Chapter 30: Lovely Princess, Useless Paimon
"Speaking of which... Si Luo, how are you going to travel today? Are you going to use a carriage?"
Qin had already made up her mind that even if the food he cooked tasted average, she would still praise him against her conscience, so she decisively changed the subject and asked with a little curiosity.
"Let's hike. After all, isn't that what all adventurers do~"
Si Luo began to process the ingredients he had prepared and responded quite casually.
He was fine with either, but Ying preferred the identity of an adventurer, so he naturally chose to support her idea.
Anyway, he can teleport back at any time, so even if he stays outside all the time, it will not affect his comforting the wives at home.
"That's it..."
Qin nodded, as if she wanted to say something but didn't know how to start.
"Don't worry, you won't be out here for long."
Si Luo probably guessed what Qin was thinking, chuckled, and turned his head to comfort her.
"Come to think of it, you haven't seen one of my abilities yet..."
At this time, he had already put the ingredients into the pot, so Si Luo had nothing else to do for the time being and turned around and came to Qin.
"Ok?"
Before the captain could react to what he was saying, Si Luo had already placed his hand on her shoulder. She blinked instinctively, and when she opened her eyes again, she had been brought by Si Luo to the top floor of the Wind Dragon Ruins.
"..."
Looking at the familiar scenery and the gentle breeze, Qin looked at him in a daze.
"Just think of me as someone who can return to any place I've been to at any time, so don't worry. If you miss me, I can always go back."
Si Luo took her back to the kitchen again, took his hand off her shoulder, and spoke with a smile.
"I don't know if there is such a capability..."
Watching Si Luo turn around and continue preparing breakfast, Qin waited for dozens of seconds before she came back to her senses from the shock. She breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the living room in a relaxed mood.
In any case, now that she had gotten a promise from him, she no longer had to worry about him leaving in the future.
...
The breakfast prepared by Si Luo undoubtedly conquered the girls' stomachs, especially since he added some varieties unique to the small garden into the ingredients. The feeling of being refreshed mentally and physically after eating it made Qin even think of asking him to be a full-time cook in the future.
Unfortunately, this kind of thing can only be thought about. After breakfast, Jean took Lisa and Amber back to the Knights' headquarters to start today's work, while Margaret and Diona went back to the room to clean up.
Si Luo, who had already told everyone else in advance, helped Ying pack her travel luggage, then left home with her and headed towards the place they had agreed to meet with Fischl.
"Eh? Miss Fischl is here already? Sorry to have kept you waiting!"
Seeing Fischl's iconic hair color from afar, Ying and Si Luo couldn't help but quicken their pace and soon came to the girl's side.
"Don't get me wrong. I am only following the guidance of fate and coming here to explore the secrets buried in the darkness."
The girl, who seemed to have been waiting for a while, showed a visibly happy expression when she noticed their arrival, raised her head and responded quite cutely.
"It was the first time for the young lady to carry out a mission with her friends, so she was so excited that she didn't sleep all night. In order not to be late, she came here to wait at dawn."
Unfortunately, the night crow flying nearby did not give her any face at all and directly exposed her lovely character hidden under her arrogant appearance.
"Eh?"
"Oz!! Shut up!"
Fischl's fair cheeks instantly turned red after being slapped in the face. He looked at his followers with shame and anger, as if he had been publicly executed.
"Miss, I think it's better to be honest in front of friends."
Night Crow, who was familiar with the girl's personality, flew to Si Luo's shoulder, stood firmly, and responded calmly.
"Woo..."
Fischl was so ashamed that she almost cried.
Unlike her well-developed figure, her age was actually not much different from Diona. She was already a sensitive person at this age, but she made a fool of herself in front of the person she liked. It could only be said that she tried very hard not to cry.
"You didn't get a rest all night... How about we leave later and find a place to rest first?"
Ying reached out and poked Si Luo, and he smiled warmly at the right time and spoke gently.
"No... no need... If we leave now, we can arrive at the camp before nightfall."
After noticing Si Luo's gentle gaze, Fischl instinctively lowered his head and responded in a low voice.
She was so shy that she even resumed her normal speaking tone.
"Really? It looks like Ms. Fischl has already planned the itinerary... Thank you for your hard work!"
"As expected of an experienced adventurer, you are truly reliable."
Si Luo, who guessed something from the girl's words, praised her generously. Fischl, who had worked hard all night yesterday, felt a little happy because his efforts were recognized by others.
Especially since the other person was someone she had a crush on, Fischl was so happy that she even forgot what had just happened for a moment.
"That...that's natural!"
"As expected of Mr. Si Luo, I will feel more at ease if I leave the young lady to you!"
Oz looked at Si Luo, who coaxed Fischl from a state of shame and anger to a state of happiness with just two sentences, and spoke with admiration.
It was the first time that it had seen someone who could control its own young lady with a weird personality to such an extent. In addition, Fischl seemed to have a good impression of him. If the two of them could be together, it seemed like a very good option.
"Don't worry, leave it to me."
Si Luo responded with a chuckle, then turned his gaze to Fischl again.
"So, Miss Fischl, shall we leave after lunch, or shall we leave now?"
"Food is a bondage to all flesh and bones..."
"Miss means that she specially prepared her favorite Changye Xiagong honey toast for you yesterday, so if you don't mind, you can leave now."
"Woo..."
Fischl, who was interrupted by Oz again, looked like a child whose favorite toy was taken away. She showed a rather aggrieved expression. She looked so cute that Si Luo almost couldn't help but reach out and pat her on the head.
After all, unlike other girls, the somewhat immature Fischl is actually very delicate inside, so before having some actual intimate contact with her, Si Luo shouldn't do anything too intimate.
Anyway, with his abilities, as long as they can act together, there will be plenty of opportunities to create some welcome surprises.
"Really? I just happened to prepare some food. In that case, let's go."
...
The weather today was quite good, and since none of the people were ordinary people, they all seemed quite comfortable along the way. Rather than being adventurers, it felt more like a picnic in the wild.
As time went by, Fischl became more and more familiar with Si Luo and the others.
After all, Si Luo could understand everything she said without any obstacles, and had the negotiation ability to easily mobilize the atmosphere.
Although Ying could only understand part of what she said, she was still able to communicate with her normally. This unprecedented sense of comfort made Fischl's mood improve at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Coupled with the harmonious atmosphere when they had lunch, Fischl immediately raised their status in his heart to a level second only to his family.
There were no accidents in the following journey. Putting aside Si Luo, Fischl, the holder of the Eye of God, and Ying, who can also control the element of wind, both girls were very powerful.
In order to familiarize themselves with each other's fighting methods in advance, the two even destroyed many Hillichell camps and slime groups while they were on the road.
As the sky gradually darkened, Fischl, who had successfully arrived at the planned campsite, put down his luggage and began to pack up with Ying.
In order to ensure safety as much as possible, adventurers would deliberately prepare some traps that could make sounds when they were in the camp, and Fischl, who had always been a loner, was obviously very good at this.
Ying was focused on making sure Si Luo and the others slept more comfortably, so she and Fischl divided the work, one of them set up traps around the camp, while the other set up the tent she had prepared in advance in a sunken space near the mountain.
"Hmm...it seems like we are the only ones with nothing to do..."
Sitting on Si Luo's shoulder, Paimeng, who had originally planned to sneak into his clothes to eat for a while, looked at the two busy girls. He gave up the idea because of his guilty conscience, and then looked at Si Luo with some entanglement.
"Don't look at me, I have to prepare dinner~"
Si Luo smiled and drew a line between himself and Paimon, then began to pick out ingredients from his backpack.
Although the girls didn't ask him for help, it would be boring to just watch, so he might as well take the opportunity to improve Fischl's favorability.
"Damn it! Even you betrayed me!"
Paimon flew up from his shoulder with an incredulous look on his face, and stomped his feet in the air angrily.
"Wouldn't that make me look useless?"
"No, there's Oz too, like me!"
Paimon suddenly remembered the Night Crow, who was also flapping his wings in the air with nothing to do, and looked at it with expectant eyes.
"I don't need to sleep, so I'll be in charge of the night guard duty."
Noticing Paimon's gaze, Oz, who was observing Si Luo carefully, turned his head and spoke calmly.
"..."
Paimon's expression suddenly wilted, then he puffed up his face and flew towards the woods nearby with a look of dissatisfaction.
"Then I'll go get some sunset fruit! I'll definitely let you know how powerful Paimon is!"
"Eh?"
When Ying, who was packing up the tent, discovered that Paimon had suddenly flown out of the camp, she looked at Si Luo with some concern.
"Is there no problem? Or why not call her back?"
She remembered that Paimon had told her that his fighting power was roughly equal to that of a slime, so it was indeed difficult for her to feel at ease acting alone in such a dangerous place.
"Don't worry, I've installed some insurance on her, so she won't be in any danger."
Si Luo responded with a chuckle, not particularly bothered by Paimon's departure.
After all, it was a little cup that he liked very much. Not to mention that Paimon's current physical fitness was comparable to that of Jean, the knight who possessed the Eye of God. In addition to her protection, Si Luo also gave her some extra insurance.
Not to mention encountering danger, even if the entire continent of Teyvat suddenly exploded, she would be able to survive well.
"Yeah…"
Out of trust in Si Luo, Ying breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her head to continue tidying up the interior of the tent.
Although there are tents in the camp, they are open-air type and are definitely not as comfortable to sleep in as enclosed ones.
More than ten minutes later, Paimon flew back from the woods with several sunset fruits in his arms. Fischl and Ying had also finished their work and were surrounding Si Luo, preparing dinner with him.
"Hehe! I'm awesome, right?!"
The cute little cup flew to Si Luo's shoulder with a proud look on its face, and then gave each of them a sunset fruit from his arms.
"I've already washed in the nearby spring!"
"Yes, yes, Paimon is the best~"
Ying responded quite dotingly, and then did not refuse Paimon's kindness. She stopped the work in her hands and began to enjoy the sunset fruit she brought.
Chapter 31: Girl's Thoughts, Paimeng Green Fluorescence
After dinner, as it was not too late and the day's journey had not caused them much damage, Fischl and Ying did not choose to rest. Instead, they sat on a few rocks in the camp and began to talk about their adventure experiences.
However, since Ying had no memories of the past and Fischl was not very good at describing his own experiences, it was basically Si Luo who was telling some interesting things that he had experienced.
The Box Garden City is a paradise for gods and Buddhas. Although the time period he was in was a little wrong and it could not be an exaggeration to say that it was hell, he had the support of the behemoth Taoism from the beginning, so even in hell, he did not encounter too many setbacks.
"Well…"
Compared to the girls who were listening seriously, Paimon who was sitting on his shoulder was obviously not so honest. She had not absorbed the sword marrow for more than ten hours and was now beginning to have some withdrawal symptoms.
Especially since the sword marrow was right within her reach, the feeling of being able to only look but not touch made this cute little cup gradually become uneasy.
"Paimon, are you sleepy?"
After listening to Si Luo's story for more than half an hour, the careful Ying finally noticed Paimeng's abnormal behavior and asked with concern.
"Eh? Um... a little sleepy..."
Paimon, whose mind was filled with images of himself being pierced by the Spear of Longinus and having his stomach filled with the sword's marrow, was awakened by Ying's voice. He pressed down his clothes in a panic and responded with a guilty conscience.
"I see... I think it's about time, Fischl, let's take a rest first and get up early tomorrow to continue our journey."
Although Ying was a little confused, she had not yet discovered that Paimon was cheating, so after confirming the time, she turned her head to look at the cute girl who was still immersed in Si Luo's story.
