Lumine thought back to her bond with Aether.
The two of them had always relied on each other, traveling from world to world.
Even when separated, they would always go looking for one another.
But in Teyvat… everything changed.
When they tried to depart this world, they encountered that unfamiliar god.
She was sealed away — but her brother wasn't, right?
So many years had passed, yet she refused to believe Aether hadn't tried to find her.
No — it was even possible he knew exactly where she was.
He just… hadn't come.
Maybe he was enjoying life somewhere, eating well, drinking well…
Maybe he completely forgot his sister even existed.
The more she thought about it, the colder Lumine's gaze became.
"Yeah… you're right," she muttered.
"Maybe he's somewhere living the good life already."
"Completely forgot he even has a sister."
"If all that searching still can't find him, then I'm done looking."
She clenched her fists.
Fine.
She'd find a man, get married, have a bunch of kids.
And when Aether eventually showed up, she'd let all those kids deal with him.
Thinking of that, she turned to Jiang Chen.
Mm… Jiang Chen really wasn't bad.
Her cheeks flushed.
Damn—why was he so handsome?!
She'd been to countless worlds and seen all sorts of good-looking men,
but men on Jiang Chen's level were truly rare.
Seeing Lumine suddenly blush, Jiang Chen was confused.
…Why was she blushing?
What happened?
"Are you okay?"
Jiang Chen reached out and touched her forehead.
No fever.
Unless it was… somewhere else?
Lumine slapped his hand away, flustered.
"I'm fine!"
Jiang Chen stared at her.
Then why the hell was she blushing?!
Lumine took a deep breath.
"I get it now. Next, I'm going to make a ton of money. Then I'll publish missing-person notices and that 'heavy reward for finding my brother' you mentioned."
"If none of that works, then he's definitely just out there enjoying life. With his strength, he's not dead. And if he still doesn't show up—then that means he doesn't care about me at all."
"In that case, I won't bother looking anymore!"
She was getting angrier the more she said it.
"Exactly!" Jiang Chen nodded approvingly.
"A brother like that isn't worth the trouble. Live your own life."
After all, the real Aether was probably eating well in the Abyss while she was taking care of a bottomless-pit glutton like Paimon…
And then there were the constant bounties, troubles, Archons, and that whole Sumeru forest nightmare…
Lumine was practically a professional laborer!
The blonde fool indeed.
"Then how do we make money?"
Lumine asked seriously.
"When you buy a house, I'll buy one next door. Or we build one big place together."
"When I get tired searching for my brother, I can come home and rest."
She had made up her mind.
Finding Aether, publishing bounties, traveling—everything required money.
Also, Jiang Chen was the first person she met after awakening,
and he was a golden thigh she absolutely had to hold on to.
Who knew when that white-haired god might show up again?
"Simple. In a few days, we head to Windrise."
Jiang Chen smiled slyly.
Aside from squeezing some Mora out of the Knights of Favonius,
he planned to dig up Venti's wine stash.
Hey.
If he didn't take it, and Lumine didn't take it…
Who was supposed to take it?
They desperately needed startup funds.
Which meant… sacrifices had to be made.
"Windrise?"
Lumine blinked.
"What for?"
"To dig."
Jiang Chen leaned closer.
"The Knights bury offerings of wine every year for Barbatos."
"But Barbatos hasn't shown up for ages."
"So there's a lot down there now."
"Get it?"
And Lumine instantly understood.
"Stealing from Barbatos… is that okay?"
Thinking of that unreliable, somewhat pitiful Archon she'd just seen, Lumine felt a little uneasy.
And those offerings were gifts from the Knights…
"Why not?" Jiang Chen said righteously.
"They were buried there anyway. If they didn't want them, we'll take them."
"And we saved Barbatos today. Taking some benefits is perfectly reasonable."
Lumine stared at Jiang Chen.
Did this man even know what shame was?
But then she thought about the massive amount of money she needed…
"Okay!" she agreed decisively.
Hesitating would be disrespectful to money.
She did feel a little sorry for Barbatos…
but honestly, he hadn't shown up in ages.
Who knew how much wine was under that tree?
Decision made.
"So when do we act?"
Lumine lowered her voice.
"The sooner we get the stuff, the sooner we leave Mond."
If they got caught… the consequences would be ugly.
Better to do the deed and escape early.
"No rush."
"Tomorrow the Knights will probably come for us."
"We meet them first. Play around in Mond for a while."
"Besides… Barbatos is most likely in the city right now."
"If we want to dig up his stash, we need to take him out first."
"Take… him out?"
Lumine blinked.
"Fight him? Wouldn't that cause a huge scene?!"
Jiang Chen leaned in.
"I did some research. Barbatos is a drunkard."
"We just need to get him drunk and he'll be out like a light."
Lumine stared at him suspiciously.
Did he really say he researched it?
They'd been together nonstop—when did he research anything?!
This guy definitely had secrets.
Still… everyone had their secrets.
And judging from her novel-reading experience,
Jiang Chen probably already "knew the script."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon