Tabibito edged a little closer to Jean's office, but all she could make out were a few scattered words from inside.
When she heard Seamus mention Barbara, she was just about to lean in further when Yanfei pulled her away.
"Listening in on other people's family matters isn't a good idea," Yanfei said.
"Oh... fine." Tabibito nodded.
"Tabibito, how do you know Jean's father?" Yanfei asked.
"You don't know him? Well, I guess that's normal."
Before she could say more, she saw Seamus coming out and stopped there.
Seamus stepped out and greeted her when he noticed her nearby.
"So it's you, Tabibito. Feels like I haven't seen you in quite a while."
"Seamus, did something happen?" Tabibito asked.
Seamus glanced at her, then at the people beside her. "And these are?"
"They're all from Liyue. They came here to handle some business. I can vouch for them—they won't spread anything around."
Seamus nodded. "Barbara seems to have fallen for someone recently. I want Jean to keep a closer eye on her."
"She's still young. It would be bad if someone deceived her."
"Tabibito, you and Jean get along fairly well. Talk to her for me later."
"Alright," Tabibito said with a nod.
Once Seamus had left, she muttered, "Do you think Jean agreed?"
"She probably did," Paimon said. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have looked so upset."
"That's possible," Tabibito said.
"By the way, is Jean's family some kind of big noble clan?" Shinobu asked, confused. "Isn't liking someone normal? Why make such a fuss over it?"
"Jean comes from a major family. They care a lot more about things like status," Tabibito said.
"Alright, enough of that. Let's go see Acting Grand Master Jean," Yanfei said, glancing toward the office door.
Tabibito nodded.
...
After wrapping up their business, Tabibito took Yanfei and Shinobu to Favonius Cathedral.
There were not many people there at the moment, and the three of them quickly spotted Barbara.
She was sitting on a bench, completely lost in thought.
"Barbara," Tabibito called as she walked over.
"Ke—... oh. Tabibito." Barbara's eyes showed a flicker of disappointment when she realized who it was. "And the people beside you are...?"
"This is Yanfei, and this is Shinobu. They're helping me with something, so they came along."
Then Tabibito leaned closer and asked, "You looked completely distracted just now. Don't tell me you've fallen for someone?"
"Does Paimon know who it is?" Paimon asked at once.
"Paimon!" Barbara's whole face went red. She lowered her head and said, "I... I don't even know if this counts as liking someone."
"But whenever I see her, my heart starts racing. I get so nervous, and I can't help wanting to see her again. I..."
"That's what liking someone feels like," Shinobu said.
"You sound pretty experienced," Tabibito said.
Shinobu shook her head. "I've just heard other people talk about it. That's how love at first sight feels. Falling for someone is like that too."
"I can't speak from Barbara's exact perspective," she continued, "but if it were me, I'd hold on to the chance. It's hard enough to like someone. Love at first sight is even harder."
"I agree with Shinobu on that point," Yanfei said.
Tabibito moved closer to Barbara and asked, "So who is it? Is it that person?"
Barbara shook her head.
"A Liyue person?" Tabibito asked.
Barbara nodded.
The moment she heard that, Tabibito's expression changed. She had a bad feeling it might be Ryou.
She stared at Barbara and asked, "Is that person named Ryou?"
Shinobu: ???
Yanfei: ???
Paimon: ???
Barbara froze for a second, then looked up at Tabibito. "Ryou? But that's her husband."
"Oh, you mean Ryou. I know who you mean."
Then a second later, it finally sank in.
Paimon lost it. "Barbara said 'her husband,' didn't she? So that means you fell for his wife?"
"Wait, you fell for a Liyue girl?"
Shinobu: ???
Yanfei: ???
Tabibito: ???
Barbara's face burned bright red as she lowered her head again. "I-I... I don't know if it's really love."
Tabibito, Yanfei, and Shinobu all looked at each other, none of them knowing what to say.
If Barbara had fallen for Ryou, that would have made perfect sense. He was young, handsome, and ridiculously charming. Tabibito had even been half-prepared to treat Barbara like a rival.
But she never would have imagined Barbara had skipped Ryou entirely and set her sights on his wife instead.
Tabibito threw her arms around Barbara, overjoyed. "This is great, Barbara! You steal Keqing away, and I'll steal Ryou away."
"That way both of us get a happy future. Two birds with one stone!"
"You're literally trying to wreck their marriage," Yanfei snapped, glaring at Tabibito before sitting down beside Barbara instead.
"Listen to me. Don't pay attention to Tabibito's nonsense."
"What do you mean nonsense?" Tabibito grumbled, unhappy.
"Say one less word," Shinobu muttered as she pulled Tabibito off to one side and sat her down farther away. "If Yanfei gets angry, your hundred million Mora might go up in smoke."
"That kind of feeling is definitely more like sisterly admiration, not that kind of love," Tabibito said, her eyes darting around.
Shinobu rolled her eyes. She knew perfectly well Tabibito was only backing down for the sake of that hundred million Mora.
Still, the thought of Tabibito getting that kind of money really did make her jealous...
Dragonspine—
Ryou had set up a hot pot at Albedo's camp, and the table beside it was lined with fresh ingredients.
The broth was boiling hard, steam rising in waves, and the whole campsite was filled with heat and fragrance.
Ryou started dropping ingredients into the pot.
"I'll go lighter on the spice," he said to Keqing. "The seasoning is made from a special blend of dried peppers from different regions, but it's still within a normal range."
Keqing looked at the pot and felt a little intimidated. The red oil floating across the surface and the bubbling broth made it look fierce, and the aroma alone was intense.
"I can eat spicy food," Klee said.
"See? Even Klee can handle it. What are you scared of?" Ryou laughed.
While no one was paying attention, he used [Mouth] to breathe two streams of energy over the pot, enhancing the flavor and removing any trace of gaminess.
Once the fire was burning strong enough, he added the vegetables and meat one by one. Under the rolling boil, everything cooked quickly.
Sitting in front of the pot, Ryou said, "Come on, eat."
"Mhm!" the others said as they sat down and started.
Keqing took a bite of beef, and the tender texture nearly stunned her.
She gave Ryou a thumbs-up. "I've never had beef prepared like this before. The little bit of heat with that tenderness... it's incredible."
"Then eat more." Ryou immediately picked out several more slices for her.
"Daddy, I want some too," Klee said, looking up at him.
"Alright, alright, everyone gets some." Ryou filled bowls for Klee and Shenhe too, giving them meat and vegetables.
He had also put in plenty of fish tofu, shrimp paste, meatballs, and other ingredients, so the whole hot pot looked especially rich and tempting.
Even after tasting it himself, Ryou nodded in satisfaction.
With all the buffs and his own enhancements layered on top, the flavor was absurdly good.
He had only been eating for a short while when he heard someone approaching the camp.
Ryou turned toward the entrance. "Who is it?"
"Hm? Ryou?" Eula walked in after hearing his voice.
The moment she stepped inside, she saw Ryou, Shenhe, Keqing, and Klee all sitting there, sweating from the heat and eating happily.
The aroma was irresistible—so irresistible, in fact, that it made her stomach tighten on the spot.
"Eula, would you like to sit down and have some with us?" Ryou asked.
"I..." Eula hesitated.
Strictly speaking, she and Ryou did not have any real grudge between them. Their relationship was only a little awkward because of Yanfei.
She had wanted to refuse.
But once that smell hit her nose again, she swallowed hard.
"Eula-nee, sit down and eat hot pot with us," Klee called out. "Ryou-nii's hot pot is really good. There are beef balls, shrimp paste, fish tofu..."
"Then... I suppose I'll have to trouble you." Eula finally gave in, though she told herself she would remember this little debt for later.
And anyway, eating hot pot once should not be a big deal.
Right. No big deal at all.
Once she had convinced herself, Eula plopped down beside Klee, accepted a bowl and chopsticks, and started eating.
The more she ate, the more shocked she became.
It was just cooked meat, yet how could it taste this fresh and rich?
And those meatballs were outrageously good.
Before long, Eula had completely lost control and was eating nonstop. By the time anyone noticed, she had practically emptied the entire pot by herself.
Klee looked at the nearly bare pot, then turned to Ryou with pitiful eyes.
The moment Ryou saw that expression, his heart skipped, and when he noticed Keqing looking at him too, he raised a hand and brought out another batch of ingredients.
"After this, we're going to have to buy more supplies," he said.
"Then I'll go with you," Keqing said as she started dropping the fresh ingredients into the pot again.
Only then did Eula come back to herself. Her whole face went red.
"Ryou, Keqing, I..."
"It's fine," Ryou said with a smile. "You live alone in a hut up on the mountain, don't you? Burning through that much energy out here is normal."
"Y-Yeah. Right." Eula forced an awkward laugh and nodded.
The truth was, she had been done with her work for a while and had been heading back when she caught that scent from far away.
She could not resist and ended up coming over.
But none of that mattered anymore. Eula looked at the food on the table, then started eating wildly again.
Keqing lightly punched Ryou. "These meatballs are seriously good. Make more when we get back."
"Alright," Ryou said.
"Hm? You made these meatballs yourself?" Eula looked up at him.
"I like these kinds of things, so I usually make extra," Ryou said.
"Impressive." Eula gave him a thumbs-up.
She knew Ryou's background was anything but ordinary, and he had even married Keqing.
For a man of his status to cook personally like this was almost unheard of.
And from the way Keqing was speaking, it was obvious he had done most of it for her sake.
That made Eula a little envious.
Ryou really did spoil Keqing.
But when she thought back to the harm caused by his lottery business, her feelings grew complicated again.
That was true too, after all.
[End of chapter]
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