"Eeeek! The slime became a spirit!"
Paimon shrank back in fright, hiding behind Lumine's back. Only her little head peeked out, big sparkling eyes blinking nervously.
Lumine frowned, lowering her sword—though she did not fully drop her guard.
"I'm not a bad slime. I used to be human, but when I woke up… I'd turned into a slime."
To avoid a misunderstanding, Farmas immediately fabricated an excuse.
"Hmph. As if I'd tell her I'm actually the legendary Flame Archon, the Fire of War."
Farmas thought proudly to himself.
Lumine blinked her bright eyes, curiously studying the slime before her.
To be honest, slimes looked quite cute on the outside. It was just that they tended to attack humans, so one usually had no choice but to eliminate them.
But this slime could talk. And claimed it had been human. No wonder it didn't attack her.
"You really are different from other slimes… you're huge."
Lumine looked up at the massive Farmas.
"I can shrink."
Farmas responded immediately.
Fire energy compressed inward, and his huge body rapidly shrank—eventually becoming roughly Paimon-sized.
"Are you from… this continent? From Teyvat?"
Lumine, now accepting his existence, carefully scooped him up. A soft, gentle warmth spread from her palms to her shoulders.
"Yes. My name is Farmas. I lived on this continent… a very, very long time ago."
Farmas answered—and instantly saw Lumine's eyes widen with excitement.
"Then—have you seen someone who looks very similar to me? A boy, golden hair like mine—"
Lumine hugged Farmas to her chest, squeezing him with excited hands.
"Hiss—no, never—wait, not so hard!"
"Ah—sorry!"
Realizing she was squeezing him like a stress ball, Lumine hurriedly loosened her grip. But Farmas, as a Pyro Slime, emitted such comforting warmth that one couldn't help wanting to hold him close.
"I'm Lumine. And this is Paimon—my best eme— best friend."
"Hey! I definitely heard something weird just now!"
Paimon puffed her cheeks angrily, but Lumine had already begun explaining her own story to Farmas.
"…and that's how a mysterious god took my brother away. I was sealed and lost my former power. We once crossed countless worlds, but now we're trapped… How long ago was it? I don't know… After waking up, I wandered alone until two months ago, when I met Paimon."
Her gentle tone, paired with a story Farmas had already heard many times, made him sleepy again.
"A mysterious god… the ruler of Celestia."
Farmas, of course, knew whom she meant—the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles. Even at his peak, leading a mighty rebellion, he could never fly directly to Celestia and infringe upon that deity's authority.
"Maybe only by gathering the power of all Seven Archons could one fight her…"
Just as Farmas drifted off in thought, Paimon's voice snapped him back.
"Then let's go find the first god!"
"Destination—Statue of The Seven!"
Lumine and Farmas both looked at the floating Paimon.
"Farmas, will you come with us?"
Lumine placed him gently on the ground, asking softly.
"Of course. You're heading to Mondstadt, right? I'll go with you."
But after walking for less than ten minutes, Lumine and Paimon noticed a problem—
Farmas could only move by bouncing.
At their speed, he would always lag far behind.
"Why're you walking so fast? Two teenagers bullying a two-thousand-year-old senior citizen—shameful, shameful… sneak attacks, traps…"
Farmas muttered in slime-speak.
"Farmas."
Lumine walked back, cheeks a little pink, watching him struggle forward while grumbling nonstop.
"Why don't I… carry you?"
Farmas froze. If he weren't a slime, Lumine would have seen him blush.
"Then… thank you."
With his permission, Lumine bent down, slipped her slender yet strong arms under him, and gently lifted him up.
Before Farmas could process what happened, he had already fallen into a literal heaven of softness.
Warm. Comfortable. Blissful.
Farmas's oval eyes curved into crescent moons, his entire being radiating joy. A shy red tint colored the front of his round body. Slimes had no arms or legs—just eyes and a nose—but he somehow still managed to look bashful.
Being held was wonderful.
Lumine hugged the basketball-sized Farmas. His jelly-like, bouncy body was incredibly soft, warm, light—impossibly pleasant to hold.
She had never realized slimes felt this good to touch. Hugging one to sleep must be amazing…
But she also wondered—was Farmas male or female? Or like wind spirits, without a gender? But his voice did sound like a man's… Lumine's thoughts drifted a bit too far.
Paimon looked at Farmas with deep envy. She should've pretended she couldn't fly! Then she would've been the one in Lumine's arms right now!
With Lumine carrying Farmas, the journey time was cut from an hour to just half.
And finally, the three arrived at Windrise.