"I see... alright then,"
"Mhm!" Seeing that Aether seemed to believe her, Ying finally relaxed. She lowered her head and whispered into Paimon's ear, "Shh! Don't make a fuss! It'll expose me! Did you hear me?"
Paimon nodded vigorously after hearing her.
"Mmmph... I got it... *Phew*... Host, you're really rough, I almost suffocated to death."
"Hmph~ Who told you to shout his name so loudly just now? You almost got me killed, do you know that? (￣へ￣)"
"Cough cough~ I really didn't know just now~ By the way, why did you lie to him, Host?"
"Do you think I wanted to lie to him? You're the one who said he'd erased my memories of meeting him, that's why I did it. *Sigh* I can't believe I ran into a Prince from the Abyss Order just exploring! It's absurd!"
"So, what are you planning to do next, Host?"
"Hmm... If he wants to follow us, we'll just bring him along to collect treasure chests for now. Maybe after being with me for a while, he'll get bored and go back to his own Abyss homeland to be a prince," Ying said after some serious thought.
"Is that so... then Host, you do your best later. I won't reveal my strength~"
"e"
"Um... where are you two going next? I'll go wherever you go, is that okay?"
"This... it's possible... but we're only planning to look for treasure chests for the next half of the day. You might get bored,"
"It's fine, I probably won't be bored with you two."
"This... is that so, then alright..." (It's unlikely... I get bored myself...)
Time moved on to evening...
After their treasure-hunting journey, the three found a temporary gathering spot to rest for a while. Ying looked at Paimon, who was sleeping soundly on the grass, and felt a wave of speechless exasperation.
"Sigh~ Little ones are just little ones. Tired after flying for only half a day." Although she was teasing Paimon, Ying still took a blanket out of her backpack and covered him with it.
"It's a good life, a carefree traveling life..."
"Speaking of which... sigh, forget it. Aether, are you hungry?" (Honestly, you actually followed us all the way until evening... I'm impressed...)
"I'm alright. How about you? You've used quite a bit of Elemental power today."
"Ah~ It's fine, it's fine. I recover faster than I use it (^～^)"
"Mhm, that's good."
"Hehe~ Shall we continue our previous topic?"
"Topic?"
"Mhm, it's about whether Lumine has anything she's afraid of, or anything like that (✪▽✪)"
That's right. Along the way, Ying would occasionally ask Aether questions about their siblings. One was to solidify the amnesia persona she had created for herself, and the other was to try and pry out Lumine's weaknesses from Aether.
"Probably... no."
"Ugh... Could it be that Lumine truly has no weaknesses... Will my revenge plan really have to wait until my next life? (ー△ー)"
"Revenge plan? Do you have a grudge against Lumine?"
"Uh... it wouldn't be right to call it a grudge. It's just that I'm always being… teased! I just want to tease her back." (I almost said 'bullied'...)
"Teasing, huh..."
"Mhm, since you're Lumine's brother, you must know her weaknesses. Can you tell me? (✪▽✪)" Seeing that Aether had proactively inquired, Ying stopped beating around the bush and asked directly.
"Weaknesses... In my previous memories, there weren't any..."
"Ah~ Then it's hopeless ￣﹏￣"
"Hahaha... I said 'previously'. Not having them before doesn't mean she doesn't have them now," Aether said with a light laugh, seeing Ying's dejected expression.
"Oh?! You mean Lumine has them now?!"
"Mhm, do you want to know?"
"Want want want! (✪▽✪)" (Hehe~ Hahaha~ I didn't expect to get help from your brother, Lumine!)
"Her weakness is... you."
"Huh? Me?" Ying pointed at herself in confusion.
"Mhm, if she finds out you're in danger, she'll definitely come to save you immediately. Isn't that right?"
"Ah, this... it seems to be true... Uh... but this weakness doesn't seem to help me much. It can't even stop her from bothering me, let alone help with my revenge..."
"Bother you?" Aether asked in confusion, clearly this question was beyond his expectations.
"Ah... cough cough cough! Don't mind the details... Wait... How did you know about that?" Ying, having recovered her composure, widened her eyes in surprise.
"What do you think?"
Aether's lips curled into a slight smile as he looked at Ying, as if Ying's reaction was entirely within his expectations.
"You you you... you wouldn't be spying on us, would you... Σ(|||▽|||)"
"Spying? Hahaha..." Hearing Ying say that, Aether couldn't help but laugh.
"Uh... What are you laughing at? I'm being very serious," Ying said with a look of resentment at Aether.
"It's nothing... I wasn't spying on you, I just happened to bump into you a few times before."
"Phew~ That's good, that's good~ Being spied on, just thinking about it is scary." Ying let out a sigh of relief, releasing the tension she had been holding in her heart.
"Mhm... During the time you were together, how was Lumine doing?"
"Huh? How was she doing... Hmm..." Ying recalled the time she spent with Lumine... Uh, it couldn't be broadcast, definitely couldn't be broadcast.
"Cough cough... She was probably... very happy... (//∇//)"
"Very happy... Then I'm relieved..."
"Mhm, relieved, relieved~ You'll see her tomorrow, won't you~"
"Oh? Who said I was going tomorrow?"
"Didn't you say before... Ah... you did say 'we'll see' before..."
"Mhm, it's not time yet..."
"Sigh~ Really, if you want to see her, just go. I don't understand you (￣へ￣)"
"After all, we've walked different paths... Tell me... if it were you, whose path would you take?"
"Me? Hmm... I won't take either. I'll walk my own path~ (^～^)" Ying, completely unaware that Aether had already discovered her little secret...
"Is that so? Then... between the two of us, who would you support?"