Yuna, Lumine, and Paimon had been busy for only a short while when Ei finally appeared. Upon seeing Ei, Yae Miko immediately rose from her seat, grabbed the small cake she had been resisting eating, and hurried over.
"Ei, come quickly! Yuna made this cake herself~"
Ei had initially spotted Lumine and Paimon and was about to greet them, but Yae Miko's invitation drew her attention. She nodded briefly at Lumine before turning to follow Yae Miko.
Yae Miko chose a lush patch of grass, spread out a cloth, and knelt down gracefully.
"Yuna made this herself?" Ei's eyes lit up, remembering the delicious cake she had enjoyed a few days prior. Her anticipation grew.
Yae Miko grinned mischievously as she unwrapped the cake and arranged it on the cloth. She suddenly produced a small bamboo knife. Just as she was about to slice into the cake's "head," Ei's hand shot out and gripped her wrist.
Ei glared at Yae Miko with a dangerous glint in her eyes, while Yae Miko spread her hands in mock surrender.
"This was made by Yuna, a gift from her. What's wrong, Ei? Don't you want to try it?"
Yuna, who was still cooking, froze in shock: ?!
Ei withdrew her hand and shot Yae Miko a sharp glare.
"Oh my, our Lady Electro Archon shouldn't look at me like that—it's quite intimidating, you know~"
Yae Miko set the small cake aside and picked up another one.
"Hmm, take a look at these two and tell me which we should eat first. We can't skip either, you know. Pre-dinner dessert is very important!"
Hearing this, Yuna immediately untied her apron. "Lumine, Paimon, carry on without me. I just remembered there are some drinks outside the tenshukaku I forgot to bring in."
Without waiting for Lumine or Paimon to react, Yuna dashed out like a bolt of lightning.
Yae Miko and Ei watched Yuna's hasty departure with puzzled expressions. However, this didn't stop Yae Miko from unwrapping the second cake.
Once the packaging was open, Yae Miko finally understood why Yuna had fled.
This cake wasn't the Raiden Shogun at all—it was Yae Miko herself!
Beside her stood a pink-haired fox with its paws on its hips.
Veins throbbed on Yae Miko's forehead, forming a tic-tac-toe grid.
How dare she make the wise and beautiful Yae Miko look like this?!
It might be cute, but it utterly failed to capture her majestic presence.
"Ahem," Yae Miko cleared her throat. "Let's just forget about this one and eat the Raiden Cake instead."
She reached for the Raiden Cake, only to find that Ei had already taken the Yae Miko Cake. Ei was also holding a small bamboo knife identical to the one Yae Miko had been using earlier.
Yae Miko glanced beside her—sure enough, her knife was gone.
No matter.
She produced another bamboo knife and pressed it against the Raiden Cake's head. "Ei, let's eat this one instead."
"No," Ei countered. "I think the pink one will be sweeter."
As she spoke, Ei had already made a small cut. Yae Miko's eyes widened, and she retaliated with her own cut.
The two gradually increased their pressure, splitting the cake in half. Crimson "blood" oozed from the cut surface.
"Wow, Lumine, that's brutal!" Paimon exclaimed.
Lumine facepalmed. Who was the one who bit off half the "Shogun's" head in one bite earlier? And who kept raving about how delicious the jam was?
By the time Yuna returned, Yae Miko and Ei were obediently eating their little cakes.
Seeing that neither Ei nor Yae Miko seemed inclined to cause her trouble, Yuna breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Now, she felt that, aside from her Second Sister, Yae Miko seemed quite terrifying as well...
With Yuna's help, the meal was quickly prepared.
The five of them sat on a blanket spread across the grass, enjoying their hard-earned feast.
Ei, with her sweet tooth, had been treated to Yuna's specialty: Tri-Color Dango, and Ice Cream. Naturally, Yae Miko's favorite Fried Tofu was also included.
Lumine and Paimon were much simpler; they weren't picky at all and loved everything Yuna cooked.
Ei ate slowly, her expression softening from its earlier sternness. Looking at the four people before her, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if she had been transported back hundreds of years.
"Ei, Yae Miko, I have something very important to tell you both," Lumine said, breaking the silence after a few bites.
At her words, Ei, Yae Miko, and Yuna all turned to look at her. Even Paimon, who had been stuffing her face relentlessly, paused her gluttonous feast.
Lumine took a deep breath and recounted the events that had unfolded in Liyue during the Lantern Rite.
Yuna had heard the story before, but hearing it again still left her shaken.
Ei set down her Tri-Color Dango. "So that's what happened," she said. "I sensed Morax's movement the moment he acted, but I never imagined the truth was like this."
Hearing about the invasion, Ei's brow furrowed slightly.
Yae Miko: "No wonder my eyelid kept twitching for a while before this happened. I thought something was about to happen in Inazuma again, but it turns out it was Liyue."
The Abyss's invasion of Liyue was a major incident. After all, the Seven Nations were ostensibly allies, so it was natural for her eyelid to twitch.
Lumine: "Before that Abyss monster died, we learned something crucial: the Abyss seems to be collecting Pure Souls. Their goals are far more complex than we initially thought. They've already succeeded in Mondstadt and Liyue, having collected two souls so far..."
As Lumine spoke, her expression darkened, and Paimon grew visibly angry.
Ei: "Pure Souls?"
Yae Miko had already told Ei about the events in Mondstadt. Combined with the Traveler's account of recent developments in Liyue, Ei and Yae Miko fell into deep thought.
What use could the Abyss possibly have for Pure Souls?!
Lumine: "Though that Abyss monster has been defeated, there's no guarantee they don't have stronger forces. They can resurrect dead Gods, and these resurrected Gods are mindless puppets, but their power is immense—even greater than when they were alive!
"They can even trigger Abyss surges, summoning monsters to invade directly. This is extremely dangerous! You must remain vigilant!"
Ei nodded solemnly. "Traveler, thank you for telling us this."
Lumine shrugged. "Even if I hadn't told you, you would have found out eventually."
Yae Miko pondered for a moment, then said, "If we could find someone with a Pure Soul as you describe, we should protect them..."
The Abyss's motives remain unknown, but they certainly don't bode well.
Lumine recalled Streetward Rambler's theory and explained, "Those with Pure Souls possess an extraordinary purity of heart. They're incapable of harboring malicious intentions and can get along well with everyone around them..."
"Moreover, based on the previous two individuals with Pure Souls, they likely share the same birthday, and their Vision elements are probably different as well..."
Lumine shared her speculations, emphasizing that they were merely hypotheses, not certainties.
"Same birthday?" Yuna asked. "What date is it?"
"November 11th," Lumine replied.
Yuna immediately spat out the fruit juice she had just taken a sip of, quickly turning her head to avoid spraying Yae Miko.
Ei, Yae Miko, Lumine, and Paimon all stared at her.
Yuna timidly raised her hand. "Uh... my birthday is November 11th..."