The next morning.
For Stelle and her companions, who were new to Liyue, the most urgent task was to find a stable place to stay.
Since the Please Immortal Ceremony was still some time away, they couldn't stay in an inn every day; that would cost an unknown amount of Mora.
Just the expenses for this one night made Lumine's heart ache; the prices here were simply too much higher than in Mondstadt.
Additionally, even though there was still some time until the Please Immortal Ceremony officially began, their time was actually not that abundant.
Because although anyone could attend the Please Immortal Ceremony, that only meant standing outside to watch. Only the high-ranking officials of Liyue could interact with and question the Rex Lapis.
They needed to use this time in Liyue to interact more with the upper class, or to make a name for themselves, to get the attention of Liyue's high-ranking officials, and thus gain an opportunity to meet and talk with Rex Lapis... "Sigh, it's a long road ahead." Lumine couldn't help but sigh.
She and Stelle were on their way to Wanmin Restaurant, planning to have breakfast there today.
There was no other way; the inn's food was too expensive, and Wanmin Restaurant seemed to be the most cost-effective choice.
Besides, they were Xiangling's acquaintances, so they might even get a discount.
"What long road ahead?" Paimon looked at Lumine in confusion.
Lumine had been sighing constantly since she woke up, making Paimon a little worried.
"It's about meeting Rex Lapis... Stelle, you must work hard." Lumine turned to look at Stelle again, saying very seriously.
"Huh? Me?" Stelle was inexplicably called out, looking at Lumine in confusion, pointing to herself.
"Yes, work hard to win over that Tianquan Star and Yuheng Star; that way, our plan to meet Rex Lapis should be much simpler." Lumine nodded, still holding that thought.
She had personally experienced Stelle's charm; as long as those two were normal women, they couldn't resist Stelle's allure.
Then, there would be no need to worry about accommodation or meeting Rex Lapis.
"Uh, about that..." Stelle didn't know what to say for a moment.
On one hand, she didn't want to approach those girls with ulterior motives, and on the other hand, getting close to those important figures shouldn't be that simple either.
Even if she happened to run into Keqing resting there last night, she couldn't always have such luck.
"What's wrong? Don't you feel anything for them?" Lumine couldn't help but ask.
"Well, this, I can't say I don't feel anything..." Stelle scratched her head.
Keqing, whom she met yesterday, indeed had a unique charm that made her eager, and although she hadn't met the Tianquan Star yet, judging from rumors, she was definitely a top-notch beauty.
"But we're new here; how can it be so easy to get in touch with such important figures?" Stelle sighed helplessly, then looked at Lumine and said, "I heard that Tianquan Ningguang lives in Qunyu Pavilion, which is a floating palace in the sky, and ordinary people can't go up there."
"Although Jean wrote her a letter before, we're not important figures to Liyue after all. She's busy with countless affairs, so she might not even have time to pay attention to us."
Not many people were invited to Qunyu Pavilion. The two of them were new and didn't know much about Liyue, so it would be even harder to request an audience with Ningguang.
"Sigh... so we'll have to rely on ourselves during this time." Hearing Stelle say that, Lumine could only shake her head helplessly.
"Don't be disheartened. When we first arrived in Mondstadt, we also had no direction, but in the end, everything went smoothly, didn't it?" Although Paimon didn't understand what they were talking about, she still offered comfort.
"That's different..."
When they first arrived in Mondstadt, it just so happened to be during Mondstadt's crisis, not to mention Venti actively approached them.
But looking at Liyue Harbor now, Rex Lapis is high above, and Liyue is peaceful and prosperous. Even if they wanted to help, they wouldn't find a place to.
- -
Wanmin Restaurant.
If you were to compare it, this place would be equivalent to Mondstadt's Hunter's Deer, right?
Even this early in the morning, there were still many people eating. Stelle and Lumine barely managed to find a spot inside and sit down.
At the same time, Stelle finally saw the girl named Xiangling that Lumine had mentioned before.
"Isn't this Lumine and Paimon? You've come to Liyue!"
Stelle looked up at the sound, and a lively and cute girl quickly came before them.
"Xiangling!" Paimon greeted.
"Long time no see, Xiangling." Lumine also smiled at Xiangling.
"Long time no see, and this is..." Xiangling looked at Stelle, asking in confusion.
"This is Stelle, my good friend." Lumine reached out and took Stelle's arm.
"Ah, hello, hello... I'm Xiangling." Xiangling didn't pay too much attention to their slightly intimate gesture, but when she looked at Stelle, she didn't know why her cheeks felt a little warm.
Perhaps it was from cooking just now?
"Hello." Stelle also nodded politely, secretly observing Xiangling.
Her dark blue hair was braided into a complex bun, with only two simple hair ornaments to hold it in place. Her clothes were a mix of black, red, and gold, and the hem inexplicably reminded Stelle of tiger fur, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't.
Speaking of which, if you look closely, Xiangling's outfit is quite revealing.
The clothing coverage was definitely low, but for some reason, Stelle didn't feel that it was lewd when looking at it.
Compared to being suggestive or sexy, she gave more of a cute impression.
Of course, no matter what, Stelle liked her very much... "Lu!"
A strange sound suddenly came from below, bringing Stelle back to her senses, and everyone's gaze was drawn to it.
"Ah, Guoba, why did you run out by yourself!"
A creature resembling a small bear appeared before them at some point. It stared wide-eyed at Stelle, unblinking.
From its expression, the little bear seemed very surprised, though she didn't know what it was surprised about.
"So this is Guoba." Paimon flew in front of Guoba, looking at it curiously.
The first time they met Xiangling, Xiangling hadn't brought Guoba, and they only roughly knew what Guoba looked like from the small ornament on Xiangling's waist.
"Yes, Guoba is my good friend." Xiangling smiled and nodded, then bent down and patted Guoba's head, "Guoba, I'm still busy. Can you go back for a bit?"
Guoba was very obedient to Xiangling. It looked at Stelle a few more times, then turned and hopped back into the house.
Stelle tilted her head in confusion, wondering why that bear-like creature was so interested in her.
Her constitution couldn't possibly affect non-human creatures, could it?
"Alright, since you've rarely come to Liyue Harbor, feel free to order whatever you want. It's my treat." Xiangling said generously to them.
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