"You're finally back!" Paimon happily looked at Ann and Acting Grand Master Jean. If Diluc hadn't stopped her earlier, Lumine might have lost control and gone out to look for them.
They had quickly retrieved the skylyre last night, then went home to sleep, and came to the tavern early this morning to await the return of Acting Grand Master Jean and Ann.
But the two had returned much later than scheduled, making Lumine very worried.
"Yes, sorry, the distance was a bit far, and it took some time on the way." Acting Grand Master Jean nodded to the people in the tavern. Although she appeared calm on the surface, a closer look would reveal a faint, suspicious blush on her face.
"Here, these are the Dragon Tears we collected." Ann, by comparison, was much more normal. She took out the Dragon Tear she and Acting Grand Master Jean had collected.
"Traveler, hurry and try it." Venti glanced at it, nodded, then quickly said to Lumine.
But Lumine seemed not to have heard Venti's words; her gaze remained fixed on Ann and Acting Grand Master Jean, her expression somewhat strange.
"Traveler?"
"Ah? Oh, okay." Lumine reacted, quickly taking the Dragon Tear from Ann's hand.
The moment she took it, even before Lumine made any conscious movement, the crimson Crystalize instantly changed color.
The ominous aura on the tear had dissipated, and it became clear and clean.
"How magical." Even the well-traveled Venti couldn't help but exclaim in admiration at this sight: "You truly possess magical power."
Hearing this, Ann also nodded in strong agreement.
Her acquaintance with Lumine hadn't actually been that long, but whether it was Lumine's ability to use elemental power without a Vision, or this mysterious power she now possessed, it all proved Lumine's extraordinariness.
"I'm not entirely sure what's going on either," Lumine said, rubbing her soft golden hair.
Perhaps it was due to her unique physique?
"Leave the remaining Dragon Tears to us. You all can go rest for now," Diluc said to them after seeing this.
According to Venti's markings, the two remaining Dragon Tears were located in Dada Upa Gorge and a ruined forest, respectively.
Dada Upa Gorge was a Hilichurl gathering place, posing a certain degree of danger, but for him, possessing a Vision, it was no problem at all.
The ruined forest was a bit more troublesome; it was a ruin hidden deep within the dense woods, and no one knew what might be inside. However, judging by the power Lumine displayed last night, it shouldn't be a major issue.
"Once we've collected the Dragon Tears, let's meet at my winery."
"No problem." Jean nodded, having no objections to that.
However, she couldn't rest yet; it was almost time for the Knights of Favonius to start work, and she still had to rush over.
But despite not sleeping all night, she felt strangely refreshed.
Perhaps it was because she had carried Stelle with her Wind Glider for a distance on the way back?
Stelle was like a power bank; just being slightly close to her could make all her fatigue disappear.
On the other hand, Stelle couldn't help but stretch and yawn.
She was genuinely a bit tired; being held in someone's arms and gliding through the sky wasn't a very pleasant feeling.
Although Acting Grand Master Jean's body was very soft and comfortable in her arms, she didn't dare to move around, lest she stimulate Acting Grand Master Jean in the sky and cause an accident in the end.
So her body remained stiff, maintaining one posture, and it was only with great difficulty that she landed.
She even regretted her momentary soft-heartedness in agreeing to Acting Grand Master Jean's request, knowing full well that she had a fatal attraction to her, yet still agreeing to such a request from the other party.
Alas…
"Speaking of which, has Amber returned?" Stelle suddenly remembered something and asked Acting Grand Master Jean.
"She should only be back tomorrow," Jean thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Right… After all, our agreed time is also tomorrow." Stelle thought about it and nodded helplessly.
She had indeed overfulfilled the task, quickly defeating the Cryo Hilichurl Armor King and then returning to Mondstadt without stopping.
But Amber couldn't have predicted such a thing.
"That's right, you're staying with Amber." Paimon just remembered this; Amber hadn't returned yet, which meant Stelle had no place to rest for a while.
"You can…"
"It's okay, you can stay with us!" Lumine quickly interjected when she saw Acting Grand Master Jean about to speak.
"Mmm, Lumine's right. Anyway, we're going to collect the Dragon Tears today and won't be at the Knights of Favonius dormitory," Paimon also nodded.
Jean swallowed the words she was about to say. She raised her eyebrows slightly.
But Stelle had already agreed, so she couldn't say anything more and could only secretly lament the missed opportunity.
-
"This is the Knights of Favonius dormitory. The Honorary Knight's room is here."
Jean instinctively led the way for Stelle, not even rushing to work. Upon returning to the Knights of Favonius, she immediately brought Stelle to Lumine's room.
On the way, she had subtly suggested that Stelle stay with her.
Although it was a bit further, her place was much better than the dormitory environment, wasn't it?
Unfortunately, Stelle politely declined.
"Most of the knights aren't here right now, so you can rest well. If you get hungry, come find me, and I'll arrange food for you." Standing in the corridor, Jean opened the room with the key Lumine gave her and handed the key to Stelle.
"Mmm, thank you." Stelle nodded.
The Knights of Favonius dormitory environment was quite good; it wasn't even a large common room or one where multiple people were squeezed together.
Each dormitory was a single room, and although not large, it was fully equipped with everything one needed.
"Well, I'll be going now," Jean said to Stelle with some reluctance.
"Is Acting Grand Master Jean going to work?" Stelle frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask.
"Mmm, there are still some matters at the Knights of Favonius that I need to handle," Jean nodded.
"Hmm… Is it really that urgent? Does it have to be resolved today?" Stelle still hoped Jean could rest a bit.
Having not slept all night, and then having to work overtime during the day… Jean wasn't a person of the Star God's Envoy level.
"It's not strictly necessary for today, but if I don't do it now, it will only pile up more later," Jean shook her head, then smiled at Stelle and said, "Thank you for your concern, but I'm full of energy right now, don't worry."
"This…"
"Alright, I'm off now, see you tonight." Jean didn't give Stelle a chance to speak and left on her own.
Stelle could only shake her head helplessly and walked into the room.
The interior decoration of the room was very simple: just a table and chair, a bed, and a wardrobe.
The only thing that could bring a bit of freshness was probably the potted plant placed by the window.
Of course, Stelle wasn't that particular.
Taking off her coat, she casually hung it on a hanger nearby and lay straight down on the bed.
This bed was quite nice, not as hard as she imagined. The bedding was neatly folded and emitted a fragrance.
The Knights of Favonius are truly extravagant, even spraying perfume on their bedsheets and duvet covers…
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