Outside Mondstadt.
Lumine and Paimon were on their way to Qingce Village.
Last night, when they left the Good Hunter restaurant, Sara had told them the location of the ingredients.
Finding out that it was in Qingce Village, Lumine and Paimon weren't in a rush anymore.
After all, Qingce Village wasn't far from Mondstadt's main city, so the two of them walked leisurely.
Even so, little Paimon was still a bit unhappy.
If they could just eat comfortably, why bother working so hard?
The more she thought about it, the more Paimon sighed in frustration.
"Lumine, if only you had agreed last night, we wouldn't be walking here right now. We'd already be in the boss's manga shop, eating delicious food while reading comics. Isn't that a wonderful life?"
"Then why don't you offer yourself to Boss Han as an ingredient? He can stir-fry you while you eat."
Lumine snapped back.
This little thing was beyond saving.
Yes, the boss was handsome, strong, and a superb cook. He also had mysterious, fascinating manga.
But was Lumine that kind of girl?
A little restraint wouldn't hurt!
How could she just "warm the bed" because someone said so? That would be way too shameless!
Of course, little Paimon had no idea what Lumine was thinking.
She was secretly plotting in her own head.
"If I want to sell Lumine for a good price, I have to get her close to the boss. Hmm, the first step should be making her live in his house. That way, maybe I can sneak in and enjoy the perks too, hehe…"
The more she thought about it, the more excited she became.
It was as if she could already see a bright future waving at her.
Lumine could only sigh and shake her head helplessly, ignoring her.
Just then, a lazy voice drifted down from above.
"Finally, you're here… I was about to fall asleep waiting."
Both Lumine and Paimon froze, looking up.
On a boulder sat a girl in a purple witch outfit with a pointed hat. She stretched lazily before teleporting down beside them in a ripple of space.
"Hmph, my astrology never misses…"
Mona glanced at the water divination disk she had drawn and nodded in satisfaction.
"You there, come with me."
Lumine and Paimon exchanged confused looks.
Who on earth was this?
"Uh… are you some kind of fortune-teller making house calls?"
Paimon guessed, then quickly shook her head and waved her hand.
"Sorry, but we don't need any—"
"Oh?"
Mona flicked back her hair, her tone certain.
"You… don't belong to this world, do you?"
That line left Lumine and Paimon both stunned.
How did she know?!
"Greetings. I am Astrologist Mona Megistus, practitioner of astrology."
After introducing herself, Mona stated her purpose.
"I've come to ask your help retrieving a chest in Mondstadt that belongs to my master. Fifty years ago, she and a friend made a promise about it. But now she's too old to travel, so it falls to me."
"Retrieve a chest? That doesn't sound like it has much to do with us. Why drag us along?"
Paimon frowned. "Besides, we've got our own business to handle!"
It hadn't been easy to get Boss Han to agree to cook for them.
If they wasted that chance, it'd be a huge loss!
Lumine nodded in agreement.
If they were free, fine. But right now, they weren't.
"No problem, I can wait until you're done first."
Mona didn't mind.
Winning that contest required this Traveler's help, but she had no intention of disrupting their affairs.
"I see. Well, if you don't mind, why not just come with us?"
After exchanging glances, Lumine made the decision.
"I'll trouble you, then."
And so their party of two became a party of three.
"By the way, what exactly are you busy with?"
Mona asked curiously.
"We're gathering ingredients for Boss Han. Afterwards, we'll get to taste his cooking!"
Paimon grinned.
"Oh, so he's a chef!"
Mona nodded. Sounded like a minor errand. Shouldn't take long.
"Boss Han isn't just any chef. His cooking is extraordinary, and this is a rare chance we earned!"
Paimon puffed herself up proudly.
Clearly, she took pride in the fact that she'd get to eat Han Feng's food.
Lumine sighed inwardly.
Rare chance?
It had nearly cost her "warming his bed" to get it!
"A top-class chef? I've seen that in Liyue too. The cooks there are amazing."
Mona shook her head, unimpressed.
"Hmph, but can Liyue chefs make food that shines? Can their dishes move people to tears?"
Paimon's face was full of disdain. Then she looked up reverently.
"Boss Han can do all that. He can even recreate every single dish from the manga Cooking Master Boy!"
"Cooking Master Boy… manga?"
Mona blinked.
What did cooking have to do with manga?
And what even was a manga?
Seeing her confused, Lumine could only press her hand to her forehead.
Here we go again—Paimon was about to start her nonsense.
Sure enough, Mona's curiosity about manga made Paimon perk up.
"Manga is a kind of book with lots of pictures and fewer words. Boss Han runs a manga shop in Mondstadt called Solace Book House. Anyone who reads manga there can receive rewards."
"You're telling me… just by reading comics, people get rewards?!"
Mona frowned, looking at her like she was being trolled.
How could such a ridiculous thing exist?
Lumine and Paimon were used to that look.
They'd seen it plenty of times—skepticism, disbelief, even mockery.
But in the end, everyone who went to Han's shop left completely shocked.
Take Bennett, for instance. He hadn't believed a word at first.
But after seeing the wonders of the manga shop, he became a devoted fan.
Word was he'd gone adventuring again today, just to earn more Mora.
Otherwise, he wouldn't even have money left for manga.
Paimon scratched her head.
How was she supposed to convince Mona?
Tell her everything that had happened before?
But Mona didn't look like someone easy to persuade.
It was a tricky problem.
In the end, Paimon decided not to overthink it and just said outright:
"I don't know how to explain it properly, but Boss Han's manga shop is really magical. As long as you go and read there, you'll have a chance to get rewards you can't even imagine. If you don't believe me, just come with us and see for yourself."
In Paimon's opinion, people like Mona could only be convinced by experiencing it firsthand.
"Hearing you put it like that, I really am curious about this Trouble-Relieving Book House and Boss Han."
Mona's tone carried a hint of excitement.
She didn't believe what Paimon said.
Reading manga to gain rewards? Absurd.
But these two didn't seem to be lying either.
"Then I'll just divine it."
For Mona, whenever she encountered something she couldn't understand—or someone who caught her interest—she would perform astrology.
Maybe it could reveal some secrets.
She waved her hands through the air.
A shimmering blue water scrying disk appeared before her.
"Eh? What's she doing?"
Paimon tilted her head curiously.
"Probably trying to divine Boss Han, right?"
Lumine guessed, uncertain.
But neither of them tried to stop her.
They were curious too.
Could this astrologist really divine anything about Boss Han?
…
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