While Jiang Chen and his two companions were enjoying dinner at Good Hunter, Amber had already returned to the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius to report the information.
That battle was indeed related to the Anemo Archon.
Upon learning this, Jean was overjoyed.
"That truly is wonderful news!"
The Anemo Archon had appeared.
And the dragon crisis seemed to have been resolved.
These two pieces of great news filled her with excitement.
Lately, she had been constantly troubled by these very issues.
Now, at last, the matter had come to a temporary close.
"Indeed, it is wonderful news."
"However... little Amber~!"
"Did those people really defeat Stormterror?"
"Did Barbatos honestly say such things?"
Sitting beside Jean, the sultry woman in thigh-high stockings yawned as she questioned another detail from Amber's report.
That was about Jiang Chen and Lumine.
According to Amber's explanation, Stormterror was defeated by Jiang Chen, and then Barbatos appeared.
In the end, because Jiang Chen had rendered a massive service, Lord Barbatos owed him and the others a huge favor.
And even promised that if they ever needed money in the future, they should just look for the Knights of Favonius?
How could she not feel like this sounded like a scam?
Could these people just be frauds looking for a free meal?
People from another world? Before seeing them with her own eyes, she found it hard to believe such claims!
"That's what Jiang Chen said."
Amber looked a bit embarrassed as she scratched her cheek.
Those words had been spoken by Jiang Chen at the time.
She was simply repeating what he had told her.
"Is that so?"
"Then we can't jump to conclusions just yet."
"It's getting late now. Bring them over tomorrow."
"We'll meet them first before deciding."
With that, Lisa let out another yawn.
The mature woman stretched lazily, revealing her exquisite figure in full view.
Unfortunately, the only ones watching this sight right now were a few other women.
After saying this, Lisa stood up and prepared to leave.
As she walked away, she couldn't help adding a parting reminder:
"Don't stay up too late, Jean~!"
"We have guests tomorrow."
"Don't show up with dark circles under your eyes, or you'll truly lose the dignity of your position as Acting Grand Master."
"I'll leave it at that, time for me to go rest."
"Little Amber, Jean, good night~!"
With those words, Lisa left the headquarters.
Watching Lisa depart, Jean turned her gaze to Amber.
"You should head back and rest as well."
"I'll meet with them tomorrow and see."
If it was true, she naturally wouldn't be stingy.
They were heroes who had helped solve a massive problem for them, after all, and they could not be mistreated.
If it was false, however, she wouldn't be so polite.
Amber nodded.
After bidding Acting Grand Master Jean farewell, she turned and left.
Only Jean remained inside the office.
With a sigh, she looked at the documents on her desk and went back to work.
She had to finish dealing with these papers first.
With that thought in mind, Jean resumed her busywork.
Meanwhile, Amber went straight back to her own home.
She would just go look for Jiang Chen and the others tomorrow.
***
After finishing their meal at Good Hunter, Jiang Chen, Lumine, and Paimon returned to their hotel.
Neither of them rested immediately, however.
Instead, once Paimon had fallen asleep, Lumine sneaked over to Jiang Chen's room to discuss what they should do next.
"What are you planning to do from here on?"
"Are you going to stay here, or continue your travels?"
Now that they had reached Mondstadt, she intended to stay here for a while to see if she could find any news of her brother.
"Me?"
"I'm thinking of heading over to Liyue to have a look."
"I've heard that Liyue is quite similar to my hometown."
"If it suits me, maybe I'll settle down there?"
Yes, that was what Jiang Chen had in mind.
Go to Liyue, buy a house, and settle down right there.
After all, sticking with Lumine meant endless trouble.Jiang Chen had no intention of getting involved in those matters. Running around all over the place was simply too much trouble.
After all, it would be much better to just settle down in Liyue. Whenever Lumine needed help with something in the future, she could just come find him. He could mind his own business, and Lumine could handle hers.
Upon hearing this, Lumine was momentarily stunned.
"You're going to settle down in Liyue?"
This answer caught her somewhat off guard.
"Yeah!" Jiang Chen replied. "I'm a complete homebody at heart. If Liyue turns out to be nice, I'll just settle down right there. No matter what, I need to set up a home first, right?"
Having a home was an absolute must for Jiang Chen—it was carved deep into his bones. So getting a place of his own was non-negotiable, even if it were just a thatched cottage. Of course, he certainly wasn't going to live in a thatched cottage. His plan was to make some quick Mora in Mondstadt, then head over to Liyue, buy some land, and build his own house.
Hearing this, Lumine paused.
"A home... huh?" she murmured. "Well, that's not a bad idea."
Indeed, Jiang Chen's plan was actually quite nice.
"Actually, if you're looking for your brother, I can give you a suggestion," Jiang Chen said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. It seemed like it might be fun to throw a wrench into the Prince's plans.
Hearing this, Lumine's curiosity was instantly piqued.
"Tell me!"
What kind of suggestion? As long as it helped her find her brother, anything was fine.
"Have you ever heard of... offering a huge reward in exchange for a husband?"
As soon as those words left his mouth, Lumine was completely dumbfounded.
"Huh?"
Good grief, people actually did that?
Memories began to surface in the back of her mind. Wasn't that just a scam?
Jiang Chen chuckled mischievously and continued. "If you just put up missing person flyers, the results will probably be pretty dismal. Since that's the case, why not package the story a bit differently?"
"Your brother is missing, and back home there's a massive family estate waiting for him to inherit. You post a notice with the details: whoever finds your brother gets to marry him and inherit the family fortune, along with a massive cash payout."
Jiang Chen grinned, starting to weave a tale for Lumine.
As she listened, Lumine's eyes slowly began to light up.
"It... actually might work?"
Lumine began to consider the feasibility of the idea. The more she thought about it, the more promising it sounded. As for the family fortune? Well... it wasn't strictly nonexistent; it was just a matter of scale. Put it that way, and it would definitely entice plenty of people to join the search. Some folks might even hunt him down purely for the money.
"If the reward is high enough, you could practically issue a worldwide bounty," Jiang Chen pressed on. "Whoever finds your brother gets a specific amount of Mora. I'm sure plenty of people would go looking for him for the sake of the prize. The more money you offer, the higher the chance of finding him."
"And if you still can't find him after all that, it just means your brother doesn't want to see you and is deliberately hiding from you."
"If that really is the case, a brother like that isn't worth looking for anyway. Who knows, maybe he's living it up somewhere, eating good food and drinking fine wine, while completely ignoring his little sister."
"If it were me, wouldn't I have to stab him a few times the moment we met?"
Seeing that Lumine was tempted, Jiang Chen kept going, determined to leave a bad impression of the Traveler's brother. *Your brother isn't missing because he can't be found—he just plain doesn't want to see you.*
Once a seed was planted, it would eventually sprout. Hearing Jiang Chen put it this way, doubts began to creep into Lumine's heart.
What he said actually made a lot of sense. Why was she the only one running around looking for her brother instead of him looking for her? That completely turned the natural order on its head!