Inside the Serenitea Pot.
Tiamat sat quietly on the grass with a peaceful expression, a Hydro Slime nestled in her arms.
No matter how much training Koji had put the slimes through, in front of Tiamat, the Mother Goddess of Creation, they still had to behave like obedient little pets. The difference in their level of existence was simply too great.
"Tiamat, weren't you with Lumine in Nod-Krai?" Koji asked.
"Lumine told me to come in here and rest for a while," Tiamat said softly.
Even if the space inside the Serenitea Pot was rather fragile, it had still been arranged beautifully. Staying here felt very comfortable.
"…I should bring you a child."
After thinking it over, Koji brought Klee back. Alice was away most of the time anyway, so letting Tiamat experience the joy of looking after a child did not seem like a bad idea.
"Klee, you can call her Mama Tia," Koji said.
"Mama Tia."
Klee did not question it at all. She lifted her cute little face and looked at Tiamat. From her, she really did feel something like a motherly warmth, and it made her feel instinctively close to her.
"Good girl. Come here, let me hold you."
Tiamat's unusual eyes lit up as she looked happily at Klee, this human child—no, this little elf.
Klee was not shy either. She threw herself straight into Tiamat's arms and basked in her warmth.
"Mama Tia, you're really pretty," Klee said, looking up at Tiamat's breathtaking face from within her embrace.
Tiamat was the Mother Goddess of Creation herself. A special kind of divinity clung to her, and there were three dusky pink beauty marks between her brows that made her seem almost beyond worldly beauty.
"Klee is very cute too."
Tiamat rubbed her cheek against Klee's little face. She liked this child very much. Lumine called her Mama Tia too, but Lumine was already an adult. That was different from a little girl like Klee.
"Mama Tia, let's make bombs together!" Klee said as she pulled bomb-making materials out of her backpack.
Naturally, Tiamat agreed. Klee would make them, and Tiamat would sit there and watch.
"…I'd better send the two of you somewhere else."
Koji rubbed his forehead. If they started playing with bombs inside the Serenitea Pot, this place could end up in complete chaos.
So it was better to get them out of the Serenitea Pot first.
…
Koji did not disturb the one big and one small girl enjoying each other's company. Instead, he went to find Alice.
"Alice, your daughter just made someone else her mom," Koji said with a grin.
Anyone else probably would have joked about getting their place stolen, but Alice did not care.
After all, Jean had looked after Klee for so many years that she could already be considered one of Klee's mothers too.
"Was it Tiamat? That Mother Goddess of Creation does seem very suited to being Klee's godmother," Alice said with a smile, nodding.
Tiamat, the Mother Goddess of Creation, was far more dependable than an adventurer like her. There would be plenty of benefits if Klee became Tiamat's goddaughter.
"What are they doing right now?" Alice asked curiously.
"Making bombs," Koji answered.
Alice's expression suddenly stiffened, and she said uneasily, "Nothing's going to happen… right?"
If it were just Klee by herself, then there would not be a problem. But if Tiamat got involved too, she might end up creating bombs with absurdly terrifying power.
For example, if she provided some special materials, the bombs' power could easily increase severalfold.
"It probably won't."
Koji sounded unconvincing even to himself. If Klee were really allowed to go all out, no one could say what kind of bombs she might be able to create.
"I'll handle it if anything happens." This time, Koji sounded completely confident. Even if they somehow made a bomb powerful enough to blow Teyvat into the sky, he could still deal with it.
Alice nodded. If that was the case, then she could let Klee play to her heart's content.
"Want to go for a walk together?" Alice asked.
"Inazuma."
"You're sure you want to go to Inazuma?"
Koji's expression turned a little strange when he heard that destination. Did she really not know that she was not exactly popular over there?
In Inazuma, Yae Miko was practically treated like royalty, but in Alice's eyes, she was just an adorable little fox over five hundred years old. After a few drinks, Alice could bully Yae Miko until she was crying and throwing a fit.
So in the eyes of Inazuma's upper ranks, Alice was basically a walking disaster.
"What? Has Inazuma banned me from entering?" Alice asked, as if she truly had no idea what sort of reputation she had there.
There was no warrant out for her in Inazuma, so of course she could go have some fun.
"No. Let's go," Koji said, clearly looking forward to the entertainment.
The moment Yae Miko saw Alice arrive in Inazuma, she was definitely going to be absolutely "thrilled."
Using a teleport waypoint, the two of them arrived in Inazuma. Alice looked around, then nodded.
"The scenery looks just like it did back then. Hardly anything's changed. I wonder if little Miko misses me~"
Koji was speechless inside. Yae Miko definitely did not miss her. The moment Alice came to mind, all those awful memories would probably resurface and launch another assault on her brain.
At the Grand Narukami Shrine, Yae Miko, who had been eating fried tofu, suddenly twitched an ear. Her expression changed, and her eyes sharpened.
Kitsune Saiguu noticed it and asked in confusion, "Miko, what's wrong?"
"I suddenly have a really bad feeling," Yae Miko said with a frown. "What is this?"
"Maybe it's just your imagination."
Kitsune Saiguu did not feel anything. She and Alice were not all that familiar with each other, after all.
"Maybe. I just feel really irritated for some reason." Yae Miko shook her head and went back to eating her fried tofu.
Back on Koji's side—
"Hi, Yoimiya. Long time no see," Alice said, greeting the bandaged girl.
"Oh, it's you, Alice-san. It really has been a long time," Yoimiya said with a smile.
She got along very well with Alice and could get all sorts of fun ideas from her, but her old man was a little afraid of Alice. Her strange and imaginative ideas were just too terrifying.
"Want to come to Mondstadt with me? My daughter Klee would definitely get along with you."
"Alice-san, you know how it is. I still have my old man to take care of, so I can't leave home for too long." Yoimiya politely turned down Alice's invitation.
"All right then. If you ever have time, come to Mondstadt and find Klee. Just say I told you to come—no one will stop you," Alice said without forcing the matter.
Koji broke out in a cold sweat. If Klee and Yoimiya ever met, it would be a summit between two of Teyvat's greatest firebugs. No one knew what kind of trouble they would come up with.
Both of them were fanatics when it came to explosives, and both had far too many ideas.
In short, if those two ever met, there was an eighty to ninety percent chance something would go wrong.
(End of Chapter)
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