This Trainee Fatui Harbinger is Too Unreliable [388]

The Next Morning – Early Dawn

Sunlight streamed through the window, spilling onto Furina's bed.

The Archon, blissfully unaware, remained buried in her soft blue pajamas. Wrinkles formed in the fabric, revealing patches of smooth, unblemished skin as she shifted. Furina scratched her tummy lazily before rolling over, burying her head into the pillow to continue her slumber.

Since the Traveler's arrival, her life had been filled with one headache after another.

Now that the Childe incident and the missing girls' case were resolved, Furina decided she deserved a reward.

Her plan? Start with sleeping in for as long as she wanted.

A faint smile appeared on her delicate face.

In her dream, Furina had Luo Qing groveling beneath her feet, a leash in her hand connected to a collar around his neck.

"Hmph! Always picking on me, huh?" she gloated in the dream.

"Well, how does it feel now? Say it—call me Master!"

Having Luo Qing at her mercy felt incredibly satisfying.

Just as she was reveling in her triumph, the dream took a sudden turn. Luo Qing broke free of the leash and flipped her onto her back, pinning her down.

"W-what are you doing, you insolent servant?!" Dream-Furina gasped.

Her hands instinctively shot up to cover her chest while the other tried to hold down the hem of her dress.

But Luo Qing didn't answer. He reached out… and began to pinch her cheeks.

"Ow! Ow! That hurts!"

Furina bolted awake, only to find Luo Qing sitting at the edge of her bed, one hand pinching her soft cheeks, which were now red from the pressure.

"L-Luo Qing?!"

Furina scrambled backward, clutching her chest and pressing herself against the corner of the bed.

"How… how did you escape from my dream?!"

Could he have entered my dream to take revenge for what I did to him there?!

"You dreamed about me?" Luo Qing raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "I've been sitting here for nearly an hour. You sleep like a log."

"..."

"Why are you here?!"

Realizing she was now awake, Furina's mind raced back to her dream, causing her face to flush. She avoided his gaze and muttered,

"It's broad daylight—what if someone sees you?"

"So what if they do?" Luo Qing replied with a snort. "I'm here because I have urgent business to discuss."

"Urgent?" Furina asked skeptically.

A twinge of annoyance crept into her heart. Luo Qing always came unannounced and only when he needed something. What, I'm not worth visiting unless there's a task to handle?

"Let me guess—you want to plead on Childe's behalf?"

"Not at all." Luo Qing shook his head and gestured toward the Void Terminal on her bedside table.

"Arlecchino will be meeting you soon in an official capacity. Make sure to wear the Terminal when the time comes."

"A-Arlecchino?!" Furina's eyes widened in alarm, her body curling up defensively.

"She's coming to see me? Is this another one of your schemes?!"

"Why would I scheme against you? We're on the same team," Luo Qing said with a flick to her forehead, earning a small yelp from Furina. "Just wear it. If you're scared, ask Neuvillette to attend the meeting with you. Got it?"

"..." Furina muttered under her breath, "I'm the God of Justice. Why would I be scared…"

"Are you going to wear it or not?" Luo Qing asked impatiently.

"I'll wear it! Stop yelling at me…" Furina huffed.

"Good. One more thing—give me a pair of your socks."

"...What?"

Furina leaned back, her mind instantly jumping to wild conclusions. Her gaze toward Luo Qing shifted, becoming wary.

"Why do you need my socks…?"

"I'm sending a few subordinates to Meropide to contact Childe. The charge I'm using is stealing your socks."

"..."

Furina stared at him in disbelief. Then, her voice dropped to a timid murmur.

"There's no one else here… If you want to keep them for yourself, you don't need to use your subordinates as an excuse..."

"..." Luo Qing gave her another flick on the forehead, harder this time.

"Ow! That hurts!" Furina cried, rubbing the spot with her hands, tears welling in her eyes.

"What would I do with your socks?" Luo Qing scoffed. "Am I that kind of person?"

If I were interested in anything, it'd be… well, definitely not socks. How boring would that be?

"You absolutely are…" Furina muttered, her voice barely audible as she remembered the time he grabbed her feet and wouldn't stop touching them.

"So, where are they?" Luo Qing pressed.

"...You're so annoying!" Furina snapped, glaring at him before hesitating. She realized her current attire—a rumpled pajama top and bare legs—was less than decent.

"Turn around. I need to change first."

"I've already seen it all."

"Turn around! Or no socks for you!"

"Alright, alright." Luo Qing finally relented, turning his back to her.

Only after making sure he wasn't peeking did Furina emerge from under the blanket. She quickly swapped her pajamas for her usual formal attire.

At the last moment, an idea struck her. She pulled on a new pair of white lace stockings, then grabbed the ones she had just worn, balled them up, and clenched them in her hand.

Hmph. You want socks? Fine, I'll give you a real taste of authenticity!

"Here. Take these," Furina said, handing over the used pair with a smug expression.

"These are worn, aren't they?" Luo Qing asked suspiciously, eyeing the socks.

"Of course not! I just took them from the drawer!" Furina lied without a hitch, adopting an expression of exaggerated disgust. "Do you want them or not? If not, I'll… I'll wash them and put them back!"

"Fine, I'll take them." Luo Qing accepted the socks and stored them in his system inventory, though he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Turning back to Furina, now fully dressed in her formal attire, he couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.

She was much cuter in her pajamas…

"Alright, that's settled. Neuvillette should be here soon to discuss your meeting with Arlecchino. Wear the Void Terminal when it happens. I'll head back now—if anything comes up, use the Terminal to contact me."

As he turned to leave, Furina grabbed the edge of his coat.

"What's wrong now?" Luo Qing asked, glancing over his shoulder.

Furina's cheeks puffed up slightly, and her eyes glistened with frustration.

"You only ever come to see me when you need something, don't you?"

"Huh?"

"Every single time! It's always about some urgent task or another. Never just for me!" Furina pouted, her voice rising. "Can't we ever just sit down, have tea, watch some relaxing anime, or—I don't know—slack off together?!"

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T/N: SOOOO CUTE