EN | An encounter she will never forget | ᴄʜɪʟᴜᴍɪ

26 - Encounter with a miniature Childe

Childe arrived in Liyue safely. He was overloaded by the work that hadn't been perfectly managed by his assistants for a month, giving him only very rare moments of respite. Two days after his return, he took a stroll through the streets of the city in the evening, to enjoy as much as he could the time he had left in Liyue. The locals stared at him with fear at first when they recognized him, then their expressions changed to surprise when they noticed the pretty flower hanging in his hair. As promised, he hadn't taken it off for a moment except to sleep, much to the dismay of Ekaterina, who spent her time trying to make him understand that it was not professional nor tolerable among the Fatui. Each time she made a new attempt, the Harbinger would cut her off with a 'I don't allow you' to shut her up, which unfortunately had only a relative effect.

After more than a month since what everyone believed to be the death of the Lord of the Rock, the city was once again thriving without fear of being abandoned by their god. The fact that the Adepti had been involved in the Osial affair had demonstrated to every citizen that they weren't alone and that they had the trust of their ancestral protectors.

As a result, the habits of the inhabitants had returned to normal. Even though it was late at night, all the stores were still open and trying to lure shoppers with special offers.

Of course, Childe was taking this walk to get his mind off his work, but also to look for a piece of jewelry for someone he loved dearly. Since Lumine had woken up in Mondstadt, he had noticed that she had repeatedly put her hand to her hair in hopes of finding something dear to her heart that had been there before their fight: the brooch he had given her. However, it was no longer there, probably lost or destroyed during the duel. Knowing her, she must have been angry at herself for not taking care of it, which is why he had been looking for a replacement accessory, even more magnificent than the previous one. His attention was caught by a splendid brooch representing a five-petalled flower made entirely of Noctilucous Jade. It sparkled like a full moon in the middle of a cloudless sky. It was expensive but he knew it would look great in her hair. Not thinking twice, he asked to buy it when his attention was caught by something else in the jeweler's store, something he had secretly been thinking about since Lumine woke up...   

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The day of Lumine and Zhongli's departure for Liyue had arrived. Since the day before, she had been going around to say 'goodbye' to her acquaintances. At least, that was the version she let it show. In reality, these 'goodbyes' sounded more like farewells in her head because of what she had planned to do in Snezhnaya. Among her mortal friends, only Jean and Kaeya knew of her plan. After their last conversation, she went back to them to explain in detail what she had planned. Even though they were openly against the scheme, they let her go with a heavy heart after she had insisted on pleading her case for a long time. At the same time, she had obtained from them their total silence towards her friends, and particularly towards Paimon. The little fairy was still running away from her, truly frightened by what she had seen that day. So Lumine refused to involve her any further, deciding to lie to her about the date of her departure so that once she felt regret, she couldn't go on the road with her. She had to protect her, that's why she preferred to leave her in a safe place, here in Mondstadt, surrounded by all her friends.

So there she was, accompanied by Zhongli, in front of Mondstadt, at dawn, long before everyone else had woken up. She stood for a few moments, her gaze turned in the direction of the statue and the cathedral, trying to imprint in her memory this landscape that she would probably not see again soon, if at all.

The Geo Archon next to her didn't complain once about the time Lumine was taking to get going, certainly understanding what she was thinking since he knew about her plan.