Paimon munched on desserts while listening to Yi Daizhu's amusing stories. Time slipped by without them noticing.
"Hic… I can't eat anymore…"
In the end, Paimon was defeated by the endless stream of sweets provided by the Spirit Hall.
Aether casually glanced toward the back of the Spirit Hall, then shook his head and said to Paimon, "Let's go."
"Eh—?"
Paimon was caught off guard. She flew close to Aether's ear and whispered, "Traveler, we didn't come here just to freeload all those desserts, did we…?"
Paimon felt a little guilty. Since arriving, Aether hadn't really done much besides chatting with that big sister and eating. Now that they were done, leaving right away seemed a bit rude.
"I just came to take a look. The desserts are your freeloading."
"How can you say that! You ate too!"
Paimon protested loudly. She didn't want to be known as a freeloading social parasite — if anyone was to bear that title, it would be together with the Traveler.
"If Paimon and His Excellency like it, they're always welcome to come by. The Spirit Hall will always welcome you."
Yi Daizhu bowed slightly and smiled warmly.
Though she couldn't personally recruit this formidable powerhouse, it was still important to establish a connection.
Having such an overwhelmingly strong ally was always better than making an enemy.
Yi Daizhu saw Aether and Paimon off at the door. Aether turned back to glance inside the Spirit Hall, then said, "If she comes looking for me, maybe the outcome will be different. Also, behave yourself and don't get any wild ideas."
With that, he led Paimon away from the Spirit Hall.
"Your Excellency…"
Yi Daizhu pondered over Aether's parting words and was about to ask more, but found their figures had already vanished.
The "she" that Aether referred to…
Yi Daizhu seemed to realize something. Her expression changed sharply as she hurried back into the Spirit Hall.
Aether's visit today was entirely because the Spirit Hall had approached him first.
Last night, he sensed a powerful presence in Skywater City. This morning, someone had come on their own to deliver breakfast.
He Immediately recognized the breakfast deliverer as a Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall
No doubt, the only groups capable of quietly dispatching such a formidable Titled Douluo were the Spirit Hall or the Sea God Island.
Sea God Island was too far and unlikely to come looking for him so casually. The answer was obvious.
With nothing urgent, Aether thought he might as well visit the Spirit Hall and see what was going on. His intuition told him he might even pick up a commission or two.
The only way to break the seal on his power was to accept and complete commissions, but so far, he had broken less than a quarter of it.
It wasn't because he was lazy but because commissions in this world were strange.
Like wandering through Teyvat, sometimes commissions popped up suddenly, sometimes long stretches passed without any.
To break the seal, he was even beginning to miss Katherine's impatience from before…
For example, this trip to the Spirit Hall yielded no commissions.
Even the person he sensed inside the Spirit Hall never came out to meet him.
If there hadn't been no commission prompt, he might have barged in to find them.
Maybe the time just wasn't right yet?
Did commissions in this world also depend on timing, like in Teyvat?
He had a strong premonition about this.
Hence, when leaving, he left that line hoping that if his intuition was right, a commission might find its way to him…
Inside the Spirit Hall's main office, Yi Daizhu knelt and recounted every detail of her interaction with Aether to the figure before her.
When finished, she looked up with a guilty expression.
"Supreme Pontiff, I was incompetent and failed to handle this matter properly. Please punish me."
The figure before her turned, finally revealing her face.
Her magnificent priestess robe was embroidered with mysterious, intricate patterns that gleamed in the sunlight pouring through the office window — a symbol of supreme status.
Her long brown-black hair flowed smoothly down her back, exuding grace and nobility.
Her face was stunning, yet cold, her skin pale as snow. Her deep eyes held endless mysteries.
This was the current Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff: Bibi Dong.
"Oh?"
A light hum escaped Bibi Dong's thin lips as she walked to the window. Her cold voice sounded again:
"When facing a strong opponent, if you cannot make them submit, it's best to let them sleep forever."
"…"
Yi Daizhu was struck with terror.
The pope's meaning was clear: if they couldn't recruit him, then…
Suddenly, Yi Daizhu remembered something.
"Your Excellency, I forgot to mention—before she left, His Excellency said one more thing."
Swallowing nervously, she continued, "If she comes looking for me, perhaps the result will be different. Also, behave yourself and don't get any wild ideas… That was his last remark."
Bibi Dong, standing by the window, trembled slightly but remained silent.
…
"Traveler, where are we going now?"
Paimon and Aether wandered the streets. She looked around and said, "Keke's not here, and Qinghe's not here either. Shopping's no fun without them."
Back in Heaven Dou City, they usually shopped as a group. It wasn't as enjoyable alone.
"Whoa! That old man up ahead looks like he's carrying something heavy. Traveler, let's go check!"
…
Aether's lips twitched at the familiar yet strange tone, suspecting Paimon was forcing him to trigger a commission again.
Though reluctant, he looked where she pointed.
Sure enough, the "old man" was carrying a large bundle of candied hawthorns.
Aether glanced sideways at Paimon and said with a teasing tone, "Does that old man need help, or do you? You just ate so many desserts and now you're hungry again?"
"Hehe, desserts don't fill you up! Besides, I'm not hungry, I just want to see if the old man needs help."
Paimon scratched her head and smiled.
"…"
Unable to resist Paimon's insistence, Aether bought a few skewers of candied hawthorns for her to hold and finally settled down.
"By the way, Traveler, it's been days since we last saw Keke. How about we go check on her? I can bring her some candied hawthorns."
Paimon slurped on a skewer and waved the other hand holding candy.
"Alright, let's go see how Keke's doing with her studies."
Aether nodded. He recalled that Skywater Academy only admitted girls. Now was a good chance to see if the rumors were true.
_
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