"I didn't expect your friend to be Lady Guuji," Ayaka said as she carefully accepted the gifts. "Please rest assured. I will personally deliver them."
Then she looked back to Ken. "However… if I return from here—assuming I persuade Lady Guuji—how do I bring her to Blue Star?"
It was an important question. If everything depended on probability… then when would the next chance come?
Ken considered it. "If you trust me, Miss Ayaka, you can sign a contract with me. Once we have a contract relationship, you'll be able to summon the vortex gate and freely enter and leave Blue Star."
"Of course," Ayaka agreed without hesitation.
Since she had already decided to trust him, she would not hesitate.
Ken took out an A4 sheet, casually drafted a contract, and had Ayaka sign her name. The contract was established.
In a sense, this was exploiting a loophole in the system.
He had only learned such loopholes existed because of Mona.
Now it finally came in handy.
"Thank you. Then Ayaka will take her leave first," Ayaka said, giving a small, polite bow before turning toward the vortex gate.
Only when the gate vanished from the room did Keqing come out of the study.
"I want a contract too."
She had heard Ken's conversation with Ayaka clearly.
So as long as she formed a contract with Ken, she could freely travel between worlds? The temptation was considerable.
"You don't need it," Ken said, glancing at the system panel.
In the list of invited partners, Kamisato Ayaka's name had appeared.
But behind Ayaka's name, Keqing's name had also appeared:
[Keqing (Emotional Bond)]
Perhaps he should thank Ayaka for the assist—making the Yuheng of the Qixing jealous enough to trigger an emotional bond.
"Why don't I need it?" Keqing asked suspiciously.
Back in the afternoon she couldn't freely travel, so had it suddenly changed?
"Because we already have a bond," Ken said with a grin, leaning close and lowering his voice. "An emotional bond."
E-emotional bond?
Keqing wasn't sure what Ken meant by "bond," but the moment she heard the word "emotional," her cheeks flushed.
Had Ken already noticed what she kept hidden in her heart?
"Don't talk nonsense," Keqing said, face red as she took two steps back. "How could I possibly have an emotional bond with you? Don't slander me."
"Slander?" Ken stepped forward, still smiling. "Does the mighty Yuheng really have no idea what's in her own heart? It's rare to see you shy—this look is… quite charming."
"You—!" Keqing's embarrassment turned into anger at being exposed.
She raised her hand almost reflexively, trying to strike at Ken to stop him from coming closer.
But the moment her hand lifted, Ken caught it firmly.
With a small twist, he spun her around, grabbed her arm, and pulled her into his embrace.
"A naughty kitty gets punished."
Ken freed one hand and gave her a light smack.
The sensation was… unforgettable.
He'd wanted to do it for a long time. Keqing was simply too tsundere—after seeing it so many times, it became hard not to want to tease her.
He just hadn't had the chance before. Today, he finally got what he wanted.
"You!" Keqing's face burned with shame and fury.
He actually… did that to her. And worse—Ganyu was right there watching.
Keqing gritted her teeth, cheeks blazing, regretting that she'd attacked him at all.
Otherwise she wouldn't have humiliated herself like this.
Fortunately, Ken didn't go further. After that single smack, he let Keqing go.
Keqing glanced at Ganyu, too ashamed to face anyone. She turned and bolted through the vortex gate without looking back, returning to Liyue.
Ganyu, however, didn't leave.
She felt… a little envious.
Especially watching Ken and Keqing bicker so intimately, a surge of envy rose in her chest—so strong it surprised even her.
For a brief instant, she even thought…
She shook the thought away.
"It's getting late," Ken said, looking at the Ganyu who stayed behind. "Want something to eat?"
Today, neither Ayaka nor Keqing had eaten on Blue Star.
"Okay…" Ganyu smiled and sat down. Then she asked, "Now that you've invited someone from Inazuma… will you be going to Liyue Harbor less often in the future?"
Despite living for a very long time, Ganyu's understanding of feelings wasn't much different from an ordinary girl's.
A maiden's first stirrings were always poetic.
With Ken's charm amplified by the system—and everything that had happened recently—it was inevitable that ripples would form in the heart of this usually restrained girl.
She began to care about his whereabouts.
"Of course not," Ken said with a smile. "After all, the Liyue Specialty Shop is still open."
He handed Ganyu some Glaze Lilies and Qingxin, while he ate his steak at an unhurried pace.
Ganyu licked her lips lightly. "Yes… after all, Miss Keqing is still in Liyue."
Thinking of Ken and Keqing's closeness, Ganyu couldn't help wondering what their relationship was. Maybe it wouldn't be long before she'd be drinking their wedding wine?
Though for her, that wine would taste a little bitter.
"Isn't Ganyu also in Liyue?" Ken said, reaching out to touch her horn. "Ganyu is my friend too."
"Mm—"
The moment her qilin horn was touched, Ganyu's face turned crimson. A soft, involuntary sound slipped from her lips.
A strange comfort—like an electric current—rushed through her entire body, making her tremble.
So… so comfortable.
Ganyu instinctively pressed her legs together, too embarrassed to meet Ken's eyes.
In truth, she knew her horns were sensitive, which was why as she grew older she stopped letting others touch them.
But she hadn't expected her reaction to be so intense when Ken touched her horn—so intense she couldn't help making a sound.
And yet when she touched her own horns, it didn't feel like this.
Deep down, she didn't reject the sensation.
"Y-yes… but in Liyue Harbor, many people think my horns are fake," Ganyu said, hurriedly changing the subject. She avoided Ken's gaze and stared shyly at the Glaze Lilies on the plate, breathing a little unevenly.
"Even if they know, it doesn't matter," Ken said with a smile. "A qilin is an auspicious beast. Your presence in Liyue Harbor is Liyue's good fortune."
He hadn't expected Ganyu's reaction to be this strong.
Even more sensitive than Diona's tail.
No wonder certain people were so fond of kemonomimi—this level of sensitivity was intriguing even to Ken.
"This is the first time I've heard someone say that to me," Ganyu said quietly, momentarily lost in thought.
She knew the qilin symbolized good fortune, but she never had the courage to tell the people her true identity.
Whenever someone asked about her horns, she would say it was a family heirloom decoration.
"In your heart, you still feel like you're not human—like it's hard to blend into Liyue's sea of people," Ken looked up at her. "But you get along well with everyone, don't you? Even with Keqing—it's getting better and better."
"Mm… that's true," Ganyu said, smiling as she thought of Keqing. "At first, because of her attitude toward Rex Lapis, I did keep some distance. But after working together recently, I realized she's not who I imagined. I can understand why she wants Liyue to move toward human rule… and I've learned some of her hidden little secrets."
Or rather… she had discovered Keqing's secret this afternoon on Blue Star.
When she accompanied Keqing at the computer, they came across a livestream about Rex Lapis.
Ganyu would never forget Keqing's expression when Rex Lapis started dancing on camera…
It was like Keqing's eyes went dark—like her worldview shattered.
It wasn't only because the dancer was Rex Lapis. More importantly, it clashed with the image Keqing held in her heart.
Ganyu had never expected that the person who often criticized Rex Lapis the most was, deep down, also someone who recognized and admired him.
So seeing that version of Rex Lapis, Keqing couldn't accept it.
To be fair, Ganyu herself had trouble accepting it too.
It was hard to imagine that when Rex Lapis came to Blue Star, he would become… like that.
But Rex Lapis was Rex Lapis. Even if he didn't match the image in their minds, he was still Liyue's god.
Watching Ganyu's natural smile, Ken said gently, "So long as Ganyu wants to integrate into Liyue's people, you will. Liyue embraces all rivers. You've given so much for Liyue—you deserve respect."
"Mm…" Ganyu answered softly, her heart rippling.
…
At that moment—
Inazuma, Narukami Island, the Kamisato Estate.
The Yashiro Commission's residence, once always harmonious, now carried a tense atmosphere.
Kamisato Ayato sat at the head seat, his handsome face tight with unease.
"Still no sign of Ayaka?"
As head of the Kamisato Clan and Ayaka's older brother, he had arranged to share dinner with her tonight half a month ago—to discuss Yashiro Commission affairs. It was a fixed monthly routine between the siblings.
But today, the banquet's delicacies had all gone cold, and Ayaka still hadn't returned.
This had never happened before.
Even more troubling, the gate guards claimed they hadn't seen Ayaka leave.
Yet she had vanished without a trace—for an entire day.
It made Ayato deeply uneasy.
Inazuma's situation was tense. The Tri-Commission was divided in public and private. The resistance watched like tigers. Civil unrest continued without end.
For the Kamisato Clan's young lady to disappear at such a time was no good sign at all.
If someone had abducted Ayaka to stir trouble, it would be a severe blow to the Yashiro Commission.
And more than that—
She was his sister. They had walked through extremely difficult years together and restored the Kamisato Clan's former glory. That bond could not be erased. Ayato was truly worried.
In the past, no matter what she did, even without attendants by her side, Ayaka would always leave word of her itinerary so he wouldn't worry.
Yet today…
"Apologies, my lord," Thoma said with a troubled expression. "We still have no news. But before I left, Lady Ayaka was indeed at home."
Thoma had never encountered anything like this either.
To avoid damaging Ayaka's reputation, even when searching the city they couldn't do it too openly.
Still, compared to Ayato's worry, Thoma felt it might not be that serious.
Lady Ayaka always had her own ideas, and she was strong. If she truly met danger, it wouldn't be so silent.
The young lord was simply too concerned to stay calm. Even someone like him, who planned storms in the dark, could become flustered over family.
"Strange…" Ayato stood and looked toward an exquisite folding fan beneath the corridor pillar.
It was Ayaka's.
Now it lay in the grass, as if dropped carelessly—or… dropped in a struggle.
Ayato frowned, his appetite gone.
"My lord, please don't worry," Thoma said carefully. "Perhaps… perhaps my lady doesn't want anyone to know her whereabouts? With her abilities, even if someone wished her harm, it wouldn't be easy."
"Doesn't want anyone to know?" Ayato blinked, then gradually calmed.
Indeed. Given his sister's skill—and on Narukami Island—it wouldn't be easy to abduct her without a sound.
And while the Yashiro Commission had political conflicts, it hadn't reached such extremes. He was simply too worried.
Thoma hesitated. "Perhaps… Lady Ayaka has… her own secret?"
A secret?
Ayato's thoughts scattered.
Could it be…
Could Ayaka have a girl's secret—like… the stirrings of love?
So she didn't leave word?
He spent most of his time on official business and rarely paid attention to Ayaka's private feelings.
Was he about to have a brother-in-law?
…