"Alright, alright, Su Bai, stop wasting food."
Eula stopped Su Bai from adding more ingredients to the pot. She could see clearly now—Su Bai had no idea how to cook. No wonder he'd been getting all his meals from Good Hunter.
"And here I thought Little Bai would make some Liyue dishes. It seems he lived a life of being waited on hand and foot in Liyue as well."
Yae Miko covered her mouth with a light chuckle. This outcome was within her expectations. Su Bai's cooking skills, while slightly better than her old friend's, were still only at the "edible" level.
"Alright, alright, Little Bai. Don't look so discouraged. Your big sister here didn't know, did she?"
"Hehe. At your age—old enough to be an ancestor—you're still calling yourself 'big sister'? It seems Guji Yae isn't so honest either."
"Miss Lisa, you can't say that. Little Bai is an adeptus from Liyue—his lifespan is incredibly long. Calling myself his big sister is entirely appropriate."
Lisa tried to retort, but Yae Miko used Su Bai's identity to render her speechless again. Having been bested so many times, the witch Lisa was naturally unwilling to accept defeat. She resolved to find an opportunity for a proper 'exchange' with this Guji Yae to teach her that witches weren't so easily pushed around.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Since everyone's here, let's begin."
No sooner had Jean spoken than Paimon, who had been circling the stove, immediately flew over to a plate of Sweet Madame and tore off a drumstick. She'd had her eye on that plump leg for a while now.
"Mmm mmm~ So delicious! I never knew Amber was such a good cook. Lumine, you really should learn to cook properly."
"Last time you said you'd make some 'other world' cuisine—wrap chicken in mud and leaves, then roast it in the fire. The inside turned to charcoal! Such a waste!"
"And the time before that, you took flour and said you'd make mantou. The mantou you made was harder than silver ore! I used one to tap some silver ore, and the mantou was fine, but the ore had a dent in it!"
Paimon stuffed food into her mouth while mercilessly criticizing Lumine's terrible cooking. She would never forget the time Lumine first cooked and burned a hole through the pot. Good thing they were outdoors—if that had happened inside, it might have caused a fire.
"Pfft—cough, cough."
Eula had just poured herself a glass of wine when Paimon's words made her spray it out. She couldn't imagine how something harder than silver ore was made. Had Lumine used a hammer during the process?
'Wow... Has Lumine mastered some kind of smithing technique? Turning flour into such a hard weapon? Truly terrifying.'
"With the calligraphy chicken, I just misjudged the heat. The mantou turned out that way because I used too little water and some... other reasons."
"Paimon, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll stew you instead! We've got a pot right here!"
Flustered and embarrassed, Lumine ignored everyone's strange looks and stuffed a piece of cake into Paimon's mouth. The discomfort of having something forcibly shoved in made Paimon struggle wildly, letting out muffled sounds.
"You two, stop fooling around. Honorary Knight, do you have time in the coming days? I have a long-term commission I'd like to entrust to you."
Jean pulled Lumine and Paimon apart. Su Bai poured a glass of juice for Paimon, who was rolling her eyes from choking on cake. Finally managing to swallow, Paimon's eyes sparkled as she looked at Jean.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, what kind of commission? Lumine is really strong! Whatever it is, as long as the remuneration is enough, we can definitely handle it!"
"Ahem, this commission might be somewhat dangerous. You must prioritize your safety while carrying it out."
"I'd like you to investigate Dragonspine—find out why the Fatui have gathered there and established so many camps."
Jean sighed. No sooner had the Dvalin issue been resolved than intelligence arrived about the Fatui building numerous camps on Dragonspine. The snowstorm there still hadn't subsided, making it impossible for normal knights to venture deep into the mountain. But deploying Vision holders for this investigation was problematic too—exploring the mountain ideally required a Pyro Vision user.
She had considered entrusting this to Bennett, but Razor refused, citing Bennett's severe injuries. Left with no choice, Jean could only offer the commission to Lumine.
"S-Snow... mountain? Uh, we're not taking this commission! Not taking it! Hehe, heheheh."
The moment Paimon heard Dragonspine, she shook her head like a rattle drum, adamantly refusing to go. She remembered clearly the horror of being chased all over the mountain by Ruin Guards with Lumine.
"This is a long-term commission. There's no urgency—you can wait until you're stronger before exploring the mountain."
"If Su Bai is interested, this commission could also be entrusted to you."
"Acting Grand Master Jean, find someone else. I'm not going to that godforsaken place. Forget the Ruin Guards everywhere—even starting a fire there is a hassle. No thanks."
Su Bai strongly condemned Jean's attempt to conscript labor. Dragonspine was a place only the Fatui and those reckless adventurers would set foot in.
Speaking of adventurers, he found them baffling. Why would these people abandon their families and disregard their own safety chasing after legendary, elusive treasures? He used to think only Liyue had adventurers like this, but during his time in Mondstadt, he'd discovered plenty here too.
He'd witnessed a woman clutching her child, begging her husband not to go adventuring to find work in Mondstadt city, enough to support the family. But her husband refused, even claiming she was delaying his journey.
When Su Bai asked Zhongli about this, the reply was simply: "Everyone has their dreams. For those chasing them, life itself can be discarded."
Su Bai didn't entirely agree. Ordinary people lived barely a hundred years. If someone gave their life protecting Liyue, Su Bai respected them deeply. But throwing away one's life for so-called honor and wealth? That was irresponsible to one's family.
If something happened during an adventure, it would be a devastating blow to parents, a spouse, and children. An entire family could shatter.
(A/N: Like that little boy's father in Dragonspine.)
He'd debated this with Zhongli at length back then. Hu Tao overheard them, grabbed some flyers, and ran off to the Adventurers' Guild to promote her packages. Two hours later, Keqing personally escorted her back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
As for why such adventurers were rare in Inazuma—that credit went to the Raiden Shogun. During her governance, any rumors about treasures were investigated and debunked by her orders. The Shogun actually governed, you see. Though nowadays she governs a bit too broadly, even interfering with her people's Visions.