"Perhaps... neither matters?" Lumine withdrew her gaze, her tone filled with uncertainty.
"I thought you'd bring Yu Jin into it again." Dain sighed in relief, finally able to continue the conversation smoothly.
"Actually, I was going to ask for your opinion, senior. But then I thought, since you asked me, I should give my own answer instead of asking others."
Lumine scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed. She had been truly lax lately, always thinking that with Yu Jin around, she didn't need to worry about any problems.
If she continued like this, she would become as useless as Paimon, who only knew how to eat. Lumine glanced at Paimon, who was idly flitting beside her, and secretly warned herself that she must never become like that.
"I feel like you're thinking something rude." Paimon was sensitive to gazes, and after noticing Lumine's look, she put her hands on her hips and questioned her.
"No, you're overthinking it." Lumine dismissed Paimon with an unperturbed expression. The latter then relaxed; Paimon's grudges never lasted more than three seconds.
"Alright, it seems she truly is his sister. Your answers are very similar."
"Similar in what way? Two out of three questions veered towards Yu Jin. Don't tell me the 'him' you mentioned has also met Yu Jin."
Paimon heard Dain's profound words and immediately stepped forward to refute him.
"I can testify, blonde one, I've only seen you and Lumine."
Yu Jin's figure appeared, agreeing with Paimon's words.
Dain heard this and scanned Paimon, who was inseparable from Lumine. Lumine resembled Aether somewhat, but Paimon was nothing like him in the past.
"I won't say anything." Paimon saw Dain's expressionless face, immediately cowered, and hid behind Lumine.
Lumine looked up at Dain, her voice trembling as she said, "You and my brother, you know him?"
"'Him,' you say? Whether he is still your brother or not is something you will have to find the answer to yourself." Dain first nodded, then shook his head.
After they parted ways, he hadn't seen Aether since. Even though they were once the best of friends.
What was Aether's situation now? What was he thinking? Dain didn't know.
"Then what about his news?" Lumine stood up, urgently asking as she slapped the table.
"Calm down, you won't find him if you rush." Dain saw Lumine's agitated state and poured a bucket of cold water on her.
After seeing Lumine slowly sit down and return to normal, he continued, "Do you know about the Abyss Order?"
"Yes, they are non-human monsters." Lumine didn't know the purpose of Dain's words, but she still continued the conversation.
"When you travel, pay attention to them. Perhaps you can find some traces he left behind."
Dain extended his hand, holding a blue and white flower. The small flower was delicate and dewy, as if a mere breeze could blow away its colorful petals.
"Clank!"
But unexpectedly, the seemingly fragile blue and white flower, when it landed on the table, made the sound of hard objects colliding.
"This is..." Lumine looked at the small flower on the table, carved like white stone, and Aether's image suddenly appeared in her mind.
The image was grayscale, and Aether in it was holding an identical small flower, gently placing it on the ground.
Then the image flickered and blurred, disappearing from Lumine's mind.
"Inteyvat." x2
Dain and Lumine spoke in unison. Dain heard Lumine say the name "Inteyvat" and couldn't help but look up at her.
It seemed Lumine knew more than he had imagined.
"Inteyvat? What is that?" Paimon picked up the iron-hard flower and looked at it curiously.
Could this flower have been forged by Wagner, whom Dain asked at the door?
"The national flower of the lost ancient kingdom, Khaenri'ah." A rare ripple appeared in Dain's eyes as he searched his distant memories and continued:
"Inteyvat once bloomed in every corner of Khaenri'ah. The blooming period of this flower is only two weeks. During these two weeks, they will display their most beautiful form."
"But if someone picks the flower, it will stop growing and become very hard."
"Therefore, Inteyvat symbolized 'the wanderer' in Khaenri'ah, signifying 'the tenderness of home'."
Dain's tone was as unwavering as before. Yet, everyone felt an inexplicable sadness.
Affected by this, the small space, which had been filled with laughter and chatter, fell silent.
However, this silence did not last long. A fragrance, which should not have been in a tavern, wafted through, surprising everyone.
"Come, come, one for each of you."
Yu Jin held a large bouquet of freshly picked Inteyvat flowers and placed one on the head of Dain, Paimon, and Lumine.
"Where did you get Inteyvat?!" Dain was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out.
He reached up, took off the Inteyvat flower on his head, and rubbed it in his hand.
The soft petals and the overflowing fragrance wafted towards him, exactly as he remembered.
"Are you making a fuss? These are specially cultivated! Inteyvat flowers that can bloom anywhere!"
"How about it? Want some seeds?" Yu Jin said, leaning closer to Dain.
Dain had wanted to reprimand Yu Jin for this act that destroyed the meaning of Inteyvat. But he took a deep breath, and the fragrance from his memory flooded his mind, significantly alleviating his pain.
"Thank you, I owe you one." The words on Dain's lips turned into gratitude. He took the cloth bag from Yu Jin's hand and carefully placed it in his pocket.
"Hehe, I'll give you mine; it looks great on you!" Paimon, beside them, took off the Inteyvat flower from her head and placed it on Lumine's.
Two Inteyvat flowers, one large and one small, adorned Lumine's head, creating an indescribable sense of naturalness, as if everything was perfectly formed.
"Really? Sweet words won't change the fact that you've spent all the Mora. Next, we'll have to go hunt wild boars." Lumine's mood also brightened, and she joked with Paimon.
"Wh-What?!" Paimon, as expected, took it seriously. She began to ponder if she should use her small savings.
"That's right, instead of dwelling in sadness, let's take action!" Yu Jin slapped the table and said, "Let's go find trouble with the Abyss Order!"
"It's rare for us to have the same opinion." Dain's expression management was definitely the strongest Yu Jin had ever seen; any fluctuation of emotion on his face would revert to an expressionless state within two seconds.
"But, the Abyss Order seems really hard to find. Ever since the Dragon Scourge, we've been entangled with internal human forces like the Fatui, and we haven't even seen a shadow of the Abyss Order."
Paimon looked at Lumine, who nodded, confirming her statement.
"Hmph, is that so? Then have you ever considered that someone specifically ordered the monsters of the Abyss Order to stay away from you?"
Dain snorted coldly. He understood the Abyss Order's thoughts all too well.
"In that case..." Paimon scratched her head. How could they find traces of the Abyss Order then?
"Don't worry, I have information on the Abyss Order's whereabouts." Dain leaned his hands on the table, looking mysterious.
"Have you heard of the Abyss Herald?"
"Heard of it, isn't it just a higher form of the Abyss Mage?!"
"Not only have we heard of it, but we've also seen one! I think it was called... what was it called... an Abyss Lector?"
Lumine and Paimon, one after another, rendered Dain speechless again.
Dain looked at Yu Jin, who was struggling with the hardened Inteyvat flower beside him.
"Ehe!"
Feeling Dain's gaze, Yu Jin decisively cosplayed Venti.
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