At that moment, Gui Zhong placed one hand on Lin Mo's shoulder and pressed the other against his chest, backing him up against the wall.
"Gui... Gui Zhong..."
Lin Mo felt a bit nervous.
"In that instant, your heart rate jumped by thirty percent."
Gui Zhong frowned slightly, clearly not satisfied with the result.
The next moment, her delicate face inched closer to Lin Mo's.
She rested her forehead against his, their eyes locking.
"Now it's up by fifty percent..."
Her furrowed brow relaxed a little.
It seemed Lin Mo's changing heartbeat was finally meeting her expectations.
"Gui Zhong..."
Lin Mo called her name gently, his tone serious.
"Hm? What is it..."
"You're treating this like a quest with a progress bar?" There was a hint of exasperation in his voice.
Gui Zhong's beautiful eyes met his, and she smiled like a blooming flower. "Isn't this what you taught me~"
"As long as it's not the full act of love..."
"A fifty percent increase in heart rate means you're smitten~"
"Seventy percent, and you're head over heels..."
In that split second, Gui Zhong's own heart rate, which had been at fifty percent, shot up to seventy.
And because of the passionate kiss that followed, making them both lose themselves in the moment, it climbed to a full hundred percent.
The love that had been separated by thousands of years finally found its answer in that instant.
After a long while, they reluctantly pulled apart.
Gui Zhong's eyes fluttered, still savoring the sweet aftertaste of the kiss.
"How did that feel?" Lin Mo asked with a soft smile.
Gui Zhong beamed and leaned her stunning face toward him again, answering with her actions.
"Whoosh~!"
The fireworks show had begun.
Brilliant bursts lit up the dark sky in a riot of colors, painting the hues across their faces as well.
At the highest point on Narukami Island, Klee excitedly tugged at Yoimiya's hand. "Wow! The fireworks are so pretty!"
"Right?" Yoimiya replied proudly. "Klee, I can tell you've got real talent. Want to try making fireworks with me?"
"Yoimiya, Yoimiya, count me in!"
Hu Tao happily grabbed Klee's other hand.
"Huh... really?"
Klee stared at the exploding fireworks in the sky, her eyes full of anticipation. "Can you teach me to make boom-boom bombs this awesome?"
"Of course~!"
Yoimiya confidently patted her chest.
Hu Tao summoned a few fluttering fire butterflies nearby and boasted, "We can even add fire butterfly elements to your boom-boom bombs~"
"Then it'd be super effective for blasting fish~" Klee was already daydreaming about the spectacle in Cider Lake.
Leaning against the torii gate, Lisa smiled and considered reminding her that if she actually did that, she'd probably spend the upcoming Windblume Festival in timeout.
But seeing the joyful atmosphere, she couldn't bring herself to spoil the mood.
"Where'd that Sasayuri run off to~? Honestly," Yae Miko muttered with a touch of resentment.
She'd wanted to watch the fireworks with Lin Mo, but he'd been whisked away by some unfamiliar archon.
"Looking for me?"
Lin Mo's warm voice made everyone turn instinctively.
He was holding Gui Zhong's hand, walking side by side toward them from behind the group.
The group, who had been uneasy inside, finally relaxed at the sight of him, able to fully immerse themselves in the grand fireworks display.
Though, without realizing it, each of them edged just a little closer to Lin Mo.
As the fireworks finale faded, the festival drew to a close.
Watching the last spark bloom, Lin Mo smiled and asked, "So, is the festival over now?"
"Actually, there's one last step~" Yae Miko said gently from beside him.
"Hm? What's left?"
Lin Mo asked curiously.
Yae Miko replied as if it were obvious. "Since it's a festival, we can't skip making wishes to the gods~"
"Uh..." Lin Mo glanced subconsciously at Ei.
"It's not me."
Ei said calmly. "I'm the deity who oversees all of Inazuma."
"The one honored at this festival is the fox spirit who watches over Narukami Island, from the Narukami Shrine." As she spoke, she looked toward Yae Miko and Kitsune Saiguu.
These two were the former and current fox spirits of Narukami Island.
"Wishing to... Miko and Saiguu?" Lin Mo felt a bit odd about it.
"Come on Make a sincere wish to me"
Miko smiled and spread her arms wide, a mischievous grin on her face.
She was clearly looking forward to seeing everyone earnestly wish to her.
Klee immediately piped up excitedly. "Miko sister, Saiguu sister, can you grant Klee's wish?"
"As long as it's not too much, sister will definitely make it happen~"
Yae Miko fondly ruffled Klee's hair.
"Sayu... wishes... to wake up one day and find she's grown taller..."
"Qiqi hopes... her memory gets a little better..."
"Klee wants permission from the gods... to blast fish in Inazuma's seas~"
Looking at the three little ones, Lin Mo couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.
What odd wishes.
Yae Miko turned to Lin Mo expectantly. "Sasayuri, what's your wish?"
"Me..."
Lin Mo smiled faintly.
The next moment, he clasped his hands together and bowed slightly toward Yae Miko.
"I wish to the gods."
"That my cherished friend, Raiden Makoto, can soon reclaim her authority and return to the heavens."
This wish made Yae Miko, Kitsune Saiguu, Chiyo, and Ei all pause, their expressions shifting.
Yes.
This wasn't just Lin Mo's wish alone.
It was theirs too.
And as Lin Mo bowed sincerely, Gui Zhong smiled sweetly beside him, clasped her hands, and bowed toward Yae Miko as well.
"I wish to the gods."
"That Lin Mo's cherished friend, Raiden Makoto, can soon reclaim her authority and return to the earth."
Seeing Gui Zhong make the same wish, Ei thought of her sister, gone for five hundred years, and felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.
The next moment, even she closed her eyes slightly, turned to face Yae Miko, and bowed.
"I wish to the gods."
"That my cherished sister, Raiden Makoto, can soon reclaim her authority and return to the earth."
It was like a domino effect.
Venti smiled and stood before Lin Mo, clasped his hands, and bowed toward Yae Miko.
"I wish to the gods."
"That Lord Venti's cherished friend, Raiden Makoto, can soon reclaim her authority and return to the heavens."
At that moment, one more person bowed alongside Venti.
It was Zhongli.
Though he didn't speak, everyone knew his wish was the same: hoping for Raiden Makoto's swift return.
Perhaps it was the combined will of the five archons present.
As they all straightened up at once, a bolt of lightning suddenly flashed across the once clear, starry night sky.
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T/N:
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