It was common knowledge that Development Abilities were notoriously difficult to level up.
For example, Riveria—an elf of royal lineage and known as the strongest mage in the city—had been an adventurer for several decades, yet the highest-ranked Development Ability she possessed, Mage, was still only at rank E.
As for Lumine, her Cooking Development Ability was currently at rank H.
Among the ten ranks ranging from I to S, that placed her at the second-lowest tier—
Which happened to correspond exactly to one-star Genshin-style cuisine.
Of course, compared to her original starting rank of I, Lumine had already advanced one full tier. As a result, she could now effortlessly produce dishes with the "Delicious" prefix—
That is, meals with noticeably stronger effects, glowing faintly as if enhanced with special effects.
However, at this stage, Genshin-style dishes only fell into two categories: Revival and Recovery.
Among them, the former—which carried an external binding restriction—included only seven dishes in total, more than half of which had already been used up.
Fortunately, once Lumine raised her Cooking rank to G, she would unlock two-star Genshin dishes.
At that point, all kinds of stat-boosting meals—attack, defense, crit rate, crit damage—the full array of "buff foundations" would finally take the stage.
Today…
"So this is the special cuisine Miss Tione mentioned so many times?"
"To think it can be prepared so easily… and in such a short time!"
"And as long as the ingredients are sufficient, it can even be mass-produced?"
When Lumine brought Airmid to the small cooking room she had rented in advance, and demonstrated—right in front of the Dea Saint—that almost alchemy-like cooking method of the Teyvat Master Chef…
Even though Tione and the others had already warned her beforehand, Airmid—who had brewed countless potions in her life—couldn't help but show genuine astonishment.
Her violet, amethyst-like eyes widened slightly, pupils contracting sharply. Combined with her serious, observant expression, the sight was strikingly beautiful in its own way.
Seeing this…
"Go on, have a taste."
Lumine smiled and gestured invitingly. "Even though it's usually not ideal to eat heavy food for breakfast, my glowing dishes are special by nature—there's no need to worry about that."
Hearing her speak with such confidence…
"Then, I'll begin."
Airmid sampled a small bite of each dish with great restraint.
This included the Teyvat Fried Egg, Steak, Egg Roll, and Shrimp Sushi—dishes whose external revival effects had already been used.
As for the remaining three one-star revival dishes—Stir-Fried Filet, Mondstadt Grilled Fish, and Mora Meat—Lumine chose to keep those in reserve.
Before long…
Just from the joy unconsciously surfacing on Airmid's face, it was obvious—every dish, even those not quite to her personal taste, could be called exquisite.
The silver-haired girl slowly savored the lingering flavors.
After a long moment…
"Miss Lumine."
"You can just call me Lumine."
Lumine replied casually, pointing to the prepared containers beside them. "You're planning to take samples back for research, right?"
"Yes."
Airmid nodded.
This had been agreed upon long ago.
Lumine herself was also very curious—whether Airmid could truly unravel the mysteries of Genshin cuisine.
Even if she couldn't… this Dea Saint would surely gain valuable inspiration, leading to more efficient and affordable recovery potions.
Thus, as they worked together to portion and pack the samples…
"Miss Airmid, as we discussed before, I'll summon Barbara later and introduce her to you."
"I've already informed Barbara in advance—she's looking forward to meeting you as well."
Lumine smoothly shifted the topic. "But before that, let's talk about the matter I mentioned to you the other day…"
She then briefly explained Renjiro's situation—that his true body could learn any magic, and that he wished to study Airmid's unique spell, Dia Fratel.
Without a doubt, this was an exceptional request—and one that could even be considered somewhat intrusive.
After all, magic was generally classified as highly confidential within each familia, a treasured internal asset of every familia.
Not to mention that Airmid's magic was known as one of the three great bugs of the Dungeon—
A super-rare ability that simultaneously healed wounds, restored stamina, removed poison, and dispelled curses.
It was said that although Airmid's current Falna Level was only Lv.2, as long as she stood with her allies, she was essentially a mobile healing spring.
Her Magic stat wasn't particularly high—certainly far lower than Riveria's, or even Lefiya's.
But Dia Fratel required astonishingly little magic to activate, while delivering overwhelming healing, detoxification, and curse-removal effects. These effects could be freely selected, cast on groups, or separated as needed…
As a result, healing dozens of people at once cost her little more than a normal basic action.
This was the very definition of a bug-level ability.
And it was precisely why she was called the Dea Saint.
At present…
"This request truly surprises me."
After listening to Lumine's explanation—and hearing her emphasize that refusal was perfectly acceptable and her decision would be respected—Airmid fell silent for a brief moment of thought. Then…
"Although Dian Cecht-sama would definitely complain, this is something I can decide for myself."
"I have two conditions."
The silver-haired, violet-eyed beauty spoke plainly. "Lumine, please relay this exactly to that… Renjiro-sama."
"First, I want to meet him formally, in person. I need to confirm what kind of person he truly is before discussing anything else."
"And on that basis…"
Her tone turned solemn. "If he truly can learn my magic, then whenever I issue a private request asking him to assist in treating severely wounded patients, he must help to the best of his ability."
"I believe that my magic, Dia Fratel, exists to help as many people as possible. If he can do the same—even if not wholeheartedly, as long as it's not purely for selfish gain—then letting him learn it would have real meaning."
"Otherwise, I will refuse this request outright."
Lumine understood Airmid's reasoning perfectly.
Learn magic → save more people: acceptable.
Learn magic → selfish profit with no contribution: unacceptable.
As for these conditions…
"Deal."
Lumine raised her thumb.
It was both praise and a promise. "Leave it to me."
"I'll convey every word you just said—verbatim."
After all, Renjiro had already received the message in real time through their mental link.
Just then, the sample-packing process for the Genshin dishes was also completed smoothly.
"Alright, I'll call Barbara over right away~"
Lumine raised her right hand and snapped her fingers—
[Stars, gather here—]
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100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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