Lumine reflected on her relationship with Aether.
The two of them had depended on each other, traveling together through countless worlds.
Even when separated, they would always search for one another.
Here in Teyvat, just as they were trying to leave, they encountered an unfamiliar god.
Then she was sealed away, while her brother apparently remained unsealed.
Although many years had passed, she refused to believe her brother hadn't looked for her.
It was even possible that her dear brother knew exactly where she was.
Yet he had never come for her.
Was he out there wandering around, completely forgetting he even had a younger sister?
Suddenly thinking of this, Lumine's gaze turned cold.
"Figures!"
"For all I know, he's living it up somewhere, eating good and drinking fine."
"He's completely forgotten about me, his little sister."
"If I really can't find him, I'm giving up!"
I swear I'll find some man to marry and pop out a whole bunch of kids!!
And when Aether finally tracks me down, I'll have that gang of brats deal with him.
At this thought, Lumine glanced over at Jiang Chen.
Well... Jiang Chen was pretty great.
Looking at this handsome man, Lumine's cheeks flushed red.
Damn, he is ridiculously handsome!!
Having traveled through countless worlds, she had naturally seen countless handsome men.
Yet very few could match Jiang Chen's good looks.
Seeing Lumine suddenly blush, Jiang Chen was instantly baffled.
What's she blushing about for crying out loud?
What is going on here?
For a moment, Jiang Chen felt a wave of frustration.
"Are you alright?"
Jiang Chen reached out and felt Lumine's forehead.
She didn't have a fever either.
Could she be running a fever somewhere else?
Jiang Chen muttered inwardly.
"I'm fine!"
Lumine irritably slapped away Jiang Chen's paw.
Watching Lumine's reaction, Jiang Chen muttered to himself again.
Then what the hell are you blushing for?!
Taking a deep breath, Lumine continued:
"I've figured it out."
"Next, I'm going to make a fortune, and then put out missing persons ads all over the world along with that 'offering a fortune for a child' thing you mentioned."
"If that still doesn't turn him up, then my brother must be living the high life somewhere."
"With his strength, there's no way he's dead."
"If he still won't show up after all that, it just proves he doesn't care about me as his sister anymore."
"In that case, I won't bother looking for him either!"
At that thought, Lumine grew angry.
"Exactly!"
"If that's the case, you don't need a brother like that."
"From now on, just live your own life."
Jiang Chen gave an approving thumbs-up.
With the Dragon Brother living it up over in the Abyss while you're stuck supporting Paimon—who could eat you straight into bankruptcy—that lifestyle sounds like an absolute thrill.
Not to mention being slapped with wanted posters every now and then.
Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.
And what about that whole Aranara book?!
Lumine was practically the hardest-working laborer ever.
A yellow-haired fool.
How much hardship had she endured just to find her brother?
"How are we going to make money next?"
"When you buy a house, I'll buy one right next to yours."
"We'll be neighbors."
"Or better yet, let's spend the money to build a huge mansion."
"That way, whenever I get tired of searching for my brother, I can come home and rest."
Having made up her mind, Lumine brought up this question.
Making money was still the top priority right now.
Whether she wanted to find her brother or issue wanted posters, everything required cash.
Not to mention buying a house.
Jiang Chen was the very first person she met after waking up.
And since he was such a solid backer, she naturally had to cling to him.
What if that white-haired god came attacking one day?
She needed someone to take the hit, didn't she?
Jiang Chen was simply ideal.
"In a little while, we'll take a trip to Windrise."
Jiang Chen looked at Lumine with a beaming smile.
Aside from making money off the Knights of Favonius, Jiang Chen also planned to dig up Venti's stash of wine.
If you don't take it and I don't take it, who will?
They were in urgent need of funds right now, so they would just have to wrong Venti a little bit.
"Windrise?"
Lumine looked thoroughly bewildered.
What are we going over there for?
Can you pick up money off the ground?
"I heard that the Knights of Favonius used to bury some wine in Windrise every year as an offering to Barbatos."
"And Barbatos reportedly hasn't shown his face in a very long time."
"Which means there's a ton of fine wine buried underneath."
"Understand?"
Hearing this, Lumine immediately understood.
"Barbatos... wouldn't that be wrong?"
Thinking of that seemingly unreliable Anemo Archon, Lumine couldn't shake the feeling that this was a bad idea.
Besides, those were offerings buried by the Knights of Favonius.
Would it really be okay for them to go dig up someone else's stuff?
"What's wrong with it?"
"It's buried out there anyway. Since they don't want it anymore, naturally we'll go take it."
"Besides, we've helped Barbatos out so much, what's wrong with taking a little reward?"
Jiang Chen spoke with absolute righteousness.
He didn't feel even the slightest bit embarrassed.
Listening to Jiang Chen, Lumine gave him a strange look.
How did Jiang Chen manage to say such things with a straight face and without his heart skipping a beat?
The two of them exchanged glances.
Lumine thought of the money she might need.
"Fine!"
To hesitate for even a second would be an insult to money.
Although she felt terribly sorry for Barbatos, digging up a few things shouldn't be a problem, right?
After all these years, goodness knows how many good things were buried under there!
Well... that settled it.
Having discussed it, the two locked in the plan.
"When do we act?"
"Can we get the goods early and leave early?"
Lumine lowered her voice to ask about the timing of the operation.
If they really pulled off something like this, they would inevitably be held accountable later.
So... best to strike early and make a run for it.
"No rush!"
"The Knights of Favonius will probably come looking for us tomorrow."
"Let's meet with them first and hear what they have to say."
"Then, when we're ready to head to Liyue, we can make our move."
"Let's hang out here for a bit first."
"Besides... Barbatos might actually be in the city."
"When the time comes, we'll have to knock him out first."
"Otherwise, if we make our move, he'll likely find out."
If they wanted to dig up those supplies, they definitely had to deal with Barbatos.
Without neutralizing him, it simply couldn't be done.
"Huh?"
Lumine blinked in surprise. They had to deal with Barbatos?
"Pick a fight with him?"
"Won't that make a huge scene and alert everyone?"
Dealing with an archon ought to be extremely difficult, right?
Even though Barbatos looked completely unreliable, he was still an archon after all.
"I've asked around; Barbatos is a heavy drinker."
"When the time comes, we just need to get him drunk."
Jiang Chen explained in a low voice.
Yet as Lumine listened to Jiang Chen, her expression grew increasingly bizarre.
You asked around... you really have the nerve to say that.
I've been with you the whole time, so where on earth did you go to ask around?
This cunning bastard definitely had secrets from her.
Jiang Chen knew way too many things.
He knew Barbatos was unreliable, and he even knew about his love for alcohol.
This was getting utterly ridiculous.
Lumine stared at Jiang Chen for a moment, not quite knowing what to say.
Whatever... everyone has their own secrets.
Since Jiang Chen wasn't going to say, she couldn't very well press him for answers.
Based on some novels she had read in the past, could this guy Jiang Chen have already read the script?