This seal is a lot more powerful than I thought it'd be, and whoever made it clearly made sure that there was no way you could get inside without breaking said seal. After my discussion with the previous owner, I successfully bought the house from him, then tried breaking down the door, because I can get it fixed at the end of the day, but it easily withstood my blows without budging. Very impressive.

So next, I tried breaking through the walls, because goodness knows how many moronic mages forget to enchant the entire building instead of only the door. It's as baffling as it is unreasonably hilarious.

But this particular mage wasn't as stupid, so that didn't work either. My final attempt was trying to enter the building through the chimney, but the seal extended there as well. An actually competent mage? In this day and age? I'm shocked.

Well, in all honesty, I wasn't particularly expecting it to be this easy, so I'm not bothered. I can do other things until I'm able to communicate with my sister and ask for a favor. I did take some notes regarding the seal; how it felt, the branch of magic, what kind of sealing technique, and so on. Should significantly help Carmine. If she decides to break it for me.

She's too nice not to, though, so I'm not worried.

True, the magic of this world isn't the same as the magic I use and grew up with, but it feels similar enough that it should be noted at least. Besides that, draconic magic can resonate with nearly every type of energy in existence, making it very powerful.

So with nothing left to do, I take a walk around the city with no destination in mind. I don't feel like taking another commission so soon, and I'm not really sure what I want to do. That is until I stumble on a cozy little bar near the east end of the city called "The Cat's Tail". I could use a drink. The selection back at the inn wasn't very impressive, just beers and their equivalent of whiskey.

A bell rings as I enter the building, but I find nobody inside, which is fair. It is still quite early at the moment, but there are no bartenders either, and that's a little odd. I shrug and grab the doorknob to leave, thinking they're closed and maybe forgot to lock the door, then stop as I hear a voice.

"What do you want?"

I turn around and blink at the child peeking from behind the counter, looking at me with mild annoyance. Pink hair, bright teal eyes, and adorable cat ears that twitch as I meet her gaze. I give her a disarming smile and respond politely.

"Hello. Do you work here?" I ask and she nods slowly. "Are you open by any chance?"

"The door was open, wasn't it?" She deadpans before repeating her previous question. "What do you want?"

I ignore the admittedly cute passive-aggressive response and sit on the stool in front of her.

"Well, I don't know much about the brews you have here," I admit. "So give me your best and most expensive."

"...It's gonna cost you, you know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't." I wave off her warning.

The little girl narrows her eyes at me for a silent moment before jumping off and taking out three bottles from the bottom right corner, mixing them together alongside some strange ingredients, making me raise a brow. I've made my own fair share of alcohol before, so I know how important innovation is, but I don't think some of them belong anywhere near a drink. Is that slime gel? Some animal claws?

And it's not as if she's trying to hide this from me. She's clearly adding these weird things to my drink right in front of my eyes. Part of their culture perhaps? I don't know, but it's certainly not something I've ever seen before. I hope it isn't poison, as unlikely as that is. I hate killing children.

She grabs a glass from under the counter with her tail and puts it in front of me, pouring the mixed liquid into it. The girl has a somewhat smug expression for whatever reason as she looks at me, making me take the glass with a blink.

It smells sweet, almost like a strawberry sunrise mixed with rum.

"You look very proud of this, young lady," I say before trying it out. "Is it a personal recipe?"

"You'll see." She replies ominously.

With that, I bring the glass to my mouth and drink it in one gulp, eyes widening in surprise at the rich taste. This is very, very well-made. It tastes like it was made by a master with several thousand years of experience in the business.

It's certainly not the best thing I've ever had, but compared to what I had here, it blows everything out of the water. This is the kind of quality I wouldn't mind selling in my own personal bars even, and if there is one thing I can be very picky over, it's alcohol.

"I haven't had a drink this good in a long while. Well done." I praise with a satisfied smile. "You should be very proud of this, Miss. You have an enormous talent for someone your age."

"How does this keep happening?!" Her smirk drops, replaced with a frustrated snarl as she lifts her up to the counter. "Every single time!"

"Pardon?"

"You're not supposed to enjoy this!" She points at me with a cute growl. "You were supposed to spit it out and complain that it's bad, then leave and never come back for a drink again!"

"I'm not very sure that's a good business tactic, Miss." I rub my chin in thought, still not understanding her outburst. "Wouldn't you be losing money?"

"I don't care about money!" She protests.

"Then why shouldn't I enjoy this?"

"Because alcohol is terrible for you and it should be illegal." The girl argues.

This is, of course, funny to me because of where we are and what she is. Still, I've gotten slightly interested and now I want to know more.

"Well, yes, but why work here if that's what you feel about it?" I questioned. "Wouldn't you feel better if you worked someplace else? I saw the flower shop next door hiring."

It is very strange to me that they're willing to let a child work in a bar as a bartender of all things, but I've made my siblings do much worse for my amusement when they were young, so I can't criticize them.

But after having a taste of her talents, I can see why. I can't imagine what she'll be able to do if that talent was cultivated to its absolute peak. I almost want to just take her away and make her work for me instead.

"Pff, I don't care about any of that." She sneers, but I still find this very cute. "I want to destroy this dumb wine industry so everyone stops drinking."

"...By making people have bad drinks?" I tilt my head, an amused smirk becoming prominent on my face.

"Obviously. If people had the worst alcohol ever, they'd never drink it again." She explains her flawless plan. "That way the industry will collapse and dad– everyone will feel better."

I catch that slip-up but don't bring it up. Something to do with her father? How admirable. I chuckle audibly, though, which seems to annoy her to some extent.

"What's so funny?!"

"Well, I'm only wondering how that would work," I say, confusing her. "Even if you make terrible alcohol, wouldn't people simply go to another bar?"

"Well, Cat Tail's is the most popular bar in Mondstadt." She argues, staring down at me.

"Because you have good drinks," I reply coolly. "If the quality were to degrade, you wouldn't have any customers. They'll just go somewhere else for their beer or whiskey, no?"

"I-I'll just keep making bad drinks, then!" She says as she crosses her arms.

"Nobody would buy them." I shoot that down a bit cruelly.

She flinches at that, struggling to find a retort as she slowly sees the flaw in her plan.

"This is how businesses work, Miss." I shrug. "If you make bad products, consumers will simply ignore you and look for better quality from other merchants. There is no possible way to stop an entire industry with such a tactic."

"B-but everyone says I can do it!" She tries to argue, but I can see her hope draining fast if the tears in her eyes are anything to go by.

Well, they likely did not want to crush her hopes like I'm doing at the moment, and they enjoyed her drinks too much to actually help. She is only a child after all.

"You can," I confirm. "Just not in this method."

The little girl pauses, waiting for me to elaborate.

"Any industry can be brought to ruin, but it isn't easy." I continue, giving her back hope. "And with the way you're doing it, you don't have a chance at succeeding."

"How do I do it, then?!" She wipes her eyes before leaning closer to me. "Tell me!"

"Hmm, I don't know..." I tease with a grin. "I like alcohol, you know?"

"What? No, you have to tell me!" She insists, grabbing me by the collar. I feel some divine energy from her now that she's so close. Another Vision Wielder? "You can't just say all that and then not tell me how to do it!"

"What will I do once you succeed?" I say. "I can't just let you do that… unless you can offer compensation?"

I'm having too much fun with her. Now, why would I possibly even consider the idea seeing how much I adore alcohol? Because this can go two ways, and both will be incredibly amusing to me. Either she tries to do it and I laugh at her failing every time – I'm not above laughing at children – or she miraculously succeeds, entertaining me greatly. The Alcohol Industry of Mondstadt, ruined by a child. Somehow. Comedy Gold.

True, I might lose the good drinks here, but I can always go somewhere else to have my fill. Better yet, make my own bar. Show them how we do it in my homeworld. Then again, taking care of a business is too much work for me personally. Though, I can just ask some subordinates to do it for me, assuming I'm able to smuggle them here without Mother noticing.

Decisions, decisions…

The little girl looks at me in suspicion.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, how about entering something like a partnership with me." I offer. "You give me the best drinks you can make at a discount, and I give you advice on how to ruin the industry."

"...That's it? That's all you want?" She blinks.

"It is," I confirm with a nod. "So–"

"Deal!" She takes my free hand with both of hers and shakes it with a smile.

I'm not sure if she even has the authority for it, but it's the owner's fault for leaving a child here unsupervised. Children are so foolish and I love it.

"Then here's your first advice," I say as she looks at me intently. "If you want to ruin the industry, you must attack its heart."

"Its heart…" She parrots, almost in awe at the flare I put into my words. "What does that mean?"

I don't respond verbally and simply glance at my empty glass. The girl notices and pouts before getting off the counter to make me another drink. She couldn't possibly think I'd tell her everything she needs to know immediately.

I'm going to be needlessly cryptic whilst squeezing every drop of alcohol I can. We'll see how long she's going to take before catching on.

"You know, I haven't asked for your name yet," I mention. "I'm Crimson, pleased to meet you."

"...Diona." She answers after a moment.

"You have a very cute name, Diona."

She only puffs her cheeks adorably at that, though, her tail wagging faster tells me all I need to know.

– Jean –

"A red Cryo Regisvine?" She raised a brow. "Are you sure?"

"You can ask Fischl if you don't believe us," Paimon said, floating next to her partner.

"No, I believe you." Jean shook her head. "It's just odd. I've never heard or seen anything of the like."

"It did surprise us." Lumine nodded. "It was a lot more aggressive than usual. Tougher, too."

"Do you know why it was like this?" The Acting Grandmaster questioned, feeling an incoming headache. Another possible threat? Already? "What caused the change, I mean."

"Err, well, not really?" The Traveler scratched her cheek. "I have a theory, but I'm not sure if it's plausible."

"Let's hear it."

"There's a dragon corpse in Dragonspine, right? I've seen some of the remains." Lumine asked, prompting Jean to nod in confirmation. "I've seen this happen in other worlds before, but sometimes, powerful creatures leave behind some essence upon death. I think maybe it leaked into the ground and affected the Regisvine?"

Jean put a hand on her chin as she mulled over the possibility. She'd never heard of such a thing happening, but Lumine had traveled to multiple realms and seen things she couldn't even dream of.

It might not be necessarily true, but it could happen.

"I'm not fully sure it applies here– Dragonspine Hilichurls don't look any different after all." The Traveler shrugged. "But if it's true, then I don't think you have to worry about this happening anywhere else."

"I see…" Jean responded. "I'll send a detachment there at once. Perhaps having Albedo examine the area would be wise. Regardless, thank you once again for taking care of a dangerous threat, Lumine. I'm in your debt."

"Oh no, I didn't do much, to be honest."

"Yup!" Paimon quipped before Jean could get a word in. "Crimson showed up and beat it up real fast! With like, his bare hands, too!"

"Pretty much." The Honorary Knight confirmed, making Jean feel a pit in her stomach. "It was kicking us around like we're ragdolls."

"Well, you did damage its crystal a bit," Paimon argued.

"It easily broke my sword. I barely did anything."

"Crimson? The one you vouched for?" Jean interjected. "Tall, black hair, red eyes?"

"Yes, that guy." Lumine nodded. "You met him?"

A deep, exhausted sigh escaped her as she rubbed her eyes tiredly.

At the moment, Jean was praying to every Archon to end her suffering right there and then. Why did it always loop back to him? Was this some kind of a sick joke? At this point, she was convinced he was doing this on purpose.

It felt like he was having fun being a complete nuisance, but Jean wasn't brave enough to directly confront him about it. She couldn't risk earning his ire. Someone that absurdly strong could easily do a lot of damage.

He'd already made a powerful impression on Klee – Jean hated seeing the child cry after telling her to avoid him – and was slowly becoming close to Barbara, putting the Acting Grandmaster on edge. All she could do was observe him, but honestly, Jean wasn't sure if she could last very long like this. The stress was getting to her.

Jean's gaze turned to Lumine, meeting the traveler's golden eyes before getting an idea. They'd worked together a few times– perhaps she has some information.

"I have." Jean nodded. "Unfortunately, I don't know much about him as an individual. You've fought alongside him more than once. Do you know why he's so powerful?"

"Well, he did say he was a dragon." Paimon casually revealed, making Jean do a double take.

What.

"Paimon, that isn't for you to tell others!" Lumine scolded, looking quite angry.

"He didn't seem to think it was that much of a big deal, though." Her companion shrugged. "I don't think he'd actually care if we told anyone."

"You don't know that." She argued. "Maybe he just trusted us enough to tell us."

"That was the first time he met Fischl, though." Paimon tilted her head innocently.

"That's–" Lumine paused, struggling to continue the argument.

"He's a dragon?" Jean parroted as it all started making sense. His strength, presence that exuded power, skill in his match with Eula… "I… See…"

That… well, Jean wasn't sure if that was good or not. Knowing what he was made her feel a little better, but that was just going to end up stressing her out even more. What was a dragon doing here and what did he want? What was his goal? And not just a normal dragon, but one from a different world. She'd never seen one that looked exactly like a human, though. Not like that changed much.

But it definitely explained why he was unbelievably strong. Silver Lining?

"There's no use arguing now." Lumine sighed, glancing back at Jean. "Please don't tell anyone about this. I'm not comfortable with being the reason everybody knows what he is."

Jean wasn't planning on that, but she did get a little curious.

"Are you friends with him?"

"I'd like to think so, yeah." Lumine nodded. "He saved our lives today too, so I owe him."

Jean winced but quickly recovered, returning to a neutral expression. She considered getting her in on this whole thing, but now she wasn't very sure it would be a good idea. Lumine probably wouldn't take to this very well.

"I see." She'd think about it later. "In another matter: what of your journey to Liyue? Will you be leaving soon?"

"As soon as one or two weeks. I have a few things I want to do here before leaving." She answered. "Though, I pretty much have everything I need. Well, except a sword."

"I can give you one from the armory if you'd like."

"Ah no, I already paid the blacksmith to make me one." Lumine waved it off. "Thanks for offering, though."

"Of course." Jean smiled. "Good luck with your search. May the steadfast winds guide you."

Lumine smiled back and walked out of the office, leaving Jean on her own.

So they were dealing with a second dragon problem.

Lovely.

– Sucrose –

She didn't know what possessed her to eavesdrop on the Acting Grandmaster's conversation with the Traveler, but Sucrose certainly didn't mean it. She had been on her way to Albedo's lab to continue some of her experiments only to hear about the new Adventurer's identity.

She'd heard about him, of course. Who hadn't? The mysterious adventurer that managed to easily defeat one of their brightest in a duel without even breaking a sweat. Sucrose was there– she'd witnessed the duel herself.

Like everyone else, she'd thought he was extraordinarily powerful, deserving of the respect and even caution of the knights. She was surprised that Jean never offered him a spot in the Knights of Favonius, but that wasn't her business.

Other than that, Sucrose hadn't been very interested in him. Other than his incredible strength, he seemed very normal, and she didn't understand why Albedo was keeping such a close eye on him. It wasn't every day that her teacher would keep tabs on someone.

That is until she learned that he was an honest-to-god dragon.

A dragon. An actual dragon. Sucrose's fascination increased by a thousandfold as her curiosity grew rapidly. What was a dragon doing here? Why did he look like a human? Where did he come from? Was that why he was so powerful?

So many questions were going through her head that she couldn't even focus on what she was doing. This was a perfect opportunity to learn about a thrilling species without throwing herself in danger. He seemed very cordial though, and for all her social anxiety, Sucrose just couldn't contain herself anymore.

Hilichurls were interesting and all, but they are everywhere.

So after excusing herself, which did garner confusion from her teacher, Sucrose immediately began her search for this dragon. She didn't have a lot of information on where he could be, so she steeled herself and started asking questions. She hoped he wasn't doing any commissions at the moment.

Several minutes later, Sucrose found herself in front of Cat's Tail. The sun was already setting and she didn't have much time, so she took a deep breath and slowly opened the door to the bar.

Her target was sitting on the stool in front of the counter, not bothering to look back at her. There wasn't anybody else inside, which was perfect– it was a bit too early for anyone to visit the bar anyway. Nervously, Sucrose approached him, gripping her notebook close to her chest. She leaned a little close to him and spoke softly.

"Um, excuse me?" She said, prompting him to look at her. "Mr. Crimson, yes?"

"And you are?"

"Sucrose, I'm an alchemist with the Knights of Favonius." She introduced herself. "I hope I'm not bothering you, but is it okay if I ask you a few questions?"

"I don't mind." He smiled at her politely. "Take a seat."

"Yes, thank you."

Sucrose sat on the stool next to him, feeling slightly more confident than she was a few minutes ago. Alright, so far so good.

"Would you like a drink?" He offered, gesturing at the bottle.

"Oh no, I don't drink. It's kind of you to offer, though." Sucrose smiled at him.

"Suit yourself." He shrugged, pouring himself another pint. "What would you like to know, then?"

"It's about your biology." She said, making him pause. "I've… heard that you were a dragon."

"Ah, I assume Lumine or Fischl told you?" He nodded, not really minding it. "You know them, then?"

"I do, yes. They're good… friends of mine." Sucrose hesitated to say 'friends'. She didn't know what being friends with someone even implied. "I hope it's not a personal topic."

"Oh no, please go on." He waved it off, his smile never leaving his face. "Drinking in silence can be boring, so this should help pass the time. I'll answer to the best of my ability."

Success!

It took a lot of her self-control to stop a deep sigh of relief from escaping her. Sucrose was very worried that he'd refuse to answer, and for a moment, didn't really know how to approach it. The Traveler was right: being direct could help a lot.

"Thank you very much!" Sucrose bowed. "Okay then, first question."

"Shoot."

"Why is it that you look like a normal human?" She asked. "Are you from some sort of subspecies of dragons?"

"Hmm, well, to put it simply, some dragons can shapeshift." He answered with a hand on his chin as she furiously noted down everything he said. "Most of that category are limited in that regard, though, usually only capable of turning into humanoids."

"I see, I see." She nodded. "So are you able to turn into a regular dragon, then?"

"Naturally. Personally, though, I prefer this form. It's smaller, more comfortable, and I retain most of my strength anyway." He shrugged before downing his drink.

"Would that imply everything a dragon can do?" She continued questioning, then clarified as he stared at her with a raised brow. "I mean breathing fire, flying, etcetera."

"Indeed. Though, I'd need to regrow my wings to fly." He explained, making her more interested. "I can fly without them using my magic of course, but that isn't part of my biology, so I imagine it doesn't interest you."

"You can regrow appendages?"

"Would you like a demonstration?" He smirked as she nodded profusely.

"I'd love to!"

Crimson put his glass down and extended his arm, and right before her eyes, pitch-black scales grew around and encased it. Sucrose was in awe– she'd never seen such a thing in her life as a bio-alchemist before. Rapidly growing scales weren't something ever recorded about ancient dragons, or anything for that matter.

And she could tell that there was no magic involved. This was pure biology at hand, and it fascinated her to no end. A dragon that could shapeshift and instantly grow appendages like it was nothing.

"Wow." Sucrose leaned forward, studying the scales up close. "This is incredible."

"You can touch them if you want." He offered, and she instantly took him up on it.

She took a glove off and trailed her hand on the surprisingly smooth scales, easily feeling their hardness and density. These could take punishment, and they completely covered his limb. She couldn't see a single spot of his skin– not even the most precise of strikes can get through.

"They're…" Sucrose paused, looking for the right word. "Tough. Very tough."

"They're also heat and cold resistant." He explained further. "Not even volcanic eruptions or blizzards can weaken them."

It was the perfect defense mechanism against any kind of predator. Though, Sucrose wasn't sure that a dragon could be prey to anything. They were at the top of the food chain already, and he was likely a special case as well.

After some time, Sucrose finally noticed that she's been mesmerized by his scales for far too long, and quickly pulled her hand away from him, face burning in embarrassment as he chuckled at her.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to touch them for too long." She apologized, wearing her glove again.

"Nothing to worry about." He waved it off casually, patting her head. "I offered, after all."

More blood rushed to her head at the physical contact before she occupied herself with noting down every thought she had. Of course, she wanted more than just writing her thoughts.

She could already think of so many experiments she could do with his scales, but she couldn't exactly take him with her. She doubted he'd even entertain the thought. They didn't even know each other that much.

She was still staring at them, though. A mixture of dismay, curiosity, and longing was evident on her face. What a shame. The things she could learn from him– a special kind of dragon never heard of before. It got her starving for knowledge.

"You seem especially interested in my scales." He noted, making her flinch.

"I–I'm very, very sorry, Mr. Crimson! I didn't mean to stare." She bowed. "I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."

"Oh no, you didn't." He denied it. "I was actually thinking of giving you one."

"Giving?" She tilted her head quizzically.

"You said you were an alchemist." He said, and she nodded. "I assume you spend quite a lot of time doing experiments."

"Yes, that's true." She confirmed.

"Then would you like a scale or two to study?" He offered kindly.

"A-are you sure?" Sucrose was shocked. She didn't expect him to just straight up give her one. "I don't want to force you to do anything."

"I'm doing this out of my own volition." His gentle smile made her heart skip a beat. "Let's say it's a gift from your newest friend."

"That's… Thank you very much!" She bowed gratefully, deeply touched by this gesture. "But how will you do this? Can you force yourself to shed? Or something along those lines?"

He didn't answer verbally. Crimson simply grabbed a scale with his other arm and pulled. Sucrose was in horrified silence as he forcefully ripped the scale from his arm, a few drops of blood spilling on his pants.

This was very obviously incredibly painful– she'd seen creatures scream in agony after suffering a similar thing, but Crimson? His expression didn't even budge. He simply handed her the scale after cleaning it off his blood with the same calm smile he always had.

"Here." He said, putting it in her hand.

"A-a-are you okay?!" She stood from her seat, extremely concerned. "That couldn't have been healthy!"

"I'm used to worse." He waved it off casually as the rest of the scales retracted back into his skin. "This will suffice, I hope?"

"Uh- I- well, y-yes." She stammered, unsure how to respond after that abrupt display of brutality. Sucrose shook her head, getting that image out of her mind for now. "Thank you so much for your time and this opportunity, Mr. Crimson. I will repay you someday, I promise."

"Of course." He responded. "If you'd like more, ask, and I shall oblige."

"That's kind of you." Sucrose beamed at him "I'll leave you alone now. Thanks again!"

With that, Sucrose put the scale in her bag and exited the bar, skipping a step from how excited she was to research and learn more about this. Her Hilichurl project could wait for a bit.

She had a much bigger project going on right now, and she couldn't wait to tell Albedo about it.

– Lumine –

"Is it me, or did Jean look a little weird to you?" Paimon asked after exiting the Knight of Favonius HQ. "When we mentioned Crimson, she looked a bit pale."

"I noticed it too," Lumine confirmed. "But they just dealt with a dragon, so maybe she's being wary."

Her companion hummed, not looking convinced. She did find it weird how Paimon had these moments where she was remarkably sharp. Lumine was almost entirely sure that the 'fat fairy' was a child. Then again, children have their moments.

Still, the Acting Grandmaster did look very exhausted– more than when Dvalin was a threat to the kingdom. She looked worried even more Lumine mentioned Crimson being a dragon, so there must be something going on that she was unaware of.

She'd lend a hand, but Lumine didn't want to stay here for possibly several more months and never look beyond Monstadt for Aether. He had to be out there somewhere, maybe searching for her too.

Lumine frowned slightly. She'd been getting very worried about him– she couldn't feel him through their link either. That mysterious goddess broke it when she kidnapped him somehow. For all her concerns, though, she knew that Aether was still alive. Her brother wouldn't die very easily, not even to gods. He was the strongest person she knew.

She shook her head to dispel those scary thoughts and sighed deeply. It was getting late– the sun had set and she was hungry. She should probably stop by the inn for some grub and head straight to bed.

As she walked through the dimly lit city, Lumine paused as she saw someone approaching her. She couldn't quite see who it was until he stepped into the light of a lamp. Tall, black hair, and red eyes, Crimson waved at her with a flushed face as he held a bottle in his other hand.

"Lumine!" He called out before hiccuping. "Fancy seeing you here."

Lumine quickly realized that he was probably drunk if the slight slur in his words was anything to go by. Still, she couldn't help but smile at him, almost sympathetically even. It didn't take a genius to realize that he drank a lot, and he'd probably wake up in agony.

"What are you doing out so late?" Paimon asked, floating in front of him before flinching back. "Ew, you reek of alcohol!"

"I've been drinking for hours. There." He pointed back. "Did you know that the bartender is a tiny cat girl? I've never seen anything more adorable than that."

"You met Diona?" Lumine asked.

"Mhm…" He answered, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Someone also visited to ask some questions, but that isn't-hic-important. I actually have something for you. A gift."

This instantly caught her attention.

"You do?"

He flicked his hand and a business card promptly appeared in it. Lumine blinked and took the card, reading what was on it. 'Ama Clan Heavenly Confidant Card' a strange symbol above it, and a phone number underneath. She was very confused until Crimson started explaining.

"I'm only giving you this because I like you, and I think you're very cute."

This, of course, got a reaction out of her as she blushed heavily. She knew it was just the alcohol talking, but she very much enjoyed the praise, especially from a very handsome man. It made her heart flutter.

"W-whose number is this?" She asked a slight stutter in her voice.

"This is the number of my clan." He answered. "You just have to call them and they'll do whatever you want. But only call when you absolutely have to, because it works only once."

"A clan of what?"

Lumine was getting increasingly more concerned with what he was giving her. An ominous feeling told her that she wasn't supposed to have this, or even see it at all.

"But you have to get the password right, else you-hic- else you die." He warns, ignoring her other question.

Several red flags made themselves known, but she didn't even get to protest before he continued, giving her the 'password'.

"Password is 'I Love Carmine."

"O-okay?"

Crimson stared at her blankly for a moment before speaking once again.

"...You even know what a phone is?"

"Wha– Of course, I do!" She said, sounding slightly offended. "I traveled several worlds and you think I don't know what a phone is?"

"Good, good." He patted her on the head. "Anyway, I'll continue my walk now. Have fun~"

"You're drunk." Lumine grabbed his arm as he began to walk away. 'Drunk' was an understatement. "I'll lead you to the inn."

"Shut up Carmine, you big nerd. I know what I'm doing." He snorted, pulling his arm away.

Crimson 'continued' his walk, for like, a few seconds, then fell face first into a dirty puddle, losing consciousness. What did he even drink? How much did he drink? Lumine rubbed the bridge of her nose as her 'bestest' companion watched the whole thing unfold in complete confusion.

"What's a phone?"

Never change, Paimon.

All caught up. Now you're gonna have to wait for them chapters.