Arataki Itto looked at Hu Tao, who was wiping her tears, and spoke in a bold tone.
"My name is Arataki Itto, the king of Inazuma's streets. I hate it when people bully kids. Let me avenge you!"
Itto's purpose in coming to Liyue was clear: not only to listen to the stories at Wangshu Inn, but also to conquer all the children of Liyue. He would become the king of kids in both Inazuma and Liyue. He would impress all of Liyue's children with his kingly presence and his sumo wrestling prowess. And he would start with this little girl right here.
Hu Tao looked up at the burly Arataki Itto, her eyes full of confusion. Who was this? Did she know him? Normally, she would have eagerly approached him to introduce funeral packages. But now, her emotions were too complicated. She said seriously, "No one is bullying me, Traveler, Paimon, and this... whatchamacallit. Are you here to listen to the stories?"
Seeing Hu Tao wipe away her tears, Lumine knew she wouldn't get anything more out of her. She took Hu Tao's hand and said earnestly, "Yes, I heard there are many stories here—about the Raiden Shogun, Miss Shenhe, and Qiqi. I heard a lot of people were moved to tears. They're touching, but obviously all made up. I came to find the Raiden Shogun, so I thought I'd listen in while I'm here."
Lumine had already read these stories in the light novel while in Inazuma. Though they were moving, she still thought they were just fabrications.
Hu Tao fell silent. In the past, she would have laughed along with Lumine and dismissed the stories as fake. But now, even she and her grandfather had appeared in them. She couldn't laugh anymore. As she thought about it, her eyes grew red again, and tears threatened to spill. She quickly wiped them away.
"If you want to listen, you should go inside," she said seriously. "The storytelling is still going on."
Lumine grabbed her hand. "Come in with us. I heard Keqing and Shenhe are inside. Let's go see them!"
With that, she pulled Hu Tao through the inn's entrance. Inside was a packed house, and on the stage sat the storyteller.
Lumine said excitedly, "Where are Keqing and the others? Where are they sitting?"
Reluctantly, Hu Tao raised her hand and pointed to a corner of the inn. "Over there. You go ahead. I want to be alone for a bit."
Lumine laughed. "Oh, Hu Tao, it's only been a few days—since when did you get so shy? Come on, let's go see Keqing."
She dragged Hu Tao toward the corner. Paimon asked, "Aren't we here to find the Raiden Shogun?"
Lumine said happily, "There are too many people here—it's hard to find her. And approaching her so abruptly might annoy her. Let's go see Keqing first. Maybe she can give us some advice."
Soon, Lumine, pulling Hu Tao along, with Paimon and Arataki Itto in tow, reached the corner of the inn. Seeing Lumine, the others were delighted.
Xiangling beamed. "Ah, Miss Lumine is here! And she brought Hu Tao back—amazing!"
Keqing asked seriously, "Hu Tao, are you alright?"
Hu Tao sniffled. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
But when Lumine saw La Signora, her smile vanished. That insufferable Fatui Harbinger, who had bullied her friend Venti, was here listening to stories, sitting right next to Shenhe.
Seeing Lumine's expression change, Keqing explained patiently, "Miss Lumine, we already know about La Signora. She's actually a victim too."
Lumine said, "But she did so many terrible things to Venti."
Beidou interjected, "You don't know the full story. It's like this—"
And so, Beidou told Lumine everything. Lumine had already read the light novel and knew the stories well. But now Beidou was telling her that those stories were real? How was that possible?
She said in shock, "Then where are the Raiden Shogun, the Anemo Archon, and the Geo Archon? Can I meet them?"
Beidou raised her hand and pointed to another corner of the inn. Sure enough, a group of gods were chatting and laughing together.
Lumine was speechless. So everything in that light novel was true.
Just as she and Paimon were about to get up and visit the gods, Beidou stopped them. "The storyteller is about to continue. Wait until this life's story is over before you go."
Lumine hesitated. "Well... alright."
Not only Lumine, but Arataki Itto also spotted the Raiden Shogun in the other corner, along with that fox Yae Miko and a short kid who looked about a meter and a half tall. Then he glanced beside him and saw Qiqi, barely a meter and a quarter, doing her exercises. Itto was thrilled. There were so many kids in this inn—it was time to show off.
"My name is Arataki Itto, boss of the Arataki Gang and king of Inazuma's streets! Who wants to join the Arataki Gang? Oh, and we only recruit kids!"
As he spoke, he scanned the room, deliberately letting his gaze linger on Qiqi, Hu Tao, Lumine, Paimon, Xiangling, Guoba—anyone shorter than him.
Seeing the noisy Itto, Beidou frowned. "Quiet down. We're trying to listen to the story."
Itto replied, "You're not a kid, so you can't join the Arataki Gang—hey, what are you doing with that sword? Are you challenging me to a duel? Ow! That hurts! How dare you attack from behind!"
Just as he was about to launch into a rousing speech, Beidou smacked him on the head with her sword. He was stunned and fell back into his chair.
Beidou said flatly, "Kazuha, throw this noisy oni out."
Itto: "???"
Kazuha: "Brother Itto, if you keep disturbing our listening, I'll have no choice but to throw you out."
Paimon: "Yeah, idiot, we're trying to listen. If you keep making noise, you'll get thrown out."
Itto, seeing the expressions of those around him, knew he had angered everyone. He said confidently, "Fine, for Kazuha's sake, I'll give you a break. After the stories, meet me at the crossroads outside."
With that, he sat down in the chair like a king.
...
Just then, on stage, Li Mo set down his teacup and resumed his storytelling. As he spoke, the projections above the inn shifted once more.
In the images, little Hu Tao, carrying food and water, was hurrying along with small, quick steps, trying to reach the end of Wuwang Hill as fast as she could, hoping to see her grandfather. As she ran, she murmured, "Grandfather, please wait for me."