"How is it? Good?" Miko watched Kiana pick up a piece of meat and eat it, then immediately asked, barely able to contain herself.
She felt certain that Kiana, of all people, would taste the difference.
The point wasn't the difference itself, of course — what she really wanted was for Kiana to understand what normal cooking actually tasted like.
"It's really good, Miko — didn't expect your cooking to be this solid." Under Miko's expectant gaze, Kiana gave a firm, emphatic nod.
But that wasn't the whole answer Miko was after. She needed Kiana to actually clock the important part — that was what mattered most.
So? What else, Kiana?!
Still watching her, Miko saw that Kiana had gone quiet and showed no sign of continuing. The impatience building inside her finally spilled over into a silent grumble.
While Miko was quietly stewing, Kiana was busy in her own head, genuinely marveling at Miko's culinary skills.
Didn't realize Miko was such a good cook...
Honestly, she could probably join Lumine's crew at this rate.
Though I'm not going to be the one to suggest it.
She picked up another piece of meat and popped it into her mouth. Kiana decided that Miko's stir-fried pork with chili peppers and Lumine's each had their own character — probably came down to the two of them seasoning it differently.
But on one point they were exactly the same: both were delicious.
Oh, right...
Miko's definitely waiting for me to say something about how mine and hers are different...
So I just... won't.
Let's see if she works up the nerve to ask me directly.
With that thought, Kiana opened her mouth and said: "So, Miko — do you cook for yourself often?"
Miko: ...
She stared at Kiana for a long moment. Still not the words she'd been waiting for. It left her completely at a loss — she was even starting to wonder whether Kiana, like Acheron, simply couldn't taste the difference.
Except Kiana had just said it was delicious. Which meant she could taste it.
But then... why hasn't she said anything?
Miko sank into thought, turning the question over in her head.
Still, Kiana had asked her something, so she supposed she'd better answer.
"Every now and then — not always. Sometimes I just get the urge to cook something myself, so I do." Even though she was baffled by Kiana's conspicuous silence on the one thing anyone would normally mention, Miko answered her with a smile.
Oh — Acheron!
Say something, would you?!
Miko's gaze slid across to Acheron, sitting directly opposite her. The look she shot her was nothing short of aggrieved — as if Acheron had personally done something to offend her.
But under that wounded stare, Acheron just looked mildly confused.
Haah...
Acheron didn't even pick up on any of it...
So she probably has no idea what's going on in my head right now.
Looking at her, Miko decided to give up.
Fine, forget it.
Back to the Mobius situation...
With that settled in her mind, Miko put the cooking matter aside and said aloud: "So — should any of us go to Liyue to check on things?"
The way she saw it, since they had no idea whether Mobius had actually gone to Liyue, the best approach was simply to go and see for themselves.
"No need." It was Acheron who spoke up, out of the blue.
No need?
Miko looked at her, visibly startled. She hadn't expected that answer at all.
"Why not? Feels like... we should at least go take a look." Her surprise was enough to make her push back and ask for a reason.
"Mobius has done this sort of thing before. It's probably just her way of stirring up trouble." This time it was Kiana who spoke.
Just stirring up trouble???
Even that framing caught Miko off guard.
"But what if she tries to do something to Kaito?"
Given that Mobius had lived for tens of thousands of years, Miko had no illusions about her being some ordinary figure — and she couldn't help feeling a little worried about Kaito, alone in Liyue. Kaito was strong, no question, but Mobius still felt like a genuine threat.
In that case, I'll have Wendy take you over for a look.
Seeing that Miko was still fretting, Acheron said as much.
After all, this whole situation traced back to herself and Kiana — there was no real reason for either of them to go and watch their own drama play out from the sidelines. But Miko was a different story. She'd been sitting here worrying the whole time, so it made more sense to just have Wendy take her over to see for herself.
"That works." Miko nodded at Acheron's suggestion, then added: "It just feels like you two don't worry about Kaito at all."
She knew she'd come into this late and was missing a lot of context — but however you looked at it, going to Liyue to check seemed like the right call.
"Oh, come on, Miko — Kaito's not exactly helpless, you know. Why all the hand-wringing?" After hearing her out, and sensing that both she and Acheron were coming across as rather unconcerned about Kaito, Kiana added: "Besides, isn't that what you're here for? Miko, Acheron and I are counting on you — go to Liyue and check things out on our behalf."
"Of course, no problem." Hearing Kiana say it like that, Miko agreed without hesitation.
Though in that same moment, she had a distinct feeling that Kiana and Acheron had somehow maneuvered her into being the one to go to Liyue all along.
As for Mobius — maybe it really was nothing serious. Maybe she'd just shown up to pester Kaito.
Either way, she'd already made up her mind to go to Liyue. She wanted to see for herself what that guy had been getting up to lately.
She'd known for a while that Kaito was helping the Geo Archon deal with the remnants of the fallen gods — but she also knew Kaito couldn't possibly be doing that every waking moment. There had to be downtime. There had to be other things going on.
So she'd use Mobius as an excuse to go take a look.
"So, Wendy—"
"You called?" Before Miko could even finish the sentence, Wendy's voice rang out from right behind her — and once again, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"How are you all like this — appearing out of nowhere the moment someone says your name? I'm seriously starting to wonder if you can hear people talking about you from miles away." Miko turned around to face Wendy, who had appeared at some point without anyone noticing, and couldn't stop herself from saying exactly that.
First Kiana pulling that trick, and now Wendy — it really did make her brain go there.
"What are you babbling about, little fox?"
Wendy responded in a tone that suggested she'd just heard something deeply puzzling, then continued: "Acheron and Kiana weren't in the inn, so obviously they'd be here at your place — do I even need to think about that one?"
And with that, Wendy turned to look at Miko with an expression that said oh, you sweet idiot — which made Miko want to hit her.
____
👻🔥Whant more?: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Group chat of the Dead
✅ Read 40 chapters ahead on every series!
✅ Unlock supporter-only perks and news!
Let's reach these milestones together:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 free chapter for all readers
👻 Walnut-chan on P...