Inside Albedo's base on Dragonspine, everyone sat together enjoying hotpot. Eula had brought it from the camp at the foot of the mountain. Thanks to Amber and the others protecting the camp, the Adventurers' Guild had also sent a large shipment of supplies to Albedo.
"Lumine, Hu Tao, are you sure you two don't want to come back with us?"
"No, no. There are a lot of commissions in Mondstadt lately. I need to do some to save up Mora for Inazuma."
Lumine had already cleared out most of the high-reward commissions in Liyue. What remained were small jobs she wasn't interested in. As for Hu Tao...
"Your director is going to Mondstadt to open a Wangsheng branch. But don't worry, Su Bai—I'll definitely be back before the Moonchase Festival."
Seeing that Hu Tao wasn't joking, Su Bai couldn't stop her. After all, she was going to expand her business. Still, he had a bad feeling—Hu Tao was definitely going to cause some trouble in Mondstadt.
"Eula, I'm trusting you with Hu Tao. It's her first time in Mondstadt, and she doesn't know anyone there. If she causes any trouble, take her to Diluc. For my sake, he should be able to help sort things out."
"Leave it to me. With me around, nothing bad will happen to Hu Tao. I'll make sure she gets to the Mondstadt border safely."
Since Hu Tao was one of the few people who didn't care about Eula's background, their relationship had grown closer over the past few days. Spending time with Hu Tao felt like playing around with a mischievous Amber—and she had to admit, it wasn't a bad feeling.
"What do you mean? Your director doesn't just cause trouble. I'm going there to do serious business!"
Hu Tao protested. Su Bai learned from Zhongli's example and stared at her with a blank expression. He thought it might be time to bring up a few examples.
"Hu Tao, do you remember the time you tricked that Fontaine merchant into buying a hundred coffins about a year ago?"
"I don't know what goes on in that little head of yours, but you sold them under the guise of 'Liyue traditional craft blind boxes.' That poor merchant, who wasn't the sharpest tool, bought a hundred. Then you gave him a hundred coffins that had been gathering dust in Wangsheng. He complained all the way up to Ningguang."
"What do you mean? I had three hundred coffins and three hundred boxes ready. That unlucky guy just happened to draw only coffins. How is that my fault?"
Though she protested, Hu Tao shrank back, a little less confident. She had caused quite a bit of trouble over the years, and Su Bai had cleaned up a lot of it. Seeing him stare at her, she finally relented.
"Fine, fine. I'll dial it back this time."
"Good. Just don't do any of those blind box or lottery gimmicks. And if you do, don't make the prizes coffins. Also, don't display coffins outside the shop. Mondstadt's drunks might stumble into one when they're too drunk to see straight."
Really? Mondstadters drank that much? Drinking leads to trouble—these wine-loving Mondstadters were bound to have accidents. Opening a branch in Mondstadt was genius. Truly worthy of your director.
Seeing Hu Tao lost in thought again, Su Bai turned to Klee. Little Klee had been away from her friends in Mondstadt for a while and wanted to go back to see them. Since Albedo also needed to purchase materials in Mondstadt, Klee decided not to return to Liyue with Su Bai this time.
"Little Klee, don't you want to visit Liyue again?"
"Brother Su Bai, Klee won't go this time. Klee misses Master Jean. It's been a long time."
Klee scrunched up her little face, torn. In the end, she chose to go see Master Jean and the others in Mondstadt. She had also come up with a few new types of Jumpy Dumpties and wanted to test them by fishing at Starfell Lake.
"Is that so? But the Moonchase Festival is coming up in Liyue. This year's theme is food—there's going to be so much delicious food. And to bring good luck on that day, a lot of chefs will be offering free tastings of their dishes."
"Really?!" x2
Two almost simultaneous shouts startled Su Bai. Mona realized she had lost her composure and hid her face under her wizard hat. So embarrassing. She was bringing shame to all astrologers.
But Liyue's food was just too good. Perhaps because of Liyue's long history, the flavors and experiences were far superior to other nations' cuisines. If only those famous dishes were a little cheaper.
Paimon, the other shouter, had no such reservations. When no one she cared about was in danger, Paimon's small head was filled with nothing but food—either planning the next meal or figuring out how to eat more.
"Of course. I heard there's even a cooking competition. Ningguang even invited me to be a judge."
"That's great! Su Bai, Paimon, as a gourmet who has tried many foods, thinks she can help you judge!"
Paimon flew up to Su Bai, her bright smile never fading. A cooking competition hosted by the Liyue Qixing would surely attract top chefs. If she could be a judge, she'd get to try so many delicious dishes.
Seeing through Paimon's scheme, Su Bai decided to have some fun with her. He put on a troubled expression.
"Paimon, you know I don't have the final say in this. If you want to join, the only position available might be as an ingredient."
"Huh?! Ingredient? No, no! Paimon is not food! Forget it, Paimon doesn't want to go!"
Hearing she might be turned into an ingredient, Paimon frantically shook her head. Risking her life for a few bites wasn't worth it. Unless there was a huge pile of food—then she might consider it. At least she'd die happy, stuffed to the brim.
"By the way, I called everyone together not just to say goodbye, but for something important."
"I've successfully assembled a Communication Device 3.0 with camera function for each of you. Be careful not to drop them, or they might explode."
Albedo hadn't originally planned to make this many. But he wanted to test the device's limits, so with Su Bai's approval, he prepared one for everyone present. If they could still receive messages from Liyue while in Mondstadt, mass production would be viable.
Of course, to prevent anyone from using his blood for nefarious purposes, Su Bai had inscribed an explosive talisman on each device. If the casing suffered significant damage, it would trigger a blast. So in a pinch, the communication device could also serve as a powerful bomb.