Rosaria closed her eyes, trying her best not to listen to a single word spoken by the gray-haired girl in front of her.
No matter what questions the other party threw at her, she only responded with “Mm” or “Oh.” Only like this could she calm herself a little and avoid doing something embarrassing.
To be honest, she wanted to run away.
But there were still people watching, and besides, she had already ordered her drink.
Running off now would be too humiliating.
Especially in front of Stelle, she didn’t want to show herself in such a sorry state.
“Um, Rosaria.” Stelle rested her head on one hand, looking slightly helpless at Rosaria across the table.
“At least respond to me a little.” She had asked so many questions, yet Rosaria kept refusing to answer coldly.
“I have nothing to say to you.” Rosaria frowned and replied instinctively.
But the moment she said it, she regretted it a little.
Those words were a bit too harsh.
They hadn’t even interacted much, and speaking so coldly would probably hurt Stelle.
Rosaria opened her eyes.
Sure enough, Stelle was staring at her with widened eyes, looking slightly hurt.
That expression made Rosaria’s heart tremble, as if she had done something terribly wrong—like abandoning a little puppy that had followed her for years.
“No, I mean…
I can’t answer those things you’re asking.
Let’s talk about something else.” Although it wasn’t easy to tell, Rosaria’s tone had indeed become somewhat flustered.
Even her intonation had become a bit off.
“Is that so?
Sorry, then let me think…” Stelle began to ponder seriously.
“…” Rosaria let out a quiet breath of relief when she saw that Stelle didn’t take it to heart.
But it was true—the girl kept asking strange questions, like about her clothing and her appearance…
This wasn’t some kind of matchmaking interview.
Thinking of that, Rosaria quickly closed her eyes again and took a silent deep breath.
Calm down.
Stay calm.
“Alright then, Rosaria, what do nuns usually do?” Stelle was quite curious about the profession of a nun.
Especially since Rosaria was obviously different from the others.
Though…
why did Rosaria close her eyes again?
Was she not getting enough rest?
Looking closely, the faint dark circles under her eyes did make that seem possible.
Was being a nun really that exhausting?
“Praying, attending choir, writing theological papers, things like that,” Rosaria said flatly.
She had no interest in those activities, yet she was forced to participate every time, which gave her a headache.
“Mondstadt’s god, Bartabos, hasn’t appeared for a long time.
What’s the point of nuns doing all that?” Her tone was lazy and indifferent, showing not the slightest hint of reverence toward the divine.
“Miss Rosaria…
it’s Barbatos…” Diona, who had been listening to their conversation the whole time, finally couldn’t help but speak up.
Diona didn’t have much interaction with Rosaria.
Occasionally, she came to the Cat’s Tail to drink, but most of the time she went to Angel’s Share.
Diona really hadn’t expected that, as a nun, Rosaria could even get the Anemo Archon’s name wrong.
“Oh.
Bartobas.” Rosaria nodded.
“…” Diona hesitated, then ultimately said nothing, just snorting lightly and sitting off to the side, puffed up in annoyance.
“Rosaria, do you not believe in the gods?” Stelle walked back to the counter and rubbed Diona’s head to comfort her, then looked at Rosaria curiously.
A nun who didn’t believe in the gods was certainly unique.
“Gods may be able to protect everyone, but they won’t do so.
Otherwise, those who suffer would become a joke.
So people don’t live for gods or for others, but only for themselves.” Rosaria drained the wine in her glass in one gulp, then placed some Mora on the table.
After Stelle left her seat, Rosaria finally felt a bit more at ease.
Although she still had to suppress the urge to take the girl right then and there, at least it wasn’t as difficult now, and she could shift some of her attention to drinking.
“We’ll meet again if fate allows.” After saying that, Rosaria walked out.
Normally, she wouldn’t drink so hastily, treating alcohol like water.
Instead, she would savor it slowly—especially drinks mixed by Diona, which were worth appreciating.
But not today.
She could only gulp it down carelessly.
“Rosaria really is a strange person.” Watching her leave, Stelle couldn’t help but whisper to Diona.
“Hmph, adults who love drinking are all bad!” Diona still blamed everything on alcohol.
“You’d better not become that kind of adult.” “Don’t worry, I won’t.
Even for little Diona’s sake, I won’t drink alcohol.” “Y-you—you, what are you saying?!” Diona’s face instantly flushed red.
“Hmph, e-even if you do become a drunk in the future, I’ll definitely destroy Mondstadt’s wine industry and turn you back!” …
“Ugh…
I’m so tired.
Finally finished cleaning it up.
This way, Mondstadt’s elemental flow and ley line circulation should return to normal, right?” Paimon stretched lazily in the air.
“That was really hard work.
When we get back, let’s have a big meal to reward ourselves!” “Paimon, you didn’t really do anything though…” Lumine complained helplessly.
The group was walking back toward Mondstadt.
After clearing the temple, looking at the city from afar, they could clearly see that the storm above Mondstadt had disappeared.
For the people living in the city, this should be very good news.
However, as long as Stormterror remained, the dragon storm couldn’t truly be considered over.
“What do you mean?
Flying alongside you is tiring too!” Paimon protested.
“Haha…
when we get back, let’s call Stelle and go to Good Hunter for a proper meal.
My treat!” Amber said with a smile.
“Yay!” Paimon naturally had no objections.
“Speaking of Stelle, I wonder if her commission went smoothly today.” Lumine hadn’t interacted with Stelle much recently and found herself missing her a little.
“It should be fine.
Stelle is capable, and during the dragon storm, there are plenty of simple commissions with good rewards,” Amber said, though she gradually began to feel a bit worried as she spoke.
“Let’s hurry back.” “Huh?” Lumine and Paimon hadn’t even reacted yet when Amber had already started running.
“There’s no need to rush that much…
is Amber hungry too?” Paimon scratched her head in confusion.
“Not everyone is like you,” Lumine couldn’t help but retort.
She had a rough idea why Amber was acting like this.
“Let’s catch up quickly.” “Yeah, let’s get back early and eat a big meal!”