Bubble-Blowing Tournament' is gonna hold its Inazuma stage during the festival! Don't tell me you still don't know?"
"Huh?" Victor blinked, bewildered. "Isn't that some kind of marketing gimmick Ningguang came up with? How would I know about it?"
"What marketing gimmick! I begged and begged that Tian—whatever Star to get the permit! You're the official host representative! The festival's in just three days—three! Luckily, all the other arrangements are already in place."
"Host representative? Me? Wait—what's the prize for this competition?"
"Three million Mora for first, two million for second, one million for third! Even the top ten each get five hundred thousand!"
Victor asked cautiously, "This money… doesn't come out of my pocket, does it?"
"Of course not! That Ten-whatever Star doesn't handle anything except the prize fund."
"Then if the money's settled and everything's ready, what's the rush?"
"Without you, the official representative, it won't count as an official event! This is important!"
Arataki Itto slapped his forehead, sighing dramatically before his eyes sparkled and landed on Lumine.
"And you, Lumine! I heard you took third place in the first Teyvat Bubble-Blowing Tournament, right? To make sure this event's got some real weight, you've gotta join too! We've got a special slot for you—you're automatically in the top ten, straight to the finals!"
"Straight to the top ten… and top ten gets five hundred thousand Mora…" Paimon counted on her fingers, eyes wide. "That's— that's like free money!"
"Not free money! It's prestige pricing! We need top-ranked participants from the First Teyvat Bubble-Blowing Tournament so the whole world recognizes this one!"
Sensing Arataki Itto's near-religious devotion to that "recognized by all of Teyvat" title, Lumine couldn't help clarifying, "Isn't that a bit exaggerated? That last tournament only had competitors from three or four nations."
"Four? Add Inazuma, that's five! Teyvat's only got seven in total—you guys are the ones not taking it seriously enough!"
"Well… fair point," Lumine conceded. "Alright, I'll join. But no shortcuts—I'll win on my own merit."
Recalling the mysterious cloaked contestant who had suddenly appeared and defeated both Victor and Xingqiu last time, Lumine couldn't help feeling a sting of regret. "If it weren't for that person, I probably would've been the champion."
But Arataki Itto shook his head. "No can do. You have to take the shortcut."
"?"
"Registration closed five days ago! We're already at the final elimination round. Luckily, we saved you a spot."
"Isn't that unfair to the other contestants?"
"Relax, relax! Everyone knew ahead of time. Our tournament's motto is fairness and justice!"