The lamp went out.
Alice's voice faded into silence.
Xia Zhi had thought this outing was just a little treasure hunt to entertain the girls. He never expected it would end up connecting back to himself.
The secret society known as the Hexenzirkel wasn't made up solely of witches—there had once been an even more mysterious magical girl among them.
Witches and magical girls—though the terms sound similar, easily evoking the idea of women and girls belonging to the same camp—in truth, such an assumption was gravely mistaken.
That was because in all of Teyvat, there had only ever been witches. Magical girls simply did not exist.
The magical girl transformation ability was something born solely from Xia Zhi's hand.
When he first obtained knowledge on how to wield Faith Power, an idea had suddenly struck him—sparked by some film and television works from his previous world. He thought it would be amusing to try realizing such a concept. So he tried… and succeeded.
The very first magical girl to appear was Qiqi.
Just a few days ago, the second appeared—Fischl.
Perhaps in the future, there would be a third, a fourth…
But now, Alice had said that hundreds of years ago, she had already met a magical girl. And that mysterious figure seemed to still be searching relentlessly for him to this very day.
Xia Zhi couldn't help but harbor doubts toward Alice.
Not doubts that she was lying—she was [the one who never lies]. And besides, what purpose would such a lie serve her?
No, his doubts were about whether the magical girl she spoke of was truly the same kind as Qiqi and Fischl.
If that unknown magical girl also possessed a transformation item, then it was highly likely that it had been something Xia Zhi himself had given her in the past—just as he had somehow, in the past, already met Barbatos and Alice.
But that raised a new problem.
The transformation items Xia Zhi made required Faith Power to charge. And not just any faith—it had to be faith in him.
The stronger one's devotion toward him, the faster the item charged.
If she truly had been given such a transformation item by him, then there was no way Xia Zhi wouldn't have sensed the existence of another believer.
Whenever Qiqi or Fischl transformed, for example, the moment they did, the system would instantly pop up with a special interface dedicated just to her, allowing Xia Zhi to shape their magical girl appearances however he liked.
But this had never once happened.
Since ascending to godhood, Xia Zhi could hear the prayers of his followers. He could also gather the Faith Power they offered him. Yet never had he once heard a prayer from some mysterious magical girl.
Clearly, whoever this magical girl was, she was fundamentally different from Qiqi and Fischl.
Xia Zhi lowered his head, thought for a moment, then picked up the beautiful lamp from the table.
Now it had returned to silence.
Though the prophecy on the note had called it the [Lamp of Bliss], in reality it was nothing more than a long-distance communication tool for the witches.
A low-end version of a cellphone.
Pretty, but not of much use.
Xia Zhi handed the lamp to Klee.
This had belonged to her mother—naturally, it was best left in her care.
"Klee, do you still remember the incantation to activate the lamp?"
"Klee remembers!"
"From now on, whenever you miss your mom, use this lamp to call her and chat with her."
"Mm!"
Klee hugged the lamp tightly, her face alight with joy.
To her, this was the greatest treasure she could ever have hoped for.
And with that, this treasure hunt came to a perfect end.
The girls wandered around the floating island. Though the only thing here was a long table once used for tea parties, the views stretching out in every direction were breathtaking.
Charlotte, with her newly-upgraded Kamera, snapped plenty more shots to use in her contest entry.
When they had finished looking around, everyone decided to stay and have lunch here.
Just the right chance to cook up the fish Xiangling and Diona had caught during the fishing competition.
They built a campfire, set up their cookware, and soon the air was filled with the delicious aroma of grilled fish.
Once upon a time, this ornate tea table had hosted witches' gatherings—now, it was piled high with tasty dishes.
They passed a cheerful afternoon together before piling into the hovercar to return to Mondstadt.
After arriving back in Mondstadt, Fischl split from the group and went alone to the Library.
She was a regular here, already very familiar with how the books were categorized.
But this time, she didn't head to the shelves of fantasy novels. Instead, she went to a quiet corner where hardly anyone lingered.
Here, the shelves were lined with tomes about the Anemo Archon and the Church of Favonius.
Fischl stood before the shelves, carefully paging through book after book.
She kept reading, until the sky outside had darkened completely.
Lisa emerged from her office, ready to close up, when she noticed a young girl still bent over a book.
That hair color, that night raven perched nearby… and the familiar aura of another Electro Vision bearer—Lisa recognized her at once.
Fischl, the girl who always came to borrow fantasy novels.
She was diligent about returning books three days early, and always treated the tomes with the utmost care. Truly a good child.
Lisa smiled and walked over.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Oz turned and saw Lisa coming. He gently tapped Fischl's shoulder.
Startled, Fischl jerked her head up. "Librarian Lisa…"
Lisa smiled. "It's this late already—I was just about to close up. What are you still doing reading here?"
Fischl glanced toward the window. Outside, the world was pitch black. "Eh—it's gotten so late? Oz, why didn't you remind me!"
Oz gave a helpless sigh. "My lady, you told me very clearly not to disturb you."
Fischl quickly set the book down. "Librarian Lisa, I'll head back now!"
The girl hurried out of the Library.
Lisa watched her figure disappear through the doorway, then turned her gaze to the shelf. Her expression grew slightly surprised.
"Gods and religion… When did that child start taking interest in this sort of thing?"
"And the way she talks now… it's gotten a lot more normal."
"Not nearly as entertaining. I'm not used to it."
Lisa murmured softly to herself.
---
A noble girl with icy blue hair walked into the Knights of Favonius' office.
"Acting Grand Master Jean."
"Eula."
"I'd like to request leave for tomorrow."
"You're entering the dance competition, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"Very well. Do your best tomorrow, and aim for first place."
"I will."
The girl nodded firmly and left the office, looking for a quiet place where she could once again rehearse her dance steps.
---
The room smelled faintly of cherry blossoms.
Xia Zhen lay on her small bed, eyes closed, face blissful.
The pressure of the hands massaging her was just right, drawing out soft, hazy moans of pleasure from her lips.
"Cousin."
"Mm?"
"Does my body feel even better to the touch now than before?"
"…Yeah."
"How are things with you and Cloud Retainer?"
"Not bad."
"What stage have you two reached?"
"…Why do you ask?"
"Curious!"
"Curiosity can get you killed."
"It's fine—you'll just revive me again."
"…"
"If you won't tell me, then I'll just guess?"
"…"
"Then I'm starting. Did you and Cloud Retainer progress faster than Xia Ci and I?"
"…Probably faster."
"Tsk. My little cousin really needs to step up her game."
Later, when Xia Zhen returned to her room, she relayed the info she'd pried out to Xia Ci, wearing a look of utter disappointment.
"See? Cloud Retainer's so proactive. You've lived far longer than her, and yet you're still holding back? Why don't you try being bold for once?"
Xia Ci lounged on her bed, playing a game on her phone, ignoring her.
Xia Zhen kept nagging.
Finally, Xia Ci put her phone down and gave her a look. "Why are you so nosy about this?"
"As your bestie, isn't it my duty to help plot your romance?"
"You say that like you're some kind of expert."
"Experience doesn't matter. What matters is you've lived longer than Cloud Retainer, yet you're falling behind."
"As long as I'm ahead of you, that's fine."
"You're really not anxious at all?"
"The love of a long-lived race—if it comes too fiercely…" Xia Ci's voice grew faintly amused as she looked at Xia Zhen.
"…then the days ahead will lose much of their flavor."