Lumine and Paimon began teaching Rola that protecting others starts with protecting oneself, subtly pointing out the flaws in Rola's approach.
After listening, Rola remained silent for a long while.
Paimon wanted to comfort her, but Lumine advised letting Rola have some time alone.
Fortunately, Rola's emotions surged quickly and faded just as fast.
After walking a while, she was laughing and chatting with Lumine and Paimon again, though the previous topic never resurfaced.
Rola didn't bring it up, and Lumine and Paimon wouldn't either.
Watching Rola now, Lumine shook her head, feeling that Rola hadn't truly absorbed their earlier words.
This can't be rushed. We'll take it slowly. I believe as Rola gains more life experience, her perspective will naturally evolve.
Perhaps it was just Rola's imagination, but after becoming familiar with Lumine, the latter seemed much warmer. At times, when their gazes lingered, Rola would even feel a blush creeping up her cheeks.
-
In the players' live stream, comments flooded the chat expressing their opinions:
[Aww, she's such an angel! But compared to others, her own safety should be her top priority!]
[Rola's ideas are still too naive. She hasn't encountered the truly vicious people out there yet.]
[My wife's been sheltered too well by her overprotective brother. She has no idea how dangerous the world can be.]
[She's so kind!]
-
Rola led Lumine and Paimon to the mining spot she remembered.
As expected, the area hadn't been mined yet, and the mineral resources were abundant.
Lumine pulled out her "Talking Stick," a weapon that could persuade through sheer force, and quickly amassed a large pile of ore.
It was a rare sight to see Lumine wielding a greatsword.
Rola helped collect the ore, while Paimon cheered them on from the sidelines.
"This should be enough! We can sell the extra!" Paimon, despite already carrying a fortune, still had an eye for profit, diligently helping Lumine pack the ore into their personal Storage Space.
"Rola, look! This one's so pretty! Ro..."
Little Paimon turned around, but Rola was nowhere to be seen. She looked around and spotted Rola sitting atop a nearby boulder.
"Rola, what are you looking at?"
Paimon followed Rola's gaze and saw a towering, snow-capped mountain. Its peak was hidden in the clouds, its slopes pristine white.
Paimon's jaw dropped in awe. "Eeh~ is that Dragonspine?!"
Lumine joined Rola's side and also gazed at the mountain.
Rola glanced at Lumine and immediately understood her intention from the gleam in her eyes.
This won't do at all! Rola thought. Just yesterday she was still playing the game—the Dragonspine area hasn't even been unlocked yet!
If Rola were alone, she might have gone, but with Lumine along, it was impossible.
Paimon was still by their side, and Rola didn't want her to hear that infamous line: "How about we explore the area ahead of us later?"
Besides, Rola wasn't even looking at Dragonspine right now...
"Lumine, do you see them?" Rola whispered, her voice low and conspiratorial.
Lumine lowered her voice as well. "What is it?"
Rola pointed. "Over there, by the stream—the Fatui!"
The Fatui?!
Lumine immediately tensed. After their previous encounters, she held no goodwill toward the Fatui.
Paimon spotted them too. "So many of them! What are they up to? Hmph, they're definitely plotting something. Should we sneak closer and find out?!"
Rola and Lumine agreed to Paimon's suggestion. The trio stealthily slipped away, inching toward the Fatui's gathering place.
Rola's heart pounded with excitement. This was her first time undertaking such a thrilling covert operation. But there was an even bigger reason for her anticipation:
The Fatui's current leader was none other than her own alias from Snezhnaya, Angie!
Angie was one of Jiang Mumu's most powerful alter egos, a natural-born warrior. To put it simply, even her own brother, Ajax, couldn't defeat her.
After failing to challenge the Captain and being rescued by her, Angie, a woman of strong will who honored her losses, became the Captain's adjutant, following her closely ever since.
Rola, Paimon, and Lumine stealthily approached a fallen tree trunk, peeking out with three small heads lined up side by side.
"That's so strange," Paimon whispered. "They seem to be moving something."
Rola immediately spotted Angie amidst the Fatui soldiers. She nudged Lumine gently. "Lumine, look! That person by the bonfire under the tree—she looks like their leader!"
At Rola's reminder, Lumine glanced over and her pupils constricted when she saw Angie. Her hand, which had been resting on Rola's shoulder, suddenly tightened its grip.
Beneath the distant tree, Angie stood against the wind, clad in gleaming silver-white armor, a full-face visor, and a white hooded cloak. She radiated martial prowess and ethereal elegance.
From this angle, the sunlight reflected off her armor in dazzling flashes, almost blindingly bright.
Rola couldn't help but think, So cool! Angie's figure looks absolutely stunning in that armor!
From the player's perspective, Guojia's live stream had completely gone wild.
[Ahhh! Who is this?!]
[Holy shit, that armor is badass!]
[Are all the female characters and villains this gorgeous?!]
[Which Harbinger is this?!]
[She's so cool! Badass and beautiful! I'm in love!]
Guojia, whose real name was Chen Xiyao, reacted even more intensely. The usually quiet, seemingly demure, and beautiful girl was now going completely berserk.
"Holy shit, did you guys see that? This sister is so cool! So, so, so cool! Is she a female knight? Or a general? She's definitely going into the gacha, right?! She has to be in the gacha?!"
The live stream's camera remained fixed on Angie, Guojia unable to tear her eyes away.
"Let's hype her up! Hype her up, Family! No wonder Genshin Impact has topped all the charts just two days after its release! The developers are absolute saints! Every character model is cooler and more beautiful than the last. Can you really play this for free?!"
Guojia's statement was met with unanimous agreement in the live stream chat.
She kept emphasizing that it was a free game, though it remained to be seen if she'd maintain that stance once she started pulling from the gacha.
After admiring Angie for quite some time and taking several screenshots, Guojia finally moved on to the next part of the story.
-
Mondstadt.
Rola looked at Lumine, startled.
Is she... excited?! Rola couldn't recall Angie ever interacting with Lumine before.
"Lumine, what's wrong?"
"Cough cough... N-nothing, I'm fine."
"What are they doing?" Paimon asked, utterly bewildered. After watching for a long time, the Fatui agents were just silently carrying out their tasks, not uttering a word.
Rola knew perfectly well what was happening—she had even orchestrated it—but how could she possibly reveal that?
Glancing at Lumine and Paimon, Rola suggested, "Why don't we head back and tell Jean about this?"
"Yeah, yeah! Whatever the Fatui are planning, Jean needs to be prepared!" Paimon agreed, and Lumine nodded in agreement.
The trio slipped away as stealthily as they had arrived.
Meanwhile, back with the Fatui...
After the three youngsters had left, Angie turned her gaze toward the tree trunk where they had been hiding.
"Madam, they've left. Should we..."
Angie raised a finger to her lips, gesturing for silence with a shhh. She looked like a cunning mastermind, a villain pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
All of this was being observed by players outside the game.