"Oh, I see," Miko said, after hearing what Kaito had to say.
"How did you two come back so fast? I thought you'd still be out shopping until I finished my tea." Now that Miko understood, Kaito turned to the question that had genuinely puzzled him — he hadn't expected the two of them to wrap up so quickly.
As far as he was concerned, two women out shopping should by all rights be gone until the sky went dark. Yet Miko and Lumine had called it quits this soon.
"Honestly, we didn't want to end it this early either."
As she said it, Miko suddenly put on a deeply resigned expression.
"What happened? Don't tell me you ran out of money."
Seeing the look on Miko's face, that was the first thought that popped into Kaito's head.
"No, no, nothing like that." Lumine, standing nearby, shook her head at the direction Kaito's mind had gone.
Then Miko said, "It's actually related to Mobius."
"Mobius? Did you two run into her?"
Kaito asked this with what looked like genuine surprise.
Of course, he knew that wasn't what had happened. Whether Mobius had actually appeared in front of Miko and Lumine was something he was perfectly aware of — he just couldn't figure out why Miko was bringing it up this way.
"No, we didn't see her." Miko shook her head and continued, "It's just that it suddenly occurred to me — what if Mobius tried to do something to me and Lumine while we weren't all together? So we came back early."
She had originally planned to bring this up once they were back at the courtyard, but since Kaito had already asked, she figured she might as well say it now.
So she was worried about that, hm...
Should he actually have Mobius do something like that for real?
Hearing what Miko said, Kaito felt a spark of inspiration. He turned the idea over in his mind, genuinely weighing whether it was worth setting something up.
If Miko hadn't brought it up, it honestly wouldn't have crossed his mind.
Only — he'd need to think through what purpose it would serve. He couldn't just do it for the sake of doing it.
For now, he'd give a noncommittal answer. He hadn't decided anything yet.
"Hmm..." Kaito put on the air of someone deep in thought and said, "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. She hasn't done anything like that before, but it's always better to be safe. From now on, let's try to stay together as much as possible."
As he said it, he glanced over at both Lumine and Miko.
"Alright."
"Mm." Under Kaito's gaze, Lumine and Miko each gave a small nod.
"Honestly, Miss Mobius is being a bit much here. If she has something to say, why not just come to Kaito's friend directly and... er... what I mean is—" Childe stopped himself halfway through, sensing that what he was about to say didn't quite land right. He racked his brain but couldn't come up with a better way to put it.
"Exactly — if she has something to say, she can come to me directly. And if she tries to do anything to Lumine, Miko, or anyone else, I won't let it slide!"
Seeing Childe stuck in that awkward spot, Kaito stepped in to get him out of it, while also making his own feelings clear.
"Young friend Kaito is right," Zhongli said, finally speaking up after his long silence. "Whether it is against Lumine, Miko, or anyone else — such behavior is something we cannot condone."
Kaito listened, but something about it felt faintly off to him.
What about me, then?
Does that mean whatever she does to me is fine?
He couldn't help internally rolling his eyes at what Zhongli had said.
Granted, the "anyone else" Zhongli mentioned probably included him — but somehow, it didn't feel that way.
Not that it mattered. Whatever Mobius might do to him would be something they'd already arranged together anyway.
Wait a moment.
Does Zhongli know that the two of us are actually one person?
The thought hit him out of nowhere, and his heart gave a sharp lurch.
Even so, he kept his composure — his expression perfectly calm, as though nothing had happened at all.
Probably not...
More likely He just means: my business is my own to deal with.
The more he thought about it, the more likely that seemed. Still, he'd have to be more careful going forward — just in case.
"Agreed." Though he'd been grumbling inwardly, Kaito nodded along with Zhongli's words and added, "That said, we still need to be careful — she definitely won't play by our expectations."
"Kaito's right," Childe said. "And if you ever need the Fatui's help, just say the word. We won't stand by and do nothing."
His actual plan was to work with Mobius, but that was no reason to skip the pleasantries. And it wasn't just empty words either — if he could genuinely offer help, he would.
After all, this way he could play both sides — always knowing what Kaito and the others were up to.
Of course, all of that hinged on Mobius agreeing to cooperate with him. Without that, none of the rest of it meant anything.
"Of course. I'll see how things go."
Kaito looked at Childe and gave a nod — but left it at that. He'd see how things developed.
After all, he knew exactly what Childe was up to.
"Oh, right." As though something had just occurred to him, Kaito looked up at Lumine and Miko and said, "Do you two want something to eat? I can go get something."
This was a teahouse, after all — tea was the main event, but food was always part of the picture too.
"We're not children, you know. If we want something, we can get it ourselves."
When Kaito suddenly turned the conversation toward her and Lumine, Miko immediately waved him off, insisting they were perfectly capable of ordering on their own.
With that, Miko stood up.
"I'll go find a server and get the menu."
"I'll come too." Seeing Miko head off for the menu, Lumine quickly fell into step behind her.
But she'd barely reached the door when she turned back around. "Kaito, is there anything you'd like?"
"I'm fine with anything. Really, whatever." Kaito waved it off.
"Same here, same here — just get a good spread and we'll be happy."
Childe chimed in with a word of his own.
"Got it."
Seeing that everyone was happy to leave it up to her, Lumine headed out.
After that, the group settled back in, continuing with their tea and food.
A little while later.
"Then Zhongli and I will head off first."
Since their routes home didn't overlap, Childe and Zhongli took their leave first.
"Mm." Standing outside the teahouse, Kaito watched the retreating figures of Childe and Zhongli and gave a small nod.
Then he turned back to look at Lumine and Miko standing behind him, and said, "Shall we head back too?"
"Mm." × 2
And so Kaito, Miko, and Lumine set off together toward the courtyard.
"Kaito." A little way into the walk, Miko suddenly called his name.
"What is it?"
He turned to look at Miko, who was walking on his left, mildly curious what she was about to say.
"So from now on we have to be together the whole time, right?"
Miko held his gaze, a serene smile on her face — a smile that left both Kaito and Lumine, who had glanced over from his other side, thoroughly puzzled.
"Right. We don't know for sure whether Mobius will actually try anything, but better safe than sorry." Though his confusion was quietly growing, Kaito nodded without hesitation.
He'd just wait for Miko to get to her point. No sense in guessing.
"That includes at night too, right?" Miko asked.
"Of course."
Kaito nodded again — and his inner confusion climbed another notch.
What is she up to?
Why specifically mention the night?
What's different about nighttime?
As he waited for Miko to continue, his mind was quietly spinning in circles — but no matter how he turned it over, he couldn't figure out what she was getting at.
"Good. Then let's hurry back — I'm absolutely exhausted."
With that, Miko walked on ahead toward the courtyard, leaving both Lumine and Kaito staring blankly after her.
"Miko... she's acting a little strange, isn't she..."
Lumine watched Miko's back and couldn't help murmuring it quietly.
"She really is odd sometimes. But let's head back — it is getting late, and we need to get some sleep. We're up early tomorrow." Kaito thought about it for a moment and decided they should just get going.
They had to visit Ningguang tomorrow, after all, so an early start was in order.
____
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