"You're pretty good at compliments, Venti," Lora said from the side.
Venti nodded. "Of course! I'm a bard, after all. My eloquence is excellent."
"Then Chaya and I will head to Fontaine first to find Lumine and the others. As for Director Hu, you can tell her where Zhongli went. How you spin it is up to that eloquence of yours." Lora patted Venti on the shoulder.
Venti nodded. "No problem, leave it to me! I'm even better at telling stories!"
After Lora and Chaya left, Venti found Hu Tao, who was busy with work, and said, "Director Hu, there's something I need to tell you."
"Hm? What's wrong, Mr. Venti?" Hu Tao rarely saw Venti looking this solemn, so she could not help taking him seriously too.
Venti sighed. He looked at Hu Tao and stayed silent for a while before saying earnestly, "That consultant of yours left with Lora."
"Huh?" Hu Tao froze when she heard Venti's words.
What was that supposed to mean?
What did he mean, left with Lora?
Hu Tao's mind spun rapidly. Then she asked in a small voice, "Excuse me... did they elope?"
"Ah... those two both felt they couldn't come tell you in person, so they had no choice but to ask me." Venti sighed again and said, "They've already been gone for a while. You won't catch up now."
Hu Tao shook her head. Though she still looked a little stunned, she seemed to find it acceptable somehow. She muttered, "I knew our consultant and Miss Lora had an unusual relationship! I've known him for so long, and I've hardly seen any women close to him!"
"Oh? Close in what way?" Venti, determined to play the part to the end, put on an act.
Hu Tao began telling Venti about what had happened before. "You have no idea. Miss Lora had only just arrived in Liyue Harbor, and he was already buying things for her and putting the expenses on the account... using Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's Mora!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Venti shook his head along with her and gave his verdict. "What a piece of work..."
While Venti was talking with Hu Tao, Chaya, who was already on the road, suddenly sensed something and looked back.
Lora, beside her, asked, "What's wrong?"
Chaya shook her head. "I just feel like someone is talking about me. It must be that drunkard poet saying something to Director Hu again."
"Well, it's Venti. He loves telling stories, but it probably won't be anything major. He's still very reliable when it comes to serious matters," Lora said with a nod.
Chaya continued, "I'm just afraid he doesn't think this counts as a serious matter."
Hearing that, Lora also stopped and frowned. "No way, right?"
Though she felt a little worried, there was no need to go back just for this. After crossing The Chasm, Lora and Chaya arrived in Sumeru.
Looking at the lush rainforest, Chaya was filled with emotion. She murmured, "The last time I came to Sumeru was during the cataclysm five hundred years ago. So much time has passed in the blink of an eye. Five hundred years gone, and yet the rainforest remains as it was..."
Lora listened to Chaya's reflections without saying much. The two passed through Avidya Forest, and near Sumeru City, they saw Lumine and Paimon walking back in their direction.
"Huh? Isn't that Lora?" Paimon's eyes lit up when she saw Lora, and she waved as she called out, "Lora, we're over here!"
Lora and Chaya stopped and waited for Lumine and Paimon to come closer.
With Forbidden Knowledge already eradicated and The Withering gone, Lumine and Paimon's work with the Aranara had ended quickly and without much difficulty. Their early return was just as Lora had expected.
The two came up to Lora and looked curiously at Chaya beside her. "Hey, Lora, who's this?"
"This is Chaya. She's my older sister," Lora introduced her to Lumine and Paimon.
The old man had descended to Teyvat more than six thousand years ago, so there was no question that he was older than her. Calling him her older sister was fair game.
"Huh? Sister?" Paimon stared at Chaya in surprise. "Lora is a Liyue adeptus who's lived for a really, really long time. If you're her sister, does that mean you're a Liyue adeptus too?"
Chaya nodded slightly. "...That's right."
Lumine, however, was thinking a little further. She knew Lora was a god, so a god's sister ought to be a god as well.
Judging from Chaya's clothing, it was clearly in the style of Liyue, refined and noble.
And that color scheme... Lumine felt as if she had seen it somewhere before. It was familiar. Too familiar.
But no matter how hard she thought about it, she would never immediately connect it to Rex Lapis dressed as a woman. After she and Paimon greeted Chaya, they began complaining about everything they had dealt with over the past few days.
As they talked, the group walked into Sumeru City. Lora listened as Lumine and Paimon complained about running all over Sumeru these past few days, yet whenever they mentioned the Aranara, they became visibly happy. Lora did not comment.
These were precious travel experiences, treasured memories.
When they arrived at the Sanctuary of Surasthana, they happened to run into Alhaitham just as he finished reporting to Nahida and left.
There were already faint traces of dark circles at the corners of Alhaitham's eyes. It seemed he had indeed been working a great deal of overtime lately. As for that, Lora could only say it was all the choice of fate. Who told Alhaitham to be Sumeru's chosen one?
Capable, handsome, respected, and loyal to the Dendro Archon.
Friend, that made him the perfect worker for Nahida!
Ignoring Alhaitham's slightly resentful look, Lora explained to Nahida that she was about to go to Fontaine.
Nahida could sense Chaya's situation. Her little face was filled with shock. Then, when she heard Lora say they would soon be leaving for Fontaine, realization dawned on her. She nodded and said, "Mm, I understand! If you need anything, Sumeru will help."
Lora shook her head. "Sumeru shouldn't divide too much of its strength right now. Don't worry. I already have many people helping me."
Lumine and Paimon were completely lost listening to the two of them, but Lora did not explain much.
After saying goodbye to Nahida, everyone rested in Sumeru City for one night. The next day, they set off for Fontaine.
They arrived at Port Ormos and boarded a ship bound for Fontaine. After several days of sailing, the ship reached Fontaine's harbor. At that very moment, Lumine and Paimon were both stunned by Fontaine's magnificent sea waterfall.
"We're finally in Fontaine! The scenery is so beautiful," Paimon exclaimed, looking around after following everyone ashore.
Then Paimon asked, "But speaking of which, how are we supposed to meet the Hydro Archon?"