On the morning after returning to Liyue Harbor, Lumine and Paimon once again made their way to the Northland Bank, perched atop the extraordinary covered walkway in the harbor. They soon met the Fatui Harbinger who had been waiting for them for quite some time—"Childe."
"Childe!"
"Our guests are here."
"Please, have a seat."
"You two catch up. I'll have someone bring some tea and pastries."
Nadia, a Fatui guard at the Northland Bank, led Lumine and Paimon into Childe's office. After ushering them inside, she left without waiting for the Harbinger to tell her to go, thoughtfully closing the office door behind her and the three people within.
"Oh, it's you two?"
"Welcome, welcome!"
"It's been a few days. You both look like you've lost some weight. So, how did the trip go?"
When he saw Lumine and Paimon, Childe didn't immediately ask about their quest to seek out the adepti. Instead, he first checked in on how they were doing.
Of course, whether he was genuinely concerned or simply making a habitual, insincere greeting was a matter of opinion.
"Mm."
"It was all right?"
Lumine pressed her lips together and gave a casual reply, glancing around as if her mind were elsewhere.
"What do you mean, 'all right'?"
"Hmph!"
"We're not all right at all!"
At that, Paimon began complaining loudly, without the slightest courtesy.
"Do you have any idea?"
"The roads in Jueyun Karst were so hard to travel! There weren't even any roads at all. Seeking out the adepti nearly killed us!"
"There were all sorts of dangerous monsters and terrifying Hilichurls. If Lumine weren't pretty capable, we probably wouldn't have made it back."
"And another thing!"
"We were running around for almost a month! We're exhausted! We did you such a huge favor—aren't you going