The group quickly reached an agreement. Makoto rose from her seat and said to Lora,
"Then I'll go help Chef Xiangling."
"Miss, you—"
Ei started to stand as well, but Makoto gently pressed her back into her seat. With a soft smile, she said calmly,
"Don't worry about me. I'm not a child anymore. I can manage on my own."
Her voice remained gentle and steady, yet beneath that calm tone lingered something deeper—words meant as much for herself as for Ei.
Ei seemed to understand. After a brief pause, she nodded.
"Alright, Miss… but I—"
"Just stay with Lora. She's not going to sell you," Makoto said, her tone turning light and teasing again.
"I'd like to see someone try buying me…" Lora muttered under her breath.
"Lora…" Makoto shot her a helpless look.
Lora immediately raised a hand in surrender.
"Relax. I'll take good care of her. When you come back, she'll still have two arms, two legs, two eyes, and one mouth—completely intact."
Makoto burst out laughing.
"Alright then…"
Soon after, Xiangling left with Makoto.
Zhongyue slung the rack of candied hawthorn over her shoulder.
"Alright! Meal's over. Time for me to get back to selling tanghulu! Lora, you're a good person. I really enjoyed this meal—next time I'll treat you!"
She headed toward the door, then suddenly stopped halfway and turned back.
"Oh—don't forget to pay."
"Don't worry about it," Lora said with a helpless smile.
She rose from her seat and walked over to Chef Mao.
"Chef Mao, I'm here to settle the bill."
"Oh my! You're Xiangling's friend—and Lady Ningguang's honored guest as well. This meal is on the house today," Chef Mao said warmly.
He was only being polite, but Lora couldn't actually accept that. Ei had ordered a mountain of food. If Chef Mao truly paid for everything himself, he would lose quite a bit of Mora—he might end up working half the day for nothing.
"Now listen to yourself. We can't let this many people eat for free," Lora said with a smile. "Your Mora doesn't grow on trees. Just tell me the total."
Since she insisted, Chef Mao said nothing further and calculated the bill.
Lora didn't even glance at the amount. After hearing the number, she simply opened her purse and pulled out the Mora.
Chef Mao stared in surprise as the coins kept coming out of the tiny pouch. He couldn't fathom how something so small could possibly hold that much money.
Once the payment was finished, Lora turned to Hélie and Ei.
"Alright. Let's go. I'll take you to meet someone."
"Who?" Ei asked as she stood.
"You'll find out when we get there," Lora replied with a faint smile.
Ei and Hélie followed her out of Wanmin Restaurant.
As the three walked down the street, Ei looked at Lora's back and suddenly said,
"Come to think of it, I was actually surprised you paid just now."
"Huh?" Lora stopped and turned around, clearly puzzled. "Why would that surprise you?"
Ei answered plainly, "Because Lumine once told me that whenever you buy something, you usually just put it on a tab—at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, the Jade Chamber, Northland Bank, the Knights of Favonius, and so on."
"Actually, there's also the Court of Fontaine," Lora added.
She shook her head dismissively.
"But that's beside the point. The important thing is that I do have money—unlike a certain social deadbeat."
"Social deadbeat?" Ei tilted her head in confusion.
"When he comes back, I'll introduce you to him," Lora said. "Then you'll understand."
"Alright." Ei nodded.
Following Lora's lead, the group left the busy streets and arrived at a much quieter part of the city. They stopped in front of the courtyard gate of a residence, and Lora knocked on the door.
No response.
"…Huh? She's not home?" she murmured, staring at the tightly shut gate in confusion.
"Lady Lora, would you like me to check whether someone is inside?" Hélie asked from the side.
"That would be trespassing," Lora said, shaking her head and stopping her immediately. Honestly, where did she learn something like that?
The group lingered awkwardly outside the gate, unsure what to do next.
At that moment, Zhongyue turned the corner from the street. When she saw them, she stopped and frowned.
"What are you all doing here?"
"Huh? Zhongyue, you're back?" Lora said in surprise.
As she turned around, she noticed the candied hawthorn rack Zhongyue carried on her shoulder no longer had any skewers left.
"You sold out already?" she asked in disbelief.
Zhongyue nodded.
"Yep. Didn't I tell you? Business was great today. That was already the fourth rack."
"Then why come back?"
"To rest," Zhongyue replied. "You didn't think I came back to grab a fifth rack and keep selling, did you? My little body can't handle that kind of hard labor. Besides, you already treated me to lunch today, so I can save my earnings for dinner."
"Oh… I see." Lora nodded.
Zhongyue walked over to the gate and examined the locked door.
"She's not home?"
"Yeah. We knocked, but nobody answered," Lora said. "She's probably out."
Hearing that, Zhongyue sighed and shook her head.
"You're still too young."
…Young?
Did she just say Lora was young?
Ei looked at Zhongyue in surprise. She didn't know Lora's exact age, but if the age of the Primordial Sea Heart was taken into account, Lora was likely among the oldest gods still walking the world.
Zhongyue ignored her reaction.
Standing before the courtyard gate, she clenched her fist and spoke to Lora with complete seriousness.
"She rarely goes out, especially at this hour. If you knock and nobody answers, the most likely explanation is that she's busy tinkering with one of her inventions and simply didn't hear you."
"…Inventions?" Lora frowned.
What kind of invention was that woman working on now?
The last time Lora had visited, she seemed to be developing some sort of large-scale weapon for the Millelith.
Zhongyue continued,
"I've run into this situation plenty of times. Usually, when that happens, you just need to do this."
The moment she finished speaking, she threw a punch.
BOOM!
The wooden gate shattered instantly.
Fragments scattered across the courtyard.
Zhongyue calmly withdrew her fist, then turned back toward Lora with a bright, utterly innocent smile.
"…See? The door's open."