After I finished taking care of what I needed to buy in the city, I returned home.
Lumine had just finished bathing and was drying her hair with a towel. Paimon, as usual…
"Hey Lumine, I got these for you."
"Hm?"
She turned toward me while drying her hair. I took the clothes out of my dimensional ring and placed them on her bed. She was'nt surprised after I use my dimensional ring. As I expected. It was normal for her to know it.
"Wear whatever you like."
"Ah… you really didn't have to, Kane…"
"Think of it as a gift."
"…Alright then."
She began examining the clothes. Since I figured she'd need underwear as well, I'd bought those too. Naturally, I went with white and black.
Lumine kept looking through everything. Knowing it would take some time, I stepped outside and washed myself in the river. I'd hung the new clothes on a tree before washing them—I didn't want to put my old ones back on. As for my hair, I cracked a fire-element bomb over my head. Since my hair was wet, it didn't burn; it simply evaporated the water instantly. A quick solution.
I returned home afterward. The sky had grown completely dark. It was a good time to head to the bar.
"Ready, Lumi—"
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
She was wearing a white crop top, a black skirt, and a leather jacket over it. On her feet were one of the white pairs of shoes I'd bought her.
…She looked incredible.
I was so used to seeing her in the same outfit that seeing her in something different hit me far harder than I expected.
"Um… how do I look?"
Without staring any longer, I met her eyes and answered.
"I think it suits you perfectly. You look amazing."
She brushed her hair behind her right ear.
"…Thank you."
Paimon flew a full circle around Lumine.
"Paimon thinks Lumine looks amazing too!"
As Lumine tried to get used to our double compliment, I asked:
"If you're ready, shall we go?"
"I'm ready."
We left the house and headed to the city bar. By evening, most of the broken walls along the ramparts had already been cleared away. They really worked fast.
In contrast to Lumine's eye-catching outfit, I was dressed in black this time—black pants, black T-shirt, black leather jacket, and black shoes. I didn't enjoy wearing bright colors at night. The T-shirt was a bit tight, clearly outlining my build.
I opened the door and let Lumine enter first. Then we sat on the bar stools in front of the counter. Diluc was bartending again.
"How are you, Diluc?"
He looked me over first, then glanced at Lumine and Paimon.
"Managing, Kane. You brought friends this time? Unlike last time."
I smiled.
"Your conversation is hard to get enough of, so I brought company this time, yeah."
The friendly jabs continued as usual. Then I introduced Diluc to Lumine.
"Lumine, this red-haired guy is Diluc. He's not very talkative, but he's a good man. One of the people you can trust."
They shook hands. Since Diluc wasn't much of a conversationalist, I didn't feel the need to formally introduce Lumine—knowing her name was enough for him.
"I'll have a glass of whiskey. What about you, Lumine?"
She thought for a moment. In her new clothes, she looked less cute and more… attractive.
"I'll have something light."
Diluc brought me a whiskey without ice and gave Lumine a lightly alcoholic cocktail.
I took a generous sip of my whiskey while Lumine drank slowly. Paimon wandered around the bar out of curiosity—probably stealing food off drunk patrons' tables. Better than letting it go to waste.
Unexpectedly, Diluc spoke up.
"You were the one who stopped today's attack, weren't you, Kane?"
"Was it that obvious?"
Lumine looked at Diluc in surprise.
"Is Kane really that famous? I'm pretty sure several people asked the same thing."
Diluc continued.
"Not famous—just easy to describe. There's no one else in the city usually described as 'broad-shouldered.' And they said he was with a blonde girl. I assume that was you."
Lumine smiled at that. I took another sip.
"Yes. That was me."
This time, Diluc spoke while looking straight at me.
"It's still strange, though—someone capable of saving the city, yet the other day in a side alley—"
I motioned for him to stop with my eyes.
That detail stays buried.
He understood and immediately changed the subject.
"What I mean is… someone who can save the city being this modest. Yes. Exactly."
A clean recovery. Lumine didn't seem to fully catch on. Good job, Diluc.
Watching Lumine drink her cocktail so innocently was strangely pleasant.
I talked while looking at her.
"Not much of a drinker, are you, Lumine?"
"Yes… it's my first time."
That surprised me a little. Still, it wasn't a bad thing.
"If I'd known, I would've made it more special. Why didn't you say anything?"
"…There was no need. I'm enjoying it enough as it is."
"If you say so…"
Diluc held my gaze for a few seconds, as if questioning my relationship with Lumine.
No, my friend. With someone already in my heart, I wasn't leaning toward another woman.
After finishing my whiskey, I scanned the tavern—and locked eyes with Amber. Eula was sitting across from her.
…
…
…
Shit.
Amber smiled when she saw me and called out.
"Kane! Come sit with us!"
Ah, damn my luck.
If they called me over, there was no avoiding it.
"Kane, who are they?"
Lumine asked curiously, still sipping her cocktail innocently.
"…Friends. Let's hang out with them for a bit."
"Alright."
Before getting off the bar stool, I grabbed another whiskey and gave Diluc a look. I was confident he'd help if anything went wrong.
We walked over to Amber and Eula's table.
"Kane, sit across from me."
I had no choice but to sit across from Amber.
…Eula was sitting next to me.
Lumine sat beside Amber.
Amber was wearing brown pants with a black T-shirt. Eula, unlike her usual knight's uniform, was wearing the clothes we'd bought her—blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a jacket.
…She looked incredible.
"Ah, you must be the blonde girl from the rumors. What's your name?"
"I'm Lumine. And you?"
"I'm Amber. And this blue-haired lady is Eula."
"Nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
Amber and Lumine hit it off easily. However, things were extremely tense on my end. I glanced at Eula from the corner of my eye—she clearly didn't enjoy situations like this either. I took a sip of my whiskey. Honestly, the burn helped a little. It was my second glass, so getting drunk wasn't an issue. A third one, though…
Once Amber finished her small talk with Lumine, she turned back to us—to Eula and me.
…I felt extremely tense. Lumine noticed it too.
"Eula, Kane. Why aren't you talking?"
"There's nothing to talk about."
"There's nothing to talk about."
Huh?
Eula and I looked at each other. Did we just say the same thing?
Amber and Lumine burst out laughing.
Hey—this isn't funny.
I took another sip of my whiskey. Eula took a sip of what seemed to be dandelion wine. Even our movements matched.
"…Stop copying me."
She spoke without looking at me.
"I'm not copying you. If I were, we couldn't do it at the same time."
"…Shut up."
…
I went silent immediately.
…Im so pathetic...
Lumine and Amber stepped in.
"The way you're talking to Kane isn't right, Eula. He hasn't said anything bad to you."
Eula sighed. The faint scent of her perfume, mixed with alcohol, made my head feel lighter.
"…I know. I'm just in a bad mood, that's all."
I looked at her.
…She's beautiful.
I cleared my throat and spoke. Whenever it came to her, my footing slipped.
"…If I did something wrong, I'm sorry. I don't want there to be tension between us."
She looked at me for a moment. Then she let out a quiet hmph and turned back to her drink.
"…Apology accepted.
…but vengeance will be mine."
I smiled slightly.
"Alright."
She looked surprised by that answer. I knew that most people in Mondstadt didn't even try to understand Eula—many didn't speak to her at all. And I knew she didn't mean "vengeance" literally. That was why I simply accepted it.
Lumine and Amber let out relieved sighs, glad the tension had eased. I took one more sip and finished my whiskey.
"You really like whiskey, don't you, Kane?"
Amber asked. Eula and Lumine looked at me too.
"Besides whiskey, I usually drink gin. But mostly whiskey. I like it more."
All three gave me an I see look.
Then Amber took Eula's empty wine bottle and placed it in the center of the table.
"Alright," she said.
"Let's play a game."