[Liyue Harbor]
After settling Cloud Retainer and the other two adepti in Liyue Harbor, Ningguang put away her polite smile, a trace of fatigue showing between her brows.
"What exactly are these adepti planning?"
After learning that Lumine had been captured, Ningguang had wanted to interrogate her personally, but Levi stopped her.
He also told her to release everyone who had been arrested.
Whenever she asked whether he knew the details behind the Rex Lapis assassination, every one of them acted mysteriously and refused to say anything.
If Ganyu hadn't confirmed that Cloud Retainer and the others were indeed adepti from Jueyun Karst, Ningguang would have thought they were in the same group as Lumine and had come to Liyue Harbor just to toy with her.
After thinking for a moment, Ningguang turned to the maid beside her.
"Zhong, where is the Little Rex Lapis now?"
———
Meanwhile, after leaving Wanmin Restaurant, Hu Tao enthusiastically waved goodbye to Xiangling, who had waived her bill.
She stretched out her pair of long legs that would make Levi drool and headed toward Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
As she walked, she picked her teeth with a toothpick.
"Burp~ I'm so full. Xiangling was way too generous."
"Did you hear? About that Little Rex Lapis..."
"I heard, but is it really true?"
"Hm?"
Hearing them, Hu Tao threw away the toothpick and turned toward the two passersby who were talking.
"Little Rex Lapis?"
Recalling the title she'd never heard before, Hu Tao rubbed her chin.
"What happened in Liyue Harbor while I was locked up?"
Watching the two walk away, Hu Tao jogged after them and tapped one of them on the shoulder.
Smiling brightly, she said, "Hey, could you tell me about this 'Little Rex Lapis'?"
"We..."
Before they could finish speaking, they watched Hu Tao slowly pull out a Mora pouch from her clothes.
The two of them instantly widened their eyes.
They forcibly swallowed the words, "We still have something to do."
Taking the Mora pouch, one of them grinned obsequiously.
"Of course! Of course!"
He slapped away his companion's reaching hand, cleared his throat, and began telling Hu Tao everything that had happened today.
At first, Hu Tao was only curious about this "Little Rex Lapis."
But when she heard it had happened at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, she froze.
'Little Rex Lapis is at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?'
Hu Tao's eyes widened.
It was the first time she'd learned that her own funeral parlor had been hiding someone like that.
"Do you know exactly who it is?"
The passerby shook his head.
"No idea. They say the Qixing issued a secrecy order and forbade anyone who knows from spreading the information."
Thinking about it, he couldn't help feeling regretful.
There had been so many people watching at the time.
Why hadn't he gone to join the crowd?
If he had, maybe he could've gotten some hush money from the Qixing.
But it didn't matter now.
Remembering the Mora pouch Hu Tao had given him, the two impatiently found a quiet spot after she left and opened it.
A flash of golden light appeared.
Dozens of Mora lay quietly in their palms.
The two looked at each other.
Bang!
The front door of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was kicked open from outside, and Hu Tao rushed in.
Looking at the employees chatting quietly among themselves, Hu Tao didn't bother with anything else and waved her arm.
"Where's Zhongli?"
"I'm here, Director."
Zhongli's voice came from a stone table not far away.
Hu Tao looked over, completely missing the strange looks everyone was giving Zhongli.
She walked over to the stone table, sat down naturally, and poured herself a full cup of the freshly brewed tea.
After wetting her throat, she said, "I've got a mission for you."
Zhongli poured himself some tea.
Just as he was about to ask what the mission was, Hu Tao suddenly slapped the stone table, her face flushing red.
"When I was wandering around today, I heard that our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor has been hiding a Little Rex Lapis!"
'How rude.'
Coming to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor for training without even saying hello beforehand.
"The tea is hot. Drink it slowly."
"Oh."
Hu Tao turned toward an empty spot and stuck out her tongue.
"Anyway, I'll leave the mission of finding this 'Little Rex Lapis' to you to help me with."
"Don't worry about that secrecy agreement from the Qixing. You just need to help me run a few errands."
After saying that, she looked toward all the employees.
"As for those of you who already know, don't tell me anything. This Director is going to find that 'Little Rex Lapis' on my own!"
The employees' gazes shifted back and forth between Guest Consultant Zhongli and their Director Hu Tao.
———
[The Luofu, Exalting Sanctum]
"What?!"
"Nani?!"
Kiana and Lumine both cried out in shock.
They looked at each other from across the room and saw the same bewildered expression in each other's eyes.
"So you're saying..."
"We actually don't need to break out of prison?"
Kiana didn't react all that much.
Teyvat wasn't her world.
Even if she ended up wanted there, it wasn't a big deal.
At worst, she'd just stop going there.
But Lumine was different.
She still hadn't met her brother.
She immediately grabbed Levi's hand, her eyes full of hope.
"Brother! You'll help your little sister one more time, right?"
[Kiana: She doesn't even have any shame left.]
Kiana had never expected that over something this minor, Lumine would shamelessly start calling Levi her brother and herself his sister.
[Lumine: @Levi, I hope you make Kiana wanted in her own world.]
Let's see if she's still laughing then.
Hearing Lumine's words, Levi remained expressionless.
When she needed something, it was "Brother."
When she didn't, it was "Pervert."
Seeing the conversation between the two in the group chat, Levi also made a statement there.
[Levi: I'm not your brother.]
[Stelle: Wait!]
For some reason, Stelle suddenly appeared again and interrupted what Levi was about to say.
[Stelle: You just said that word, didn't you?]
The next second...
[Ding! "Group Member" Stelle has been muted by "Administrator" for ten hours!]
Continuing from before...
[Levi: I'm not your brother. Your brother is still in Teyvat.]
[Lumine: No!]
[Lumine: That's my older brother. You're my brother. Brother! My real brother!]
[Asta: A real brother with no blood relation?]
[Lumine: Exactly!]
[Lumine: So, just help me one more time~]
[Lumine: Pretty please~]
"Pretty please~"
"Eugh~"
Kiana shrank her neck back, looking at Lumine hugging Levi's arm with undisguised disgust.
That cutesy voice made her skin crawl.
If it had been another girl, like Elysia, Kiana would've been fine with it.
But that voice had come out of Lumine's mouth.
That was something Kiana couldn't accept.
With her cheek pressed against Levi's back, Lumine faced Kiana with an icy expression.
She glared coldly at Kiana.
The movement of her hands never stopped as she continued, "Pretty please~ Just help your little sister this once~"
I've already humiliated myself this much.
He shouldn't have any reason to refuse me now, right?
He's already gotten free tofu. If he still won't help me, that's really too much.
"What kind of person do you take me for?!"
Levi, who hadn't spoken until now, flung Lumine's hands off his arm.
He raised his head, his face filled with righteous conviction.
"I'm a man of principles!"
How many times had he already helped?
Once at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Once in Liyue Harbor.
As the saying goes, once and twice is fine, but not a third time.
No matter what, he wasn't helping this time!
Just as Lumine was thinking of another plan, Elysia, who had disappeared for quite a while, suddenly appeared again.
[Elysia: Being his real little sister won't work.]
For Levi, forget a little sister with different parents.
Even a biological younger sister with the same parents wouldn't work.
"..."