A gift in return

How strange...

It was only a simple hug.

It was only the most ordinary gesture, a... "cheap" hug she could seemingly get whenever she wanted. Why did it matter so much?

Lumine gazed dazedly at Gabrielina's back. In the faint morning light, her outline blurred in the glow, stray strands of hair draped over her wings, and every downy feather seemed to breathe in the sunlight.

Hazy and unreal, like an unforgettable dream.

Gradually, a smile crept onto the girl's lips.

Why?

Perhaps because I really liked it...

I really, really liked being in her arms. I couldn't give any specific reason... but I just loved it.

I loved her beautiful, rainbow-colored hair.

I loved her feathers, always so warm and soft.

I loved the reassuring smile in those golden eyes.

And most of all... I loved last night's hug.

Hmm... though she really held me far too tightly, and her movements were downright stiff.

Those slender arms pressed so firmly against my back, as though she wanted to knead me right into her body.

If the full score was ten, then... I'd give her a 9.9! She'd have to keep trying next time.

"Pfft..."

"Uh... what is it, Lumine?"

Gabrielina turned toward her, looking thoroughly puzzled. Lumine did not answer, merely pressing her lips together and shaking her head. She took two light, jogging steps around the Angel, then turned to face her with her hands behind her back and began walking backward.

Gabrielina was a forceful person with a mind of her own. She possessed tremendous power and was the center of everyone's attention. She never had to concern herself with others' gazes when she spoke or acted, much less blindly follow their opinions...

But Lumine was an exception.

All she had to do was show a little vulnerability-emotions like "fear," "hurt," or "I'm scared"-and Gabrielina would embrace her without hesitation.

She had first begun noticing the signs not long ago, and last night had confirmed it completely, although... that really had been an accident.

Lumine did not know what made her worthy of being Gabrielina's "exception."

Lumine had no way of knowing what Gabrielina had felt last night.

But to her, it had felt as though, just when the whole world had turned its back, someone had suddenly stood against the light and remained steadfastly at her side.

Hmm... all right, there was Paimon too, but she was sleeping so soundly that none of it woke her.

What had she said back then?

"Please place your trust in me."

Those words echoed in her ears as though spoken right beside her, soft and gentle as murmurs in a dream.

How was anyone supposed to refuse... a request like that...?

Even now, the girl could still recall those eyes, their glittering gold like two stars in the darkness.

Yet the more that steadfastness warmed her, the more Lumine could not help wondering...

Had I looked pathetic to her then?

Selfishly taking my own weakness out on someone else... she said she was "very happy," but anyone would feel burdened by someone relying on them so emotionally, wouldn't they? How could I have done something like that...?

How hopeless...

Remembering the brief flash of surprise in those golden eyes when she had put her arms around Gabrielina's waist that morning, Lumine felt her face grow hot again. She stole a glance at Gabrielina's face, and upon finding that she was not watching her, simply turned away.

Her ears seemed to buzz, and a cherry-red flush spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. It almost felt as though a puff of white steam would rise from the top of her head with a little hiss.

For that very reason, she also missed the relieved exhalation behind her.

After a long while, her restless heartbeat finally settled. And the question she had been turning over all this time finally seemed to have an answer.

It was... a gift in return.

Yes, that brief hug I had initiated was a gift in return, a response to last night.

She wanted to become friends with Gabrielina who could talk about anything and understand each other's hearts. She wanted them to be inseparably close... not in that sense, of course.

That was why she had done something so "overstepping." She did not want the feelings and warmth of last night to vanish from the time they spent together, from their future meetings.

If she did nothing... both Gabrielina and she would surely be left with a soft thorn in their hearts.

That soft thorn might disappear very soon, or it might stay with them for a lifetime.

At some unknown moment, it would rise from the depths of their hearts and lodge in their throats, choking back so many things they should have said.

Lumine did not want a day to come when being with Gabrielina felt awkward, or even agonizing. Nor did she want Gabrielina to feel the same about her. She simply did not.

And so, without any hesitation, she had instinctively reached out with both hands.

"Really just friends?"

Yes...

"I'm not so sure."

"Huh?"

Lumine whipped her head around, but behind her there was only the grassy slope brushed by a gentle breeze, and Gabrielina looking at her with her head tilted.

That voice just now...

"Why are you so jumpy?" Gabrielina came closer and asked with concern, "We're not far from the place Diluc mentioned. Want to stop and rest for a bit?"

"Mm... let's finish this sooner. We shouldn't keep Acting Grand Master Jean and the others waiting too long."

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl took Gabrielina by the wrist and continued running down the valley.

Dadaupa Gorge lay nestled among the mountains in southwestern Mondstadt.

According to Diluc's information, an ancient seal lay deep within the lake at the bottom of the gorge, very likely containing a dragon tear crystal.

Of course, Gabrielina knew it was only a Sword Cemetery. What was sealed inside was not a dragon tear either, but a Sword Prototype.

But...

Why not go?

Watching Lumine's back as she earnestly fought the Hilichurls, and occasionally helping her finish them off with a couple of strikes, the Angel's thoughts grew increasingly twisted.

The feeling of openly slacking off while someone else worked seriously was such an unbelievable high! ()

Venti: Do some actual work, Gabrielina!

"Watch out behind you!"

Bang-!!

Before the Mitachurl far behind her could reach her, Gabrielina shattered the huge rock hurtling toward her with one slash, then sent out a backhand wave of sword energy that severed its head.

The instant the large Hilichurl fell, more than a dozen smaller Hilichurls brandished their flaming wooden clubs and hurled themselves at her in a frenzy.

But against absolute stats, no matter how many of them there were, they were nothing more than cannon fodder.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

A fierce wind suddenly rose, wild currents surging through her field of vision. Several intersecting black "lines" swept up dust and shattered stones, plowing across the ground with a thunderous roar and grinding every enemy to ash.

Those monsters did not even have time to let out a mournful cry before returning once more to the cycle of the Ley Lines.

[Side quest in progress: Kill 100 Hilichurls (32/100)]

"Phew... there really are so many Hilichurls."

Hearing the girl's voice behind her, Gabrielina tucked a strand of hair beside her eye behind her ear and turned to Lumine, who had likewise just finished fighting. "Come to think of it, Acting Grand Master Jean told me a few things about this place this morning."

"Huh?"

"An adventurer from Mondstadt once observed this place. She said that if we built a spherical rotating cage in the middle of Dadaupa Gorge, then captured all the surrounding Hilichurls and put them inside, the energy they generated by exercising like hamsters could power every mill in Mondstadt for at least five years..."

This was what we called efficiency. (Thumbs up)

"That person... is a little terrifying."

"..."

Gabrielina and Lumine looked at each other for a moment, then both fell silent.