"Yoimiya, by the way, can I hug you?"
The old uncle, sitting on a chair, asked this question.
Having already maxed out his favorability with Yoimiya's dad at the dinner table earlier, the old uncle submitted a hug request to little Yoimiya.
"Hmm... if it's the old uncle's request, then there's no problem!"
The energetic little Yoimiya agreed to the old uncle's request.
Every child's way of interacting is different.
For a mischievous child like little Hu Tao, the best approach is to hug her tightly when she wants to cause trouble, sealing her movements completely. After she struggles and realizes she can't break free, she'll obediently give up.
At that point, the little Hu Tao who has no choice but to let you spoil her is the cutest. You can pet her for a while—pet her as long as you want, as long as you want—without any worries at all.
As for little Yanfei, who's more quiet yet lively, what's suitable for her is hugging her while she's reading legal codes. At those times, little Yanfei is very calm and will obediently let you hold her. She might even let the old uncle touch her horns and enjoy it herself first.
However, there's one downside: once you pick up little Yanfei for a hug, she'll cling to you. If you try to leave without a good reason, little Yanfei will get sad.
Little Yoimiya is naturally different too. This child with a big-sister vibe isn't the type best suited for constant hugging. Being with her is more about discussing topics she's interested in and then happily running around together.
Of course, there's still a way to hug her—you can actively request to hold little Yoimiya. The considerate big-sister Yoimiya won't mind at all. It's just that for introverted people, asking out loud can be a bit difficult.
And when you're hugging and spoiling little Yoimiya, you don't even know whether you're the one spoiling her or she's the one spoiling you.
At this moment, the old uncle—who had been worrying about that chuunibyou title and hadn't petted a cute child in far too long—finally got to pet one.
Little Yoimiya sat on the old uncle's lap, feeling the large hands wrapped around her waist. She only thought that the old uncle gave off an incredibly peaceful aura.
Come to think of it, her dad seemed to like doing this too. Is this how people are once they reach middle age?
Hmm, whatever—let's talk about some interesting topics instead!
Meanwhile, the old uncle felt as if he had already achieved enlightenment.
His heart was incredibly peaceful. Not even that chuunibyou title of Shura Anyakonsen-shou could shake his inner calm.
Perhaps it was withdrawal symptoms from not petting cute children for too long?
Back at the small cabin, he could still pet the adorable little foxes.
Now, relying only on Kirara the cat always felt like something was missing.
As expected, cute children should be properly protected!
This morning, the old uncle belonged entirely to little Yoimiya.
So what was little Eula doing?
Well, little Eula had taken a leisurely commission to disperse some Hilichurls.
The old uncle wasn't particularly worried about little Eula's safety—after all, even without a Vision, he himself probably couldn't beat her.
As long as nothing unexpected happened, in the whole of Inazuma, no one except the Raiden Shogun herself could threaten little Eula's safety—so it wasn't the old uncle's place to worry.
But what if something unexpected did happen?
When heading out, the old uncle could prepare everything little Eula might need.
Essential antidotes, the greatsword Snow-Tombed Starsilver obtained from Dragonspine, and the escape mechanism prepared by Aunt Xianyun...
These were just small preparations. Whether they were enough insurance was hard to say, but the Rex Lapis cat-dragon plush was already hanging around little Eula's neck.
That was the Rex Lapis cat-dragon that Mr. Zhongli had reluctantly enchanted before the old uncle left.
The quality of rock—truly reassuring.
"Old uncle, by the way, what are the fireworks like in Liyue Harbor?"
Little Yoimiya placed her hands on the old uncle's, even adjusting their position based on what felt comfortable for her.
"You'd have to go see them during a Liyue festival, but I did see fireworks styled after Rex Lapis during a ceremony..."