Gonna live this life as the Heroine Villainess

🪈 👹 Chapter 38🏮🐦

"So, how was shopping with Zhongli?" Y/N snickered. Lumine flopped onto her bed behind her and groaned. "Oh shut it- it was horrible! I mean, it was fun- but I think I drained my savings for the month... Thank god Childe pulled through. If it's one thing he's good for, it's money." Paimon floated in the air above her head, settling on the bed and patting Lumi's shoulder. "Yeah, Mr. Moneybags sure isn't short of mora. It's a good thing Y/N told us to let him tag along!" Y/N shrugged. "I've known him for a long time. He can be helpful, when he wants to be."

Now that he thought about it, Childe had been strangely quiet since the dinner at the kiosk. Of course, he wasn't able to interrogate her like he probably wanted in the company of three others, but she could tell he had a good time- at least, she thought so. It was the little things she had noticed, the slight ease in the tension of his shoulders, the shadow of a genuine smile as he watched Paimon and Lumine fight over shrimp balls like a pair of siblings. She wonders if he sees own younger siblings in them. Still, it was unnatural for Childe not to be out and about. He had told her he was doing paperwork, but even when they were both in the Fatui he'd always made the time to at least send letters. She glanced at the desk in front of her, eyeing the two opened envelopes warily. Two letters in two months. The frequency sure had decreased from the weekly letters he used to send. What was that man doing?

Even though Y/N knew what was going to happen, she didn't know when. After all, she had run through the events countless times, but based on her understanding the players could steamroll through the events in a single day. Time in the game was a strange thing. Thinking back to the Mondstadt archon quest, how many months had it been after she had arrived that the traveler had first appeared? And then after that, the encounter with Dvalin? Half a year... and then two months. It seems that the traveler's appearance had sped up the timeline more than she had thought. Y/N closed her eyes and leaned back, her mouth quirking into a smile as she heard Lumi list out all her commissions and requests she needed to complete the day after, complaining about traveling to Wangshu inn just to deliver some smoked ham to the head chef.

"Oh yeah, do you wanna head to Third-Round-Knockout with me? It's some tavern Zhongli was talking about. It sounds fun, and I'm missing alcohol, honestly. I think I've always taken for granted how much Mondstadt wine slaps." Y/N smiled. "Yeah sure, I'll go. You sure it won't be an inconvenience?" "Nope! I don't think Zhongli will mind, either. You're a good friend, so it's okay!" Lumine smiled broadly. Ah... the girl really was the traveler, all right. She has a kind heart. The two of them stood, beginning the routine of opening the window to the room and hopping right out of the building, jumping down around three stories to the paved street below. The two of them always got strange looks from passersbys (She couldn't blame them, they had just seen two strangers in weird clothing drop from the sky).

As they made their way there, Y/N couldn't help but feel as if they were being watched again. That strange feeling, that made her feel tense every time she walked the streets of Liyue, which had started the day that they had gone to have dinner at the kiosk, but if there was someone watching them, though, she couldn't figure out who they were. Either she was wrong, or their stalker was really good at masking their presence. Even when they'd stepped into the tavern and greeted Zhongli, she could still feel a pair of eyes burning into her back. She grit her teeth, but kept an easy going smile on her face as they sat at a table and listened to Zhongli prattle on about the rite preparations.

"Ah, thank you very much," Zhognli thanked the waiter who brought a pot of jasmine tea to the table. The young woman flushed a soft pink, bowing fervently before scurrying off with the platter held up to her face. Y/N stifled a laugh as Zhongli cocked his head and watched the woman hurry into the kitchen, a thoughtful look on his face. It seemed that Zhiongli wasn't aware of his dazzling looks. If she was him, she'd take advantage of it as much as she could. Maybe then he wouldn't be scammed so much.