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Chapter 174 – Danger, Run Aether! RUN!
🕑 Added 2025-07-14 17:05:03 +0000 UTC"Wildflowers in bloom..."
[咲いた野の花よ]
"Aa…Please, tell me..."
[ああ どうか教えておくれ]
"Why do people hurt and fight each other?"
[人は何故 傷つけあって]
. . .
The ethereal melody gently soothed the emotions of those who listened—so much so that even the desires recently stirred within them faded away beneath the purity of the voice.
When Nagami walked into the living room, he saw Yatogami Tohka and Yoshino sitting side by side on the couch, quietly listening to Yuzuriha Inori humming a gentle tune.
Although Inori wasn’t quite human anymore, no one really felt any wariness or suspicion toward her.
In just a short time, the two Spirits had completely let down their guard around her.
With a slight nod toward the girls as a casual greeting, Nagami took a seat of his own and watched the pink-haired girl sing with such focused serenity.
By his estimate, Shido, Kotori, and Kurumi had been gone for nearly three hours.
The chaos they were dealing with should be wrapping up soon.
Nagami had already asked Kotori in advance to take some photos of “Shiori.”
He was eager to see just how outrageous “Miss Shiori” really looked.
Supposedly, she even ranked third on the “Top Girls People Want to Date” list...
As for seducing Miku Izayoi? That’d be a walk in the park for Nagami.
All he had to do was have C.C. show up like how he had appeared in front of Kurumi, and Miku would be charmed in an instant.
However... Miku’s yuri tendencies were terrifying—easily several times more intense than a rampaging insect.
Nagami wasn’t confident he could "straighten" her out.
Best not to poke that hornet’s nest.
After making a few casual posts in the group chat, Nagami noticed something odd—Lumine hadn’t said a word today.
Feeling a little curious, he hesitated for a second before switching to their private chat.
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[Nagami]: Lumine, what are you up to?
[Lumine]: Nagami, what are you up to?
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She usually only called him "Onii-chan" when she needed a favor.
Most of the time, she just used his name directly.
Classic Traveler.
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[Lumine & Nagami]: …
[Lumine & Nagami]: I have some good news to share with you~!
[Lumine & Nagami]: …
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Wait... seriously?
Even the punctuation matched?
Nagami let out a long, heavy sigh.
Honestly, getting along so well with Lumine made him really happy.
But this bizarre wavelength they shared was almost too much.
Not long ago, he had just returned from the world of Arknights.
The fact that the "Doctor" existed as an alternate version of himself in that universe was already unexpected.
And now, realizing that his synchronicity with Lumine rivaled the Doctor’s connection with him—even without a close psychic bond—Nagami sighed again, this time with a touch of dread on his face.
No way...
No way she's one too, right?
If it were anyone else, Nagami wouldn’t even have considered the possibility.
Sure, he was close with Shiraori too, and they were incredibly in sync, but that was a different kind of bond entirely!
More importantly, before he became a multiversal traveler, he had played the roles of both the Rhodes Island Doctor and the Traveler of Teyvat.
With the Doctor already confirmed to be one of his alternate selves, the chances that Lumine was too… had gone up a lot.
‘Nooo!’
Nagami howled internally.
‘If Lumine’s really another version of me… then doesn’t that mean every version of ‘me’ across all worlds is a total scumbag?!’
‘Wait—no, hold on!’
‘There’s another way to look at it. What if I only became this way because countless trashy alternate versions of me are influencing me from higher dimensions?’
‘In that case, it’s not my fault.’
‘Yes. That sounds right.’
Patting his chest carefully to calm himself down, Nagami tried to find comfort in that thought.
Still, unease stirred within him as he stared at the group chat window with furrowed brows.
Lumine hadn’t sent another message since her earlier bombshell.
What was she plotting?
Feeling stubborn, Nagami typed out a response.
———————————————————————
[Lumine & Nagami]: You first!
———————————————————————
. . .
A chill ran down his spine.
At this point, Nagami decided—once he resurrected his dear mother-in-law, he had to go to Teyvat and confirm things for himself.
There’s no way someone as wholesome as him could be the same as someone as scummy as Lumine!
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[Nagami]: Stop, stop, stop! Don’t mess with me like this—just tell me already!
———————————————————————
Wearing an expression that mixed frustration and helplessness, Nagami pinched the bridge of his nose and sent the message.
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[Lumine]: …I pulled something really special from the banner just now!
[Nagami]: Something special? What is it? Show me!
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If it was enough to get the Scummy Traveler this hyped, it had to be good.
———————————————————————
[Lumine]: Hehe~ Ta-daaa! Look!
———————————————————————
He could practically hear her chipper voice in his head, and imagine her proudly striking a pose with her hands on her hips.
———————————————————————
[Spring of Drowned Girl]:
From the world of Ranma ½, this cursed spring of Jusenkyo holds the essence of a young girl who drowned there 1,500 years ago.
Since then, anyone who falls in will be cursed to transform into a young girl when splashed with cold water, and revert to their original form with hot water.
Contains 1000ml.
Effect duration varies by world.
· Minimum: 1 day.
· Maximum: 6 months.
· Effects are not affected by the world's mystical density level.
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[Nagami]: …
[Nagami]: ?!!?!?!
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If Kotori were asked to permanently turn Itsuka Shido into “Shiori,” she absolutely wouldn’t have the heart to do it.
After all, Shido was just a regular human.
If he got cursed by the spring for several years, it could even mess with his sense of identity as a man—that’d be way beyond a simple prank.
Neither Kotori nor Nagami would go that far.
But if it were just one drop…
Then yeah—Kotori might be tempted to try it out, just for laughs~
Nagami was curious too, sure, but he wasn’t close enough to Shido to joke around on that level.
Better to leave that decision to Kotori.
But!
If Lumine is the one who want to use that…
Nagami could swear on the last shreds of his conscience—she would absolutely pour all 1000 milliliters on Aether without hesitation.
Why? Don’t ask.
Just accept it.
The worst-case curse outcome is that the spring would still only last 500 years at most if it worked at full potency in Teyvat.
For long-lived beings like them, that wasn’t even that crazy.
Remember, Lumine was in a forced slumber for 500 years even before her journey began!
So from her perspective—and Aether’s—that kind of time was basically nothing.
‘So, do you think Lumine would hesitate?’
Yeah. Right.
Danger! Run Aether, RUN!
The moment Nagami saw the "Spring of Drowned Girl", he immediately guessed what Lumine was planning.
———————————————————————
[Nagami]: …You’re not thinking of actually using it on…
———————————————————————
Better to confirm it. He still had some hope that Lumine had a shred of shame left.
———————————————————————
[Lumine]: Hehehe~ When my dear brother sees me next time, he’ll definitely be thrilled! As your cute, thoughtful little sister, of course I had to prepare a gift for you~ ❤
———————————————————————
At that moment, the Traveler was watching some Genshin memory files their friends from other worlds had shared in the group chat.
And who would know, that Lumine got the Spring of Drowned Girl from the gacha right after rewatching the cutscene where she and Aether meet again in Dainseilf Quest.
And then…
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[Lumine]: In the “story,” I went through all kinds of hardship to find him.
And that bastard—he didn’t stick around and just started acting all cryptic and mysterious!
Talking nonsense I didn’t even understand about how I’m with Dainseilf! Like some pretentious riddler!
So next time we meet, I’m dumping the entire spring on him! Every drop!!
[Lumine]: …If it’s the cute sister version, maybe I’ll consider forgiving “her”. Maybe.
———————————————————————
The last few lines were voice messages. Nagami could hear the seething grudge boiling in Lumine’s tone—so thick it could pierce the heavens.
"...Ahahaha."
Nagami quietly pressed his palms together in a solemn prayer.
“May the brother survive.”
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[Lumine]: Oh right! You want some too? I can share a few drops with you, Onii-chan~ ❤
———————————————————————
Good things should be shared among friends!
Lumine hadn’t messaged Nagami to brag—she genuinely wanted to know if he’d be interested in using the spring for some chaos of his own.
Watching her deliberately put on that sweet, syrupy voice and call him “Onii-chan,” Nagami involuntarily shivered.
Sure, 2D little sisters might be full of charm and appeal, but in real life—when there are no enemies around and the age gap is small?
Siblings never go easy on each other.
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[Nagami]: Alright, alright… Gimme… 3 drops.
———————————————————————
One drop for Kotori—whether Shiori shows up or not will depend on sibling dynamics in the Itsuka family.
The other two drops? Backup supplies.
Plenty of chaos opportunities ahead.
This was top-tier loot.
And honestly, Nagami didn’t need that much.
Once he analyzed the spring’s properties with his Alpha Stigma Eyes, he’d basically be able to reproduce it.
And if Lumine ever turned on the charm and played the spoiled sister card and ask him to use it on Aether?
Aether might never escape the curse again!
Those two drops would be his reserve—just in case he hadn’t finished analyzing it yet.
———————————————————————
[Lumine]: Sure! But as your lovely adopted half-sister from another universe, what are you giving me in return~?
[Nagami]: ???
[Nagami]: Weren’t you all excited to share the good stuff with me for free?
[Lumine]: ?
———————————————————————
Nagami stared blankly at the question mark she sent.
Several seconds passed before it hit him—
Was he really just trying to mooch free loot off the Traveler?
He had to admit... that was on the same level as trying to keep Kiana from running wild.
Practically an impossible task.
———————————————————————
[Lumine]: No way! No way! Are you seriously trying to freeload off your precious little sister?!
———————————————————————
Nagami’s fists clenched.
That smug tone… she was begging for a smack.
———————————————————————
[Lumine]: I spent so many points drawing this, you know!
———————————————————————
In reality?
The Traveler had gotten it with just 10 points—basically a reward from two days of logging in.
Total dumb luck.
———————————————————————
[Nagami]: Fine. If it’s that rare and precious, you should keep it all to yourself.
———————————————————————
Of course Nagami didn’t buy her sob story, but… dealing with someone as shameless as Lumine? He had plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
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[Nagami]: That’s a shame though… I recently hired a talented doujin artist—cute girl, top-tier quality.
I was going to ask if you wanted any special commissions. She could’ve drawn something just for you.
But oh well… sigh...
[Lumine]: !!!
[Lumine]: Onii-chan! Onii-chan!! My dearest Onii-chan! You’re the best ever~ ❤
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That spoiled, sugary tone of hers? Child’s play.
For Lumine, calling someone “Onii-chan” was about as casual as calling someone “Grandpa.”
She still acted like a sweetheart around Lisa, after all~
———————————————————————
[Lumine]: I was just teasing you~! If my dear brother wants it, of course I’ll share! It’s a little sister’s duty!
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