Edited by: Priapus, Old man of the mountain, Immortal Spank

Hi, to those who aren't aware, I now have a pat re on—an actual one with genuine benefits. You can read five chapters of this, Optimistic Game, and DxD: Like a Devil ahead of everyone else, alongside other funny stuff. Yes, this means chapter 18 of this fic has just been uploaded.

"You're the worst." My beloved sister deadpans through the holographic screen emitted by the watch, looking at me with slight disappointment. "We both know it'd be easy for you to clear up everything and seduce them normally. There was no point in doing any of what you've done."

Heh, I knew she would disapprove of what I've been doing. She's a bit too… I want to say stuck up, but that's not it. Not that she's incapable of having fun, but it's more like she's too nice to do anything close to what I did to Jean or Lisa.

Unfortunately, I'm in too deep to stop now. Even though she's my only weakness, I won't stop until I get Jean on her knees for me. I think that's my main goal here in Mondstadt, because once I do that, I'll have virtually beaten the Knights of Favonius. Which, from what I've noticed so far, substitutes the government for the region.

Then off to the next nation to mess with.

"But that's not fun," I snort, leaning against the pillow on my bed. "Really, what would be different if I had taken that route I always take?"

"Your charisma is one of your strongest qualities," She argues. "There's a reason that you were always our mother's first choice whenever it came to diplomacy."

"So?" I raise a brow.

"It wouldn't even take you hours before you get them dancing on the palm of your hand," Carmine says. "You're always able to effortlessly make people follow you around with just a few words. I could never do that."

"Carmine, you hate people."

"I dislike socializing."

"That's just a nicer way of saying, 'I hate people'."

"The point is, I don't understand why you go through all of this tedious work if the end goal is the same." She sighs, ignoring my quips. "You are lazy; you even acknowledge it, yet when it comes to these things, you always prefer the hard method. I don't get it."

"You don't get it because your mind is always in 'work mode', while mine isn't." I tap my head a few times to make a point. "I do all this 'tedious work' not because I care about competency but because I find it utterly hilarious. I'm enjoying what I'm doing, even if it's not efficient, because it's part of the game."

Carmine looks at me in silence for a few moments, seemingly trying to study my face as I look at her with a casual smile. It's a bit funny, really. She says she doesn't understand me, while I don't understand her. It's always 'work' with her, day in and day out.

Workaholic people exist; that is true, but this has gone on for millions of years now.

And it would've been fine if not for the fact that she doesn't need to work anymore. She can do anything else, whatever she wants, and what she does is just… continue working, as if she would completely stop functioning without something to do. If not for our mother outright stopping her, Carmine would've been at the top of our clan's management team.

Fortunately, she does take a break every ten thousand years—it was not voluntary; our mother forced it on her—during which she stays holed up in her room and plays video games 24/7 for a decade straight. Personally? I wholeheartedly approve. I myself don't bother, but I get the appeal.

Still, she's an odd one, for sure.

"You're so strange," Carmine says, her thoughts mirroring mine.

"That's simply the difference between us," I shrug. "And that is fine. It has been like this for so long, yet we're practically best friends. I reckon we'll continue taking care of each other as we always have."

"That's true." She agrees. "Still, I find it kind of fascinating."

"Do you?"

"You weren't always like this," Carmine says. "In fact, you were more proactive than me. Always looking forward to doing more work."

Ah, yes, those times. Aside from the general praise I got from my mother being one of my driving factors—truly embarrassing times—I was what some people would call an attention whore, desiring the spotlight more than materialistic gain. I didn't care about money or gadgets; I only cared about my image.

Now, of course, keeping a good reputation is essential, especially if you're a leader. But I was a child. I didn't understand how things worked or what being feared or loved actually meant.

But after a point, I simply stopped caring. It made no sense to me anymore. Why care about what ants think of you anyway?

"And you used to always be glued to my side." I tease her in response, remembering her 'shy' phase. "People change with time, Carmine. I thought you knew that already."

Carmine opens her mouth to argue, but then concedes instead.

"Fair enough." She responds, then smiles at me in amusement. "To be honest with you, seeing you be active again would feel rather uncanny. Please stay lazy and never change."

"Way ahead of you," I chuckle. "Now, is there any reason you called me? You know you woke me up, yes? The sun is about to come up, and I want to go back to sleep."

Carmine pauses for a moment, as if she's trying to formulate her following sentence carefully.

"Nothing much. I just wanted to check up on you." She answers, making me hum in intrigue. "Whatever our mother implied back there made me a bit worried."

Right, that. Yes, that also concerns me, but there is nothing I can do to stop it. I have no leads or ideas on what it could be, so trying to predict it is a lost cause. What I can do is prepare to take it head-on.

However, that implies that she also has something in store for Carmine. Although I'm not sure what it could be, my sister was always extremely cautious, developing dozens of backup plans in case her main one didn't work. And knowing her, she's probably already aware that our mother set something up for her as well.

Catching Carmine off guard in a situation like this is impossible unless Mother goes overboard.

"Aw, how sweet of you. As expected from my big sister."

"I'm serious." She frowns a bit. "You have to be careful. I know you're strong and clever enough to control most situations, but you might not be as equipped to handle whatever she throws at you—not with most of your powers locked away."

"I think you worry too much. I'll be fine." I roll my eyes. I'm concerned, but I don't want to stress her out. "I already told you I'm more powerful than the gods of–"

"Crimson, you can't fuck your way out of whatever she has prepared for you." She cuts me off, her swearing catching me by surprise. "Nor 'reality-warp' it away. Please, stay alert."

"I will, I will."

Carmine doesn't look convinced one bit.

"Promise me."

I blink, and a frown of genuine annoyance takes over my expression for the first time in a very long time.

"You know I hate it when you do that," I say quietly. "I don't like making promises."

"I know, and I'm sorry." She apologizes sheepishly. "But I just worry about you too much. I don't want you to get hurt."

Whatever irritation I have evaporates instantly as I meet her soft eyes. Having a sister this adorable is both a blessing and a curse. It's unreasonable and should be illegal. My heart cannot handle it.

"...I promise," I say after some hesitation and a deep sigh.

Carmine brightens up immediately as she hears me say it, giving me the most charming smile in every reality that could give even the darkest and most evil of gods a heart attack. I would've died if I weren't so used to seeing it.

"That's good to hear." She says, pleased. "I'd chat more, but I have some work that needs to be done."

"This early?" I glance at the window; the sun only rose a minute ago.

"I need money." She says, muttering the second part. "The food bill isn't going to pay itself."

"Neither is a private residence."

Carmine looks at me in annoyance. Oh, I am so going to hold this over her for years to come.

And I think she knows that.

"I hope whatever Mother intends for you hurts you deeply."

"I love you too, Carmine."

She ends the call, not bothering to respond to my declaration of affection.

This was fun, but now I'm too awake to go back to sleep, and I haven't had my fill of entertainment yet. I'm very close to reaching level 100. Killing a few hundred soldiers that day brought me up quite a bit. Maybe I should visit Lumine and finish up a few Commissions with her.

Or perhaps I'll take Klee out on another picnic. It's already been three days since I had my way with Lisa, and I've been bored out of my mind since. Seeing her panicking from a distance as she looked for me around the entire city was rather hilarious, though.

I haven't done much other than that. Nothing interesting has been happening. Mona's apparently nocturnal and spends most of her time in her laboratory, so I can't even have interesting conversations while here. Really, I spent most of my time sleeping, drinking, fucking Venti, or taking a few laps around the world. With the sole purpose of avoiding Lisa and the Knights, of course.

Admittedly, running into Eula and having to defeat her was fun as well. That bit was going smoothly, and she still hadn't noticed a thing. Now, though, I can do whatever I want. The problem is that I don't know what I should do. Maybe I'll take a walk and think about it.

I stretch my limbs and get off the bed, rolling my neck in the process as I open the door. I notice Mona in the living room, her hair down, wearing a simple white t-shirt and black shorts, and looking very tired from the bags under her eyes as she pours herself a cup of coffee.

Right, her sleep schedule is flipped on its head. I can relate to that.

"Ah, Crimson." Mona glances at me. "Good morning."

"Good morning," I respond and raise a brow, closing the door of my room behind me. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Somewhat." She rubs her eyes. "I'm a bit exhausted. That's all."

"Pulling an all-nighter again?"

"Y-yes, but for a reason." Mona clears her throat nervously as she sees my unimpressed look. "I'm just about to make a breakthrough. I can feel it."

I'm sure she is. I've heard those two lines uttered by several people.

None of them made a breakthrough.

I approach the astrologist, stealing a glance at her rear before putting a hand over hers from behind her. She lets out a startled squeak as I move the cup of coffee away from her face, putting it back on the counter.

"It's not healthy to stay up so late, you know," I say.

"O-oh, you don't have to worry about me." She stammers out, her cheeks going red. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm used to it."

"Well, you shouldn't be," I argue, inching closer to her. "You're not exactly in a hurry for anything, are you?"

"N-not… particularly…" Mona replies in a quiet voice.

"Then there's nothing stopping you from studying later."

Only barely noticing how close I am to her, Mona's face flares up as she says nothing. Hmm, I expected a little resistance. Either she's too tired or she's that easy. She does look rather young, in her early twenties at most. And if I understand her character, she's the intellectual and studious type. Little to no experience in romance or sex.

She never stood a chance, did she? Well, it's not like I want to bully her, so it's okay. I'm a good roommate, after all.

"In fact, how about once you wake up, we have that chat we both look forward to?" I offer. "We still haven't conversed much, after all."

My words seem to affect her, as she hesitates. It's not hard to convince someone on the verge of falling asleep, and being physically close to her isn't doing her any favors. Eventually, she lets go of the cup.

"I suppose you're right." She relents. "A few hours won't hurt."

"Precisely."

I let go of her and backpedaled a few steps. Mona glances at me, slightly embarrassed but not at all uncomfortable with me. I'd say she even enjoyed it.

"We're going to have a very long conversation." She says, pointing at me and opening the door to her bedroom. "So you better not back out when it happens."

"On the contrary, dear Mona." I grin. "I'm looking forward to it nearly as much as you are."

"Good." She smiles back. "Then I'll retire for the night. Er, well, day."

"Sleep well."

She gives me a wave before entering, closing the door behind her. You know, aside from her looks and especially her ass, having a talented mage and knowledgeable astrologer in my pocket might come in handy in the future. I should try harder with her.

But now that that's taken care of, what should I do? I doubt anyone I know is awake at the moment, so all I can do is run around and do a few commissions. Perhaps I should take my time with them this time. Not like I have to hurry for anything.

Sounds good for now.

I glance at the mug of coffee Mona left. I don't like coffee, but I dislike wasting things even more. I grab the still-steaming mug and drink its contents in one gulp, scrunching up my face not at its temperature but at its taste. Ugh, it's not even the good kind of bitter.

However, as soon as I exit the house, I pause, meeting Eula's determined glare. I take a moment to process what she is doing here, but she beats me to it before I ask and opens up with her usual challenge.

"Took you long enough." She scoffs.

"Were you…" I blink and notice the lack of Amber on her side. "...waiting for me here? For how long?"

"Meet me at the usual grounds." She doesn't acknowledge my question. "And don't you dare ignore me."

With that, she simply walks away. I'm impressed with her resolve. I knew she wanted to beat me, but waiting for me this early was a bit overboard. Though, to be fair, it isn't below me to try and avoid her, so perhaps she caught on to that fact quicker than Lisa did.

Oh well, I'm still entertained. I wonder what I should have her do this time?

– Eula –

"So then, Ms. Lawrence," the ruffian began, walking beside her on the road outside the city. "You haven't spoken much about yourself."

Eula's expression twitched. Here he was again, chatting her up like nothing had happened before. Seeing him so casual and nonchalant about their duels annoyed her to the extreme. Did he think she was too weak to mention her skills? How could he do that? Be so unreasonably laid-back?

Did he not think their battles were that big of a deal? He had never even bothered to use a weapon once, even though she was inching closer to victory. As if he thought she was some third-rate swordswoman with a fourth-rate blade. How dare he treat her like nothing. Vengeance will be hers.

And now, after beating her for the seventh time, he had the gall to drag her on some of his stupid errands. She had bigger things to worry about than some Hilichurl camps. She was a Favonius Captain, not some random grunt.

This was probably his way of mocking her and her pride. Of course, he just wanted to humiliate her, and she didn't even know what she did to garner this response from him. He was just a rascal with no respect for knights or anyone of authority, for that matter.

The only thing impressive about him was his skill in battle. As shameful as it was to admit it, Crimson was incredibly strong, considering he did not possess a Vision. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but it made Eula somewhat envious. Why couldn't he have been a respectful and good-natured man who helped the people around him?

Well, at least his demands haven't been anything catastrophic. Eula could handle a bit of irritation.

"Why should I?" She replied scathingly.

Her harsh response seemingly caught him off guard as he paused and blinked in confusion.

"Well, no reason in particular." He responded. "I only want to know more about you."

"Then pick up a history book." Eula scoffed. "There's enough information about the Lawrence name. You don't need me to tell you anything."

"I suppose." He shrugged. "But I care about you, not your family."

Sincere tone aside, the odd phrasing of that sentence made Eula blush. It felt more affectionate than it should, and more than that, nearly nobody had ever said that to her—only a handful, which she could count on one hand.

She was almost universally hated in Mondstadt by civilians and even some other knights, rightfully caring about what the Lawrence Clan had done to the citizens. To hear someone blurting the opposite made her feel very weird.

Not knowing how to handle this strange emotion, Eula looked away, trying to hide her red face.

"What's this supposed to mean? What are you implying?" She asked, her heart pounding in her chest. "Why do you even care in the first place?"

"Is it wrong to want to learn more about a friend?"

Eula froze at that.

"Friend?" She parroted in befuddlement.

"Yes." Crimson blinked, tilting his head. "We're friends, are we not?"

All the 'positive' emotions she was feeling disappeared instantly as she heard those words. This bastard… How dare he even think that? Right after constantly humiliating her over and over again. Did he have no shame?

He was trying to mess with her head, wasn't he? Some trick made to mock her. Of course, it was. Honestly, Eula was ashamed that, for a split second, she thought he wasn't as bad as he seemed. He was still an uncivilized thug, after all.

"What gave you that idea?" She scowled.

"Well, we fought together once." He counted with his hand. "Had a few fun duels, and–"

"Fun? You think it was fun?" Eula seethed.

"Er, yes? Wasn't it supposed to be?" He blinked, still confused.

"You insolent lowlife– I've been trying to regain the honor I lost at our first fight!" She snarled at him. "To rectify the humiliation I suffered by your filthy hands!"

He looked too surprised to respond.

"And you have the gall to say it was 'fun'? To pretend that we're friends?!" Eula fearlessly grabbed him by the collar. "Well, guess what? We aren't friends and never will be. Someone like you doesn't deserve to be by my side."

Crimson's casual and nearly permanent smile dropped for the first time since meeting him, replaced with an almost displeased frown. So that was effective against him, then? Heh, maybe he wasn't as easy-going as she thought.

Oh, she hoped she got him mad. Maybe then he'll finally take this seriously. In fact, maybe he'll finally start initiating the duels, and she won't have to look for him around the entire city again. She knew that was also a part of his plan to piss her off.

"I see." He said as she let go of him. "If that's what you feel, then so be it."

Eula paused. His tone didn't seem heated, but just… disappointed. Almost sad. What was that supposed to mean? Why wasn't he mad at her? She watched him simply turn around and continue walking to wherever the commission was.

He then stopped for a moment, making her anticipate some type of angerful retaliation.

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want to." That was all Crimson said before he continued moving.

The Spindrift Knight was shocked at this response, quietly stammering to herself as she stood there, in the middle of the road, motionless. That… what was that? Why did he say it that way? Wasn't that his demand?

Can he even cancel a demand? Is that allowed? Eula was too confused to do or think about anything at the moment. None of his usual mirth and casualness were in his tone when he said that. There was no anger, either. He just looked upset.

She tried to call out to him, to ask him what the hell he was doing, but her throat refused to listen. Eula didn't understand it. What's this unpleasant feeling in her chest? Was this… guilt?

No, no. It couldn't be. Why would she feel guilty because she was rightfully rude to him? He was always disrespectful to her.

…Wasn't he?

Not knowing how to act, Eula followed after him, her earlier frustration and anger replaced with confusion. I assure you, there is not one bit of guilt. That would be absurd. Utterly ridiculous and stupid.

Crimson looked at her, his brows furrowing in askance; however, Eula spoke first.

"I-I know what I said, but I'm just doing my part of the deal." She said. "I'd dishonor my name otherwise."

Crimson said nothing for a moment, his blank expression not changing one bit. It made her a bit uncomfortable, to be honest.

"Suit yourself."

Eula couldn't believe it, but she liked him better when he was annoyingly talkative.

This is the camp? Eula thought to herself in awe and worry, looking at the base from behind a boulder. There are so many…

Dozens of Hilichurls of different elemental types, Samachurls, Mitachurls, and even a Geo Lawachurl served as the leader. They were hiding beneath a valley, through a big cavern, maybe a quarter of the city's size. No wonder they had been hidden until now. This was a strategic location.

Eula glanced at Crimson. And he was planning to take them all out on his own? He was mighty, but wouldn't he get overwhelmed by them? Eula would need her entire squad and maybe a few Vision wielders to feel confident in taking them out.

Honestly, either he was suicidal or he had an excellent plan. Probably the former. Crimson didn't particularly seem very smart to her. He should be glad he has her here to help him out; otherwise, he wouldn't return from this.

Eula pursed her lips when that thought crossed her mind. She didn't know why, which annoyed her, but she felt a bit… relieved that she was here. She would be very displeased if he died. After all, she still hadn't enacted her vengeance on him.

Eula was about to ask him what the plan was, but for some reason, she couldn't—as if her vocal cords didn't want to work with her. She merely opened her mouth to say something, closed it, and opened it again, like a fish.

Why couldn't she do something as simple as asking a question? What's the meaning of this? Did he cast some sort of silencing spell on her? The bastard. She would have her revenge.

Unfortunately for the Knight, Crimson rushed directly at the Lawachurl, grabbing a pebble from the ground and flicking it at the massive beast. It hit it square in the face, catching it by surprise as her companion leaped and descended on it with a powerful axe kick to the head, causing the rocky floor to shatter from the force.

Eula also charged forward, clicking her tongue in annoyance at his evident lack of plan. As the lesser monsters aimed their ranged weapons at Crimson, she sped at them and released a gust of freezing mist with a swing, freezing a row of several Hilichurls.

The other row noticed her and changed their targets, aiming to shoot her with their crossbows, but Eula was faster than them, dodging and blocking the bolts before beginning the massacre.

With every swing, several would die. The Spindrift Knight of Mondstadt danced with graceful rhythm, easily weaving and dodging through dozens of projectiles. With minimal and no wasted movement, Eula sidestepped away from the axe of a Mitachurl, her greatsword cleaving it in half right after.

For some reason, this was easier than she expected. It was so strange—initially, a battle of this scale would need a platoon of knights to handle it, yet she was having such an easy time against so many enemies simultaneously.

In fact, she felt sharper and faster. Her senses were focused, and everything was…

Slow. She thought, stabbing another Mitachurl through the heart. They're so much slower than what I'm used to.

But why? This was so odd. Was Eula stronger than she had thought? But she'd always been confident in her abilities, and this wasn't the first time she'd dealt with the common Hilichurls. She'd already killed hundreds of them.

She glanced at her partner, who was busy with the Lawachurl. Had their duels sharpened her abilities to this level? Was it possible? It wasn't like they'd been doing this for a long time. Still, there was no doubt that she felt a bit stronger after every duel. But that much?

Were those duels truly this beneficial to her? Rather than just for pride and honor?

Eula shook those thoughts out of her head as she continued her assault, severing the head of a Dendro Samachurl with a slash that sent a wave of cryo energy, which went on to kill a few more Hilichurls by freezing their insides.

Mere minutes later, most of the small fry was dealt with, leaving the Lawachurl alone. Deciding to end this quickly, Eula sprinted to the last remaining enemy, assisting her partner in attacking it.

Crimson jumped out of the way of a punch, prompting Eula to tag in and slash at its extended arm, freezing a portion of it. The beast roared in anger and pain, but before it could retaliate, her partner was back on the offense, kicking it straight in the belly and sending it tumbling backward.

As the monster tried to summon its Geo barrier, Eula acted faster, using a considerable amount of her power to unleash a storm of ice that froze it solid in an instant. Crimson ended the battle without wasting any more time by shattering the frozen beast into tiny pieces.

Eula let out a breath, then looked at Crimson.

"This was easier than I thought it would be." She noted. "How are you feeling?"

Crimson only responded with a neutral grunt and said nothing. Eula grimaced and looked away at that. Right, she had actually forgotten about that. This… was a lot worse than when he was babbling. She hated it because she felt kind of bad.

"H-how long are you going to act like a–"

Crimson suddenly rushed toward her in the middle of her scolding, prompting her to prepare for an attack. However, she didn't expect him to hug her tightly and spin around suddenly. Her face flushed at the contact, turning red in embarrassment.

But before she could ask what was going on with him, a loud explosion broke that thought, nearly rupturing her eardrums. Quickly processing her surroundings, Eula saw the Pyro Hilichurl, aiming its crossbow at whatever was behind her, its lower half nowhere to be seen.

She couldn't even act before it drew its last breath, letting go of the crossbow before going limp. What was that? Explosive bolts? She'd never heard of Hilichurls using those. Why was it aiming behind her?

Eula shook her head as she looked at Crimson. Taking an explosion like that up close can lead to terrible injuries.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes." He answered curtly, letting go of her as he looked behind him. "The bastard knew it wouldn't hurt you if it shot at you directly, so it tried to blow up the red barrel behind you."

…Oh, so that's why.

And he still jumped in to save her. But why? Why would he go out of his way to get hurt for her sake? Right after saying admittedly hurtful things as well. Eula didn't know what to think. What she knew was that the unpleasant feeling just grew ten times larger.

He was so confusing that it was starting to be very painful.

"And if my experience has taught me anything, red barrels are highly flammable, possibly explosive." He continued. "At any rate, that was the last of them. Let's go back."

"Sure…" Eula muttered, only realizing that the explosion had destroyed the backs of his jacket and shirt.

This was going to be an awkward return journey, wasn't it?

– Crimson –

I'm getting sick of ruining my clothes after every commission. I'm so used to indestructible outfits that I still don't bother to dodge anything thrown at me. Unless my body decides to move independently, it does that sometimes.

It didn't help that I was severely holding back so as not to make my partner suspicious. If I tried too hard, she'd think I was holding back on our duels, and if I didn't try hard enough, she'd think my poor performance was very odd. I had to use just enough power, and getting that kind of balance right was difficult. I'm still not used to this level of power yet.

Regardless, I need to enchant my clothes. Or find the time to wash the suit I came here with. But who has time to do menial tasks like that? I hope there's some type of maid service business in this world. In the meantime, I'm stuck cleaning my own room and buying clothes after every finished commission. Makes me feel like a peasant.

It's a good thing I've been able to keep my income up with these missions. The job pays reasonably well when you're at a higher rank, enough that a single mission can comfortably support you for around two weeks.

Hm, where does this guild get the money from, anyway? Do governments pay them? That would explain why they have no problem giving tens of thousands of Mora to take care of Goblin camps. Sorry, Hilichurls.

"Here's a portion of your pay." The receptionist says, giving me a hefty coin purse. "If you'd like to withdraw more, just ask."

"I will." I smile at her politely. "But this is more than enough for some lunch. Please prepare some more commissions for me to finish, Ms. Katheryne."

"Understood. I will have a few hunting missions available when you come back." She bows in gratitude. "Your efforts in protecting Mondstadt and Teyvat are more than appreciated. Thank you so much!"

"I'm only doing the job I signed up for." I wave it off. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Katheryne bows again as I walk away, and I almost audibly chuckle when I see Eula still following me like a lost puppy. Honestly, I didn't expect the cold shoulder approach to work so well against someone like her. Was all that pride and honor stuff just a mask she puts on? She's far more sensitive than I thought she would be.

She was rather nervous the entire trip and even tried to speak up and start a conversation once or twice. But I only responded with an uncaring tone that immediately shut down any other attempt. It's getting to her, and it's hilarious.

Obviously, her words didn't affect me one bit. If I were any other lesser dragon, I might've reflexively slapped her and splattered her across the road. But I'm not like those petulant, loud children who act all high and mighty. I've been humbled many times and had far worse things said to me.

An ant is an ant, after all. Her words mean nothing. Unless it was praise, because I like having my ego stroked.

Still, I decided to go with this 'hurt' route instead of an angry or nonchalant one to see how she would react, and it has been way more effective than I thought it would be. Could she actually be a sweet woman who puts on a front? What a shocker.

Honestly, it makes me want to tweak my approach a bit. Before, I decided to simply bully her until she broke down and submitted, but now, I want to bully this sweet part of her out of this 'stoic woman' facade. I want her to fall in love with me the old-fashioned way, not through the power of my dick.

I should save that for Lisa and Jean. The latter would never forgive me otherwise.

It would do well to have someone within the ranks of the knights be deeply attached to me romantically, but I just want to see her embarrassed and blushing for me. And the best way to do this is to change her opinion of me from 'rude thug' to at least a 'decent man'. Should be easy. Guilt-tripping her certainly was.

"Why are you still following me?" I ask her with a slightly colder tone than usual, making her wince.

"W-we're just walking the same way. Get over yourself." She scoffs. I can almost hear her heart pounding. "I'm not following you…"

I don't know who she's trying to convince, but she's doing a bad job. Even a toddler can lie better than that.

She still 'walks the same way' as me for a few moments until we're on a street without many people, where she suddenly stops. I keep walking, though, giving her a sense of urgency to say what I want her to say.

"Hey, Crimson." She mutters my name, making me stop. "I suppose I was a bit too… harsh on you earlier today."

I grin.

"I reacted very unlike a proper knight should." She continues, struggling to say the next few words. "And for that I… I'm sorry for yelling…"

There it is.

I don't respond for a few moments to add to the suspense, making her feel more and more nervous. I'm a bit impressed that she decided to go with the apology today instead of agonizing over it for a few days, but that works for me too. Simply accepting her apologies should have a big impact on how she sees me.

So I turn around with a warm smile and do just that.

"Apologies accepted," I say. "And I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. Admittedly, what you said was a bit hurtful, but I shouldn't have acted so childishly."

I'm lying, obviously. I just want her to feel worse so my future plans are easier to follow through.

"N-no, it's fine." She says, very slightly wincing at my words. "You had every right to be upset."

"Oh, it's all well and good now." I roll my eyes. "Actually, why not join me for lunch?"

Eula opens her mouth to say something, likely accepting the offer, but then realizes what she is about to do, and clamps her mouth shut. Her face burns red in embarrassment as she puts on her mask of bravery and stoicism.

"As if." She responds. So cute. "Just know that this still doesn't make us friends. In fact, I was busy before you decided to drag me with you on your moronic errands."

"You started the duel, though."

"Shut it; I've had enough of you for today." She harrumphs, haughtily crossing her arms and turning around. "You better be prepared tomorrow. I still want you out of Mondstadt for good."

With that, she walks away, now even more confused about her feelings toward me. Yes, this is all coming together nicely. Just a few more duels, and I'll have her all for myself—body, heart, and soul.

Anyway, that's done. Where's Klee? She once said something about 'fish blasting,' which sounds terrific.