A few minutes later, the two friends lay on the ground covered in wounds, gasping for breath.
Seeing this, Sakura didn't dare delay. After saying goodbye to Victor and the others, she supported the two injured boys toward the Ninja Hospital, muttering complaints the entire way about them not knowing their limits.
Now she had to play nursemaid again.
In the past, she might've only blamed Naruto for this kind of reckless behavior, but now she couldn't help criticizing Sasuke too. Ever since meeting Victor, Sakura realized the Uchiha prodigy wasn't quite as impressive as she'd once thought.
"Victor, why'd you suddenly decide to teach those two?" Alisa finally asked, voicing the question that had been bothering her.
Wasn't Victor usually only this generous with beautiful women? Why the sudden kindness toward these boys?
Victor pinched the girl's soft cheek playfully. "I'm not particularly interested in teaching them. But Tsunade needs capable people right now, and those two have real talent. When they get stronger, they'll be a huge help to her."
"Oh, I see." Understanding dawned in Alisa's eyes.
"Let's check out the rest of the village."
Evening came quickly.
Victor brought Alisa and the other girls to the Hokage's office.
Tsunade was still buried in paperwork, her eyes brightening the moment she saw them enter. But when Victor explained their purpose, she immediately tried to persuade them to stay.
"Why not stick around for a few more days? After everything you've done to help, let me at least show you some proper hospitality."
Are you trying to be a good host, or are you trying to keep us as free labor?
Victor wasn't fooled. He shook his head firmly.
"No thanks. I'd rather go home and spend time with my wives."
He gave Tsunade a knowing look. "Besides, your unification war will take time to prepare. There's no rush for me to stay."
The Hidden Cloud Village had been destroyed and the Land of Lightning brought under control. It wouldn't be wise to immediately declare war on the remaining nations. They needed time to fully absorb the Lightning Country's strength before moving on to the next target.
Unification wars had to be fought systematically, taking down all countries at once would create chaos impossible to manage.
Tsunade didn't push further. After exchanging farewells, she watched Victor and the girls leave through the window.
Four or five days passed in the blink of an eye.
[Lumine: @Victor, you there? I've made it to Sumeru!]
It was noon when Victor received the message from the chat group. He'd been in the middle of morning exercises with his maid Krul, and the sudden notification made him pause mid-motion.
The result was a resentful look from Krul.
"Why'd you stop so suddenly?"
"Sorry about that. Let's continue."
While Victor resumed his morning exercises, he split his attention to focus on the chat group.
[Victor: Hold on, I might need a little while before I can come through.]
[Lumine: How long is 'a little while'?]
Victor glanced at the women lined up behind Krul, then replied.
[Victor: About an hour or two.]
[Lumine: Wait, what? Brother, you've been rushing me to get to Sumeru as fast as possible. Now that I'm finally here, you want me to wait? What are you even doing right now?]
[Victor: It's ineffable and indescribable.]
[Lumine: What the hell does that mean?]
[Stelle: It's so obvious! Don't you get it? He's currently %¥*# right now!]
[Lumine: What the heck? That's just gibberish.]
[Stelle: Damn! There are censors here too?]
[Lumine: So what exactly is Victor doing?]
[Belle: Lumine, when did you become so innocent?]
[Bai Yuekui: I honestly can't tell if you're genuinely pure or just playing dumb.]
[Lumine: Okay, now that you've put it like that, I think I understand what he's up to.]
[Shinoa: Now you suddenly understand? Seems like you're not that innocent after all.]
[Rin Tohsaka: More like fake innocence?]
[Lumine: Hey, can you blame me? Who the hell does morning exercises in the middle of the day!]
[Victor: I'm living on European time right now, understand?]
[Kurumi Tokisaki: Ah, that's right. Mr. Victor mentioned a few days ago that he was on European time.]
[Victor: See, you need to be flexible about these things, like time zones, and like moral boundaries.]
[Tsunade: Bullshit!]
[Gu Yuena: ...]
[Kikyo: What does it mean to do morning exercises?]
[Bai Yuekui: I can't believe there's still someone this innocent in the group.]
[Belle: Pure as freshly fallen snow.]
[Stelle: Hehehe, such a naive little sister. Let's approach quietly and don't scare her away!]
[Rin Tohsaka: Stop it, Stelle! Don't corrupt Miss Kikyo!]
[Kiana: You shameless Stelle, you're not even a year old and you're already calling people your little sister.]
[Stelle: Hmph! One day, I'll make every girl in this group call me big sister! Victor, you hear me? Hurry up and conquer them all!]
[Victor: I heard you. Working hard, working hard... almost there... mmm!]
[Everyone: ...]
[Shinoa: I'm pretty sure the 'working hard' Victor's talking about isn't the same as what Stelle meant.]
[Rin Tohsaka: Be more confident and drop the 'I'm pretty sure.']
[Lumine: So can I come over yet? Are you done?]
[Victor: Ahem, there are still three or four more.]
[Lumine: For fuck's sake!]
On the continent of Teyvat, outside Sumeru City.
Lumine sat on a massive boulder with a look of utter despair.
That damn Victor! Making a girl wait for him while he fooled around with other women. If she weren't asking for his help, she'd never put up with this kind of treatment!
Little Paimon squatted on the ground, holding a small stick and doodling in the dirt. After a moment, she tossed the stick aside.
"Hey Lumine, look at my masterpiece!"
Lumine glanced at the abstract mess on the ground and gave it a thumbs up. "Very nice. You really captured the essence of a hillbilly."
Paimon put her hands on her hips indignantly. "What hillbilly? I drew you! Can't you tell?"
Lumine's eyes widened as she looked more closely at the drawing that was abstract beyond recognition.
"This is supposed to be me?"
"Yes! Look, it's super realistic."
"This looks nothing like me! We're not even the same species!"
Lumine reached out to grab Paimon for a good shake, but the little companion was ready. She floated up just in time to dodge.
"Hehehe, who told you to draw me looking so stupid last time on the snowy mountain? This is payback!"
After some playful bickering, the two lay on the grass together, staring up at the sky in boredom.
"By the way, when's Victor going to show up? It's already been over an hour," Paimon asked.
"Probably soon."
"What's he even doing that takes this long?"
"Don't ask questions you don't need answers to, kid."
"Hmph! Paimon's not a kid anymore!"
"Sure you aren't. Hey, look, someone's coming."
At that moment, a gentle voice interrupted their conversation.
"Why are you lying around in a place like this? You should be careful of monster attacks!"
Both of them immediately sat up from the grass.
A beautiful girl with green hair stood before them. She wore a black dress and carried a bow, looking at them with curious eyes.
"Hello! My name is Collei, and I'm a trainee forest ranger in Gandharva Ville. What are you two doing out here?"
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