She snuggled contentedly in his arms.
Paimon chuckled, answering with righteous indignation.
"My body is too small to give Lumine the same warmth in return."
"So, I thought if Kai could help, Lumine might enjoy it a little too."
Being held felt so comfortable!
After all, he was her best companion.
Paimon also hoped Lumine could enjoy the same experience as herself.
"This question... it's actually quite simple."
He seemed not to have expected Paimon to suddenly ask this.
After a slight pause of a few seconds, Kai answered without hesitation.
"Because I'm already married."
"As a married man, I still need to be a little careful when out and about."
Kai scratched his head, a slightly happy smile on his face.
He truly adored Jean.
He knew that if there was a valid reason, like carrying the Traveler to a wind current for a mission, Jean wouldn't blame him even if she found out later.
However, the thought of his husband holding another woman...
Recalling it, it just felt a bit strange, no matter how he looked at it.
Although to outsiders, Jean appeared to be a strong young woman, bearing the responsibilities of the Knights of Favonius and the Dandelion Knight.
But in reality, after getting married, Kai could clearly sense that when she wasn't working, Jean was just an ordinary young woman.
She enjoyed playing street games at festivals, loved beautiful outdoor scenery, and liked to hold hands and walk outside the city.
Occasionally, she would even get a little jealous over certain things.
If discovered, she'd blush and tsundere-ly turn her head, claiming she didn't care at all.
But... when she said things like that, it was obvious she already cared, wasn't it?
In such circumstances, Kai would never let his wife feel unhappy because of something similar.
"I-I see..."
Lumine had heard a similar answer once before.
But even so, when she heard Kai say it again, especially seeing his face brimming with happiness, Lumine felt a strange pang in her heart.
Even when his wife wasn't by his side, he would still constantly think of her?
"It must be wonderful to be married to someone like Mr. Kai."
Lumine couldn't help but blurt out, feeling a little envious of Jean.
"Don't say that, it's me who feels that way."
"I'm truly (so) lucky to have married Jean."
Kai replied with a smile, his gaze falling on a distant tall tower.
He let out a sigh and steered the conversation back.
"Anyway, that's pretty much it."
"Although Lumine didn't get to experience a warm embrace, it might be a bit of a shame."
"But if Paimon really wants Lumine to experience it once, you could ask Lisa; her embrace is very comfortable."
"Huh?"
"Sister Lisa?"
A figure appeared in Paimon's mind.
"How does Kai know?"
"Ah?"
"Uh... *cough cough*."
Kai was slightly startled, realizing he might have said something he shouldn't have.
Before Paimon could react, he quickly raised his hand and patted her head, forcefully interrupting her thoughts.
"Don't worry about these details."
"Anyway..."
"Let's go back to the tall tower and regroup first."
Yes, don't worry about the details.
Having known each other for so long, and always going to the library when picking up Jean from work, occasionally he might encounter some unexpected slips, right?
In any case, they were all harmless situations.
Although she didn't speak up, as that oppressive aura spread, little Paimon, who was initially confused, suddenly sensed something.
Her gaze occasionally met Kai's smiling face, and a very familiar sense of déjà vu suddenly surfaced.
It was the same level of terrifying pressure as last time!
Under that extremely frightening gaze, Paimon instinctively shivered and nodded slightly, indicating she had fully understood.
"I..."
"I understand."
"Good that you understand, then we should go."
Waving his hand, having finished his threat to the little one, Kai walked directly to the wind current.
He lightly jumped, and with the help of the Anemo energy beneath his feet, he shot into the sky almost in the blink of an eye.
Only when he reached a sufficient height did he spread his Wind Glyder, flying towards the tall tower.
Lumine silently followed behind, gazing at Kai's back, and let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Mr. Kai, he really likes Jean."
"Yes, yes, I think so too."
Little Paimon nodded affirmingly, hiding in Lumine's arms and softly comforting her, "But it's okay."
"Mondstadt doesn't have any rules saying you can't like a married man, you know."
"Say that again and I'll throw you off here!"
Lumine's heart jumped, and she haphazardly squeezed Paimon's face, saying with a threatening tone.
Soon... using the gliding ability of the Wind Glyder, Kai and Lumine successfully returned to the tall tower.
By this time, through everyone's efforts, all the guiding light mechanisms had been completely disabled.
Dazzling blue light, transforming into a powerful, undeniable energy, shot straight up from the base of the tower and soared into the sky.
Seeing Kai return, Venti looked up and quickly greeted him.
"Yo, Kai and the Traveler are finally back."
"Oh~"
"How's the research going? Has the seal been lifted?"
After landing, Kai noticed that the two of them seemed to have been researching there for a while, so he casually asked.
"There are indeed some results."
Barbatos nodded, "Based on the energy overflowing from the base of the tower, the entrance here should be some kind of teleportation device."
"Once we enter, we'll be teleported to another location."
"As for the target, it's probably in this place."
Barbatos pointed to the sky.
"Teleported to the sky?"
Kai nodded, not surprised. Although he couldn't quite recall the detailed plot of how Stormterrors Lair was resolved, Dvalin was a dragon after all.
Given that, it wasn't surprising that his nest would be in the sky.
"At that time, I will use the flowing wind to protect you all."
"So, there's no need to worry about how to fight Dvalin."
"However, the Abyss Order will probably be ambushing around Dvalin… so we still need to be careful."
Barbatos said with full confidence.
As the God of Anemo, even if his power had weakened to the point where he couldn't even deal with his own kin.
Yet, in a place where Anemo energy was extremely rich, making a group of people float in the air was clearly not a big problem.
"We know that without you telling us."
Waving his hand casually, Kai had clearly made all preparations for these matters.
"Let's go."
Nodding, Diluc agreed.
At the same time, he took out his usual weapon.
He was clearly ready to act at any moment.
"Hehe… Since you're all so eager."
Seeing that the two strongest combatants were in their prime,
Barbatos chuckled relaxed, then placed his hand on the light.
"Then…"
"Let's depart!"
Mysterious energy, as soon as the words fell,
suddenly enveloped everyone.
Under the embrace of this incredible power,
their figures were gradually drawn by the blue light, and the scene before their eyes changed rapidly.
It was like a large wind field,
directly transporting everyone present through the central teleportation device,
forcibly sending them to an unknown area.
As the light dissipated, what appeared before them was an extremely vast airspace.
The gloomy sky exuded an extremely foul aura.
The cunning clouds appeared faintly black.
Under the strong winds blowing around, they looked even more somber.
Beneath their feet was a strange platform suspended in mid-air by some unknown force.
And not far away, a familiar massive figure was soaring in the sky.
Its blood-red eyes glowed with an extremely frenzied emotion.
The mighty dragon's roar echoed, as if it could destroy everything,
tearing the sky apart.
"It's Dvalin!"
Such an obvious target was almost immediately noticed by everyone.
Looking at the figure not far away,
Paimon quickly pointed in its direction, her entire body nestled in Traveler's arms.
She didn't dare to show her head at all.
The high altitude was really too terrifying, although Paimon could indeed fly.
But she had never tried flying at such a height.
Especially with Dvalin's presence in the distance, it made her shiver all over.
She simply didn't dare to leave Traveler's embrace.
"It seems that mechanism indeed leads to Dvalin's location."
Under Barbatos's influence, faint Anemo energy
transformed into a gentle flowing wind, supporting everyone present.
Looking at Dvalin not far away, he quickly spoke.
"Dvalin has two glowing spots on his back, have you seen them?"
"Yes, those should be the wound locations, right?"
"Previously, the Abyss Mage seemed to have used those spots… to corrupt Dvalin."
Kai nodded.
The events that happened on Starsnatch Cliff not long ago were clearly still fresh in his memory.
"Exactly, those are the congealed poisonous blood on his wounds."
"They contain extremely strong Abyss power."
After speaking,
Barbatos looked at Traveler not far away and said earnestly,
"Traveler, please attack the poisonous blood with all your might."
"Only by resolving the source of the corruption can we save Dvalin."
"By me?"
Traveler's eyes showed a hint of surprise, and she couldn't help but look at Kai.
"Wouldn't it be safer to let Mr. Kai or Mr. Diluc do it?"
Dvalin was not an easy opponent to deal with.
Although Traveler was not afraid of battle, she was worried that because of her,
this plan would be cut short.
"Firstly, Diluc does not possess the purification ability you have."
"Having him attack the poisonous blood wouldn't be very effective."
Seeing Traveler's concern,
Kai unfurled his Wind Glider, chasing Dvalin with the help of the flowing light.
He explained calmly,
"Secondly, although I might be able to purify the poisonous blood,"
"Unfortunately, I'm in a bind here."
Kai said, looking at the clouds not far away.
His gaze became slightly serious for a moment.
"Because some familiar friends,"
"Are hiding in there, waiting for us."
---