"Kaito."
"What is it? Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?" Noticing that Lumine was staring at him with undisguised curiosity, Kaito felt a flicker of confusion. He couldn't figure out what had prompted it.
"I'm just a little curious — how did you know all those things? Mr. Zhongli definitely wasn't the one who told you, right?"
She held his gaze and asked it directly.
How do I know those things?
Faced with the question, Kaito found himself genuinely at a loss. It wasn't as if he could tell her he'd watched the whole story play out from a screen.
Hmm...
How exactly should I handle this...
Standing face-to-face with Lumine, he rapidly turned over his options.
Got it!
After a moment's thought, he knew exactly what to say.
"That's easy — because Wendy was the one who told me all of it," he said, with the air of someone dredging up an obvious fact.
From Lumine's perspective, Wendy was the Anemo Archon. That answer made perfect sense.
He had to admit — Wendy's existence was genuinely convenient, in absolutely every conceivable way.
"Oh, so it was Wendy."
Lumine nodded, understanding dawning on her face. That tracked. If Wendy had told him, of course he'd know.
But wait...
When had Wendy and Kaito actually met?
The thought surfaced out of nowhere, and Lumine found herself suddenly curious about it.
"Kaito — when did you and Wendy first meet? Was it a long time ago?"
Why does this question keep coming up...
Inwardly, Kaito felt a wave of helplessness at this new question.
Because if he answered honestly, the answer was: not that long ago.
But it didn't matter. How long ago was entirely up to him. Whatever he said, that was how long it had been.
"A long time ago — honestly, I don't really remember the details anymore." After a moment's thought, he kept it vague: a long time, details lost to memory.
He had no choice. When fabricating something, vague was always safer than specific. The more precise the answer, the easier it was to get caught.
"You don't even remember something like that?" Lumine's expression made it clear she was not satisfied.
Kaito: !
That's bad...
He already knew where this was going — Lumine was about to ask when the two of them had first met.
"Let's keep walking and see what else is out there. I feel like every single corner of Liyue has some kind of story to it." With that, Lumine turned and continued forward.
In truth, she had been on the verge of asking whether Kaito remembered the exact moment they had first crossed paths. But after thinking it over, she held back.
Because this guy had almost certainly forgotten that too.
So there was no point putting him on the spot.
Besides — if he couldn't even remember when he'd met Wendy, she might as well just let it go.
"Sure." A single word, and Kaito fell into step behind her.
She didn't ask...
Looks like I was overthinking it...
He'd already braced himself for the awkwardness — and then Lumine had simply let it go. That was a relief. At least he'd been spared the embarrassment.
Sigh...
Lesson learned: from now on, before I start talking about something, I should think ahead about what to do if it loops back around to me.
Kaito filed that away as hard-won experience.
---
Meanwhile, back in Inazuma, Kiana had already led Miko to a stretch of market stalls selling all manner of vegetables and produce.
"How did we end up here?" Miko glanced around at the stalls, unable to help herself.
Kiana had said they were just taking a casual stroll — and yet somehow they'd ended up here.
What exactly is the plan?
Buying groceries to cook?
While Miko was still turning that over, Kiana had already stopped in front of one of the smaller stalls. Miko hurried to catch up.
Chili peppers?
Standing behind her, Miko recognized the items laid out across the stall's surface. She genuinely couldn't figure out what Kiana was trying to do.
"Are you buying chili peppers?" she asked, unable to stay quiet any longer.
"Lady Guuji?" At that moment, the stall owner recognized Miko and quickly rose to greet her.
"Just keep selling — don't mind me."
Miko waved the vendor back down. She was only here following Kiana; she had no business of her own.
"Of course, Lady Guuji." Hearing that, the stall owner settled back into her seat.
If she had to guess, Lady Guuji was probably out shopping with a friend. It was certainly surprising to see Lady Guuji at a vegetable stall — but there was no need to make a fuss. Best to just keep working.
And not to mention — Lady Guuji's companion was clearly no ordinary person. One look and you could tell she was from a distinguished household; you just couldn't quite tell which one.
"Excuse me — could I get some of these chili peppers? They're not too spicy, are they?"
After looking things over for a moment, Kiana finally spoke up. She'd decided she wanted to get a feel for cooking, so she thought she'd pick up some chili peppers and a bit of meat and give it a try.
As for where to try — the shrine, obviously.
After all, Miko had already declared that place her territory. It was perfectly reasonable for an older sister to use her younger sister's turf to fry up a dish or two.
"Not too spicy at all, miss — let me weigh some out for you."
"Sure." Kiana nodded.
"So, Kiana-nee," Miko started up again, "what exactly are you planning to do? Are you cooking for Kaito? But he's in Liyue right now, isn't he?"
She'd been watching long enough. She had to ask.
"Of course not." Kiana didn't say what she was actually planning — only that this had nothing to do with Kaito.
"So Kiana-nee is cooking for herself, then."
Hearing the denial, Miko quickly arrived at that conclusion. If it wasn't for Kaito, it had to be for herself.
"Mm. I'm going to cook at your place later." Kiana said it without even turning around.
My place?
Miko blinked — and then it immediately clicked. She knew exactly where Kiana meant.
"Why?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.
She really was curious — why had Kiana suddenly decided to cook at the shrine of all places?
"Isn't that your territory? Does it really need to be more complicated than that?" Kiana still didn't feel like elaborating. Her cooking process had the potential to be... alarming to witness, and she'd rather not give Miko too many advance warnings.
"Fine, fine — whatever Kiana-nee says goes. There's more than enough space there for you, anyway."
Faced with Kiana's breezy nonchalance, Miko could only sigh in resignation.
[Helpless face.jpg]
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