Not long after Ryen left, Lumine and Paimon pulled Nahida through the teleportation portal and ran out.
"Ryen! Ryen!"
The moment she appeared, Paimon impatiently looked around, calling out for Ryen.
Zhongli, who had been calmly sipping tea alone, paused mid-sip.
He looked at Paimon with a steady gaze.
He was sitting right there, a living, breathing person, and yet these guys came out calling only for Ryen?
"If you're looking for Ryen, he went out."
Hearing that, Lumine scratched her head in confusion.
"He went out? But we didn't see him at the villa in the manor… Could he have gone to the underwater villa?"
Zhongli shook his head.
"I meant he went to Liyue—to have fun."
"!!!"
The three girls were stunned.
Lumine looked at Zhongli in disbelief.
"Ryen? Went to Liyue? For fun? What's going on? That ultimate shut-in actually went out for leisure?!"
Hearing that, Nahida immediately frowned and stared at Lumine.
Zhongli chuckled inwardly but still nodded in a composed manner.
"Rationally speaking, the title of shut-in fits him well—but yes, he did go out to have fun."
"Well then…"
Lumine and Paimon exchanged a glance and mumbled:
"I was just about to ask him to come dragon-riding and drift down the river for exploration…"
"Lumine!"
Paimon flew up to Lumine's shoulder, face full of flattery.
"Lumine! Since Ryen's gone out to have fun, why don't we go out too? We've been in Liyue for so long—we should go have some fun ourselves!"
As she spoke, Paimon proudly patted the little pouch at her waist.
"Paimon's treating! How's that sound, huh?"
Lumine rolled her eyes. After all this time with Paimon, this was the first time she'd heard her say she was paying.
Indeed, having Mora in your pocket makes you bold.
That tiny pouch may look small, but it was a gift from Ningguang.
And it held over a hundred million Mora.
Paimon, who had been "adopted" by Ningguang, was now a literal rich dog.
Lumine stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"Well, it's true that the Rite of Descension is approaching. Many people have come to Liyue Harbor to attend. We might even get to see some cultural features from other nations."
Paimon's eyes sparkled instantly.
"Doesn't that mean there'll be food from all over the world too?! Lumine! Lumine! Let's go already! Paimon's buying you a feast!"
Paimon flew in front of Lumine, pulling her arm with all her might toward the door.
"Okay, okay! Don't pull me!"
Lumine grabbed Paimon and placed her back on her shoulder, then looked at the still-open portal.
"Zhongli, are you going to house-sit?"
Zhongli nodded slightly and waved his hand.
"I'm not fond of noise. You all go ahead."
"Hmm… We weren't planning on inviting you anyway…"
Paimon muttered quietly. Zhongli's face darkened.
Lumine quickly covered Paimon's mouth and laughed cheerfully.
"Thanks for the help! See you!"
With that, Lumine prepared to leave with Paimon and Nahida.
In just a few moments, Zhongli suffered two heavy emotional blows.
Hu Tao went out to play with Ryen and didn't invite him. Now Lumine and Paimon outright said they weren't inviting him either.
The dignified Geo Archon reduced to this?
Zhongli was furious.
He began thinking.
Since he was planning to buff Liyue anyway, why not "buff" Hu Tao's date while he's at it?
Hu Tao's little schemes—did she really think Zhongli couldn't see through them?
He wasn't a heartless stone, after all!
As Lumine and the others were about to step out the door, Zhongli suddenly spoke.
"If you're planning to look for Ryen, I don't think that's necessary. Hu Tao is currently with him—it looks like they're on a date."
Lumine paused, not quite understanding what he meant, but she nodded anyway with a playful smile.
"Don't worry, I'm not the type to ruin the mood. I could tell Hu Tao liked Ryen from a long time ago!"
"But I didn't expect her to make the first move. I thought it'd be Ningguang…"
Muttering to herself, Lumine waved as she left the courtyard.
Zhongli leisurely sipped his tea and reclined back in his rocking chair.
Didn't want to include him?
Then no one gets to enjoy themselves!
Lumine indeed wouldn't disturb Ryen and Hu Tao's date.
But his earlier words weren't meant for Lumine to hear.
The moment he saw Nahida's expression turn dark, Zhongli knew—his plan to add some "pressure" on Ryen had succeeded.
Others might not understand Nahida's feelings, but how could he not?
She didn't see Ryen as just an older brother—more like a romantic one!
Looks like Ryen's going to be in trouble now.
As Zhongli expected, Nahida had actually been hoping to run into Ryen on the streets and invite him to hang out together.
She hadn't spent much time with him today, and she was already starting to miss him.
Now, after just a dragon ride, a float trip, and a little time on the swing…
She looked back—and her home had been stolen?
If it had been Ganyu, Nahida wouldn't have said a word—Ganyu had come the earliest and already confirmed a relationship with Ryen.
But according to the "plan," it was supposed to be her turn next!
At the very least, after Ningguang, it should've been her, Nahida.
So why did Hu Tao suddenly swoop in out of nowhere?
Given her petite size, Ryen already saw her as a little sister.
Now with Hu Tao cutting in line—when would her turn even come?
Nahida deeply regretted not sticking to Ryen today.
Fuming, she grabbed Lumine to go find him immediately. Lumine couldn't dissuade her, so she simply followed along.
Everything was going just as Zhongli had hoped.
But he forgot—Lumine was constantly being watched by Tartaglia.
It wasn't easy to see Lumine alone, and Tartaglia wasn't going to waste this chance.
Mondstadt.
Not long ago, Jean had already gathered enough personnel—
a total of five hundred people, the first batch of settlers.
All of them were from the Knights of Favonius.
Unlike Liyue, where miners could be mobilized freely, Mondstadt had its own reasons.
Freedom, after all!
However, these people didn't set out with Jean.
Truthfully, their combat abilities still fell short. Diluc was currently training them in Mondstadt City.
Of course, if one had to put it bluntly, maybe it was Diluc himself who thought the Knights were unqualified.
Jean and the others couldn't sit still. After informing Diluc, they departed early.
By their estimation, Diluc and the others would arrive shortly after the Rite of the Descension.
Right now, Jean and Lisa had already arrived at Dragonspine.
Klee was happily bouncing along beside Jean, full of energy.
Every now and then, she'd run to the roadside with her hands behind her back to squat down and look at wildflowers or butterflies.
Oddly enough, these small creatures that normally feared people weren't afraid of Klee at all.
They fluttered around her, dancing in the air, which made Klee even happier.
Such a little fairy-like child put both Jean and Lisa in a great mood.
Jean even wore a gentle, motherly smile on her face.
"You look like you're in a very good mood, Jean."
Lisa teased with a soft smile.
Of course, she wasn't just talking about Jean's current mood.
Back when they had returned to Mondstadt—not surprisingly—Klee had caused trouble again.
Klee did remember not to set off explosions in the city, but…
While out bombing fish, she ran into monsters.
She blew up four large Hilichurl camps, over a dozen Abyss Mages, and even accidentally took down two Fatui squads.
Along the way...
She also caused quite the commotion over by Starsnatch Cliff.
Although all the explosions targeted proper enemies, a rock from Starsnatch Cliff was blown apart and went flying—
unfortunately knocking Bennett unconscious.
Poor Bennett… In the span of just one month, he had been hit by Klee's blast shockwaves four times…
Naturally, Jean was initially furious, but Klee, coached by Lisa in advance, looked extremely pitiful as she took out a hand-drawn family portrait.
As a result, what should have been a minimum of three days' confinement was reduced to just one.
Ironically, it was Kaeya who got scolded for not keeping an eye on Klee, and he was sent to mine in Stormterror's Lair as punishment.
Klee had finally learned how to use her "get-out-of-jail-free card" properly.
Besides that, Jean had something else to be happy about—
Her relationship with Barbara had greatly improved.
That day when they returned, Lisa took Jean to the Church, and they happened to run into Barbara.
Barbara originally wanted to avoid Jean, but Lisa stopped her, saying Jean had a gift for her.
In the end, after much thought, Jean gifted Barbara a high-powered weapon for self-defense.
The level of the gift could even rival the ones Ryen gave out.
Still, the relationship between Barbara and Jean had visibly improved since.
Barbara had been visiting the Knights' headquarters often in the past few days, having heart-to-heart talks with Jean.
Now, Jean's worries had mostly been put to rest.
As they walked through the snowy terrain, Jean watched Klee with a smile in her eyes.
After all this time out, Klee hadn't once asked to bring out her bombs.
That was thanks to Lisa, who had told her:
"If Klee behaves and doesn't throw bombs randomly, once we reach Ryen's world, you can bomb to your heart's content."
With Ryen's overly indulgent nature toward little girls, he would definitely be happy to let Klee throw as many bombs as she wanted.
Klee understood the difference between one explosion and endless explosions,
so she naturally forced herself not to throw bombs around.
There were footprints in the snow—left behind by earlier adventurers.
Klee, with her tiny legs, hopped and bounced happily along their tracks.
"What a little sprite… Just watching Klee makes me feel better."
Lisa murmured softly.
She suddenly understood Ryen a little more.
Nahida, after all, had the power of a god-level combatant, yet Ryen never allowed her to join in battle.
It made sense now.
Such an adorable little girl shouldn't be sent to fight. That would be just too cruel.
"I just hope Klee doesn't cause too big a commotion once she gets to Liyue…
Otherwise, the Geo Archon might hold us accountable…"
Jean sighed, still somewhat concerned.
But Lisa shook her head.
"That won't be a problem. Lady Alice has a great relationship with the Geo Archon.
For Klee, I'm sure Morax will be much more forgiving."
As a member of the Hexenzirkel, Lisa was naturally aware of just how far-reaching Lady Alice's connections were.
Many of the Seven were on good terms with her.
Back when she visited Liyue, it was Morax himself who accompanied her.
Klee truly had grown up under the love and protection of many powerful figures.
Jean felt a little more at ease. She came to a stop and looked ahead at Klee.
At this point, they had reached the Dragonspine region.
Albedo was indeed in Dragonspine, and he did have a temporary base here—
but he wasn't the type to stay there all the time.
Jean and the others couldn't find any trace of Albedo's presence.
Naturally, Jean was starting to feel troubled.
"Worried about how to find Albedo?"
Lisa smiled, and Jean nodded.
Lisa chuckled.
"Why not ask Klee?"
Jean blinked in surprise, but Lisa had already crouched down beside Klee.
"Little Klee, can you find Albedo?"
Klee tilted her head, looked at Lisa, then happily squinted her eyes and nodded.
She turned to face the snowy mountain, took a deep breath—
"Big brother Albedo!"
"Come find Klee, quick!!!"
~~----------------------
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