At least the meal at Liuli Pavilion was excellent; who knew how much Hu Tao spent—each dish looked expensive.
Neither Stelle nor Lumine ate much, and Hu Tao didn't either, so most of the food ended up in Paimon's stomach.
The rest was packed for takeaway—breakfast tomorrow was sorted.
The house wasn't ready yet, and even when it was, there were no beds, so after saying goodbye to Hu Tao they returned to their temporary inn.
"Paimon, careful not to get fat," Lumine said, hands on hips, as Paimon flopped onto the bed right after getting back.
"Ugh... no... won't..." Paimon mumbled, half-asleep.
Understandable—she'd eaten a lot, it was late, and the blood-sugar crash made her drowsy.
"Then sleep tight." Lumine smiled, tucked Paimon in, and turned off the lights.
She tiptoed out and headed for Stelle's room.
Without knocking, she simply turned the handle slightly and slipped inside.
Just as she'd guessed, Stelle wasn't asleep.
"Whew... today went surprisingly smoothly," Lumine said, walking over with a smile.
Stelle lay on the bed, her coat hung to one side, still in that classic oversized white shirt.
Sprawled there with most of her shoulder exposed, she didn't seem to mind Lumine's entrance.
"Would you call it smooth?" Stelle tilted her head, pulled the approaching Lumine into her arms.
Lumine docilely lay on Stelle, breathing in her scent, her gaze growing hazy.
"Isn't it? We went house-hunting and ran into a big shot like Hu Tao..." Lumine couldn't help flicking her tongue over Stelle's fragrant shoulder.
Though compared with people like Ningguang or Keqing, Hu Tao might not be that big a deal.
But the great name of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor resounds throughout Liyue Harbor; no matter who you are, high or low, it's the first choice for funerals.
So Hu Tao's network is unimaginable—maybe she really does have some connections.
Even if she doesn't, finding a place to stay in Liyue Harbor without paying much rent is still a good deal.
"I'm still a little worried about the work at Wangsheng…" Star shifted position, rolling over and pinning Lumine beneath her.
Then she hooked a finger under Lumine's clothes and slowly tugged them downward.
"When I came back today, I heard people say Hu Tao usually heads straight to the Adventurers' Guild to promote Wangsheng's services."
"Huh?" Lumine blinked, then gave a soft laugh.
Just imagining that scene was hilarious; though if she went along with Hu Tao it might be a bit socially fatal.
"Apparently the Millelith have lectured Hu Tao more than once because of it."
"Hey, it's all for the sales targets—understandable," Lumine said with a smile.
"I think most Liyue folk would rather see Wangsheng's sales drop…" Star shook her head, but her attention quickly locked onto Lumine's alluring body.
Work could wait; tonight's real business still had to be handled.
—
Early the next morning, Star and Lumine split up.
Lumine and Paimon were going to the Adventurers' Guild to check the commissions—if they could quickly solve something dangerous and major, it might catch the attention of Liyue's upper echelons.
Star, meanwhile, was keeping her promise: find Hu Tao and experience life at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
As for the house, they'd roughly cleaned it yesterday; once the beds Hu Tao ordered arrived—two days at most—they could move in… Outside Wangsheng's gate it was as quiet as ever; passers-by couldn't help hurrying their steps.
Basically no one lingered here.
"Oh, you're here." Hu Tao spotted Star and waved excitedly.
"Good morning, Hall Master." Star greeted her.
Since she was working for her, she had to take it seriously—even something as small as an address mattered.
"No need to be so formal—just call me by name." Hu Tao waved dismissively, unhappy with the title.
"How did you sleep? Our work here is really tough, you know." Hu Tao asked next.
"F-fine, I guess." Star's cheeks warmed as she recalled last night.
Lumine was getting more and more creative; Star had almost caved.
Which meant they hadn't actually slept much.
Luckily, in the end Star still had the edge in stamina.
"Good enough, then. Come on, follow your Hall Master—today's workload is heavy." Hu Tao nodded in satisfaction and strode toward the street.
"So, Hu Tao, what are we doing today?" Star asked.
Since Hu Tao told her to use her name, Star didn't insist, focusing on the job instead.
"First thing: get you familiar with Liyue Harbor. If you don't know the roads, work will be a pain later." Hu Tao stated matter-of-factly.
"Makes sense…" Star nodded; she still didn't know the city well and could easily get lost.
But in the end it was just a tour—hardly a heavy task, right?
"Don't underestimate it—Liyue Harbor is huge; you can't finish touring in a short while." Hu Tao seemed to read her mind and chuckled.
"Plus we can promote Wangsheng's new event along the way."
"What event?" Star asked curiously.
"The 'One-Day Afterlife Experience'—lets people sample the feeling of passing on and get prepared. I've even got the coffins ready."
"…" The corner of Star's mouth twitched; she had no words.
Would anyone actually sign up for something like that?
"All right, let's go. We'll start here at Feiyun Slope and explore slowly."
"Sure." Star nodded.
Hu Tao's unreliable event probably wouldn't attract anyone, but they still had to tour the harbor.
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