Everyone at Lucian's home turned their attention to Yelan. They had to admit, the illustration was spot-on, with the only difference being her attire.
Since this was just a casual gathering and not a mission, Yelan was dressed more casually, giving off a "girl-next-door" vibe.
Next to her, Yanfei was also dressed casually, exuding a "little sister next door" feel.
Add in Xianyun, the glasses-wearing matron, and the neighborly trio was complete.
Yelan herself was somewhat helpless about Lucian exposing her appearance. She was a covert operative—how could her secrets be revealed like this?
But it was fine. Yelan usually operated in disguise, so revealing her true appearance wasn't a big deal.
[Yanfei introduced to the Traveler: "This is Yelan, from Liyue… Hmm, can I say you work for the Ministry of Civil Affairs? Anyway, she's a friend of mine."]
This was the first time readers saw Yelan's full face. She had appeared before, but Lucian either didn't draw illustrations or only showed her mouth.
Even when her mouth was shown last time, readers didn't recognize her as Yelan, as they'd never seen her before and couldn't make the connection.
Yanfei's words were intriguing. The two knew each other, and Yelan worked for the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Could she be related to law enforcement? Perhaps an investigator?
Yelan was here on business, tasked with monitoring the Chasm.
By protocol, she should have been "shadowing" them closely, but Yelan had other pressing matters. Plus, trusting the Traveler and Yanfei, she decided to let them be.
[Yelan: "Do as you please, just don't cause any major disturbances."]
Readers exclaimed, "Oh, come on!" Wherever the Traveler went, when was it not a major disturbance?
Yanfei, however, didn't want Yelan to leave just yet. She wanted her help and directly asked her to stay.
[Yelan smiled: "Asking for my help requires some sincerity."]
Speaking of sincerity, would lying on the ground and showing her belly be enough?
Whether that kind of sincerity would suffice was unclear, but for these two, a good cup of tea was enough.
Yanfei offered to treat her to tea, and Yelan agreed to help. She asked Yanfei about her purpose here and what assistance she needed.
This made Arataki Itto anxious. What's going on? I offer to help, and you avoid me like the plague. She's busy, yet you actively seek her help?
This sense of disparity made him consider quitting the team! We can't stay in the Arataki Gang forever like this!
Arataki Itto looked at Yanfei with a resentful expression, putting immense pressure on her.
Yanfei explained, "How should I put it? It's like being stared at pitifully by a big golden retriever."
She clarified: "It's because I don't know Itto's strength. This matter seems dangerous—how could I casually trouble you?"
"If I got you into danger, I'd feel terrible!"
In the timeline without the prophetic book, she genuinely didn't know Itto's strength. After all, she didn't even know him before he started clinging to her.
Arataki Itto reluctantly accepted this excuse, patting his chest and saying: "Your big bro here is super strong. Next time you're in trouble, you gotta let me help! Hahaha!"
"Next time, definitely." Yanfei had learned this phrase from Lucian.
After all, when Lucian said "next time, definitely," there was usually no next time.
Back to the story, Yelan was about to ask Yanfei about her issue when she was interrupted by a loud voice.
[Arataki Itto shouted: "Hey! You guys!"]
In the illustration, Yelan looked up, her eyes slightly widening, her expression showing a rare hint of surprise.
Not just her—Paimon was surprised too. Why was Itto back?
[Itto complained: "So that's how it is! You deliberately sent me away, huh? Lumine, why aren't you siding with your bro?"]
It seemed he had trusted his "bro" and headed in the direction Lumine pointed, but halfway there, his beast-like instincts kicked in, and he circled back.
Lumine didn't side with her bro—Lumine's bad! Prioritizing romance over friendship!
Wait, no, Lumine's a girl, so prioritizing romance should mean siding with Itto…
Scratch that, a different excuse… Maybe Teyvat is round, so Lumine's direction wasn't wrong—it just required a longer detour. Call it exercise, Magellan Itto.
Regardless of the excuse, Itto didn't make things hard for the Traveler. After all, both sides were Lumine's friends, and she was in a tough spot.
But as Itto tried to approach, Yelan stopped him.
[Yelan said calmly: "Sorry, this is a restricted area of the Chasm. Outsiders, please halt."]
Readers suddenly remembered that the Chasm was only open in its shallow layers. Everyone's appearance here felt so natural that they almost thought it was fully open.
By all accounts, no one should be in a place like this.
Yet, in this desolate, birdless, trackless wasteland, they had all naturally gathered together. What kind of "coincidence" was this?
It was precisely because of this place's sensitivity that Yanfei kept rejecting Itto, trying to shake him off.
Unfortunately, Itto, the Bull Chucker, was as sticky as taffy. No amount of rejection worked.
You thought you were accepting help from just anyone? This is help from a Taurus Iracundus! My constellation says I'm destined to help you!
Itto was impressive, tailing a female lawyer all the way here, and she couldn't do anything about it. Talk about turning the tables—how could she, when his intentions were genuinely good?
But Yelan didn't know Itto. She was fine with Lumine and Yanfei; they were well-known, and she trusted them.
But who was this Arataki Itto? Even if you had eight buckets of talent, I wouldn't know you. Where did this foreigner come from?
[Yelan said: "The Traveler has helped Liyue many times, and Yanfei is a renowned legal consultant in Liyue. I trust their positions and actions, so I haven't stopped you from moving around here. As for these two…"]
Yelan's meaning was clear. She didn't know Itto and couldn't ascertain his intentions, so she couldn't let him roam freely.
Fair enough—who could imagine Itto was that simple, coming to a classified area with no ulterior motives, his mind solely focused on repaying a favor?
But Yelan's words revealed something: she had significant autonomy within the Ministry of Civil Affairs, piquing readers' curiosity about her identity.
The Chasm's interior was highly confidential, yet Yelan had the authority to tacitly allow others to operate here without reporting to the Qixing. Her power was considerable.
At this point, readers didn't yet know that Yelan was—
"The cases the Millelith can't crack, I'll crack."
"The matters the Millelith dare to handle, I'll handle. The matters they don't dare touch, I'll handle even more!"
"Act first, report later, with imperial privilege!" That's Yelan!
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Yelan: About Itto
"A brainless fool is, ironically, harder to see through when it comes to his 'secrets.'"