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Chapter 327 – Getting a Free Five-Star Character
🕑 Added 2025-09-18 17:42:41 +0000 UTC“So confident?” Venti rubbed his chin as he watched Lumine proudly pat her chest, eyes glinting with curiosity.
The Traveler clearly knew something unusual about the people around her.
Glancing sideways at Nagami chatting with Paimon, Venti hesitated, then gave a small nod.
These people didn’t seem like villains at all.
And when it came to judging character, he trusted his instincts.
“Alright then. Looks like you know a thing or two about that little girl’s power…”
Still, the idea that the fragile-looking girl was somehow Celestia’s enforcer was laughable, even to him.
The overwhelming vitality that radiated from her was enough to make the flowers around them bloom brighter—how could someone like that be the incarnation of heavenly law?
“But… how about letting me join your travels for a while? I can’t shake the feeling that something’s off.”
Lumine froze.
She tilted her head back to check the sky, confirmed the sun had indeed risen from the east, then stared at Venti in horror.
“Venti… are you okay?”
‘I’m pretty sure the last time I stuffed him in a sack to steal his wine, I didn’t hit him on the head that hard…’
‘Why is Venti actually being serious for once?!’
‘What’s happening to the world?!’
‘Barbatos… not slacking off?!’
Lumine’s shock right now rivaled the day she discovered she and Nagami were counterparts.
“Don’t look at me like that. I am the Anemo Archon, you know.”
Reading the disbelief in Lumine’s eyes, Venti scratched his head awkwardly, a little embarrassed.
Had his reputation really sunk that low in the Traveler’s eyes?
But this did involve Celestia, after all.
No Archon could stay calm in the face of that—not even him.
“Of course you can come!” Lumine beamed.
‘Who wouldn’t be thrilled to score a free five-star companion?’
‘…Wait a sec.’
‘If I bring little Seele to meet Zhongli, would that net me another free five-star?!’
Sure, with Nagami by her side, nothing could really threaten their journey.
But more party members—er, allies—were always welcome.
After watching the nightmare “tool character” storyline Nagami uploaded to their chat group, Lumine’s head still throbbed.
Maybe now the tables could finally turn.
‘This time I’ll be the quest-giver!’
‘Venti and Zhongli can go run errands for me!’
As this mischievous thought flashed through Lumine’s mind, Nagami, mid-conversation with Paimon, gave her a dead-fish stare.
Stuffing Venti in a sack… just to steal his wine?
Has Lumine completely lost her shame?!
The tiny, floating figure drifted around him, starry cape fluttering behind her, glittering like musical notes dancing in the wind.
“Nagami, Nagami! Why’d you stop? Keep telling me about the archons from your homeland!”
Excited, Paimon flailed her arms like she was running in midair, circling him like an eager mascot.
“Alright, alright.” Nagami chuckled.
No wonder Lumine had chosen to travel with her.
The little thing really was adorable.
A cute, lively sprite like this—who could resist?
Though… in an emergency, she could probably double as rations.
Just kidding.
Surely even Lumine wouldn’t stoop so low as to eat something humanoid… probably.
“Paimon… that name does sound like it should belong to some powerful being,” Nagami muttered, rubbing his chin. “Perhaps an ancient spirit of the skies…or perhaps something even stronger…”
If his ocular powers weren’t preoccupied with the current authority, he might’ve been able to analyze Paimon’s true nature.
As it was, he could only guess.
“Wow! Paimon can be some super important ancient being too?!”
The little floating companion spun in giddy somersaults, puffing out her chest and striking a dramatic pose like the Traveler in battle.
Cuteness +1.
Edibility –1.
“If Paimon were some kind of higher being, she’d be totally unreliable… though maybe with enough effort she could annoy an enemy to death,” Lumine quipped, having just finished her talk with Venti.
“Oh? So Paimon’s actually edible in this world?” she added with a teasing smirk.
Linked minds made it easy—Nagami immediately joined in tormenting Paimon, already aware through empathy that Venti would jump in soon enough.
He just had to finish “teaching”—not tricking—his students first.
After all, wine cost Mora, and unlike Childe, Venti didn’t come with a built-in wallet.
“That’s right. Paimon’s emergency food—I’ve been saving her for a long time.” Lumine’s grin widened as she leaned into the joke.
“Lumine! Paimon is not food! Say that again and Paimon’s gonna get mad—super mad! Paimon won’t forgive you this time!”
She crossed her tiny arms, stomping furiously in midair, glaring with all her might.
She was clearly angry, but it only made her look even cuter.
For Lumine, teasing Paimon like this had already become one of her daily joys.
And after watching her sulk, both she and Nagami felt they’d absorbed enough “emotional energy” to be satisfied.
“Alright, alright, I was wrong. Paimon isn’t food—she’s my best partner!”
Hugging her floating companion close, Lumine rubbed her cheek against Paimon’s soft little face, soothing her like she’d done countless times before.
“My adorable, powerful Paimon—who might just have the aura of an ancient being please be magnanimous and forgive me this once, okay?”
“Hmph.” Paimon turned her nose up, but the little smile tugging at her lips gave her away. “Fine, Paimon will forgive you this time. But you can’t call Paimon food again, got it?”
She never even realized how many times she’d already said the same thing.
And as for Lumine… well, you just admitted there’ll be a “next time.”
What more could I ask for?
“Let’s just enjoy the festival for a couple of days. Once Venti’s done collecting his… tuition fees, we’ll head to Liyue.”
Passing the mollified Paimon into little Seele’s hands, Lumine plopped down next to Nagami without a shred of her usual graceful-girl image.
She was about to casually cross her legs when she noticed Kurumi giving her a very subtle, very pointed look.
In the next instant, Lumine straightened up into the prim-and-proper sitting pose from the game, her face transforming into a sweet, angelic smile.
‘Seriously? Since you’ve already thrown away your dignity, why not go all in?’ Nagami thought with a deadpan glance.
‘Because I feel like it!’ Lumine shot back without hesitation.
Her delicate, doll-like features framed by a sugary smile, hiding the fact that deep down she was as shameless as some eccentric old hag.
The contrast was… strangely endearing.
Swaying to the side, Nagami let his head fall directly onto Lumine’s smooth, pale thighs.
From this angle, his line of sight was filled with her curves and the soft glimpse of her fair face above.
‘Huh. You wouldn’t guess it at first glance, but she’s not exactly small…’
He rubbed the back of his head against her thighs, dissatisfied with the angle.
Well—“dissatisfied” for Lumine’s senses, anyway.
For him, it was perfectly comfortable.
So he shifted again, rolling onto his side so his cheek pressed against her lap.
Warmth and softness enveloped him on both sides until he finally sighed in contentment.
Catching every flicker of his thoughts through their shared link, Lumine shot him a glare—but she didn’t push him away.
Instead, she reached down with slender white fingers and began to massage his head.
After all, with their senses connected, whatever he felt, she felt too.
A lap pillow and a massage.
Even Aether had never gotten this treatment.
For Lumine, there probably wasn’t anyone else in the world—besides herself—who could get it for free.
Well… unless someone offered her a mountain of Mora, of course.
‘So, compared to C.C., how does this feel?’
That question made Nagami pause. He was sure he’d heard it somewhere before…
