Lumine never imagined that so many guests would show up today.
There was Lady Yae Miko from Inazuma, there was Beidou, the boss of the Southern Cross fleet, and there was Lisa, the librarian of Mondstadt!
Why, even little Klee had come along!
"Little cutie, you haven't been back to Mondstadt in ages. Jean talks about you, our Honorary Knight, every single day."
Lumine's face instantly went awkward.
It wasn't that she didn't miss everyone in Mondstadt — it was that every time she went back, she got stuck being the errand girl.
It would absolutely work her to death!
So... to dodge the chores, she just...
That reason was honest enough, but she could hardly say it out loud — how presumptuous would that be?
After racking her brain for a while, she suddenly pointed at Ye Xi, standing behind Lisa, and declared with a perfectly straight face, "It's him! He won't let me leave!"
"Oh?"
Hearing that, Lisa turned to look back at Ye Xi.
Ye Xi: ???
What now?
This sudden, out-of-nowhere accusation left Ye Xi utterly dumbfounded.
"Master Ye Xi, what exactly have you done to our little cutie?"
Before Ye Xi could answer, Lumine hurriedly cut in beside him, "He torments me every single day — if it's not making me do this, it's making me do that!"
Off to the side, Ganyu's face suddenly flushed red.
She already knew about the relationship between Lumine and Ye Xi.
So, hearing Lumine put it that way, her little head immediately started running wild with all sorts of thoughts.
Noticing Ye Xi's gaze, Ganyu stammered, "Ye Xi, your health is important.... If you overindulge, Shenhe is going to be upset later on..."
Ye Xi: ???
There were far too many loaded implications in there, and it left him a little confused.
How did this get dragged all the way over to Shenhe?
At those words, Lisa's eyes filled with playful amusement, "Oh? So that's how it is?"
"I was wondering why our little cutie looks more and more radiant these days — so it's all thanks to Master Ye Xi."
Ye Xi was completely done for, "Hold on, what on earth are you all talking about?"
"Ganyu, where is your mind going?"
"And you, you wretched little brat — when did I ever torment you?"
Lumine planted her hands on her hips, "Take today, for example — you told me to go hunting! And you actually sent me into a forest crawling with Fungi!"
"You had me running myself ragged, which is exactly why I bolted back home!"
Ye Xi was instantly left speechless, "Didn't you head out with Dehya and the others today?"
"Clearly you got too tired partway through and wanted to slack off, so you slipped back with Paimon. You think I didn't know?"
"Ahem, ahem, ahem...."
Lumine hurriedly batted her eyes at him, as if begging him to help cover for her.
Just then, the door of Sumeru burst into radiant light.
Dehya and Alusha came walking back through the doorway, hauling their prey all trussed up.
Following close behind were Eula, Amber, and Collei.
Whether it was those from the Akademiya, those out patrolling the Avidya Forest as forest rangers, or Dunyarzad who had gone shopping in the city — they had all come back.
And along with them they had brought all sorts of game, plus fruit and ingredients bought in the city.
Everyone came back chatting and laughing, only to catch sight of Lisa and Klee at the courtyard gate.
"Eh? We actually have guests!?"
Dehya waved at Ye Xi in greeting. She'd meant to go in for a hug, but seeing that there were children around, she held herself back.
Amber's face filled with surprise, "Lisa!? You got here this fast!"
Not expecting to see such a familiar figure so soon, Amber was thrilled.
Klee came bouncing and skipping over too, "Big sister Amber, big sister Eula! Klee's here too!"
"Little Klee!"
Eula gave Klee's little head a pat.
This tiny Spark Knight had given her and Amber no shortage of worries to fret over!
"Klee! So you came too!"
Amber's eyes lit up, and she swept Klee up into her arms in one motion, "Klee, you came at just the right time! Quick, come take a look at Baron Bunny for me — he hasn't been serviced in ages!"
"Eh!?"
Klee nodded, "Then big sister Amber, take Baron Bunny out, and Klee will have a look for you!"
On the other side, the moment Collei saw Lisa, she hurried to greet her as well, "Teacher Lisa!"
Back in her Mondstadt days, in order to take revenge on the Fatui, she had killed a Snezhnayan diplomat and ended up wanted by Mondstadt.
It was Amber who had reached out a helping hand and saved her.
And the reason she was able to come to Sumeru and take Tighnari as her teacher — that was all thanks to Lisa's help.
It was Lisa who got in touch with a teacher at the Sumeru Akademiya, and only then did the whole sequence of Cyno bringing her back to Sumeru come about.
"My, if it isn't little Collei — you look so much more spirited than you did back then!"
Collei quickly nodded, "Uh... it's all thanks to Master Ye Xi, who cured my illness completely!"
"I'm a perfectly healthy person now!"
"Eh? Even the Demon God residue...?"
Lisa couldn't help being startled — this was the first she was hearing of it.
In that instant, her view of Ye Xi changed completely.
To be able to resolve even the aftereffects of the Demon God residue for Collei — it was simply unbelievable!
She was very curious: just how had Ye Xi managed to do it?
As she was thinking it over, Setaria and Ayexia, both wide-eyed with amazement, stepped forward beside her to ask.
"Senior Lisa... could it be that you're the legendary [genius witch the Akademiya sees but once every two hundred years]!?"
"Oh?"
Lisa laughed softly and waved a hand, "That's all in the past now."
"It really is you!"
"To think we'd get to see the famous genius witch right here at home! Heavens! This is too wonderful!"
"Senior Lisa, may I ask you a few questions? No... a great many questions!"
Watching the two excited little beauties before her, Lisa couldn't help feeling a touch of nostalgia for her days at the Akademiya.
It was only when she heard Setaria say the word [home] that she was a little taken aback.
"...Isn't this Master Ye Xi's home? Don't tell me it's your home too?"
Setaria nodded, "That's right. We're all Master Ye Xi's little wives."
"Eh!?"
Lisa was startled.
She glanced around, and every face that met her eyes was a first-rate beauty.
She had assumed these were Ye Xi's friends — never imagining they were all Ye Xi's wives!
This was truly astonishing!
And the crucial part was, the sheer number of them was... well, simply too many!
Every one of them bore an Eye of God!
Every one of them was lovely and delicate.
It was practically a den of beauties!
After she had looked the whole circle over, her gaze came to rest on Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, who were in conversation with Ye Xi.
Neither of these two carried an Eye of God, but....
She just couldn't shake the feeling that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata looked terribly familiar.
As if she had seen her somewhere before!
All at once, a history book about Sumeru surfaced in her mind!
That book spanned several thousand years of Sumeru's history, top to bottom!
...
And on the very first page of that book, there was a painting of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata!
The great beauty before her eyes was the spitting image of that portrait!
Just as she was thinking it, Dunyarzad sidled over and asked, "Lord Lesser Grass King, Lord Tree King, what shall we have for dinner tonight?"
Hearing those forms of address, Lisa's languid, beautiful eyes suddenly brimmed with astonishment.
"What did she just call those two?"
Setaria followed Lisa's gaze, and it all dawned on her at once, "Senior, those two are our Sumeru's Lord Lesser Lord Kusanali, and the previous Dendro Archon, Lord Greater Lord Rukkhadevata."
"They're our [family] as well."
"Eh— what?"
Lisa's face was a picture of disbelief.
She had thought it remarkable enough that Ye Xi was so popular in Liyue.
Who would have guessed that in Sumeru, Ye Xi not only held a special status, but had even married two Dendro Archons!
Setting aside the fact that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had come back from the dead, the crucial point was — these two were gods!
To actually marry gods and bring them home — just what on earth had Ye Xi done!?
.....
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