Chapter 195.
At that moment, Paimon finally chimed in with something that actually made sense, giving Lyney and Lynette a much-needed chance to exhale.
It was true that right after getting their "mission" from Father, the twins had immediately tracked down Lumine. But even though it was a deliberate move, Lyney and Lynette genuinely tried to approach the Traveler as friends. And the first rule of making friends? Honesty.
So, they had walked right up and openly declared themselves as members of the Fatui.
Their goal was simply to befriend Lumine—a direct order from Father. Naturally, Lumine, Mona, and Paimon were incredibly wary at first. Paimon had even practically begged Mona to use her astrology to see what these sneaky Fatui were plotting!
Mona didn't hold back, either.
Thanks to the rumors floating around Mitama's companions, she knew exactly how dangerous the Fatui could be. But to her complete surprise, her divination revealed that Lyney and Lynette harbored absolutely zero ill intent.
Lumine's own sharp intuition backed this up.
Factoring in the surprisingly reasonable impression "The Knave." Arlecchino, had left on her recently, Lumine ultimately decided to give the twins a chance.
Paimon was still grumpy about it, but since Lumine and Mona agreed, she reluctantly went along with it.
That had all happened earlier this morning. After a bit of awkward adjustment, the group had actually started getting along.
Later on, Lyney and Lumine stumbled across a camp of Treasure Hoarders out in the Liyue wilderness. Fighting perfectly in sync, the two of them busted the camp and stopped the bandits from smuggling stolen Liyue relics.
The funny part?
The Treasure Hoarders confessed they were planning to sell those relics to the Fatui. Apparently, some Fatui division was paying top Mora for Liyue artifacts.
So, Lyney and Lynette—two active Fatui operatives—had just helped Lumine actively sabotage a Fatui operation.
When Lumine asked if they were going to get in trouble for this, the twins just laughed it off.
The Fatui were split into different factions, they explained. Different Harbingers had different goals. If another Harbinger's plans clashed with their own morals—or if they just plain didn't like it—they had no problem throwing a wrench in the works.
Of course, if it was a direct order from Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, they would have to obey, no matter how much they hated it.
But a minor artifact smuggling ring? Not their problem!
That little adventure had solidified a genuine friendship between the twins and Lumine.
Mona and Paimon, however, still kept one eye open. Mona knew that while the stars didn't lie, human hearts could change in a heartbeat. Her master, the "Old Hag." had drilled that into her head. And since she couldn't keep her astrology active 24/7, she remained on guard.
As for Paimon, she just naturally distrusted the Fatui.
Well~ until Lyney and Lynette started bribing her with premium Liyue street food. Suddenly, Paimon thought the siblings were just the nicest people ever!
After listening to Paimon's quick recap, Futsu Mitama finally understood the situation.
"I see. You two are Arlecchino's subordinates. That explains it."
Mitama said, his calm gaze settling on the nervous twins.
"Don't worry, you haven't offended me. I'm not going to hurt you. But I am curious why she sent you to find Lumine. Care to explain?"
Mitama genuinely wanted to know.
Was it just the classic "Protagonist Halo"? No, Arlecchino was too calculating for that. She must have taken a liking to a specific trait Lumine possessed.
Was it because Lumine was from another world? The Fourth Descender? The sister of the Abyss Prince? Or maybe just because she was notoriously easy to trick into doing free labor?
"This... Father didn't specify."
Lyney said, nervously wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. He let out a quiet breath. As long as Mitama wasn't giving off any killing intent, they were going to survive today.
"However, Father did say that this wasn't an official mission."
Lynette chimed in softly. Her survival instincts were razor-sharp, and she remembered Father's strict orders:
If you encounter Futsu Mitama, abandon the mission, answer his questions, and prioritize your own survival.
"Not a mission? Then why did you call it a mission earlier?!"
Paimon rubbed her head, looking completely lost.
Lyney offered a strained smile.
"No, Paimon. We said that Father called it a mission, but we weren't treating it like one. Hanging out with Lumine is genuinely... nice. It feels safe, like coming home. I think that's why Father made it a 'mission' but told us not to act like it."
Lynette nodded seriously, her face deadpan.
"Yes. Father rarely says things like that. Now I understand why."
Paimon just scratched her head harder. Had she remembered it wrong? Thinking was making her brain itch!
"Alright, I'll trust you for now." Mitama sighed, deciding not to press the issue. "So why are you guys back in Liyue Harbor? Didn't Lumine say she was investigating the Fatui this morning? Why is she fighting in an arena?"
He gestured toward the stage.
Up above, Lumine was currently being completely suppressed by Raiden Makoto. Realizing how strong Lumine was, Makoto had cranked "Kuki Shinobu's" combat power to its absolute limit, giving the Foreigner no room to breathe.
Lumine was frantically using the Anemo element to boost her speed, dodging Makoto's relentless strikes while looking for an opening. Finally, she found one, slamming her hands down to summon a row of jagged Geo spikes from the stage!
"..."
Raiden Makoto just raised her wooden blade high. The weapon crackled with blinding lightning as she swung it down, unleashing a barrage of crescent-shaped electro slashes that shattered the Geo spikes to dust!
The crowd was going absolutely wild, screaming in excitement as Anemo, Geo, and Electro elements clashed spectacularly across the arena. The sheer noise was attracting even more tourists and Millelith guards.
Mitama sighed internally.
Well, at least Makoto isn't using her Archon-level powers.
If she used the Musou no Hitotachi here, the Liyue Qixing would be launching a full-scale investigation by dinner time.
"Well..."
Paimon poked her index fingers together, looking incredibly guilty.
"I can explain." Lyney stepped forward, saving Paimon from having to confess. "Since we couldn't find any real Fatui operations outside the city, Mona guessed that the whole thing was just a smokescreen set up by Childe to waste Liyue's time."
"So, Lumine and Mona decided to come back to the city and confront Childe directly at the Northland Bank to test his reaction."
Lyney's summary was neat and to the point. Lynette quietly glanced at Paimon, saying nothing.
Paimon nodded vigorously.
"Yep! That's exactly what Lumine and Mona thought!"
Mitama gave Paimon a very skeptical look. He felt like a crucial piece of information was missing.
In reality, Lyney had left out a few embarrassing details.
Like the fact that Paimon had relentlessly whined about it being almost lunchtime. And that since tomorrow was the Rite of Descension, the food stalls today would be absolutely packed with exclusive snacks. Lyney had simply used Paimon's hunger as an excuse to subtly suggest they abandon the wilderness search and go bother Childe instead.
So, drawn by the promise of food, the group had returned to the city. That's when Lumine had spotted Raiden Makoto fighting in the arena. Her warrior instincts flared, realizing this "Inazuman Ronin" was ridiculously strong.
But Lumine hadn't planned to fight! She had important Fatui to interrogate!
Unfortunately, the tournament's female host had spotted Paimon and Lumine's glowing blonde hair in the crowd.
Knowing that Chongyun was about to get steamrolled, and desperate to create the ultimate climax for the festival (which was funded by the wealthy Feiyun Commerce Guild), the host made a desperate corporate gamble.
She ran up to Lumine and offered her a staggering one million Mora out of her own pocket just to step into the ring!
The sheer amount of money had made Lumine's brain short-circuit. Paimon and Mona, utterly blinded by mora signs, had practically shoved her onto the stage. Lyney and Lynette had just smiled and agreed it was a great deal for a quick fight.
"This is..."
Mitama was speechless. The wealthy merchants of Liyue were throwing around absurd amounts of cash just to hype up the festival for Rex Lapis. One million Mora for an appearance fee was pocket change to the Feiyun Commerce Guild, but the hype this fight was generating was priceless.
As the battle raged on, the surrounding Millelith panicked. Realizing these two were way too strong for a wooden stage, they quickly called in Exorcists to set up a defensive barrier.
Chongyun, still catching his breath, hastily threw down some talismans to help reinforce it.
Soon, a glowing shield surrounded the stage, keeping the audience safe from the flying elemental attacks. But that only made the crowd cheer louder!
People were abandoning the other festival games and sprinting over to watch the spectacle. The female host looked like she was about to cry tears of joy.
Seeing that things were mostly under control, Mitama decided to leave them to it.
"Alright, you guys have fun and eat well."
"I'm going to continue my stroll. If anything goes wrong, have Lumine contact me. Oh, by the way, where's Mona? Did she go buy snacks for Paimon?"
Mitama asked casually.
"Miss Mona went to the 'Guess What I Guess' event."
Lynette said plainly.
Lyney nodded.
"Yes. Miss Mona mentioned she was really short on Mora lately and wanted to win some extra prize money."
"Hehe~ With Mona's astrology skills, winning that guessing game will be a piece of cake!"
Paimon giggled, looking incredibly smug.
"Ah?"
Mitama froze, letting out a very strained, horrified sound. His face went completely stiff.
Are you actually joking?! She went to the guessing game?!
Nahida is playing that game right now!