Jiang Chen walked up behind the suspicious figure and lightly knocked on the head beneath the witch's hat.
"Why are you lurking here instead of going inside?"
"Be careful, or the Knights of Favonius might treat you as a suspicious person."
He spoke in a very familiar tone.
"Ah!"
The sneaky person was startled instead.
She quickly stepped back and lifted her head slightly, her light green watery eyes looking toward him.
Her cute face carried a constant hint of pride. Her slender figure was wrapped in an incredible one-piece black bodysuit, dressed in a witch's outfit. Her long black hair was tied into twin ponytails, with magical ornaments hanging from the ends.
It was Mondstadt's astrologer—Mona.
"Jiang Chen."
Mona sighed in relief.
She clasped her hands in front of her stomach and said shyly, her face slightly red.
"I divined that you weren't inside."
The girl's face carried a hint of embarrassment as she nervously rubbed her legs together.
That bodysuit…
Jiang Chen felt like he might not be able to handle it.
"So tell me."
"What kind of trouble did you run into today?"
He quickly shifted his attention.
"Because of Stormterror's attack and the storm, the Steam Bird newspaper couldn't process payments normally today…"
"I…"
Grrrllll…
Before Mona finished speaking, her stomach let out a strange growling sound.
Her already slightly red face instantly turned completely crimson.
"You calculated your budget perfectly until the day your payment arrived again, didn't you?"
Jiang Chen understood her situation very well.
As Mondstadt's astrologer, Mona never charged for divinations.
She refused to earn Mora using Hydromancy.
Her only income came from the "Constellation Commentary" column she wrote for The Steam Bird.
Even then, she often spent most of that money on astrological research.
By the time she realized it, the remaining funds each month barely kept her hovering around the poverty line.
How bad was that poverty line?
Mona once lived on wild mushrooms for an entire month to save money for research.
If she hadn't occasionally received help from others, she might not have survived.
Absolutely ruthless.
Jiang Chen had once even found her collapsed in the wilderness.
She had fainted from hunger.
But since that incident, Mona had never gotten quite that miserable again.
When she was truly starving, she would come to him.
"My calculations were perfectly correct."
"This was simply an uncontrollable external event."
Mona insisted, trying to save face.
"Yes, yes. It's all Stormterror's fault."
Jiang Chen agreed.
Candles burned inside the Good Hunter restaurant.
He pushed open the door and entered.
Lumine and Paimon were sitting at a table in the dining hall.
They looked over when they heard the door.
"Jiang Chen!"
Lumine ran over happily.
But when she saw Mona behind him, she instinctively stopped.
"Lumine, this is Mona. She's a friend of mine."
Jiang Chen introduced them.
"Hello."
Seeing Lumine's somewhat messy appearance, Mona assumed she was poor like herself and instantly felt goodwill.
"Hello."
Lumine replied.
Bringing a cute girl home late at night…
No matter how Lumine thought about it, there had to be some kind of special relationship.
"Jiang Chen, you're back?"
Paimon lay sprawled on a chair with a huge belly, barely lifting a hand to greet him.
The table was a disaster.
Plates and skewers were piled everywhere.
The dining hall was filled with the smell of leftover food.
Mona sniffed the air.
Her heart filled with sadness.
Because she couldn't identify any of the foods—
They were all dishes she had never eaten before.
She looked at Paimon like she was staring at a rich tycoon.
"We might have eaten a bit too much."
Lumine said apologetically.
In reality, ninety percent of the food had gone into Paimon's stomach.
The quantity was bigger than Paimon herself.
No one understood how she could fit it all.
"It's fine."
"Business won't be good for the next couple of days anyway."
"If the ingredients stay too long, they'll lose freshness and damage the Good Hunter's reputation."
"So it's actually helpful that you cleaned them up."
Jiang Chen said.
Paimon immediately struggled to stand up excitedly.
"If something like this happens again, please leave it to me!"
Mona opened her mouth to speak—
Then closed it again.
Why did this mascot steal her line?
"This is Paimon, a guide."
Jiang Chen introduced her.
Looking at Lumine's messy state, he asked,
"Do you want to stay here tonight?"
"Stay here?"
Lumine looked surprised.
She had originally planned to return the key and search for a cheap inn.
If she could stay here at the Good Hunter, she could save some Mora.
And with Jiang Chen here, she felt particularly safe.
But Jiang Chen had brought a cute girl home.
Would staying here with Paimon disturb something?
Thinking that, Lumine shook her head.
"We've already booked an inn."
She lied.
She picked up Paimon and covered her mouth.
Jiang Chen didn't suspect anything.
Even if Lumine and Paimon hadn't booked one, the Knights of Favonius would probably help arrange lodging.
He could invite them again tomorrow.
For the moment, he forgot that Kaeya, who usually handled logistics, had just returned with him earlier.
"Jiang Chen, can I come again tomorrow?"
Lumine asked at the doorway.
"Of course."
Jiang Chen replied.
A faint smile appeared on Lumine's lips.
She gently closed the door behind her as she left.