Dark circles?
Lumine took out a mirror and looked.
The young woman in the mirror indeed looked as if she hadn’t slept well at all.
Hmm.
She really hadn’t slept well.
The moment she closed her eyes, her mind filled with the plot of Hotarubi no Mori e.
And that final scene—the embrace that represented Gin letting go.
Was it worth it?
If it were her, how would she choose?
Lumine didn’t know the answer, yet every dream she had was filled with exactly those kinds of choices.
Even when she managed to drift into a hazy half-sleep, she would suddenly jolt awake for no clear reason.
In the end…
The one who embraced her and then vanished became Aether.
So where exactly was that guy?
She was already the Honorary Knight of Mondstadt.
With news this big, if he were still alive there was no reason he wouldn’t have heard about it, right?
Then why hadn’t he come looking for her?
Lumine, who hadn’t slept properly, seemed to be radiating a black aura called “resentment” from head to toe.
“Uh… Traveler, are you okay?”
Paimon sounded a little scared.
She hadn’t seen the Traveler looking like this very many times.
“I’m fine.”
Lumine shook her head, took several deep breaths, and forced her mood to settle.
“Paimon, we have a brand-new mission next.”
“What what?
What commission did you secretly take?”
“It’s more like a commission I gave myself.
Paimon, do you want to find this person named Velina?”
“Of course I do!
I dream about it!”
Paimon immediately perked up and clenched her fists.
“Is the Traveler getting ready to carry out last night’s plan?”
Catch Velina!
Force that person to rewrite the ending and write twelve hours a day!
“Mm… let’s find them first.”
Lumine gave a light cough.
Catching someone and locking them up would violate Liyue’s laws.
She would never do something that villainous.
“Zhongli has a wide network of contacts.
Traveler, he might know something!” Paimon thought of a suitable person.
“Oh, right—and Childe!”
As a Fatui Harbinger, he must have gathered plenty of intelligence on Liyue.
Who knew whether the novel author was among that information…
Lumine and Paimon left the inn.
There were still many things that needed preparing for the Rite of Parting; she had no time to rest.
“Traveler, what are we doing today?”
The sunlight was perfect.
Paimon squinted up at the sun in the sky and hid herself in Lumine’s arms.
The two of them were still in a wanted state.
Lumine wore an oversized sun hat that completely covered her conspicuous golden hair.
“Obviously we’re going to eat first and fill our stomachs.”
“Yay!
I want Adeptus’ Temptation!” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“Has Paimon not woken up yet?”
Paimon was disguised as a small doll and held in Lumine’s arms, so the patrolling Millelith along the way never noticed her.
Everywhere people were discussing the aftermath of the Rite of Descension.
Fear and unease showed on every face.
The Archon who had protected Liyue for a thousand years had met with disaster during the Rite of Descension.
Where should Liyue’s future go from here?
As expected, the prestige the God of Contracts held among the people far surpassed anything Venti could match…
Mixed in among the talk were also discussions about Hotarubi no Mori e and curses aimed at Velina.
“This person must be taking revenge on society, right?
Writing an ending like that.”
“I suspect Velina is the one who murdered Rex Lapis!”
“Wuwuwu… how could you trick me into reading it and then stab me in the heart?
Velina, you have no heart…”
Listening to those words, Lumine’s mood suddenly improved a great deal.
===✧✦✧===
How long is a thousand years?
Long enough that the Glaze Lilies that once blanketed Liyue have almost gone extinct in the wild.
Long enough that the once-prosperous and bustling Guili Plains are now left with nothing but ruins.
How short is a thousand years?
It slips quietly away through one processed official document after another.
Yuehai Pavilion.
Ganyu set down the documents and couldn’t help covering her mouth as she yawned.
She had already worked for two full days and two nights, yet for her this was ordinary.
As secretary of Yuehai Pavilion, she stood behind the Qixing and shouldered many tasks the world never saw.
“Yesterday seemed to be the day of the Rite of Descension.”
Ganyu murmured softly.
Because of work she had not attended, and she still did not know exactly what had happened.
Only after she left the office did she learn from others the news that the Archon had been assassinated.
“The Archon… assassinated?”
Ganyu stopped walking, her expression a little strange.
In the past she had personally witnessed Morax’s figure during the Archon War.
If someone truly wanted to assassinate the Archon…
She could not imagine it.
The Qixing seemed to be deliberately suppressing news on this matter, and none of the other adepti had appeared either.
“Mm… I’ll wait until Master and the others arrive before discussing it.”
Ganyu thought for a moment, shook her head, and decided to set the matter aside for now.
“Hey, have you read Velina’s novel?”
“Velina?
Who?
Never heard of them.
I read Records of the Geo Archon’s Travels.”
“Velina’s new book is the hottest thing right now.
Listen to me—go take a look at Hotarubi no Mori e.
After you read it you’ll definitely thank me.”
“I heard the signed copies are already sold out.
What a pity.
I still wanted to buy one to collect.”
“Is it really that good…”
As Ganyu walked along the street and listened to the passers-by talking, curiosity rose in her heart.
Hotarubi no Mori e?
It sounded like a rather good novel.
She would go take a look at Wanwen Bookhouse.
That was what Ganyu thought.
Suddenly a soft body crashed into her arms, carrying a faint fragrance—the scent of Glaze Lilies.
Velina arrived at the editorial department.
Along the way a small, pleasant interlude occurred.
Unexpectedly, the goat Cocogoat was also one of her readers, so Velina gave her the copy of the novel she happened to be carrying, sparing her the need to line up.
Helping a beautiful girl—Velina considered it her duty!
On the other side.
Ganyu looked at the novel in her hands in puzzlement.
She could not understand why, even though Velina truly looked as if this were the first time they had met, the other person seemed unusually familiar with her.
She could not figure it out.
Ganyu shook her head.
If she could not understand it, then she simply would not think about it.
She returned once more to Yuehai Pavilion.
When a staff member walked into the office, what they saw was Ganyu completely absorbed in the novel.
“Did you hear?
Secretary Ganyu is actually reading a novel!”
“Ah?
You’re joking, right?”
“Why would I lie to you?
I saw the title—Hotarubi no Mori e.
The cover shows a boy and a girl holding hands.
It should be a romance novel.”
“A romance novel?
I have a bold idea.
Could it be that Senior Ganyu wants to fall in love?”
“Hurry up and put away that bold idea of yours…”
Velina’s arrival caused the entire editorial department to grow lively.
“It’s Miss Velina.”
“Look who’s here—isn’t this our new generation’s novel newcomer king?”
“Miss Velina, I’m your fan…”
Mu Yun let out a sigh.
She paid little attention to these seniors who, under too much work pressure, had already begun to act a little mentally abnormal, and simply waved Velina over.
“Sister Yun, what did you need me for?”
Velina pulled a chair over and sat down beside her.
“Yesterday was the new book’s release day, right?
Let me tell you about the first-day sales figures.” Mu Yun said with a smile, looking to be in an excellent mood.
“How many?” Velina’s eyes lit up.
“Guess?”
“Five hundred?”
Mu Yun shook her head.
“One thousand?”
Mu Yun continued shaking her head, then stretched out her hand with all five fingers spread wide.
“A full five thousand copies!
And that’s only the first day.
There will be another wave of sales later.”
Five thousand?!
A number far beyond Velina’s expectations made her swallow hard.
She could not help calculating in her mind.
After subtracting all the various costs, what ultimately reached her hands was about ten Mora per book.
In other words, in a single day yesterday she had earned a full fifty thousand Mora!
Struck it rich, struck it rich!
Velina’s eyes turned into the shape of Mora!
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