24 Let’s have a drink or two. Or three. Or twenty-five

Manipulating the anemo energy around me, I carefully shape them into a short blade without the help of my hand. I always did find casting without any movement from your body badass, so maybe if I practice enough, that would eventually be second nature.

Besides, it'll be immensely useful for sneak attacks. Imagine when a conversation turns violent, before the opposition could even do anything, they're already knocked out from the attack you've been silently preparing.

I did it once before with the cicin mage, but that was because I knew she was coming, hence I have ample time to prepare. But for a sudden, abrupt situation? Not viable. Not right now, anyway.

So what better way to practice than to cut your food into several pieces using your very own wind knife?

"Can't you just eat your food normally?" Using the utensils she's brought beforehand, Lumine cuts her piping hot hash browns into several pieces, gently blowing on them before taking a bite. "It'll go cold before you finish doing whatever it is you're doing."

"Practice, princess. I'm practicing."

"Uh huh."

Taking a brief glimpse at Paimon who's gobbling up her own Sweet Madame, I return my focus to my knife. Gently holding the pile of meat in place with anemo, I slowly cut them in two. Putting the knife to the side for a bit, I lift the meat towards me before lifting my mask a bit to take a bite.

'Delicious. Though I should probably have gone with something smaller. This Pile 'Em Up is a bit too much for me. Oh well, there's always Paimon.'

"You know, it'll be a lot easier if you just remove the mask, right?"

While chewing through the meat, I lift the knife once more, repeating the previous steps methodically. "I know. Doesn't mean that I'll do it though."

"Come on, Yuu. Why do you even hide your face like that?"

"I never told you before?"

Shaking her head, Lumine took another bite of her hash browns. Huh, I thought for sure I have, but I guess not. "Huh." After successfully cutting another piece of meat smoothly, I lift my mask and take a bite. "Well. How should I put this?"

'Is there any potentially fatal consequences if I tell her the truth?'

Swallowing the meat in my mouth, I couldn't help but think. Is there even a need to hide my face from her?

'Even if I do show her my face, I would still have to wear the mask in public, so other than some extra bit of leniency here and there, is there even a point?'

I could choose not to, purely just to annoy her. That sounds like a lot of fun.

"Is your face injured? Or are you just covering your face because you're ugly?"

"Now that's just rude. While I am definitely not the most handsome, I'll have you know that, objectively speaking, I am quite good-looking."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"That's too bad then."

Putting down the utensils on her hand, she glared in my direction before crossing her arms and turning her head away, angrily pouting.

"I know you're doing that on purpose, princess."

Ignoring her childish behavior, I continue with my practice. Cut, lift, eat. Rinse and repeat. Paimon on the other hand, is currently munching on a Sticky Honey Roast, her Sweet Madame disappeared into the abyss that is her stomach.

"You better finish your food, princess, or I'm tossing it to Paimon."

Letting out an angry 'hmph!', she continues to ignore me.

"Lumine."

Still nothing.

"God fucking dammit."

Wiping my mouth with the napkins she provided, I stood up and moved to sit next to her. "Stop being such a child, Lumine." Even when I keep poking her cheeks, she's not budging at all. Very stubborn, this one is.

'Guess I'll change my approach then.'

"Alright, fine. I'll take off the mask."

"You are the absolute best!"

"But–" Before I could continue, she tackled me to the ground, straddling herself on top of me. "But! Only until we finish properly dealing with Dvalin, and only if you promise to not pull something stupid like you did back at the cathedral. Deal?"

Instead of answering, she threw herself forward and started hugging me tightly. Unsure of what to do, I hesitantly returned the hug. Judging by the happy giggles she's letting out, it seems to be the right move.

"Alright, that's enough princess. If you don't stop anytime soon, you'll crush me to death."

"Just a bit longer?"

"You're heavy, so no."

"Did you just call me fat?"

"No, you did."

Releasing her hold on me, I slowly got up and sat crossed-legs once more. Instead of moving away, Lumine decided to claim my legs as her own and sat on it. Stretching her legs forward, she leans herself on my chest.

"You're hurting my back, princess."

"Sounds like an issue, not an iss-me."

'Damn. I've been waiting to use that one since forever.'

Laughing at her clever words, I lifted the both of us with anemo towards the nearby tree.

Once the two of us landed, I leaned my back on the tree trunk before relaxing my body. Lumine on the other hand, leaned herself further back, nuzzling her head on my neck before releasing a happy sigh.

"It's nice being able to relax like this. Don't you think so, Yuu?"

"With the amount of stress you've given me yesterday, and probably in the near future, then yes, I do."

"Don't worry, I promised, didn't I?"

"You did." Grabbing both of her hands, I held it close while leaning my head towards hers. "And it'll only last until this entire fiasco with Dvalin is over. After that? Who knows what kind of mess you'll drag me into."

Brushing her fingers through mine, she couldn't help but laugh at my statement. Really, I'll never get tired hearing her laugh like that. "Ah, it seems I've been caught red-handed huh?"

"Mhm. Quite the naughty princess, aren't you?"

"Hmm. You have no idea."

The two of us sat under the shade of the tree, enjoying the ocean breeze and the warmth of each other's presence. Back on top of the picnic blanket, the two of us might as well not exist in Paimon's eyes. Especially with the amount of food we've brought.

"Guess she's too busy enjoying the feast, huh?"

"Let her enjoy herself. You did promise her one."

"Did I? I seem to remember a certain blonde girl making promises in my stead."

"Fufu, did she, now?" Taking her gaze off of Paimon, she looked up towards me. "Despite that, you still did it anyway. You must've cared for this girl a lot, don't you?"

The cold blue slits of my mask met her golden eyes. At this moment, the otherworldly traveler Lumine, with her swaying golden locks under the ocean breeze, seems infinitely more beautiful.

"Yes." Gently nuzzling her head, I couldn't help but smile. "Yes I do."

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The two of us ended up enjoying the scenery for the rest of the day. And Paimon, seeing the pile of meat and hash browns leftover, decided to eat them in our stead. After asking for permission, of course, which surprises me to no end.

Having eaten a lot of food, it's no surprise that Paimon decided to take a nap and disappeared into her own personal realm.

Before I could fly us back to Mondstadt, Lumine held my hand and stopped me.

"Before we go, there's something I want to check."

"What is it?"

Tugging my hand, she walked ahead and took the lead, dragging me in the process. Not wanting to be left behind, I quickly caught up and walked right next to her.

There's not much to see over at Cape Oath. Its landscape is not much different than the other areas we've passed by. Aside from rocks jutting out here and there among the grass, with one in particular being quite tall, the only notable thing I've seen are the electro crystals scattered throughout what looked like a ruin, which was surrounded by several electro slime.

Separating ourselves, the two of us make short work of them before joining our hands once more, walking towards whatever it is Lumine wanted to see.

Though the more we walked, it became clear what it is she's looking for.

"A teleport waypoint?"

"Of course you know about this." Placing her hand on the ancient device, it slowly rises and starts to light up, indicating a successful activation. "Can you use it? Paimon said that nobody seems to be able to."

"Nope. I've tried it before. Though I could fly, teleportation would've made things so much more convenient."

"I see. I wonder why I can use it? Is it because I'm not from this world?" Realizing something, she turns her attention towards me. "But you're also not from this world, so why can't you use it?"

"My situation is a lot more complicated than yours."

"You've said that before, Yuu." Furrowing her brows, she glared at me for my vague answer. "Are you ever going to explain it to me?"

Explain? Explain what? That this world only exists as a game that people played on Earth? That the things she experienced, her journey in this world, everything that ever happened to her is just a form of entertainment?

'Yeah right. I'm not giving her an existential crisis.'

"Sorry princess, I don't think I could ever explain it to you, even if you force me to."

"Why? You don't trust me?"

The sadness and disappointment on her face are like swords stabbing directly into my heart. Letting go of her hand, I moved closer and cupped her face, looking straight into her eyes. "Listen to me, Lumine."

While rubbing my fingers on her face, I could only hope that she trusts me on this. "I'm sorry about this but please, it's for your own good, okay? The less you know about my past, the better."

She was silent for quite some time. The skepticism on her face certainly didn't help my racing heart. Eventually, she sighs and relaxes herself into my hands. "Fine. I'll trust you."

"Thank you."

"However." Pointedly glaring at me, she taps my mask with her finger as if to emphasize how serious she is. If looks can kill, I'd be dead several times over. "You'll owe me a favor in return. Got it?"

'Oh god, owing her a favor can range from something mundane to something utterly insane.'

"Uhh… how about no?"

"How about I introduce you to my sword?"

"Point taken."

Accepting my fate, I could only helplessly agree. I may be curious about how my body functions, but I'm not desperate enough to take the shortcut.

"Great!" As if a switch has been flipped, her angry expression turns into a radiant smile. "As expected, it works every time."

'Wait a damn minute.'

"I just got played."

"Haha! You absolutely did!" While she was busy laughing her face off, I suddenly had the urge to throw her off the cliff.

Grabbing her by the scruff of her neck, I double-checked to make sure she wouldn't choke to death, before flying towards a random direction as fast as I could.

'I hope you enjoy being on a roller coaster, princess, because this ride is going on a round trip around the Mondstadt region. Minus the Stormterror's Lair, of course. I'm not going anywhere near that place.'

The sound of her hysterical scream and intermittent laughter that day is music to my ears.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Night has fallen, and despite that, the City of Mondstadt is still as lively as ever. Illuminated by the lights of the lanterns throughout the city, the din and boisterous laughter coming from several establishments seems to amplify the already lively atmosphere.

Taverns, in particular, are filled to the brim with customers. People of all walks of life gathered in a single place, enjoying their time with drinks in hand, chatting away with their friends while the bards played their music, accompanied by stories and verses they so passionately recited.

This bard in particular though, is drowning in alcohol. Empty bottles scattered throughout his table, his giggling unstoppable for who knows how long, and the words coming out of his mouth are a slur. It's hard to believe that this is the three times champion of Mondstadt's most popular bard.

"Can you even meet the Acting Grand Master like this?"

When the Lumine and I finally made it back to Mondstadt, the sun had already set. I made sure we explored as many areas as I could, partly because I wanted to make her suffer a bit more, and because I wanted her to activate as many waypoints I could find.

Thankfully, a simple touch of her hand is enough to activate them. That certainly saved me some downtime. Wouldn't want her to recover too much.

Though judging by her expression, she seems to enjoy it, so no harm no foul.

Before we could grab something to eat though, we met Venti and he practically dragged the two of us to his favorite place in the entire city.

"What… are you talking… about? I am… perfectly fine!"

"Uh huh." Lifting my mask a bit, I took a sip out of my Sparkling Berry Juice, and let out a contented sigh. As expected of Angel's Share, the quality of their drink is top notch. "You are indeed the embodiment of sobriety, Venti."

Before he went on his drinking spree, Venti mentioned that he had successfully restored the lyre and that he planned on meeting the Acting Grand Master to enlist her help in hopefully dealing with whatever's happening to Dvalin.

At the rate things are going though, I might have to just drag him to her office myself.

"Relax Yuu, the night's still young. We'll have plenty of time later."

"I guess."

Just like me, she had a glass of Sparkling Berry Juice. She tried to order alcohol, but was rejected by Charles. Apparently she looked too young and they don't believe her claim that she was not a minor.

'But Venti, despite not looking that much older, can order alcohol just fine. What kind of archon bullshit did he pull off?'

"Excuse me, honorary knights."

Putting down my glass, I looked towards the two knights calling out to us.

"Is there something we can help you with?"

Taking a poster from his fellow knight, he gently unrolled it and showed it to me. In that poster is undoubtedly the drawing of the holy lyre. "Have you perhaps seen this lyre anywhere?"

"Nope. Is it valuable? Seems like a regular lyre to me."

"This is the Holy Lyre del Himmel. It was stolen last night and was never found. We managed to catch one of the culprits, but it seems that their partner has escaped with the lyre."

'So she's not dead and the knights captured her. Good. This should give Mondstadt some leverage over the Fatui.'

Taking the poster out of the knight's hand, I briefly examined it before giving it to Lumine. "How about you, Lumine? Have you seen this lyre?"

"Nope. I've never seen it before." She said in a frown, before giving the poster back to the knight. "Sorry we couldn't be much of a help."

"It's alright. Sorry for disturbing you."

Nodding my head in response, I put my hand on Venti's shoulder. "Anything to add, Venti?"

"Ehehe… ehehehehe…."

"Thanks for your input. Sorry about him, he's drunk out of his mind."

"It's okay. Well then, enjoy the rest of your night, honorary knights." Bidding us farewell, the knights moved towards other customers, asking the same questions as they did to us.

"We should probably go before the situation escalates even further, princess."

"Yeah. It'll be bad if things go out of control."

Finishing the last of my drink, I stood up from my seat, carried Venti on my shoulder, and made our way towards Jean's office. Not before I bought an apple cider and paid the bill, of course.

"Every day, I feel like I'm one step closer to getting bankrupt."

"You have lots of Mora, stop exaggerating."

"Six million Mora is not a lot. I need a hundred million just to be safe."

'I should probably store most of my Mora in Lumine's inventory. It's safer than hiding it beneath the bed, after all.'

It's unfortunate that the Adventurer's Guild doesn't function as a bank. The only other bank I know of that has branches all over is Northland Bank, and I am not trusting my money with the Fatui.

"Here." Handing Lumine the Apple Cider, I propped up the slurring Venti and opened his mouth. "Help him drink this. Hopefully he'll sober up enough to not look like an idiot."

"Sure thing."

"Oi Venti, can you hear me? Do I have permission to shove something down your throat?"

"Hehehe… hehehehe…."

"I'll take that as a yes."

Gently pouring the Apple Cider, I made sure to hold Venti steady. Hopefully the drink didn't go down the wrong pipe.

"Cough!"

Seeing that Venti's awake, Lumine stops pouring more cider, waiting for him to stop coughing.

"Ugh. Thanks. I needed that."

"Clearly. Can you walk on your own?"

Releasing Venti from my shoulder, he gingerly took a step forward only to stumble to the side. Thankfully, Lumine was ready to catch him.

"Thanks traveler."

"Don't mention it."

Taking Venti out of Lumine's grasp, I placed his hand around my shoulder and helped him walk the rest of the way.

Reaching the knights headquarters, we stated our purpose to the guards and knocked on the Acting Grand Master's office.

"Come in."

Once we entered her office, we were greeted by the sight of Jean scribbling away at some documents with bags under her eyes. Thankfully, she's alone now. That'll make things easier.

"Sorry to disturb you at this late hour Acting Grand Master, but we have something to report concerning Dvalin."

Raising her head, despite the haunted look in her eyes, she is visibly relieved by the prospect of good news.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Relaxing her tense body, she leaned back on her chair. "Sigh. Thank you so much honorary knights. I don't know what I'd do without your help."

"Don't thank us just yet. Go ahead, Venti."

Having sobered up, Venti materialized the holy lyre in his hands, shocking the Acting Grand Master. "Greetings, Acting Grand Master Jean, my name is Venti, a humble bard."

With his usual playful demeanor returning, he runs his fingers through the strings, playing a tune that causes a stir of anemo energy within the office. "Though I suppose you might know me better as the Anemo Archon, Barbatos."

Seemingly jolted out of her shock, Jean looks towards the holy lyre, Barbatos, before finally turning towards the two of us.

"You have some explaining to do, honorary knights."