After a moment of thought, Sushang made up her mind.
"Uh… well, I'm not really sure how to put this, but could it be that you're some kind of big shot?"
Sushang scratched the back of her head, putting on an expression that tried to be respectful but somehow ended up looking not quite sharp.
"I'd think that anyone on Teyvat who doesn't know my name is a rare bird indeed, wouldn't you?"
Furina's suspicions grew, and she decided to probe further.
"Teyvat? Ah, right. My mission is to protect Ms. Furina and bring her back to Teyvat, though I'm not actually from there myself."
Not from Teyvat… Does that mean she's from beyond the stars? Just like that Traveler? Does the other me have so many connections?
No, that's to be expected, isn't it? She's the one who even managed to get Neuvillette on her side.
"So you're not from Teyvat. When I first saw your outfit, I actually thought you were from Liyue." Furina's voice softened involuntarily.
"If you were on Teyvat, you surely would have heard my name, or at least seen one of the operas I've starred in."
This wasn't mere boasting. Having performed operas for five hundred years, there were naturally many classics that had endured through the ages.
And a classic is the kind of work that, even across different nations—even if one hasn't read it or doesn't know the author or the lead—everyone has at least heard of the headlines.
"Oh! So you're a big celebrity!"
Hearing this, Sushang immediately looked like she understood. "I have a friend who is also exploring that path. She's actually doing quite well for herself!"
"Oh? Is she an opera performer too?"
"Uh… she's more of a streamer who busks on the street."
"A streamer?"
The term was somewhat foreign to her... but busking on the street... Although this girl wasn't from Liyue, or even from Teyvat, it was just like the situation in this world. Did her homeland share some strange similarity with Liyue?
Regardless, knowing that there was someone in this strange world who recognized her and promised to protect her until she could return brought a wave of relief to Furina.
"It's not quite like an artist such as yourself, but she has a lot of people who like her!" Sensing that Furina might not quite understand these things, Sushang offered a brief explanation.
Furina nodded thoughtfully.
"While I wouldn't spout empty platitudes like 'the concept of art is incredibly broad,' it seems your friend is a fellow professional who relies on her own talents to captivate people."
The two were not speaking particularly loudly, but because Sushang had used the Edge of Taixuan to create an isolated pocket of air, everyone else could only hear a blurred murmur that yielded no information.
Many people cast curious and suspicious glances in their direction. After all, both of their outfits were quite distinct from those in Orario.
If they were in Teyvat or on the Luofu, people might think the two looked completely different, but in Orario, these two "oddly dressed" people were likely assumed to be acquaintances.
Especially since they had been talking for quite a while.
Still… seeing that girl in yellow descend from the sky, she had to be a powerful adventurer.
A cute, uniquely dressed, and powerful adventurer—it was strange not to have heard of someone like that in Orario.
Furina was quite sensitive to gazes. Noticing that people's expressions were shifting from curiosity to speculation, and that more and more eyes were turning toward them, she decided it was time to find somewhere else to talk.
"This is a public place, after all. Let's save the rest of our conversation for somewhere else."
She suggested.
"Right! Then let's go to—" Before she could finish her sentence, a loud rumble echoed from Sushang's stomach.
Having her stomach growl in the middle of a conversation with someone she'd just met was a bit embarrassing, but Sushang wasn't the type to overthink such small matters.
She just chuckled and scratched the back of her head. "How about we grab something to eat first?"
"Alright. Since you're here to protect me, let me treat you." Furina smiled at the sight.
"No, that won't do! I've already received my due reward for taking on this mission! I can't take advantage of you anymore!" Sushang refused righteously, then added, "In fact, I arrived a bit late, so I should be the one apologizing! Let me treat you!"
If anyone else said they were late, it might be believable, but Furina found it hard to believe coming from Sushang.
Even in their short conversation, she had basically figured out the girl's personality.
Direct, cheerful, honest, responsible, and a little bit of a goof.
If someone like this had truly arrived late, she wouldn't have been so relaxed when they first met.
She had likely just accepted the commission—after all, there had to be a time gap between her disappearance, Furina's request for help, and the travel time involved.
In five hundred years, Furina hadn't met many people like Sushang, but every time she did, she found herself feeling a sense of affinity.
After all, it was nearly impossible for her secrets to be exposed in front of someone like this, and there was no burden in being around her.
Thinking this, Furina smiled and said, "That may be so, but you only just arrived here, didn't you? Do you even have any local currency?"
"Hmm… I don't, but I have this." As she spoke, Sushang fished a gold bar she had brought along out of her pocket.
To her, this thing wasn't worth much at all. Even without using Amber's ability to create things, it was considered one of the cheapest items in the system shop.
Based on the news she had gathered during her stay, Furina had some concept of the purchasing power of Mora here, even though in this world, Mora was simply called gold.
In Teyvat, "gold" was just a description of Mora's shape; aside from metaphorical contexts like Liyue's Golden House, almost no one called it gold directly.
On Teyvat, while Mora was valuable, it wasn't exactly a luxury item. But in this world, gold was something that only circulated in the upper echelons.
This was true even in Orario—while adventurers were everywhere, those who weren't adventurers still made up a significant portion of the population.
She had earned quite a bit from her street performances over the last two days, but it amounted to about the same as this single piece of Mora.
"Let's save this for when we're truly desperate," Furina said after a moment of reflection.
Since she still had some savings, and perhaps she could continue to earn Valis.
"It's fine, I have plenty more!" Sushang patted her chest, indicating that Furina shouldn't worry.
Furina's gaze flickered up and down with the movement, and an inexplicable feeling bubbled up inside her.
She glanced at their respective heights and heel sizes, concluded that they were about the same height, and remained silent for a moment before saying, "In that case, I shall accept your generosity."
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL