"Suspect?!"
The Millelith soldier froze for a split second, then hurried off.
"Mr. Cael, farewell—and may you stay safe!"
Hu Tao stood there for a moment, still processing what she'd just heard.
"Rex Lapis… assassinated?"
She squinted skeptically. "That sounds way too absurd, doesn't it?"
"Rex Lapis is the oldest of the gods—power incarnate. In a Liyue where the Archons once wiped out all rival gods, he gets assassinated?" Hu Tao sighed.
"What kind of Liyue joke is that?"
But then her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Wait—if that's true, doesn't that mean we get to hold Rex Lapis's funeral?!"
"That'd make Wangsheng Funeral Parlor famous overnight!"
Cael stared at her in silence.
Her thought process was truly… something else.
The first thing she thought of after hearing the Geo Archon was assassinated was business.
Still, Hu Tao wasn't wrong—this whole thing was far too unbelievable.
Even she could tell something was off.
But the corpse looked far too real.
Cael couldn't help wondering how Morax had pulled it off.
"Alright, alright," Cael said, flicking Hu Tao's forehead lightly.
"Do you really think the Qixing would hand the Geo Archon's body to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? They'll have their own arrangements."
Hu Tao rubbed her forehead and chuckled.
"Hehe~"
"Come on, let's go home."
She grabbed Cael's hand and skipped away happily.
...
...
"You're—You're a Fatui Harbinger?!"
Paimon immediately struck a sloppy Wing Chun pose, copying Cael.
Lumine drew her Dull Blade in an instant, almost ready to slash.
"Whoa, whoa—stop!" Tartaglia raised his hands quickly.
"I'm not your enemy. Looks like Signora left you with a pretty bad impression… honestly, I don't like her either."
And so—
The Traveler's legendary errand-running arc officially began.
...
...
That afternoon, Cael went out with Seele to buy ingredients for dinner.
By now, Lumine's wanted notice had already been issued—
a bounty of 500,000 Mora.
Cael didn't care about the money at all.
If anything, it was perfect bait to mess with Paimon.
But just as the thought crossed his mind—
He ran straight into Lumine, who was heading out of Liyue Harbor to look for the adepti.
"Yo… what a coincidence. Haha."
Lumine laughed awkwardly, clearly at a loss for words.
The moment Paimon saw Cael, her eyes lit up and she flew forward instinctively—
"TARGET SPOTTED FROM THE WANTED POSTER!"
Seele reacted instantly.
Dark energy condensed in her right hand, forming a black-and-crimson scythe.
Lumine felt the danger immediately and snapped into a guarded stance.
"Wah—!"
Paimon yelped and retreated in panic.
"..."
Cael was speechless.
He pressed Seele's scythe down gently.
"I know them. They're the two who fought Dvalin with me."
Honestly, Seele had become a little too sensitive lately—
everything felt like a threat to her. It had been half a year already; she really needed to ease up.
Seele blinked, realizing her mistake. She withdrew the scythe and smiled sweetly.
"So it's you two. What a pleasure to meet you again."
The killing intent from earlier vanished completely—
replaced by gentleness and warmth.
Lumine and Paimon finally relaxed.
"T-That was terrifying…"
Paimon patted her chest, still shaken. "What was that thing just now?"
Even Lumine was stunned.
Was it really possible for someone's expression to change that fast?
Not just them—even Cael felt a bit unsettled.
"Is Seele losing control to her inner personality?"
"Impossible. I haven't fought her for control at all,"Black Seele replied calmly in his mind.
"She's just… changing."
"Is that so…"
Cael stroked his chin. "Looks like I'll need to guide her properly."
After the brief chaos, Cael turned to Lumine and Paimon with a grin.
"Impressive. You barely arrived in Liyue and you're already wanted. At least in Mondstadt, it took a bit longer."
Lumine sighed helplessly and explained everything that had happened.
Just as Cael remembered—
she was heading to see Moon Carver next.
"In that case," Cael said with a smile, "I wish you luck."
He had no intention of following them.
"…Huh? You're really not coming with us?"
Paimon's shoulders slumped. She'd waited so long to meet him again, only for him to bow out immediately.
Cael shrugged.
"I've got dinner to cook. But who knows—maybe I'll help you out later."
Paimon pouted.
"…You'd better not be lying."
"Oh—right, benefactor."
Lumine suddenly stepped closer, looking embarrassed.
"Um… could you maybe lend us some Mora? We're kind of broke…"
She'd forgotten to borrow money from Childe earlier.
Cael didn't hesitate.
"How much do you need?"
Lumine raised one finger timidly.
"One hundred thousand…"
She was afraid he'd say no—it was a lot.
"A million, huh?"
Cael nodded casually and handed her a heavy pouch.
"Go ahead. Spend it."
"…Eh?"
Lumine froze.
Paimon's eyes widened as she rubbed them in disbelief.
"That's way too much!"
Lumine hurriedly tried to return it.
Cael shook his head.
"Don't be so polite. We're friends. It's just pocket change."
"Pocket… change…"
Lumine sighed.
So this is what it's like to be a multi-job workaholic tycoon…
I, Lumine, truly can't compare.
At that moment, Seele puffed out her cheeks slightly, watching Cael chat so easily with the two girls.
"Hey—!"
She hugged his arm, clearly displeased.
"We're supposed to be buying groceries! Stop standing around!"
Cael scratched his head awkwardly.
"Sorry about that."
As he spoke, he casually stuffed fifteen bags of sunflower seeds onto Paimon.
"Knew you'd run out. Take them—all of them. When you're out again, just come find me."
With that, he waved goodbye and left with Seele.
...
But even as Cael walked away, Paimon remained in a bad mood.
"What's with that girl anyway…"
She frowned, her thoughts a mess.
Even the sunflower seeds in her hands didn't taste good anymore.
Lumine sighed.
"Alright, let's go. It's getting late—the Millelith will be on us soon."
Paimon nodded, tossed the sunflower seed shells on the ground, and hurried after her.
...
...
Cael took Seele to the marketplace to buy ingredients.
Teyvat did have proper markets—
they just weren't shown in-game.
Earlier, his collaboration performance with Yun Jin had earned him a neat 80 million Mora.
Plenty to spend.
"Lord Agarest…"
Seele, still holding his hand, suddenly asked,
"what's your relationship with those two?"
Her tone was unmistakably jealous.
Cael chuckled.
"The blonde is Lumine—a little money-grubber. Don't worry, she's a hardcore brother-complex type."
"As for the one next to her—that emergency food is called Paimon. She's pretty cute. I'm always tempted to pat her head."
Seele tilted her head.
"If that's the case… why don't you just pat her head directly? Even an ordinary person could catch her easily."
Cael smiled faintly.
"That's because…"
...
...
—
Sorry about today's update!
Spent the whole afternoon shopping with my mom—didn't have much time to write 😭