“Ah, sorry.” Columbina released her arms as if waking from a dream, her movements gentle.
She carefully put Sandrone down, subconsciously giving her a light stroke as her toes touched the ground.
“Because Sandrone is so soft.” Columbina tilted her head, turning her blindfolded face toward Sandrone, the corners of her mouth curling into a mischievous arc.
Sandrone was slightly stunned.
Body…
so soft?
The tips of her ears flushed with a thin layer of red at a speed visible to the naked eye, spreading all the way to her cheeks.
“You…!” Sandrone abruptly broke free from Columbina’s embrace, her face burning red.
She wanted to glare back like usual, but when her sight touched Columbina’s smiling face, she couldn’t help but look away.
In the end, she could only turn her face away, her voice forcefully maintaining its usual coldness, yet slightly trembling with embarrassment and annoyance: “What, what nonsense are you talking about!
Who allowed you to make random comments!”
She wasn’t truly angry, more like caught off guard by a sudden, intimate direct pitch, forced to use blustering to cover up the panic in her heart.
Instead, Columbina chuckled, not with the mischievous, slightly teasing smile from just now, but a soft and satisfied one.
“However, you really are so soft.” Not only did she not step back, she leaned forward a bit, tilting her head slightly as she tried to catch Sandrone’s dodging gaze, “Holding you is very comfortable.
I like it very much.”
“Shut up!
Go eat your cake!”
Sandrone was made almost to jump up by her blunt words, reaching out to push her away.
Her fingertips touched Columbina’s shoulder, then pulled back as if scalded, finally just resting against her weakly.
“…Say any more nonsense, and next time even if you starve to death, I will only feed you nutrient solution, not a single bite of cake!”
Columbina obediently stepped back half a step, leaving space for Sandrone, whose mechanism was about to smoke.
“Alright then, I won’t say anymore.” Her tone was brisk, “Then Sandrone, my cake isn’t finished yet, can I continue?”
Sandrone glanced at the remaining cake on the table, then quickly glanced at Columbina.
The complexion on her face was indeed much better.
“…As you like.” She dropped the stiff sentence, turning around again to tidy up her experimental table laid out with precision mechanical parts.
Columbina sat back in her original seat in a pleasant mood, picking up the spoon again.
She ate the cake in small bites, feeling her strength slowly recover as her hunger gauge increased.
Looking at Sandrone, who was pretending to be busy, a faint smile hung on her face.
After a while, Columbina finally finished the cake, put down the spoon, and said softly:
“Sandrone.”
“…What is it again?”
“There is something I want to ask of you.”
“Speak, I’rather listening.” Sandrone didn’t turn back, the tool in her hand still precisely tuning the mechanical parts on the table.
I am going to disappear soon.” When Columbina’s words fell, Sandrone’s fingers holding the part visibly paused.
“Why?
Where did you know that from?
Aren’t you the Moon Goddess?” Her originally cold voice carried a trace of almost imperceptible trembling, like accusation, yet also like complaint.
“However, Sandrone, you don’t need to be so pessimistic either.” No sadness was seen on Columbina’s face; instead, it was as calm as a lake under the moonlight.
She walked forward gently until she stopped at Sandrone’s side.
“There is still a way.”
“Speak.” Sandrone said no more, turning around, her gaze falling quietly on the approaching girl’s face.
“My existence in Teyvat is inherently a ‘not permitted’ state.
Simply put, this world is rejecting me out.” Columbina’s tone remained steady, as if narrating a matter unrelated to herself, “And Sandrone, your existence is…
very important to me.”
“Reason.”
“To establish a ‘connection’ with Teyvat, I must maintain physical contact with people of this world—just as I said before, holding hands.” She paused, continuing to explain, “Only in this way can the rejection be temporarily offset.”
“Why is it me?” Sandrone sighed lightly, as if asking the other party, and also as if asking herself.
“Because…” Columbina’s voice softened, “I only have you, Sandrone.”
Sandrone gazed at her, suddenly taking a step forward, reaching out to grasp Columbina’s hand.
She turned her head aside, her brow slightly furrowed, “Is this enough?”
“If we hold hands all the time…
how am I supposed to do experiments?” Her voice showed a bit of impatience, yet she didn’t let go of her hand.
“Mhm…” Columbina paused for a moment, adding in a low voice, “Actually, we don’t need to hold hands all the time.
Contacting once every hour…
is enough.”
“Who, who wants to hold hands with you all the time!” Sandrone quickly withdrew her hand, a trace of imperceptible panic flashing across her face, “You’re the one who didn’t explain clearly!”
“Sorry, it was my expression that wasn’t clear enough.” Columbina lowered her head, her tone sincere.
“No need to apologize.” Sandrone turned her face away, “It’s just…
a bit troublesome.”
“If Sandrone thinks it’s troublesome, actually…
there is another method.” As she spoke, a syringe filled with pale pink liquid silently appeared in her hand.
“What is this?” Sandrone’s gaze fell upon that trace of pink.
“A medicine that can temporarily alleviate the world’s rejection.” Columbina handed it over.
Sandrone took the syringe, her fingertips rubbing against the cold glass tube wall.
She suddenly raised her eyes, looking sharply at Columbina, “And where did this medicine come from?
Dottore?”
Could it be…
Dottore letting Columbina cooperate with the experiment previously was actually to help her?
Columbina gently shook her head: “This medicine can only be used by injection…
I’m afraid of pain.
Therefore, I want to ask you to try whether you can develop an oral dosage form.”
“Why on earth should I help you?” Sandrone placed the syringe on the experimental table, her tone cold.
“Or could it be—” Columbina reached out her hand toward her, “Do you want to hold hands with me?”
“Who, wants, to, hold, hands, with, you, ah!” Sandrone practically bit out these words word by word.
“Then, did Sandrone agree?” Columbina tilted her head, a faint smile carrying on the corners of her mouth.
“Hmph, I’m just helping you out once by the way.” Sandrone crossed her arms, her gaze falling on Columbina, “Besides, this medicine indeed has some aspects that interest me.”
Being able to alleviate the Teyvat rejection reaction suffered by the Moon Goddess.
Just this efficacy alone was enough to arouse her curiosity.
“Give me half a day, and the analysis results will come out.” Sandrone’s tone was certain.
“Alright, then sorry to trouble you.” Columbina gently nodded, walking back to the sofa and lying down.
This Columbina…
Seeing that Columbina finished explaining on her own accord and ran to fall asleep headfirst on her home sofa, Sandrone couldn’t help but feel a Nameless fire surge up in her heart again.
Making people worry like this all day long, what a hassle.
Clearly it’s a major event concerning her own impending disappearance, yet she can still fall asleep.
But after all, she didn’t say anything more, just tightly pressing her lips together, turning around to carefully place that syringe into the complex and precise instrument nearby to begin testing.
Time quietly slipped through the gaps of her fingers, until the setting sun penetrated the window, plating that sleeping graceful figure with a layer of soft golden light, and then she leisurely woke up.
“Sandrone, is it not done yet?” Columbina looked toward the figure still busy in front of the experimental table, asking considerately and softly, “Do you want to rest for a bit first?”
Sandrone did not respond.
Her brows were tightly furrowed, her gaze firmly locked onto the flashing data on the instrument’s display screen, whispering incessantly in her mouth:
“How could this be possible…”
“Exactly which step went wrong?”
“In this world, there are actually pharmaceutical components that I cannot analyze…”
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”