"I've got it! That woman must be your brother's wife—your sister-in-law!"
Paimon suddenly smacked her fist into her palm, clearly arriving at the same conclusion as Lumine.
From the conversation they'd just heard, the two of them were sleeping in the same place.
Wasn't that proof enough of their relationship?
"Yeah… I didn't expect Miss Noelle to actually guess it right."
Lumine's expression turned a little strange.
She remembered how, earlier, Noelle had joked:
Maybe you haven't found your brother because he already settled down and started a family.
At the time, everyone had thought she was kidding.
But now—the most ridiculous possibility had turned out to be the truth.
Ridiculous beyond belief.
"Uh… I—I didn't expect it either!"
Seeing both girls look at her, Noelle scratched her head sheepishly.
She had heard the call just now too.
Who would've thought that a casual joke would come true?
Could it be… I have the talent of a prophet?!
Noelle wondered silently.
Meanwhile, behind the counter,
Han Feng couldn't help but smile inwardly.
Well, the big brother-in-law is never going to clear his name now.
He recognized that female voice immediately.
It was Dainsleif.
Clearly, the big brother-in-law hadn't returned to the Abyss Order, but had gone to stay at Dainsleif's place instead.
As for the "playing all night" part—that was easy to explain.
They had probably just been wandering around Mondstadt.
Which meant they had only recently fallen asleep.
And because he was still groggy when answering the call,
Aether had instinctively spoken in his normal voice instead of disguising it.
Otherwise,
Lumine wouldn't have recognized him so easily.
"Alright, that stuff doesn't matter anymore. Paimon, let's go take photos of buildings!"
Lumine said with a smile.
Whether her brother had found a wife or not—as long as he was safe, she could relax.
And after that, she could stay at the manga shop with complete peace of mind.
She then took out the Anywhere Door, waved goodbye to Han Feng, and stepped through first.
"Okay!"
Paimon nodded.
A Reminder from the Boss
"Hold on, little one. Aren't you going to finish your manga?"
Han Feng tapped Paimon lightly on the head.
He hadn't received any notification that she had finished reading.
He had assumed she came over just to see Lumine's reward—but from the looks of it, she was planning to give up entirely.
"Boss, that manga is way too complicated. It makes my head hurt just thinking about it."
At the memory of the story, Paimon clutched her forehead.
Her little brain was only suited for simple stuff.
"If you stop now, you won't get a reward—and you'll owe me four conditions."
Han Feng reminded her.
"Ah, it's no big deal! Boss, just tell me what you want when the time comes. I'll be there on call!"
Paimon puffed out her chest confidently.
Han Feng raised an eyebrow.
Well now.
They say debtors act like kings—and with that attitude, you'd think he was the one who owed her four favors.
Or maybe…
she had completely given up.
I'll need to find an opportunity to properly 'educate' her later, he thought.
Let her understand that owing me conditions isn't so easy.
"Alright then, go join Lumine."
Han Feng said with a gentle smile.
"Hehe, bye, Boss!"
Paimon waved excitedly,
then dove straight into the Anywhere Door Lumine had opened.
Noelle watched the door disappear and sighed.
"Sigh… Paimon is probably going to have a rough time later."
She had just seen that smile on Han Feng's face.
As the saying went:
When the boss smiles, fate becomes unpredictable.
Not life-and-death, of course—but definitely some suffering ahead.
Meanwhile — Somewhere in Mondstadt
Inside a certain room, a man and a woman lay asleep on separate beds.
They were none other than Aether and Dainsleif, who had returned from a nightclub earlier that morning.
As for the Abyss Mage,
Aether had sent it back to the Abyss Order to report that everything was fine.
Because they had drunk too much the night before, and stayed up all night dancing and relaxing, the two of them had let their guard down.
Suddenly—
Aether's eyes snapped open.
He sat upright in bed.
"Did I just hear Lumine's voice?"
His brows furrowed.
While half-asleep, he vaguely remembered hearing a persistent ringing sound.
Annoyed, he had answered it— and thought he heard Lumine calling him.
Then Dainsleif woke up
and smashed the object.
Thinking about it, Aether got up and searched the room.
But he found no broken fragments anywhere.
"Was I… dreaming?"
He began to doubt himself.
"You're awake? Not going back to sleep?"
Dainsleif rubbed her eyes and sat up.
Perhaps because she had been acting as a young woman for several days, she was now sitting in a duck-sitting posture.
Combined with her just-awakened, youthful appearance, she looked surprisingly cute.
Aether couldn't help glancing at her twice.
"Ah, nothing. Just had a dream, so I woke up."
He laughed it off.
"Dreaming means you really relaxed last night."
Dainsleif smiled.
"Yeah. That nightclub was genuinely relaxing."
At the mention of last night,
Aether nodded enthusiastically.
Moving his body to the rhythm of the music, letting his mind unwind—it had felt amazing.
He now felt completely refreshed.
The heavy pressure that had weighed on him before was gone.
A Dangerous Suggestion
"In that case… why not let your subordinates go to the nightclub and relax too?"
Seeing how comfortable Aether looked,
Dainsleif's eyes flickered.
He brought up the idea he had been planning since last night.
"Let them relax too?"
Aether froze for a moment, then fell into thought.
He didn't realize there was another motive behind the suggestion.
He simply assumed it was kindness.
"That's not a bad idea. They've fought alongside me for years and carried heavy burdens. Letting them relax once in a while makes sense."
He agreed.
But soon, his expression tightened.
"However, if the Abyss Order sends that many people into Mondstadt and clashes with the Knights of Favonius, that would be troublesome."
It wasn't that he feared the Knights.
Rather—his future brother-in-law's manga shop was nearby.
He didn't want to disturb it because of this.
"No problem. Just communicate with the Knights of Favonius first."
Dainsleif offered calmly.
"I'm sure they don't want conflict either."
"That makes sense. Then let's go now."
Aether thought it over and nodded.
Earlier, the Knights had released the Abyss Mage, which probably meant they were already considering peaceful coexistence.
"I'll go with you."
Dainsleif stood up.
To ensure his plan succeeded, he intended to follow the process personally.
He had even made up his mind:
If the Knights refused because of the Stormterror incident—he would offer up his White Handkerchief reward if necessary.
No matter the cost, he was determined to drag the Abyss Order into the nightclub scene.
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