36. You Don’t Know That I Know

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Paimon remarked with an odd expression, “A wealthy young master like you does housework too?”

Diluc gave them a cold look. “Is that strange? Or are you saying this is some impossible task?”

Paimon: “…But it feels really weird when Diluc is the one doing this stuff.”

Aether said, “It’s a mismatch of roles.”

Diluc: “…”

Diluc wrung out a rag from the wooden basin and held it out in front of Paimon, saying coldly, “Go wipe the lampshades upstairs.”

Staring at the rag, which was even larger than her own head, little Paimon was dumbfounded. But when she saw Diluc’s icy expression, she dared not protest. In a daze, she took it from him.

Her little body was round and chubby, and with the chandelier swaying beneath her, she could not exert any strength. Even wiping it was a clumsy affair, leaving her staggering this way and that.

The Traveler could not help laughing.

Little Paimon had always been utterly lawless, but after once witnessing an unforgettable “interrogation,” she had developed an extraordinary reverence for Mr. Diluc.

No longer bothering with the timid Paimon, Aether asked, “Mr. Diluc, are you free over the next few days? I’ve moved into a new home, and I’m planning to invite some friends over for a feast. It will also give everyone a chance to learn the way.”

Diluc asked, “When?”

The Traveler replied, “In a few days, I suppose. I asked Mr. Albedo to help me with something earlier. Once he arrives, I’ll send invitations out to everyone.”

Diluc asked, “Who are you planning to invite?”

Seeing how serious and solemn he looked, Aether could not resist teasing him. “What, if my guests aren’t to your liking, Master Diluc won’t do me the honor of attending?”

Diluc gave him a long look. “I’ll consider it.”

Aether laughed. “Don’t worry. I won’t invite too many people. They’re all close friends. For example, Acting Grand Master Jean, Mr. Kaeya, Miss Amber, and… Miss Lisa.”

Diluc: “…”

There were far too many members of the Knights of Favonius. Suffocating.

Aether continued, “And Venti, who will definitely come just to join in the fun. That should be about everyone.”

Diluc reminded him, “You haven’t invited Miss Barbara?”

Aether frowned, not understanding why he had suddenly brought up Barbara.

“I’m not acquainted with Miss Barbara, and we had a minor unpleasantness between us before. Would it be inappropriate?”

If one traced the matter back to its source, it really had very little to do with him. Even now, whenever he thought about it, he felt an intense, stifling sense of injustice—as though he had somehow become the hapless scapegoat who had taken the blame for everything.

Miss Barbara, the deaconess of the Knights of Favonius, was a deeply devout believer in the Anemo Archon. Not only she, but her ancestors and her entire family had been. She revered the Anemo Archon as her lifelong faith and devoutly guarded the treasures the Archon had left behind.

Back when he had helped resolve the crisis involving the Stormterror Dvalin, he had assisted Venti in stealing the Anemo Archon’s sacred treasure, the Skyward Harp, from the cathedral.

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And then… the harp broke.

Although they had managed to bluff their way through it afterward, a certain guilty conscience still made him instinctively keep his distance from the “injured party.”

What made the whole affair so infuriating was that “Venti,” who had asked him to steal the Skyward Harp, was in fact the Anemo Archon himself. Yet because the Anemo Archon had no intention of revealing his identity to his followers, everyone who knew nothing of the truth still regarded Aether as a “thief.”

Diluc said, “Barbara and Jean Gunnhildr are sisters. Before you left Mondstadt, Miss Nana came down with an unexpected high fever, and Miss Barbara was the one who treated her.”

“…Then it seems I really should invite her.”

Aether frowned again, surprised. “She was ill?”

“She has already recovered.” Master Diluc gave him a deep look before changing the subject. “How do you intend to introduce her?”

Aether: “?”

Diluc: “?”

The two of them stared at each other.

Only belatedly did Diluc remember that Aether had no idea he already knew Pei Nana’s true identity. Unlike the Traveler, who openly displayed his identity as a Starfarer without the slightest attempt at concealment, Pei Nana was still, for now, a “native of Liyue.”

Aside from him, who had been given the answer by the Anemo Archon himself, who else knew that the exceedingly delicate Miss Nana was also a “Descender” who had crossed the sea of stars?

Thus, to anyone unaware of the truth, his question sounded very strange, as if he had simply assumed there was something suspicious about her identity.

After a moment of silence, Diluc explained as though nothing were amiss, “Ever since Miss Nana appeared in Mondstadt, a rumor has been circulating through the city that she is a wealthy young lady who eloped with you from Liyue. Most people may not be bored enough to take an interest, but Kaeya certainly would.

“So, how do you intend to explain it?

“Could it be that, as the rumor claims, you have reached the age when you long for a partner?”

Looking at the Traveler’s overly youthful face, Diluc hesitated. But on closer consideration, the Traveler’s true age was impossible to determine, despite his youthful appearance…

The Traveler was a long-lived race. He looked like a boy, but that did not necessarily mean he truly was one. Perhaps he merely appeared young because he was immortal.

Not to mention that there might be some other explanation. Even if the Traveler genuinely wished for a partner one day, it would be perfectly reasonable.

To look down on him or meddle in his life simply because of his youthful appearance would be nothing but ignorant arrogance.

In mind and experience, he was already a true adult.

The Traveler: “…”

For a moment, Aether did not know whether he should marvel at what a wonderful friend Diluc was or first ask how such an absurd and utterly exasperating rumor had come into being.

Then again, when he thought about it, perhaps it was not strange at all.

A beautiful young woman who clearly had been pampered from birth, yet “had a home but would not return to it,” instead traveling thousands of miles to settle abroad with another man… Who would not wonder about their relationship?

The Traveler should have immediately clarified the matter, but, strangely enough, he fell silent.

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Because there was simply no way to explain it!

Unless he told everyone that Pei Nana had no parents or relatives and nowhere else to go. But even if she had no family, there was no reason for a perfectly respectable young lady to trail after a wandering rogue like him. She was young and beautiful—surely finding someone to settle down with would not be difficult.

And even if she were willing, with no relation between them, on what grounds could he agree to take along such a burden?

There had to be some convincing explanation, didn’t there?

But there wasn’t one.

He could not explain it.

He could not even claim ignorance. What if someone became curious about her obscure origins and decided to investigate?

The Traveler remained silent for several seconds.

After taking Pei Nana in, he had thought of several possible excuses. But when faced with Diluc, every one of them sounded unconvincing.

Diluc was not some ordinary rich young master who did nothing but eat, drink, and play. His eyes were dim and lifeless, as though he were perpetually sunk in a state of dull numbness.

Yet those seemingly lifeless crimson eyes possessed an extraordinarily keen ability to observe and discern.

If an excuse contained even the slightest imperfection, it would arouse his suspicions. And once Diluc decided that Aether was lying, none of his explanations would retain any credibility in Diluc’s eyes.

Worse still, Diluc might become wary because of it—if that person was innocent, then why was he lying?—and use his own power to investigate in secret…

Aether could ask his Anemo Archon friend to vouch for him. But if he did, he would first have to explain everything to Venti. Could the seemingly carefree Anemo Archon really accept the notion of a “game world” without any reservations?

Impossible. Apart from a Starfarer like Aether, who had witnessed civilizations in countless strange and varied forms, who could accept that their joys and sorrows, their rise and fall, might all be nothing more than someone else’s game?

Even if it were only a possibility.

Those few seconds stretched on like an entire year. Before he realized it, cold sweat had broken out across the Traveler’s back.

After weighing everything, Diluc’s guess was, absurdly, the most reasonable explanation.

At last, he silently told himself, I’m sorry!, steeled himself, and nodded, following Diluc’s line of thought. “The rumor isn’t entirely accurate, but it isn’t completely baseless either.”

Diluc: “…”

The Traveler said, “Miss Nana and I do indeed share an extraordinary relationship. Thank you for the reminder.”

Diluc: “…”

I’ll be damned if I believe you. Liar.