Bang!
The hotel door was kicked open, and March 7th stormed in, seething with anger, her gaze sweeping coldly across the room.
Only Mr. Yang was there.
Seeing her like this, Mr. Yang was puzzled.
Setting aside the fact that March 7th had left with Kiana, why had she come back alone?
More importantly...
Who had upset her this time?
Kiana?
From what he knew about the two of them, Kiana shouldn't have been able to make March 7th this angry.
"March 7th, you..."
"Mr. Yang, don't say anything yet."
Just as he was about to ask what had happened, she cut him off without ceremony.
Her eyes scanned the room, but she didn't see Stelle anywhere.
Stelle's room was wide open, but she wasn't inside. March 7th even checked the wardrobe, and there was still no sign of her.
Walking over to Mr. Yang, she asked under his puzzled gaze, "Mr. Yang, do you know where Stelle went?"
Stelle.
The moment he heard her name, Mr. Yang immediately realized who had angered March 7th.
Recalling how sneaky Stelle had looked when she left earlier, he pushed up his glasses.
"I only know she left not long ago. As for where she went, I have no idea."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Maybe you should start searching the parks."
When Stelle left, she seemed to be carrying something.
Judging from March 7th's current expression, it was probably gear for spending the night outside, something like a tent.
And if she wanted to pitch a tent without having it torn down by the Cloud Knights on patrol, an open park would be the best place.
So Mr. Yang suggested that March 7th start there.
Search for Stelle's whereabouts.
If that still didn't work...
"You can report her missing to the Cloud Knights."
With the Luofu's efficiency, the Divination Commission could find Stelle's location with just a few taps.
March 7th nodded after hearing that.
She decided to check the nearby parks first. If she still couldn't find her, she'd report her missing.
Watching March 7th storm off again, Mr. Yang muttered, "Just what did Stelle do to make March 7th this angry?"
He was curious. The only person on the Express capable of making March 7th wear such a cold expression was Stelle.
"Achoo!"
Stelle rubbed her itchy nose as she stood on a high spot and looked into the distance.
"Great! No sign of March 7th!"
A passerby glanced at her and couldn't help muttering,
"Have some manners."
Stelle smiled awkwardly at the person, climbed down from the bench, and wiped clean the spot she'd stepped on with her sleeve.
She sat back down, resting her chin in both hands as she stared blankly ahead.
Her thoughts drifted into the chat group.
Unfortunately, it wasn't lively at the moment.
Grr~
Her stomach growled at the worst possible time.
"So hungry..."
Just as she was wondering where to find food and was about to ask a passerby whether the Luofu had anywhere to receive relief rations...
A familiar voice sounded.
"Hm? Stelle?"
Hearing the voice, Stelle looked over. The moment she recognized who it was, her face lit up with delight.
"Great! Dinner's settled!"
"...?"
Herta, who had walked over to her, slowly produced a question mark.
What kind of thing was that to say?
Realizing what she'd blurted out, Stelle scratched her head awkwardly.
"Ahaha... I didn't mean it like that, I really didn't..."
She was extremely annoyed with herself.
'Crap, how did I accidentally say what I was thinking?!'
'Can I still freeload dinner now?'
'Feels kind of unlikely.'
If Herta hadn't been standing right in front of her, she'd have slapped herself twice.
———
"The Retirement Old Geez... Reemployment Plan officially begins!"
"Didn't we agree to call it 'old man'?!", Cloud Retainer protested.
Levi blinked.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot."
"The Retirement Old Man Reemployment Plan... activate!"
The other two adepti watched as Cloud Retainer made up with Levi in no time at all, then exchanged glances.
After that, they gave their opinion.
"If Rex Lapis truly intended..."
Wouldn't it be inappropriate for them to interfere?
By mortal standards, the adepti were merely Rex Lapis's subordinates.
It was only because Rex Lapis himself didn't care about such hierarchy.
That was why their relationship didn't feel like that of superior and subordinate, but more like friends.
But regardless of which it was...
If possible, it was better not to interfere too much with someone else's wishes.
So neither of them wanted to carry out that so-called "Retirement Old Geez... Old Man Reemployment Plan."
"That's because you don't get it!"
Before Levi could speak, Cloud Retainer started lecturing them instead.
"Rex Lapis must have spent too much time with mortals. Their way of thinking rubbed off on him, making him lazy!"
That's why he'd come up with the idea of retiring and staying out of things.
"If you two don't want to join, hmph, then this adeptus will do it alone."
Now that she'd said that much, what else could the other two say?
They sighed at each other.
'Let's just hope Rex Lapis doesn't blame us afterward.'
———
"Hm?"
Walking back toward Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Zhongli suddenly sensed something and looked toward Jueyun Karst.
"Why do I have this uneasy feeling?"
He looked confused.
It felt as though someone was carrying out a plan aimed specifically at him.
But he couldn't think of anyone who would target him.
As the consultant of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, he'd always treated others kindly. He had no enemies in Liyue.
Not to mention that Wangsheng Funeral Parlor dominated Liyue Harbor. It didn't even have a single competitor.
There wasn't anyone who could even be considered a rival.
Just as he withdrew his gaze and was about to continue walking, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Wangsheng Funeral Parlor! I've brought back the person you wanted!"
"K-Keep it down."
With the enhancement of her strength, Kiana's shout echoed throughout all of Liyue Harbor.
Zhongli looked up.
When he saw Kiana's appearance, he froze for a moment before quickly recovering.
She only looked like that person.
It wasn't that fellow descending upon Teyvat to come to Liyue and cause him trouble.
What trouble could he possibly have?
He hadn't even handed over the Gnosis yet.
There wasn't any reason to come looking for him.
His gaze shifted to the girl over Kiana's shoulder.
He recognized her immediately. As the scapegoat who had allowed him to retire safely, there was no way he wouldn't recognize her.
He hadn't expected that she wouldn't be captured by the Millelith, only to be caught by someone else and brought back to Liyue Harbor.
But why was she someone wanted by Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?
Shouldn't it have been the Millelith?
———
Meanwhile...
Heartbroken, Paimon was stuffing herself with five big bowls of rice. She looked up and saw Lumine flying through the sky.
Especially since she recognized the person carrying her.
"Over here! Over here!"
Xiangling, who had been watching the newcomers above, was startled.
'Is Paimon really that bold?'
She didn't even know who they were, yet she dared call out to them.
If they turned out to be bad people, Paimon's little stunt could get them all caught in one sweep.
Xiangling instinctively wanted to stop Paimon and take her away.
But Kiana had already noticed them after hearing the shout.
Kiana remembered her.
The little one who had been following Lumine back in Mondstadt.
Her name seemed to be... Paimon?
Since Kiana wasn't familiar with Liyue Harbor in the first place, she decided to ask Paimon where Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was.
"H-Here! Over here!"
"..."