"Lord Coral Palace".
The voice that came from beside her made Coral Palace Heart Sea pause slightly. She looked up and saw that it was one of her priestesses. She smiled slightly and said.
"What's wrong, Ruko?"
"Reporting to Lady Coral Palace." Just as Ruko was about to speak, she was interrupted by Coral Palace Heart Sea.
“Lu Zi, we are of the same generation, so please don’t use such honorifics to address me.”
Coral Palace Heart Sea smiled and said.
"Just call me Xinhai."
"That won't do."
Upon hearing this, the shrine maiden named Ruko quickly waved her hand.
"As the 'Living Goddess of the Sea Island' of this generation, you are the great figure responsible for leading us toward revival. How can we address you by your first name..."
"well……"
Upon hearing this, Coral Palace Heart Sea sighed. From childhood to adulthood, everyone around her had always looked at her this way. Why couldn't she be like the Traveler...?
The thought of the traveler immediately darkened Coral Palace's expression...
"Lord Coral Palace, what's wrong?"
Seeing the sudden darkening of Coral Palace's expression, Ruko quickly asked with concern.
"nothing……"
Coral Palace Xin Hai forced herself to stay alert and replied with a smile.
Are you really alright?
Upon hearing this, Lu Zi still asked with some doubt.
"Your complexion... seems quite bad..."
"I'm fine."
Coral Palace Heart Sea smiled and said.
"Is there anything else?"
"some."
Upon hearing this, Lu Zi smiled and said.
"Have you forgotten? Today is your birthday. We've already prepared a feast for you. I'm just here to let you know. Don't forget tonight..."
"I see……"
Upon hearing this, Coral Palace Heart Sea nodded slightly.
"I'll be there on time. Is there anything else?"
"Oh, right."
Upon hearing this, Lu Zi smiled and said.
"The traveler and her mascot also came, saying they wanted to celebrate your birthday together."
“The traveler…”
Upon hearing this, Coral Palace Heart Sea reflexively raised her head, looked at Ruko, and asked eagerly.
"The traveler has arrived...and...where is he...?"
"he?"
Upon hearing this, Ruko was also taken aback, then seemed to remember something, and a look of reluctance appeared on her face...
"Go ahead and tell me."
Seeing this, Coral Palace Heart Sea smiled slightly.
"I am the current leader of Haizhi Island, and I will not be so easily defeated."
"Well... okay..."
Upon hearing this, Lu Zi nodded and said.
"We haven't received any... news about Lord Jiangmu's arrival in Inazuma..."
Upon hearing this, Coral Palace Xin Hai simply nodded and said.
"I understand, you can go now."
"yes……"
Lu Zi nodded, watching Coral Palace's heart gradually darken, feeling somewhat reluctant. She seemed to want to say something, but in the end, it only turned into a long sigh.
With a slight bow, Lu Zi slowly closed the door to the room, leaving only Coral Palace Heart Sea inside.
………………
"Hmm..."
She gently took out a notebook, opened it, picked up a pen, and wrote a few lines on it.
"Birthday, energy +2."
"The captain of the Swordfish Second Division has arrived. Energy +4."
He didn't come to my birthday party...
The last stroke remained unfinished. After thinking for a moment, Coral Palace Heart Sea finally picked up the pen and wrote a few delicate characters.
"Energy -10".
………………
"Hmm..."
Burying her head in the pillow beside her, Coral Palace Xin Hai let out a series of incomprehensible mutterings...
"I'm running out of energy again... That jerk... He doesn't even come over and help me replenish my energy..."
If Ruko, who had just walked away, had seen this scene, she would have been so surprised that her jaw would have dropped.
At this moment, Coral Palace Heart Sea was hardly behaving like the leader of Sea Island; she was clearly just a little girl sulking alone because her lover hadn't come to their appointment...
"..."
After an unknown amount of time, Coral Palace Heart Sea seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep due to "insufficient energy".
It seemed to confirm the saying, "What you think about during the day, you dream about at night." Coral Palace Heart Sea once again recalled her first meeting with that "annoying" guy...
………………
Several years ago, at that time, Coral Palace Xin Hai was in her secret base reading her favorite military books, slowly recovering her "energy".
Having only recently assumed the position of "Current Human God Priestess" on Umijima Island, Coral Palace Kokomi still harbored considerable doubts about her ability to fulfill the role. However, to outsiders, she could only present her excellent side. Therefore, only at this time could she truly be the Coral Palace Kokomi, rather than the outstanding "Current Human God Priestess" she presented to the outside world...
Suddenly, Xin Hai, who was deep in thought about a problem, looked up and gazed at the cave entrance not far away...
After a while, a somewhat disheveled figure slowly appeared in her sight.
"Pah, what terrible luck! I completely forgot that Inazuma is still under lockdown and I drifted here all by myself in a boat. That damn thunderstorm... cough cough, where am I now... eh, ornamental fish?"
Suddenly, the boy saw Coral Palace Heart Sea staring at him in astonishment and blurted out a term of endearment.
"..."
For some reason, despite not knowing what the "ornamental fish" the boy was talking about was, Coral Palace suddenly felt an urge to hit someone.
"Damn, could it be... I've drifted to a sea island..."
The boy muttered to himself, then looked at Coral Palace Heart Sea and smiled.
"Hehe... Miss, I'm sorry to bother you..."
As he spoke, the boy turned to leave, but before he could take a few steps, a pale blue "jellyfish" floating in front of him blocked his way...
"Sir, could you please wait a moment?"
Coral Palace Heart Sea stood up and said with a smile.
"Isn't it a bit too rude to trespass on someone else's territory..."
"ah……"
The boy turned around and gave a dry laugh.
"Please have a seat..."
As she spoke, Coral Palace Xin Hai pointed to a futon in front of her and poured herself a cup of hot tea.
"It would be unbecoming of us on Haizhi Island to leave looking so disheveled. Why don't you rest for a while and enjoy this cup of my tea?"
Then, as if in a show of defiance, Coral Palace Heart Sea gently shook the Eye of God hanging on her chest.
And so, the living goddess priestess of the island of Haizhi formed a deep friendship with this Liyue boy named Jiangmu.
The two often discussed military strategy together and exchanged their insights on cooking.
Occasionally, Jiang Mu would take Coral Palace Xin Hai out for a walk, leaving their footprints and laughter in every corner of the island.
And a tiny seed gradually began to take root and sprout in the heart of Coral Palace's Heart Sea...
Even now, Coral Palace Xin Hai still asks herself what her life would have been like if she hadn't met Jiang Mu...
That was a level of utter boredom and dullness that the Coral Palace Heart Sea could not even imagine...
But soon, the nanny in charge of guiding the Coral Palace's Heart Sea learned of this.
Unexpectedly, the older nanny did not express any opinion on the matter or reprimand Coral Palace Xin Hai. Instead, she simply patted Coral Palace Xin Hai's head, which was bowing its head, smiled gently, and patted Jiang Mu's shoulder.
Time flies, and several months have passed in the blink of an eye. Now, almost everyone on the entire island knows that the current goddess priestess has a male companion "picked up from the sea," and they talk about it with great interest.
But on this day, Jiang Mu suddenly told Coral Palace Xin Hai that he was leaving.
His purpose in coming to Inazuma was to pay homage to the supreme deity, to question him, and to confront the unthinking blade.
Coral Palace Heart Sea persuaded Jiang Mu that it was a power that mortals could not resist, a determination to protect Inazuma forever. Even with Lord Orobas's power, he could not survive that thoughtless slash. As a mere mortal, he could not possibly escape unscathed...
“There are always creatures on earth that dare to face the might of thunder.”
At that moment, the boy gave her this answer.
So, the mortal goddess personally escorted the boy onto the ship and inquired about news from Inazuma Castle every day.
………………
"The guest from a foreign land, after facing the god's unexpected slash, escaped unscathed and left Inazuma."
One day, a spy brought her this news.
Despite her deep regret, Coral Palace Heart Sea continued to silently pray for the boy.
She was praying that the boy would have a safe and healthy journey across the continent of Teyvat...
………………
The next time I saw the boy was during a standoff with the Shogunate army...
I saw him again when...
The girl understood her own feelings, but the boy seemed to still be a boy, still "ignorant and ignorant".
The girl will continue to wait, even if what she waits for is not the future she desires...
………………
"Hmm..."
When Coral Palace Xin Hai woke up again, she found herself seemingly stuffed into a... sack?
The next moment, the sack was hoisted up by someone, followed by the sound of a window being opened, and then a slight feeling of weightlessness...
"Wait...am I being...robbed? And robbed of a person?"
Upon realizing this outcome, Coral Palace Heart Sea struggled frantically, like a fish pulled from the water.
The kidnapper seemed to be unusually strong; despite Coral Palace's desperate struggles, she could not break free of his grasp...
After thinking for a moment, Coral Palace Heart Sea began to connect with her Divine Eye. Although she wasn't good at combat, but...
Before she could take any action, she noticed that the kidnappers seemed to have stopped. Then, the "sack" was untied, and a familiar voice rang out.
"Ornamental fish, I've come to pick you up."
"Happy birthday!"
(Uh... here comes a 3000-word long chapter. I really love Xin Hai, and then... I got hooked, hehe~)
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