Genshin Impact: Strength Through Bonds

"Well then, Traveler, I wish you success."

Katheryne folded her hands in front of her and smiled.

Suddenly, her body stiffened for a brief moment before returning to normal.

"I…"

Before her, the golden-haired girl slowly removed her cloak.

Her delicate face was untouched by makeup, pure and radiant like the morning sun.

"Katheryne."

Lumine lifted her gaze, her expression solemn.

"Hm?"

Katheryne continued to smile.

But no one noticed the subtle shift in her demeanor.

For the first time, there was a glimmer of liveliness in her eyes as she looked at Lumine with a hint of amusement.

"Wow—!"

Paimon rubbed her hands together, eyes shining with admiration.

Her partner could be so dependable when she got serious!

Then—

Bang!

With a loud thud, Lumine slammed her hands onto the counter.

"Please tell me how to contact Miss Sandrone!"

She grabbed Katheryne's hands, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Silence fell over the guild.

"Hehe… Three days from now, you'll find out."

A mysterious smile played on "Katheryne's" lips.

At this moment, the supposedly autonomous receptionist was being remotely controlled.

"Miss Sandrone is… so beautiful…"

Lumine gazed at the client's photo, unable to stop the grin forming on her lips.

This commission—she had to take it.

...

"Nom nom—so good!"

Paimon happily munched on a large drumstick in each hand.

"Hmm… Konda Village should be…"

Beside her, Lumine studied the map intently.

She had accepted a simple daily commission to gather mushrooms.

"Lumine, we actually landed such a big job! We'll never go hungry again!"

Paimon cheered, floating in front of Lumine.

"Yeah, with sixty Primogems every day…"

Lumine smiled as she put down the map, mentally calculating her gains.

Not to mention the absurd amount of Mora—it was practically a fortune.

But none of that mattered.

The important thing was… she'd get to be close to Sandrone.

And that kind, gentle lady who had rescued her before…

Yep. Inazuma is paradise.

"Anyway, it's a pretty relaxed commission."

Lumine let out a long sigh of relief.

It seemed Inazuma was actually a decent place.

Safe, friendly…

And full of gorgeous women.

"Exactly! It's way too easy!"

Paimon hummed, already thinking about what to eat next.

Now that they had an advance on their payment, they could finally stop worrying about money.

Just then—

"Hm? That fox-masked person over there…"

A short-haired shrine maiden stood quietly in front of a fox statue.

Lumine blinked, coming to a halt.

This felt like a quest trigger.

Surely it was an easy one.

With that in mind, Lumine and Paimon approached without hesitation.

---

Nahida's birthday celebration had come to an end, leaving behind a lingering warmth.

But now, a more pressing issue had emerged—

Where would everyone stay?

As it turned out, no one had realized just how late it had gotten.

And naturally, none of the girls were willing to leave.

Because, of course—

"Ugh… I can't anymore."

Outside in the hallway, Ren leaned against the wall, slightly out of breath.

His back pressed against the cool surface, helping him stay awake.

He waved a hand and straightened up, supporting his waist.

But there was no escape.

"Ren, where do you think you're going?"

Surrounded.

The girls closed in, their gazes locked onto him.

Their clothes were slightly disheveled, and their fair skin still had traces of white frosting.

Under the dim lighting, they looked particularly… tempting.

"I was wrong."

Ren immediately raised his hands in surrender.

At this moment, he looked far more pitiful than any of them.

His once-handsome face was now smeared with cream, making him look like a messy stray cat.

His shirt had been torn open, exposing his skin.

And on his chest—several deep red scratch marks stood out.

Someone had definitely taken advantage of him.

And they were ruthless about it!

"What exactly were you wrong about?" the girls asked in unison.

"I was wrong…"

Ren sighed in defeat.

He couldn't even remember who had been the first to smear frosting on his face.

But there was no way he would take that lying down.

Of course, he had immediately retaliated—grabbing the closest girl and getting revenge.

And from there…

He was completely overwhelmed.

Even little Nahida had joined in.

In the chaos, who knew who had taken advantage of whom?

One person? Multiple?

All that mattered was—Ren had been outnumbered and defeated.

The details… were best left unspoken.

"…"

Ren didn't even bother explaining anymore.

He simply lifted his hands.

Would they at least let him leave the teahouse?

He wanted to go back to Tenshukaku—to see the boss.

Click.

Kamisato Ayaka twirled a key in her hand, a soft and polite smile on her face.

Master, running away is not an option.

Ren: …

He turned to Chisato for help.

"Stay here, Ren. You need to rest," Chiasto mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

Alright, fine.

She might have been responsible for one of the scratch marks.

Ren turned to Keqing.

"Ugh, who did this?! It's all over my stockings!"

Keqing scowled as she wiped at the cream on her thigh.

Unfortunately, she only managed to smear it further.

Her black stockings were definitely ruined now.

Ren: …

He said nothing.

Because… well, he had done that.

He considered looking to Sandrone—

Nope. Not worth it.

As the number one chaos enthusiast, she had taken full advantage of the mess and snapped several embarrassing photos of him.

Then, he turned to Nahida, his last hope.

"Wherever Ren goes, I'll go too."

The little Dendro Archon spoke sweetly, her voice soft and obedient.

Ren chuckled.

Of all the girls, Nahida had definitely enjoyed the frosting fight the most.

As for Yoimiya?

She wanted to help him escape… but Ayaka had already given her a subtle warning.

There was no way out.

"Alright, fine. I'll stay here tonight."

Ren finally surrendered.

No choice.

He literally couldn't win against them.

"Then it's settled."

The girls exchanged glances, their smiles growing even brighter.

The real battle was about to begin.

How to split the rooms.

After some back-and-forth negotiations…

The clueless little Nahida was gently nudged forward.

"Ren… let's sleep together."

The white-haired fairy stood before him, hands clasped in front of her chest, smiling sweetly.

"Uh… huh?!"

Ren froze, looking at the girls in disbelief.

After all that discussion… this is the result?!

Not that he was complaining—

No, wait.

As a proper man, was this really appropriate?

The girls nodded in approval.

After confirming Nahida was okay with it, they had all agreed—

Having her share a room with Ren was the best way to prevent anyone from sneaking into his room at night.

Nahida was the perfect neutral party.

After all, a little fairy like her wasn't going to suddenly grow up overnight.

With her there, the risk of nighttime shenanigans was significantly reduced.

"Everyone…"

Ren twitched.

Why were they even considering night raids as a possibility?!

Before he could process it further—

A tiny, warm body pounced into his arms.

"Ren, let's go to our room."

Nahida tilted her head up at him, blinking innocently.

Gulp.

Ren swallowed hard.

Too. Freaking. Cute.

---

T/N: no mo updates wednesday