"Lumine, I feel like those Adventurers' Guild people have been messing with us. The Moonchase Charms are placed in spots that even we can barely reach—how did they even manage to put them there? That's insane."
Paimon flew up from a cliffside clutching a Moonchase Charm, complaining the whole way. And she had a point. If the Adventurers' Guild hadn't marked the locations on the map, even Lumine—who never missed a single chest in her line of sight—wouldn't have spotted this charm. After all, who jumps off a cliff for no reason?
"Alright, alright, Paimon. Stop complaining. Sure, the charm locations are a bit ridiculous, but the rewards the Adventurers' Guild is offering are pretty good."
"There's a ton of Mora. Once we've collected all the charms, we'll have enough funds for the trip to Inazuma. I'll take you to try some Inazuman cuisine then."
Lumine tried to soothe Paimon. If the commissions in Liyue weren't paying so poorly lately, she wouldn't be bothering with this at all. Liyue's terrain was already hilly enough, and the Adventurers' Guild didn't make it any easier—each charm was placed in a more ridiculous spot than the last. She had even heard Qiqi mention that several people had fallen off cliffs trying to get them.
"Lumine, look over there! Isn't that Xiao and Hu Tao? I didn't expect to see them here."
Lumine followed Paimon's gaze to a relatively flat hilltop. Sure enough, she spotted Hu Tao and Xiao. With her keen observation skills, Lumine noticed Xiao seemed to shoot them a meaningful glance.
"It looks like they're sparring. We shouldn't interrupt them."
With that, Lumine led Paimon off to search for charms elsewhere. Xiao, meanwhile, felt a wave of exhaustion. Had he used the wrong signal? He had wanted Lumine to be Hu Tao's sparring partner, but she had just run off.
"Conqueror of Demons, I'm ready now! Let's keep going. Today, I'm definitely going to learn Lemniscatic Wind Cycling."
With renewed confidence, Hu Tao picked up her Staff of Homa and squared off against Xiao again. The usually taciturn Xiao finally understood why Rex Lapis had said he couldn't handle Director Hu. Her energy was simply boundless!
But Rex Lapis must have had his reasons. Perhaps this was a test to temper his patience—that's why he had sent Director Hu to him. The more Xiao thought about it, the more convinced he became. This was definitely a trial from Rex Lapis!
"Conqueror of Demons, what are you thinking about so seriously?"
"Nothing. Let's continue."
"Come on, tell me! If you have something on your mind, I'll definitely help you figure it out. Hey, hey, don't just attack out of nowhere..."
Back at Wanmin Restaurant, Xiangling, who had successfully advanced, stared at the pile of ingredients in front of her with a troubled expression. With the finals approaching, she still had no idea what dish to make. She had been losing sleep over it for days.
"Lumine, those Adventurers' Guild people are such bullies! We collected all those Moonchase Charms, and all they gave us was a salted fish we can't even bite through?!"
"Waaah, my teeth are all wobbly from biting that stupid fish! What kind of garbage salted fish is this?!"
"Paimon, Miss Katheryne clearly said it was a weapon. You were the one who insisted on tasting it with your mouth. Look what happened. We'll have to take you to Baizhu later. If that doesn't work, we'll go see Albedo. Hopefully, he can do something."
Walking into Wanmin Restaurant, Lumine sounded exasperated. She had no idea if Baizhu or Albedo could treat a creature like Paimon. If both failed, she might have to take her to a veterinarian.
Paimon was holding her mouth the whole time. From her posture, Xiangling could tell her face looked swollen. The comical sight made her burst out laughing.
"Hey! Xiangling, you're supposed to sympathize with me, not laugh at me! That's so mean!"
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry, little Paimon. You remind me of when Guoba ate a pebble and his face swelled up. You look exactly like him back then."
"Guoba went through this too? That's great! Xiangling, tell me how he got better."
Hearing that Guoba had been in the same situation, Lumine felt a wave of relief. It looked like she wouldn't have to travel far to find Albedo or Baizhu. After rummaging around for a bit, Xiangling produced a small packet of powder.
"Apply this anti-inflammatory powder to the injured tooth for a few days, and it should heal. Just be careful—no spicy, hot, cold, sour, or greasy food for a while."
"As an apology, I'll make you whatever you want to eat. On the house~"
"Really? Then I want..."
The mention of food got Paimon's dim little brain working overtime. Unfortunately, with her limited brainpower, after ruling out spicy, hot, cold, sour, and greasy options, she couldn't think of anything to eat.
"Don't go to any trouble, Xiangling. Just make us two bowls of noodles. For Paimon's, just plain broth—nothing else."
"Lumine, you're cutting my rations! I protest!"
"If you don't want to miss out on all the good food at the semifinals, Paimon, you need to listen to me. Haven't you heard that a toothache is a small ailment that can cause big pain?"
Left with no choice, Paimon nodded grudgingly. She never thought the day would come when plain broth noodles would appear on her menu. It was a disgrace.
Before long, the noodles arrived. The two fragrant bowls made Lumine and Paimon, who had been running around all morning, dig in eagerly. Xiangling sat across from them, watching with a smile.
With so many people flocking to the cooking competition, Wanmin Restaurant's business was a bit slow today. Xiangling didn't mind, though—it gave her time to think about her next dish.
"Xiangling, are you stuck on what to make? I saw you asking everyone what they liked to eat in the group chat last night. A lot of people replied."
"Hmm, a little. This competition needs both land-based dishes and seafood. I can't decide whether to combine them or keep them separate."
"Since a lot of the people in the group chat are from Mondstadt, their tastes might not match what Liyue people are used to. I've been debating whether to take their suggestions."
Xiangling furrowed her brows, clearly troubled. Who knew having too many opinions could be such a problem? What should she do? Paimon, carefully protecting her teeth while swallowing her noodles, casually offered a suggestion.
"That's easy. Just make all the dishes everyone suggested and have everyone taste them. Then pick the best one."
"Exactly! Paimon, you're a genius! I'll go start cooking right away."
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New Fanfics out:
Honkai Star Rail: The Trailblaze Journey of the Worldbearing Phainon
The Pure Saintess Would Never Play Dead and Fail