The Knights of Favonius' library housed countless tomes, many of them taboos among taboos. Quite a few of these books didn't exist even in Sumeru, the nation of wisdom.
"Koji, what are you looking for? Onee-san can help you find it."
Lisa lounged in her chair with lazy grace, sipping her afternoon tea, completely at ease.
"Do you have any records from the period called the 'Year of the Funeral Flames'?" Koji picked up the teacup and drained it in one go.
Lisa froze for a moment. When she saw Koji's lips touch the spot where her lipstick mark still lingered, her cheeks flushed red. An indirect kiss was still a kiss—and that had just been this lady's first kiss.
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she felt. Lisa shot Koji a reproachful glance. He really didn't know how to be romantic.
"The Year of the Funeral Flames… that's truly ancient history. They say the battle back then nearly sank all of Teyvat to the bottom of the sea." Lisa chose not to pursue Koji's question.
Nibelungen, carrying power from beyond this world, had waged war against the Heavenly Principle, Phanes. In the end, the victor had been Phanes.
Nibelungen wielded the power of the Abyss, so the fact that Phanes could still win under those circumstances only proved how unfathomably powerful the Heavenly Principle was.
"There are quite a few things related to that in the restricted section. Do you want to see them?" Lisa rose and slowly walked to Koji's side, her jade-like hand gently caressing his cheek.
A scent of roses drifted over him. It was her natural fragrance—dangerous, yet irresistibly alluring.
"In my heart dwells a fierce tiger, yet I gently sniff the roses," Koji joked, nose twitching as he breathed her in.
"Is there really a fierce tiger in your heart?" Lisa's fingers slid down to knead his solid chest muscles. So firm.
"I'm pretty sure what's in there is a maiden's heart. Do you believe that?"
"Pfft—hah! A maiden's heart?"
"You still have something like that?"
Lisa laughed so hard she practically bent double, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
A grown man claiming he had a "maiden's heart" really was the sort of thing that made you burst out laughing.
Even as a woman herself, she didn't think she possessed anything like that. Captain Jean might, though.
"Koji, how am I even supposed to describe your personality?"
Lisa's brows knit slightly. Bickering with Koji like this was actually pretty relaxing.
"How does it feel?" Koji asked, his tone suddenly mysterious.
"What feels how?"
Lisa blinked, not understanding what Koji meant.
"Your body. I just gave it a bit of adjustment," Koji said.
"…"
"…It feels… good."
Lisa focused inward for a moment. Starlight seemed to flicker around her Constellation; her vitality had returned to its peak, the issues with her Constellation resolved.
No wonder she'd felt that strange lightness just now. So that was it. Every time she raised her estimation of Koji, she still ended up having underestimated him.
"To treat Onee-san this well… You know I'm considered the library's resident witch, right?" Lisa said with a smile.
"Then marry me in return."
Koji slipped an arm around Lisa's soft, boneless waist, smiling faintly.
The two of them pressed close together, each able to feel the dense warmth of the other's presence. Even Lisa, Mondstadt's notorious "race queen," couldn't help blushing.
She was all talk and bravado. She'd never experienced anything like this before.
"Mm…"
She had just opened her mouth to say something when Koji captured her lips. His breath washed over her cheeks.
Lisa felt her mind go fuzzy. A languid mist gathered in her charming eyes as she slowly closed them.
What a strange sensation. So this was what kissing felt like?
After a long moment, their lips parted.
Lisa's breathing was a little uneven, her cheeks tinged with crimson, her eyes gleaming with a watery sheen.
"You took Onee-san's first kiss. You'll have to take responsibility," she said, half-smiling, half-not.
"Honestly speaking, where do I rank?"
She knew full well that Lumine and Eula were both this guy's women. Which meant that in other nations, there were probably more as well.
"As far as confirmed relationships go, you're the fourth," Koji answered seriously.
Lisa raised her brows. She could already imagine little sisters joining the roster after her.
"Does that mean I should be calling Lumine 'Onee-san'?" Lisa asked.
"In a sense, yeah. Lumine's age is actually pretty high—five hundred years would be the bare minimum," Koji said, dead serious.
Lumine had already spent several centuries in Teyvat. Not counting the world she'd been in before this one, just the time she'd lingered in Teyvat was longer than the Second Dendro Archon Nahida or the Hydro Archon Furina.
"So she's not some little girl after all," Lisa murmured, surprised.
She hadn't expected that traveler to be no youngster at all, but one of the long-lived.
"Then calling her Onee-san really isn't a problem," Lisa said with a laugh.
Calling someone who was at least over five hundred years old "big sister" was something she could accept.
"Achoo!"
On Tsurumi Island, where she was scrambling over mountains and cracking open treasure chests, Lumine suddenly sneezed, a puzzled look crossing her face.
"That's weird. Who's talking about me behind my back? I just got three different kinds of bad premonitions at once."
Even she was still a woman; of course she cared about her age. Feeling something when it was mentioned was only natural.
"Lumine, what's wrong?" Paimon asked, confused.
"It's nothing. It's just… the treasure chests on Tsurumi are ridiculously dense. There's so much stuff inside." Lumine was having the time of her life looting.
…
Koji didn't stay with Lisa for the night. He needed a bit of mental preparation.
"Little Klee, in solitary confinement again." Koji pushed open the door to the confinement room and, sure enough, the little one had been grounded.
"Big Brother Koji, you're here!"
Klee hopped off the bed, scampering over to Koji with a look so cute it could kill.
"Klee doesn't want to stay in the confinement room either, but Captain Jean won't let me go out," Klee said in a small voice.
Koji understood at once. Klee must have done something again; otherwise Jean wouldn't have locked her up.
Speak of the devil—Jean appeared in the doorway, hands planted on her hips. "Klee, if you could be even a little less of a handful, I wouldn't have to keep you in the confinement room."
"Your bombs soaked one of the fishermen from head to toe. He came all the way to the Knights to lodge a complaint."
Jean sighed helplessly. From the fishermen's perspective, Klee's bombing counted as wicked sorcery. They'd been fishing there all day and barely caught anything, while Klee's explosives casually blasted up several fish and left them drenched. Of course they were upset.
To be honest, this sort of thing happened fairly often. Some people wouldn't bother picking a fight with a child, but others didn't care and came straight to complain.
"Klee didn't mean to," Klee muttered, embarrassed.
"At least you didn't hurt anyone. You'll stay in the confinement room for a few days," Jean said.
It was called a confinement room, but it didn't look like one at all. The furnishings inside were just like a bedroom at home. The only real punishment was that Klee wasn't allowed out to cause trouble.
She never lacked for good food or anything else.
"Got it…" Klee's ahoge drooped. No fish bombing for her.
Koji didn't try to plead on Klee's behalf. The confinement room was essentially Klee's home; even when she wasn't grounded, she lived here.
After leaving the confinement room, Koji asked curiously:
"Jean, did Alice stay in there too?"
Jean paused, then nodded with a wry smile. "Lady Alice really did live in there for a while. Only two people have ever been shut in that confinement room, and they were mother and daughter."
(End of Chapter)
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