Ah, freedom.
The wind was finally hitting my face again, and we were out of that god-forsaken police station. I could almost hear the birds chirping. Or maybe it was just Paimon complaining again. Same frequency.
"Phew! We're finally out of there!" Paimon exhaled like she just ran a marathon. Which she didn't.
"Yeah, man," I nodded sagely, my voice dramatic as ever. "It was tiring. And traumatizing. And tiring. AND traumatizing." Yes, I said it twice. For emphasis. That jailhouse sucked.
Yoimiya turned to our half-dead but still-sassy Master Masakatsu. "How are you feeling, Master?"
"Don't worry," he wheezed with a smile that said he's definitely not okay. "I think I can make it to the infirmary without keeling over."
Dude was built different.
After a round of thanks and anime-worthy nods of respect, Yoimiya said she'd take him for treatment. She even promised to treat us to drinks once this mess was over. LEGEND.
"Alrighty then! I'll take you to get some treatment first," Yoimiya declared. "After this is all over, drinks are on me!"
I held back tears. "Yoimiya... you're the real MVP."
And off they went—Yoimiya guiding the old man like some kind of firework fairy nurse.
Time for us to move again.
I stretched, letting out a manly groan of pain—which was mostly just me complaining that my legs hurt.
"Aight!" I cracked my knuckles. "Time for us to move again!"
"To where?" Lumine asked, her arms crossed like a judgmental cat.
"To report to our cute little cinnamon roll, of course. Duh." I blinked. "Did you forget already? Shame on you."
So off we went, strolling like victorious delinquents heading back to our base of operations—the Komore Teahouse.
Ah, the sweet scent of tea, comfort, and impending chaos.
"Ayaya!!!" I burst in, a man on a mission. Thoma blinked as I passed him without a second glance and launched myself at Ayaka like a sugar-high toddler.
I ruffled her silky hair with the enthusiasm of someone who'd just won the lottery. "Another mission finished, milady!"
Thoma opened his mouth, probably to say hi or ask about the mission, but I was already past him, zooming straight toward Ayaka like a rocket fueled by caffeine and affection.
"We're back, princess!"
Her cheeks turned redder than the Raiden Shogun's lightning. She made a soft noise, somewhere between a gasp and a squeak.
SMACK.
Lumine's hand met the back of my head. "Stop harassing the Shirasagi Himegimi."
"Ow! This is called showing affection, you brute!"
She looks at Ayaka and bows "I'm sorry for his bad behavior all the time," she said apologetically.
Ayaka giggled lightly, brushing her hair back in place. "Don't worry, Lumine. I'm slowly getting used to it."
Used to me? My heart.
"I'm experiencing a heart attack out of sheer cuteness..." I staggered backwards, clutching my chest.
Paimon floated beside me, unimpressed. "He's doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"Dramatically overreacting."
After Lumine's patented bonk therapy, I stood up straight and dramatically recounted everything that happened during our mission—embellished, exaggerated, and topped with a little extra spice.
"So THEN I formed a Geo bow and started shooting Anemo arrows—don't ask how, I don't know either. And just when I was about to go full anime protagonist on Kujou Sara, she stopped me with a look and a warning. Bro, I think she likes me."
Everyone stared blankly.
Thoma cleared his throat. "I see… So Kujou stayed her hand. It would appear she still has some honor to her. I wonder if we should try establishing contact with her... Perhaps we could coax out some information."
Ayaka shook her head. "Unlikely. Don't forget, Kujou Sara is also carrying out the Vision Hunt Decree. She obeys the orders of the Raiden Shogun without question."
I pumped my fist. "True! Hmph! Ayaya was never wrong! She's too cute to be wrong!" I stood behind her again and patted her head like a proud dad.
Paimon sighed. "He dotes on her too much… Like an overly protective older brother."
Lumine corrected her. "More like, an overly protective idiot."
Anyway, after more serious discussion that I totally paid attention to (not), Thoma clapped his hands. "We've got some time to rest. How about we play a Hot Pot Game?"
"Hot Pot? Game?" I asked. "Is this some kind of trap?"
"No, no," Thoma grinned. "We all add ingredients to the pot. Everyone takes turns choosing an ingredient to eat and guessing who added it. If you guess right, you go again!"
"So… it's basically Russian Roulette with soup," I said.
"I like it," Lumine smirked.
"I'm in," Ayaka said with a polite nod.
"Let's gooo!" I whooped. "But I swear, if someone puts a fish eyeball or something cursed in there, I'm turning into a barbarian."
Naturally, I added edible stuff. Because Ayaya is cute and all, but I don't trust her palate yet. I swear she looked at a dango and a slab of raw meat and considered both equally hot pot-worthy.
The game began.
Ingredients were tossed in. Meat, veggies, fish, chili, weird mushrooms, cakes—yes, CAKES. Guess who.
"No turning back now," I whispered. "The Hot Pot Hunger Games begin."
First few rounds were fun. I managed to sneak in some grilled meat and even a few shrimp dumplings. Ayaka's face lit up when she guessed mine right.
Paimon floated over the bubbling chaos of the hot pot. "This is possibly the scariest-looking soup I've ever seen…"
Thoma, bless his fire-resistant stomach, ended up eating all the weird stuff. "You can say that again... At least I got the most points… Ugh, wait… something feels wrong…"
Ayaka blinked innocently. "I'm afraid it's your own fault for adding all those strange ingredients, Thoma. The soup flavor wasn't quite the same afterward. Even with the Traveler and Shigeru's normal ingredients, I couldn't guess any of them correctly."
Paimon gasped. "Wait, weren't you the one who added those little cakes, Ayaka?!"
"Hey, floating food," I warned, "how dare you bully little Ayaya?! Want me to turn you into an ingredient for the next Hot Pot?!"
"Cakes are totally fine! Look!" But in my minds I was like, "YOU PUT CAKES IN THE SOUP?! Ayaya!! HOW COULD YOU?!"
I marched dramatically to the hot pot and scooped up three soggy little cakes floating like shipwreck survivors. I looked everyone dead in the eye…
I swallowed hard. "I'll prove they're edible."
Lumine: "Don't."
Paimon: "Seriously, don't."
I grabbed one. Ate it.
Grabbed another. Ate it.
Third one.
I blacked out.
I collapsed to the floor instantly. My soul briefly left my body and high-fived Venti.
As my consciousness faded, I raised a weak thumbs up. "Totally… edible…"
And thus I joined Thoma in Hot Pot Purgatory.
***
Waking up has never been my strong suit. Especially not when I'm flat on the floor, slightly drooling, and extremely disoriented. But when I opened my eyes and saw a pair of gentle, snow-pale hands brushing my hair back… oh my Archons…
"Am I dead? Did I finally die? Is this Celestia? Because I swear I'm looking at an angel right now... with the softest thighs in Teyvat."
I blinked slowly. Yep. Confirmed. My head was on Ayaka's lap. Bless the gods. I almost heard choirs singing.
"You're awake," she said, smiling softly like a cinnamon bun blessed by Barbatos himself.
Before I could start composing a haiku about her knees, I got smacked.
WHAP!
"Ow—Lumine! What the hell?! I was seeing the light, woman! The sweet, adorable light!"
"You're embarrassing yourself again," she sighed.
I sat up like a man recovering from heartbreak. Which, let's be real, I kind of was.
"Ayayaaa~ how long was I out? Did I snore? Did I say anything weird? Did I call out your name in my sleep?" I asked, half hoping I didn't… but mostly hoping I did.
"About three hours," she chuckled, entirely too calmly for someone who just lap-pillow'd a grown man.
Then she tilted her head and added with that same polite venom only Ayaka could pull off, "You didn't call my name in your sleep though. But you did mention someone named... Nilou."
I swallowed hard.
My eyes darted to Lumine.
Her expression? Let's just say... if looks could kill, I'd be respawning at the nearest Statue of The Seven right about now. I think she just murdered me inside her head. Twice.
Thoma clapped his hands like a proud mom. "Alright, team! Good effort today! Another job done. Now, onto our next objective—rest and relaxation!"
Bless his heart.
He saved me.
Ayaka nodded politely. "Yes. Some rest would be appreciated. There are matters I wish to attend to."
I looked at her suspiciously. "By matters, do you mean tea ceremonies? Fan dances? Or secretly plotting how to kill me with a dango skewer because I keep touching your hair?"
She smiled. That terrifying, innocent kind of smile. But still super cute.
Thoma was like, "Let's take a few days off, then meet back here at the teahouse. Everyone, make the most of your time. Down time is rare these days."
Paimon stretched like a sleepy flying potato. "Finally! Some chill time!"
Me? I saluted Ayaka like I was going off to war. "Bye bye, Ayaya!! I'll bring you snacks next time! Real good ones! Not poisoned hot pot cakes, I promise!"
Lumine dragged me by the collar like a naughty hilichurl pup. "Let's go, idiot."
—
Outside, the sun was shining, the wind was breezy, and I had not been arrested in the last five minutes. A win.
Lumine glanced over. "So... what now?"
I rubbed my chin like I had deep thoughts. "Hmm... Could do commissions. Hunt treasure. Annoy the Shogun. But actually, I kinda want to upgrade your weapon."
She blinked. "Oh?"
"Yep," I nodded solemnly. "Your blade deserves to be as sharp as your glares. Let's get you a proper Amenoma Kageuchi too."
She blinked again. Did she... blush? Just a tiny bit? I'll take that as a win.
So off we went to see Hajime, the local blacksmith who loves me as much as I love Ayaka's fan dances—which is to say, he doesn't.
I slammed the counter like a man with confidence and no Mora.
"YO! Hajime! My man, my metal-forging miracle worker!"
He looked up, instantly regretting his life choices. "...you again?"
"Yup! Back by unpopular demand! I need another Amenoma Kageuchi! This time, for my cute little blond companion here."
Lumine: blushes harder than Jean in Mondstadt Tavern Tales with Diluc as the Male Lead
Hajime sighed. "You know the drill. I can do it—but you're gathering the materials."
I gave him a thumbs up. "Aight. That's fair. Even master swords need to earn their worth through sweat, blood, and getting smacked by Fatui agents."
Lumine stretched her arms beside me. "So where do we even get the stuff for this?"
"Ah, my dearest Watson," I said, pretending to stroke a non-existent beard. "We go scavenging. Like noble raccoons in the dumpsters of destiny."
She looked at me like she was seriously reconsidering every decision that led her here.
"Come on! It'll be an adventure! Besides, what better way to bond than fighting slimes, dodging ruin sentinels, and getting jumped by samurai in the middle of nowhere?"
Lumine sighed. "Fine. But I swear if you start singing while climbing cliffs again—"
"—It's a part of my process!" I grinned, already skipping ahead. "Onward, travelers of the far future! Let's farm like our lives depend on it!"
And so, with wildly misplaced confidence and zero planning, our next ridiculous journey began.
_____________________________
End of Chapter 52
Quests Completed:
*Secure a drinking session with Yoimiya after the Archon quest.
*Escape the police station and report back to the teahouse.
*Play Hot Pot Game with the team, adding weird and wacky ingredients.
*Recover from Hot Pot purgatory with Ayaka's help (lap pillow moment).
Rewards:
*+2500 Mora (from bets won during the hot pot game)
*+500 Friendship Level with Ayaka
*+1 Core Memory: "The Lap Pillow and the Princess"
*Promote Thoma (Now Bro Tier)
*Stomach Issues (Probably from the cake)
*+10 Diplomacy skill points
Achievement:
"Iron Stomach"
-Survive a full round of cursed hot pot without dying