"Grandpa, is he the one you were talking about?"
Following behind Aether's group on the way to the Crown Prince's estate, Dugu Bo walked with his granddaughter. Dugu Yan stared in disbelief at the figure ahead and whispered softly.
"Mhm!" Dugu Bo nodded heavily.
For some reason, whenever he faced that man, he couldn't help but feel tense. Strangely, his granddaughter seemed much more at ease than he did.
"I always thought the 'lord' you spoke of would be an old man with white hair and a white beard…"
Dugu Yan kept glancing at the figure ahead and murmured under her breath.
"Don't talk nonsense! That man is incredibly powerful, with abilities beyond imagination. You must never speak about him behind his back!"
Startled, Dugu Bo quickly covered her mouth. He was terrified she'd say something that might offend that man.
If a careless remark made him unhappy, not only would there be no cure for her martial soul's poison, but he himself would have no way to make it up to the man.
After all, the only reason he was even able to walk around so casually now was thanks to that man removing the poison from his own martial soul and helping him push his soul power to the next level.
"Mmmf mmf~"
Dugu Yan struggled as her mouth was covered.
Seeing this, Dugu Bo softened a bit and slowly released her.
"Grandpa, you're the worst! Fine, I won't say anything!"
She pried off his large hand, pouting in complaint.
Then, her eyes sparkled as if she had just thought of something. Learning her lesson, she stood on tiptoe and whispered into his ear:
"Grandpa, why can't I sense any soul power from him at all? Mmmf!"
Before she could finish, Dugu Bo was startled and again clamped a hand over her mouth, his gaze turning wary as he looked toward the figure ahead.
Aether was chatting and smiling gently with the two little ones, Paimon and Yu Keke. Seeing that, Dugu Bo finally let out a breath of relief.
"Yan Yan, you weren't around recently, so you don't know. This isn't someone we can gossip about. You must never try to test him like that. He is…"
"Hmph! If you're not going to tell me, then I'm not talking to you!"
Dugu Yan huffed and interrupted him on purpose, speeding up her steps toward the front.
"You—ah…"
Watching her skip away, Dugu Bo let out a sigh. But there was nothing he could do.
She was the last descendant of the Dugu clan, after all. He could only hope she wouldn't say anything inappropriate in front of that man.
"Keke, do you like me more when I'm big, or like this?"
Elsewhere, Xue Qinghe and Aether walked quietly at the side, while Paimon chatted away with Yu Keke.
"I… I like you no matter what you look like, hehe~"
Keke hid her hands behind her back, clutching a big lump of clay. She turned her head to look at Paimon, her gaze sneaking toward her chest as she giggled.
"Eh? Really? I feel like you're lying!"
Paimon squinted suspiciously. Keke's eyes had definitely been dodging.
"It's true! Paimon is super cute now, and she's super pretty when she grows big too…"
Keke's mind flashed with images of big Paimon—she wasn't just pretty, she was also… really big, and really soft. Keke suddenly had the urge to snuggle up to Big Sister Paimon again.
She glanced down at herself, frowning. Why was she still so small? It was frustrating.
If only she could grow up quickly… She remembered it clearly: when Paimon had grown up, she had completely mesmerized her brother. His eyes hadn't left her once.
Even though, over the past few days, Aether and Paimon had treated her as a companion, eating and playing together, doing everything except sleep, she still felt like there was an invisible wall between them.
She couldn't get close to Aether like Paimon could. She wanted him to spoil her too.
But right now, she had nothing. Following them around, she felt like nothing more than a tag-along who couldn't help with anything.
How could she help Brother and get him to notice her more…
Keke's little brain kept spinning.
"Hehe~ I think Keke will be super pretty when she grows up too! Just like, um… just like…"
Paimon tapped her chin, and an image popped into her mind. Her eyes lit up.
"Just like the shrine maiden from Inazuma!"
"Shrine maiden? Is she your friend?"
Keke tilted her head. She vaguely remembered Paimon mentioning it before, but couldn't recall the details.
"Yeah! She's the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine. She has ears just like yours, and a big fluffy tail! Ahhh, just thinking about it makes me want to pet it so badly!"
Paimon rubbed her hands together eagerly. If only they could return to Teyvat—she'd definitely drag the Traveler along to visit Yae Miko and try to sneak a touch of that fluffy tail…
"Eh? She has ears like mine… Does that mean Brother likes her too?"
Hearing that Aether had a friend like her, Keke asked the question without thinking.
Then she realized she might have overstepped, quickly covered her mouth, and glanced nervously at Aether.
"Huh? Of course he likes her! The Traveler likes lots of people…"
Paimon replied matter-of-factly.
"…"
That damn fox…
Aether's eyes twitched as he listened to Paimon's rambling. He couldn't help glancing at Keke. Their eyes met—and she quickly lowered her head, her cheeks blooming red.
He had to admit… if Keke grew up, she might really resemble that fox—the one who kept teasing him and calling him "little guy"…
"Repeat after me: 'Three-two-one, one-two-three, aaaaahhh~'"
"You want to see the elegant and wise Lady Yae Miko in person? Keep dreaming~"
A voice echoed inexplicably in his ear, and Aether shivered involuntarily.
"Traveler, what's wrong? Did you catch a cold?"
Paimon turned just in time to see him tremble and asked with concern.
"…Didn't cover up properly last night." Aether coughed awkwardly and gave a half-hearted excuse.
"Ehh? You really caught a cold?"
Paimon reached out to touch his forehead, but couldn't tell anything.
"Do gods catch colds?"
Xue Qinghe muttered quietly, but just loud enough for Dugu Yan to hear as she walked up. Her eyes widened in shock.
"Gods? You're saying this handsome… I mean, this man is a god?!"
Her exclamation was loud enough that Dugu Bo, trailing behind, nearly had a heart attack.
This little troublemaker!
Exactly what he'd feared—she went and exposed the man's identity in public! What was he supposed to do now?
Aether paused, caught off guard by all the strange looks.
After a moment, he calmly pointed at Paimon and said:
"I'm not the god. She is."
Everyone turned their eyes toward Paimon.
She puffed out her chest, placed her hands on her hips, and proudly declared:
"Yup! I'm a god~ Hmph!"
_
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