"Today's another beautiful day!"
Lumine and Paimon woke up in their inn room and, seeing the clear skies and gentle breeze outside, couldn't help but sigh with contentment.
While Rowan was busy scheming against Rhinedottir, the two of them had already finished a cheerful breakfast and were planning to head over to the Anemo Archon Plaza to bask in the sun and laze around for a while.
Since they weren't in any hurry to head for Liyue, the two had decided to take it easy for once and properly enjoy life in Mondstadt.
It had to be said, Mondstadt truly deserved its reputation as the nation most suited for retirement.
With its spring-like climate all year round and a lifestyle almost completely free of pressure, it really was a perfect place to settle down.
As the two of them lounged on deckchairs in the plaza, lazily sunbathing, Paimon's little eyes suddenly darted to the side.
She noticed a young girl a short distance away, waving her hands animatedly at thin air.
Paimon shivered and scooted behind Lumine.
"Lumine, look, she… she's standing there all by herself, right?"
"But she's clearly talking to someone!"
"Look, look—she's even laughing and waving her hands around… uuugh, that's so creepy!"
"Do you think it might be a ghost?"
As Teyvat's guide, Paimon knew perfectly well that ghosts and spirits really did exist on this continent.
Especially in Liyue and Inazuma—those two nations had no shortage of legends about ghosts and wandering souls.
Paimon's courage was actually very small, and seeing the girl acting like that, she immediately suspected some ghostly mischief.
Lumine lifted her head and glanced over, but only felt that the girl was just playing with her own imaginary friend.
When you're little, everyone goes through a phase like that.
Even when no one's actually by your side, you act like there is—laughing, playing, and messing around with them.
You're clearly alone, yet somehow you're having a great time.
That was the magic of having an imaginary friend.
It was just that, as a person's childlike heart faded away and they grew up, this phenomenon would gradually disappear.
Of course, it wasn't absolute. People who stayed young at heart could still "see" them even after growing up.
It wasn't something carved in stone.
Wearing a "you're making a fuss over nothing" expression, Lumine patiently explained all this.
Paimon propped her chin in one small hand, eyes wide with curiosity.
"Ehh, you did that too when you were a kid?"
"Was it like… a hallucination? Or was there really some kind of invisible friend playing with you?"
Paimon had never experienced anything like that herself, so she found it all very novel.
"Hallucination, imaginary friend—those are basically the same thing."
"Imaginary friend?"
Paimon thought it over for a moment, then suddenly understood.
"Ohhh, so it's like a friend you just imagine into existence?"
"That's right. Like the name says, an imaginary friend is a friend you imagine."
Seeing that Paimon had finally caught on, Lumine smiled and reached out to ruffle her little head.
Paimon pushed Lumine's hand away in disgust, then asked curiously,
"So what did your imaginary friend look like? Let me see her!"
"It's a pity… she's not around anymore."
Lumine shook her head with a hint of regret.
Back when her brother wasn't home, it was her imaginary friend who took his place, keeping her company.
Now, though, Lumine had already grown up.
She might look like a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old who hadn't even reached adulthood yet, but according to incomplete estimates, she'd already spent five hundred years in Teyvat.
Not to mention the time before arriving in Teyvat, when she and her brother had roamed freely through the sea of stars for who knew how long.
So her imaginary friend had faded away a long, long time ago.
"Eh? So imaginary friends disappear once people grow up?"
Paimon also sounded a little disappointed.
"Unfortunately, that's basically how it is."
"Uuugh, I really wanted to see one for myself…"
"Oh, right—does your brother have an imaginary friend too?"
A thought suddenly struck Paimon. Since Lumine had an imaginary friend, then what about her brother, Aether?
Lumine nodded, then reached out and hugged Paimon into her arms as she spoke with a smile.
Paimon settled comfortably against Lumine's chest.
It wasn't that big, but there were two soft cushions behind her head, which wasn't bad at all.
She couldn't help murmuring in amazement,
"So he has one too? That's so convenient."
"You know, there's a kind of card game from Liyue that's usually played by four people. With you two, you'd already have enough players."
Just as the two of them were chatting happily, a green figure walked past them.
Noticing their presence, he turned back with a smile.
"Traveler, what a coincidence. You're here too."
Venti had originally planned to sing on the streets, earn some Mora, and then head to the Angel's Share.
Now that he'd run into these two easy marks, there was no need to rush.
"Oh no, it's you again, street singer!"
"You're the last person we want to run into—every time we see you, something bad happens!"
This wasn't Paimon talking nonsense.
The very first time they'd met Venti, this guy had asked them to pick up the tab for him, and because of that, the owner of the Angel's Share, Diluc, had treated them like kids.
Because of that one disaster, Paimon and Lumine, who had originally wanted to try Mondstadt's famous Dandelion Wine, went completely broke and could only sip bitterly at Apple Cider instead.
They'd even been hoping to try a new kind of white liquor that had just come out in Mondstadt.
If Venti hadn't later recited poetry in exchange for Mora, Lumine would probably have written him off as a con artist who cheated people out of food and drink.
That was why Lumine had been so shocked when she later found out that Venti was actually the Anemo Archon.
For the dignified Anemo Archon of Mondstadt to be mistaken for a minor and refused alcohol—
It was practically a joke.
Of course, that only happened when Diluc was tending bar himself.
On normal days, the other bartenders didn't care whether Venti was of age or not.
Otherwise, there's no way he'd be able to drink every day.
Venti forced a laugh, then quickly changed the subject.
"Ahaha, it's because Lisa's been working on something interesting lately."
Venti and Lisa knew each other well.
You could say Lisa had been the very first person in Mondstadt City to see through his identity as the Anemo Archon.
As a witch, Lisa was exceptionally sensitive to elemental power.
On Venti's body, she could feel an incomparably vast and pure current of Anemo.
Under those circumstances, the possibilities were simple: either he was the Anemo Archon himself, or one of the Anemo Archon's chosen envoys.
But as far as she knew, the Anemo Archon only had one official familiar—the East Wind Dragon, Dvalin.
Which meant this bard, who knew so many ancient songs, was very likely the long-slumbering Anemo Archon, Barbatos.
After a little gentle probing from Lisa, Venti had simply admitted it outright.
And as a member of the Knights of Favonius, Lisa wasn't about to go shouting his identity all over the city.
Hearing Venti bring up Lisa's name, Paimon shuddered and hugged her arms around herself.
"If Lisa says something's 'interesting', that just makes Paimon feel scared…"
"Hey now, you shouldn't talk about a lady like that."
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For 20+ Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!] [[email protected]/Draumel]
[Thank You For Your Support!]