Night fell over Mondstadt.
Under the cover of darkness, Lumine and Paimon slipped into the Church of Favonius, moving as quietly as shadows. Their goal was clear: retrieve the Holy Lyre der Himmel.
For a moment, it seemed they would succeed. But just as Lumine reached for the lyre—
A figure appeared.
In a blink, the lyre was gone, stolen right before their eyes. The sudden intrusion triggered the church's defenses, alerting nearby guards. With no time to react, the duo fled, barely escaping the scene.
They brought the news to Venti. To their shock, he revealed the thief's identity—a member of the Fatui. With no other choice, they resolved to investigate the Fatui the next morning.
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Knock*. Knock*.
"Diluc-nii~"
Etoma slipped into the office after knocking lightly.
"Etoma? What is it?" Diluc asked without looking up, his attention fixed on the paperwork before him.
"Fufu~" She skipped over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.
"It's already night. Why aren't you asleep?" he said, unfazed.
"I'm still waiting for them."
"Ah… those two." He sighed. "If they're not back in half an hour, forget it and go to bed. I'll lock the door."
"Diluc-nii, you're too grumpy…" Etoma pouted, then shifted—settling comfortably onto his lap.
"Ahh… Diluc-nii's scent…" she murmured, hugging him contentedly.
"You're disturbing my work," he said. And yet, he made no move to push her away.
They remained like that for several minutes, until a maid entered and announced that Lumine and Paimon had returned.
Etoma perked up, quickly saying her goodbyes before leaving the room—unaware of the faint blush lingering on Diluc's face.
That night ended with another of Etoma's pajama parties, and her role as the renowned 'Hug Bandit' in full effect.
The next morning, Lumine and Paimon set out early once again. Leaving Etoma in her abysmal sleeping position alone in her room. This time, Diluc was gone as well.
Etoma woke much later, sprawled across her bed in a truly disastrous sleeping position. After hearing that Diluc had "business to attend to," she simply shrugged and headed out for breakfast.
At the Good Hunter, she ran into Eula and Amber, who were already eating.
They chatted for a while before the two knights excused themselves, returning to their duties at the Knights of Favonius.
"Mission…" Etoma muttered after they left.
It had been a while since she last took on commissions from the Adventurers' Guild. Being pampered by Diluc—arguably the wealthiest man in Mondstadt—had made her question whether she even needed to.
After all, compared to the highest-paying commissions… and her daily "pocket money", well...
Still, she hadn't abandoned her role as an adventurer. She continued taking on low-paying, high-effort tasks—helping citizens simply because she could.
Decision made, Etoma headed to the Adventurers' Guild.
By the time evening arrived, she was exhausted.
After a long day of sewer cleaning and searching for a lost wallet, she finally crossed paths with Lumine and Paimon—who looked just as worn out.
"Traveler! Paimon! Whoa—what happened to you guys?" Etoma asked, concern written all over her face.
"Nothing," Lumine replied calmly. "We were just… cleaning up a mess."
"That aside—why do you smell like that?" Paimon asked, pinching her nose.
Etoma froze—then immediately flushed bright red.
"T-that's from the sewer earlier! I'm going to take a bath now—bye, Traveler! Paimon!"
She dashed off before they could say another word.
"Sewer? What was she doing in the sewer…" Paimon muttered, before snapping back to attention. "Anyway! We need to report to Venti—we got the lyre back!"
The two hurried toward Angel's Share.
Inside, they found not only Venti—but also Jean and Diluc waiting. After receiving the lyre, Venti examined it carefully.
"It's… worn," he said. "After a thousand years, its Anemo power has run dry. In this condition, you couldn't play music fit for even Diluc's tavern with it..."
"Bards fight to get on the stage of my tavern, don't make assumptions. Also, wasn't your combined skill with Etoma enough to make even a broken lyre sounds heavenly?" Diluc retorted.
"Is that really important right now, Master Diluc!? And you—did you just borrow the Holy Lyre to play for drunkards?" Paimon asked, incredulous.
"Hehe."
"What do you mean 'hehe'?!" Paimon snapped.
Venti went on to explain that the lyre wasn't beyond repair—it simply needed Dvalin's tears to restore its power.
That became their next objective. Jean even said she will immobilize the rest of the knights to assist.
"Heroes supporting each other and setting out on a journey together… how exciting!" Venti said cheerfully. "Let me compose a song for this moment—"
"That's it? You're just going to sing?" Paimon cut in.
"Well, I wouldn't be much of a bard otherwise, would I?"
"Hmph. You're so cheeky... You deserve an ugly nickname. Oh, Paimon knows! From now on, you'll be known as Tone-Deaf Bard!"
"Thanks for the compliment~"
"Hey!"
And so, they parted ways for the day—each carrying the same goal.
Meanwhile, back at the mansion…
Etoma was still in the bath, buried in bubbles, scrubbing furiously in a desperate attempt to get rid of the lingering sewer smell.
.
Night came once more.
"Traveler, Paimon—welcome," Etoma said, lying on her stomach atop the bed, a book in hand.
"Heyya, Hug Bandit," Paimon greeted, immediately flopping onto the bed. "Phew… today was exhausting…" No sooner had she spoken than arms wrapped around her.
The Hug Bandit had struck again!
"Ugh… Paimon's too tired to argue. Do whatever you want…"
"Fufu~" Etoma held her close, gently patting her head.
The warmth and comfort quickly lulled Paimon to sleep. Smiling softly, Etoma closed her eyes as well.
Not long after, Lumine emerged from the bathroom. Seeing the two cuddled together, she smiled and pulled the blanket over them.
She dimmed the lights and quietly drove to sleep.
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