As for why she was so generous—
It was because she didn't mind Rowan finding other women.
Especially human partners—she wasn't opposed at all.
She probably felt that humans only had a hundred years or so of companionship, and that simply wasn't enough time to become someone who could compete with her for favor.
As long as Rowan didn't deceive her, even if he opened a full-blown harem, it wouldn't matter.
That was where Istaroth was generous.
And where she was stingy… was that her possessiveness was a bit strong.
Whether something was happening or nothing was happening, she would follow behind him to declare her sovereignty.
Not seeing Istaroth tonight made Lumine pretty surprised.
"She doesn't like coming out at night," Rowan shrugged, taking a sip of wine. "And she's declared her sovereignty enough these past few days."
"There's no need for her to follow me around late at night."
"So that's how it is."
"Didn't expect you to have a wife at such a young age, Rowan."
"Tsk tsk tsk, so happy."
Venti came over with a bottle of dandelion wine and plopped down boldly by Rowan's side, grinning as he patted Rowan on the shoulder.
"Get lost. No manners at all."
"You know what you should call me. You know it in your heart."
Rowan slapped Venti's hand away, looking utterly disgusted.
No manners at all. I'm your mom's husband—what you should call me, you know perfectly well.
"Uh… can't we each count things our own way?"
Venti instantly felt the dandelion wine in his mouth lose its flavor, his face turning bitter.
Istaroth was the one who had once given him authority and power.
She was basically his mother.
Now that his mother had a man, he knew exactly what he should call that man.
But Rowan was the one Venti had recruited into Mondstadt, and now he'd become Venti's father…
How was Venti supposed to say that out loud?
In short, he really couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Huh? But isn't Rowan a transmigrator?"
"How did that end up having anything to do with you?"
Paimon looked confused, raising her head to glance at Rowan, then at Venti.
No matter how you looked at it, these two didn't seem related at all, right?
One was a transmigrator, the other was a native of Teyvat.
So how did it get tangled up like this?
Paimon was completely lost, but Lumine narrowed her eyes.
Her instincts told her something was off here.
And according to Detective Lumine's reasoning, there was only one truth—
That Istaroth and Venti had a very close relationship.
You could even say they were relatives, otherwise Venti wouldn't be this embarrassed.
This guy would do anything for a drink.
Unless it was a title too awkward to say, how could he possibly be unable to say it?
Tsk tsk tsk, Venti, Venti… so you actually have family, huh?
But wait—Venti is the Anemo Archon, so if Istaroth is his relative, then at minimum she's also a god, right?
No way… could that Istaroth be someone really extraordinary?
For some reason, the first time Lumine saw Istaroth, only one figure appeared in her mind—
The unknown god who had blocked her and Aether from leaving Teyvat back then.
The two of them felt very similar.
Did they have some kind of strange connection?
But Istaroth's reaction when she met Lumine had been very calm, as if she truly didn't know Lumine at all.
That always left Lumine unsure whether her feeling was right or not.
But one thing was certain—
Istaroth's status was definitely higher than Venti's, the Anemo Archon.
It was just that Lumine's understanding of Teyvat wasn't deep yet. She only knew there were seven nations in all of Teyvat, each governed by a god of an element.
As for everything else, including Celestia… she only understood bits and pieces.
If Rowan knew what Lumine was thinking right now, he'd definitely be shocked.
She had only met Istaroth once, yet she already suspected Istaroth had a connection to Asmoday.
As expected of the protagonist—her instincts were sharp.
Their relationship wasn't just close.
You could say they were sisters—four shadows of the same being.
It was just that as time passed, those four shadows had become more and more like real individuals.
Not like the shadows from tens of thousands of years ago that only knew how to mechanically carry out orders.
"Forget it, I can't be bothered listening to you call me," Rowan said.
"Let's just leave it at that."
Seeing how hard it was for Venti to say it, Rowan had only wanted to watch Venti squirm anyway.
Now that Venti was resisting this much, there was no point forcing it.
No need to make this guy call him 'Father.'
Rowan didn't want such a big 'good son' either.
What if, during holidays, he came asking for Mora red envelopes?
Would Rowan give them or not?
"Phew—!"
Venti let out a fierce breath of relief, then immediately ran downstairs without a second word.
He didn't dare keep drinking with Rowan.
What if Rowan got drunk later and demanded it again? That would be bad.
He'd decided it—before Rowan left Mondstadt and headed to Liyue, he would not appear in front of Rowan again.
Venti really didn't want to call Rowan 'Father.'
That was way too embarrassing and dignity-destroying.
At the same time…
Stormterror's Lair—no.
It should be called the Stormterror Research Center now.
At this moment, the entire Stormterror's Lair had been completely transformed.
Not only had the central tower been fully pushed down, even the terrain of the entire region had changed.
Now, in the middle was a massive research facility.
And all around it were layers of army-green tents.
The East Wind Dragon Legion was stationed here.
And now, the research center welcomed a new member.
"Hello. I'm Albedo, the director of the research center. You are…?"
Albedo had just finished his work when he remembered Rowan had said a special researcher would be joining, and told him to make time to receive them.
But the moment he saw who it was, he froze in shock.
"Master… why are you here?"
"Didn't you say you were going to recover your body inside the ruins?"
The instant Albedo saw Rhinedottir, he became extremely excited.
No one knew how long it had been since he'd last seen Rhinedottir.
He only remembered that ever since he came to Mondstadt, he had never seen his master again.
She was his master, yes—but in truth, to him, Rhinedottir was both the one who created him, and his mother.
"Long time no see, Albedo."
(End of Chapter)
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