"He's had enough, come on. We still have plenty of time to... chat with him." The masked fellow said.
"Hmp. With the things he's done, this is hardly enough." The boy scoffed.
"Tsk tsk tsk, don't be too eager now. We do have to keep him alive."
***
"And that's a wrap." Paimon said proudly after finishing their final commission. "To Katheryne's?"
"To Katheryne's!" Lumine agreed with a smile. "Finally, maybe I can go get some rest after this."
"Is it just me, or are these commissions harder than the other ones we do in Liyue and Mondstadt?" Paimon asked.
"It's just you." Lumine answered.
"Really? 'Cause Paimon feels like it's more work." Paimon crossed her arms.
"Honestly, it's not really a big deal since we can do it quickly still." Lumine shrugged.
"I guess. I was just wondering about it. We should've been getting paid more mora here since it's harder to do." Paimon nodded to herself. "They should set a standard pay from difficulty."
"They do, it's just that Mondstadt and Liyue just pays nicely." Lumine laughed.
"Wait really?"
"No. I don't know." Lumine laughed once more.
"Hmp! You're just making fun of Paimon now." Paimon crossed her arms, Lumine just laughed again.
After collecting their reward from the Adventurer's Guild, the two went on their way back to the Kamisato Estate.
At the gazebo settled in front of the Yashiro Commission Headquarters' building, was the Shirasagi Himegimi sitting on a zabuton cushion. On the table in front of her was their afternoon tea ready for them.
"Ayaka! We're back!" Paimon waved.
"Welcome back." Ayaka greeted. "You're just in time."
"The snacks look amazing." Lumine complemented.
"They were chosen by Thoma, the Komore Teahouse had them as a special." Ayaka smiled.
"Paimon looks forward to eating them!" Paimon said excitedly as she floated to her usual seat.
"Don't eat all of them." Lumine crossed her arms and gave Paimon a look.
"I know, I know." Paimon pouted, also crossing her arms. The two laughed at Paimon as Lumine went to her seat.
After settling down on the cushion, Ayaka then gave Lumine a grin. "Guess what got delivered earlier." She said excitedly.
"What?" Lumine asked.
"Check under the zabuton." Ayaka said, her smile getting wider. Lumine's eyebrows furrowed, but she did what she was told.
She felt some sort of paper under the cushion. Folded. No, sealed. It wasn't just a paper.
She shifted her weight to her side a bit to be able to grab the thing underneath her. An envelope.
"Is this...?"
"Yes! It came in just earlier." Ayaka nodded eagerly. "Don't worry, I have not opened it, nor did I take a peek."
Lumine's face instantly brightened as she saw the sender's address. "It's him."
***
"I thought he's already done with his business at Snezhnaya? Why are we going to him?" Paimon asked.
"Well, after his very long disappearance I could only imagine how much his family missed him." Lumine explained. "So right now he's at Morepesok with them."
"Ohhh, we're heading there to meet them!" Paimon finally connected the dots.
"Yes, they said they'll be waiting." Lumine nodded.
"You should bring winter clothing in that case." Ayaka said as Thoma entered the room with said winter clothing. "I hear it's quite cold in Snezhnaya so we thought this might help."
"Thank you." Lumine accepted the clothing.
"If Snezhnaya is anything like Dragonspine, this will definitely save us the trouble." Paimon nodded as she held the ear muffs in front of her.
"Definitely." Lumine agreed.
"You explored Dragonspine?" Thoma looked at them surprised.
"A little, we have a friend who goes there a lot." Lumine explained.
"Wow. I heard it's very cold there." Thoma said.
"It's chilly." Lumine said.
"Chilly? If it weren't for the warmers there, we would've frozen to death!" Paimon said.
Ayaka laughed. "As expected of the traveler, freezing cold only qualifies as chilly." She said.
"I'm just joking." Lumine laughed.
***
"Don't worry, she'll be here." The masked man said with a mischievous grin.
The young man glared daggers at him. "What did you do?" His dull blue eyes becoming icy.
"Nothing. Nothing." The masked man waved his hand. "I just have a feeling, that's all." He said.
***
"All set?" Paimon asked.
"Yep." Lumine nodded.
"Time to go." Paimon nodded before they both faced the small crowd waving at them from the docks.
"Byebye everyone! We'll be back!" Paimon waved at their group of friends.
"Thank you for everything! We'll make sure to get you guys some souvenirs!" Lumine also waved.
And by that, they boarded the ship and headed their way to their next destination.