"Your Highness?!"
The captain of the guards looked up in shock. He hadn't expected that the noble young man stepping out of the carriage would turn out to be none other than the second prince of the Heaven Dou Empire—Xue Qinghe.
He Immediately dropped to one knee in a respectful salute, and the guards behind him all followed suit, lowering their heads.
"No need for formalities."
Xue Qinghe lifted a hand slightly, signaling them to rise. Then he pulled out two soul coins and handed them to the guard captain.
"I'll cover this gentleman's entrance fee."
"Y-Yes…"
Under Xue Qinghe's gaze, the captain, who originally didn't dare accept, had no choice but to bow his head and take the coins before stepping aside.
"Wow! Traveler, this guy is so nice—he paid for us! Now we can get into the city!"
Paimon clasped her little hands together, clearly relieved. She had been worrying about their lack of money again, but hadn't expected someone to help them out.
"Hehe, since you and your… friend are also heading into the city, how about we ride together and have a chat?"
Xue Qinghe smiled warmly, inviting Aether and Paimon to share the carriage.
"Thanks, we appreciate it."
Aether nodded his thanks and boarded the carriage with Paimon.
Now that their entrance fee had been paid, it would seem rude to refuse. Besides, he was curious—why had this person helped them out for no apparent reason?
Hyah!
With Aether and Paimon settled inside, the coachman flicked the reins and the carriage rolled smoothly into Heaven Dou City. No one stopped them again.
"I'm Xue Qinghe. May I know your name, brother?"
Inside the carriage, Xue Qinghe sat on one side with a maid at his side. Aether and Paimon sat opposite him.
"Hi! I'm Paimon," she said cheerfully before turning to look at Aether.
"He's the Traveler. We're adventurers from another land."
"Nice to meet you, Paimon. Traveler… hello."
Xue Qinghe mimicked Paimon's wave in a friendly gesture.
Traveler…
Is that even a real name?
"I'm Aether. Thank you for your help earlier."
Sensing Xue Qinghe's curiosity, Aether decided to be upfront and gave his name.
"No need to mention it. A chance meeting is fate. It was nothing."
Xue Qinghe smiled in return.
Two gold soul coins might be a considerable sum for an average family, but to Xue Qinghe, they were barely worth mentioning. In his view, spending a couple of coins to befriend such mysterious travelers was more than worth it.
He had been behind Aether earlier and had seen everything that had happened. He was intrigued by both the flying, talking Paimon and the aura of mystery surrounding Aether.
Both had piqued his deep curiosity.
"Hey, Qinghe, those people called you 'Your Highness' earlier. Are they your subordinates?"
Paimon, ever the chatterbox, leaned forward. In Teyvat, she usually handled most of the talking, which had even earned her the nickname "the Mouth of the Gods."
"Yes." Xue Qinghe nodded. "I should've introduced myself sooner. I'm a prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. They're my father's subjects—it's just a respectful title."
He wasn't planning to hide his identity. The two before him were clearly unusual—not only did they carry an air of mystery, but they didn't seem the least bit fazed by his status.
"Whoa! Qinghe is a prince?!"
Paimon's eyes widened in shock.
She had only ever read about princes and princesses in storybooks. She never thought she'd actually meet one in real life.
"…It's just an empty title, really."
Xue Qinghe waved his hand with a modest smile. He found this curious little creature quite endearing.
"Paimon and your friend don't seem to be locals. May I ask where you're from?"
He had never seen anything like Paimon, neither in Spirit Hall nor here in Heaven Dou City. That glowing halo above her head gave him a vague sense of familiarity—she must be some kind of special being.
"We're travelers from far away," Aether replied calmly. "Wanderers across the four seas."
"Yep! The Traveler and I are adventurers. We've already been to many, many countries!"
Paimon nodded eagerly.
She loved the word adventurer. It meant journeying far and wide—and tasting delicious food from all over the world.
"So that's what you meant by 'Traveler'… You've been to many countries already?"
Xue Qinghe suddenly understood. In the Douluo Continent, there were people known for their adventurous spirit—explorers, who sought out the unknown. Adventurer must be a similar term.
"Yup! We've been to Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine, Natlan…"
Paimon began ticking them off on her fingers. "We've even had deep connections with the gods in those places! And the food there is so good."
"…The gods?"
That word immediately caught Xue Qinghe's attention. He was stunned.
She wasn't just talking about a god—she mentioned multiple gods?
And these two had interacted with them?
"Yep! They're all our good friends!" Paimon said without hesitation.
"Paimon, could you… tell me more?"
Xue Qinghe's curiosity was burning now. He had to know more about their connection to the gods.
"Hmm~ Badmouthing the Anemo Archon, freeloading from the Geo Archon, fighting the Electro Archon, saving the Dendro Archon, witnessing the fall of the Hydro Archon… Oh! And teaming up with the Pyro Archon to fight the Abyss… Which one do you wanna hear about first?"
"…"
Paimon's words left Xue Qinghe completely stunned.
They had interacted with that many gods?
And… they'd even fought one?
No wonder these two hadn't batted an eye when he revealed his royal identity.
To them, prince probably meant as much as peasant did to him.
"Hey, Qinghe, you okay?"
Seeing him frozen in place, Paimon waved a tiny hand in front of his face.
"Huh? O-Oh, I'm fine. Sorry. I was just… thinking about something."
Xue Qinghe snapped out of it. He had been utterly shocked by what Paimon had said.
But thinking about it now, he wasn't even sure if it was all true.
He believed about seventy percent of it. The rest… he would need to confirm for himself.
It was just so incredible—who would've thought two strangers he met on the road could actually claim to be friends of the gods?
"Paimon, I'm really interested in adventures. If you don't mind… could you start from the beginning? With the Anemo Archon."
Xue Qinghe managed to suppress his excitement, but his thirst for these incredible tales was obvious.
"Talking about badmouthing the Anemo Archon? Hehe, that was actually me! But the Traveler and the Anemo Archon get along really well!"
Paimon scratched her head sheepishly. She hadn't meant to trash-talk the bard—but hey, he had made her angry at the time…
_
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