EN | An encounter she will never forget | ᴄʜɪʟᴜᴍɪ

29 - Departure to Snezhnaya

SUBTITLE: The attack of the enraged pancakes

Lumine woke up much earlier than she thought she would. Her day yesterday had knocked her out considerably, but she still found a way to not enjoy a well-deserved lie-in. Instead, she found herself wide-eyed, with Childe's mask still hanging on the side of her head, staring up at the bedroom ceiling, with no way for her to get back to sleep even though the sun's rays just began to filter through the bedroom curtains.

Next to her, Childe was still dozing. Although he would never admit it, using his Foul Legacy Transformation had cost him far more energy than he had. She turned to watch him sleep for a moment, inwardly hoping that his gentle purring would allow her to get back to sleep, but to no avail. Instead, she played lightly with his earring, but this action didn't wake him up. He was well on his way to sleeping for several more hours, she had some time to kill. So she decided to get up since sleep wasn't coming back. She took a good shower, then decided to prepare the breakfast.

Unconsciously, she wondered what Paimon would like to eat. However, the harsh reality came back to her when she remembered that she had left the little fairy in Mondstadt. She hoped she wasn't too angry with her for lying to her for the umpteenth time, but she knew she must have been raging since yesterday about being abandoned. A slight twinge of guilt rose in her chest, but Lumine tried not to think about it. What was done was done after all. She had to accept her choice now that it was made, even if it meant hurting the people she loved to better protect them in the future. She didn't know if she would come back, but if her actions could allow all her friends to live in peace afterwards, it was worth it.

Either way, she was an oddity in this world. She didn't belong here, she knew it, even though Childe was trying his best to create a place for her. One day or another, whether it was in a week, a month or even decades, she would leave this world. The only thing she knew for sure at that moment was that she wouldn't leave until she had solved the problem of the Abyss and her brother. This uncertainty, however, made it even more difficult for her to deal with Childe, even if she didn't let on. Venti and Zhongli had advised her not to have these pessimistic thoughts anymore, but of course that was easier said than done. In any case, these thoughts weren't going to help her prepare breakfast, so she locked them in a box in the back of her mind so that they wouldn't permanently undermine her mood.

Once her mind was clear of any negative vibes, she set about preparing the meal. She opted for something simple: pancakes. Luckily for her, she didn't have to go shopping. Just as she finished preparing the dish, she heard stirring in the next room. Childe must have been awake, which is why she took the plates she had just filled into the room. And indeed, the dormouse was sitting up in bed, yawning like crazy. When he noticed Lumine's presence in the doorway, a wide smile appeared on his face.

"And on top of that I get breakfast in bed!" he laughed.

"Don't get too used to it, it won't happen often."

"What a shame!"

She walked over to him and handed him his plate while sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. As they began to eat, they both realized that they were starving—the obvious consequence of having skipped dinner the night before.

Taking advantage of the opportunity the pancakes offered, Lumine was quick to ask the question that had been puzzling her since the night before.

"So you talk about me in the letters you send to your family?"

This simple question, so innocent in appearance, had an explosive effect on Childe—and almost deadly. The latter swallowed his mouthful and dropped the piece he had bitten off with his fork—the chopsticks being double sealed at home.