When Kaito turned around, Lumine had already run to him and thrown her arms around him.
Caught completely off guard, he was tackled straight to the ground.
She crashed into him and pinned him down. Her hair brushed his cheek.
"Ah…"
Kaito froze for a beat—then a gentle smile rose on his face.
"What's wrong, Lumine?"
"Mmm…"
Still in his arms, Lumine shook her head, only tightening the hands wrapped around his back.
This was… dangerous.
Kaito forced himself not to react.
There were too many people watching.
"Lumine is so enthusiastic!" Paimon flew over and clapped.
"Hmph."
Barbara hurried over, worried, and grabbed Kaito's sleeve. 'Are you okay?'
She hurried over too, kneeling beside them, and hugged Kaito's arm.
Barbara might be petite, but she was definitely not lacking in other places.
"Kaito was so cool just now," Barbara said, eyes shining with admiration.
"Only just now?" Kaito asked with a laugh.
Barbara's face reddened. She turned shyly and murmured, "Always."
With the only arm he could still move, Kaito reached over and patted her head once.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Noelle hesitating—looking like she was debating whether to run over and join the chaos too—
And instantly felt his headache coming on.
"Heh."
Diluc, meanwhile, decided this was perfect.
No one would be thinking about artifacts now.
Without a sound, he removed the Berserker's mask and the hourglass, tucked them away neatly—
And slipped off into the distance.
Their goal had been achieved.
It was time for him to return.
He'd been away long enough; the guild and the winery would have a pile of matters waiting for him.
"Kaito, what did the Ley Line Blossom drop?" Paimon asked, her attention already locked on the loot. Her eyes spun like little Mora coins.
If it came from a Ley Line Blossom, it had to be good stuff!
"Vayuda Turquoise Slivers. Hurricane Seeds," Kaito said. "All materials from the Anemo Hypostasis—useful for Anemo users."
"And a few artifacts."
He'd mostly been checking the artifacts' stats just now.
His luck was good: one four-star Instructor's circlet with crit—easily his best improvement at the moment.
"Can this be eaten?" Paimon stared at the Hurricane Seed, a jade-green butterfly shape with a tiny cube nestled in the center.
It looked exactly like a miniature version of the Hypostasis's fluttering form.
"If I eat it… will I fly faster?"
Kaito blinked.
He honestly hadn't considered that possibility.
"…Want to try?" he asked.
Crunch!
Paimon took a huge bite out of the "butterfly wing," and a crisp sound rang out.
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
She immediately spat it out, flung the Hurricane Seed back at Kaito, and flew around clutching her bulging cheeks.
"…"
Kaito stared in silence.
This little creature was going to give herself food poisoning one day.
He sat up, judging that Lumine had probably vented enough by now.
He pulled his arm free from Barbara's embrace, then patted Lumine's smooth back and leaned close to whisper in her ear.
Lumine's arms stiffened instantly.
Her face flushed scarlet.
The wave of emotion snapped back into reality—
Leaving nothing but embarrassment.
Get up—everyone's watching.
For some reason, the words sparked a faint—dangerous—sense of anticipation in her chest.
But Barbara and Noelle were both watching.
Lumine loosened her grip.
Her eyes met Barbara's for a split second—
Lumine let go, flustered, and stepped back.
Kaito stood and, in one motion, pulled both girls up.
Then he glanced around—
And finally realized the truth.
He'd been robbed again.
Two more artifacts—missing.
"Diluc…" Kaito muttered, exasperated.
Diluc running off wasn't really an issue. The main objective had been accomplished.
Lumine was already Lv.20. Getting back to Mondstadt would be safe.
"Let's return to the previous camp," Kaito decided.
Noelle was Lv.14, and Barbara Lv.12.
He planned to raise them both to Lv.15 before returning to Mondstadt.
Next time—if he wanted to bring someone like Amber out to train—he wouldn't need to come personally.
With Noelle carrying the fights and Kaeya keeping an eye on them, that would be enough.
Kaeya could level up along the way too.
In the days that followed, they continued clearing hilichurl camps and slime clusters across Windwail Highland.
…
Mondstadt City.
Knights of Favonius Headquarters — Acting Grand Master's Office.
Jean rubbed her temples, a headache pulsing as she scanned the documents spread across her desk.
In her coffee cup, only a thin black sludge remained—cold to the bottom.
"The Fatui are getting bolder," Jean said, worry heavy in her voice. "This is the eleventh dispute they've had with Mondstadt citizens in just half a month."
Lisa lounged at the edge of the library area, long legs sliding out from beneath her skirt. With only the two of them in the room, she wasn't worried about anyone seeing.
Her mature face held a hint of confusion.
"It's strange. We drove off Stormterror, yet those people are even more arrogant than before."
"And that plan we prepared—making someone a 'hero' by impersonating the one who fought Stormterror and protected Mondstadt…"
"It collapsed the moment we made Lumine's identity public."
"After taking hit after hit like that, they still have the nerve to cause trouble everywhere."
Lisa's lips curved faintly. "Are they all fools… or are they hiding something?"
Jean gave a quiet "Mm."
By habit, she reached for her coffee cup—
Only to realize it was already empty.
The fatigue between her brows deepened.
Seeing that, Lisa dropped her official tone.
"Jean."
"Hmm?" Jean looked at her friend, puzzled.
Lisa's eyes held laughter, her interest obvious. "I heard that not long ago… you had quite the scene with the Cardinal."
Jean's page-turning hand paused for a fraction of a second. She nodded. "A disagreement."
"Is that so?" Lisa's smile turned sly. "Because what I heard was that you did it to get a weapon for someone."
"It was official business," Jean said, slightly stiff.
She brushed a strand of hair at her cheek, but it didn't hide the pale exhaustion in her face—nor the faint warmth tinting her skin.
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