"That's a secret."
Venti blinked. Although he seemed a bit weak, his personality hadn't changed in the slightest.
"Hmph, how stingy."
Paimon grumbled, clearly displeased.
She flew directly in front of the Holy Lyre der Himmel, obviously quite annoyed by Venti's actions.
"What are you doing?"
Seeing such a floating object suddenly approach her, although she knew the other party was the Honorary Knight's companion, Venti still clutched the Holy Lyre der Himmel tightly.
She instinctively took two steps back.
Her eyes were instantly filled with wariness.
"Eh, I'm not some suspicious person~"
It was the first time she had been treated with such wary eyes.
Paimon waved her hands, quickly explaining.
"I just want to see if the Holy Lyre der Himmel is really restored."
"After all, it was so severely damaged… is the Bard really that amazing?"
"No!"
However, to this seemingly simple suggestion, Barbara shook her head without hesitation.
She immediately took two steps back, her tone filled with tension.
"Although I don't know how it was done, you absolutely cannot touch the Holy Lyre der Himmel again."
After all, it was only repaired with great difficulty!
One must know, when the Traveler took out the Holy Lyre der Himmel, and it appeared in such a tattered state, heaven knows what despair Barbara was plunged into at that moment.
For a time, it felt as if the world itself gradually became dim.
Whether as a devout believer or as someone who accepted a commission from the church,
Barbara, who always loved to help others, entered a state of self-isolation.
She did not want to experience such a painful feeling again.
And now… with the help of this Bard, after much difficulty, the tattered Holy Lyre der Himmel was finally restored to its original state.
It could be said that Barbara now would not trust anyone until she returned the Holy Lyre der Himmel to the church; she only trusted herself!
Of course… if the object was Jean… Barbara couldn't help but look up at her sister.
Finding that she didn't seem curious, Barbara sighed slightly.
She didn't know if it was relief or regret.
Actually, she really wanted to give Acting Grand Master Jean special treatment!
"In… in any case, I'll head back now."
"Goodbye, Acting Grand Master Jean, and everyone."
Composing herself, Barbara said her goodbyes.
She walked out of the church, hugging the Holy Lyre der Himmel.
Watching her gradually departing figure, Kai thought for a moment.
He still offered a small reminder.
"Oh, Barbara, Jean is still taking you to Good Hunter tonight."
"Don't forget about it."
"I… I know…"
Barbara's faint voice sounded.
If he wasn't mistaken, she was probably shy?
Although Kai already had Jean as his wife, even so, he couldn't help but praise his sister-in-law, Barbara, as cute.
Just as his smile always held an infectious quality in Jean's eyes, the lively Barbara was quite popular throughout Mondstadt.
Wherever she was, perhaps even Hilichurl would instantly quiet down?
Of course, the latter statement was merely an exaggeration.
At least for now… aside from that little girl living in the wilderness who knew how to communicate with Hilichurl, and even get some gifts from them, others facing Hilichurl would, in a small probability, be beaten to death on the spot.
As for the high probability… they would probably be chased all the way back to Mondstadt?
"So, the matter is finally resolved."
As Barbara's figure completely left the church,
Jean let out a sigh of relief, as if a stone pressing on her heart had suddenly shattered.
She felt much lighter all of a sudden.
Indeed, resolving this matter had worried Jean immensely.
After all, she had stood Barbara up earlier.
And before that matter was even fully resolved, it was time to return the Holy Lyre der Himmel.
If it were anyone else, even with Barbara's personality, she would probably be very angry, perhaps even break off their friendship?
"That's why I said it would be fine. Barbara is quite fond of you."
Kai smiled. He had anticipated this scene early on.
He could confidently say that if the previous incident had happened to Kai, then it would probably have been quite troublesome.
After all, his sister-in-law Barbara seemed quite displeased with him, her brother-in-law.
Of course, this wasn't about him as a person.
It was merely the instinctive hostility of a sister, separated for many years, towards anything that maintained intimacy with her own sister.
That feeling was like something she had painstakingly pursued, being effortlessly obtained by someone else.
Of course, Kai wouldn't hold it against Barbara for this.
Having traveled through so many worlds… what kind of people hadn't Kai seen?
Kai could still understand this childish mentality.
And he also knew that Jean harbored very special feelings for her sister.
If possible, Kai wouldn't mind helping to push things along, to increase the intimacy between them.
"Ahem, I guess so."
Jean nodded, feeling very happy to be liked by Barbara.
"But it's hard to imagine that Acting Grand Master Jean and Barbara are actually sisters."
Paimon scratched her head.
Thinking about the interaction with Barbara just now, she couldn't help but murmur.
"Because Jean is the older sister, after all."
Kai said with a faint smile, "As an older sister, displaying a completely different personality from her younger sister…"
"Or rather, being relatively stronger and more dignified, seems only natural."
Of course, that dignity doesn't apply to me, though.
He quietly added that last thought internally.
"Indeed."
Lumine hesitated for a moment.
Then, she nodded with a hint of agreement.
"Alright, let's save these casual topics for later."
After resting for a while, as if he had recovered some stamina,
Barbatos smiled and raised his hand, his eyes full of cunning.
"We need to make a quick getaway before anyone notices."
"A getaway?"
Paimon looked confused.
"That's right."
Barbatos nodded seriously.
He held his hand over his mouth, as if sharing a secret.
Then he slowly revealed the rest of his words.
"After all, the illusion I just used to repair the Holy Lyre der Himmel…",
"Ahem, no, it was magic."
"It's not 100% reliable!"