Sumeru, Gandharva Ville.
Several empty cans and instant noodle cups lay scattered on the table.
Paimon lay sprawled in a chair, patting her stomach. "That was sooo good…"
Lumine stared at her, speechless. "You just ate three cups."
Collei gathered up the trash, still amazed.
Three cups of noodles were a stretch even for her and Lumine combined—but Paimon was tiny. Where did it all go?
Maybe her stomach had a pocket dimension inside.
"I could still eat more," Paimon said proudly. "But I don't wanna look greedy on the first day meeting new friends, so I'll stop for now."
Collei smiled. "If you're still hungry, I have more noodles. I can make you two extra cups."
Paimon's eyes sparkled—but after a moment, she shook her head. "No, if I eat too much at once, I might get tired of it. Gotta savor it!"
Collei nodded thoughtfully. "You should've gone to Mondstadt a while ago."
"Huh?"
"They held a big eating contest during the Windblume Festival. Free entry, and you could eat as much as you wanted."
"!!!"
Free. Eat as much as you want.
Paimon froze, face blank with regret—like she'd just lost a million Mora.
"Traveler! I told you we should've gone to the Windblume Festival!"
"You literally said you didn't want to!"
"Waaah! My eating contest!"
"Alright, alright! Next time, promise!"
"Waaahhhh!"
"Stop pouting. Once we reach Sumeru City, I'll treat you to a proper meal."
"You mean it? Hehe!"
Lumine sighed. "You're gonna make me take more commissions again…"
"Don't worry! I'll help you!"
Watching the two banter, Collei couldn't help but smile wistfully.
She'd spent most of her life wandering alone. If she'd had a companion like Paimon back then, maybe those days wouldn't have felt so cold.
But...
Her gaze fell to the empty noodle cups in her hands.
Paimon could eat this much—while back then, Collei had nearly starved, catching fireflies just to survive. Even if she'd had a partner like that, could she have afforded to feed them?
She threw away the trash and poured hot water into the teapot.
It wasn't local Sumeru tea, but the rare [Silver Dew].
Lumine took a sip and blinked as clarity washed over her mind. "This tea... it's incredible."
Paimon nodded in awe. "It's even better than the tea at Qiaoying Village!"
Collei smiled softly. "Mr. Xia gave it to me. I don't have much else to offer, so I thought I'd share it with you."
Lumine smiled warmly. "That's really kind of you, Collei."
"Yeah!" Paimon chimed in. "If Tighnari hadn't taken us in, the Traveler would still be lying in the forest right now!"
After chatting for a bit and finishing their tea, Collei grabbed her ranger gear and headed for the door.
On the way out, she ran into Lumine and Paimon.
"Going somewhere?" Paimon asked.
"Patrol duty," Collei said quietly.
"Patrol?" Lumine tilted her head.
"I'll be checking the nearby forests—clearing out monsters, helping travelers who might be lost."
"Oh! That's how Tighnari found us, right?" Paimon said.
Collei nodded. "Exactly."
"Then can we come with you?" Lumine asked suddenly.
Collei hesitated. "With you... your body—"
"I'm fine," Lumine said firmly. "I want to see if I can handle the scent of the forest plants now, or if I'll still pass out."
After a moment, Collei nodded. "Alright."
"Yay! Let's go right now!" Paimon cheered.
"You two can get ready first," Collei said.
"No need! We're always ready!"
"Then I'll just stop by my teacher's place for today's route map."
"We'll go with you!"
At Tighnari's treehouse, Collei knocked and explained.
He opened the door, handed her a hand-drawn map, then glanced at Lumine and Paimon in surprise. "You two are joining her?"
Lumine nodded. "Yeah. Since we're staying here, we want to help however we can."
Tighnari frowned slightly. "Your hearts are in the right place, but today's route is long—and there's a chance you'll run into those things."
Collei straightened up. "Don't worry, Master. I'll protect them."
Tighnari thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Then go south instead. Patrol the outskirts of Gandharva Ville. I'll handle that route myself. And if you've got the stamina, clean the Statue of the Seven while you're at it."
Seeing his serious face, Collei quietly handed the map back. "Understood, Master."
Lumine watched, a question forming in her mind.
Those things... what did he mean by that?
Beasts? Monsters? Or something else entirely—something even Tighnari didn't think they could handle?
---
Inazuma, Grand Narukami Shrine.
That morning, Xia Zhi was walking through the shrine grounds when he saw Madame Ping standing under a cherry tree, holding a small ornate box and carefully placing petals inside.
He approached curiously. "Madame Ping."
"Oh, Mr. Xia."
"Collecting cherry blossoms?"
"Yes—but not exactly."
"Oh?"
"The sakura here in Inazuma are especially lovely. And among them, none are more fragrant than those at Grand Narukami Shrine. I thought I'd collect a few seeds to plant inside my Serenitea Pot."
"I see. But that box you're using—looks like it only has petals, no seeds."
"This little thing is called the Seed-Converting Box. I used it many years ago when transplanting flowers. The blossoms kept inside could stay fresh for ages—and the box could even transform them into seeds. Quite convenient for replanting. It doesn't work as well as it used to, but it still retains some Seed Conversion ability."
"Seed Conversion?"
Xia Zhi looked at the box, intrigued.
"If it can do that, why not try it on petals from the Sacred Sakura Tree?"
"I already have. But for some reason, the Seed-Converting Box doesn't react to them."
"I see…"
He fell into thought.
Maybe the Sacred Sakura's quality was simply too high for the artifact to process.
But what if he [Evolved] it? If he raised the box's quality to match the tree's, could it then transform a petal into a true seed?
And if he took that seed back five hundred years...
Could it be that he was the one who'd planted the very tree standing here now?
"Madame Ping," he said, "may I borrow this for a while?"
She blinked, then smiled. "Of course."
"Thank you."
"But I have a small request in return."
"Oh?"
"I'd like to hear you play and sing in person—just once. The same song Cloud Retainer sent me last time. Would that be alright?"
----
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