Aether's face was… complicated.
At first, he had thought Boss Han was just lusting after his little sister's body — giving her all sorts of generous rewards out of interest.
But after witnessing the mysterious power of the manga shop and realizing how unfathomable Boss Han truly was,
Aether had gradually come to accept this future brother-in-law in his heart.
Fine… even if he's a bit pervy, at least he's strong enough to protect Lumine. That way, I can focus on dealing with Celestia without worry…
However, what he didn't expect was that things had progressed this fast!
According to his intel, Lumine had only been at the manga shop for a few days —
and now she was already living in Boss Han's house?!
Maybe even sleeping in his bed?!
Just imagining it made Aether's heart ache.
My precious little sister… she's already been taken…
He let out a long sigh, face full of resignation.
"Boss Han, since you've already reached that point… please take good care of her!"
Aether said seriously, then gave Lumine a complicated look before turning to leave the shop.
It wasn't the right time to meet her yet — if she recognized him now, things would get messy.
"Boss Han, goodbye."
Dainsleif also gave a polite farewell, nodded slightly to Lumine and Paimon, and followed Aether out.
"Uh… did my brother-in-law just… misunderstand something?"
Han Feng's expression turned strange as he recalled Aether's solemn tone.
Clearly, Aether had no idea Lumine had set the Anywhere Door's home point to his house —
so when he heard Paimon talking about the "bed," he'd jumped straight to that conclusion.
"Well… it's not a bad misunderstanding."
Han Feng chuckled to himself.
"Hey, Boss Han, who was that weird guy just now?"
Paimon asked curiously.
She had never seen anyone with such a bizarre hairstyle before — spikes everywhere, like a walking hedgehog!
Lumine's golden eyes also turned toward Han Feng.
She couldn't explain it, but when that strange man had looked at her, she'd felt… a sense of familiarity.
Yet she was certain she'd never met anyone who looked like that before — surely she'd remember such a ridiculous haircut!
"You'll find out later~."
Han Feng said with a grin, playfully rubbing Paimon's cheeks.
Since Aether didn't plan to reveal himself yet, Han Feng wouldn't spoil it for him either.
Everything was just fine the way it was.
"Ugh, another one of your riddles, Boss Han…"
Paimon puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
She hated people like this the most.
Why couldn't he just say things clearly?
Always making her guess — it was exhausting!
"Oh, right, Boss Han! Were you talking bad about me earlier?
Otherwise, why was I sneezing nonstop?"
Han Feng gave her a dangerous smile.
"Paimon, I'll give you one chance to rephrase that sentence."
(Seriously? What does your sneezing have to do with me?)
But the crafty shopkeeper's smile told Paimon one thing — say the wrong word, and she'd suffer for it.
So she quickly changed tactics, her tone turning syrupy-sweet:
"Hehe~ I must've been sneezing because Boss Han was thinking about me!
It's an honor to be thought about by someone as great as Boss Han!"
"Ewww…"
Lumine looked at her floating companion with visible disgust.
This little glutton had no shame left whatsoever.
But Paimon just crossed her arms proudly.
"Hmph! You'll never understand the joy of pleasing Boss Han!"
"Well said. You've captured my heart."
Han Feng couldn't help but laugh.
This little mascot was learning fast.
Since her flattery was so on point, he decided to reward her.
"Alright then — today you can eat a few extra dishes from the Gourmet Tablecloth."
"Yay! Long live Boss Han!"
Paimon spun happily in midair, throwing Lumine a smug look that said:
See that? That's the power of good manners!
Lumine just laughed softly and shook her head.
Outside the manga shop, on the street…
"What in the world happened here? Why is everything covered in dust?"
Jean had finally rushed over from the Knights of Favonius headquarters.
But what she saw left her speechless — gray smoke and debris blanketed the area.
Her instincts flared, and she used her Anemo powers to sweep the dust away.
When the air cleared, the sight before her made her eyes widen in shock.
Every building in the area had been completely destroyed, except for one — Boss Han's manga shop, which stood perfectly intact amidst the devastation.
The ground was littered with deep craters and massive cracks, as if a war had torn through the city.
"So… the fight with the Doctor already happened?"
Jean immediately pieced together the possibility.
It seemed she had arrived too late.
She could only hope the outcome wasn't tragic.
"Captain Jean?"
A surprised voice called out — she turned to see Eula, Amber, and the girl from Liyue approaching.
"It's you three. Do you know what happened here?"
Jean asked quickly.
"Here's what happened…"
Eula then explained everything from start to finish.
"So it was Boss Han who took him down…"
Jean's expression grew tense with a hint of fear.
She hadn't expected the Doctor's new weapon to be so powerful.
Even Kaeya and the others hadn't been able to stop it — they could only take cover and wait for it to end.
If Boss Han hadn't intervened, and the Doctor had decided to unleash his attacks on Mondstadt itself, the casualties would have been catastrophic.
The scene before her — the craters, the ruins — was proof enough of what could have happened.
"I need to go see Boss Han."
Jean said after a pause.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right — take these two phones."
She handed a device to both Eula and Amber.
As for the girl from Liyue, Jean could only apologize — the phones were simply too rare and precious.
"Captain Jean, what's this thing?"
Amber asked curiously, turning the small rectangular object in her hands.
She hadn't paid much attention when Jean first received them.
"It's called a cell phone.
It lets you communicate across the entire continent of Teyvat."
Jean briefly explained its basic functions, then smiled.
"That's all I can say for now — you'll have to figure out the rest yourselves.
I'm going to visit Boss Han."
With that, Jean turned and began walking toward the manga shop.
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