Don’t let slip what’s firmly in your grasp

"We will continue this discussion in private."

There was a subtle shift in the air as soon as Cloud Retainer spoke. The same mystical yellow aura that was barely perceptible through her eyes before began to converge towards the two at an alarming rate, wrapping them both in a cocoon before it disappears just as quickly, its two occupants now nowhere to be found.

The suffocating atmosphere was gone, allowing the brunette clutching her dress to finally relax as she collapsed into her chest. The rustling of leaves brought by the winds covered the sound of a now dying sob, as the person in question began to gather herself together now that the proverbial storm had passed.

"Are you okay, Xinyan?"

The girl in question tried her best to muffle her sniffles, only to realize that her efforts were wasted as Lumine's hands gently cupped both of her cheeks and raised her head, gently wiping the tears streaming down her face, or what's left of it, anyway.

"I'm… fine." Her cheeks became flushed. Having someone staring at you so intently after crying your eyes out is not something she expects to happen, but that's about the least surprising thing that has transpired today.

"What about you, leader?" Xinyan asked, trying to avert her eyes from Lumine's in an attempt to quell some of the embarrassment. "You look like you're about to kill someone."

In response, Lumine slowly let go of Xinyan, being mindful of the girl's current state, and reached her now free hand towards her face, tracing her fingers around its contour as she let out a thoughtful hum before turning her gaze towards the spot where Yuu stood moments before.

"Really now?"

She recalled the image once again, of how the adeptus so effortlessly whisked away what is hers someplace she knows not.

Of how similar it was to how her brother was taken away from her.

The memory caused Lumine to grit her teeth in anger, her hand unconsciously gripping the hilt of her sword tighter as a gust of wind slowly began to form, wrapping itself around the blade while the formless energy whistled in anticipation, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.

'Please stay here and let me handle it.'

Those words were the only thing stopping her from turning this entire place upside down.

Unlike before where she was powerless to do anything in the face of someone with enough power to hold the world in the palm of her hand, she could actually do something in this situation should their discussion go awry.

'Especially when she made her weakness very clear.'

Lumine glanced towards the girl that led them here. Standing with her back against the wall, her nervousness was palpable with the constant fidgeting and the way she kept glancing towards her and Xinyan while trying her best to be discreet about it.

"It's less wanting to kill as opposed to wanting to beat up a certain someone," Lumine finally answered, having taken her eyes off the half-adeptus. "Just when I told him to not do anything stupid, he went ahead and did it anyway."

Xinyan let out a strained laugh in response, not really knowing how to respond to that.

"Seriously," Lumine sighed, not minding her friend's discomfort as she took the comically large hat he entrusted to her. "It would be nice if he could share whatever it is he's cooking inside that head of his before jumping head first into action."

A burst of light and the twinkling that follows stopped her rant momentarily. As the guide that taught her the basics of this world materialized once again, Lumine saw Paimon quickly taking stock of the situation before immediately diving towards the two with her arms wide open.

"Then again," Lumine happily received her guide's hug, letting out a chuckle as Paimon started to bawl her eyes out, "he can be quite stubborn when he wants to be, so I guess it's fine as long as everything works out."

"And if it didn't?"

"I can just rub it in his face," Lumine said with a shrug. "Maybe that will be enough to get it through his thick skull. I doubt it though."

"Right…."

Seeing that her friend has nothing left to say, Lumine shifted her focus to the still bawling Paimon. Despite how much of a ruckus she's making, it's not that hard to calm her down. Now that the little one had let everything out of her system, she climbed over her shoulder before sitting on it, huffing and puffing about how worried she was.

After not spending much time together, Lumine almost forgot how adorable Paimon can be. Perhaps it's about time she dedicates more of her time to the girl that taught her the basics of this godforsaken world.

"Is white mask going to be okay?" Paimon asked, resting her head on top of Lumine's as her tiny hand began to play with her golden hair.

"He'll be fine." Lumine raised her hand and began poking at Paimon's cheek, much to her protest. "After all that negotiating with Ningguang, he'll play it smart if he doesn't want all of his hard work down the drain."

"You called him stupid not even five minutes ago, leader."

"Those two are not mutually exclusive, Xinyan. For him, at least."

"What does that even mean?"

"I wonder?" Lumine let out a hum, lowering her hand after having had her fill of teasing Paimon and subtly pointed towards the other girl standing across. "Anyway, shouldn't you go and talk to your new friend? She's been looking over here for quite a while and she's not even bother trying to hide it anymore."

At her prompt, Xinyan looked over towards Ganyu, just in time for the other girl to look over this direction as well. Once the both of them made eye contact, they were quick to look away from each other.

'Hmm… guess it won't be that easy, huh?'

Lumine shook her head before lowering herself to embrace her friend. "Are you angry?"

"I'm not. I'm just… disappointed, I guess.." Xinyan furrowed her brow as she bit her lip in frustration. "After getting to know her for a bit, I thought we had something going on, you know? I didn't expect her to throw us under the bridge like that."

"You make it sound like she just cheated on you."

Those words earned her a light smack in the face. "You know what I mean."

Seeing the smile on her friend's face, Lumine let out a chuckle before wrapping her arms around her neck, gently brushing her hand against her disheveled hair.

"You shouldn't blame Ganyu too much." After letting the silence linger for a bit, Lumine eventually spoke. "It's probably not easy on her either, being put on the spot so suddenly."

"I know, but–"

"Let me put it this way. How would you feel if your parents made you choose between your music and Yun Jin? Not that that's ever going to happen, but hypothetically speaking, would you be able to choose so easily?"

"Ugh…"

"Exactly."

Lumine stood up, ignoring the slight tearing sensation of Paimon holding onto dear life, and pulled the brunette up and let her go once she managed to steady herself.

"So get out there and make up with her. She looked like she's about to burst into tears any second now." Lumine said as she gave Xinyan an encouraging pat in the back.

"What about you, leader?"

"I'll be providing you emotional support from here." Before Xinyan could complain, Lumine gently grabbed Paimon and offered the little fairy towards her friend. "But don't worry, Paimon will be more than happy to accompany you. Isn't that right, Paimon?"

Though surprised, Paimon was quick to recover with an energetic nod. "Ehehe! You can count on Paimon! Come on! Let's go, Xinyan!"

After puffing her chest, Paimon flew behind Xinyan and started to push the girl forward. It was quite the comical scene seeing the little girl trying so hard to do so, but the gesture was enough to wipe the last trace of hesitation on Xinyan's face as she laughed at Paimon's antics and allowed herself to be pushed around.

It was awkward at first, Lumine thought, but once they got the ball rolling, it was all smooth sailing from there.

Allowing herself to bask at the satisfaction of a job well done, she threw her sword haphazardly towards the air before bending down to pick up the dropped hat. Once she brushed away the lingering dust, she began to make her way towards the circular table that was left unoccupied and took the closest seat, before continuing to observe the three while reaching for the now cold tea.

At some point during their conversation, the half-adeptus turned her attention towards her.

The moment their eyes met, the small smile on Ganyu's face became a tad bit wider as she mouthed a silent 'thank you' – which she returned with a smile of her own – before quickly returning her focus towards her newfound friend, laughing as they discussed something that she couldn't quite make out.

What a waste of a smile, Lumine thought, as her expression returned to a neutral one.

'Did you see that, Yuu? I can play nice when I want to.' She stared at her reflection on the cup, rubbing the edges of her cup with her fingers as she did so. 'Now that everything's back to how it was before, get back here so you can hurry up and finish your little pet project.'

Her stomach churns at the thought of someone else getting close to her love, but if letting it slide for a while means allowing him to have a clear conscience – because she couldn't think of any other reason other than personal satisfaction – then so be it.

How would the inhuman girl feel, now that she knows he is not much of a human himself? Would she try to reach out towards him with all her might? Or would she continue to drown herself in her insecurities, too weak-willed to do anything to change her status quo?

She sincerely hoped it would be the latter, as unlikely as it is.

Not when he is voluntarily reaching his own hand towards her.

'I can only hope she doesn't get the wrong idea.'

Lumine sighed, downing the content of her cup before placing it back on the table, unaware of the slight crack forming at its rim.

'I wouldn't want to end up doing something that'll make him sad.'

The blond traveler rested her head on top of the table, using her arms as a cushion while her gaze was directed towards nowhere in particular. Thoughts of the adepti and Liyue's imminent destruction was thrown into the furthest corner of her mind, as she preferred to ponder on what kind of punishment she should give Yuu for the stunt he pulled.

'Should I put him on a leash?'

It was a tempting thought, though she ended up crossing it off her list.

'No. With his taste, it'd end up being a reward instead.'

As she continued to brainstorm, time passed with her barely paying attention to the outside world. Even so, she still sat up the moment the three approached her, putting up a smile as she greeted them, and brushed away the half-adeptus' gratitude without a second thought.

While she let herself be pulled into their conversation, Lumine couldn't be bothered to focus on what they're talking about, especially when the source of her irritation is sitting right across from her. A little yes here, and a bit of a hum there; she simply coasted through the entire thing without knowing what she agreed to.

"Did you know about it, leader? About Yunyun being… you know."

The moment the topic shifted towards her fellow otherworlder though, she instantly regained her focus.

"That he's a puppet? Of course I do, and so does Paimon."

"Did he tell you two himself?" Xinyan pressed, eager for an answer.

"Not exactly." She recalled that particular day in the City of Freedom, when the feminine-looking bard approached them and revealed who he was. "Someone in Mondstadt had a peculiar eye when it came to this sort of thing and made a remark about it right to his face. We just happened to be there when it happened."

"And how did Mr. Yuu react to it?"

Lumine clenched her fist at the question. Or rather, at the person who asked the question.

She looked directly across from her, maintaining her composure despite the anger bubbling within and answered with a steady voice, "He didn't freak out, if that's what you're asking. He was mildly annoyed at being exposed so suddenly, but nothing beyond that."

"He's not bothered by it?"

"Of others knowing what he really is? No, I don't think so."

After that, she continued answering a few other questions they have, though she was careful not to say anything she shouldn't. While she could trust Xinyan to be discreet, the last thing she wants is for some clumsy and careless girl to accidentally say something she shouldn't have.

Throughout this whole discussion, Lumine paid special attention to Ganyu's reaction. And the moment she saw the excited glint in her eyes amidst her gradually more cheerful expression the further she answered her question, she had to really stop herself from doing something she shouldn't.

Her left hand held to Yuu's hat below the table tightly in an effort to calm herself down, despite her right itching to pull her sword out and drive it right through the bluenette's skull, consequences be damned.

'How nice it would be if you could just disappear from my sight.'

And then, as if to spite her further, the sound of winds flapping caught her attention.

A white crane once again stood on the spot where she last saw her before she disappeared into thin air, her wings stretched wide exposing her beautiful white-blue feathers as a small gust of wind blew the lingering dust away.

The adeptus has finally returned.

Alone.

Not a trace of her companion anywhere to be seen.

'Would you look at that.'

Rapping her fingers against the cold stone table, the blonde traveler slowly stood up. After carefully placing the hat she held onto on top of her seat, she slowly began making her way towards the illuminated beast.

'I guess I get to blow off some steam after all.'

Lumine summoned her unassuming iron sword and began pumping as much anemo energy as she possibly could into it. Ignoring the cries behind her, she threw the sword straight towards Cloud Retainer, the infused anemo energy easily cutting through any resistance as it disappeared from sight.

Not expecting an attack, the adeptus barely had enough time to react. With a lift of her wing, she created a distortion within the space in front of her. As the whistling of the wind grew louder, the sword that was aiming straight between her eyes suddenly had its trajectory bent just enough for it to miss her head.

With a loud bang, the sword pierced right through the stone wall and continued deeper into the rock face behind it, stopping only when the entire blade was completely buried.

Once the resulting cloud of dust subsided, Lumine's gaze was met with those of Cloud Retainer, both standing completely still and wary of the other. Like a bow that has been stretched taut, the two are ready to act at a moment's notice.

"Where is he, Cloud Retainer?"

Yuu is probably fine, she thought. With how sly he can be with his tongue, she doubts he couldn't come to an agreement with this aloof beast. The eyes full of want the moment the adeptus found out what he truly is is enough for her to come to that conclusion.

Yes, he should be perfectly fine.

But there's always a chance that he's not.

Perhaps the adeptus got greedy and ended up locking him away somewhere she couldn't reach. And while that line of thinking would be considered absurd given the others impression of what an adeptus is, as far as she was concerned, people who act with such sanctimony couldn't be anything other than a hypocrite.

Of course, she could be wrong. Perhaps she's overthinking things. Perhaps the adeptus that served the God of Contracts are different. Perhaps all the stress of having to be with someone she couldn't get rid off despite wishing for it so has warped her state of mind to the point that she's succumbed to her intrusive thoughts.

Thankfully, this godforsaken world has given her the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

"It seems you are just as rude as your partner, though he has enough sense not to act any further than the poison in his tongue." Cloud Retainer slowly raised her wing towards her neck, her pristine feather now stained in red as she wiped the dripping blood off of her. "You, on the other hand, lack the bare minimum amount of respect he's willing to show."

"And what exactly have you done to earn such a thing from me? By threatening to destroy the land that my friend grew up in?" Lumine scoffed as she began to take control of the elements, causing a loud cracking sound to come from behind the adeptus. The sound of smashed rock followed closely by a familiar whistle of something cutting through the air. "Don't make me laugh, beast."

"Stay your blade, traveler."

"Answer my question, then perhaps I would be more willing to consider doing so."

Cloud Retainer narrowed her eyes at the underlying threat, the distortion surrounding her grew as adeptal energy continued to gather towards her. Undeterred, Lumine simply stared at the adeptus as numerous blades of wind began to form, each and every one of them directed towards her opponent.

Despite the tense atmosphere, the standoff didn't last more than a minute.

"He's currently still in this one's home, though one knows not the reason." Cloud Retainer spoke first, breaking the silence as she slowly lowered her guarded posture. "Perhaps he's resting, or perhaps he's simply staying to sate his curiosity. Being able to visit the place where the adepti lives is not an opportunity many mortals get to experience, after all. Either way, he's alive and well, so this one would appreciate it if you would cease with your discourtesy."

The blonde traveler continued to stare at the adeptus, closely examining her eyes for any trace of deceit. And once she was satisfied, she made the blade disappear with a wave of her hand, while her sword slowly floated towards her, brushing past the glaring crane.

"See?" Lumine cocked her head to the side, her freezing countenance made way for a radiant smile at Cloud Retainer's answer. "That wasn't so hard, was it? All you had to do was give me an honest answer."

"This one's reluctance is not so much of a problem compared to your impatience."

"Can you really blame me?" Lumine asked with a shrug. "Anyone in their right mind would suspect something went wrong the moment you show up on your own."

"Do not compare my action to what a human would do in this one's stead, traveler. We are the furthest thing from being alike."

"Big words coming from someone who willingly disregards her so-called urgent matter to save Liyue the moment Yuu showed you what he really is. Abandoning your duty the moment you're faced with an enticing enough offer. What can possibly be more human than that?"

Cloud Retainer ignored the challenging tone in Lumine's voice, choosing to simply walk right past her. Though not before blowing a cloud of dust right to her face in one final act of pettiness.

"This one shall overlook the slight you've made today, traveler. Rather than wasting one's time doing something irrelevant, this one would prefer to fulfill the contract this one has made with your companion as quickly as possible."

"Still denying it till the very end, huh?" With a wave of her hand, the approaching dust never made contact with its target, as the wind stopped them right in its tracks. "Such hypocrisy… no wonder the Qixing are wary of you adepti."

"Ganyu," Cloud Retainer called loudly, not giving Lumine the time of day. "Follow me, child. This one needs to speak with you. In private."

Though surprised at the sudden invitation, Ganyu stood up after a brief moment of hesitation and began following Cloud Retainer towards a different section of the domain.

Before the two disappeared from her sight, Lumine didn't miss the way Ganyu looked at her. A mix of indignation and something else. Understanding, perhaps?

Whatever it was, Lumine didn't particularly care.

Now that she's confirmed Yuu's safety and managed to exercise most of her stress away, she allowed a genuine smile to form on her face as she practically skipped her way back towards the others, ignoring the dumbfounded stare they gave her.

Before she could sit down and enjoy her newfound peace of mind however, she found herself grabbed by the shoulders by her musician friend.

"Leader," Xinyan began, as her amber eyes stared deeply into her own. "Are you out of your mind?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Xinyan," Lumine replied nonchalantly. "In fact, I feel pretty good right now. The best I've been in a while, even. Thanks for asking, by the way."

"That's not–"

The brunette was about to continue but ended up stopping mid sentence. Seeing the blonde smiling like nothing was wrong, Xinyan simply sighed as she collapsed into her chair.

"Is this how you feel back in Mondstadt, Paimon?"

"Yep," The white fairy answered, swinging her legs as she lazed around on Xinyan's shoulder. "And just when Paimon thought she's getting better, she just had to do something stupid like this."

"How rude." Reaching both hands towards her guide, Lumine grabbed Paimon's cheek and began stretching them as far as she could. "Is that how you should talk to the person that fished you out of the sea, Paimon?"

"Maybe drowning isn't such a bad thing after all."

"I'll throw you into the waters right now if that's what you want."

The two of them burst into a fit of laughter amidst their bickering. Paimon's garbled laughter suddenly turned clear as Lumine yanked her out of Xinyan's shoulder and began tickling the little girl relentlessly on her side.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lumine saw Xinyan shaking her head as she let out an exasperated sigh, though the slight smile on the musician's face betrayed how she really felt.

As the two girls continued their playful fight, the tense atmosphere slowly faded, more so the moment Xinyan was dragged into it as well. Lumine could feel the throbbing in her head begin to subside knowing that the nuisance was temporarily out of the picture.

It won't last, but with how things are panning out, small moments like this are nothing short of a godsend.

And so she allowed herself to relax, resting against the cold surface after having had her fill of fun and enjoyed the embrace of her friend. Though Lumine suspected Xinyan's doing it so she couldn't do anything drastic again, she didn't particularly mind.

It's not like it'll make much of a difference anyway if she tried, but she appreciates the gesture nonetheless.

She could do away with the lecture Paimon and Xinyan gave her though. Then again, making a fuss would just prolong the inevitable, so why even bother.

Thankfully, after twenty minutes of torture, her salvation came in the form of something being slammed against the ground.

"Ugh… fucking hell."

She turned her head towards the source, hearing the voice of a familiar person currently hidden behind a small cloud of dust.

"Of course the exit is a fucking maze and a half," the person grumbled, reaching his hand upwards towards nothing before quickly retracting it and pushed himself to his feet using the wind. "I'm her guest, for fuck's sake, the least she could do is make it easier for me to navigate."

The man pulled at his dirtied loose robe, before brushing some of the dirt away to the best of his abilities with his hand. Or rather, the left hand he's currently holding in his right.

"I'm gonna have to renegotiate my price after all this trouble." The moment Yuu said those words, Lumine could imagine the sight of him smiling behind that mask of his. "Surely the richest woman in the country wouldn't mind forking over some extra Mora, right?"

A sense of relief permeated across her being the moment she saw him return. And judging by how he has the time to complain about wanting more Mora in his pocket, everything went well. Though Cloud Retainer's word confirmed it, it's nice to hear it from the person himself.

"Leave it to you to think about Mora at every waking moment of your life." A smirk started to form on Lumine's lips as she threw the jab at him.

"Shit happens, princess, and I'll be damned if I didn't get my money's worth after–"

Yuu suddenly paused, his gaze began to wander around the open area, no doubt noticing the change that took place. He noticed the small puddle of red on the ground, after which his head turned towards the crumbling wall and the large hole on the rock surface behind it.

The puppet let out a sigh, his frustration clear as he started tapping the back of his head with his disconnected hand.

"What did you do this time, Lumine?"

She could feel the sheer disappointment dripping from his voice. The eyes hidden behind the mask no doubt glaring daggers at her right this moment.

"Nothing that you should worry about," she answered as she put on her brightest smile yet.

Not amused, Yuu simply stared at her for a few seconds before turning her attention towards Xinyan. "What did she do?"

"She killed Cloud Retainer," Xinyan answered in a deadpan manner.

"No I did not."

"She almost killed Cloud Retainer," Paimon clarified, raising both of her tiny arms to get his attention. "Lumine just stood up and went crazy at her the moment she showed up."

"That, I did."

"Leader, you're not helping your case. Please, just shut your mouth."

"Shutting up."

Seeing Lumine's lack of care, Yuu once again released a sigh. After a few moments of contemplating his life, he simply clicked his tongue and moved over towards the empty seat next to her.

"I'm just going to assume you have a very good reason to pull something like that."

"I actually did, though?"

"Right," he drawled, placing his left hand on the table and reached for the cup in front of him. "Let's just say that you do and move on. Since the three of you are still alive and well, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Cloud Retainer didn't react too strongly?"

"Nope. She just said a few words and left with Ganyu. Something about fulfilling her contract and wanting to speak to her in private."

"What a stroke of luck, honestly."

Seeing that Yuu was busy chugging down the cold tea, Xinyan slowly reached towards the hand on the table, only to have her own hand swatted away moments before she could even touch it.

"Come on!" she whined, rubbing her hand with a hurt look on her face. "I just want to take a look at it!"

"And let you potentially burn it to ashes like you did with your house? Not a fucking chance," the puppet scoffed.

"I did not burn my house down!"

"Thanks to yours truly, you didn't."

"Whatever." Xinyan harrumphed loudly at his refusal, but still complied and chose to to change the subject. "What took you so long, anyway? I would've thought you'd be able to settle this rather quickly."

"Cloud Retainer is stubborn, that's why. Though it's nothing a bit of concession couldn't fix." Yuu paused, before suddenly adding to his previous statement like it's an afterthought. "That, and I might have accidentally fallen asleep right after."

"...you fell asleep?"

"I was tired, okay?" he shrugged, ignoring the glare sent his way. "Contrary to what you might believe, Xinyan, talking isn't all that easy, you know? Especially when a nation's continued existence is on the line."

"Couldn't you have just slept some time after?" Xinyan huffed indignantly. "I wouldn't have had to deal with a potential heart attack if you had just gone out alongside Cloud Retainer."

"How am I supposed to know that Lumine was going to do something stupid?"

The two look towards her, to which she gave them a playful wink in response.

"You should've expected it, at least."

"Your suggestion has been duly noted."

The blonde traveler laughed at their exasperation, much to their annoyance. Instead of focusing on that, however, she simply scooted closer towards Yuu, grabbed his free hand, and placed it on top of her head.

And just as she expected, even without her asking to do so, he started to run his fingers along her scalp, causing her to release a contented sigh.

"She really got you wrapped around her fingers huh, Yunyun?"

"Hush, you."

As the two continued bickering, Lumine closed her eyes, focusing on the comforting sensation coming from the soft skin of the former-human-turned-mechanical-puppet.

This warmth, this hand, this person; just as she offered her everything towards him, he too offered everything he had to her.

'Yes… that's right, isn't it?'

It doesn't matter if an insignificant little girl tries to worm her way into their own little world. For as long as she knows her place, there's no need for her to do anything untowards to her.

She may be given some form of comfort in finding someone that she thinks is similar to her, they might even end up being the best of friends, but that's as far as things go. She will never have anything beyond that.

'Because he's mine, and no one else's.'

Lumine grasped Yuu's hand tightly, briefly intertwining their fingers before she gave it a squeeze. She let out a laugh the moment he responded with a squeeze of his own, after which she let go and let him continue with his ministration.

'I'll make sure of that. Always.'

"By the way, white mask," with a brief lull in the conversation, the little fairy that was previously busy stuffing his mouth suddenly asks, "how did it go with Cloud Retainer? Did you do it? Is Liyue safe now?"

"For the time being, yes."

"What do you mean?" Xinyan asked, a hint of trepidation in her voice.

"There's good news, and there's bad news. The good news is that you, my dear friend, won't be going homeless anytime soon."

"Really?!"

"However," the sudden addition erased any trace of happiness from the brunette as she once again looked towards him in fear, "the bad news is that it would only last for as long as the adepti is willing to discuss things with the Qixing. Anything after that is beyond my control."

"Oh…."

"I'm sorry, Xinyan. I know it's not really what you want, but it's as far as I'm willing to go. I had to pay a steep price just to make this contract happen in the first place. You'll just have to put your trust that the Qixing and the adepti can come to an agreement."

"It's fine, Yunyun, really!" Xinyan waved both of her hands frantically at his apology. "Doing this much is enough, so please, don't feel sorry about it."

"If you say so."

"You mention a steep price, white mask," Paimon interjected, the small fairy tilted her head in a questioning manner, "how steep are we talking about?"

Lumine opened her eyes and strained her ears, curious about his answer.

"Oh, that?" Yuu paused, briefly meeting her gaze before he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, the short of it is, I basically sold my body off to Cloud Retainer."

…

…

…

The silence was deafening. Both Paimon and Xinyan practically had their jaws on the floor as they struggled to comprehend what Yuu just said. As for Lumine… well, to say that she was annoyed would be a severe understatement.

"I'm sorry, white mask, but can you say that again? Paimon's not sure she heard you correctly."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with my ears just now."

"You heard me correctly," Yuu answered with a chuckle. "Of course, there's a lot more detail to it, but I don't feel like explaining right now, so just take it as it is. Also, princess, I would appreciate it if you stop trying to crush my arm, there's unfortunately a severe lack of spare parts available in this world, and I would prefer it if you don't disarm me by accident."

Lumine simply glared at the puppet and put more force into her hand once she noticed his lack of pain.

"You're an idiot, you know that, right?"

"Pot calling the kettle black." He let out a scoff as he flicked her in the forehead, causing her frown to curl into a pout. "Besides, logically speaking, trading my time and body for an entire nation is a steal no matter how you look at it."

"You and your propensity for taking the shortest way out."

"I'd rather not spend any more effort than is necessary."

Lumine facepalmed as she let out a much deeper sigh, wondering just what she did to deserve having to deal with such a person.

'Maybe putting him on a leash isn't such a bad idea after all.'