Having seen Lumine's unusual behavior, Aether had initially suspected that something had happened to his sister. Now, he completely dismissed his previous speculations.
There was no mistake; the brat in front of him was his sister, no question!
He was all too familiar with this ruthlessness, how she wouldn't hesitate to use violence against her own brother. He had experienced her violent tendencies countless times throughout their years together...
The only issue was that Lumine had somehow learned new tricks, making him completely outmatched in their spar, leaving him taking blows without being able to retaliate.
Looking at the tattered cloth on his body, Aether was unsure whether he should complain about how Lumine had no mercy in leaving him bruised or be thankful that she knew her limits and didn't actually draw blood.
"Lumine, are you done?"
He glared at Lumine with deadpan eyes, his shoulders trembling, his fists clenching and unclenching, ultimately giving up on fighting her here and now.
Seeing Aether opening a rift behind him and attempting to escape, Lumine suddenly spoke, "Stop!"
"What else do you want!?" Aether guardedly crossed his arms, ready to run at the slightest sign of trouble.
Lumine pointed at herself, then at Aether, a sweet smile playing on her lips, "Good brother, are you really going to leave your sister penniless and wandering Teyvat?"
"Don't think I don't know, you're a Pr-in-ce now!"
"See Paimon here? (Grabbing the small creature) This kid eats 300,000 Mora a month. Brother, aren't you going to be generous and give us some?"
Paimon, having watched the entire scene unfold, stared blankly: "——?"
Aether looked puzzled, his sister was stopping him just for money? No, wait, how did Lumine know about his current identity?
"You're stopping me for this? Wait, Lumine, how do you know about my current status?"
Suddenly realizing something, Aether's expression changed. He cast a suspicious gaze towards Paimon.
"Eek——!"
Paimon quickly hid herself in Lumine's arms.
After a moment of thought, Aether shook his head and probed, "Did that mysterious person who taught you these new skills tell you? Who is he? One of the Seven? Or perhaps... someone from the Witch's Coven? Or..."
He considered another possibility, but then immediately dismissed it.
Regardless, it couldn't be those troublesome individuals led by Scirk.
"I'm not going to tell you about that ba... cough, about that jerk. You can guess for yourself!" Lumine mumbled, her tongue twisting.
Aether: "…………"
After a brief silence, the Prince's eyes twitched as he asked, "Male?"
"..."
"Very young?"
"..."
"Quite handsome, right?"
"..."
"His personality is also to your liking?"
"——!!"
"Lumine!" Aether suddenly had tears welling up in his eyes, he looked up at the sky, "You finally... grew up! You've opened your eyes!"
"You, you, you, you are talking nonsense! Sword, come!!!"
A huge wind elemental longsword suddenly materialized above Lumine's head, its tip pointing directly at Aether.
Realizing the situation was turning sour, Aether swiftly disappeared into the Abyssal Rift as the wind elemental longsword struck, leaving Lumine alone in the now devastated mountain pass, venting her frustrations at the spot where Aether vanished.
『So you like his personality? You wouldn't happen to be a masochist, would you?』
"Nonsense! No way! You're such a terrible person, who would like you!"
『But your heart is racing, your blood flow is accelerating, your dopamine levels are rising, and moreover - eek! So kinky! I love... No, why do you feel the urge to use the toilet at a time like this - 』
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Flipping her hand, she grabbed the blunt sword and pointed it at her chest, Lumine's expression completely broke down.
"Let's die together!!!"
『Little knowledge, even if you kill me, my consciousness can still return independently, only you would die.』
Lumine was utterly defeated, she collapsed on the grass, a doll that had been played with to its breaking point.
But how could Bai Yu easily let Lumine go?
So -
『Um, can you get up?』
"What do you want now..." Lumine asked weakly.
『You're wearing a skirt, and your leggings aren't much better than your underwear. This grass is prickly and there are little stones everywhere, I'm uncomfortable…』
"Should I change my pants next time you come?" Lumine was amused.
『If possible, can you choose black stockings? White is fine too.』
Lumine: "..."
Silence.
The silence of the Mondstadt countryside that day.
A gust of mountain wind blew, lifting the girl's golden hair, and she suddenly asked in a subtle tone, "Like you said, in our current state, Bai Yu, wouldn't you want to experience wearing those things yourself?"
『... No.』
"You hesitated!" Lumine finally had the upper hand, joy bubbling up within her, "Admit it, Bai Yu! You hesitated! You have that thought! Don't be shy, say it out loud, we're close, right? We share a body, right?"
"If I wear it, aren't you wearing it too? Paimon, tell me, right?"
"Don't ask me! I don't know!" Paimon, hiding far away, cautiously poked her head out from behind a bush, "I can't hear what Bai Yu is saying to you, but you guys are definitely talking about something very kinky! Paimon doesn't want to listen!"
"Also, Paimon didn't eat 300,000 Mora from you Lumine! You've searched your whole body and you don't even have 3,000 Mora!"
Lumine: "——?"
She remembered that!
…Dividing line…
Night fell.
Not long after knocking on the door of a top-level suite at the Godelia Grand Hotel, Noelle was greeted by Lumine, who opened the door from the inside.
"Good evening, Honorary Knight."
Noelle could only bow because she was holding something in her arms, and was unable to perform a proper salute. As she stood up, she handed over the package she was carrying.
"Acting Grand Master Jean heard that you and Paimon will be leaving Mondstadt tomorrow, this is a reward and travel expenses for you both, please accept it!"
Looking at the bulging package in Noelle's arms, Lumine sighed inwardly. Her brother was not as reliable as Jean, at least she knew that Lumine would be traveling and sent something.
Damn it, next time I see him, I'm going to squeeze every last ounce of money from him!
After her internal rant, Lumine accepted the travel expenses from Noelle with a light smile. She chatted with the Maid Knight for a while before closing the door.
Turning around, she saw Paimon hovering in front of a portrait hanging on the wall.
The person in the portrait was none other than Bai Yu.