"What do you need…? hic*…"
Venti, who had been forcefully dragged out of his comfortable sleep, blinked lazily at the two in front of him.
"You're the guy we met in the forest earlier, right?" Paimon said, floating closer. "We saw you with the dragon that attacked the city. Care to explain?"
For a brief moment, Venti fell silent. The usual playfulness in his eyes faded as his gaze drifted away. He glanced toward Etoma, who was happily surrounded by cats, before looking back at them.
"If you really want to know," he said, stretching slightly, "meet me at Windrise tomorrow. Once you're there, just call my name. We can talk then."
And just like that, he dropped his head back onto the table and immediately fell asleep.
"…" Lumine and Paimon stared at him in disbelief.
"O-oi!" Paimon shook him again, but this time there was no response at all.
With a tired sigh, the two turned back toward Etoma.
"Hm? Done talking?" Etoma asked. She was practically buried under a pile of cats, with only her face peeking out.
"Yeah," Paimon replied. "That green-clad guy just told us to meet him tomorrow."
"I see... then should we head back? It's getting late. Besides, Brother Diluc always works fast whenever I ask him for something." Etoma smiled softly
"Well, let's do as you say,.." Paimon said, already looking exhausted.
"Mhm! Although…" Etoma wiggled slightly. "Could you help me up? My hands are trapped under these fearsome creatures! At this rate, I might be eaten alive!" Her playful tone completely clashed with the dramatic words.
Lumine and Paimon stared at her blankly for a moment before helping her out from under the cats. And just like that, the three of them headed back to Etoma's home.
True to her word, by the time they returned, Etoma's room had already been prepared—with two additional beds placed neatly inside.
"Whoa! It's huge!" Paimon looked around in amazement. "If you didn't say this was your bedroom, Paimon would've thought it was a living room!"
"Hehe, I told you," Etoma said proudly. "So, where do you want to sleep? Mine's over there."
"Paimon wants this one!"
"Then I'll take the one over here."
After settling their sleeping spots, the three went out from the room for dinner at dining hall.
Etoma could actually always eaten at home, but she always preferred going out. She claimed that she like eating outside and more importantly, it meant spending time with friends.
After dinner, the trio returned to the room, all of them content and full.
"Fueeh… that was a good meal…" Paimon sighed happily, patting her stomach as she lay on the bed.
Then suddenly—
"Woah?!"
She was pulled into a tight embrace by a mysterious white haired girl.
"Hehehe~ Paimon~ my cute Paimon~" Etoma, now dressed in her pajamas, rubbed her face against Paimon's.
"Hey! Etoma, stop it!" Paimon struggled. "If you don't stop, Paimon will give you an ugly nickname!"
"Muehehe~ Go ahead~"
"Grrr… Fine! From now on, you will be known as 'Hug Bandit'! Hey, Hug Bandit, let go of Paimon!"
"Pfft—Ahahaha!" Laughing loudly, Etoma finally released her.
"Phew… finally, peace…"
As the laughter died down, Lumine stepped out of the bathroom, now wearing a set of Etoma's pajamas. They were slightly too small for her, but still comfortable enough.
With that, their little pajama gathering began.
Lumine spoke of her origins—how she wasn't from this world, how her brother had been taken by an unknown god, and how she had been cast into this land alone. Now, she was traveling in search of him.
"I see…" Etoma's expression softened, a hint of sadness in her eyes. "I hope you find your brother soon."
"Mhm. Thank you."
After chatting a while longer, the three finally settled into their beds and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Lumine woke up first. She gently shook Paimon awake before the two noticed that Etoma was still fast asleep.
Her sleeping posture was… impressive, in the worst way possible.
After fixing their beds, Lumine and Paimon quietly left.
.
After grabbing breakfast at Good Hunter, the two made their way out of Mondstadt and toward Windrise, just as the green-clad guy had instructed.
When they arrived, a massive tree stood before them. They approached it, looking around—but no one was there. Soon Lumine remember that they need to shout out for his name.
After a brief pause, the two shouted away. Since they didn't know his name, they just shouted "Green-Clad Guy". And to their surprise—
"Yahho~ The one who scared Dvalin away!" The guy appeared as if out of nowhere.
"Whoa! you almost scared Paimon to death! by the way, who's Dvalin?" Paimon asked.
"It's Stormterror's real name," Lumine explained. "Did you forget?"
"Huh…? Oh! Right… Everyone just calls him Stormterror…"
"Anyway," Lumine said, holding something out, "I wanted to show you this." She revealed a blue, tear-shaped crystal.
"That is—!" Venti's eyes widened as he reached for it. "It's been purified…? How is that possible?"
Lumine explained how she had obtained it. After listening, Venti produced another similar crystal, which Lumine purified just as easily.
"You have... wonderful abilities…" he murmured.
Now properly introducing himself as Venti, he thanked her sincerely. He said what she just did was a great help to him.
He then explained the truth: Dvalin—Stormterror—was being manipulated by the Abyss Order. So when the time came, he hoped they would save the dragon, not kill him.
"So what should we do?" Paimon asked.
Venti then said they need to give him Holy Lyre der Himmel, a sacred relic that being kept in Church of Favonius which would bring him to the next step of his plan.
With a goal in mind, Lumine and Paimon returned to Mondstadt and headed straight to the church. Unfortunately, their request to borrow the lyre was immediately denied.
"…So Plan B?" Paimon whispered.
"…Plan B," Lumine agreed.
Steal it.
They decided to wait until nightfall. Returning to Etoma's house, they hoped to spend the day with her—but she wasn't home.
After asking around, they ended up speaking to a certain grumpy red-haired man. From him, they learned that Etoma was visiting Eula.
After a bit more questioning—much to his growing annoyance—he finally handed them a map and practically shoved them out.
After lunch, Lumine and Paimon followed the directions. Eventually, they reached their destination and reunited with Etoma—along with a new acquaintance named Eula.
The day passed quickly in their company.
And before long…
Night fell.
.
.
A/N: Ima go full speedrun mode until the day she aquired the tragedy to- ehem* i mean system.