Previously, some of Stelle's behavior had been a bit baffling.
But it was still within the bounds of a normal person.
Sticking her head into... a trash can could be seen as searching for treasure.
Wanting to touch and poke at everything was just ordinary human curiosity.
All of that was normal.
But things were different now.
She was no longer a normal person.
The things she did became increasingly bizarre and increasingly difficult to understand.
Even her way of thinking had become completely different from that of ordinary people.
[Stelle: Asta, let me explain!]
[Asta: Mm-hmm. Go ahead, what else do you have to say?]
She wanted to see how Stelle was going to explain her behavior.
[Stelle: Idol worship!]
[Asta: ...]
'Idol worship?'
'Admiring someone so much that you deliberately imitate their behavior.'
'That... actually made sense.'
As for the idol she was talking about, there was no need to say it. Everyone else in the group already knew.
But...
[Asta: I don't think you're pretending.]
If you're deliberately imitating someone, there should at least be signs that you're acting.
But she couldn't see any trace of acting in Stelle.
Everything she did seemed completely genuine. It didn't feel like imitation or acting, it came straight from the heart.
[Stelle: Ahem... I'm naturally gifted. It's normal that you can't tell.]
But in reality, even the most talented superstar in the galaxy couldn't give a flawless performance one hundred percent of the time.
[Asta: So you're saying you're better than those professional superstars, and can keep up a flawless performance twenty-four hours a day?]
[Stelle: ...]
[Stelle: Fine, I admit it.]
[Stelle: I'm a pervert.]
Seizing the opportunity, Levi immediately pinned that message.
Seeing the notification that her message had been pinned in the chat group, Stelle froze.
What was going on?
Her message got pinned?
Then she realized she couldn't delete it anymore.
Stelle immediately panicked.
She had only planned to joke around and then withdraw the message.
But now, even if she withdrew it, the message would still stay archived in the chat group.
If it were only archived, that wouldn't be a big deal.
The problem was, it even showed who had sent it.
So what was the point of withdrawing it?
[Stelle: !!!]
[Stelle: Don't do this!!!]
[Levi: Neigh.]
[Lumine: Neigh.]
[Stelle: Are you two done singing the same tune? @Levi, big bro, I'm begging you. Please show mercy and let me off. I promise I won't mess around anymore.]
She had been careless.
She hadn't expected the group to have a function like this.
[Levi: Don't ask me. Go ask Kiana. She's the group owner. I listen to her.]
[Stelle: @Kiana]
After noticing she'd been tagged, Kiana looked through the chat to understand what had happened before immediately saying, "I didn't do it. It's not my responsibility. Go ask whoever did it."
[Stelle: Aaaaaah...]
[Elysia: This... is the price of being naughty. It's okay, Stelle. Even if you admitted it yourself, you're still not the biggest pervert in our hearts.]
Right...
Levi was still above her.
[Stelle: Thanks. I feel much better now.]
[Levi: So you're really planning to come to the Luofu the way Stelle suggested, Elysia?]
[Elysia: Ehehe~]
[Levi: When exactly?]
[Elysia: Tomorrow. I still have training today, and the Doctor is coming back today too. I want to check on that volunteer.]
[Levi: OK.]
The second their conversation ended...
[Lumine: Neigh.]
Lumine popped up again with her "Neigh."
[Levi: Neigh.]
Not willing to lose, Levi charged back with his own "Neigh."
"There they go again..."
The others sighed and held their foreheads.
It had already been almost an hour since this started, and they still hadn't stopped.
If they were like this in the chat group...
No one even wanted to imagine what they were like when bickering in person.
———
[Teyvat, Liyue Harbor]
Standing at the very front of the crowd, Levi's face was expressionless.
His fair arms were crossed over his chest, and he stared straight at the empty air in front of him.
Both Levi and Lumine had devoted all of their attention to the chat group.
In reality, neither of them said a word.
When the appointed time arrived, the person presiding over this Rite of Descension, the Tianquan, Ningguang, stepped up to the ceremonial table.
Several attendants followed behind her.
As she arrived, Ningguang instinctively swept her gaze over everyone standing in front of her.
As the Tianquan with the greatest reputation among the Liyue Qixing, she was long accustomed to carrying out her duties beneath the eager gazes of countless people.
Only this time was a little different.
At first glance, she was drawn to Levi standing in the front, glaring at thin air as though arguing with it.
Her first thought was that he was a patient from Bubu Pharmacy.
But she had important matters to attend to, so it wasn't convenient to spend too much attention or curiosity on him.
In front of the countless people, she parted her lips and recited the prepared speech.
She raised her hand.
Several jade stones flew from her palm into the incense burner.
The sky above was immediately covered with dark clouds, and the golden form of Rex Lapis appeared faintly within them.
"Wow! So that's the Geo Archon?"
Looking at Rex Lapis' gleaming golden scales, Paimon's first thought was, 'How much Mora would one of those be worth if you pried it off?'
She immediately realized how terrifying that thought was. Feeling a faint gaze from above, she quickly lowered her head and repeatedly apologized under her breath.
Compared to Paimon's excitement, Xiangling was much calmer.
Mainly because, as a native of Liyue, she'd seen scenes like this countless times since childhood.
It was no longer enough to stir any emotion.
It was like asking a local what was so great about a famous tourist spot, only for most locals to reply, "What's there to see? You'd be better off staying home and eating something nice."
After seeing it so many times, you simply became numb to it.
Among the people present, a large number were foreign tourists, followed by Liyue merchants, and then children.
Xiangling looked over the crowd.
On the way here she hadn't seen a single blond-haired person, yet now she spotted several with just one glance.
"Wait!"
Just as she was about to look away, the figure standing at the very front caught her attention.
Suspicion filled her eyes.
"Is that... Lumine?"
She couldn't tell for sure just by looking at the back of the person's head.
Just as she was about to ask Paimon to fly over and take a look, the other person spoke.
The constant chatter around them instantly disappeared.
Everyone stared blankly toward the front.
At the blond-haired girl.
Even Ningguang couldn't help turning her gaze toward her.
Levi paid no attention to it.
He still raised his head toward the sky, pointing at the figure hidden among the clouds.
"Morax! I challenge you!"
"I wager the land beneath our feet!"
"Only the victor deserves the right to rule such fertile land!"
His voice drowned out everyone else's.
Everyone who heard him shifted their attention from Morax in the sky to him.
"(Liyue swear)!"
Out of everyone present, Lumine had the strongest reaction.
This was her body.
After Levi caused trouble and walked away, wouldn't she be the one left to deal with all the consequences?
She looked away from Paimon and toward Levi, who was pointing at the sky.
'Damn it! I knew this couldn't be anything good!'
'This is only the beginning! The really big one is still coming!'
Levi smiled as he looked at Morax's exposed form.
"Since you won't come down, then I'll come to you!"
'!!!'