Ganyu's little face was filled with astonishment.
Truth be told, she had just been dreaming!
She'd dreamed of when she was small, sleeping nestled in Cloud Retainer's arms.
Back then she was still very, very little, and was deeply reliant on Cloud Retainer.
So she absolutely had to have Cloud Retainer stroke the horns on her head before she could fall asleep.
In the dream, she had recovered that warm, cozy feeling from her childhood.
It was just that she never imagined someone would actually be stroking her horns for real!
What's more, she'd mistaken Ye Xi for Cloud Retainer!
That feeling of dependence was exactly the same as it had been back then.
So embarrassing!
Seeing the glimmer of tears shining in Ganyu's eyes, Ye Xi felt that he might have blown things out of proportion.
Thinking it over carefully—just how important were the horns to Ganyu?
And what sort of feeling and mood did being stroked there bring about?
Perhaps, were they like one's own limbs?
Or were they like certain important places on a girl, that mustn't be casually touched by others?
For him to do this without consent—it might truly have been going too far.
Just as he was preparing to apologize, Ganyu suddenly sat up.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"Eh?"
Ye Xi was rather taken aback. He hadn't expected Ganyu to beat him to the apology.
Ganyu lowered her head and stammered, "I... I mistook you for Cloud Retainer...."
"Now that you mention it, in your sleep-talk just now, you did seem to bring up Cloud Retainer too."
"Eh——!?"
Ye Xi's words made Ganyu feel even more mortified.
She'd actually been talking in her sleep!?
Say what you will, she was still an Adepti who had guarded Liyue for over three thousand years.
And yet here she was, talking in her sleep like a little child!
At this thought, Ganyu felt she could no longer face anyone!
Ye Xi, very curious, asked, "Ganyu, what does it feel like to have your horns stroked?"
After all, ordinary people didn't have horns, so they couldn't understand the sensation.
"It's just a... very comfortable... feeling."
Ganyu's pretty face flushed faintly as she answered in a small voice.
In truth, the reason she'd loved having Cloud Retainer stroke her horns as a child was that she'd been so reliant on Cloud Retainer.
And Cloud Retainer was very gentle, with an excellent touch.
She discovered that Ye Xi's stroking felt just as nice—exactly like Cloud Retainer.
Hearing this, Ye Xi's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile, "In that case, how about I give them another stroke?"
"Eh!?"
"N-no you can't..."
Ganyu hurriedly and bashfully guarded her two horns, twisting her head off to one side.
Seeing Ganyu's shy reaction, Ye Xi couldn't help but find it amusing.
In any case, he'd already gotten to touch them just now; he'd try again next time the chance arose.
Next up, it was the turn of the pink-furred fox's tail!
However, when he turned his head, he found that Yae Miko had already tucked her fox tail away.
She slowly sat up, stretched lazily, and said with a laugh, "Master Ye Xi, you'd actually go bullying Sister Ganyu—I'm on Sister Ganyu's side, you know."
"Oh?"
Ye Xi shot her a glance and said teasingly, "Not only am I going to stroke Ganyu's horns, I'm also going to rua your tail."
"Hurry up and let that tail out."
"No way~"
Yae Miko gave a hmph, then said with a sweet, narrow-eyed smile, "A fox's tail is not to be touched, you know~"
"I've only ever heard that a tiger's tail mustn't be touched. I've never heard that a fox won't let you touch hers."
However, with a single flit of her body, Yae Miko dodged away into the distance.
Seeing this, Ye Xi gave up on the idea.
After all, this little rascal couldn't run away for good anyway.
As they were talking, it seemed the effects of the Drowsy Black Tea had all worn off, for the girls were yawning and stretching, waking up one after another.
"Wowee! It really seems to work!"
Lumine rubbed her tummy. To Ye Xi's eyes, that already-flat curve hadn't changed in the slightest.
Yet Lumine happily marveled at the tea's effects.
Dehya nodded again and again too: "It really does work! My belly feels all empty!"
Hearing this, Ganyu also remembered the purpose of the black tea.
She hurriedly reached out and pinched her own little tummy—sure enough, it felt much smaller than before!
"Eh——!? R-really!"
Ganyu's face was full of pleasant surprise.
The thing she worried about most was gaining weight, so every meal she never dared eat much!
Either she forcibly endured her hunger, or she ate only until she was a few parts full!
But the Drowsy Black Tea Ye Xi had given her let her see hope!
If she could drink this every single day from now on, wouldn't that mean she could eat her fill every time!?
At this thought, she couldn't help but glance toward Ye Xi.
But just as she was about to speak, she discovered something very important!
On what grounds was she going to go asking Ye Xi for it?
Dehya and the others were all Ye Xi's wives; Ye Xi doted on his wives, so he shared all the good things with them.
But she wasn't his wife yet.
How could she keep taking advantage of someone like that?
She was an Adepti, after all—how could she be so shameless!
She absolutely had to give Ye Xi some benefit in return!
For the sake of her future freedom to eat as she pleased, she had to think this over carefully!
Ye Xi hadn't noticed anything off about Ganyu; instead he reproached them, "Didn't I tell you all? Drink it at night—why did you go drinking it in broad daylight?"
"I'd just come back, and saw you all sprawled out every which way on the floor—I thought robbers had broken into the house."
"There wasn't even one of you keeping watch. What if something had happened?"
At Ye Xi's words, the girls all lowered their heads at once.
Dehya was a bit puzzled: "Master, isn't it perfectly safe inside the Serenitea Pot...."
"Safe, you say?"
"Have you forgotten? Didn't we release quite a few animals into the mountain forest a while back?"
At the time, Ye Xi had had Dehya catch quite a few animals from Sumeru.
He'd even brought in some Spinecrest Crocodiles and Long-Maned Tigers.
This was to maintain the food chain.
If one let animals like the Mushroom Boars and wild hogs breed unchecked, they would breed to their hearts' content, free of all worries.
But without the presence of natural predators, there would arise many sickly, weak, old, and infirm variants.
Once those sickly, weak, old, and infirm ones fell ill, it would cause disease to spread, leading to large-scale die-offs, even extinction!
But with hunters around, these animals could be kept within a balanced number.
Not only that—with natural predators about, these prey would grow more vigorous, and their meat would be of better quality too.
Otherwise it would all be fatty grease, not the least bit tasty.
Hearing Ye Xi's words, only then did Dehya recall that matter!
Although the mountain forest where the animals dwelt was very far from the little villa, it couldn't be ruled out that a Spinecrest Crocodile or a Long-Maned Tiger might come over!
If, while they were asleep, those dangerous animals barged in, things would be terrible!
At this thought, Dehya lowered her head: "I'm sorry, Master... I was the first to take the lead..."
She fought back her tears, her heart filled with nothing but self-reproach!
If an accident really had occurred, she would be the guilty one!
Dehya said earnestly, "Master, please punish me! Discipline me with the most severe family rules!"
"How can you do that!"
Dunyarzad shielded Dehya behind her and said firmly, "Master, punish me too! I'm an accomplice as well!"
Lumine nodded in agreement too.
Alusha spoke up, "Since everyone drank it, then everyone shares the responsibility!"
"I was the last one to drink, so by rights I should have been responsible for staying behind to protect everyone!"
"But I didn't consider the danger, so—Master, please punish me!"
Seeing the girls all sharing in adversity together, Ye Xi let out a helpless sigh.
"Fine, fine—when I have the time, I'll reinforce the courtyard so those animals can't get through, and that'll be that."
"However, Dehya and Alusha, you two come find me tonight."
"I'll have to punish you properly, so you learn your lesson!"
The moment he said this, Dehya and Alusha's eyes immediately lit up.
"Wonderful~ Thank you, Master!"
"I... I'm ready right now!"
The two girls wore expressions as though they'd received a reward, which made Ye Xi's vision go black.
Lumine put her hands on her hips: "How can you reward them! Then I want in too!"
Dunyarzad hurriedly nodded, her eyes brimming with hope.
Ye Xi: ....
"You few, just you wait for tonight—see if I don't give you all a proper lesson."
Seeing Alusha wearing a dazed, dreamy look, as if she wanted to be punished right now, Ye Xi hurriedly added, "As for right now, there's still serious business!"
With that, he looked toward Yae Miko, who was gloating off to the side, and said, "The cruiser is about to set off for Inazuma—we need to get aboard the ship."
Hearing Ye Xi's words, Yae Miko lightly covered her little mouth and laughed, "Oh my my~ Master, it's perfectly fine for you to deal with the matter at hand first~ There's no rush!"
Watching the amusing goings-on within this big family, she found it all very entertaining.
Especially Ye Xi's current awkward state—where rewarding wouldn't do and punishing wouldn't do either—it was even better than a light novel!
They'd clearly committed a mistake, yet the girls were so eagerly looking forward to the punishment.
She'd thought they'd be subjected to family discipline, but then came a sudden reversal, and the mood turned charmingly amorous.
She so looked forward to seeing just how explosive the coming plot would be!
Ye Xi's face was full of speechlessness.
Upon noticing the seriousness in Ye Xi's eyes, only then did Yae Miko put away her playful heart and hurriedly agree, "Alright, alright, alright—whatever you say, Master, I'll just listen."
"Are we setting off right now~?"
Ye Xi took the beast meat of the sea beast out of his portable space and nodded, "Once I've put it in the refrigerator, we'll set off."
"Ya! Isn't this a sea beast from the waters near Inazuma?"
As an Inazuman, how could Yae Miko fail to recognize this sort of thing?
These sea beasts were always attacking passing ships, and had at one point become a headache for the Tenryou Commission.
Moreover, these creatures were extremely difficult to deal with.
On the water's surface, people had a hard time bringing their combat strength to bear—even youkai were no exception.
And so, these sea beasts were quite rampant.
"Master, did you just casually take care of one?"
Ye Xi said with a smile, "To be precise, I casually took care of a few hundred."
"A few hundred!?"
Yae Miko was startled.
Ye Xi briefly recounted the situation he'd encountered aboard the ship, and Yae Miko was quite astonished.
She'd never imagined that the giant ship Ye Xi had made would be so sturdy.
Over a hundred sea beasts attacking at once, yet they couldn't budge the giant ship in the slightest—instead, they knocked themselves out cold.
".... As expected of Master Ye Xi, truly amazing~!"
She hurriedly clapped her little hands, her heart filling with even greater anticipation for Ye Xi's ship.
Once Ye Xi came back from the kitchen and gave the girls a few instructions, he took Yae Miko and headed out the door.
...
Aboard the cruiser.
After the salvage work was completed, the cruiser once again set off toward Inazuma.
On the deck, stretching a full hundred meters long, everyone had set up cookfires, eating and drinking wine as they celebrated this victory.
It was just that, amid the celebrating crowd, a rumor was quietly spreading.
"Did you hear? Our Big Sis has already moved in together with Master Ye Xi!"
"What!? Is it true or not!?"
"I heard someone saw with their own eyes Master Ye Xi coming out of Big Sis's room!"
"Hiss... could it be that last night they...."
"How wonderful! Big Sis is so dashing, and that Master Ye Xi is so handsome—a match made in heaven!"
"I'd say that, personality-wise, they might not be a great match, but that's not a problem at all—everyone's happy!"
"Our fleet's really going to prosper now!"
"Enough talk—cheers, cheers!"
"..."
Beidou, drinking up in a high spot, didn't hear the whispers among the crowd.
She merely gazed at the distant sea, remembering those who had lost their lives upon the ocean.
Just then, Ye Xi and Yae Miko stepped out of the elevator from the captain's quarters.
"Beidou, started drinking already?"
Hearing Ye Xi's voice, Beidou turned and said with a smile, "Master, Miko, this wine is for you."
"We're about to arrive!"
Learning that Beidou was throwing a victory feast, Yae Miko took the wine flask and had a sip, then sighed, "Once we reach Inazuma in a little while, I'll have someone bring you a couple of flasks of the sake from my private collection to taste."
"Hahaha, then I'll obey rather than be polite!"
At this moment, the sailors and crew down below all noticed the figures of Ye Xi and Yae Miko up in the high spot.
This left quite a few of them startled.
"Is that... Inazuma's Guuji Yae!?"
"Didn't she leave yesterday after supervising us loading the cargo? How is she here!"
"The brothers all checked before we set off—Master Ye Xi and that Guuji Yae were both absent at the time, so how come they've both turned up on the ship now?"
"If it's just that Master Ye Xi slept in Big Sis's room, fine—but don't tell me this Guuji Yae too...."
"Hiss...."
Thinking of this conclusion, everyone couldn't help but draw in a cold breath.
They had originally held Ye Xi in deep admiration, but at this moment their hearts were filled with envy!
"In other words, last night, that Guuji Yae and Big Sis, together with Master Ye Xi...."
"Don't say it! I'm so jealous!"
"To be able to spend the night with two such beautiful women, even just for one night—I'd feel my life had no regrets!"
"Master Ye Xi's life is just like my dream!"
For a moment, everyone's heart couldn't help but turn sour with envy.
In truth, whether it was Beidou or Yae Miko, having even one of them was already enough to make people envious.
But Ye Xi possessed both in a single night, enjoying the attentions of two women at once.
It was truly enough to make others die of envy!
One could say that, envying neither mandarin ducks nor immortals, they envied Ye Xi every single day!
Just as everyone was chattering away in discussion, the helmsman in the bridge tower had, through the porthole, already caught sight of Inazuma's coastline.
"Big Sis, we're about to reach the Ritou docks!"
Hearing this shout, Beidou rose to her feet and gazed off toward Inazuma.
Yae Miko looked at Mt. Yougou gradually appearing in her line of sight, and softly let out a sigh: "We've finally come back, Ei."
....
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