Chapter 144 Cats use meal replacements, drinking alcohol is harmful to health...
"Why did this happen...?"
Kaeya, a remnant of the land of the gods' destruction, was sent to Mondstadt as a spy from a young age. He was supposed to be a lurking snake, spewing deadly venom when the flute sounds, but he couldn't do it.
Perhaps it was the adoptive father's hand stroking his head that was so kind and gentle that the lonely child lingered there, or perhaps it was the sworn brother's red hair that was so dazzling that it was unbearable to feel a moment of gloom. In any case, the noble bloodline of the ancient kingdom had already betrayed them, bowing down like a sinner and confessing the truth that was enough to tear apart all the beautiful past.
“You may draw your sword against me at will, vent your hatred and anger on me, drive me away as you would a dog that doesn’t know what’s good for it, and curse my wolfish ambitions with your father.”
Damn it!
Kaiya had imagined how she would use a humorous and lighthearted tone to perfectly conceal her guilt on the day she revealed her origins, and calmly face destruction or judgment. But she never expected that when that day actually came, everything would turn into a humiliating plea!
“But Diluc, you can’t… I mean, you’d better not get close to the Wraith King, he’s really dangerous…”
Well, if that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. At least Diluc hesitated in drawing his sword, seemingly sparing me from physical pain. But, but—
"Why did it turn out like this?!"
The cat was carrying a man as it ran wildly through the city, roaring at Diluc's neck.
"Shut up!"
Diluc roared back even louder.
Are you trying to deafen me?!
"..."
Kaeya was instantly speechless. Mainkun was really ruthless. He and Diluc were slammed together like two slices of bread covered in jam, their legs clamped together and their chests pressed together. If it weren't for the fact that he could still turn his neck to move his head away, Kaeya couldn't even imagine what a terrifying scene would have become!
Even though the two were so close, intimate, and inseparable, the King of Li still seemed quite dissatisfied.
"You guys... hiccup, why are you still arguing?"
He let out a loud cry and burst into tears, vehemently accusing the enemy:
"Do you know...do you know how wonderful...precious it is to have brothers by your side? No, you have no idea!"
The drunk cat flew into a rage, scratching the red paw with its left and the blue paw with its right, then, dizzy, pressed its two heads together:
"Cherish, cherish... No arguing allowed, tell me... I love you! Say it!"
"This... Oh ho~"
Falgar stopped his angry strides, and Lisa decisively took out her camera beside him.
'Click'
In the distance, the alchemists took out paper and pen, and Abedo drew on their paper.
"A scene worth recording."
Where all eyes in Mondstadt were focused, Kaeya's face slowly turned pale.
'I want to die...'
He was far less cynical and unrestrained than he appeared.
"Say it, say it! Waaaaaah!"
As if provoked by something, the cat tossed the two of them around, leaping and bounding between the rooftops, unable to find a moment's rest.
'Kill me...'
Amidst the howling wind, through the thin fabric, the warmth and heartbeat of his sworn brother made Kaiya feel nauseous for some unknown reason.
But he forced himself to remain calm.
"Who gave this bastard the drink? When I get down there, I'll definitely kill him first."
"..."
Diluc did not answer.
Kaiya turned her head to try and see his expression, but she was too close, and no matter how she turned, her gaze was filled with his red hair that covered his ears, so the little steward could only tentatively whisper:
"...Diluc, Captain Diluc?"
"You have the strength and power, can you break free from this strange black mist so that we can maintain the proper distance?"
"..."
After an unknown period of silence, even the sobbing seemed to soak the moon, and the area where their skin met was sticky with sweat. Suddenly, Kaiya heard a completely emotionless voice explode in her ear.
"I love you."
...
"Diluc!"
Almost instantly upon hearing it, Kaeya, who had long been compliant, suddenly began to struggle in the black mist. He desperately pushed his sworn brother's body back, determined to create some space to see Diluc's expression.
"you--"
"...When a drunkard talks nonsense, you can only obey him. Don't you even know this basic principle?"
Huh?
Kaeya looked up and saw the cat tilting its crown. The tears in its eyes almost stopped immediately when Diluc spoke.
"I see..."
He quieted down and listened to Diluc's negotiation with Mainkuen:
“I have followed your instructions. In return, could you please put us down?”
The price was reasonable, but unfortunately, cats don't listen to reason and only act according to their own desires.
"...No, hiccup, no."
He shook his head, searching for the direction of Sumeru in Falga's gaze, which had turned to terror again.
"I will destroy Mondstadt Winery!"
Charge!
The Mondstadt members snapped out of their daze: "No!!"
But no one can catch up with a cat.
*
"Hahaha, hahahaha! Burp!"
Sumeru welcomed back their king.
"A... Elhesen!"
He went up and gave the scholar a hug.
"Hiccup! Your chest isn't as big as my brother's, hahaha!"
"Um."
He seems quite drunk.
But not as boisterous as Kavi.
Alheisen remained calm, simply reaching out to grab Kaeya and Diluc, who were being dragged behind him.
"Who are these two people?"
Kaiya, looking dejected, questioned, "Friend, why are you behaving so calmly? As a subject, shouldn't you at least do your duty to stop the king's tyranny?"
"It's a Mondstadt specialty! Hahaha!"
He then weighed Naxida, who was rushing over, in the air.
"You, you grow even slower than me, hahaha!"
"...Mondstadt, the wine city, truly lives up to its name."
Forced free from the cat's claws, Nasita looked anxiously at the two who had been forcibly brought back.
“Our king has caused you trouble… so, may I ask who you two are…”
Diluc, with his baby face drooping, said from below: "A victim, obviously, isn't he?"
"They're brothers!"
The black mist suddenly dispersed, and Mainkun, with his left hand on the red arm and his right hand on the blue arm, pressed them together again despite their resistance.
"Could you please explain that, that..."
Diluc expressionlessly scratched at the claws on his shoulder: "No."
"Then let's try another one. You, hiccup, are the older brother, right? Could you pat your sworn brother's head and say 'thank you for your hard work'?"
Kaiya was utterly horrified: "!? How could you say such a shameful thing! Cough... Please, let me go..."
"Tell me, tell me! Hiccup! I'll give you a reward!"
"ah."
Nasita looked on in amazement at the cat, which was now letting loose.
"After getting drunk, this is the kind of desire that comes to mind... Regarding the Mondstadt brothers' actions... Is this what they call eating meal replacements?"
"Um."
Elheisen wasn't particularly interested; he simply looked calmly at Diluc and Kaeya's knight outfits.
"The harvest was not as high as predicted."
"Don't rush."
Naxi Da smiled and offered her advice.
"It takes time for pollen to turn into honey, it takes time for great people to become legends, and it also takes time for the wind of freedom to blow from the cliff to the forest."
"Oh my!"
Just then, a blue wind, carrying the aroma of wine, blew into the space between man and god.
"It sounds like you've been waiting for me?"
"Barbatos? Hmm, not bad."
El-Hysen asked a question.
"It is I."
Wendy responded and immediately began to complain without holding back.
"I say, what's wrong with your king? It's one thing to scare ordinary people, but how could he touch Mondstadt's wine industry? That's the foundation of Mondstadt! It's forced me, an introverted and shy homebody poet, to travel abroad to handle this personally... Wait, why is he looking at me like that?"
Al-Hysen pointed to his mask: "Even gods catch colds?"
"...Isn't it all your king's fault!"
Wendy puffed out his cheeks, looking indignant, but his tone was light. He bent down slightly to meet the gaze of the little auspicious grass king:
"Nice to meet you, my dear junior."
"Judging from your composed expression and undisturbed eyes, the spirit of the wind already knew that my arrival was entirely within the realm of wisdom's prediction... Speak! What favor do you wish old Barbatos to do?"
"ah!"
Nasita's eyes widened slightly at the wind god's cheerful response, but she quickly smiled gently and warmly, her voice youthful yet full of wisdom:
"As the legends say, the God of Wind possesses a gentle and carefree spirit that understands people's hearts. Your arrival is indeed what we have been looking forward to."
She tilted her head slightly, her gaze tenderly falling on Mainkuen, who was still arguing with his sworn brother not far away, her eyes filled with a mixture of pity and deep scheming.
"We long for our king to heal us."
"He possessed immense power, yet he was like a fledgling bird lost in a storm, only able to hover in pain and chaos. The wisdom of Mount Sumeru could analyze all things, but it could not fill the void in his heart etched by past wounds."
"Therefore, we made a somewhat bold, but also helpless, decision to guide him out of the rainforest, to let him drift like a seed on the wind to a distant land."
Her gaze returned to Wendy, her tender green eyes sparkling with earnestness:
"We hope that in the free poetry of Mondstadt, in the weighty covenants of Liyue, under the dazzling cherry blossom blizzard of Inazuma, in the volcano of Nata or the living waters of Fontainebleau... in the footprints he left behind and the waves he caused, in the pure goodness he unconsciously revealed, hidden beneath his rage..."
"...will surely attract many, many hopes that point him to life, and will also gather many, many desires, both real and false."
She gently clasped her hands together in front of her chest, making a gesture that resembled both prayer and welcoming.
"And your arrival seems to be the first and most beautiful response the world has given us."
"Please help us, Barbatos."
Elhesen stood beside him, silently handing him a void terminal.
A virtual terminal that enables cross-border communication.
"Let us together give new life to miracles."
"Join the group if you want to know the truth."
El-Hysen doesn't do anything fancy.
"Go through the chat history yourself."
"Oh dear, this is really..."
Wendy's eyes lit up slightly, and she reached out her hand.
"Although I'm still a little confused, it sounds like an amazing story, I'm in!"
"etc."
Before Barbatos could even take it, Diluc stepped forward and reached out to ask for it.
"Give me two too."
“Okay.” Elhesen didn’t care; the more people who knew, the better.
"Huh?"
Wendy was startled and somewhat incredulous.
"I thought you would avoid the King of Sumeru? After all, cough, after all, that happened?"
"...Don't mention that."
Diluc snatched both terminals away.
"This contains the truth, right? That includes the true face of that crown bastard."
"Yes."
Nasita spoke very apologetically:
"I am deeply sorry for all the trouble the Prince has caused you. Once he has regained consciousness, I will bring him here to apologize in person. Please do not despise me because of this..."
"Stop. I have no opinion about your king, neither good nor bad. It's just that Kaiya has been a timid person since childhood and needs something external to calm him down."
Diluc pocketed the two terminals, sighed wearily at the chaotic day:
"The Legenfinde family always repays kindness, whether the recipient is a wise king or a tyrannical king, a drunkard or a madman."
"Kaya Albury is no exception."
...
"Oh~"
Wendy gave a strange smile.
"You two have such a good relationship!"
"Diluc!"
Just then, Kaeya, who was trying to deal with the drunkard, suddenly shouted, her voice slightly panicked:
"Something's happened!"
"!"
Diluc hurried a few steps and saw Wang An, with his gray hair, lying quietly on the ground, looking very well-behaved.
"She just fell asleep, what's the big deal?"
Even as he said this, he squatted down and reached out to help Mainkuhn up from the ground.
"No, doctor! It's over... diplomacy is completely over..."
Amidst Kaeya's terrified whispers, Diluc reached out and touched Mainkun's hand, instantly realizing something was wrong.
His hands were unusually cold, even in the perpetually hot weather of Sumeru.
...No way.
"quick--"
Diluc quickly took off his coat and covered his body, which was beginning to cool down!
"Nasita! Call me Tinari!"
Elhesen suddenly understood the situation, and all the anomalies connected in his mind.
Although life is sustained by desires, the body still retains the father's traits, which is the definition of a cat.
But the cat—he can't drink alcohol!
"How could this happen..."
"Unpredictable reasons for getting sick!"
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