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"So, Monika, I presume you are aware of our 'unique circumstances' right?"

"Tch, yeah, stop calling me that please...I'm begging you..." she said as if it was obvious.

Mona had known about their situation from the very beginning, but didn't say anything before. Her first goal was to get herself a disciple, one of the two candidates at least before talking about their problem.

"I am well aware you weren't the ones who assassinated Rex Lapis...but proving your innocence would be difficult. While I am of great ability, I don't think I could persuade the whole of Liyue based off of my words alone...he still died, after all."

"I see..."

This made Yomite think that perhaps her reading ability wasn't as great as he initially thought it was.

'She knows that Zhongli was assassinated. She also knows we weren't the one's who did it...but it seems like she isn't aware that Zhongli is still alive and that it was just his remaining husk...So that's the limit of her power. Still, she could be very useful in the future. She could see through lies and has future precognition ability with information gathering... I should get along with people like her instead of getting on her bad side, but I can't help teasing her because her annoyed reactions are so adorable.' as he was thinking that, the waitress had finally arrived.

"Hey, there! What can I get you?*

The waitress smiled at him before turning to look at his companions.

"Oh, hi, sorry for bothering you, Yuhua."

Yomite apologized quickly and Yuhua laughed softly before nodding. "Yes, this time it's me! Sir sure pays attention to details huh...But please don't be offended, we play this kind of game sometimes with my twin sister. Especially when we're tired and want to rest for a bit. My sister works somewhere else but today both of us were here so we wanted to have some fun."

"No, I completely agree. If I had a sibling I would be trying the same thing all the time. It seems like a lot of fun."

"Thank you for understanding! Oh right! Let me take your order."

"Okay." Yomite agreed before looking at the menus in front of him. Calculating the amount of food was necessary due to presence of Iris, Paimon and Lumine. The biggest eaters.

"Let's see, 50 Jueyun Chili Chickens, 100 Chicken-Mushroom Skewers, 2 Fisherman's toasts for me and 3 Matsutake Meat Rolls."

"...Huh? Isn't that a bit...too much...? Are you sure you want that many...?"

The waitress was stunned by what she had heard and Yomite felt embarrassed because his group of girls just ate way too much for him to be able to explain he wasn't actually joking or making fun of her...

"Yes...you've heard correctly. Bring all of that to us. I have enough money to cover it. No worries." He then looked at Mona, "What about you, what will you have? I was a bit rude to you before, so I can get you something."

Mona frowned at the prices and started to ponder, "Hmm...*cough*...I don't feel hungry tonight, bring me a glass of water. That shall suffice."

*Growl*

The sounds of her hungry stomach were reverberating in the area, but she acted as if it wasn't coming from her.

Yomite nodded in understanding, "Alright then, please add a glass of water and an Almond Tofu with a salad to the list."

"...Very well...your order will be finished soon..." With a bow, the waitress left while still thinking the amount of ordered meals was just too ridiculous.

"Why did you do it?" Mona was confused, "You didn't have to order me anything. I am fine with not eating."

"I just felt like it, nothing weird about it."

"...Also...how did you know I like salad? You're starting to creep me out. Is there some sort of trick to this too?"

"A magician's secret~"

"Tch, of course...I think I'm having an existential crisis...I'm supposed to be the Astrologer, yet you're acting like one too, not to mention, I can't even see through you...So annoying... Well that just means I picked the right disciple for myself, as expected of me."

She felt proud of herself despite feeling weirded out by his gaze.

———————

Name: Mona Megistus

Age: 21

Title: Enigmatic Astrologer

Occupation: Astrologer

Hobby: Star gazing

Likes: Salad, Astrology, Hydromancy, Monogamy

Dislikes: Expensive and fancy food, Liars, Casanovas, Being called nicknames

Dream: To peacefully research with no mundane things bothering her.

Current mood: Annoyed/Curious

Relationship Level: 2/10 - Cautious

State of Relationship: Acquaintance

———————

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Verr Goldet was deeply in thought.

After contacting Ningguang with a long distance communication artifact which probably cost a few tens of millions of Mora, she let out a sigh.

Ningguang ordered her to keep her eyes on Yomite Hissha specifically, and to ignore the others in his group.

He was the prime suspect as he was the leader who most likely told them to flee from the crime scene back then as well.

Yet at the same time, when she was speaking, it felt as if even Ningguang wasn't sure what to do as other than him, fleeing the scene, they had no witnesses and didn't have any proof either.

The whole thing was a mess but somebody had to be the scapegoat, an Archon couldn't just die out of nowhere.

From what she heard, Ningguang was suppressing the information leak as much as possible, so that none of the Adepti heard of the news.

Who knew what would have happened, if they knew their leader died without a culprit.

They may very well have turned the city upside down to find one.

"Pardon my intrusion." Yuhua, one of the twins entered her room.

"Did you get anything?"

"No...but just like with my sister, he noticed right away... It feels weird... whenever he looks at me...it feels as if I'm naked in front of him...I kind of like it...it makes me feel special that someone notices the subtle differences between us sisters...Am I in love...?"

"..."

"E-Either way, they ordered a lot of...meals..." Yuhua shakily walked towards Verr Goldet and handed her a piece of paper.

"W-What..!? Who would eat this much food!?"

"....."

"...Chef Smiley Yanxiao will have a difficult evening tonight..."

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***historical

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Not far away from the Wangshu inn.

Ganyu, who raged for straight thirty minutes felt all of her energy sapping away.

After not being able to find Yomite to ask for answers, she lost all of her remaining energy, and peacefully fell asleep in a stack of hay, exhausted.

No one was harmed in the process...