"You know that this sort of thing is for financial advisors right? So why'd you come to me instead?" Lars smiled at the salmon-colored haired woman sitting in front of him.
That person was Yanfei, Liyue Harbor's famed legal advisor, one so good at her job that even Ningguang admits that Yanfei's memorization of the law allows her to quickly close loopholes in existing laws faster than she would have been able to herself.
"Well I hear that you're well versed in all forms of the laws in Liyue Harbor, even the laws of other nations. I'd like to think that you'll solve my problem better than any lawyer or financial advisor in this very harbor." Yanfei laughed at his words.
"Wow, thank you! I didn't realize I had the best compliment giver in all of Teyvat as my client today. So, let me recount your problem. You and Qiqi want to open a bank account, but then the bank says that Qiqi here can't open one because technically she looks like a child hence the bank officers denied her request." Lars nodded at her words.
"But technically she can though, since she's over the age limit being a zombie and all for hundreds of years." Lars wondered. Yanfei hummed softly as she opened a thick book of laws, flipping through certain pages before reading some paragraphs.
"Says here, an immortal though having centuries of age, if he or she still has the physical body of a child, then he or she is forbidden from creating any accounts of any sort. This is to prevent any mortal from just lying about their age to create an account." Yanfei narrowed her eyes, finding this statement too conveniently placed.
"Who created this law... Oh... Ningguang... Well of course she did..." Yanfei grumbled as she flipped through more pages of her book before closing it.
"Well, I have a few suggestions for your idea to work. The first one is to somehow find Qiqi a new body, which would be near impossible since you'd have to go to Jueyun Karst, meet the adepti, ask them to make the girl a new body, while having a 99.99% chance of getting turned into amber by Mountain Shaper. So that's out of the books." Lars shivered at the thought.
"The second option, is that you adopt Qiqi, and create an account that allows both you and her to access it freely any time you wish." Lars and Qiqi blinked at her words. Yanfei smiled at them.
"I have a few more ideas. But they aren't very uh... hehe... legal per se... And we'd probably get thrown into jail if we actually tried them. So, there's really only one option for you two if you wanna safekeep your Mora. Or you know, just dig a hole and throw them all in." Lars cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Well, surely you can find more loopholes, Yanfei." Yanfei scratched her head.
"I can try.... It's not like I don't want to help you, but Ningguang's tighten the rules up more ever since I used another loophole to help another client. It's not like she tightened up just one, she tightened up as much as she could. But I still have loads in my arsenal, just not the ones related to your problem that is." Yanfei confessed.
" I see..."
"I don't see the problem in going with option two. You two already act like father and daughter. Literally everyone I've come across that talks about you two thinks that way. So if you want my personal opinion, I think adopting her is the legally safest, and most morally correct choice." Lars remained silent. He noticed from his peripheral vision that Qiqi was staring at him expectantly.
"We-well... what do you think, Qiqi?" A nervous Lars turned to look at the child.
" You're going to adopt me? What does that mean?" Qiqi asked. Lars scratched his neck.
" Well... That means I'm going to be your parent."
"You're going to be my papa?" Qiqi mumbled. That doesn't sound like a bad idea to her. He takes care of her, he spends time with her and he always makes her smile. According to her knowledge of what parents should be, Lars should definitely be her dad.
"Y-yes. But I have to sign a lot of documents and stuff. There's a lot of legal procedures to go through." Qiqi blinked before she looked at Yanfei.
"Let's do it now." Qiqi declared, her deadpan expression never fading. Yanfei laughed at her declaration.
"Well someone's enthusiastic. But Qiqi, even though you want Lars to be your dad, he hasn't made his decision yet, both sides must be in agreement to this." Qiqi looked at Lars again.
Lars sighed. He didn't expect it to turn out this way, all he wanted was to help her open her own account, but now he's on the verge of making her his adopted daughter.
'Although...' He glanced at Qiqi, the girl staring at him, waiting for his answer. 'I take care of her, buy her clothes and stuff. I already do what a parent does.... All that's really left was a contract to legally make us father and daughter.'
"Haih.... If it makes you happy, then sure." He looked at Yanfei with a smile. " Yanfei, let's me sign the adoption papers."
"Sweet! Give me a moment to get them for you!"
.....
"Papa, where are we going next?" Lars couldn't help but feel emotional after getting called like that from Qiqi. He looked down at Qiqi who was gently holding his hand, looking up at him.
"We're going to eat, to celebrate us becoming a family." Lars grinned as they walked down the ever bustling streets of Liyue Harbor.
"But we're missing someone." Qiqi mumbled, glancing at a family that walked past them. Lars looked at her, intrigued.
"Who are we missing?"
"A mom."
"H-huh?!"
"Yeah, a family always has three people. A dad, a mom and a child. We're not a full family just yet because we're missing a mom. Papa needs to find a suitable mom for Qiqi."
"We-well we're going to leave that for later. I don't even have a girlfriend yet." Lars stuttered. Qiqi looked at him.
"Well, if you don't want who to choose. Then I guess I'll have to help you find one."
" WHAT?!"
And so began their new journey, not as adventuring partners. But finally as father and daughter.
To be continued.....
(Sorry if I'm not uploading much and the chapters are little bit short today, I came back from work and I'm a little tired.)