In any case, after the Traveler—no, wait, the Traveler's "Mouth of God" talked until her mouth was dry, they finally managed to get a little bit of information.
The three kids all shared pretty much the same idea: they couldn't tell adults about these secrets.
To this, everyone wanted to say: If you can't tell adults, then tell Paimon—she's not an adult.
If she really ate a Sunsetia and fell to the ground, she might not even be taller than you guys.
Paimon: I'm on the same wavelength as you kids, yet you're trying to outsmart me.
Paimon was truly the most awkward one. As an "adult," the other adults treated her like a child.
As a "child," these three kids treated her like an adult.
What a quantum Paimon, changing depending on who's observing her.
Setting Paimon aside, after finishing the story for the three kids, Rana came back, smiling as she said:
["I'm back! How was it? Did you all have fun?"]
How to put it—the kids probably had a lot of fun, but the Traveler and Paimon, not necessarily.
But now that the story was over and Rana was back, whether they had fun or not, it was time to leave and do some adult things.
That's right, the Traveler and big sister Rana were going to do adult things. Guess who didn't get invited? You! Sudabeh!
Rana and the Traveler declined Sudabeh's kind invitation to share a meal. Sudabeh was very sad that Rana wasn't eating with her and the others.
[Sudabeh: "Sudabeh wants to eat with big sister Rana..."]
Hearing her say that, readers couldn't help but suspect what exactly she meant by "eat"—this kid was way too mature.
With the invitation to dine together refused, the kids could only head home first.
Rana, however, called out to Udan and warned him not to run around in the forest anymore.
Udan said he was as familiar with entering the forest as going home, so there was no need to worry.
Although in the end, under Rana's "threat" of telling his parents, Udan obediently agreed, but from the look on his face, readers felt like something was going to happen.
The story kept mentioning the Aranara—could it be that this kid goes into the forest, and then the Traveler and Rana go looking for him, eventually encountering the Aranara?
At this point, readers were still guessing, making reasonable speculations based on past experience—whether it was right or wrong remained to be seen.
In the story, Rana invited the Traveler to join her on forest patrol—that's what I meant by adult things; kids aren't allowed to patrol the forest.
The Traveler was someone with both kindness and plenty of free time, so naturally she wouldn't refuse Rana. After all, that's just how adventurers are—nothing too serious, everything counts as work.
Some people without jobs also claim to be adventurers, which is why the title of adventurer isn't actually that impressive.
Only after becoming a legendary adventurer does one gain great fame. Even little Amy is already an elite adventurer, yet no one pays attention.
It's like "Years of adventuring unknown, but one sea island tale known throughout the world"—the chuunibyou princess's name is known across all of Teyvat.
In the story, Rana was also telling the Traveler a lot about the forest things she knew.
These little bits of knowledge were quite interesting, and the two women chatted and laughed together.
However, on the patrol route, they encountered quite a few Withering zones. Rana, without a Vision, couldn't clear them and had to ask the Traveler for help.
This showed that Paimon was indeed special. Rana, as Sumeru's axe queen, was someone who could "fight a group alone" with an axe, yet she couldn't step into the Withering.
Paimon dared to follow the Traveler into the Withering, while Rana could only cheer the Traveler on from outside.
Later, when dealing with crocodiles, Rana could finally take action, and the scene turned into Paimon cheering while Rana helped.
Those crocodiles were really unlucky—lazing by the river when they suddenly turned into beast meat.
Crocodiles: Help! The ingredients are attacking!
No one cared about the crocodiles' sacrifice; instead, everyone learned through this story what forest rangers usually do.
It turns out that besides clearing the Withering and protecting the forest, they also maintain the natural balance.
If there are too many crocodiles, kill crocodiles; if too many rabbits, catch rabbits; if too many people, maybe plant more mushrooms—everyone loves to eat them.
This is basically a group of druids; Tighnari is totally the archdruid.
In the story, the Traveler and Rana completed today's patrol task, and Rana couldn't help but sigh:
["An experienced Traveler is really different! You're really amazing!"]
[The Traveler replied: "Because Paimon often trains me."]
Readers: ? Paimon?
Someone with one-fifth of a boar's combat power can actually train others!?
Readers didn't know this, but Paimon really could be considered the Traveler's teacher. Every time the Traveler gained a new element, she would discuss elemental techniques with Paimon.
After the patrol ended, it was getting dark, and the Traveler and Rana would camp outside tonight.
So Nahida was right—the Traveler really would stay out all night. Mom Nahida was very worried.
As for the camping spot, it was already chosen: a strange little house.
The house looked like it had a big open mouth in an O shape, looking quite comical.
There was no one in the house, so it was temporarily requisitioned.
Aranara: Can't go home!
The Traveler and Rana just openly started a fire in front of someone else's house to cook—cooking Sumeru's famous dish: curry.
In Sumeru, there's also a custom: the most honored person in the team lights the bonfire.
This undoubtedly reminded everyone of the Lantern Rite story. It seems this time, Paimon lit the fire again.
After eating and drinking their fill, the three chatted under the night sky—this was one of the charms of camping.
Rana told the Traveler about curry's "status" in Sumeru; there's even a special children's song for it.
"Curry~ The aroma of curry~ Is the signal for children to go home~♪"
When Sumeru people were little, just smelling the curry aroma would tell them if it was cooked by their parents, and then decide whether to go home.
Kaveh somehow felt a bit sad. "Curry, huh..."
Alhaitham: "If you want to eat it, just eat it. The kitchen has some."
Kaveh smiled lightly: "Then let's have curry tonight."
For this kind of skill, everyone probably has something similar—like just hearing footsteps on the stairs to know if it's your parents, then deciding whether to turn off the TV.
Paimon didn't have experience hiding from parents to watch TV, but she was indeed good at judging food aromas. Food made by the Traveler was especially attractive to her.
To this, Lumine wanted to retort: Even if it wasn't made by her, it would still attract Paimon, right?
[Paimon said: "Hmph, it seems the Traveler hasn't noticed yet. Actually, the things you make have a different aroma from what others make."]
How to say this—it always made readers feel like they were getting some CP vibes.
Paimon was practically saying outright, "In my heart, you're different."
But the Traveler had no reaction—probably because she's heard this kind of thing a lot.
Traveler, I hate that you're such a blockhead.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice Lines · Traveler: About Food
Lumine: "So my cooking is really delicious, huh?"
Paimon: "Delicious! Super delicious!"
Lumine: "Then compared to Xiangling?"
Paimon: "Um... a different kind of delicious..."
Lumine: "If you have to choose one?"
Paimon: "...Hate you! You're the best, don't force me to choose~!"