Amber watched Jean's rare moment of embarrassment, covering her mouth to giggle quietly to herself.
Guixu watched Jean display a girlish side so at odds with her usual mature composure, smiled good-naturedly, and then looked toward the door.
"That young lady has been waiting outside for quite a while. Aren't you going to invite her in?"
Jean pulled herself together, glanced toward the doorway, and felt a slight flutter of anxiety.
Oh no!
I just sent for Lisa to come over, but who could have known that Your Excellency Guixu would return so suddenly? There's no telling how long Lisa has been listening outside—given her temperament, if she unwittingly offended Your Excellency out of ignorance, that would be disastrous.
Jean crossed her fingers for Lisa inwardly, hoping she had arrived a while ago and already learned Guixu's true identity.
"My, my, who would have thought that Jean called little old me here because of Your Excellency Guixu?"
"This certainly comes as a surprise."
Dressed in her purple rose witch's attire, Lisa pushed open the door and executed a witch's bow toward Guixu. The slightly daring cut of her outfit accentuated her mature and graceful figure to absolute perfection.
Lisa the Witch.
A woman who was the epitome of a ripe, mature elder sister.
She was also one of Mondstadt's few remaining high-tier combat powerhouses and a symbol of striking beauty.
"I am Lisa, a rather inept witch, paying my respects to Your Excellency Guixu."
Proud though she was, she willingly lowered her posture in Guixu's presence.
As the most gifted witch the Sumeru Akademiya had produced in nearly a century, standing this close allowed her to perceive—far more intuitively than anyone else—an aura far more terrifying than the Abyss itself.
"Yay! It's Auntie Lisa!"
Spotting Lisa's arrival, Klee took the initiative to greet her cheerfully.
This time, Lisa didn't dare flash her usual playful smile and tease Klee into calling her big sister instead.
Swallowing her pride, she could only accept the title of "auntie."
Guixu naturally took note of his daughter's reaction upon seeing Lisa. It was plain to see that this woman called Lisa often disciplined little Klee.
Yet the genuine fondness that flickered from time to time in the eyes of the Miss Lisa before him hardly seemed fake.
With a smile, Guixu waved a hand dismissively.
"Miss Lisa needn't stand on ceremony. Klee's personality takes after her mother's, so she must have given you all no end of trouble."
"We truly have you to thank for guiding Klee so properly as she grows."
"You are too kind, Your Excellency Guixu. Klee grew up in the Knights of Favonius; we've long since looked upon her as our own child, and taking care of her is only right."
Looking at Klee with deep affection, Lisa spoke with modest humility.
Though Lisa put it modestly, it was nothing less than the truth—everyone in the Knights of Favonius spoiled Klee like a precious treasure.
Guixu naturally took this sentiment to heart and said to Lisa:
"I sense the breath of a forest about you. It must come from Sumeru."
"However, it would seem Miss Lisa's constitution has some issues."
A bitter smile touched Lisa's lips as she sighed helplessly.
"As expected, nothing escapes Your Excellency's eyes. I was once a witch studying in Sumeru, but in seeking the truth, I became tainted by the so-called taboo, which caused rather severe complications in my body."
"That is why I left Sumeru and returned to Mondstadt."
Recalling the overwhelming terror known back then as the "truth," Lisa couldn't help a slight shudder, a trace of lingering fear crossing her features.
That sense of utter helplessness was simply too despairing!
Finishing her sentence, she met the worried gazes of Jean and Amber, and offered a carefree smile.
"Don't worry, as long as I avoid using my powers too much, it doesn't actually affect me much."
Even upon hearing Lisa say this, Jean and Amber felt no easing of their anxiety.
Though they didn't know all the details, they could certainly tell that Lisa's condition was far from as trivial as she made it sound.
With Guixu present, however, they couldn't well say much more.
Casting an apologetic look toward Guixu, Lisa murmured regretfully:
"Forgive me for bending Your Excellency Guixu's ear with such idle talk."
"Think nothing of it. Your affliction is something I can resolve."
Without concealing his intent, Guixu stated plainly.
"What!"
"Is that true, Your Excellency Guixu?"
Before Lisa could even react, Jean blurted out anxiously.
As Lisa's closest confidante, she had long been racked with worry over Lisa's condition, entirely powerless to help.
Now that a glimmer of hope had appeared, Jean was unwilling to let it slip away, even if it meant risking offense to a God like Guixu.
Besides, Guixu didn't seem entirely devoid of human warmth, prompting Jean to take a gamble and ask first.
Guixu replied:
"Just call me Guixu; there's no need for formal titles."
"While your condition is tricky, it is by no means insoluble. For me, curing your ailment is nothing more than a flick of the wrist."
Extending a hand, Guixu tapped Lisa gently on the forehead, giving her no chance to refuse.
"Relax your mind and stay still."
A spark of white radiance flared at the tip of Guixu's finger, flowing directly into Lisa's forehead at his touch.
"Mmh~ ah~"
A soft, suggestive moan slipped past Lisa's lips.
The intimate tone brought a sudden blush of shame to her cheeks, especially at having uttered such a sound before her friends and little Klee.
It made even someone as bold as her on ordinary days want to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich out of sheer mortification.
Yet the all-encompassing wave of comfort flooding her body was simply too irresistible; she could only bite her crimson lips hard, trying her utmost not to let out any more shameful sounds.
Seeing Lisa flushed pink all over and exuding an even more alluring charm, Guixu couldn't help lingering on her with a few extra glances.
Good heavens!
Eons had passed since he first attained a physical form, but when had he ever laid eyes on such a spectacle?
As the Avatar of Finality, even goddesses and goddesses of beauty from Little Garden had trembled in his presence.
None of them would have ever dared display such a posture.
Moreover, now that he was free from the shackles of historical fate under Finality, his emotions were growing increasingly rich.
Even if he had suddenly acquired a daughter out of nowhere, he simply wasn't equipped to handle this kind of situation!
He was still a bachelor in the grand cosmic scheme of things!
Guixu muttered inwardly in lament, though his exterior remained utterly composed—he still cared about maintaining his dignity, after all.
The power of Finality coursed through Lisa's body, and the lingering taboo vanished before this wispy thread of energy as though it were made of tissue paper.
While Finality represented destruction and lacked any restorative or healing properties per se.
Killing the pathogen was equivalent to completing the cure!
And as the Avatar of Finality, Guixu could erase anything in existence with the power of Finality!
A mere residue of taboo power was hardly worth mentioning!
Lisa felt a lightness in her body unlike anything she had ever known, as if she had been reborn anew.
Her slender legs, encased in purple-black silk stockings, now felt so weak she could scarcely stand.
After enduring five or six agonizing minutes that felt interminable to them both,
Guixu withdrew his hand and looked at Lisa.
"There, see? A mere flick of the wrist."
"Well then, how do you feel?"
Jean and Amber cast looks of deep concern, while little Klee stared with unconcealed curiosity.
Whether due to psychological relief or the withdrawal of Guixu's power, the moment Guixu's finger left her forehead, Lisa's legs went weak, and her entire body collapsed straight into Guixu's embrace.
In her fluster, Lisa threw her arms around Guixu's waist.
Her purple witch's hat clattered to the floor.
"Ah!"
The onlookers gasped. Amber flushed scarlet and covered her eyes—though the gaps between her fingers were somewhat too wide.
Jean immediately clapped both hands over Klee's eyes, turning her own flushed face away to avoid looking at her friend's current state.
Guixu stiffened. As he felt the immense softness against his chest and the wave of mature, fragrant warmth washing over him, he was instantly at a loss.
Back in the day, the closest he had ever gotten to Xiao Ye, whom he was closest to, was merely holding hands—what was he supposed to do now?
Should he hug her back?
He had a lingering sense that it wouldn't do for her to be hugging him while he offered no response at all.
Hesitating for a moment, and drawing upon his pathetically scarce experience in interacting with women, Guixu finally raised his arms to hold Lisa and asked with genuine concern:
"What is it? Is something the matter with your body?"
At that moment, Lisa's mind was an utter blank.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing right now?
Oh, right, I'm being held by Your Excellency Guixu....
!!
Memory rushed back to her as she recalled her current predicament—her physical reaction to Your Excellency Guixu's treatment had been a bit too intense, causing her to lose control and tumble directly into his arms!
It's over!
She had offended Your Excellency Guixu; wouldn't disaster befall her now?!
Surely Mondstadt wouldn't suffer because of this, would it?
As a wave of anxious insecurity washed over her, Lisa suddenly heard Guixu's warm inquiry.
For a moment, she was stunned.
Is Your Excellency Guixu... showing concern for me?
Didn't the biographies say that Your Excellency Guixu possessed an aloof disposition and was completely clueless about how to care for women?
His personality was entirely different from what Alice wrote in her books....
Still, come to think of it, Your Excellency Guixu's embrace was truly warm....
Her dazed mind, through a curious twist of fate, reverted straight back to her usual teasing and daring persona.
Accordingly, she gently rubbed her brown hair against Guixu's chest.
It choked off Guixu's next words right in his throat.
"Ahem, Lisa, you..."
Unable to watch her best friend's antics any longer, Jean chimed in with a pointed reminder.
"Ahem..."
Even through his clothes, Guixu could feel the sensation of those silky locks.
A blush instantly crept up his neck and face as he put on a composed front and said:
"Ahem, ahem. If you're feeling fine, stand up."
"Mm..."
Regressing temporarily from a mature older sister into a shy young girl, Lisa gave a bashful hum and reluctantly pulled away from Guixu's embrace.
"Ahem, Lisa, your injuries have just healed. Go to the cathedral, let a priest look you over, and then head straight home to rest."
Stepping forward, Jean nudged Lisa toward the exit, urging her to go get a medical checkup.
"Hey, wait a minute..."
Looking utterly reluctant, Lisa was pushed out of the office by Jean, glancing back every three steps.
"Clack!"
Jean slammed the office door shut, let out a quiet sigh of relief, and wore an expression of profound helplessness.
Ah,
She really is a handful!
"Ahem, apologies, Your Excellency Guixu. She must have been overwhelmed with joy at finally recovering from years of injury and acted on impulse. We had no intention of causing offense."
Stepping forward with a wry smile, Jean offered an explanation; as Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, she had no wish to provoke a God and bring calamity down upon Mondstadt.
Even if Guixu hadn't seemed to mind just now, the proper attitude still had to be maintained.
"Mm, think nothing of it."
Equally embarrassed, Guixu seized the opportunity to smooth things over with a nod of understanding.
At that moment, little Klee, who had been watching from the sidelines, tugged on Guixu's sleeve and asked with innocent curiosity:
"Papa, does Auntie Lisa want to be Klee's new mommy?"
"Klee!"
Hearing Klee blurt out such an embarrassing question, Jean instinctively wanted to scold her, but then she remembered that Guixu, Klee's father, had finally returned.
She checked herself just in time and fell silent.