"Gururu…"
Lumine's stomach growled like thunder. Embarrassment flushed her face—especially in front of Koji, someone she had only just met. If Aether were here, she would have silenced him with righteous fury.
(Aether: Lumine, are you awake?)
She couldn't help it. Though she had lived long and didn't need food for survival, habit still made her hungry. She couldn't even remember her last meal. After that white-haired god had taken her, she hadn't eaten. Her chest practically ached from emptiness.
"Here. A little burnt, but edible. I just caught it today."
Koji pulled a slightly charred grilled fish from the fire. He'd forgotten it while saving Lumine, but it wasn't ruined.
"Thanks."
She swallowed and dug in like someone starved, devouring it ravenously.
"Burnt, but so fresh. Not fishy at all." Her eyes lit up. His cooking wasn't bad.
Koji grinned.
[Blessing of Grilling: Supreme skill in barbecue.]
He lacked spices, only some to remove odor. With more, it would taste divine. Still, Teyvat's fish were naturally delicious. No wonder Klee loved blowing them up.
"I feel alive again."
She licked her lips. A thirty-centimeter fish was reduced to bare bones. Her hunger eased.
She realized: she had to keep searching for her brother. With a companion who could cook this well, her journey would be easier. She could cook, but why not let someone else handle it? Smart.
Koji had no idea she was already plotting how to rope him in.
"Um… I've been wondering. Those are monsters, right?"
She pointed at the seven colorful slimes. She wasn't afraid. Though sealed, she had seen countless dangers. Such weak creatures weren't threatening, but their docility was strange.
"Slimes. Common elementals here. These seven are mine. They won't attack without my order."
"You raised them?"
As a Traveler of many worlds, Lumine knew how unusual this was. Raising monsters wasn't ordinary. He wasn't a normal man.
The slimes looked so bouncy. She couldn't resist. Her hand itched.
"Can I touch one?"
Normally, she would have cut them down for drops. Now she was curious about their texture.
"Go ahead. Take your pick."
Koji gnawed on his fish while Lumine chose the blue one—Hydro Slime.
"This feels…"
She squeezed. Like jelly. Sticky slime stretched between her fingers. Curious, intimate.
A bit too sensual if spread all over.
Splop!
Her hand slipped deep inside. She stirred the slime like soup.
Its eyes warped in protest. If it could talk, it would say, What a boundaryless human!
Koji winced, shocked.
When she pulled her hand free, goo clung between her fingers, dripping. She blushed hard, shaking her head.
"This slime is so warm. Could be a hand warmer in winter."
She washed her hands in seawater, then stroked the Pyro Slime. Not burning, just cozy. She pressed it twice.
She remembered shivering in snowy lands. Even with power, her body still felt the cold. She wasn't always surrounded by energy.
"Lumine, there's a bed. You can rest a while."
"Okay."
She lay on Koji's leaf-padded wooden bed. Surprisingly soft.
"Haa…"
Petting the bouncy slime, breathing the sea breeze, gazing at the vast blue sea—she relaxed.
This Koji knew how to live.
With Aether, she had often settled for caves or trees. No shelters like this.
"Koji, your clothes… they look familiar. Are you from this world?"
Her eyes narrowed. She had seen such styles in other worlds.
"Not at all. I came from another world."
He didn't hide it.
Star travelers weren't unheard of in Teyvat. And with blessings, he didn't need to fear. He was Koji the Proud.
"Ah?"
"You really aren't from here?" She widened her eyes. His blunt honesty startled her.
"So you travel across worlds like me?"
He shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know. One moment I was at an event, the next I woke here."
Maybe it was bad luck at a convention.
"Didn't you meet a white-haired god blocking you?"
"No. I woke up in that forest." He pointed toward Whispering Forest.
Before, he wouldn't have wanted to meet the Sustainer. Now, curiosity grew.
Was she a fallen Herrscher from another story?
Lumine nodded. She and Aether had been unlucky, facing that unbeatable god.
Knowing Koji was also an outsider softened her. Like finding kin.
His frankness impressed her. If he had lied, she would have sensed it. She wasn't some naive girl. She had crossed many worlds and could read truth.
"What's your plan, Koji?"
Since we're both outsiders, be my son—no, my teammate! she thought.
"I just arrived. For now, enjoy the sea. Later, I'll head to Mondstadt. Since I'm here, I want poetry and distant lands."
And pretty girls. But he left that unsaid.
He also wanted to try fishing up Paimon. Without her, Lumine would be a silent Traveler.
"Koji, Mondstadt… you know this world?"
He reeled in his rod calmly.
[Blessing of Rod Stability: No matter the catch, your rod will never break.]
If it could reel Lumine in, nothing else could snap it.
"I met some adventurers. Learned the basics. Teyvat has seven nations. Mondstadt, Liyue…"
"Seven nations, seven gods? Maybe one of them knows about my brother."
"Maybe. But whether they'll tell you depends."
Venti and Zhongli surely knew something. But would they speak?
(End of Chapter)
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