However, Lumine and Paimon didn't know that Yuto had already set them up.
But even if they did... they probably wouldn't say anything.
After all, compared to what they had done in other countries, the 'stealing the Water God's cake' and 'using the Fontaine Vice-Minister's private Gold' charges were not that rebellious.
Moreover, only a select few knew about these charges, and Yuto would help them erase the corresponding traces afterward, so there wouldn't be any negative impact.
At this moment, Paimon had just finished ordering food, and her body suddenly trembled unnaturally, then she muttered softly:
"Why do I have a bad feeling... Is it because I'm going to Meropide soon?"
She scratched her head, seemingly not knowing where this ominous premonition came from.
Lumine, on the other hand, stared dumbfounded at the order placed by the waiter next to her table, momentarily speechless.
As Paimon's travel companion, she knew Paimon could eat a lot, but this...
"Even if Yuto is paying... didn't you order a bit too much? Can you really finish it all?"
Lumine asked with some concern.
If Yuto were here now... she really wanted to ask him if Fontaine had any laws related to food waste.
If there were, she and Paimon probably wouldn't need the document Yuto prepared.
Hearing Lumine's question, Paimon scratched her head awkwardly and whispered:
"I should be able to finish it... When I think about going to Meropide in the coming days, my stomach feels empty, and I feel like I can eat all of this!"
As she spoke, Paimon's eyes suddenly widened, as if she had thought of something incredible.
"Oh no! If Fontaine has any laws about wasting food, wouldn't we—"
Hearing this question, Lumine shook her head helplessly and retorted mercilessly:
"Why didn't you have this realization when you ordered so much food just now?"
"Never mind! Anyway, we're going to Meropide voluntarily, so it doesn't make any difference, right?"
"More importantly, once we get there, we must hurry up and investigate. I don't want to stay in there for too long..."
It seemed as if Paimon's words triggered some special mechanism in Fontaine, as a pink-haired girl wearing a reporter's hat suddenly appeared from the side.
"Oh? What do I hear? Is that the smell of news?"
Charlotte's sudden appearance startled Paimon quite a bit; she completed a perfect Gold spin in the air before barely recovering.
"Waaah! Charlotte?! Where did you come from?!"
Looking at Paimon spinning in the air, a smile appeared on Charlotte's face, as if the earlier frustration of being stood up had completely vanished.
Lumine, on the other hand, gave an exasperated look at the overly dramatic Paimon, then turned to Charlotte with a hint of apology and changed the subject:
"Is Charlotte here for a meal too?"
Charlotte nodded at this, saying somewhat indignantly:
"Don't even mention it! I had an eyewitness to a case scheduled to meet me here for dinner, hoping to dig up some big news from him, but he actually stood me up!"
After saying that, Charlotte's emerald green eyes fixed on Lumine, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
"But then again... this is commonplace for a reporter. As long as I can get some news from Lumine, the meal expenses might just come back..."
When Lumine saw Charlotte like this... she thought of someone.
—Yuto.
If Yuto resembled an old fox when he showed that kind of smile... then Charlotte was like a little fox.
Although they both had their own agendas, at least it wasn't anything bad.
Paimon, who had been startled earlier, now stood with her hands on her hips, looking at Charlotte with some displeasure and saying:
"Charlotte! We're still here!"
Hearing this, Charlotte waved her hands repeatedly, chuckled, and said:
"Hahaha... It's nothing, nothing. But I just heard you mention Meropide. You two haven't committed some offense, have you?"
Perhaps because she had just thought about being 'imprisoned in Meropide for massive food waste due to not finishing food,' Paimon was clearly a bit sensitive about this.
"No way! We're just going this time to—"
Before Paimon could finish, Lumine coughed symbolically twice and kept signaling Paimon with her eyes not to say anything more.
Although Paimon was usually a bit unreliable, she still knew the importance of things.
"Ah! Uh... we're going... going to..."
Looking at Paimon's somewhat inexpressible demeanor, Charlotte blinked slightly, then gently shook her head.
In her understanding, Paimon might have committed some mistake that locals wouldn't make but outsiders definitely would, and happened to get caught, which made it hard to articulate.
"Lumine, Paimon, it's alright. Although I know very little about Meropide, it's not a particularly terrifying place. Just relax."
"Besides... you're adventurers yourselves, and you don't need to find work in Fontaine. Just be more careful next time."
Charlotte offered a few words of comfort, then continued:
"Oh, by the way, if you're going to Meropide... could you help me gather some material?"
Paimon blinked, seemingly thinking of the detective investigation processes in detective novels, then shook her head.
"This might... not have enough time."
"It won't be that complicated. I just want to see if the Gold Traveler, renowned throughout Teyvat, can have more contact with the administrator of Meropide who holds the title of Duke."
"Because Meropide is not directly governed by Fontaine, most people in Fontaine know very little about Meropide..."
Before Charlotte could finish, Lumine understood her meaning.
"You want to do an exclusive interview with that Duke through me?"
Lumine guessed.
Charlotte quickly nodded her small head, "Exactly! That's what I mean. Of course, I won't let you work for free. This meal will be paid by—"
Before Charlotte could finish, the waiter who had taken their order earlier came to them, placing a plate of exquisite macarons and a piece of paper on the table.
"This is...?"
Paimon tilted her head, somewhat confused.
"Good day to you both. Miss Sedna, an attendant from Palais Mermonia, asked me to bring these to you, along with a letter. Please accept them."
Paimon blinked at this, quickly glanced at the letter, then said with a pleasant surprise:
"Wow! These are macarons made by Yuto himself! I didn't expect the Assistant Administrator of Fontaine to make such desserts!"
Hearing this, Charlotte nodded proudly, as if praising Yuto was praising herself.
"Of course, Mr. Yuto is gentle and knows many things. From repairing a Kamera to revising laws, there's basically nothing he can't do!"
At this point, Charlotte paused slightly, then whispered:
"Hmm... there's a rumor that Mr. Yuto was a very famous pastry chef in Fontaine before he became Assistant Administrator. Every dessert Lady Furina eats now is made by him."
With that, Charlotte's gaze fell upon the plate of exquisite macarons, and she said with a smile:
"So, now you two have also eaten the sweets that the Water God loves!"
...
Looking at the scene before her, Nonomi frowned slightly.
"Something's not right, nine out of ten things are off..."
"No matter how special these desserts are, they're just desserts. If they were given by Yuto... why weren't they brought out at the beginning?"
Nonomi fell into deep thought; she felt like she had grasped something, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Wait?! Eating desserts that only the Water God can eat..."
"Could it be that the reason on the document Yuto signed was that I stole the Water God's tribute—cake?!"
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