"I'm back."
In the evening, Lumine returned to the villa, dragging her tired body. The adeptus she met today was a bit... how to put it? Peculiar in personality.
Anyway, she said she would go to Liyue Harbor to meet with the Qixing and clarify the situation of the Geo Archon, hoping there wouldn't be too much conflict.
As soon as she entered the villa, Lumine saw a fiery red, adorable-looking bird flying in the air.
Most people would want to pet such a small and cute bird, but Lumine was clearly not most people. Her first thought upon seeing this bird was actually:
"Oh, fresh Fowl. I didn't expect a bird to fly into the house. Speaking of which, it's been a while since I collected Fowl."
She used to bully Timmie's bird in Mondstadt City, but after coming to Liyue Harbor, she hadn't had time to properly collect these ingredients. Although this bird didn't look like it had much meat, it was still a very important ingredient at crucial moments.
Thinking this, Lumine reached out to grab the bird. She wasn't so incompetent that she couldn't even catch such a small thing.
Seeing Lumine's actions, the bird seemed to understand her intentions, and a very human-like angry expression appeared on its face. It spat a small flame at Lumine.
Lumine was quite surprised that this bird could spit out small flames, but when she saw how tiny the flame it spat out was, Lumine had no worries at all.
She couldn't help but laugh, pointing at the approaching small flame to Paimon, as if to say, "Is that all?" She didn't even need to dodge an attack of this level.
As the small flame approached, Lumine inexplicably had a bad premonition. By the time she realized where the problem came from, it was too late.
"Bang!"
A small explosion Bloomed on Lumine's face. When the smoke cleared, Lumine, with an explosion-like hairstyle, appeared before everyone.
She opened her wide eyes, seemingly very confused by the situation. Was she... played by a bird?
"honorary knight Sister?! Are you okay?!"
Just then, Klee, hearing the sound, ran over and looked at Lumine, who had an explosion-like hairstyle, and asked worriedly.
"Are you okay? I'm sorry, honorary knight Sister. I didn't expect Diko to attack you. I'm really sorry."
"Pfft."
Lumine coughed out a small puff of black smoke, looked at Diko, who was perched on Klee's shoulder, pointed at it, and asked, "Is it your pet?"
"Yes, Sister Durandal gave it to me. I was going to introduce it to you when honorary knight Sister came back, but I didn't expect it to be so mischievous."
No, I think nothing can compare to you in terms of mischief, little Klee.
Lumine took out a handkerchief to wipe the dust from her face. She didn't expect this tiny bird to have such combat power. She really underestimated it.
"You don't need to apologize to her, Klee. I guess she saw Diko just now and wanted to turn it into Fowl, which is why Diko attacked her."
Durandal immediately saw what had happened. This fellow usually showed no mercy when she saw small animals outdoors, and it was the same situation when she saw them at home.
Didn't she worry about accidentally turning the pet of a guest who came to visit into Fowl or Beast Meat?
"Eh? Is that really true, honorary knight Sister?"
Klee stared at Lumine with wide eyes. Faced with Klee's gaze, Lumine was too embarrassed to state her purpose and awkwardly turned her head away.
"Uh... ahaha~ The weather's really nice today, isn't it? Where did you all play today?"
It was a very stiff way to change the subject. Fortunately, Klee was a good Children. She noticed Lumine's predicament and didn't press further, obediently answering Lumine's question.
At this moment, Jean also returned to the villa after her talks for the day. Under everyone's gaze, Klee solemnly introduced her new companion, Diko, to everyone.
At the same time, she also told everyone about Diko's functions. Seeing that this adorable little bird actually had so many abilities, Jean, Lumine, and Paimon were extremely surprised for a moment.
"You... really do spoil her, Durandal-sama."
A thousand words ultimately condensed into this sigh. Durandal truly doted on Klee too much, going to such absurd lengths just so she wouldn't be lonely.
Companionship was one thing, and communication could be set aside for now, but it even had the ability to assist in combat, and it was a Pyro element. This little fellow's destructive power was already astonishing; now with a helper, did this mean he could create even bigger commotions than before?
"Spoil? I just don't want to see that sad expression on her face, that's all."
Stroking Klee's cheek, Durandal unconsciously said these words that made Klee beam with a smile.
Jean and Lumine exchanged glances, a helpless smile on their faces.
As Klee's guardian, Jean naturally understood Klee's recent behavior. She also brought Klee here because she saw that Klee wanted to see Durandal.
Unexpectedly, after Durandal noticed this, she created such a thing to accompany Klee. This level of doting left people speechless.
"That's so nice, being able to contact Durandal anytime. I want one too."
Lumine looked at Klee with a hint of envy. If she could, she also wished for something that could contact Durandal at any time.
She wasn't coveting Klee's item; she just wanted a means to contact Durandal.
"Why envy?" Durandal looked at Lumine, puzzled. "Aren't we companions traveling together? Until your journey reaches its end, or until you drive me away, we will always be together. Since we're always together, why do you still envy Klee?"
The reason she prepared this for Klee was simply because she hoped Klee could use this method to reduce her loneliness.
She would always be with Lumine. Since she would always accompany her, why would she need to envy Klee?
"You'll always be by my side... right? You're right, I really don't need to envy little Klee."
That's right, Durandal was correct. She really didn't need to envy Klee at all.
Klee only had a tool that allowed her to communicate with Durandal from a distance, but Durandal was always by her side; she could see Durandal face-to-face.
Not only that, they could also have physical contact, and occasionally at night, she could cling to her and sleep with her, which Klee couldn't enjoy.
As soon as she thought of this, Lumine's mood instantly brightened, a strange smile on her face, making the others somewhat bewildered, not understanding what she was up to.
"I'm sorry, the Traveler is acting up again. At this time, you can just ignore her and don't take it to heart."
Seeing her Traveler embarrassing herself again, Paimon helplessly stood in front of the Traveler, with an awkward but polite smile, signaling to everyone not to mind too much. This was common, and she would soon return to normal.
"...Is the honorary knight always like this?"
In Mondstadt, Lumine seemed quite reliable, so why did she become like this in other places?
"She only occasionally does this. Most of the time, she's very reliable... probably."
Paimon wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She wasn't speaking up for Lumine. She was indeed quite reliable at other times. This behavior only occurred in front of familiar people; in front of outsiders, she was still very normal.
"Hmm, very reliable. At least in this aspect, she passes."
It's just that the physical contact was a little too much. Besides that, there were no major issues.
"Only this aspect passes? Then how many areas don't pass?"
"...That's a long story."
If they had to say, Durandal and Paimon could both list a whole bunch of symptoms, without any repetition.
Jean wasn't particularly gossipy. Although she was a bit surprised that Lumine had such a side, thinking of the people she knew, Jean felt this should still be within the normal range... right?
Let's skip this topic for now and return to Klee receiving Diko.
Looking at Klee, who was clinging to Durandal, Jean wondered if the little fellow's situation was getting worse?
This time, letting her see Durandal, besides fulfilling her wish, was also to let them create some memories, so that even if they couldn't meet for a while, Klee wouldn't be too sad.
But Durandal's excellent performance made Klee even more dependent on Durandal. This made Jean a little worried about whether Klee would still be willing to go back with her when she had to return to Mondstadt later.
"Klee, how about we sleep together tonight?"
When they slept at night, she would subtly probe her feelings, trying to avoid any unexpected situations.
"Eh? Can I?"
Klee looked at Jean with surprise. She didn't expect to have double good fortune today; not only did she receive a gift from Durandal, but she could also sleep with Jean.
One had to know that she usually stayed in solitary confinement. Even if she occasionally didn't make a mistake, Jean would be too busy with work to spend time with her, and she rarely had time to sleep with her.
Unexpectedly, Jean actually suggested sleeping together this time. How could Klee miss such a good opportunity?
"Sleep together? Then I... Ugh!"
Paimon clapped her hand over Lumine's mouth, looking at her with a beaming smile.
"Don't cause trouble at a time like this, Traveler. Besides, you have Paimon by your side every night. What? Are you dissatisfied with Paimon? Or are you already tired of her?"
The way she said it made it sound as if Lumine was some kind of heartless woman, even though she had always been by her side, she was still thinking about others.
"No, no. How could that be? Paimon, you're my best companion. How could I ever get tired of you?"
"Hmph! Only at times like this do you say I'm your best companion; other times you call me emergency food. I don't believe your nonsense!"
Durandal, who was drinking tea, shook her head as she watched the boisterous group and turned her gaze out the window.
She had a bad premonition. After such a long period of calm, a huge storm might be coming.
The Seven Stars of Liyue and the adepti's meeting was tomorrow. Would the two sides have a fierce quarrel during this meeting, thus sparking conflict?
Let's wait and see. If it was just that, she would be even happier, because this problem would be easy to solve.
If not... then the trouble would be great, at least for Liyue Harbor and everyone else.
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