"So..."
The brilliant amethyst gaze landed on Lu Chen.
"We still have a chance to go back?"
"Theoretically, yes." Lu Chen nodded.
The system wouldn't lie, but given their current progress, completing the conditions would be extremely difficult.
Ei would have to prepare herself for a long stay here.
She frowned slightly, clearly thinking about Inazuma.
Although the situation there wasn't as critical as it had been five hundred years ago, the prying eyes of Celestia could never be taken lightly.
Internally, various factions were already secretly stirring in defiance of the Vision Hunt Decree.
And beyond the dark seas, ominous signs still lingered.
Ei sighed softly.
"At least the puppet Shogun remains in Inazuma to maintain order. Otherwise, I truly couldn't rest easy."
Listening to her self-comforting words, Lu Chen couldn't help but think:
The puppet Raiden Shogun is nothing like Ei herself. She's cold and ruthless... Looks like Lumine and Paimon are going to have a tough time.
Speaking of the blonde girl, Lu Chen wasn't too worried about her.
After all, she was protected by protagonist's luck—surviving every crisis, turning every misfortune around.
Wherever she went—whether it was Sweet Flowers, Sunsetias, pigeons, or Hilichurls—nothing survived.
That despicable Outlander could practically be called a walking ecological disaster...
Coming back to the present, Lu Chen looked at Ei, still frowning, and tried to reassure her.
"Since you're here, make yourself at home. If you want to open the gate back to Teyvat, then just cooperate with me and complete the missions."
Ei nodded firmly. "Alright."
Thinking about what she had said earlier—"Let's go back together"—Lu Chen couldn't help but smile.
"Besides," he said, grinning, "you've got me here! What's there to be afraid of?"
Her eyes reflected his figure, and she unconsciously repeated his words.
"With you here..."
In the countless years she had spent in Inazuma, as long as he was there, every problem seemed solvable.
Except for that one time—five hundred years ago—
When everything was lost, one by one.
...
This time, she wouldn't lose him again.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment, and when she opened them, all traces of vulnerability had vanished.
Ei smiled—a determined, steadfast smile.
"What do I need to do?"
"First..."
Seeing how cooperative Ei was, Lu Chen found himself a little stuck for ideas.
Getting her enrolled in school wasn't urgent; first, she had to blend in properly.
She couldn't keep standing out so much...
"First, absolutely no randomly pulling out your sword. The security here is very good."
"What if I encounter an enemy?"
"There are no enemies. And even if there were, they'd be about the same level as old Mr. Zhang downstairs..."
"I see. So this is truly a peaceful and harmonious world... That's wonderful."
"Well... it's not entirely peaceful..." Lu Chen scratched his head.
"How should I put it... Anyway..."
He set down three rules for Ei:
Don't fight randomly.
Don't openly display elemental powers.
And never wander too far from him.
According to Ei herself, her current strength was only about thirty percent of what it had been in Inazuma.
Even so, she was terrifying compared to ordinary people in this world.
Just remembering the thunderous entrance she had made earlier was enough...
Also, since Ei would now be staying with him, he needed to prepare a lot of things.
Looking her over—still dressed in her luxurious purple kimono—Lu Chen sighed inwardly.
If she wore that outside, she'd draw attention immediately, and probably end up on the evening news.
Not to mention... she couldn't possibly sleep dressed like that.
After repeatedly warning Ei not to disassemble the television, Lu Chen returned to his bedroom.
He planned to go out tomorrow to buy her some clothes and necessities.
But for tonight, she'd have to borrow his things.
He dug through his mostly empty wardrobe and found a clean white shirt and a few towels.
Just as he turned to bring them out—he noticed Ei had already followed him in.
"Wait! My room's a mess, don't come in yet!"
With everything that had happened earlier, he suddenly remembered the very embarrassing posters on his walls...
Definitely not something Ei needed to see.
The more she looked, the more shame he felt.
Worst of all, Ei had already stopped in front of a poster featuring a shrine maiden in a revealing outfit, staring at it intently.
"Huh?"
She tilted her head, puzzled.
"They look just like the shrine maidens from the Grand Narukami Shrine. Do you have this kind of culture here too?"
"Uh..." Lu Chen quickly blocked her view and started pushing her back out of the room.
"It's really common! I'll show you some anime later! My room's a total mess—wait until I clean it up first..."
"But..." she protested weakly, her gaze still locked onto the shrine maiden poster.
"Why are shrine maidens here dressed so... revealingly?"
Lu Chen glanced at the poster.
While the colors were the traditional red and white, the skirt was ridiculously short, showing off way too much thigh.
And the top... well, the artist had been very stingy with fabric coverage, leaving the chest barely contained.
"The less they wear, the stronger they fight," Lu Chen explained with a perfectly straight face.
"Huh...?"
Raiden Shogun blinked in confusion.
"It's true!" Lu Chen spouted nonsense smoothly.
"Here, all the female knights wear bikini armor. They fight battles and their clothes explode dramatically!"
He thought of the manga hidden under his bed—the topmost volume featuring exactly that kind of "bikini warrior girl."
The male side character was even some kind of minotaur...
Thinking of those very inappropriate comics, Lu Chen broke into a cold sweat.
He had to hide them before Ei found out—or he would suffer a death worse than social death.
At the same time, he mentally cursed the original "Lu Chen" of this world.
Steamed goose heart! Absolute disgrace!
Dragging the still-confused Ei out of the bedroom, he told her to pick a different room to change in, and then slammed the broken door shut.
Time to destroy the evidence!
He tore down all the posters and stuffed the manga among his study materials—hiding the volume with the minotaur and the knight inside a math workbook.
Only after cleaning up the crime scene did Lu Chen sit down on the bed, exhausted but relieved.
He waited a long time.
Eventually, the sound of slippers dragging on the floor approached.
Ei, still struggling to get used to the footwear, appeared at the door.
She had changed clothes.
Lu Chen would admit it—he was stunned for about half a second.
Wearing the oversized white shirt, Ei looked even more delicate and innocent.
She gave off a pure, refreshing vibe—like the older girl next door who shows up on a sunny afternoon with a cold pear soda.
But at the same time, her tall figure and graceful curves, which even the oversized shirt couldn't hide, reminded him:
This was still Teyvat's number one mature beauty.
As expected...
If you're good-looking, even a sack looks good on you.
Before making up her bed, Lu Chen took the opportunity to show her how to use the water heater.
Ei, now dressed in casual home clothes, barely even blinked when hot water suddenly gushed from the machine.
She had adapted quickly.
While Ei was showering, Lu Chen slumped on the sofa.
And then—
A system prompt appeared.
[Achievement Unlocked: "I Love Bathing."]
[Condition: Ei takes a hot shower in the real world.]
[Reward: 100 Primogems, 100,000 real-world currency.]
Another achievement!
Lu Chen was pleasantly surprised.
Just as he had suspected, the achievements were ridiculously easy to trigger.
Now, he had accumulated 200 Primogems.
At 160 Primogems per pull, that meant—he finally had enough to use the Wish System!
Even after living for nearly three thousand years, the uncertainty of gacha pulls still made Lu Chen's heart race.
The odds were low—but still, everyone dreamed of getting lucky and pulling gold on the first try.
Lu Chen opened the Wish System interface.
His heart thudded wildly.
"Alright," he thought.
"Let's do this!"