Actually, for Lumine, when she saw Barbara, her heart was still very calm; she didn't feel any particular sense of frustration.
It was like when Star went to sleep at Anber's house before; at that time, she also had no objections at all and let Star go with complete peace of mind.
After all, whether it was Anber or Barbara, both were still young Damselettes. Lumine felt that they wouldn't have any special intentions; at most, they just wanted to be friends with Star, right?
Not every person with a Damselette's physique was as old as she was...
Therefore, these people posed absolutely no threat.
Unless Star actively provoked them, but Star was clearly not that kind of person and wouldn't casually tempt innocent Damselettes.
However, those mature, older sister-type characters were different. Not to mention that these people themselves knew more, and they were also more sensitive to those kinds of things.
She always felt that Ann would naturally be interested in this type of woman.
Therefore, she was so wary of Acting Grand Master Jean. Even though Acting Grand Master Jean seemed like a very upright person who shouldn't do anything too outrageous, who could say for sure? After all, that was Ann.
You can never be too careful.
The only comforting thing was that Acting Grand Master Jean was the only woman of this type Ann had interacted with so far, so it wasn't too late.
"By the way, how was your Dragon Tear collection?" Ann's voice sounded in her ear, bringing Lumine back from her daydream.
"Of course, it went very smoothly," Lumine said with a smile, giving a thumbs up.
"You don't know how fast that guy ran to get back early. I almost couldn't keep up with her," Paimon flew in front of Ann, complaining about Lumine's various actions.
"What do you mean 'almost'? You couldn't keep up at all. Didn't I carry you back later?" Lumine immediately retorted.
Later, Paimon said she was too tired to fly, so on the way back, she was either in Lumine's arms or riding on Lumine's neck.
"Oh~ that's good," Ann nodded unnaturally, then shifted her bottom, moving closer to the edge of the bed.
There were chairs in the room, yet Lumine insisted on sitting next to her.
It made her feel somewhat at a loss, unsure of what to do.
"Um, Lumine..." Ann hesitated, her face full of conflicted emotions.
No matter what, she felt she should maintain some distance from Lumine first.
She just felt that being so close, something was bound to happen soon.
"What's wrong?"
"Um, I want to get out of bed," Ann didn't know what excuse to use for a moment, so she just said that to her.
Usually, it was the other Damselettes who would feel nervous and unnatural, but unexpectedly, it was reversed today. With Lumine so close to her, Ann couldn't calm down.
She could easily smell the Damselette's fragrance and even feel the warmth emanating from Lumine.
This feeling... was quite good.
But she absolutely could not indulge in it. After all, this was the Knights of Favonius's dormitory.
And it was almost time for the Knights to return.
"Okay, I'll help you put on your shoes," Lumine's eyes lit up, and she quickly got up and said.
"Ah?! No, no need! I can do it myself!" Ann was startled by Lumine's words and quickly said.
She wasn't someone who couldn't take care of herself; why would she need someone else to help her put on her shoes?
Besides, with Lumine's gaze, was she really trying to help?
From the beginning, Ann could feel Lumine's gaze occasionally glancing at her feet.
"Um, just help me get my shoes," Ann saw Lumine about to speak again and quickly said.
"Alright..." Lumine sighed regretfully, reaching out to place the short boots by her feet in front of Ann.
...
Ann quickly extended her fair feet, picked up her boots, and quickly slipped them on.
And Lumine watched her without blinking, making Ann's movements somewhat unnatural.
Lumine was really too strange today.
She suddenly became very bold and no longer deliberately kept her distance as before.
She wondered if she had been stimulated by something.
"Ann, do you have any plans for the future?" Just as Ann didn't know what to say and the atmosphere was about to become awkward, Lumine suddenly spoke.
This time, she seemed to be talking about something serious.
"No specific plans," Ann shook her head.
She turned and sat on the chair, no longer crowding on the small bed with Lumine.
"I want to find a way back, but currently, I have no clues... For short-term plans, I intend to rent a house in Mondstadt first and settle down."
"Then Ann, would you like to travel with us?" Lumine heard that Ann planned to stay in Mondstadt and quickly spoke.
"Travel together?" Ann looked at Lumine with some surprise.
Although the two of them came to Mondstadt together, they weren't really travel companions; that was just how it seemed to others.
"Yes, Ann, isn't Lumine able to travel between worlds? Maybe when she recovers her power, she can help you," Paimon immediately chimed in.
Ann had never formally asked Lumine for help before, and hearing Paimon say that, she couldn't help but look at Lumine.
"I'm duty-bound to do this; after all, we're friends, aren't we?" Lumine patted her chest.
Although for now, she felt that recovering her power was still a distant prospect.
"Thank you, Lumine," Ann smiled happily.
No matter what, with Lumine's assurance, it could also ease her mental pressure a bit.
"...Cough, cough, then Ann, what are your thoughts?" Lumine was momentarily captivated by Ann's smile, and after coming back to her senses, she quickly coughed twice.
"I don't have any particular goals in this world anyway, so traveling together for a while is certainly fine," Ann nodded.
However, she also wanted to earn some money by her own efforts, so she still needed to undertake Adventurers' Guild commissions, and certainly couldn't be with Lumine every moment.
Lumine also nodded in agreement with this point.
As long as they could see each other often and find Ann when they wanted to, that was enough.
Moreover, Lumine herself had some tasks that needed to be completed alone; she had originally intended to do so.
"However, we probably won't go to the next place for a short time, so renting a house is still necessary," Ann thought, stroking her chin.
In the future, she would earn more money, and in each country she visited, she would rent a house as a temporary base.
Thinking about it this way, she might still need to spend a lot of money in the future.
Hmm... she needed to work hard.
She also wondered if there would be a generous Reward for helping Mondstadt deal with the Dragon Disaster this time.
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