[Aether: "But there's no need to rush, Lumine. I have all the time in the world to wait for you."]
["Our time... has always been plentiful."]
After saying these words, Aether left. Dainsleif followed him through the portal, but Lumine hesitated for a moment. Just as her fingers were about to touch the portal, it vanished before her eyes.
Watching her long-lost sibling disappear once again, Lumine stood frozen in place.
[Paimon noticed Lumine's dejection and comforted her: "Ugh... Traveler, don't be so sad... We'll find them! Look on the bright side! At least this time, we've found some really useful clues!"]
[Lumine: "Paimon's right. There's hope now."]
The Lumine in the book snapped back to reality. At the very least, she had found her brother, proving he was still safe.
Paimon continued to console Lumine, saying they had discovered a new breakthrough.
Finally, she helped the Traveler reorganize the information they had just obtained.
This was actually quite helpful for some readers who had been struggling to understand earlier.
Wait... Paimon understood everything, but we didn't? How does that make sense?
The information Paimon summarized roughly consisted of: Lumine's brother held a high position in the Abyss, and his goal was to "drown the divine thrones" and wage war against the Heavenly Principles.
Apart from that, there was Dainsleif's background—he was a citizen of Khaenri'ah, yet he hadn't turned into a monster and was still fighting against the Abyss.
These were the key revelations at the end of this story.
"Hmm... still don't get it." Arataki Itto scratched his head.
Abyss? Heavenly Principles? Khaenri'ah? So many complicated things.
Aside from the fact that these groups seemed to be enemies fighting each other, Arataki Itto couldn't make sense of anything else.
"Boss, just think of it like the relationship between the Arataki Gang, the Shogunate Army, and the Resistance," Kuki Shinobu casually explained, though it wasn't an accurate comparison.
But if she tried to explain it in more detail, Arataki Itto wouldn't understand—or rather, he wouldn't bother thinking about such troublesome matters.
"Now I get it!" Arataki Itto suddenly exclaimed. "See, if you'd said that earlier, I would've understood!"
Under the Sacred Sakura, Yae Miko closed the book. When the cataclysm of Khaenri'ah happened 500 years ago, she had only been a small fox and didn't fully understand the reasons behind it.
But she knew that the events of 500 years ago marked the beginning of many tragedies in Inazuma—including Ei's self-imposed isolation.
Dainsleif disliked the Seven Archons, but Yae Miko wasn't particularly fond of Khaenri'ah either.
If not for Khaenri'ah, could she still be lying in Ei's arms, admiring the cherry blossoms with everyone like she did 500 years ago?
Yae Miko looked up at the sakura blossoms above. The wind rustled the branches, causing them to tremble as if gently tapping her head.
Elsewhere, La Signora, who had already arrived in Inazuma, was reading this chapter alongside Scaramouche.
During her time sailing on the ship, she had missed quite a few stories. Though she didn't want to admit it, she had actually been looking forward to Lucian's book.
Yet this chapter left her feeling emotionally compromised.
'We're just a reader and an author—this is crossing the line.'
'Brother, let's go home!'
'Of course. Wherever you are, that's home.'
Two new piles of ashes appeared on the ground—one from Scaramouche's Electro, the other from La Signora's flames.
Two people without homes. La Signora and Scaramouche exchanged glances, sensing each other's 'yearning' for Lucian.
Pierro, "The Jester," closed the book and fell into silence. He wasn't exactly emotionally compromised, but the memories stirred by the story left him pensive.
He recalled his failure to stop "Gold" from introducing the Abyss's energy back then and let out a quiet sigh.
In contrast, Tartaglia and The Knave at the Northland Bank were doing much better—especially Tartaglia, who had just returned to Liyue after a brief visit home to Snezhnaya.
Now, he was practically glowing. A few days with his family had done wonders—Tartaglia, fresh out of the oven.
Others in Liyue had varying reactions.
Xiangling, Yun Jin, and Hu Tao didn't pay much attention to nor fully understand these matters. They were simply happy that the Traveler had found her brother.
For the Adepti, who were partially aware of the truth, the events of 500 years ago were not pleasant memories—it had been a brutal war.
As for Guizhong and Havria, they knew nothing about what happened 500 years ago—because they hadn't lived long enough to see it. Ha. Ha. Ha.
Meanwhile, the Qixing were more concerned with this chapter, as they had to consider how to protect Liyue in the event of a future war.
Furina was also pondering this issue and finally decided: "Neuvillette!!!"
Little Furina was panicking. If Lumine's brother wanted to overthrow the divine thrones, didn't that make her a prime target?
Though Furina knew she 'wasn't actually an god,' and overthrowing her probably had nothing to do with overthrowing the thrones...
But no one else knew that! Everyone else thought she was the Hydro Archon! So wouldn't overthrowing the thrones require overthrowing the Archons first?
And right now, she seemed like the easiest Archon to bully! Didn't that make her the most delicate, lightweight, and easy-to-topple god?
"Abyss, Heavenly Principles, Khaenri'ah... more troublesome matters." Wriothesley took a sip of tea.
Normally, the "Duke" wasn't particularly invested in these stories, merely skimming through them. But this time, the events could affect Fontaine, so he read more carefully.
Many were worried, but Chiori's focus was somewhat unique.
"Khaenri'ah... I wonder what their fashion was like?"
Chiori decided that the next time she saw Lucian, she would demand he sketch a few Khaenri'ahn outfits for her.
In Sumeru, the sheer amount of information in this chapter piqued Alhaitham's interest. He memorized every key detail on the spot.
Kaveh muttered under his breath, 'What a freak, with that kind of memory.'
In the Sanctuary of Surasthana, the Dendro Archon mused: Humans could build a prosperous nation even without gods.
The idea of humans relying on their own "wisdom" to move forward was something she, the God of Wisdom, found acceptable.
In her eyes, human "wisdom" was worthy of recognition. If her people had such aspirations, she would support them.
This was also why she hadn't punished the sages for their mistreatment—she was far too kind.
But how could she have known? Her people didn't want to rely on human wisdom to move forward—they wanted to create a god of wisdom to replace her.
Back in Mondstadt, Kaeya closed the book and remained silent for a long time.
His drinking companions—Diluc and Venti, who knew the truth—were concerned about his current state of mind.
Finally, Kaeya slowly spoke: "This... this wine isn't free, is it?"
He had been silently drinking while Diluc silently poured, neither saying much. This time, they had consumed far more than usual.
"..." Diluc was silent at first, then a faint smile appeared on his lips. "You're paying as usual."
"This bill should really be on Shikikan's tab." Kaeya shrugged.
Seeing the usual atmosphere return among the drinking buddies, Rosaria let out a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, the Lucian Kaeya had mentioned was currently chatting with Dainsleif while holding the "Eye of the First Field Tiller."
With Lucian's involvement, the real-world Lumine was speedrunning her journey.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voiceline · Traveler: About Home
Paimon: "If wherever Lumine is counts as home, then... does wherever I am count too?"
Lumine: "Of course."
Paimon: "Hehehe, I knew you'd say that! You're the best, Lumine!"
Lumine: "Mhm. After all, it's normal to keep food at home."
Paimon: "Hey!! And here I was, actually touched for a second!"
Lumine: "Hahaha~."