"It's fine. We'll have plenty of chances in the future," Lora said slowly as she watched Focalors flee the scene.
Her voice was not loud, but it reached Focalors's ears with perfect accuracy.
After hearing Lora's words, Focalors stumbled and nearly fell flat on the ground.
"She's doomed," Furina said, watching her go while clicking her tongue and shaking her head.
Lora then turned to Furina. "You too."
"This involves me too?" Furina froze for a moment and looked at her blankly.
After Focalors and the others returned to Gaming's side, everyone chatted for a bit longer before continuing on toward Liyue Harbor. Once they had left, Lora finally put away the Kamera and walked over to Xianyun.
From a distance, she gave Xianyun a thumbs-up. "Xianyun, congratulations on your family bliss!"
Shenhe looked at Lora, then turned to Xianyun and asked, "Master, did I say something wrong just now? I only answered whatever Master asked... but why did Master and that gentleman react so strangely?"
Xianyun shook her head. "No! Not at all! The plan may have changed slightly, but there is no doubt about the result. We succeeded."
"By ordinary standards, that is indeed true," Zhongli said with a nod.
"I'm glad I could help," Shenhe said, nodding as well.
"Being untouched by worldly dust is one of Shenhe's defining traits. Just be yourself!" Xianyun said to her with a smile. Then she looked at Lora. "My way of raising children is still perfectly reasonable."
"Mm, reasonable." Lora nodded and did not argue.
Xianyun then looked at Zhongli and asked, "Didn't you say earlier that Director Hu had assigned you work? How do you have time to stand here reviewing everything with us?"
"It was nothing too burdensome. I also asked Xiao to help take care of it," Zhongli said calmly.
"Sigh... It seems that after your trip to Fontaine, you picked up Lora's bad habits as well." Hearing that Zhongli had pushed all the work onto Xiao, Xianyun felt even more helpless, but she could not exactly say much. If she pushed too hard, she might be the one in danger on Lantern Rite night.
"Let's go. It's about time we returned to Liyue Harbor!" Xianyun said as she stood.
"Aren't we waiting for Jiehu and Houzhang?" Lora asked.
Xianyun looked back in the direction the two had fled. "Those two must have already run back to Liyue Harbor to rest. Once we return, I really will have to teach them how to act properly."
"You think your own acting was that good?" Lora shot back, pushing Furina forward. "How about taking my daughter as your teacher?"
"Stop trying to act cute. Let's go. We should return to Liyue Harbor and check on Gaming and the others," Xianyun said helplessly.
"Mm. I believe that would also be appropriate," Zhongli said with a nod.
The group set off for Liyue Harbor. By the time they reached the main entrance, they happened to see Gaming and Yip Tak parting ways, with Yip Tak following Charlotte off for an interview.
Focalors quickly jogged back to Lora's side. "Lady Egeria! I'm back!"
"Oh? You're back?" Lora looked at her and smiled.
Focalors scratched her head awkwardly. "I was just joking with you earlier! Don't be mad."
Lora looked at her cautious expression, sighed helplessly, and tapped her on the head. "You dummy. When have I ever truly been angry with any of you?"
"Hehe." Focalors laughed a little sheepishly.
Gaming stepped forward to thank everyone, but when he saw just how many people had gotten involved, and how lofty their identities were, he could not help being shocked.
"No need to panic. Think of it as us old folks doing a good deed during Lantern Rite," Xianyun said, waving a hand to reassure him.
"Wait... then the money for the tea..." Gaming suddenly realized something and started worrying about another matter. That had not been just a little bit of tea. There was no way it had been cheap.
Lora said to him, "Don't worry. I paid for it!"
"I'll pay you back!" Gaming immediately started reaching for his pouch.
Seeing how anxious he was, Lora quickly reassured him. "Don't be in such a rush! I was already planning to buy some gifts to take back to Fontaine, and since we happened to be helping out, I just bought them along the way. You don't need to cover it. We may not have much else, but money is one thing we do have."
"Uh, well..." Gaming looked at Lora, not knowing what to say.
Paimon added, "That's just how Lora is! She used to be completely broke, but ever since she returned to Fontaine, she's been getting richer and richer!"
Lumine then asked, "Neuvillette won't say anything?"
"Would he dare?" Lora blurted out without thinking.
"He probably would. Even when I was a god, he still dared to lecture me," Furina muttered softly.
Focalors said to Furina from the side, "Don't worry. I brought lots of tea for Neuvillette too. I think he'll like it! Besides, there are plenty of people in Palais Mermonia, so we don't need to worry about having too much tea."
Only then did Gaming finally breathe a full sigh of relief.
As long as there was no problem.
Xianyun continued, "So, do you have any other plans after this? You and your father cannot remain at an impasse forever."
After hearing her question, Gaming fell silent. Only after a long while did he say, "I do have an idea, but I can't do it with my strength alone. I'll need everyone's help."
"No problem. Just say it. We're all friends here!" Lora patted her chest, letting him speak freely.
Gaming then told everyone what he had in mind.
After listening, Xianyun nodded. "Mm. That is a fine idea. Let us do it that way."
"I'll go tell Ningguang. I may not have that much influence, but I can still help with something like this," Lora said to Gaming.
"Thank you all so much!" Gaming bowed to everyone, then said, "Then I'll go prepare first! Farewell!"
"Bye-bye!" everyone said, waving goodbye to him.
After Gaming left, Lora stretched, sent off a small fish formed from flowing water to notify Ningguang at the Jade Chamber, then said to the others, "Let's go home and get dinner ready!"
At those words, Xianyun shuddered.
"Perhaps there is something else we should deal with before we return," Zhongli said from behind the group, his gaze fixed in another direction.
Hearing him, everyone raised their heads and looked toward the place he was watching.
At the far end of the road, two people were approaching.
The first was someone they recognized immediately.
Tartaglia.
However, the white-haired young woman following behind him, dressed in a long blue-and-white gown with a large cloak draped over her shoulders, was much less familiar.