AN: No beta we die like hilichurls


Lisa woke up with a yawn. Idly scratching her head, she rubbed her eyes awake.

'Ah, I fell asleep in the library again.'

Her eyes snapped open. 'I slept in the library!'

Immediately, she glanced at the numerous books on the table in front of her. She began inspecting every nook and cranny of the books. 'Oh dear, I didn't drool on them did I?'

She sighed in relief when she confirmed she hadn't. 'Phew, that would've been bad. The librarian, drooling over the books she's in charge of.' She chuckled as she shook her head.

She put the books in her hand and walked towards a couple of the shelves. She put them back one by one to where they were supposed to be. Up until she had only one book left.

She pursed her lips, before walking back to the table, and placing the book on it. 'I'll read this again later.'

She looked at the time, not much had passed since she woke up. She woke up early enough that she still had time for a shower back in her quarters before she went to Jean to clock in.

Then, she remembered. 'Right, it's my birthday.' She sighed.

She supposed other people might be more enthusiastic to know that it was their birthday. But for Lisa, it was simply another day. 'Besides, I'm not one for mass celebrations. A day spent idling away with a cup of tea, snacks, and a good book is perfect for me.'

That didn't stop people from greeting her. Though she appreciated their greetings. It was known throughout the Knights that their Librarian wasn't one for crowds, nor did she care for presents.

And it was also an unspoken rule to return any books before her birthday. Lest they suffer her wrath.


"Good morning, Jean." Lisa opened the door to the Acting Grandmaster's office.

The acting grandmaster nodded. Long green hair flowed behind her. "Good morning to you as well, Lisa," Jean smiled. "Happy birthday."

Lisa chuckled. "Thank you. Now, I know it's a bit early, but I have a gift for you."

"Hm?" Jean raised an eyebrow. "A gift?"

"Correct."

"Did you perhaps forget that celebrant is the one supposed to receive presents, not give them?"

"Mhm, but I still wanted to give some to you."

"You're planning something, aren't you?" Jean squinted.

Lisa smiled. "Nope, not a thing."

"...Alright, fine. What is it?"

Lisa was suddenly in front of her desk as if she'd teleported. A box dropped onto her desk without warning. Jean's eyes widened.

Tied together with string, the fresh scent of ink, and the ruffling sound of paper…

'This is…-'

"Paperwork!" Lisa clapped.

Jean groaned. "I knew it. I knew it was coming."

"And yet you fell for it all the same~"

Jean shook her head and cleared her throat. "Anyway,"

"Mhm?~"

She sighed. It was way too early for this. "The traveler was here just earlier."

Lisa raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't run into each other," she nodded. "Turns out, they'll swing by to greet you later before noon."

"Really now?" she smiled. "It has been a while since hasn't it? Perhaps I should prepare some snacks."

A knock on the door brought them out of their thoughts. "Master Jean? This is Noelle. May I come in?"

"You may," Jean answered.

A female figure clad in an armored maid outfit strode into the room.

"Good morning, Master Jean. Good morning and happy birthday, Miss Lisa."

"Why thank you, Noelle~"

"Good morning, Noelle," Jean greeted. "Here to clock in? You don't have that many tasks today apart from the usual."

"Yes, please," Noelle bowed. "And… I apologize for possibly overstepping, but maybe I could make your afternoon snacks for you?"

Lisa chuckled. "Oh, Noelle. You're too precious. Don't worry, I suppose I was a bit loud," she reassured her. "And there is no need, you have your own tasks to worry about after all."

Noelle nodded, but she did look kind of sad. "I… I see. It's just, it's Miss Lisa's birthday so I thought I could do this for you instead…"

Outwardly, Lisa gave her a calculating gaze.

Inwardly…

'AHHHH SHE'S TOO CUTE.'

Lisa sighed. "Alright, you win. You can make snacks for us. In fact, make enough for everybody if you have the time, is that alright?"

Like flicking a switch, Noelle's mood made a complete 180. Her eyes shining, she was bouncing on her feet, and you could feel her energy skyrocketing. "Yes! Yes, I absolutely can! Thank you! I will not disappoint you."

"I believe in you. You're Noelle after all. Such an adorable, diligent cutie." Noelle flushed. Lisa ruffled her hair. "I know they'll be delicious."

"Y-Yes!" Noelle bowed and hurried out of the door, excited to finish her tasks to start baking and cooking. "I'll do my best. Thank you, Master Jean. And Miss Lisa, happy birthday once more."

Noelle left the room, leaving an amused librarian and an acting grandmaster.

Jean sighed. "That girl. It's almost like the more you work her, the happier she is."

"I think it's nice. She's very hardworking."

"Even so, she has to take breaks someday," The acting grandmaster pulled out a bottle of ink and a quill, and she started reading through the papers.

She noticed Lisa staring at her. "What?"

"You should really take some of your own advice."


Following the news of the traveler's soon arrival, Lisa opted to sit back and read a book in the library while waiting.

A knock on the door led her out of her thoughts. The sound of the door opening made her excited. She put her book down, stood up, and took a few steps towards the door/

Could it be?

A floating white figure dashed towards her. She almost flinched.

"Lisa! Happy birthday!"

Lisa smiled and chuckled. "Hello, Paimon. It's been a while but you're still quite adorable."

"Aww, thanks." Paimon glowed. "Aether! You're too slow!" they turned around to find a blond-haired man walking toward them, a smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head.

"Don't blame me if you're out of energy later. You sped up too much."

"Hmph, Who do you think Paimon is? I have plenty of energy to spare!"

Aether shook his head. "If you say so," he turned towards Lisa and thrust a small bag onto her hands... "Happy birthday, Lisa."

"Well aren't you a sweet one," Lisa graciously accepted the gift. "A gift for me on my birthday? If I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to curry favor from me," she winked. "Not that I mind, you could always ask~"

Aether shook his head, and he looked away. But he couldn't hide the blush on his cheeks. "It's not like that. I gave you that 'cause you're my friend, and it's your birthday."

Lisa chuckled. "Of course, of course," she opened the bag she received. She brought out a book with a pink-haired shrine maiden on the front, with a white background.

'Pretty Please, Kitsune Guuji?'

Lisa raised an eyebrow. Eyes gleamed in fascination. "Ooh, what's this?"

"It's nothing like the books in the restricted section of the library if that's what you were expecting."

Lisa scoffed. "If it was, I'd punish you for doing so, and then I'd thank you."

"...Right," he sweatdropped. "Anyway, this here's a book that made big sales in Inazuma during the festival a couple of months ago. I figured I'd give you a copy."

"Ah, yes, I have heard of these. Light novels," she said, looking at the book. She put the book back in the bag. "I'll be sure to read this during my leisure time. Thank you very much, Aether."

"You're welcome." Aether nodded.

"Isn't it already your leisure time? Jean said you don't do anything on your birthday." Paimon inquired. She put a hand on her chin.

"Now I wouldn't put it like that. I'd prefer if you said it as me… taking my time."

Paimon blankly stared. "You serious?"

"Of course," She cheerfully replied, she turned around and started walking back to her table. "So, are you planning to stay or did you only come to greet me."

Although she couldn't see him, Aether still shook his head. "We got time. We don't have anything that can't wait until tomorrow."

Lisa softly hummed. "I see," she looked back at him, smirking. "You must've been pretty excited. A whole day with Lisa. makes me wonder what's going on in that head of yours."

This time, Aether didn't miss the innuendo. "Why, I'd think any guy would kill to be in my position right now, with you."

"How sweet of you to say," she chuckled. "If that's what you think, I'd be honored. Maybe tonight you can accompany me to my room. I promise I'll be gentle."

Aether immediately blushed. It was cute that the traveler thought he stood a chance against her when it came to teasing. "Be careful playing with fire, Traveler," she winked. "You can't handle this heat."

If his face wasn't burning before, it was now. He sighed. "Alright, alright. I tried."

"Now, now. Don't sulk. You had me at the reins there for a second."

Sure he did. He shook his head and sat down at the table. Eager to forget that the last minute had ever happened.

But judging from the grin on Paimon's face, that wasn't happening any time soon.

"In other topics, perhaps you would like to have some tea?" Lisa suggested.

Aether nodded. "Sure, I wouldn't mind." He stood up-

"Wonderful. Let me just make some," She pushed Aether back on the chair. "Sit down, and wait for me."

"B-But,"

"Sit."

He sat.

"Good boy," She smiled. "Let me handle this one, okay? I promise you'll like it."

He shook his head. "It's not about that. It's your birthday. Take a seat, I can at least brew some tea."

"That's sweet, but no thank you," she smiled. "I have a special flavor in mind that I want you to have, after all."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? What is it?"

"It's a secret. That's what it is," she chuckled. "Wait here, okay? Feel free to grab a few books to read while you wait."

Aether tried to find a reason to help out, but the glare she gave her snuffed that light right out. He gave a resigned smile. "Alright. Will do."

Lisa went off to go somewhere in the library. Where exactly? Neither Paimon nor Aether knew.

"You think she's going to make a potion or something?" Paimon sat down next to him.

"What?"

"What do you mean what? She's a witch," she said as if she was telling the color of the sky, and it was blue. "Maybe that's the flavor she's looking to add!"

He shook his head and chuckled. "Don't be silly. Lisa is a nice person. She'll give us normal tea and we'll chat and catch up on recent events. That's it."

Paimon hummed. "Maybe she has a cauldron."

"For tea?" Aether was certain that Lisa owned a cauldron somewhere. Not to play to the stereotypes, but Lisa did seem the kind of person to do so.

Paimon nodded. "Yeah! Then she'll stir the cauldron around with a giant wooden spoon while going all," Paimon adopted an unnatural grin and mimicked stirring a giant ladle. "Kekekekeke, mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"

"Huh?" Aether stared at Paimon. "Why are you saying that like you're some queen become witch ready to give out apples to someone?"

"Wow, that was very specific."

"Thank you."

"Wait, wait, we're going off-topic," she hastily shook her head. "I mean, what if she gives us some sort of weird concoction!"

"What?"

"Oh you know, a concoction that makes you see doubles- No! Triples of whoever or whatever is in front of you! Then you feel hot and cold at the same time. Then you start feeling dizzy! You know! Watson's Concoction!"

Aether chuckled once more. Paimon had a vivid imagination, to say the least. Who was this Watson, and what was this concoction?

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH"

"Lisa?!"

A scream broke both of them out of their thoughts. Immediately, they rushed towards the source of the noise, thinking she might have gotten hurt.

When they got there, the first thing they felt or smelled wasn't the smell of iron or the feeling of trepidation he'd come to become familiar with over his various travels.

Electricity. That was what he felt. Similar to that of the Shogun's, but to a lesser degree. Whereas the Shogun's thunder was focused on him, this once was akin to a static field, applying itself to those unfortunate enough to come close to it. Paimon and Aether's hair both began to start spiking upwards.

And their source of concern was in the middle of a dark room, the lightbulb's glass broken above her.

She was pissed.

"L-Lisa, are you alright?"

"Ah, I'm happy you're both so concerned about me. But I'm alright."

Aether and Paimon shivered. It might have sounded concerned, but it couldn't be farther from the truth. Her tone was too stable. Way too relaxed. And they could tell that the source of the electricity must've been her.

She looked towards them. Smiling without humor, eyes glassy and without light.

"You see, someone has taken my cauldron," Aether could swear a spark of thunder flashed within her eyes. "No matter. Tracking whoever took it should be a simple task. Whoever they are, I will find them…" Aether and Paimon started to sweat. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"And I will punish them."


"Uhm… Miss Lisa? Where are we going?" Paimon shakily asked.

The trio strode towards Mondstadt's Plaza. Lisa's smile never left her face, but when one saw her eyes, they would run. Have fear, for Lisa is pissed.

"Ufu, nothing particular. Just the first place I'd go if I were to ask where my cauldron is." she chuckled. Electricity still flickering around her.

Right now, Lisa was quite literally the storm that was approaching.

"Hello there, Timaeus."

A brown-haired man next to an alchemy table turned around and smiled. "Ah, Traveler. And MIss Li- M-Miss Lisa! Good morning! Happy… birthday!" while his tone started off as amiable, he quickly became frightened upon noticing the literal storm in front of him.

Lisa chuckled. Timaeus took a step back. "Oh my, be at ease. I mean no harm to you," her eyes narrowed. Timaeus definitely did not let out a squeak. "Unless of course, you took my cauldron."

"I-What?"

"My cauldron! Where is it?!" Lisa held onto his lapel and started shaking him like a ragdoll.

"M-M-Miss Lisa, p-please! I-I don't know what you're talking about."

Aether sighed. "Eh? Aether, what are you doing?"

He looked back at Paimon. "What I must do."

"That's hell you're walking into, you know?"

He slowly shook his head. He walked into the storm, head held high. "I know Paimon, I know."

He came in between the two and pulled them apart. "Okay, that's enough. We're not going to get any answers from him if you keep shaking him like that. Please calm down." he addressed Lisa.

The fury in her eyes when she glared at Aether almost made him step back. He might've, if not for having come close to danger many times before.

Aether gave her a glare of his own. She was being very… passionate about this. But if he let her move around with her emotions high, it would create more problems for everyone.

"Please, Lisa."

Lisa held her glare for a short while before she sighed. "Alright. My apologies, Timaeus."

Aether helped him smoothen his clothes. He shakily laughed. "I-It's alright. No harm done, much." The last bit was quiet, but Aether was close enough to hear it.

"I thought I heard a familiar squeak. What's happening over here?"

They turned towards the voice. A young man with bright teal eyes and light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Ah, Albedo," Timaeus sighed. "Good morning."

Albedo nodded. "Yes. Good morning to you all," he looked at Lisa. "Happy birthday, Lisa," he greeted. He then went to stand beside Timaeus. "So, what brings you all here today?"

"My cauldron-"

"Let me explain," he looked at Lisa, who nodded. "We're looking for Lisa's cauldron. It's very special to her and she was very agitated to have found it missing earlier this morning. That's why she's very…"

"Irritable, I see," Albedo put a hand on his chin. "I'm sorry for your loss. But I do think I know a lead."

"You do?" Aether raised an eyebrow.

He nodded. "I think I do," he brought his head back up to look at Aether and Lisa. "Earlier this morning, I saw Sucrose huddling with a few people earlier this morning, then I saw them run while holding something dark in color. That may have been your cauldron."

"Could you tell who was with her?" Lisa asked.

He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I was very busy at the time," he told her, he then snapped his fingers. "Though I do recall where they went. They should be just outside Mondstadt if my hearing serves, which it does."

Lisa and Aether nodded. "Alright. We'll head over there now. Thank you, Albedo." Aether have him a nod.

"Glad to be of help," he told them. "Please, do take care. And once again, happy birthday, Lisa."

"Lisa smiled. "Thank you," she turned towards Timaeus. "And I'm sorry, I let my emotions get the better of me."

Timaeus shook his head. "Please, don't be. I wasn't hurt."

They said their goodbyes to the alchemists and began walking to their lead. While doing so, Aether noticed Lisa was staring at him. Though he couldn't quite pin down why.

"Is there something on my back, Lisa?"

She kept staring for a moment, before chuckling and shaking her head. "No, absolutely nothing." she giggled to herself.

Aether raised an eyebrow. She turned towards Paimon, who shrugged in indifference.

After a while of walking, past the gate of Mondstadt, Paimon sped ahead. In the distance near a couple of sunsettia trees, were three people crouched over a campfire, with green, silver, and dark purple hair respectively.

"Found them! Just over here."

Lisa suddenly perked up. "I am on my way."

'Oh, dear.' Aether immediately picked up his pace to catch up to them.

The closer they got, the more of their conversations they could pick up.

"We're way behind schedule!"

"We will be quite alright, Sucrose. Fate has given me the eye of perception that states our state of being will be fine. We will have an abundance of time."

"Weird-speaking girl is right. The food is almost ready. We can bring them back in time."

"But still, I can't help but feel like we're in trouble for some reason. I mean, we took her cauldron without her permission-"

"Oh, so it was you three after all?"

!

"Miss Lisa!"

They all stood up in unison. Lisa simply smiled at them. "Good morning, Miss Lisa! Happy birthday!" they all said.

Lisa chuckled. "Thank you, you're all very sweet kids," she told them. "Now, I have a question for you. Do answer me honestly, hm?"

They nodded. "Sure."

Lisa looked at each one of them with a smile. Slowly, she opened her eyes to reveal light-less irises. They stiffened.

"Have you perchance seen my cauldron? A little birdy told me it was with another green-haired birdy and her cohorts."

They sweat. "I-We- uh…"

No one said anything. Lisa didn't push, but she was expecting an answer. The three suspects glanced at Aether.

He shook his head, while Paimon let a thumb run through horizontally in front of her neck. You are dead.

The three nodded toward each other. There was only one thing they could do.

"SCATTER!" Razor tossed a bottle onto the floor. The moment it broke, they all made a run for it.

"Not so fast!"

Before they could run, and especially before Fischl could shift into Oz, lightning struck the ground just in front of them.

"Turn around. Now."

They did as they were told.

"Good kids," she smiled. "Now, I'm going to have to ask you why you thought taking my cauldron was a good idea, hm? I want all the details."

Sucrose shakily nodded. "Y-Yes Miss Lisa," she cleared her throat. "W-We thought of something to give you for your birthday since you're always nice to us. A-And we thought that we could cook something for you."

"And my cauldron?"

This time, Razor spoke up. "Razor knows Teacher likes cauldron. The cauldron may be special. Would never let us borrow, so we took."

Aether and Paimon raised an eyebrow. Her cauldron had something special? Was that why she was so adamant to find it?

"W-We were going to return it to you a few hours ago, it would be like nothing had happened. I had my doubts but Razor said it was for you, and you would never know it was gone anyway," Sucrose said, Razor nodded. Honest boy. "But we took so long deciding the ingredients and what type of dish we could cook that it took us a while to get started and… well…" she trailed off.

"We're sorry!" They said.

Aether wondered what Lisa might do. This was out of his hands at this point. He shouldn't get involved.

Lisa wouldn't hurt them. She was still a member of the Knights of the Favonius. She wouldn't.

Right?

Lisa smiled. She came close to them…

And ruffled their hair around. "You're all such good kids. Don't worry, I'm not mad."

That instantly lifted their spirits."

"T-Truly?" Fischl spoke.

"Rejoice, mein fraulein."

"Good. Razor not in trouble."

"T-Thank you very much, Miss Lisa!"

"Of course, of course. How can I get mad at you?" she said. Aether breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, what's this about you cooking me something?"

"Oh, yes. We took a while cause we all thought of something different to pitch in. I wanted to pitch in sweet flowers, Fischl wanted a broth, and Razor wanted beef," she told her. "Though, I feel Razor wanted beef for himself too."

The librarian chuckled. "Sounds like him."

Sucrose nodded. "But we did settle on the type of food we wanted to make in the end."

"Oh?"

"We wanted a healthy dish that promotes nutrition and a long and healthy life filled with vitamins and minerals."

"Yes. Teacher's getting older. Must stay healthy."

"Uh… guys?" Fischl called out.

"Fischl expressed her concerns about your health too. She said you rarely get out of the library-."

The skies grew dark. The rumble of lightning could be heard. Sucrose, Fischl, and Razor paled.

Lisa was chuckling and smiling. But unlike before, you could feel the electricity rolling off of her now.

"I'm young at heart. Okay?"

They all nodded. "Yes. Yes of course."

"Good," she nodded. "Now. I said earlier, I'm not mad. But you do know that stealing is a bad thing, even if you do it with good intentions."

Aether slowly backed away. If he tried to help, he had a feeling it would end badly for all parties involved.

She smiled with glee. "That's not a good thing. Let me educate you on just what you've done, ufufu."


Lisa softly giggled as she bit into her shortcake.

'I never truly feel at ease outside my library,' she thought. 'Well, outside of my room of course.'

Aether and Paimon did the same. THough Aether didn't giggle, and Paimon was stuffing herself with the snacks.

Noelle did astonishing work on the snacks. They all liked them.

Aether sweatdropped at the complete 180 that Lisa's personality has been doing then, and even now. She was giggling and savoring the taste of the snacks Noelle had made for them with glee, as well as the tea that Noelle had made as well. You'd never have thought she was someone that had just spanked three teenagers just an hour ago.

…Yeah that was quite the sight to see, not that Aether would ever comment about it. Not in this life.

His eyes trailed off to her right, where her cauldron was at. His eyes narrowed.

"You can take a picture you know, it can last longer."

Aether chuckled. "No, it's not about that. It's just-"

Lisa nodded. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to ask the knights to give out portions to everybody, including those troublemakers," she chuckled. "Goodness knows I can't finish this all by my lonesome."

"No, still not that," Though he was surprised to hear that she was going to have the dish distributed to everyone. It did taste good. "I've been wondering about your cauldron."

"Ahhh," she nodded along. "You see, there is an ancient story about this cauldron and why I cherish it so dearly. Want to know about it?"

Paimon and Aether leaned in.

Lisa looked around before she leaned in as well. "The secret to the cauldron…"

"The secret to the cauldron…?"

Aether wondered what it would be. Was the cauldron a door to a secret civilization? Or maybe it was hiding a fairy that could grant no more than three wishes?

Or maybe it was a cauldron that housed a half-naked man in his journey to the stars with nothing but a hammer?

The possibilities were endless-

"Nothing."

Aether and Paimon almost face-planted onto the table. "W-What?" he asked.

Lisa smiled and clapped. "Nothing! There is absolutely nothing special about this cauldron. It's just a normal cauldron. Something you can find anywhere."

"I-I…"

"You were thinking there had to be something special, weren't you?" she asked. "For me to be so passionate about my cauldron, it couldn't simply be a normal one, right?"

"I… well…" he scratched his cheek. Paimon had already gone back to eating, though she was still dismayed. "Yes. I was."

"You're adorable," she chuckled. "But I have a question for you, Aether."

"Sure."

"Why does something have to be special before becoming special to someone?" she fondly gazed at the cauldron.

Aether raised an eyebrow. But he didn't say anything. He waited for her to continue.

"This cauldron doesn't make food tastier, or beverages better, or anything like that. It's simply a cauldron. One that's been with me for a long while," she smiled. "If it could talk, it would be my best friend and my worst rival. It's been with me for as long as I can remember."

"I see." he nodded.

"It doesn't have to have any special features, but maybe it's because of that normalcy that it's become special to me. Who knows?" she looked at Aether. "I'm sure you have something like that too. Something normal to everybody else, but you, it's something special. Something very dear to you."

Although Aether couldn't exactly relate or recall anything like that, he still nodded. He could understand the concept if nothing else.

She drank her tea. She sighed. "If only everything was just as simple."

Aether raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Lisa winked. "Everything comes at a price, Traveler. You may not pay now, you may not pay tomorrow, but soon enough you will," she shook her head. "Even something as simple as knowledge can come with a very hefty price."

"I see." Aether adopted a contemplative look.

Everything comes at a price, huh?

"Oh my, don't look so serious now. Here, have a cookie."

His thoughts were broken as Lisa all but shoved a whole cookie in his mouth. He struggled to bite down on it, but thankfully he managed to chew properly and avoid choking. He looks up to see Lisa's smiling face.

"Let's change to a more joyous topic now, shall we?" she said.

"Now, about this book you gifted me…"


Time flew so fast. It was already evening and they had done nothing but chat about books. Not that they ran out of snacks or tea. Noelle already refilled them many many times throughout the afternoon till evening.

Paimon was so full, that she fell asleep in aether's lap. She was snoring too.

Lisa chuckled. "How cute, she's just like a child."

"You'd be right. Acts like one too most of the time." Aether softly smiled.

Although he might've seemed annoyed, Lisa could tell that he truly cared for Paimon.

"You take really good care of her," she leaned in, hands on her chin as she winked. "You'd make a great father figure."

Aether blushed. From the way Lisa leaned in, he was dangerously close to having a glimpse of the heavenly valleys… and maybe a quick thunderbolt as well so he refrained from staring too long.

'Eyes up, Aether. Eyes up.'

It didn't help that Lisa chose that moment to yawn. She raised her hands to stretch which further emphasized her rather gifted chest.

"Well, I'm happy you could come by for my birthday. I enjoyed it just how I wanted to,"

"Of course. I had fun as well." As he said before, it was quite an experience.

"I think it's about time I turn in as well," she told him. "But before that, come with me. I know a spot where Paimon can sleep."

Aether nodded. He followed the librarian to a hidden room with a small couch. "Wow, I didn't know this was here."

"Of course, you didn't. That would defeat the purpose of a secret room," she smirked. "Just make sure you don't tell anyone."

He shook his head as he gently put Paimon on the couch to lay down and continue her slumber. "I won't."

Lisa nodded. "I know you wouldn't," she turned around and started walking, but she stopped. She tilted her head and called out to Aether. "Hey, Aether?"

It was still her birthday after all. Maybe she could be allowed this. For just this once.

"Yes?"

"Care to join me for a nightcap?"


AN: So, what's your answer going to be?