"Really? Thank you, Hu Tao."
Though it was just for an hour, Lumine was already delighted.
As soon as they switched back, Lumine darted away.
Paimon hurried after her. "Hey! Traveler, where are you going?"
"No worries… just taking a walk."
Meanwhile, Zephyr was currently controlling Hu Tao, casually attack-training in place.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
He turned on her elemental skill — the Guide to Afterlife immediately became enchanted.
"That's the ability you used before, isn't it? Wait… why's your HP dropping?"
He opened up the description. "Whoa! It drains health while it's active. This skill's a bit wild."
"There's not much I can do about it… I usually avoid using it to avoid dropping dead by accident."
"Then what do you normally do?"
"Ahem… I just wanted to show off a little."
"…"
Zephyr struck a nearby tree a few more times, and with a resounding crack, it fell.
"That's pretty strong… although it drains health, the damage is high."
Before long, the enchantment disappeared. "The duration's so short… not very practical."
He said this, yet he seemed unwilling to let it go — much like someone reluctantly putting away a new toy.
Zephyr used another elemental skill and kept attack-training on the spot.
"Hey, stop! If you keep this up, I'm going to die!"
"Don't worry. I won't let that happen."
He opened his backpack and used a Sweet Flower Chicken.
Hu Tao felt life rush back into her. "Whoa… Incredible! How did you do that?"
"I just ate a Sweet Flower Chicken."
"A Sweet Flower Chicken? I feel a little less hungry… So magical. How did you do that? Do you have some kind of ability to send food directly into my stomach?"
"… something like that."
"That's amazing! Wait… doesn't that mean… as long as you control me, I can use my abilities without limit?"
Hu Tao's eyes glimmered with a mischievous spark.
"I've been looking forward to challenging the Mitachurl with a Stone Shield. Now's the perfect chance! With your help, I'm sure we can destroy it!"
"That… Rock Shieldwall Mitachurl is in Liyue, not Mondstadt."
"That's a shame… Are there any strong monsters in Mondstadt?"
"… Do you have a death wish or something?"
He finished testing her abilities. The elemental burst was unavailable due to a lack of energy — it hadn't filled up yet — but he already saw its effects. According to its description, it was a powerful burst, one of the strongest attacks in Liyue.
No — to be more confident, it might be one of the strongest attacks in all of Teyvat.
After getting a good look at her abilities, Zephyr turned his gaze toward Hu Tao's artifacts.
He was immediately shocked.
"Whoa! Where did you get a full set of 5-star artifacts!?"
"Huh? How did you know I have a full set of 5-star artifacts?"
"I can directly see your stats."
"That's… a violation of my privacy! I have none left at all, do I?!!"
"Don't worry — I'm not looking at things I shouldn't."
"That's a lie!!" Hu Tao said indignantly.
"It's just a set of artifacts passed down by the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."
"That's impressive."
He was envious — after all, Lumine only had a single 5-star artifact, while Hu Tao had a complete set!
And all their attributes were quite good. The only downside was their low level.
"Why aren't your artifacts maxed out?"
"There's no Mora… The Wangsheng Parlor's business hasn't been great these years. So I came to Mondstadt to set up a branch."
"That makes perfect sense… I'm rendered speechless."
"Speaking of which… Where's Lumine?"
He opened his map. "…Whoa, she's gotten so far already."
Hu Tao was confused. "You can see where Lumine is?"
"Yes, I have a map. I can see your locations."
"That's a convenient ability."
Zephyr opened his friends list. "Where are you? Come back."
"On my way."
Not much later, Lumine came bouncing back.
Hu Tao sighed. "Um… Lumine, why are you bouncing when you walk?"
Paimon added, "Exactly — there's no player controlling you now."
"…Sorry, it's a habit."
"A habit?"
Hu Tao suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Alright… Let's go. Let's find some Hilichurls."
Zephyr decided it was time for a practice battle.
So the two weirdos hopped forward side by side across the grassland, with Paimon reluctantly following.
Hu Tao said, "Stop… Stop!! Why do you move in such a strange way?"
"Because it's fun."
"…Fun?"
Wait — after the character swap, is her life still bound to Lumine, or is it now tied to Hu Tao instead?
He opened the system Q&A and submitted his question.
The system responded quickly — the bond was still with Lumine.
Zephyr said, "Ah, that's great. From now on, I can leave Lumine safely at home while I control other characters, without needing to worry about safety, right?"
Lumine objected, "No, then I wouldn't be able to grow stronger."
"It's fine. I'll use other characters to clear quests and earn experience books for you."
"…"
Paimon covered her mouth and let out a giggle.
"No! I'm not that kind of person! It's only meaningful if I grow strong by myself!"
"But if you die, I'll die with you."
"That's fine by me!"
"That's not fine by me."
"Hehe, coward… Okay, if we grow strong together in the future, I'll grant you a wish. How's that?"
"Any wish?"
"Any wish."
Zephyr made a ridiculous expression.
"Alright — you said it. I'll hold you to that."
"Mm!"
Paimon said, "Actually, there's no need. The player can control another character while the Traveler goes out to grow strong."
"I want to go to other worlds. I think they're more interesting."
"That's… well… there's no way around it."
Hu Tao said, "I'm a bird soaring in the skies — I shouldn't be a lifeless puppet."
Lumine comforted, "Get used to it."
"..."
After that, Zephyr used Hu Tao to destroy a group of Hilichurls with her elemental burst, which was indeed powerful. The control then switched back to Lumine.
Hu Tao sighed, "Phew, I'm back! So tiring! Oh, by the way… is it true that you can control me anytime as long as we're in a team?"
"That's correct — but only with those who have a contract with me. Ordinary people aren't eligible."
"That means you can control me even while I'm asleep or in the bath! That's awful."
"Don't worry — I'm not that kind of person."
"That's not enough! I want to quit! I want out of this team!"
"Gagaga! Too late! The contract's already been signed; there's no turning back now!"
Paimon quipped, "This honestly sounds so much like a villain."
Hu Tao trembled.
Zephyr cleared his throat. "Ahem… there are benefits to being under my control or team-up."
"Benefits?"
"First, when I control you, your stamina is practically infinite — you're much less likely to grow weary."
"That's true… I barely felt tired during the last battle."
When a player controls a character, their stamina is practically infinite. Even if it's gone, it will regenerate in a few seconds — yielding nearly infinite stamina.
For ordinary people, their stamina certainly isn't infinite, even if we're not sure where the limit lies. So, when faced with a tough opponent, we can slowly wear them down with this tactic.
"Also, you can use your skills as much as you want — elemental skills or elemental bursts — without much consequence, because I can heal you at any moment."
"That… kind of makes sense."
"The most important thing is, while under my control, you practically can't die — even if you're down to 1 HP, you're fine.
Your body won't show injuries, bleeding, or pain — I can bring you back up effortlessly."
"There's something that ridiculous?" Hu Tao exclaimed in astonishment.
"There's another major team-up advantage — you level up much faster by defeating monsters together, due to team-up experience.
Also, I can see your locations at all times, so you're less likely to get lost, and if you're in danger, you can send a message for help — I can come immediately."
"That… that kind of makes a lot of sense."
Paimon said, "Don't let him deceive you! All these benefits come at the price of your freedom!"
"That's true! So frustrating! So conflicted!"
"It's too late for that — you've already signed a contract with me."
"What contract? I didn't even see it."
Lumine said, "How could you sign without reading it?"
"Ahem… I was impulsive…"
Zephyr said, "Whatever. From now on, you're mine."
Hu Tao's eyes widened in disbelief at his shamelessness.
Paimon said, "Such shamelessness."
Zephyr glared at her. "Paimon, know your place — you're not even a playable character; you're just a sidekick. Do you believe I might abandon you at any moment?"
"Player… please spare me! Paimon is a well-behaved sidekick! Paimon promises to be good! Quack quack quack."
Hu Tao said quietly, "I feel like I fell into a trap… So you can travel to other worlds, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I only have one condition — when you travel to another world, take me with you. I want to see what other worlds are like."
"No problem."
"Alright, then. That's settled."
Paimon said, "Seriously… This is way too easy to deceive."
Hu Tao said, "Yeah… I'm pure and simple — not because I want to grow our business in other worlds or anything."
Zephyr sighed inwardly. What a character…
If he were to bring Hu Tao into the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, there's a chance she'd team up with the Curses instead — now that would be catastrophic… yet undeniably exhilarating!
//END
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