The three days were finally up.
Sitting on the sofa, Su Bai quietly waited for someone from the Knights of Favonius to come unlock the confinement room. As for Klee, who had been completely absorbed in making fireworks these past few days, she wasn't all that upset about his departure—something that let Su Bai breathe a sigh of relief.
"Looks like you and little Klee got along quite well. Su Bai, would you consider joining the Knights of Favonius?"
A playful voice came from the open doorway. A young man with skin tone similar to Xinyan's stood leaning against the frame, smiling brightly at Su Bai.
"Joining the Knights? No, thanks. I don't want to get dragged into troublesome affairs."
Su Bai quietly cursed the man in his heart. Inviting him to join right now—what was this, adding fuel to the fire?
Kaeya didn't mind the rejection. Instead, he chuckled.
"So Su Bai is a man of temperament after all. I am Kaeya, Cavalry Captain of the Knights, and the one responsible for letting you out today."
Su Bai narrowed his fox-like eyes. His intuition told him this guy was definitely not someone simple. Best to keep some distance.
"Your Knights really treat offenders this well? This confinement room is more luxurious than the place I was renting."
Walking down the street, Su Bai couldn't help but worry whether Klee would get influenced by the other troublemakers who ended up in confinement, so he asked Kaeya.
Kaeya burst out laughing.
"You jest. Only Knights' members or people of… special status who commit minor mistakes get put in the confinement room. Ordinary folks go to an actual cell."
Su Bai realized that was true. If the Knights had thrown him into a normal jail and Cloud Retainer or the others found out, they would have marched straight into Mondstadt demanding an explanation. When it came to protecting their own, Liyue's adepti were unmatched.
"Well then, now that you're out, I won't keep bothering you. Let's have a drink sometime."
"Sure, Captain Kaeya. Go take care of your work."
Even if he distrusted Kaeya, Su Bai still maintained etiquette—Liyue's reputation as a land of courtesy could not be tarnished by him.
Once Kaeya disappeared down the street, Su Bai's stomach loudly protested.
He clapped his hands. Damn it, Kaeya actually released him before breakfast was delivered. He hadn't eaten yet!
"Forget it. I'll just find a chance to trick Kaeya later. For now, I should try the fish-in-sauce at Good Hunter—Klee wouldn't shut up about it these past few days."
"These buildings in Mondstadt are way too tall. They're blocking all the food smells—I can't sniff out the restaurant at all. Looks like I'll have to ask someone for directions."
He looked around. It was still early, and not a single person stood in front of the Knights' headquarters—not even a patrolling Knight had shown up yet.
"Lumine, Lumine—look! It's a fox guy! His tail is so fluffy! I bet it feels amazing. No—I HAVE to go touch it!"
Su Bai's fox ears twitched. Someone was talking about his tail. Sounded like a little girl, too.
"Paimon! That's rude. It's his tail, not some display item. You can't just touch it!"
A blonde girl stood behind him, holding a floating… delicious-looking mascot?
When the girl realized Su Bai had noticed them, she gave a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Sorry about her. I'll make sure to discipline Paimon."
Su Bai blinked. This blonde girl… wasn't she the one who used Barbatos's power to punch Stormterror out of the sky the other day?
What a coincidence.
"It's no big deal. I'm Su Bai—not 'fox mister.' Care to be friends?"
Paimon slapped both hands over her mouth. She hadn't expected Su Bai to hear them.
Since Paimon refused to speak, Lumine had no choice but to introduce them.
"Hello, Su Bai. I'm Lumine. The one floating around is Paimon—my best emergency food."
"HEY! Completely wrong! It's 'best partner'! BEST. PARTNER!"
Paimon, hands on hips, stomped her tiny legs midair. Clearly not amused.
"I heard you wanted to touch my tail? You're welcome to."
"Eh—really? Then I won't hold back!"
Paimon immediately hugged one of his tails. The soft fluffiness nearly made her melt on the spot.
Seeing Paimon so absorbed, and that blissful expression she'd never seen before, Lumine's cheeks reddened as she hesitantly reached out and gently touched the other tail.
The moment she made contact, she understood.
This warmth… this softness… even after visiting so many worlds, she had never felt anything comparable.
"You two sure are quick. I wasn't even finished talking."
Despite sounding like a complaint, neither Paimon nor Lumine let go. Paimon, the shameless little money-grubber, even said:
"It's fine, it's fine—just charge per touch and make Lumine pay! Hehehe."
"Uh… it's not about Mora. It's just that among us foxes, the first opposite-sex person to touch my tail has to marry me."
"Oh, that's okay—Lumine can—EH?!?!?!"
Paimon sprang backward, dragging Lumine with her.
Lumine could only stare helplessly—this emergency food nearly sold her off just now. Maybe she should cook Paimon after all.
"Haha, just kidding!"
"Hmph! You're awful! Even worse than a hilichurl!"
Su Bai didn't mind. This little thing called Paimon was pretty amusing. If she weren't attached to Lumine, he would've kidnapped her already.
"Alright, alright, just a joke. As an apology, how about breakfast at Good Hunter? My treat—order whatever you want."
"Oh, and Lumine—where did you find Paimon? I want one too."
"Her? I fished her out of a lake. If you want, I can take you fishing after I'm done with my business."
"HEY! Paimon is UNIQUE! You won't find a second one!"
Food invitations were indeed the fastest way to build relationships. Once Lumine heard Su Bai was treating, she became much more talkative. The two chatted happily while completely ignoring Paimon… leaving the floating mascot so irritated, she hugged his tail again.
The moment she touched it, though… the anger vanished.
"Su Bai? Why do I feel like Paimon got quiet? She's not suffocating on your tail, is she?"
Lumine peeked over nervously—only to find Paimon clinging to the fluffy tail while drooling. They had walked half the street by now, and her drool had formed a trail behind them.
Su Bai didn't mind. After Kamisato Ayaka once hugged his tail while sleeping and drooled all over it, he had used adeptal arts to make his tail waterproof. Paimon's drool wasn't going to hurt anything.
"Don't worry. My tail has a calming effect. Paimon is just enjoying herself."