"Are we… not going to help?" Lumine finally couldn't help asking, watching Yae Miko walk ahead of her.
She had originally planned to follow Kaito and join Zhongli and Childe for tea, but halfway there Yae Miko had suddenly announced she wanted to take Lumine somewhere else to wander around — and so the two of them had been wandering ever since, all the way to Liyue Harbor's docks.
"Oh please, isn't that guy already there? Let's not go sticking our noses in." Yae Miko stopped walking, turned around, and answered Lumine's question as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Besides, if she showed up at that tea gathering she'd just be sitting there with nothing to say. Better to come out and stretch her legs. Let the boys have their little chat.
"But still… something like this — shouldn't we at least help a little?" Lumine conceded that Yae Miko had a point, but she still felt uneasy about just strolling around outside like nothing was happening.
After all, the whole matter was tied to Kaito. Wandering the streets while he dealt with it felt a bit too much like sitting on the sidelines.
"It's fine, it's fine. Didn't we already cook for Kaito? Back then he just sat there waiting for the food to be ready, and we were the ones who did the dishes afterward. So now he's the one running around while we take a little break — that's perfectly fair, don't you think? That's what men are for." Yae Miko gave a mildly exasperated sigh as she shared her view.
What men are for?
Listening to Yae Miko, Lumine couldn't shake the feeling that something was a bit off about that logic.
But then again, Kaito hadn't said anything either — he'd just told them to go enjoy themselves. Which made her think maybe Yae Miko wasn't entirely wrong.
It was just that, with Kaito in there right now talking things over with Zhongli and the others, roaming the streets felt a little… inconsiderate.
"Relax. If he needs our help he'll say so, trust me." Seeing that Lumine still looked unsettled, Yae Miko added that last reassurance.
Truth be told, Yae Miko was a little curious to see how Kaito would handle Mobius on his own — the girl who seemed to latch onto him at every turn.
"Alright, alright. I get it." Lumine looked at her and finally gave a nod.
"Ahh… I wonder when Inazuma will ever be as lively as Liyue." Right then, Yae Miko let out a wistful little sigh.
"It'll probably happen soon enough." Not quite sure what else to say, Lumine offered that.
"Yes, I think so too." Yae Miko smiled and nodded at Lumine's words.
Things were already different from before. She was sure Inazuma would see its change.
Why the sudden surge of confidence…
One moment Yae Miko had been sighing, the next she was full of conviction. Lumine stared at her, genuinely curious how she could flip so completely in the span of a few seconds.
But since there was a more pressing question on her mind, Lumine decided to let it go.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Don't tell me you're still thinking about going back to listen to those boys talk business." Noticing that Lumine seemed on the verge of asking something, Yae Miko gave her a mildly exasperated look.
If Lumine really did want to head back, then fine, she'd go back too. She couldn't very well keep wandering around by herself if Lumine was going to go keep Kaito company.
"No, it's not that." Lumine shook her head. "Actually, I wanted to ask about Kiana."
"Oh? About Kiana?" That wasn't what Yae Miko had expected, and her interest was piqued.
Though almost immediately — before Lumine even had a chance to speak — she figured out what Lumine was probably going to ask.
"You're not asking about the cooking incident with Kiana, are you?"
The earlier conversation with Kaito on that subject had been rather vague, so Yae Miko guessed Lumine probably hadn't quite followed.
"Yeah, exactly — I didn't really catch it when you were talking to Kaito about it." Seeing that Yae Miko had guessed correctly, Lumine nodded.
"Well… Kiana's cooking is just — how do I put this — it doesn't really look like something a person could eat." Yae Miko recalled the culinary catastrophe in question and sighed helplessly.
She didn't even want to use the word "bad" to describe it. What Kiana made couldn't really be called food.
"Doesn't look like something a person could eat?" Lumine was stunned.
She had wondered just how bad Kiana's cooking could be — but it had already crossed the threshold from "inedible" into "unidentifiable substance." That was a little extreme.
"Yep. I have no idea how she does it, but it just doesn't look like food — let alone taste like it." Seeing Lumine's shocked expression, Yae Miko nodded solemnly. Then she added, "Mei ended up eating all of it, though."
"What?" Lumine blinked.
Given everything Yae Miko had just described, Acheron had somehow managed to finish the whole thing? How was that even possible?
Different taste preferences?
But Yae Miko had said what she said…
"Because Mei basically experiences everything the same way — sour, bitter, salty, sweet — it all registers the same to her. So she genuinely can't tell the difference." Knowing Lumine would be completely baffled, Yae Miko took the time to explain.
"I see." Lumine nodded slowly and then continued, "But… why is Acheron like that? Is something wrong with her sense of taste?"
She had known Acheron for a while now, but this was the first time she was hearing about any of this.
"Yes, her sense of taste is off — and actually her eyesight has issues too. You really didn't know any of this?" Yae Miko was genuinely surprised that Lumine was hearing it for the first time.
After all, Lumine had known Mei before Yae Miko did.
"No, I didn't. She never mentioned it." Lumine shook her head.
To be honest, she and Acheron didn't talk much. Topics like that certainly never came up.
"Well, anyway — Kiana's cooking is truly something else. So when we get back to Inazuma we'll have to give her a proper lesson." Yae Miko set aside her questions and simply declared that they'd teach Kiana how to cook properly once they returned.
"Absolutely — that was already the plan." Lumine agreed readily enough; after all, she and Kaito had already talked about it.
And then, with the topic of Kiana wrapped up, Lumine found her thoughts drifting back to Mobius.
She had promised Yae Miko they'd just stay out and enjoy themselves — but she still wanted to know more about that girl called Mobius.
So she asked, "Oh, right — Miko, have you already met the girl called Mobius?"
"I have. She came to Inazuma first, then later showed up in Liyue." Yae Miko nodded.
Then she went on, "Looks like Lumine has still been thinking about…"
"No, it's not that," Lumine cut in. "I'm just a little curious about her, is all. I keep feeling like she and Kaito… have that kind of relationship again."
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