Upon arriving before the Statue of the Seven, Tiamat reluctantly let go of Lumine.
Lumine turned around and gave Tiamat a peck on the cheek.
“Thank you, Tiamat.” Tiamat smiled gently.
“Eh?
Paimon wants one too.” Thus, Paimon flew in front of Tiamat and pecked her cheek as well, then took the opportunity to dive into Tiamat’s embrace.
Tiamat also gently held little Paimon.
“Hehe, this is the feeling.
Tiamat’s embrace really is so warm and reassuring.” Lumine watched on, her hands on her hips in a somewhat helpless manner.
…
At that moment, it felt as if something was urging Lumine forward.
Following a sudden intuition, Lumine walked up to the statue and placed her hand upon it.
Ding~ As if receiving a signal, the anemo element danced around the statue, blowing through Lumine’s beautiful golden hair.
A ball of anemo element from the statue floated toward Lumine and merged into her body with a soft thud.
Paimon and Tiamat witnessed this scene.
“Eh, what’s this?
Traveler, try and see if you can feel the anemo element.” Hearing this, Lumine immersed herself in her thoughts, and soon a small green orb appeared in her hand.
The surrounding wind converged toward the orb, forming a small vortex.
“Wow, it seems you obtained elemental power just by touching the statue.
Is it a gift from the gods to a visitor from another world?
Hmm, this is a very impressive gift.
People of this world don’t obtain elemental power so easily.” Lumine coolly crushed the wind ball in her hand, thinking to herself that this was just a basic operation for Emperor Ying.
In the future, she was going to be the woman who became the Harem King.
“Hmm, don’t worry about it.
It’s not as convenient as Tiamat’s ability yet.” However, the smug expression on Lumine’s face already betrayed her.
Paimon just smiled and didn’t plan on exposing her.
“Then let’s set off.
If we head west from here, we’ll reach Mondstadt before evening.” The small group continued their journey.
They hadn’t walked far.
“Ugh, it’s so hot.
After leaving the forest, there’s no shade.
Traveler, can you use your anemo element power to make some cool wind?” Lumine put her hands on her hips and looked at Paimon.
“No way.
I feel like this consumes a lot of stamina.
If I keep controlling the wind to blow at us, I’ll probably run out of energy before we get very far.” Paimon scratched her head.
“Hehe, I was just saying.” At that moment, Tiamat continued to hold Paimon with one hand while spreading her other hand outward.
A breeze mixed with water vapor blew over them.
“Wow!
So comfortable.
Can Tiamat use the anemo element too?” Tiamat nodded.
“I always feel like Tiamat is omnipotent, like she knows how to do everything.” Tiamat showed a gentle and doting smile to the Paimon in her arms.
Her shimmering purplish-red eyes seemed to say to Paimon, ‘As long as you want it, Tiamat can give it to you’.
Paimon seemed to understand this meaning and snuggled tighter into Tiamat’s embrace.
Just then, the sound of something breaking through the air suddenly came from behind.
Before they could turn around, a giant cyan dragon skimmed past them and flew toward the small grove ahead.
“Was that…
a dragon?
There are dragons in Teyvat?” Lumine was already starting to get excited.
After all, what ‘Emperor’ doesn’t have a dream of being a dragon rider?
In the worlds she had traveled to before, dragons were mythical species that were impossible to see.
“There are, and quite a few, it seems.
Natlan among the Seven Nations is a country where humans and dragons walk together.” ‘Then isn’t that a country of dragon riders?’ Lumine became even more excited.
“Then let’s go take a look!” “Eh?
Aren’t you afraid?
Dragons are very powerful.
That dragon looked so big; if it wanted to attack us, we’d be finished.” “What’s there to be afraid of?
I am Empe—cough, it’s fine.
I’ll protect Paimon.” “Alright then.
Paimon hasn’t seen a dragon up close either, hehe.” So, Lumine scouted the way ahead, while Tiamat floated behind her, holding Paimon.
Behind a rock, Lumine stopped and signaled Tiamat and Paimon to look carefully.
The three girls slowly poked their heads out from behind the rock.
They saw a young boy dressed in green and white clothes who seemed to be talking to the dragon.
“Don’t be afraid.
Relax, I’m back.” Suddenly, a small burst of wind exploded in front of Lumine, messing up her hair.
The giant dragon seemed to be provoked and suddenly became violent.
It roared at the boy in front of it, covering him in saliva.
“Who’s there?” The boy looked toward them angrily.
Then he froze for a moment, and his expression immediately softened.
Noticing that the giant dragon in front of him seemed to want to coat him with even more saliva, the boy flickered and vanished into elemental energy.
Losing its target, the giant dragon turned to look at Lumine and the others.
It also froze for a moment, its gaze lingering on Tiamat for a bit longer.
Then, it flapped its wings and flew off into the distance.
“Wow, that was close!
Luckily Tiamat was holding me, or I would’ve been blown away.
That dragon actually didn’t attack us?
Eh?
What’s that?” On the rock where the giant dragon had just been, a red crystal was floating.
The group went up to check, but Lumine and Paimon felt a dangerous aura from the crystal and hesitated to approach.
Tiamat, however, sensed something from the crystal.
She let go of Paimon and stepped forward to touch it.
Paimon was about to warn Tiamat to be careful, but seeing that nothing happened when she touched the crystal, she remained silent, watching worriedly alongside Lumine.
Tiamat saw fragments of memories from the crystal: a battle between two giant dragons, the pain of being eroded by something, the betrayal of the trusted god, and being forgotten by the humans it protected.
Pain, anger, and the terror of death.
‘This child is so pitiful.
To have suffered such grievances?
Mother…
must help him.’ At that moment, the ominous aura seemed to be absorbed by Tiamat.
The deep red crystal began to emit a beautiful cyan light.
“Eh, it can do that?
Tiamat, are you okay?” Tiamat shook her head and smiled at Paimon, signaling she was fine.
“That’s good.
What a magical stone.
Traveler, let’s keep it.
We might be able to use it later.” Lumine nodded and put the’stone’ away.
“What an amazing experience.
Paimon has finally seen a dragon up close.
Hehe, we’re not far from Mondstadt now.
Let’s hurry, so we can arrive at our destination before evening.” Mm.
When they walked out of the small grove, they could already see Mondstadt not far away.
Just then, a voice called out, stopping them in their tracks.
“Wait a moment!” Appearing in response was a vigorous fiery-red figure.
The young girl quickly came to a halt before them.
“May the Anemo God protect you, strangers.” As the girl spoke, she performed a solemn knight’s salute.
“I am Amber, Outrider of the Knights of Favonius.
You aren’t citizens of Mondstadt, are you?
Then, please state your identities.” Lumine stepped forward even faster than Paimon and said, “I am Emperor Ying!” “Eh?” times two.
“Lumine, what are you saying?
Um, don’t get excited, we aren’t suspicious people,” Paimon hurriedly added.
“Suspicious people always say that.” Amber clearly couldn’t trust the girl and the strange flying object in front of her yet.
Then Amber turned her gaze toward Tiamat and was instantly stunned by her unimaginably beautiful appearance.
‘Is there really such a beautiful girl in this world?
Can I be friends with her?’ Amber nervously checked the corners of her mouth with her hand.
“Then, beautiful miss, may I ask who you are and where you come from?” Her voice sounded somewhat expectant.
“Aaaaa~” “Eh?” “Um, her name is Tiamat, but we usually call her Tiamat.
Don’t be fooled by her looking even younger than Lumine; she’s already a mother.” “Is that so?” Amber’s expression dimmed slightly upon hearing that Tiamat was already a mother, but she immediately perked up again and said energetically, “Then I’ll call you Tiamat too!” Hearing Amber call her mother, Tiamat’s eyes brightened even more, and she gave Amber a loving smile.
Amber’s heart melted at the sight of that smile, and saliva uncontrollably began to drip from the corner of her mouth.
Realizing her mouth was wet, Amber snapped out of it, wiped the saliva, and felt a bit embarrassed.
A faint blush appeared on her face.
To shift the focus, she pointed at Paimon.
“Then what about this, uh, mascot?” “She’s emergency food.” Hearing this, Paimon stomped her feet in the air angrily.
“What!
How is that even worse than a mascot!” “Haha, then you must be here to visit Mondstadt.
Sorry, it was just a routine questioning, please don’t mind it.” Seeing the harmless appearance of the girls, Amber believed they weren’t Fatui spies.
“A giant dragon has been appearing around here lately.
There are also some troublesome monsters on the road, so let me escort you for a while.” After saying this, Amber’s eyes unconsciously drifted toward Tiamat.
Amber had always had no resistance to cute things.
Especially this time, facing the excessively cute Lumine and the others.
‘Wow, this Tiamat really is so beautiful, and that Traveler who calls herself Emperor Ying is a beautiful girl too.
And that cute flying creature.
I really want to give them a hug.
Baron Bunny, bless me.’