“Huh?”
Lumine tilted her head, confused, as a giant question mark seemed to appear above her.
Just what kind of being did Albedo think she was? Sure, she was from another world, but she wasn’t some kind of superhuman!
Not to mention, she didn’t have psychic powers… or the Force!
“Paimon, break it!” Lumine demanded, pointing at the pillar.
“Hey! Neither of us can do that!” Paimon protested loudly.
“Seems it’s impossible, then…” Albedo mused, but quickly shook his head. “No matter.”
Jia Changjiang raised a question, “If it can’t be done with willpower, can we use another method to break the pillar?”
“Oh?” Albedo’s interest was piqued. “A method other than using elemental energy?”
“Of course!” Jia Changjiang replied confidently. The next moment, he summoned a massive iron pickaxe, nearly as tall as a person, into his hands. “Breaking the pillar with bare hands would work too, but then there’s no scientific value in the experiment.”
“So!”
He swung the pickaxe at the thick stone pillar. Just as it was about to hit, Jia Changjiang pulled back slightly, and the tool struck the pillar with a light tap.
The spot he struck immediately transformed into a small cube and fell to the ground.
“What is this…?” Albedo stared at the stone-turned-cube in astonishment. “Is this a tool from another world? May I take a closer look?”
“Sure,” Jia Changjiang said, handing the iron pickaxe to Albedo.
Albedo examined it carefully before testing it on the ground. With a couple of taps, he effortlessly carved out a perfect cubic hole in the earth.
He then picked up the small stone cube, gave it a squeeze, and gently placed it back into the hole. To everyone’s amazement, the block reverted to its original form and fit snugly into place.
This scene, defying the known laws of Teyvat, left Albedo deep in thought.
“Is the range exactly one cubic meter? The extracted material turns into smaller blocks… Perhaps it’s designed for ease of transport?”
“Could the pickaxe be imbued with rules entirely different from those of Teyvat?” Albedo seemed genuinely fascinated by the pickaxe.
“Well, the pillar’s broken now, right?” Lumine interjected. “Using willpower to break it is just impossible.”
Albedo pondered for a moment before turning to Jia Changjiang. “What about you? Other than tools like this, do you have any other methods?”
Jia Changjiang shook his head. “Not really.”
“But if it’s just about not using elemental energy, I could…” He glanced at the massive pillar and added, “Smash it with my bare hands.”
“Pure physical strength, then… It seems we still don’t have a complete record of your physical capabilities,” Albedo muttered as he made notes. Then, he looked up and asked, “Have either of you ever tried cooking with elemental energy? Infusing it into the food?”
“Nope,” Lumine replied without hesitation. “Who’d waste their time eating elemental energy? Though… we did try cooking slimes once. Does that count?”
“Slimes are elemental creatures by nature… In any case, I have a new task for you,” Albedo said, handing her a recipe. “I’m curious to see if elemental energy can enhance the taste of food.”
“Don’t worry about making too much. If there’s an excess, we can always share it with Timmaeus.”
Lumine glanced at the recipe and muttered, “This portion size? Butter-fried fish? Forget me and Paimon—this isn’t even enough to satisfy Jia Greenleaf. I’ll just make extra to fill everyone up.”
“Ever since we got to the mountain, I feel like my appetite’s been off. Maybe I ate too much before we came up?” she mused aloud.
Paimon, floating nearby, wisely kept silent, pretending to be nothing more than an ordinary little companion.
Lumine headed into the camp to find a pot and prepare the food. Still, the idea of using elemental energy to cook left her scratching her head.
Eventually, she returned with several servings of butter-fried fish.
Albedo tasted it and nodded in approval. “While nothing out of the ordinary happened, the flavor is truly exquisite… Though I was hoping for some transformative effects.”
Lumine, clearly proud, beamed with satisfaction. “Of course! I’m a great cook! As long as I have the recipe, I can make anything delicious!”
“Or… perhaps this world’s rules limit your unique abilities,” Albedo mused. “But no matter—this food is excellent, and we can share it together.”
“Considering how much you made, we might need to share some with Timmaeus…” Albedo began, but Jia Changjiang raised his hand.
“Uh, no need for that.”
Albedo paused. “But wasting food isn’t ideal…”
“No, I mean these servings might not even be enough for the two of them. I’m debating whether I should eat at all,” Jia Changjiang said. “You clearly don’t understand Lumine’s appetite.”
Albedo turned to see the generous portions of butter-fried fish vanish in record time, leaving Lumine and Paimon still looking like they could eat more.
“This dish is amazing!” Paimon said, licking her lips. “If only there were more…”
Seeing the sauce smeared on Paimon’s face, Albedo handed her a handkerchief. “Here, use this.”
“Thanks!”
Paimon wiped her face with the handkerchief.
“You’re pretty nice to Paimon,” Lumine remarked as she rubbed her stomach.
“She’s your close companion,” Albedo replied with a small smile. “It’s clear she cares deeply about your safety.”
Paimon puffed out her chest. “Of course! I’m the Traveler’s best companion! But… Albedo, don’t you have friends too? And Klee is your little sister… Not to mention, you have students!”
“I suppose I am fortunate,” Albedo admitted with a nod. “Now then, let’s move on to the next experiment!”
“Due to all the ongoing experiments, several items have gone missing, including a vial of Windwheel Aster extract and a pouch of Lightning Prism powder. They’ve been misplaced somewhere.”
“While I can remake them, finding the originals would save a lot of trouble,” he explained. “If you had night vision or vibration-sensing abilities, locating these small items would be a breeze…”
“Finding lost things after cooking?”
Lumine furrowed her brow in thought. “Why do I feel like you tricked me into being your errand girl?”
—
This is a fan translation of 武器大师在原神绝不死于徒手 by 徐人双 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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