Speak of the devil...

Just as Lumine walked in and their eyes met, Kaito couldn't help but think this.

And if there were no surprises, Lumine would definitely ask him about the Anemo Archon next.

Asking about the Anemo Archon right in front of the Anemo Archon himself... well, that's certainly spirited.

"She hasn't already become your friend, has she, Kaito?"

Looking at Lumine by the door, Venti, somewhat tipsy, asked Kaito this question.

"I thought you already knew."

Withdrawing his gaze, Kaito looked at Venti with a hint of suspicion.

Although Venti, no matter what, couldn't defeat Wendy, Kaito still felt that Venti wasn't simple.

"I... hic... I'm not that amazing."

With that, Venti went back to drinking, no longer looking towards the door.

This guy... he's really just like in the game....

Looking at Venti like this, Kaito couldn't help but think with a sense of helplessness.

He knew that Venti could certainly discern Lumine's unusual nature, but right now, he acted as if he knew nothing.

Kaito is actually here eating with someone...

I wonder if his Anemo Archon girlfriend told him about what happened just now...

Waving to Kaito, who wasn't far away, Lumine felt a mix of surprise and awkwardness.

She was surprised that she would coincidentally run into him here, and awkward because she had just witnessed him and his girlfriend having a moment.

Of course, the identity of Kaito's girlfriend shocked her even more.

If she hadn't met the Anemo Archon in the valley before, she probably would never have guessed that Kaito's girlfriend was the Anemo Archon.

"I didn't expect to see you here eating too, Kaito. What a coincidence."

Walking over with some trepidation, Lumine greeted Kaito as if nothing had happened.

In truth, she believed Kaito probably didn't know about what happened earlier, as revealing it would expose his Anemo Archon girlfriend's identity.

Of course, no matter what, she was very perceptive and knew what to do.

Since she had already used feigned amnesia to tell the Anemo Archon that she wouldn't speak of it, she certainly wouldn't.

Setting aside the matter of integrity, just the fact that she still needed to ask about her brother meant she couldn't possibly gossip.

"Yeah, you're probably here to eat too, right? Why not join us?"

Nodding, Kaito gestured for Lumine to sit down, then continued, "Oh, by the way, where's Paimon? Why isn't she here to eat?"

In Kaito's impression, Paimon would almost never give up an opportunity to eat during mealtime.

"That big lazybones is sleeping," Lumine said with a helpless smile as she sat down.

"Ah, I see."

At this, Kaito understood.

However, he also knew that after these pleasantries, Lumine would probably start asking him about the Anemo Archon.

Don't you know the Anemo Archon?

Why didn't you tell me?

Why is your girlfriend the Anemo Archon?

After a moment of thought, Kaito speculated on the questions Lumine would likely ask next.

"Oh, right, this is Venti, the bard."

Suddenly remembering he hadn't introduced Venti, Kaito simply introduced him while looking at him.

"Hello, hello... I... I'm Venti..."

As soon as he heard Kaito introducing him, Venti, who was drinking, grabbed Kaito's hand and shook it, as if shaking hands with Kaito.

Kaito: "..."

Having his hand grabbed and shaken by Venti, Kaito was left speechless.

While it wasn't appropriate to grab a girl's hand, there was no need to grab his hand either; they weren't discussing some business deal that required a handshake.

"Hello, just call me Lumine."

Lumine looked somewhat strangely at Venti, who was shaking Kaito's hand, unsure what he was doing.

However, once she smelled the strong scent of alcohol, she knew what was happening.

Clearly, Kaito's friend was drunk.

"Good wine... good wine... hic..."

After shaking Kaito's hand, Venti, muttering incoherent words, immediately slumped onto the table and fell asleep.

Zhongli was right...

He truly is a drunkard...

At this, Kaito felt even more strongly that Zhongli's words were correct.

Although Venti is known to love drinking in the game, seeing it firsthand felt completely different.

"Your friend..."

"It's fine, he's often like this. He'll be fine once he sobers up."

Waving his hand at Lumine, Kaito indicated he was used to it.

Moreover, and more importantly, he is the Anemo Archon, so he can drink as much as he wants without issue.

However, this Anemo Archon clearly wouldn't tell Lumine about her brother.

"So that's how it is..." Lumine nodded as if understanding, then continued, "Oh, Kaito."

Is it coming...?

Seeing Lumine suddenly say that, Kaito knew she was about to ask about the Anemo Archon.

But it didn't matter; he already had a reason prepared.

"Do you live in such a big house by yourself? It feels like there's more than just you living there."

Although she wouldn't directly tell Kaito that his girlfriend was the Anemo Archon, Lumine still wanted to subtly inquire about some things concerning the Anemo Archon.

It seems Lumine wants to take it slowly...

Could she be worried I'd be too shocked?

Kaito was surprised that Lumine wasn't more direct, guessing she intended to reveal things bit by bit.

"Indeed, I'm not alone; I live with my girlfriend." Kaito nodded, casually mentioning who he was living with.

"I bet Kaito's girlfriend is really beautiful, but why didn't she come out to eat with you?" Lumine continued her probing.

"Because she's quite busy; sometimes she has to go out."

Kaito was surprised Lumine still hadn't gotten to the point, so he simply continued answering her questions.

"I see. If there's a chance, I hope we can meet."

As soon as Lumine heard Kaito say his girlfriend sometimes had to go out, she could roughly guess what she was going out to do.

After all, she was the Anemo Archon; she probably had many matters to handle, but simply couldn't let Kaito know.

"Of course, of course."

Could Lumine be planning to bring it up only when they meet?

Kaito truly had no idea what Lumine was thinking now, or why she still hadn't mentioned that matter.

Wait... she couldn't really be pretending to have amnesia, could she?

I didn't threaten her back then, did I?

Suddenly recalling Lumine's performance from earlier, Kaito fell into deep thought; it seemed he understood something.

But this was fine too; he still didn't know what the next task would be. If Lumine was still required to believe that Wendy was the Anemo Archon, then this would simply continue the deception.

After some thought, Kaito decided to continue pretending he knew nothing.

____

Unfortunately, two of our stories were removed... so I created a new account to post them: MikuDayo.

_____

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