Chapter 96: A Promise Made, A Wallet Emptied
As evening fell over Natlan, Lumine and Paimon made their way back to the Stadium of the Sacred Flame. The massive arena had already transformed into a sea of brilliant light and surging crowds. A towering bonfire roared in the very center of the plaza, sending showers of golden sparks into the darkening sky. The rich, heavy aroma of spiced roasted meat drifted through the air, mingling with the upbeat, thumping rhythms of traditional Natlan folk music. Locals dressed in their most vibrant festive attire danced and cheered, their faces glowing with unfiltered joy.
Just as Lumine and Paimon prepared to dive into the celebratory throng, a figure stepped out from the shadows near the entrance.
"Traveler, Paimon, over here!"
It was Chuychu. She waved them over frantically, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes. She guided them away from the roaring bonfire and into a quieter, dimly lit corner of the stadium. Her brow was pinched tight, her eyes darting around—a stark contrast to the jubilant atmosphere just a few steps away.
"Miss Chuychu, what is wrong?" Lumine asked, her voice dropping to match the secluded setting. "Do you need our help with something?"
Chuychu let out a long, heavy breath. "It is about my sister. You must have noticed by now... Chasca's emotions can sometimes be highly unstable."
She paused, a bitter, self-deprecating smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Actually, I intentionally provoke her sometimes. I do it hoping she will vent her anger on me beforehand, to release some of that dangerous pressure building up inside her. I know it is a clumsy method. I know it hurts her, but I..."
"Chuychu..." Paimon murmured, her large eyes softening with sympathy as she floated closer.
Lumine reached out, gently resting a hand on Chuychu's arm. Her gaze was steady and warm. "I understand, Chuychu. You are protecting her in the only way you know how, even if the method is a bit unique."
A fleeting shadow of nostalgia crossed Lumine's golden eyes. 'Because I also have a very important family member. My brother.'
"I know that desperate feeling of wanting to keep a sibling safe," Lumine continued softly. "Sometimes, it makes us act clumsy, or leaves us entirely at a loss for what to do. But that underlying sentiment is the most precious thing in the world."
Chuychu blinked, clearly caught off guard by the depth of Lumine's empathy. Her voice hitched, thick with unshed tears. "Thank you. Thank you, Traveler. Just hearing you say that you understand... it truly means everything."
She took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing her posture straight as she finally voiced her true purpose. "Traveler, Paimon, I need to ask a massive favor of you both."
"If... and I only mean if, in the future, you are with my sister when she unfortunately slips into that uncontrollable, berserk state... could Paimon please use her miraculous little wrench to help her?"
Chuychu stepped closer, her eyes wide with pleading hope. "Just like how you helped Iansan and the others purify the Abyss corruption this afternoon! In those critical moments, when she might lose her mind and harm our companions or even herself, could you use that power to calm her down? To help her survive the crisis safely?"
Lumine and Paimon did not hesitate for a single second.
Lumine gave a firm, solemn nod. "Chasca is our comrade-in-arms. We will never forget the bond we forged fighting side-by-side. If she needs us, we will not step back. Paimon's abilities are always ready to protect a friend."
"Mhm, mhm!" Paimon bobbed up and down vigorously, her small face set in absolute determination. "Do not worry about a thing, Chuychu! Leave it to Paimon! I am always ready to swing that wrench!"
A visible weight seemed to lift from Chuychu's shoulders. She bowed deeply, her voice trembling with relief. "Thank you! Thank you both from the bottom of my heart!"
With the heavy burden finally off her chest, she offered them a relaxed, genuine smile before turning and disappearing back into the crowd.
Returning to the feast, the atmosphere was nothing short of electric.
A warrior from the Children of Echoes had cleared a circle near the fire, spinning on his head and performing rapid street dance moves as the crowd clapped in time with the beat. Laughter echoed over the crackling flames. Lumine and Paimon quickly let themselves get swept up in the pure, infectious joy of the night.
As they ate, they glanced toward the high seat of the main platform. Mavuika sat there, looking more at ease than they had ever seen her. A subtle, genuine smile played at the corners of her lips as she watched her people celebrate.
"Mavuika seems... really happy today," Paimon mumbled around a massive mouthful of sizzling, oil-dripping roasted meat.
Lumine nodded, her eyes tracking the Pyro Archon. "Yes. It looks like a massive boulder has been lifted off her shoulders."
Recalling the scattered conversations she had overheard earlier in the day, Lumine lowered her voice. "I heard it is because of our expedition today. Not only did we manage to rescue Kachina, but more, we saved the main consciousness of the Wayob from the Scions of the Canopy."
She took a sip of her drink before continuing. "Just awakening a single clone of the Wayob is enough to protect the Children of Echoes from Abyss incursions for a long time. But bringing back a complete Wayob main body? That is a monumental victory for Natlan's Five Hundred Year Plan to resist the Abyss erosion and restore the Night Kingdom."
"It basically buys Natlan an incredible amount of time," Lumine concluded. "That takes a massive amount of immediate pressure off Mavuika."
"Oh, so that is it! No wonder she is smiling so much!" Paimon chirped, finally swallowing her food.
Lumine watched the firelight dance across Mavuika's profile. She knew, deep down, that this relaxation was only temporary. As the guardian of an entire nation, Mavuika understood better than anyone that a leader thrives in adversity and perishes in ease. Once the fires of this celebration burned out, the crushing responsibility of locating the remaining two Heroes of the Six Tribes, along with the endless, grinding war against the Abyss, would be waiting for her at dawn. And for countless dawns after that.
Hours passed, and the grand banquet gradually drew to a close amidst a final round of roaring cheers.
Lumine and Paimon, bellies full and spirits high, stretched and prepared to head back to their quarters. But before they could take more than a few steps, a group of local shop owners blocked their path. They wore different styles of merchant clothing, and all of them sported polite, yet unmistakably predatory, debt-collecting smiles.
"Excuse me, are you the esteemed Miss Traveler?" the lead merchant asked, bowing slightly.
"I am. Is there a problem?" A cold, sinking premonition suddenly gripped Lumine's stomach.
"Well, it is like this," the merchant said, rubbing his hands together with an awkward chuckle. "This afternoon, a highly distinguished gentleman named Zhongli, who claimed to be a consultant from Liyue, visited our stalls. He purchased a rather large quantity of premium local specialty ores and exquisite handcrafted ornaments..."
The merchant cleared his throat. "Ah, he instructed us to put the entire sum on your tab. He said we should seek you out for the final settlement after the evening dinner."
Lumine froze.
Paimon gasped, her tiny hands flying to her cheeks.
A violent throbbing started at Lumine's temples. Her jaw locked tight. She reached out with a trembling hand and accepted the thick stack of detailed invoices the merchants eagerly pushed toward her. Her eyes scanned the bottom line.
Five hundred thousand Mora.
The number mocked her. It was several times the amount of Mora she had painstakingly scraped together from fighting monsters and prying open treasure chests all afternoon!
"Zhong... li..." Lumine ground the name out between her teeth. A deeply familiar, agonizing mixture of absolute helplessness and financial heartbreak welling up in her chest.
She had been so completely absorbed in the thrill of activating Waypoints and enjoying the evening feast that she had entirely forgotten a critical fact. This worldly wanderer, this elegant consultant, possessed the terrifying passive attribute of being a walking tab machine!
The ancient, primal fear of being dominated by Liyue's endless bills crashed over her all over again.
With movements as stiff as a wooden puppet, Lumine unclipped her coin pouch. She dumped out every single Mora she had earned from her grueling afternoon adventure. It was not enough. Whimpering softly, she dug into her secret emergency savings, painfully counting out coin after coin until she finally managed to fill the giant financial crater Zhongli had casually blasted into her life.
The merchants thanked her profusely and scurried away, leaving Lumine staring down at her completely deflated, pathetic-looking wallet. She wanted to cry, but she had no tears left to shed.
"Mora! Our precious Mora! It is all gone!" Paimon wailed, hugging the empty leather pouch to her chest as if mourning a fallen comrade. "We worked all afternoon for absolutely nothing! Lumine, we took such a huge loss!"
Lumine dragged a hand down her face, letting out a long, hollow sigh. Her voice dripped with regret and bitter self-mockery. "A fatal miscalculation. Truly, a fatal miscalculation. I was so busy being happy that I forgot about Zhongli, the single biggest unstable factor in the universe! Next time... next time I am setting a strict spending limit for him before he even steps outside!"
She looked up at Paimon's tear-stained little face. Despite the pain in her wallet, a helpless, amused sigh escaped her lips. She reached out and patted Paimon's head.
"Alright, Paimon. Let us just treat it... let us just pretend we bought a very expensive souvenir for Hu Tao. Come on, let us go to sleep. We will have all the Mora we want in our dreams."
Carrying the heavy burden of their catastrophic financial loss and a lingering, simmering resentment toward a certain consultant, the two of them shuffled down the road toward their temporary residence.
Above them, the brilliant starry sky of Natlan shone down, indifferent to the fact that the cost of Zhongli's leisurely afternoon stroll was, indeed, astronomically steep.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]