"What are you thinking about?"
"Huh? Me?"
Suddenly hearing someone speak to her, the startled Lumine responded subconsciously, looking around.
"Yeah, you look troubled. Is there something you need Kaito to help with?"
Resting her chin on one hand, Kiana stared at Lumine as if trying to see right through her.
"Does Lumine need Kaito? I'll go get him."
It seemed Wendy had overheard Kiana and Lumine's conversation, as she stood up, ready to go get Kaito.
"No, no, I don't need Kaito... ah, no, Kaito, I'm fine."
Surprised that Wendy and Kiana were so concerned about her, Lumine quickly insisted she didn't need to call for Kaito.
And in her haste, Lumine subconsciously called Kaito by his nickname, 'Kai', just as Wendy and Kiana did.
This Lumine...
What is she thinking?
Sitting back down, Wendy was very curious about what Lumine had just been thinking.
However, she also knew that it would be difficult for either her or Kiana to get an answer out of her.
Although Wendy, Kiana, and Lumine were all girls, and some things were easier to talk about compared to with Kaito, they didn't know each other well, which made things awkward.
Kiana and I will have to try and get to know Lumine better...
After some thought, Wendy came to this conclusion.
After all, if they were all girls and knew each other well, they could discuss many things together instead of one person bottling it all up, which wouldn't be good.
"There's nothing wrong with calling him Kai."
Kiana said this quietly in response to Lumine correcting her way of addressing Kaito.
"How about calling him Old Zhuang?"
Knowing Lumine definitely wouldn't say what she was thinking, Wendy decided to make a joke to liven up the atmosphere.
It's like...
they don't see me as an outsider...
And it seems...
they already think of me as Kaito's girlfriend?
Listening quietly to Wendy and Kiana's words, Lumine couldn't help but come to this conclusion.
Of course, she would only think such things to herself and would never say them out loud.
After all, if Kaito didn't feel the same way, it would be incredibly awkward for her.
"Whoa, this doesn't look tasty at all. Let's not order it..."
Just then, Paimon, whose attention had been glued to the menu, suddenly uttered these words.
It was safe to say that from the moment she got the menu, Paimon's focus had been entirely on it, and she hadn't noticed what Lumine and the others were talking about at all.
Sigh...
all she thinks about is food...
Glancing at Paimon with a sense of resignation, Lumine sighed silently.
But even so, she didn't say anything.
Right...
I should say something...
"I'll just stick to calling him Kaito. I'm used to it."
"Call him whatever you want. He won't mind anyway."
After saying this, Kiana suddenly muttered something to herself in her mind.
The day after tomorrow?
So soon...
Because just then, Kaito and the others were discussing the date of the Rite of Descension, so Kiana knew about it immediately.
"Speaking of which... I didn't expect Kaito to already have friends in Liyue."
Lumine said this, feeling like she had to say something.
She had originally thought it was Kaito's first time in Liyue, just like her, but it turned out he already had friends here, and they seemed to be quite impressive.
"It's perfectly normal to have friends. But this is my first time meeting that person, too."
Since Kiana's established backstory was that she had come from another place to find Kaito, she answered Lumine this way.
"That's true. Maybe Kaito has friends in other nations too." At this point, Lumine felt she was getting more familiar with Kiana and Wendy, and wasn't as reserved as before.
"When I went to get Kaito just now, I heard them discussing something called the Rite of Descension. Do you want to go see it when the time comes?"
Although it was ostensibly Wendy inviting Lumine to the Rite of Descension, it was actually Kaito inviting her, since they would all be together anyway.
"The Rite of Descension? Is it related to this nation's god?"
Hearing the words 'Rite of Descension,' Lumine guessed it had something to do with the nation's deity.
In the past, she definitely would have thought of using this opportunity to ask the god of Liyue about her brother, but now, she no longer needed to.
Wait...
I can ask about the Abyss and the Heavenly Principles...
No...
I can just ask Wendy...
She's the Anemo Archon...
She's bound to know something...
Because she had barely spoken a few words with Wendy before, she had never thought to ask her these questions, but now it seemed like she could.
Of course, she would have to find another time to ask. Now wasn't appropriate.
"That's right. Only at the annual Rite of Descension does this nation's god, the Geo Archon, appear before the public."
Wendy nodded and gave Lumine a simple introduction to the Rite of Descension.
Wendy really knows a lot about this sort of thing...
Right...
The reason Kaito chose to come to Liyue at this time...
could it be because of Wendy?
After all, Wendy is the Anemo Archon...
Maybe she was invited by the Geo Archon...
And then Wendy had Kaito bring them all to Liyue...
After hearing what Wendy said, Lumine subconsciously concocted a theory as to why Kaito had come to Liyue today.
Although she didn't know if it was true, she felt her guess was very reasonable.
"Whoa? Once a year? Will there be any tasty food?"
As soon as she heard 'once a year,' Paimon's first thought was about whether there would be anything delicious to eat.
After all, an event that only happens once a year was sure to be grand, which meant there was a high probability of good food.
"With the god... Ouch! Why'd you hit me?"
Just as Paimon was about to say more, she suddenly got hit on the head, making her subconsciously drop the menu and clutch her head.
"Let's talk after you finish the food that's coming. All you ever think about is eating, eating, eating. Isn't all that food we ordered going to be enough for you?"
Although Kiana and Wendy had stopped trying to prevent Paimon from ordering one of everything, seeing Paimon thinking about food again, Lumine really couldn't hold back.
If Wendy and Kiana weren't here right now, she really would have liked to properly discipline this food-obsessed Paimon.
"So, are you planning to go see it? Kiana, Kaito, and I will all be going."
Wendy then asked Lumine again if she wanted to go.
"No problem. When the time comes..."
"Kaito will call for you when it's time."
"Okay, I understand."
Nodding emphatically, Lumine showed that she understood.
Since they had invited her, she naturally wouldn't refuse.
______
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