Want a job? [2]

"Traveler, let's try that stall next!" Paimon, the floating fairy, suggested with great enthusiasm.

"Chop Suey? Hmm... Alright." Lumine, who was holding a wallet full of Mora, nodded.

These two people were none other than the heroes of Mondstadt who recently solved the Stormterror incident. Currently, in search of the traveler's sibling, they are traveling from nation to nation in hopes of finding clues about the sibling.

After obtaining advice from the Anemo Archon— Barbatos himself— they decided to head to Liyue. It was because Morax, the Geo Archon, would soon be making his annual descent.

If the traveler were to have a chance to talk to him, then perhaps she could learn something about her brother.

After ordering two chop sueys, the two of them sat down on a table and picked up their chopsticks.

"Ugh... Umm..." Realizing that the chopsticks were too big for her small hands, Paimon showed a troubled look. However, a second later, she mastered it. "Oh! That was easy!"

Using her chopsticks, Paimon picked up the meat from her howl and ate it. "Oh! Delicious!"

"I'm surprised you immediately got the hang of it, Paimon." Lumine, who was properly holding her chopsticks, commented. "When it comes to food, nothing really stops you, huh?"

"Hehe, you should know this by now, traveler." Turning her head to Lumine, Paimon snickered. "When it comes to the great Paimon, nothing can stand in her way!"

"Alright, alright..." Amused, Lumine heaved a soft sigh with a faint smile on her lips.

Taking a piece of chicken meat and wrapping it with a piece of lettuce, Lumine precisely maneuvered her chopsticks. She then placed it in her mouth and chewed. 'It does taste good...'

The two continued to chat and enjoyed their dinner as they watched the bustling harbor slowly fade deep into the night. Despite that, there were still a lot of people present in the streets.

"Ah, that was such a good meal..." Satisfied, Paimon smiled happily. "Liyue's cuisine is really different from Mondstadt's..."

"I'm glad you enjoyed your meal Paimon..." Also finishing her meal, Lumine heaved a soft sigh as she let out a bit of gas from her mouth. "But... Now we have a problem..."

"Huh? What is it?" Paimon asked, sensing Lumine's mood turning dampened.

"See for yourself..." Lumine said as she held her wallet of Mora. Paimon peeked in and her eyes widened.

"This... No, this can't be!" Paimon said with a panicked voice. "We had so much! How did it all disappear in a blink of an eye?!"

"We only have seven thousand Mora left..." Lumine said with a frown. "Guess we'll have to go back to adventuring for the time being again, Paimon."

"Ugh, Paimon's sorry... If Paimon were a little more frugal, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place..." Paimon tapped her head as she apologized.

"It's alright, we can just save our way back again to stability..." As Lumine spoke, she suddenly remembered Paimon's appetite. "...right?"

As if realizing Lumine's gaze, Paimon bemoaned. "Oh... If only there was a way to get back all those Mora as quickly as possible... We really need a miracle right now. Something that would save us from this predicament..."

"Pardon me."

Just then, while Paimon was lamenting, a tall slender man wearing a black turtleneck with a white coat embellished with green and golden accents, with a long, green scarf tied around his left forearm, paired with white pants and black boots with gold buttons and black soles, approached them.

It was an understatement to say that the man was conspicuous— no, he was too eye-catching! Especially since he was holding onto a white coffin behind him.

The blond man, who approached them, then looked at Lumine. "Forgive me for intruding upon your conversation... But are you perhaps the Traveler? You know, the renowned Honorary Knight of Mondstadt?"

"That's me," Lumine nodded her head as she observed the man. "Who's asking?"

"Ah, forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself." Realizing his mistake, the man shook his head. "I'm Luocha. I'm a traveling merchant."

"Luocha, huh?" Scrutinizing Luocha from top to bottom, Paimon observed him suspiciously. "So why did you come looking for the traveler?"

"Yes, I actually have a request for the traveler... A commission, if you will." Luocha spoke politely and calmly, not showing any hint of any other emotions.

"Huh? A commission? At this hour of the night?" Paimon tilted her head as she grasped her chin. "You aren't... Planning to give us any weird commission, are you?"

"No, no, don't misunderstand..." He shook his head as he tried to clear the misunderstanding. "It's a commission for tomorrow morning, actually."

"Hmm... And the pay?" Paimon immediately went straight to the point before even asking what the commission was.

"100,000 Mora."

"I see, a hundred thousand... Eh?" Paimon was just about to ponder about the pay when she suddenly stopped and looked at Luocha with wide eyes. "What... Did you say?"

She was in a clear state of shock. As for Lumine, she too was a bit baffled. This was the first time they were commissioned with the price of a hundred thousand thousand Mora, after all. 'That's... A lot.'

"You heard me. 100,000 Mora." Luocha continued to speak calmly without any hesitation, keeping a poker face the whole time. "If you were to accept my commission, I'd be willing to divulge more information."

"Uhh... Can you give us a moment?" Paimon asked as she looked at Lumine.

"No problem." Luocha lightly nodded his head. He then walked to an empty table and sat down. "Go ahead."

Afterward, Lumine and Paimon stood up and walked a bit away from Luocha and started discussing.

"Traveler... Should we do it? This guy must be some crazy rich nouveau riche!" Paimon whispered to her partner with excitement.

"I have to admit, I'm also tempted..." Lumine crossed her arms as she pondered. "But we still don't know what kind of commission it is. For all we know, it might be something dangerous..."

"Oh, you're right!" Understanding Lumine's words, Paimon nodded her head. "Usually, the higher the pay means the higher the danger."

"High risk, high reward," Lumine commented.

"Yeah, that!" Paimon agreed with her. "With that said... Why don't we ask what kind of job it is first, then we'll decide."

"Seems good to me." Lumine hummed and agreed with Paimon.

"Alright!"

Finishing their talk, the two of them returned and sat at the same table as the enigmatic man.

"Before we accept... Can you tell us a bit more about the commission?" Lumine was the first to speak.

"That's right! After all, we still don't know what we're getting ourselves into." Paimon added on the side.

"Ha, there's no need to worry. It isn't anything sketchy." Sensing their suspicion, the man scoffed lightly. "But very well, I understand where you're coming from. Well then, allow me to share some info."

"My colleague, who sent me, is actually the owner of a very popular café, and he's been needing new assistants— especially since his schedule has been packed recently," Luocha explained in a calm and tranquil manner. "And so he asked me, who has a lot of connections as a traveling merchant, to go find an adventurer to hire."

"It was then that I realized that the renowned hero of Mondstadt was here in Liyue, and a thought suddenly occurred to me." Luocha grasped his chin. "My friend would surely love the idea of a hero working with him. And so, I approached you two."

"What? So it's actually just a bartending job?" In the revelation of what the commission truly was, Paimon was even more baffled. "And here Paimon thought it would be something like escorting an important figure..."

"Well, that's basically it." Saying this, Luocha then turned to Lumine. "Well then, miss? What do you think of this commission?"

"Hmm..." Since Lumine was the one ultimately making the decision, she fell into deep contemplation. 'It seems like a rather easy task... And the pay is great too...'

'And...'

She then looked up to Luocha and his call face. She observed him for a bit longer before thinking to herself,

'Well, he doesn't look like someone who has ulterior motives, at least...'

After pondering it a bit more, she finally made a decision. "We'll take this commission."

"That's wonderful to hear." Hearing their answer, Luocha let out a soft heave of relief. He then stood up. "Then, let us meet again in front of Third-round knockout tomorrow morning."

"I'll be picking you two there at around eight in the morning, so do be sure to wake up early, alright?"

"Alright, no problem!" Paimon nodded as she and Lumine also got up from the table.

"..." Smiling enigmatically, Luocha nodded and turned around without saying any other word. Carrying his white coffin, he walked away and slowly blended in the crowd, eventually disappearing from the two's sights.

---

And just like that, night had passed and the sun's rays blanketed the land once more.

As agreed upon, Lumine and Paimon woke up early and went to the restaurant called Third-round Knockout and waited for Luocha.

It didn't take them long before his figure appeared.

"Good morning, Luocha!" Seeing him, Paimon greeted him as per her usual character.

"Good morning to you two too." Luocha nodded his head and softly smiled at them. "Are you two ready?"

Lumine and Paimon looked at each other and nodded. The latter then spoke, "Yeah!"

"Very good. Well then." Verifying that they were reading, Luocha spoke. "If the two of you would be so kind, could you close your eyes and hold my hand?"

"Eh? Close our eyes and hold you?" Paimon asked curiously. "Why?"

"It's a surprise." Luocha smiled mysteriously like a charlatan. "Would you two trust me?"

Paimon and Lumine found it odd, but since it was just a harmless action, they both decided to do it. "Well... Alright then..."

Both of them closed their hands and extended their hands to him. Luocha then lifted his hand and held both their hands.

He then started speaking softly. "Alright... Five, four, three..."

In the darkness of her closed eyes, all Lumine could hear was Luocha slowly counting down from five. 'What's happening...?'

"...Two, and... One." Finally, Luocha finished his countdown. "Alright, the two of you could open your eyes now."

"Huh? Weird... Telling us to close our hands only to open them seconds later?" Paimon mildly complained. She then opened her eyes. "Why even—"

"Huh?" Just as she was about to complain, she noticed that something happened. "This... This is...?!"

"Where... Are we?" Lumine said as she also opened her eyes and looked around. "Weren't we In front of the Third-round Knockout? Why are we suddenly here?"

It was a completely different environment. Something that resembles a cafe rather than a restaurant.

"Hm? Are you two the ones Luocha sent?" Suddenly, a voice came from behind them.

The two of them turned around and saw a person. He was a tall figure with brown hair and deep amber eyes. He wore a regular Barista's uniform.

"Hmm... Looking at your cards... It seems like I was right." The man said as he softly smiled at them.

"Cards?" Lumine and Paimon said at the same time. They both then looked at their hands and saw cards which they didn't have before.

Paimon had a tarot card called "The Moon", while Lumine had a card called "The Star."

"Huh? What's this?" Paimon looked at the cards given to them and asked curiously. "We didn't have these before..."

Clap*

Suddenly they heard a clap. Both of them turned their heads and looked at the man In front of them. "Well then, since the two of you are here..."

"Want a job?"