As soon as the door opened, Luo Qing found himself greeted by the complex gazes of several women all looking straight at him.
“E-Everyone’s here…”
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Why aren’t you all asleep yet?”
By this time of night, his “wives” were usually fast asleep.
“We were waiting for you to come back,” Makoto replied calmly, placing her knitting aside. She turned to Lumine and Paimon, who were still frozen at the doorway, and gave them a warm smile.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Uh… yeah, it’s been a while,” Lumine responded awkwardly.
Even though Makoto’s tone was friendly, Lumine couldn’t shake the subtle sense of hostility radiating from her.
Wait… Lumine’s mind reeled as she pieced things together.
Luo Qing is already living with all these women?! Ganyu, Shenhe, Makoto…!
She glanced around quickly, noticing that Ayaka and Ei were absent.
At least not everyone has fallen for him. Yet…
“Good evening, Ganyu… Shenhe…” Lumine forced a polite smile as she greeted the two.
Both women blushed, their heads lowering as they avoided her gaze. It was as if they’d been caught sneaking out with a boyfriend only to have their dad unexpectedly pick them up.
“Have you eaten? Should I prepare something for you?”
Unlike Ganyu and Shenhe, Makoto maintained her composure. Walking over to Luo Qing, she calmly helped him remove his coat and hung it up.
“We’ve already eaten,” Luo Qing replied. He hesitated before adding, “Lumine and I have some matters to discuss. Other places didn’t seem safe, so I thought we could talk here…”
Before he could finish, Makoto interrupted him with a light tap to his forehead.
“Next time, let us know in advance.”
“R-Right… I’ll remember that.”
“Alright then. You two talk. I’ll head upstairs to rest.”
Makoto poured tea for Lumine and Paimon before giving Luo Qing a reassuring pat and leaving with La Signora in tow.
Ganyu and Shenhe sat in stunned silence, blinking as they processed Makoto’s smooth, effortless maneuvering.
She waited up all night just to make sure Luo Qing saw her first…
And when she realized he had something important to discuss, she left without complaint, even though she’d been waiting for hours.
So this is the legendary grace of “Sister Makoto…” How can anyone compete with that?!
Not wanting to miss the lesson, Ganyu quickly stood and grabbed Shenhe’s arm.
“Luo Qing, we’ll head to our rooms as well. You two talk. Goodnight, Lumine, Paimon.”
“Uh… goodnight…” Paimon replied, her small voice tinged with confusion.
Her little brain was struggling to keep up with the sudden shift in the atmosphere.
Now only Theresa remained, still curled up on the couch with her light novel.
“Eh? Why is everyone leaving?” Theresa closed her book and blinked, her expression mirroring Paimon’s dazed look.
“Well then, my lord, I’ll leave you to your conversation. I’ll catch you later~”
She winked at Luo Qing before darting upstairs, clearly planning to try sneaking into his room again later that night.
“E-Everyone’s gone…” Paimon muttered under her breath. Just moments ago, the living room had been lively and crowded. Now it was empty except for the three of them.
“Sit down,” Luo Qing said as he plopped onto the couch.
Lumine and Paimon hesitated for a moment before taking their seats across from him.
“Alright, Luo Qing,” Lumine began. “What’s so important that you had to bring us here?”
“Of course.” Luo Qing sipped his tea, his tone calm. “Let me guess—you’re investigating the Akademiya’s deepest secrets, aren’t you?”
“Wha—?!”
Lumine’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?!”
“Just a guess.”
“…”
“You’re not here to tell us to give up, are you?” Paimon interjected suspiciously. “After all, you’re a Harbinger…”
“That’s the Doctor’s plan, not mine. I’ve got nothing to do with it—I’m just here on vacation,” Luo Qing replied nonchalantly, shrugging off the accusation.
“Then what do you want?”
“An equal trade,” Luo Qing said, setting his cup down. “I’ll help you investigate the Akademiya, but in return…”
He paused, letting his words hang in the air.
“You’ll help me retrieve the Electro Gnosis.”
“The Electro Gnosis…” Lumine’s expression grew serious as she contemplated his words.
“Scaramouche… he’s here in Sumeru, isn’t he?”
“Smart as ever.” Luo Qing smiled.
“So, you want me to steal the Electro Gnosis from him?”
“That’s a harsh way to put it.” Luo Qing chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. “You won’t need to lift a finger. Someone else will handle him for you.”
“…”
Lumine’s confusion deepened.
“But you’re a Harbinger,” she pointed out. “Back in Liyue, Childe caused chaos by summoning Osial, and you had to clean up his mess. In Inazuma, you turned La Signora into your personal maid and fought against the Raiden Shogun herself. And now, you’re helping us fight the Akademiya and the Doctor?!”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Are you even really on the Fatui’s side?”
“You just don’t get it, do you?” Luo Qing leaned back, his smile growing sly.
“Snezhnaya is all about performance. Whoever brings back a Gnosis gets rewarded by Her Majesty. Watching your colleague earn the Tsaritsa’s favor while you get nothing? It’s worse than being punished.”
“I get it!” Paimon suddenly exclaimed, her voice loud enough to startle both Lumine and Luo Qing.
“You’re just trying to steal all the credit!”
“Bingo.”
“And if we don’t help you?” Lumine asked, her tone cautious.
“Then I’ll help the Doctor take you two down,” Luo Qing replied casually.
“…”
Lumine stared at him, momentarily speechless. Was he seriously threatening them?
“I’m kidding.” Luo Qing chuckled, waving off her glare.
Leaning forward, he softened his tone, lowering his voice to a near-whisper.
“But… as a bonus, if you help me, I might just share some information about your brother’s whereabouts.”
Lumine’s breath caught in her throat.
“I mean, you want to find your brother, don’t you?” Luo Qing added with a knowing smile.
—
This is a fan translation of 原神：这个见习执行官太屑了 by 何一乐. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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