On the way to Starsnatch Cliff, Su Han pondered a question.
Had Lumine awakened on her own?
Or had external factors led to her slow awakening?
The former might be due to Aether's influence, while the latter… perhaps Paimon had made a move.
But this was just speculation. Perhaps his own transmigration had caused Lumine's trajectory to deviate.
Regardless, it was good that Lumine had awakened. Su Han had been wondering how to find her. Now, it saved him the trouble.
If the Abyss continues to cause trouble for me, don't blame me, Aether. Hehe.
A hearty laugh echoed in the air. However, it sounded somewhat sinister.
Half an hour later, Su Han finally arrived at Starsnatch Cliff.
The nearby knights, seeing the Pope fly in, all revealed excited expressions.
"How is it? Where is the location?" Su Han asked, landing next to Lisa.
The latter pointed to a spot. "The location is simple… but I can't find the specific entity. See what you can do."
Following Lisa's finger, Su Han saw that a deep pit had already been dug nearby. But… it was just sand and more sand. There was nothing there. Not even a corner of clothing.
It seemed Lumine's seal was not simple.
Su Han thought for a moment and said, "Then let's wait for a while… maybe the pillar of light will appear again later."
"That's the only way! By the way… do you know the identity of this traveler?"
Faced with Lisa's question, Su Han nodded. "Mm… I know a little, but… some things cannot be said."
Who knew if Paimon was nearby? It was better to talk less about her.
Lisa was stunned for a moment, then nodded in understanding. Since he was doing this, there must be a deeper meaning.
The surrounding knights had long since been dismissed. Only the two of them were left here.
Around noon, the light appeared again. The gentle light was not obvious, but it gave people a clear feeling.
Lisa stepped forward and touched the pillar of light, surprised. "Is she underground?"
The power of lightning tried to penetrate the pillar of light. But this pillar seemed to have a magical power, actually repelling the elemental power.
"The power of this pillar is very strong; elemental power cannot penetrate it. Let me try the power of a Witch…"
As the lightning turned black, although the lightning was terrifying, it still could not enter. Even if Lisa used natural energy, she still could not shake the pillar of light.
This thing seemed to have an absolute defense.
In the end, Lisa shook her head. "I cannot dissolve this seal. You do it."
"Mm."
Su Han stepped forward and reached out to touch the pillar of light.
But something unexpected happened. His fingers easily passed through the protection. It was as if the previous repulsion had been fake.
When Su Han withdrew his arm, all the pillars of light shattered.
A blonde-haired girl appeared in their eyes. Her eyes were tightly closed, her breathing even. She seemed to be in a deep sleep.
Lisa asked in astonishment, "How did you penetrate the pillar of light?"
"You might not believe me if I told you, but I didn't use any power. I just wanted to touch the pillar. I didn't expect it to have no defense against me. Probably… this pillar of light targets… not power, but the living beings of Teyvat."
Su Han looked at the sleeping Lumine and revealed a faint smile.
He hadn't expected the seal to be dissolved so simply.
At this moment, the girl in his arms moaned softly and slowly opened her eyes. Seeing the stranger holding her, she seemed startled.
Lumine flipped over beautifully and landed on the sand. Looking at the silver-haired man and the purple-clothed woman next to him, she revealed a wary expression.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
"Don't be nervous, it's like this…"
Under Lisa's explanation, Lumine's expression gradually relaxed. However, she still frowned, obviously recalling what had happened in the past.
After a long while, she asked, "Excuse me… where is this?"
"Mondstadt… one of the seven nations of the Teyvat continent, the territory of the Anemo Archon. Do you want to go to the city and sit for a while? This is a wilderness. There is no place to stay."
Faced with Su Han's proposal, Lumine turned to look at the dissipating light, still thinking in her heart.
If I leave, won't my brother be unable to find me when he comes?
"I still want to wait for a while. Maybe my relative will come here to find me…"
In the end, she chose to refuse.
Lisa advised, "There are always knights of Mondstadt guarding nearby. If they meet your relative, they can pass on a message. There is no food or sufficient water here. The other party most likely won't be living nearby. Maybe they are also living in the city…"
Thinking about it this way, it seemed correct. Lumine was gradually persuaded.
"Alright, since there are knights to help… then thank you. By the way… can I ask for your names?"
"My name is Lisa. I am the librarian of Mondstadt City, but… I have a lot of things to do right now. As for him… he is the Pope of the Church of Favonius."
"What? Pope…"
Lumine was a little shocked. She didn't expect the identity of the person in front of her to be so astonishing.
Su Han smiled faintly and said, "But I won't be stationed in Mondstadt permanently… let's go, let's return to the city first."
"Mm!"
The three of them rode horses towards Mondstadt City.
On the way, Lumine asked many things. All about the common sense of this world.
When she heard that Su Han was not only the Pope controlling Mondstadt but even the controller of Liyue, she appeared very surprised.
"The controller of two countries? Didn't you say… nations were established by Archons?"
Faced with Lumine's question, Lisa quickly gave an answer.
"There are many things that Archons cannot do, and at this time… he appeared. So… Traveler, do you want to join Mondstadt? We are very short of manpower recently…"
"Uh… this… I might not stay for too long. As I said before… if I confirm that my relative will not appear, then maybe I will leave…"
Lumine gave an answer. The meaning of staying in this world was only to find her blood relative. She would not stay in one place for long.
Lisa looked at Su Han, asking with her eyes if she should tell some explosive things. But he shook his head. It was still a bit early to say these things now.
However, just as they were passing through the forest, a black shadow fell from a tree.
It hit Lumine right on the head.
"Ouch… what is it…"
Lumine, who fell off the horse, rubbed her head. She never expected such a thing to be in the tree.
Lisa looked shocked. Her Observation Haki actually hadn't captured the thing. What was this?
"Ah… where am I… my head is spinning…"
A small figure rubbed her head… her eyes full of spirals as she spoke.
After Lumine regained consciousness, she looked at the little person flying in the air and said angrily, "Why did you fall on my head…"
"Uh… I don't know either. I was just hungry and fell asleep in the tree… then I heard someone talking, so I wanted to ask for some food…"
Alright. Since she was so pitiful, what else could Lumine say?
So, she turned to look at Su Han and the others.
"I have some food here. Here, take it to fill your stomach…"
"Wow… thank you! By the way… my name is Paimon. What's your name… silver-haired one…"
"My name is Su Han. I am the current Pope of the Church of Favonius."
"AHHH!!!!"
Hearing the word "Pope," Paimon was directly startled. She almost dropped the food on the ground.
"Why are you so jumpy…"
"Since when did Mondstadt have a Pope? And… and, isn't that the freest nation?"
Looking at Paimon's shocked face, Lumine also realized something was wrong and quickly asked, "What do you know?"
"Uh…" Paimon looked at the two strangers and whispered, "The nation of the Anemo Archon is the freest place. Because of some historical issues, there are no so-called Popes or Emperors here… but he says he is the Pope…"
This conflicted greatly with her knowledge.
Under Paimon's explanation, Lumine finally understood what kind of place Mondstadt was. Advocating freedom. Loving adventure.
But… in this way, there was a fierce conflict with a Pope who controlled the entire country.
She turned to look at Su Han and Lisa.
The former smiled and said, "What you said is indeed correct, but… those things are old history. The current Mondstadt City is up to me… and don't think I usurped this position. It was the Anemo Archon who begged me to be the Pope… otherwise, I wouldn't want to be a Pope… let's continue on our way. We haven't eaten lunch yet."
Hearing about eating, Paimon instantly believed Su Han and quickly asked, "Um… if you are the Pope, you must be very rich, right… can we eat our fill if we follow you?"
Lumine: "…"
Your suspicion only lasts for three seconds?
Lisa covered her mouth and laughed. "You guys… are really interesting. Don't worry, Su Han is not short of Mora. You can eat whatever you want."
"Really?"
"Yes, I have countless industries. Eat whatever you want…"
The group arrived in Mondstadt City.
When they saw the booming shops, Paimon and Lumine finally understood what it meant to be rich. Guests came in an endless stream, buying things frantically as if they were free. Paimon was dumbfounded.
"What is that… why are so many people buying that black stuff?"
"This is Cola, a newly developed drink. Do you want a cup?"
"Okay… okay…"