"My idea is—"
"Forget it."
Just as Childe was about to lay out his proposed partnership, Mobius cut him off with those two words, leaving him momentarily stunned.
He quickly recovered and said, "Why? I haven't even said anything yet, Miss Mobius — at least let me finish."
He looked at her expectantly, waiting for a response.
He was genuinely baffled. Mobius had suddenly called it off, and he hadn't even done anything yet.
Did I do something wrong?
But I haven't done anything...
While he waited for her answer, he couldn't help turning the question over in his head. He really couldn't understand how her attitude had shifted so dramatically.
"Then let me finish too." Seeing that Childe was clearly getting anxious, Mobius said it lightly, without inflection.
She wasn't actually refusing to cooperate with him. She simply wanted to make clear that she didn't need to hear what he intended to do — she only needed to know whether he could do what she asked. If he could, then she would naturally fulfill whatever he required of her in return. If not, there was nothing left to discuss.
She already knew he would agree, of course.
After all, her conditions were bound up with Kaito's side of things — and that was something Childe could easily manage.
Since she herself had always been tangled up in the persona orbiting Kaito, her terms would naturally revolve around him. And beyond that, in order for her to eventually join this growing household without putting Lumine and Miko on guard, she had no intention of doing anything too outrageous.
She could, of course, simply announce herself as Kaito's girlfriend the same way she had before — but that act had been staged far too many times already. Time for something different.
And admittedly, part of her motivation was just to have a bit of fun.
She couldn't help it. The world of Genshin was a touch dull — no phone, no computer. You had to make your own entertainment.
For now, she could still play with herself, though it was rather hard on the body.
Even if Kaito was no longer the person he used to be, none of the others were pushovers either — to say nothing of Miko and Lumine having joined the picture. She needed to take care of herself. If something went wrong, that would be a real problem.
"Of course, Miss Mobius. Go ahead."
Hearing her say that, Childe settled in and waited for whatever she was about to say. Whatever it was, he still very much wanted this partnership to work.
"Then let me ask you a few things first." Mobius looked at him and continued, "How well do you know Kaito?"
Kaito?
Of all the questions...
Childe blinked, caught off guard. He'd braced himself for all kinds of difficult demands, and instead the first thing out of her mouth was a question about Kaito. He hadn't seen that coming.
Then he thought back to certain things he'd learned from Kaito, and the surprise faded.
Kaito, my friend, your luck with women is absolutely absurd...
With that quiet thought, Childe answered, "I do, actually — Kaito and I know each other quite well, Miss Mobius."
With anyone else asking, he might not have been quite so definitive. But with Mobius asking, it was a different matter entirely — he had to sound absolutely certain, or she might decide the partnership wasn't worth her time.
Of course, he also genuinely did feel that he and Kaito were close.
"Is that so?" After he answered, Mobius looked at him as though she wasn't entirely convinced.
"Naturally." Childe gave a confident nod.
"Then tell me about that blonde girl who's always around him." Mobius thought for a moment, then tossed out the question.
She already knew the answer, of course — she just wanted to use this to reinforce the impression that she had a particular interest in Kaito.
Blonde girl?
Is she talking about Lumine?
With that thought, Childe answered, "That would be Lumine, I imagine, Miss Mobius. She's a Traveler — journeying across the world in search of her brother. From what I understand, she met Kaito in Mondstadt, though I don't know the details since I wasn't there at the time. Back then Kaito kept a very low profile, so low that even the Fatui hadn't taken notice of just how powerful he was. After that, Lumine and Kaito came to Liyue together, and the two of them have been living in a small courtyard there..."
"And do they share a room?"
Before Childe could finish, Mobius cut him off with that question.
"That... I don't know. But at this point, the two of them are... well... they're already at that stage." As he said it, Childe watched Mobius carefully, half-expecting her to do something.
He already knew by now that Mobius was sensitive about other women being close to Kaito, so he chose his words with care.
"Is that so?" Mobius's expression gave nothing away. She said it coldly, then moved on. "And the pink-haired girl?"
She had, of course, already seen Miko back in Inazuma — but she could still play the part of someone who knew nothing specific about Miko's identity.
"Miko? She would have been... let me think. Kaito was in Inazuma at the time — that's a nation, I don't know if you've heard of it or visited — and I believe that's where they met, since Miko is a shrine maiden of that country and a devotee of its god. As for how exactly they came to know each other, I really couldn't say — I'd gone back to my homeland by then."
Childe was well aware that Mobius probably wanted to know exactly how Kaito and Miko had met, but there was nothing he could do — he genuinely didn't know. All he could do was offer what he did know about Miko and hope it was enough.
Honestly, he'd never imagined he'd be fielding questions like these, even knowing that Mobius had feelings for Kaito.
"So the two of them are also at that stage, I take it?"
After listening to Childe's account, Mobius asked the follow-up just as coldly as before.
"I would assume so." Childe's answer was just as cautious this time.
He couldn't help it — he was genuinely worried she might take her frustration out on him now that she had all this information.
"What an infuriating man." Under Childe's gaze, Mobius seemed genuinely irritated as she said, "The moment he sees me, he runs as far as he can — but with every other girl he meets, it's love at first sight."
____
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