Collei immediately couldn't hold back her laughter. She understood Navia's feelings—who tells cold jokes using someone else's name! Would you please be quiet!
But with Collei's personality, how could she say something like "shut up"? She hesitated for a long time, sometimes poking her index fingers together, sometimes covering her face, and finally said: "I… I'm not cute."
Collei's face flushed red. This time it wasn't from holding in laughter—it was pure embarrassment because Cyno had called her "cute."
Lucian nodded: "It really is cute. So it wasn't a cold joke."
Now Collei was even more embarrassed. She covered her face and flopped onto the table, "playing dead."
This was Collei's idealistic invisibility technique: as long as I can't see others, others can't see me!
Paimon asked: "What about me? Am I cute?"
Lucian replied: "Pretty adorable."
"Ehehey~" Paimon shyly scratched her head. Now she was officially certified cute by the prophet.
Lumine also got interested and asked with a smile: "What about me? Am I ultimate invincible cute?"
Lucian: "You win!" (Lumine!)
Lumine couldn't hear the pun on "win" and proudly put her hands on her hips.
In the end, Kaveh—who had been laughing the loudest—stopped laughing. How come after all that, everyone else was cute and he was left out?
But being called cute would also be pretty weird. Better keep reading.
The little illustration in the book was very short—just a few pages—and soon it was over. Its only purpose was to expose Tighnari's dark history and make everyone laugh.
Although Tighnari looked very cute, his usual expression was always serious and earnest.
So in this illustration, little Tighnari's adorable appearance and behavior actually made everyone like him more.
Yes—we eat this stuff up. We can't resist contrast! Such a cute little fox is born to be devoured~!
After the illustration, the story returned to normal. The Traveler was about to investigate the "contaminated area," and the child's illness happened to be related to it, so now the Traveler couldn't refuse Tighnari.
The three of them went together to the traveling merchant to buy some "Spring-Meeting Grass," but unexpectedly, the caravan had just been robbed. Because they lost some goods, they needed to reprice everything, and negotiations were ongoing.
The Traveler and Tighnari asked about the robbery, and the merchant replied:
[Mehseer: "We hadn't even reacted when it suddenly 'whoosh' appeared, snatched our goods, and ran off."]
The one that robbed them was a huge mechanical crab! After grabbing mechanical parts, it fled into the forest. Anyone who entered that forest became mentally disturbed, making pursuit impossible.
However, Mehseer's description was so vivid that readers couldn't help bursting into laughter—crab running away on its legs, hahaha.
Ahem, sorry—not lacking sympathy, just remembered something funny.
But this incident really piqued everyone's interest. A mechanical crab robbing a human caravan? Interesting!
"Robots" weren't astonishing technology in Teyvat, but robots after creation were always controlled by humans.
So the question arose: the mechanical crab itself had no thinking ability, and without thinking, there were no desires. Logically, it shouldn't rob or harm humans.
Someone must be controlling it. Then who was the person operating it from behind? What were they doing in the forest?
No one thought the mechanical crab made the decision on its own—not everyone is Raiden Ei, and mechanical life isn't something just anyone can create.
Conveniently, the Traveler and Tighnari in the story were also interested in the matter. Plus, to do business with the merchants, they needed to recover the goods first.
The two decided to start gathering information about the mechanical crab nearby.
A villager named Kadin provided some intel.
The crab didn't disturb the villagers' lives—it only robbed caravans, and only mechanical parts.
Moreover, after robbing, it would hide the items nearby, then transport them all at once deeper into the forest once it collected enough.
One had to admit, this crab was pretty smart—already smarter than Paimon.
After several searches, even Tighnari was puzzled.
Mechanical creations act according to commands. What was the crab's master trying to achieve by having it steal mechanical parts?
It could clearly steal higher-value goods, or rob Mora directly after the goods were sold—either way would be more efficient than stealing parts.
If it was for urgent experimental needs, that didn't fit either, because it always hid the items first and only transported them when there were many.
Caravans didn't come often—this didn't look like urgency at all.
With no other options, Tighnari resorted to "fishing enforcement" with mechanical parts.
And it actually worked. Maybe the mechanical crab really was a crab—fishing really reeled it in, no empty casts.
Tighnari simply brought a bag of mechanical parts and a pack animal for show, and the mechanical crab appeared.
Ordinary forest rangers and caravan guards couldn't handle it, but who was the Traveler? Muscles extremely developed!
Lumine took care of the mechanical crab in a few moves. The crab couldn't fight back or escape—it lay on the ground, covering its face and throwing a tantrum.
After beating the crab down, Paimon asked a few questions, but unfortunately, the mechanical crab seemed to understand nothing.
Communication failed, so they gave up. Tighnari searched nearby for the merchants' goods and reminded the mechanical crab:
["Although I don't know why you're stealing mechanical parts, they don't belong to you."]
["Stolen things must eventually be returned to their owners. Do you have any objections to that?"]
The mechanical crab didn't fully understand, but it grasped Tighnari's meaning and lay on the ground dejectedly like a little puppy.
[Tighnari continued: "Did you come from deep within the contaminated area? If so, how about helping us out?"]
["Take us there, and I'll give you mechanical parts as a reward."]
The mechanical crab suddenly stood up—its entire mechanical body looked much more energetic.
One had to admit, Tighnari really was a "dog-training expert."
The crab's mysterious obsession with mechanical parts further aroused readers' curiosity. What exactly was the reason for this obsession?
Speaking of which, this mechanical crab was truly interesting. Why did it feel less like a simple mechanical creation and more like a puppy in mechanical form?
It seemed unable to understand human speech or speak, yet it could somehow sense the meaning and emotions in people's words.
Just being able to do that was already a major breakthrough in mechanical creation. This creation didn't just execute commands—it seemed to have some "emotions"!
Emotions are a very magical thing. Creatures without thought cannot have emotions.
So did this mean the mechanical crab was thinking? Had it already developed preliminary "life"?!