At the Good Hunter restaurant.
“I’m full.”
“Jiang Chen, thank you.”
Mona had eaten every last leaf of her Satisfying Salad.
She was about to stand up and make a quick escape when Jiang Chen shot her a glare.
“Sit down.”
As the saying goes, one who eats another’s food must defer to their wishes.
Mona felt she could never hold her head high in front of him.
Even if Jiang Chen made some kind of adult demand, she wasn’t sure she could refuse.
She let out a soft “Oh” and sat back down with a hint of guilt.
The aroma of the Triple-Layered Consommé had only just begun to waft out.
Mona sniffed the air.
The rich, meaty scent mingled with the fresh fragrance of matsutake mushrooms drifted into her nostrils.
Despite having just eaten her fill, she felt a flicker of hunger again.
It was almost unbelievable.
Mona had no idea this was a primal need her body was expressing.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
Outside the Good Hunter, a Knight of Favonius knocked on the door and called up to the open window on the second floor.
“Boss Jiang Chen!
Boss Jiang Chen, can you hear me?”
“Oh, it’s Myers.”
Jiang Chen recognized him.
Mona skillfully rose again to go open the door for him.
Jiang Chen shot her a glance, and she immediately sat back down obediently, eyes fixed on her nose, nose fixed on her heart, not daring to move.
He didn’t intend to let this Knight of Favonius come upstairs.
He didn’t want to risk being caught making a new dish.
If that happened, by tomorrow, half the nobles and citizens of Mondstadt would probably be blocking his door.
The entire fountain plaza outside would be packed to overflowing.
It wasn’t as if something like that hadn’t happened before.
He’d made Mora, sure, but the city’s order would fall into chaos.
If someone started trouble, it would be hard to handle.
Under the guise of a diplomatic delegation, they were openly staying at the Goth Grand Hotel.
Even Jean couldn’t make a move without catching them red-handed.
Besides the Fatui, there were also lower-tier scum lurking in the shadows, like the Treasure Hoarders.
“I’ll go down.”
Jiang Chen checked the heat of the stove, then leaped from the second-floor railing directly to the first-floor lobby to open the door.
“Myers, what’s the matter?” he asked.
“Well, I was patrolling Market Street when I spotted that traveler who fought Stormterror,” Myers said, a little awkwardly.
“She was acting suspicious, but I didn’t feel right interrogating her.
I heard from inside the Knights that she’s under your care, Boss Jiang Chen, so I came to check in.”
After all, that girl was the one who helped Mondstadt drive back Stormterror during the day.
Even though her behavior seemed suspicious, he couldn’t just march up and question her like he would anyone else.
“Aren’t they supposed to be at the inn?
What are they out here doing?” Jiang Chen asked, puzzled.
Market Street had plenty of inns.
They’d already eaten their fill at the Good Hunter, so there shouldn’t be any need for a late-night snack.
“Inn?” Myers blinked in surprise.
“No inns are open tonight.”
His patrol beat was Market Street, so he knew the situation well.
“You mean that traveler was actually looking for an inn?” He replayed the scene in his mind and suddenly understood their originally “suspicious” behavior.
He let out an embarrassed chuckle.
So it had all been a misunderstanding.
“Uh…” Jiang Chen rubbed his forehead.
“So you’re saying Lumine didn’t book an inn?”
He called out to Myers, who was about to thank him and return to his post.
“Where are they now?”
“They should still be on Market Street.
They were sitting on a bench just a moment ago,” Myers replied.
“Wait for me,” Jiang Chen said.
He went back up to the second floor of the restaurant and instructed, “Keep it on a low simmer for a while, Mona.
Keep an eye on it.”
Even though she ate salad most of the time, as someone struggling on the edge of poverty, she had a basic grasp of simple skills like this.
“Lumine, what do we do now?”
Paimon slumped over the back of the bench, asking weakly.
After eating and digesting, all she wanted now was to find a warm place to sleep.
Lumine’s arms would do, but she couldn’t burrow in right now, or she’d fall asleep instantly.
Lumine thought for a moment.
“How about we sleep in a tree outside tonight?”
“Alright,” Paimon nodded.
When there was no cave, sleeping in a tree was the safest option.
As travelers, they had to get used to all kinds of situations.
The two stood up.
Two people were walking toward them from the opposite direction.
With the light behind them, they couldn’t make out their faces clearly.
“Such a big city, and you ended up thinking about sleeping in a tree outside.
I don’t even know what to say to you two.”
“Let me give you a little piece of Mondstadt trivia, by the way.
In times like this, you can go to the Mondstadt Cathedral.”
“They take in stray kittens like you and even provide a rough breakfast.”
“Of course, if you don’t lie next time, you probably won’t end up in this situation again.”
One of them spoke.
“Jiang Chen!”
Lumine recognized his voice.
She was about to run over, but then she remembered her current predicament and that he had overheard her entire conversation with Paimon.
Her face flushed bright red.
She stood rooted to the spot, fidgeting nervously.
She felt like she’d been caught red-handed doing something shameful.
She was so embarrassed she wanted to run away!
“Boss Jiang Chen, I’ll get back to my patrol now,” Myers said, walking alongside him.
Now that he knew the whole thing was a misunderstanding, he stopped paying attention and went back to his patrol duties.
“Mm, thanks,” Jiang Chen said to him.
Happy reading!