23 Barbatos, please save me from these two idiots

'Hmm… in terms of looks, it's no different than colored water, albeit a lot more viscous. The temperatures for cryo and pyro are noticeably different though.'

At the end of yesterday's fiasco, the three of us returned to the inn, with me having to carry both of them; Paimon because she's exhausted, and Lumine because I don't trust her on not doing something stupid just because.

After landing somewhere discreet close to the inn, Lumine carried Paimon and both of us returned to our respective room. Though the heist didn't put much of a strain physically, I am beyond mentally fatigued, given the amount of shit I had to deal with.

It's no wonder that I immediately passed out the moment my head touched the pillow.

'Should I throw them first at an enemy and then follow it with an attack? Or should I just destroy them midair with an attack and imbue them that way? Is that even possible?'

After waking up this morning, I immediately went to Timaeus to ask for some potions if he makes any, or pay him to make some for me if he didn't. I'd rather be done with this as soon as possible before I forget again.

Thankfully, he does have some stock leftover. But since he's too busy learning alchemy and assisting Albedo's work, he told me I shouldn't count on him for a steady supply since selling them is more like a side hustle to him.

He did give me an 'Alchemy for Dummies' type of guidebook. Free of charge, too. Bless that kind man.

Skimming through the content, the book was filled with known recipes to make certain potions, compound ingredients for specific types of experiments, and even how to properly enhance your weapon using Mora.

I once read that Mora can be used as a catalyst for all sorts of things. And, judging by how all of these recipes require some amount of Mora, I guess I remembered right. Weapon enhancement in particular requires quite a hefty amount.

Reading the step-by-step guide for the potions that I need, it doesn't seem too hard. Then again, putting it into practice is probably going to be a lot more difficult.

'I should take an easier commission today to test this.'

Placing the potion back into my bag, I rest my head on my right hand, watching the citizens going about their day from the edge of the fountain.

'It's bizarre seeing how peaceful and happy the people are now. Not even two days ago, Mondstadt seemed like it's on the brink of collapse.'

I was so lost in focus that I didn't notice that someone was sitting next to me.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Hmm, I'm thinking about making you work for your own Mora for once." Looking at her demeanor, she seems to have calmed down a bit compared to yesterday. "I don't want you or Paimon to be the reason I'm broke."

Grabbing hold of my left hand, she gently rubs it with her thumb. "What, shouldn't the husband be the one responsible for providing for his wife?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, princess, but I'm pretty sure we are not married."

"Details, details."

Letting out a sigh, I returned her gesture by running my hand through hers. "Even if that's the case, you're capable enough to help provide within the household, so why not? Two is better than one, in this case, don't you think?"

"I can just be a housewife. You know, taking care of the house, making you dinner when you return, all that mundane stuff."

"And how long do you think you'd last before you run off doing something stupid?"

"I'd like to think I could last a week."

"Uh huh."

One week? Yeah, right. Even three days is a generous estimate.

Facing away from her, I continued watching the people around me. "Where's Paimon, by the way?"

The people near the entrance have begun setting up their stalls. One of the more popular ones is a fruit stall full of sunsettias and apples. The blacksmith adjacent to it has started to hammer down a piece of metal on his anvil, placing all his focus on keeping a steady rhythm.

"She's sleeping in her own place."

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, that's right. You never saw it before, did you?" I feel my left side getting warmer, her body practically glued to me. Leaning her head on my shoulder, she let out a contented sigh. "Paimon has her own place, a realm you could say, that she sometimes goes to. Mostly to stay out of danger, though."

"And she didn't think to do that when we were dealing with Dvalin?"

"You know how she is under pressure."

"True."

Good Hunter, unlike before, is currently packed with customers. It seems now people are no longer too scared to properly enjoy good food. And in front of a certain souvenir shop, Marjorie stood there, greeting any passing adventurer's with a hungry look in her eyes. Now that things are going back to normal somewhat, she's probably anticipating a lot more treasures coming her way.

"Have you or Paimon eaten yet? What am I saying, of course you haven't."

"Very funny mister comedian."

"I know, they don't call me a clown for nothing."

"I'm pretty sure that was meant as an insult."

The girl manning the general goods shop, Blanche I think her name was, seems to smile a lot more. Previously, under the terrors of Dvalin, she had a hard time stocking up on her goods, which means business hasn't been particularly great for her. Adjacent to the store, Timaeus is focused on the crafting table, doing alchemical stuff I don't really understand.

Leaning my head on top of hers, I couldn't help but relax. "We should probably get going princess."

"Yeah. Yeah, we probably should."

We ended up spending a good portion of our morning sitting on the edge of the fountain, silently enjoying each other's presence.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Clang!

Though I was planning to take things a bit easier this time around, Lumine had other plans in mind. She said that, since she finally has some free time, she would take this opportunity to sharpen her combat skills. And seeing first hand how she managed to solo two camps using only her sword for the majority of it, I'd say she's doing very well.

I did help her deal with some strays though, and managed to test out some of the potions I bought.

"Nini zido!"

Seeing several elemental arrows heading towards Lumine, I erected a barrier around her.

Clang! Clang!

"Careful, princess, more archers on your left."

"Thanks for the assist."

Kicking the shield the hilichurl is holding, she managed to break its guard and finished it in a single swing, before moving towards the archers in an erratic manner to avoid getting hit.

Though she's doing great, there are times when she'd get a bit too focused on her opponent and end up ignoring her surroundings. It happened several times, but hopefully she'd be able to break that habit in time.

"Yaya ika!"

Focusing on the group of hilichurls in front of me, I levitated myself and made an orb of anemo in the middle of their group before making an uppercut motion, throwing the hilichurls off the ground and gathering them towards the center.

The torch-bearing hilichurl on their group had their fire swirled towards the other hilichurls, causing them to burn. Taking off the cap of one of the hydro potions I prepared, I dumped its content towards the gathered anemo energy on my hand before throwing them towards the group of hilichurls.

The result was instantaneous. The pyro energies surrounding them were immediately extinguished by hydro, triggering a vaporizing reaction, rapidly cooling them down.

'It's really hard to tell how much damage it actually does. I know for a fact it's stronger, I've tested it several times before this, but really, where are damage numbers when you need them? I need my damage per screenshot.'

After making sure there are no more hilichurls, I walked towards Lumine, who just finished dealing with her own group.

"How is it?"

"It's going great." Sheathing her sword, she wiped the sweat off her brow. "I'm getting better surprisingly quickly. I guess despite neglecting my technique for quite some time, the muscle memory is still there."

"Good for you. You can come out now, Paimon."

Right next to Lumine, Paimon materializes out of thin air, with what look like broken constellations surrounding her for a brief moment.

"Is it time for lunch yet?"

"Is food the only thing on your mind?"

"Of course not! Paimon thinks about other things too, you know!"

Grabbing the fairy and hugging her close, Lumine pats her head as if she would a pet. "Let's get somewhere else before we start eating, okay Paimon."

"Hehehe… of course, of course."

Looking at the giggling Paimon, it seems that headpats are her weakness. She's pretty weak to compliments as well, surprisingly. And food. Especially food.

"There's a cliff overlooking the ocean if we go further east."

"Let's go there, then. Carry me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Nope."

Letting out a sigh, I swept her off her feet and princess-carried her towards Cape Oath. Not that I really mind that much. After all, I've been doing it for the previous two trips as a form of exercise.

It's true that I've basically replaced walking with levitating, but I've been doing it so often that I can't help but wonder whether it's even doing anything anymore. To remedy that, I decided that flying higher, faster, and carrying some weight will probably do more good.

Not that I plan on telling Lumine about it. After all, wouldn't that basically mean I'm calling her fat?

"What's that?"

On the way towards the cliffside, we passed by a circular platform, with an electric cube-like organism at its center.

"Oh, oh! Paimon knows! That thing is called a hypostasis!" Wiggling herself under Lumine's hold, Paimon excitedly explains. "They are life-forms that have reached the highest elemental purity! And looking at the color, it's most likely an Electro Hypostasis."

"I see. You are so knowledgeable, Paimon."

"Ehehehe… of course! Paimon is the best guide in Teyvat, after all!"

Looking at the hypostasis, I wonder if beating it solely using anemo is possible? If it has the same revival mechanic as it was in game, then probably not.

Reaching the edge of the cliff, I landed near the trees before gently putting Lumine down.

"Thanks, Yuu."

"Anything for the princess."

Letting out a small laugh, she lets go of Paimon before she starts pulling out several things out of thin air: a blanket, a food basket, and some decent sized rocks to hold the blanket down.

"I am so jealous of you right now."

"What can I say, Yuu," while laying down the blanket, she gave me a side glance, with that smug smile that never fails to annoy me, "the world is unfair sometimes."

"Fuck you."

"Is that an offer?"

"I'm leaving."

Grabbing hold of my hand to stop me, she couldn't help the laugh coming out of her mouth. "Come on! I was just joking. Or was I?" Before I could retort, she pulled me closer and handed me the basket. "Help me set the food down, please?"

'God, I am such a pushover.'

Taking the basket out of her hand, she proceeded to set the stones in the corners of the blanket. Removing my sandals, I started to arrange the food on the blanket. "Sigh. It's unfair how cute you can be sometimes."

"Huh?!"

With how fast she suddenly turned her head, it's amazing how she didn't get any whiplash.

"What was that?!"

"What was what?"

"Did you just compliment me?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I continued setting the food down. "You must be hearing things, princess."

"Nuh uh, I'm pretty sure you just complimented me. Something about me being cute? Come on Yuu, I know I heard you correctly!"

"Did you, now? You might want to visit the Church of Favonius after this. We can't have you start hallucinating, can we?"

"Yuu!" Setting aside the stone in her hand, she grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me back and forth. "Come on! Just admit it! You think I'm cute, right?"

'Over my dead body.'

"Paimon! Lumine is going to ruin the food!"

"Lumine?! Let go of white mask this instant, you're going to ruin all the food we have!" As expected, whenever food is involved, she's quick to respond.

"Shut up, Paimon! Yuu, look at me and tell me what I heard was true!"

'What a couple of cuckoos I've gotten myself involved with.'

What's supposed to be a relaxing lunch turned into… well, whatever the hell this is. Clearly, having a peaceful day with these two involved is basically impossible.

'Maybe I should've just slept the day away.'