Days later, during this time, Mona had moved into Lucian's house, even sleeping in Lucian's room.
Lucian was speechless. This was like a cuckoo taking over a magpie's nest, forcing him to sleep on the floor. Was this reasonable? Don't push me to share a bed with you!
What's more outrageous was, weren't her books a bit too many? At this rate, he wouldn't even have space to sleep on the floor!
But it wasn't as if they had to share a bed. Lucian's house was quite large, after all, since the wealthy Hu Tao had given him several properties...
At most, he felt a bit helpless, but who made him agree to Mona's request? As a Liyue native, he had to honor his contracts.
Wait! Lucian suddenly realized—had he been kept as a mistress?
That wasn't important. Let's talk about Mona's gains instead. While staying at Lucian's house, Mona observed Lucian's "prophecy" process every day.
In reality, it was just Lucian writing his book while letting Mona watch from the side. These past few days, what she saw made her question her entire existence.
Was this how prophecies worked? No tools, no divination techniques—just thinking about the future, and it appeared in his mind?
It was literally closing his eyes, opening them, and starting to write.
Was he even human? What was this? A genius? Then what was she? A small-town fortune-teller?
She had thought she was already a genius in the art of prophecy, but now she realized that being a genius was merely the threshold to meet him.
Mona couldn't learn such exquisite prophecy techniques, but she wasn't discouraged at all. Instead, it ignited her competitive spirit and thirst for knowledge, sticking to Lucian like glue for days.
A genius, huh? More genius than me, huh? I'm Mona! The genius astrologist! I won't admit defeat!
She personally watched Lucian finish writing a story, one of which was published.
It was Kamisato Ayato's story—"Cypressus Custos Chapter: A Paulownia Leaf Falls."
At that time, readers had just finished the Test of Courage story a few days ago and were curious about Kamisato Ayato's affairs. Lucian's release was perfectly timed.
Moreover, this story wasn't about life-and-death farewells, allowing readers to catch their breath.
At the start of the story, the Traveler once again encountered old acquaintances—Ippei and Shinnojou.
Readers might not remember Ippei, but Shinnojou was unforgettable.
Wasn't he that defeated dog of a bodyguard for Miss Hiiragi? A memory for a lifetime.
In this story, Ippei and Shinnojou met by chance and were chatting. What were they talking about? The "engagement" between Miss Hiiragi and Kujou Kamaji.
[Shinnojou's defeated dog statement: "Ah, there's no need to consider my feelings. Seeing Miss and her beloved finally together, I'm genuinely happy for her."]
Reading this, Shinnojou felt a faint pain in his heart. While he was indeed happy for Miss, sadness was inevitable.
Shikikan, oh Shikikan, was it necessary to write a whole story just to rub it in?
[Ippei, excitedly: "I get it, I get it! Only when the stone hanging in the sky finally falls can we truly be happy for them, right?"]
Readers gave a wry smile. Oh, you totally don't get it~!
Ippei truly didn't understand Shinnojou's feelings. He was genuinely happy for his second young master, assuming Shinnojou felt the same for his Miss.
Saying this in front of a defeated dog could only be described as "killing and then stabbing the heart~?"
Kujou Kamaji and Hiiragi Chisato blushed. Having their romance known across Teyvat was embarrassing enough.
But now, it escalated further—not just their romance, but their marriage was known to all of Teyvat.
The only strange thing was that this engagement seemed to be just hearsay. As the parties involved, they hadn't personally confirmed it.
Thus, in the story, Shinnojou still held a sliver of hope, lying awake all night with chaotic thoughts.
To help Shinnojou give up on this hope, the Traveler activated their connections and went straight to the Yashiro Commission to ask.
Arriving at the Yashiro Commission, the Traveler, intending to find Ayaka, ran into Ayato instead. He was playing blind chess with Thoma, turning to face the Traveler upon their arrival.
Lucian naturally drew a character illustration for Ayato, and it must be said, his noble air made him naturally approachable.
Coupled with his tender, water-like expression, he seemed so affectionate that even a dog would feel charmed, making it hard not to think he was a gentle person.
However, Paimon had a keen eye for people. She saw at a glance that Ayato was not to be trifled with, and her speech turned overly formal.
[Paimon: "Greetings… Our visit today is somewhat abrupt, and we may lack proper etiquette, so, um, please…"]
These few words were the extent of Paimon's lifelong learning, nearly frying her CPU to come up with them.
Readers who had seen the Test of Courage story had some understanding of Ayato.
He was someone who could rival Yae Miko in cunning—don't be fooled by his gentle appearance!
It must be said, though Paimon was a bit silly, her judgment of people was quite accurate.
Like Zhongli—she saw at a glance he was a "socially useless person" and wondered how he hadn't starved yet.
And with Ayato, she instantly saw through his "blue-and-black" nature.
[Thoma laughed: "Hahaha, why are you suddenly talking like that?"]
[Paimon said: "Because he looks really formidable, like he could make it onto my 'Do Not Provoke List'…"]
Paimon's "Do Not Provoke List" also included Yelan and Xingqiu, and it seemed they were all Hydro characters.
Later, the only non-Hydro character on the list was Alhaitham.
She even dared to provoke someone like Diluc, who carried a stern face and a kitten, showing that Paimon's "beast intuition" told her Diluc was actually gentle.
Back to the story, while Ayato was indeed not to be trifled with, that applied to enemies. For allies, he was quite easy to get along with.
[Ayato, in a friendly tone: "No need to be so formal. This is a private setting, so please feel at ease."]
With those words, Paimon immediately "relaxed." If Ayato's house had a kang, she'd probably have kicked off her shoes and climbed onto it.
No, wait—she couldn't take off her shoes, or her secret savings would be exposed. Paimon was a woman who wouldn't "compromise."
[Paimon, relieved: "Phew, that was exhausting! Alright, I'll just ask directly."]
She compromised.
["We heard some rumors that Kujou Kamaji is getting married to Hiiragi Chisato. Do you know anything about this?"]
Ayato had indeed heard about it, and surprisingly, he was supportive.
This shocked many Inazumans, as Inazuma had only three Commissions. If two of them allied through marriage, the Yashiro Commission would be left isolated.
Yet, under such circumstances, Ayato was supportive, making people marvel at his broad-mindedness.
Although the other two Commissions had some shady dealings before the marriage, it wasn't the same as a marriage alliance.
For two Commissions with prior cooperation to unite through marriage, and the remaining one to still be supportive? Most readers were skeptical.
Was Kamisato Ayato's heart really that magnanimous?
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Kamisato Ayato: About His Own Story
"Usually, it's my sister who appears in public, as Ayaka seems more beautiful and approachable, doesn't she?
What? You mentioned events? Hmm… trivial matters."