Chapter 123: Daily Commissions

“Mm, that’s right,” Amber nodded. “But since we’re already here, we might as well clear out the other nearby Hilichurl camps too.”

Paimon muttered sarcastically, “The classic ‘since we’re already here’…”

Zephyr didn’t object. Killing Hilichurls didn’t yield much EXP, but they dropped materials—and occasionally, some treasure chests. So they spent the whole day clearing out nearly every Hilichurl in the area.

Before they realized it, night had started to fall.

Amber wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Phew, I haven’t had that much fun in ages.”

Paimon whispered, “Amber’s scary… the Hilichurls are so pitiful…”

Zephyr declared, “Paimon, how can you say that? Hilichurls are evil monsters! Amber is a great hero who punishes evil and upholds justice—a brave and fearless Outrider, and the future Grand Master of the Knights! How can you speak like that? Hurry up and apologize to Amber!”

“……”

“Didn’t you say new people are better than old ones? Why so sentimental now?”

“You don’t get it—Amber is my number one favorite!”

To be honest, he still needed Amber to help him earn his salary. She was doing all the work; he might as well say something flattering. No harm in that.

Amber blushed a little. “Oh, come on… I’m just doing what I should. And as for being the Grand Master of the Knights—I wouldn’t even dare dream of it.”

Lumine said, “It’s getting late. Let’s head back.”

“Mm.”

“…”

“Wait a second… I feel like we forgot something…”

Paimon furrowed her brow, something definitely felt off.

“My five-star buffet aaaaaaaah!!”

Zephyr said, “Paimon, keep it down. You’ll attract lions and tigers if you yell like that.”

“But… but my five-star buffet…”

“It’s fine, you’ve still got the voucher, right? It’s not going anywhere. Just go tomorrow.”

“Well, yes, that’s true… but still—‘Tomorrow and tomorrow, how endless are the tomorrows…’”

Zephyr raised his brows in surprise. “Wow, Paimon, didn’t know you could quote poetry!”

Lumine couldn’t help but comment, “Though it feels kinda out of place here…”

Amber looked intrigued. “Is that a real poem? I’ve never heard one like that before. What’s the next line?”

Paimon’s face turned red, and she struggled for a while without saying a word.

Seeing this, Zephyr instantly understood. He was a seasoned pro at this. “I’m guessing she never heard the next line. Can’t even fake it.”

“Who says Paimon haven’t! Paimon have heard it!”

“Oh? Then let’s hear it.”

“Hmph… Fine! Paimon will say it!”

Paimon’s cheeks puffed up as she recited, “Before my bed, the bright moonlight… I suspect it’s frost on the ground… I lift my head to look at the moon… and lower it to see two pairs of shoes…”

Amber looked up at the moon and said, “…Well, it is a fitting poem for tonight, but… I don’t think it has anything to do with what you were quoting earlier.”

Also—what the heck is “two pairs of shoes” supposed to mean?!

Zephyr shook his head and calmly recited:

“Tomorrow and tomorrow, how endless are the tomorrows.

I live for tomorrow, and all things slip away.

The world suffers from the weight of ‘tomorrow,’

As spring fades and autumn nears, old age approaches.

In the morning, watch the river flow eastward;

At dusk, see the sun sink in the west.

How many ‘tomorrows’ does one century hold?

Come, friend, listen to my ‘Song of Tomorrow.’”

“Wow, that’s the whole poem? You’re amazing, Traveler!” Amber’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

“Piece of cake.”

Paimon rolled her eyes. “Bet you looked that up online!”

Amber said, “Traveler, your words are worth more than ten years of study—I can’t keep being this lazy!”

“I was just thinking, there are still two more Hilichurl camps nearby. But since it’s getting dark, I figured we could clear them tomorrow.”

“But after hearing you, I suddenly saw the light‘Tomorrow and tomorrow, how endless are the tomorrows’—how could I be so slack!”

“So I’ve decided—we’ll clear out the remaining two Hilichurl camps tonight!”

Zephyr’s mouth twitched. Did I just dig my own grave...?

“But it’s getting dark,” he protested.

“No problem! I said it’s getting dark—it’s not dark yet. And even if it does get dark, so what? We can just use your magical teleportation power to zip right back to Mondstadt.”

“Well… that’s true, but…”

“Alright, alright, I know. You probably wanted to go even further and clear out all fifteen Hilichurl camps in Windrise, right?”

“But it’s already super late, and Windrise is pretty far. It’s enough that you wanted to do it. We can handle those tomorrow. Gotta rest, or we’ll wear ourselves out!”

“……”

Paimon clapped her hands. “Brilliant idea!”

Zephyr looked into Amber’s sparkling eyes… and smacked Paimon on the head.

“Waaah! You hit Paimon! Not even Paimon's dad ever hit Paimon…”

“Oh, stop acting. I didn’t even hit you that hard.”

“Uuuu…”

“Don’t cry. You need to have what the other kids have—and also what they don’t have!”

“Uuuu…”

Amber said gently, “Okay okay, stop bullying little Paimon. It’s just two camps—won’t take long.”

So the group set off to finish clearing the last two camps. The fights themselves were fast; what took time was walking to each location. With no mounts and only their legs to rely on, of course it was time-consuming.

“Whew… finally done,” Amber said, wiping off her sweat.

“Let’s head back.”

“Yeah, and when I get home, I’m definitely taking a nice, long bath.”

Bath.

Zephyr heard the word but kept a poker face.

Unexpectedly, Paimon popped out and shouted, “No way! With a big perv like this guy around, Amber, you can’t let your guard down!”

Zephyr’s eye twitched. “Paimon! What the heck are you saying? I’m not that kind of person!”

“You think Paimon believe that?”

Lumine gave him a suspicious look too. “Honestly… you kind of give that impression.”

Amber’s cheeks flushed red. “I don’t think Zephyr is that kind of person!”

Paimon was stunned.

Zephyr wore the smug grin of a victor. “You see that? Amber’s already mine.”

“If we’re talking in terms of in-game affection levels, she’s already at max—Level 10.”

“The bond between us isn’t something an emergency food like you can criticize.”

“Ugh, damn it!” Paimon fumed, but couldn’t find a comeback.

“Lately, this Paimon’s been getting more arrogant and unruly by the day. She’s completely stopped respecting me.”

Zephyr thought to himself, I need to come up with a way to put her in check…

…

After clearing the camps, the group teleported to the waypoint outside Mondstadt. They could’ve gone straight into the city, but Zephyr wanted to check if Timmy and the pigeons were around—so he chose the outside point.

Unfortunately, Timmy wasn’t there. The pigeons were gone too. Zephyr was visibly disappointed.

Amber playfully scolded, “You’re a grown adult—stop bullying poor little Timmy.”

“Bullying? That wasn’t bullying! That was a loving punishment! That’s the sacred bond of friendship we share!”

Paimon added, “Paimon have never seen such a twisted ‘bond’ before…”

//END