Beneath the Statue of the Omnipresent God.
After listening to Lumine's account, Thoma slowly nodded.
"So… Lord Sasayuri was actually Lord Lin Mo's steward?"
"His steward?!"
Paimon's eyes went wide in shock.
"Could it be—"
Lumine looked at Thoma, her expression a little strange.
Thoma smiled and explained, "Yes. Lord Sasayuri was the previous house steward of the Kamisato Clan. As my senior, Lord Lin Mo taught me many things."
"Ohhh—so he worked for Ayaka's family before!"
Paimon suddenly understood.
"Ayaka?"
The next moment, she turned toward Kamisato Ayaka with curiosity.
"Then why didn't you recognize him just now?"
Only then did Lumine notice something was off.
Kamisato Ayaka's emotions didn't seem quite right.
Her gaze was lowered, her expression tinged with… sadness.
"Milady, the Traveler and Paimon are calling you," Thoma reminded her gently with a smile.
"Ah…"
Ayaka snapped back to her senses.
Paimon put her hands on her hips and pressed on,
"I was just asking why you didn't acknowledge Lin Mo."
"Well… that's a long story…"
Ayaka's eyes flickered.
She clearly didn't want to talk about it, but still forced a bitter smile.
"Perhaps… our fates were simply not aligned yet. There's no need to recognize each other."
That single sentence immediately set Lumine and Paimon thinking.
There must have been a story between Kamisato Ayaka and Lin Mo.
"What do you mean, 'our fates weren't aligned'?"
Paimon looked confused.
"You watched him leave with your own eyes—wasn't that fate playing tricks on you?"
"Paimon, I didn't expect you to say something so philosophical,"
Thoma said with an approving nod.
"But I agree. To avoid regret in the future, Milady, you really should see Lord Lin Mo."
"I…"
After thinking it over carefully,
Ayaka nodded uneasily.
"I… I'll just watch him from afar. As for acknowledging him… please allow me some time."
"Then let's hurry~! Otherwise they'll get too far away!"
Paimon rushed ahead to lead the way.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Inazuma City.
Ei, Chiyo, and Kitsune Saiguu walked forward together.
In every one of their eyes gleamed undisguised interest.
"Um… how about Yae and I go to Yae Publishing House alone?"
Lin Mo said with a strained smile.
"After all, the quality of those novels is… questionable. The less you read, the better."
"Novels…"
Ei's interest only grew stronger.
When she was bored in the Plane of Euthymia, she often passed time by reading ancient texts.
"Lord Sasayuri, you haven't even read them. How can you say the quality is bad?"
Yae Miko's sultry voice carried a hint of schadenfreude.
She was clearly looking forward to everyone's reactions.
She even added helpfully,
"Every novel at Yae Publishing House is personally reviewed by me~
Quality, word count—they're all above average.
And sales? Far beyond Liyue's Wanwen Bookhouse~"
"…What kinds of novels are there?"
Chiyo, who never read fiction, was suddenly intrigued.
The fact that Yae Miko personally reviewed them sparked her interest.
Not just hers.
Kitsune Saiguu and Ei were curious as well.
After all, they all knew Yae Miko's… unique personality.
Books she recommended were bound to be interesting.
With a smile, Yae Miko introduced them,
"There are daily romance stories, tales of Liyue swordsmen roaming the jianghu, and stories of Inazuman warriors upholding justice."
"Daily… romance~"
Chiyo's eyes immediately lit up.
She grabbed Yae Miko's hand eagerly.
"Come on, come on~ take me to your publishing house! I really want to read~!"
"Ah…"
Lin Mo sighed helplessly.
With no other choice, he followed them toward Yae Publishing House.
Before long, the five of them arrived at its entrance.
"What kind of light novel would everyone like? I'll help you find them,"
Yae Miko said with a smile.
"Romance, daily life!"
Chiyo shot her hand straight into the air.
Ei nodded quietly.
"I've never read that genre before. Chiyo, why don't we read together?"
"Then I'll read with everyone as well,"
Kitsune Saiguu added.
"And you, Lord Sasayuri?"
Yae Miko's eyes flashed with smug satisfaction.
"…Sigh. Romance, daily life,"
Lin Mo said helplessly.
"But make sure it's something proper. Absolutely no explicit content."
"When feelings run deep between a man and a woman, things happen naturally—how could that be called explicit?"
Yae Miko's lips curved into a mischievous smile.
Clearly, she had no intention of giving them anything "proper."
Just as Lin Mo was about to argue—
"Big Brother Sasayuri~ how can you call those things explicit?"
Chiyo cut in pitifully, eyes brimming with grievance.
"Could it be that… what you did to me back then… had no feelings involved?
Only… lust?"
"…Fine! Read whatever you want!"
Lin Mo gave up completely.
Yae Miko seemed to have prepared for this long ago.
She didn't even browse the shelves.
Instead, she pulled out a red-covered book from within her robes and handed it to Ei with a smile.
"Here. Try this one. I think you'll absolutely love it."
Ei took the light novel and looked at the title, murmuring softly,
"I Somehow Became Teyvat's White Moonlight?
What a strange title…"
"Yeah, it's kind of hard to understand~"
Chiyo nodded in agreement, then asked curiously,
"Miko, what's this book about?"
"Oh, the story~"
Yae Miko's eyes sparkled with amusement.
"It's about a male protagonist who meets a hundred beautiful girls across Teyvat, and becomes entangled with them in love and hate."
"A hundred beautiful girls?!"
Kitsune Saiguu frowned.
"Isn't this man a complete scoundrel? What's so special about him that a hundred girls would fall for him?"
Chiyo nodded seriously.
"And besides, a hundred girls… could his body even handle that?"
"Cough, cough—this is probably just an exaggerated setup!"
Lin Mo hurriedly interrupted their imaginations.
"I think the protagonist will eventually choose one girl and live happily ever after with her."
"That won't do."
Ei shook her head.
"I want them all to be able to live happily ever after with him."
"That's the kind of beautiful ending I like."
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T/N:
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