Noelle Draws Attention
"Long time no see, Traveler. Have you been enjoying the journey?" Venti asked.
Xiayu found herself replaying every scene since she'd arrived in this world — the friends she'd made, the characters who had once lived only in a game now walking beside her in reality, and the family she'd gained... a brother of her very own.
A soft smile curved her lips. "Yes," she answered herself. "I have."
Once the pleasantries were out of the way, Xiayu wanted to learn what Venti had been doing with himself here, so she asked him outright. "So, Venti — what's your role in this world? I mean... do you have a job or anything?"
"Me? Hmm... let's call me a freelancer with three nevers," Venti replied.
"Huh?" Xiayu blinked at him. "What on earth is a 'freelancer with three nevers'?"
"To be specific, it means I've never had a job, never had savings, and never had a home... that sort of thing. Ehe~" With his explanation delivered, Venti tilted his head and flashed her a sunny grin.
A cluster of dark lines sprouted above Xiayu's head as the corner of her mouth twitched.
What he meant, in other words, was that he was a vagrant!
Paimon huffed in exasperation. "Figures — a busker's a busker no matter which world he lands in."
Xiayu pressed a hand to her forehead with a groan. She was no longer convinced that drawing Venti had been a stroke of good luck.
"Fine. I'll get in touch with Diluc in a bit and have him put you up for the time being."
"Master Diluc, hm?" Venti stroked his chin, and as Dawn Winery drifted through his mind, he nodded in hearty approval. "Excellent arrangement, Traveler. I approve wholeheartedly."
A few days later, at Wanmin Restaurant.
Noelle hung up the phone — the call had come in from the Mouri Detective Agency — and walked over to Xiangling. "Xiangling, Ran just called in a lunch order. Matsutake-stuffed meat rolls, Jade Parcel, Crystal Shrimp, Lotus Seed Pastries..."
"On it! I'll have it ready in a flash."
The moment the order landed, Xiangling moved with practiced ease, prepping and firing up the stove, and before long the whole spread was done.
Noelle boxed everything up neatly. The restaurant wasn't particularly busy at the moment, so she decided to make the delivery herself.
"Oh, and Noelle?" Just as she was about to leave, Xiangling called her back, giving her a mischievous wink and a lowered, teasing voice. "Word from the Traveler is that Amuro Tooru has taken Mouri Kogoro on as his master. You might just run into him when you deliver this lunch, you know~"
"It's hardly going to be that convenient," Noelle said, shaking her head lightly and giving the matter no further thought. "Besides, even if I did bump into him, so what? I'm only dropping off a lunch order. He won't take any notice of me, I'm sure."
"That's where you might be surprised — I hear he's remarkably perceptive. But even so, no harm done. He doesn't know much about the Teyvat Syndicate anyway. And even if he did notice something, there's always the Traveler's brother to lean on." By the end, Xiangling's expression had relaxed into easy cheerfulness.
Barely any time had passed before Noelle arrived at the base of the Mouri Detective Agency building. Xiangling's words flickered through her mind, and she caught herself instinctively sweeping a glance through the interior of Poirot Cafe.
Somewhat disappointingly, there was no sign of Amuro Tooru. Perhaps he wasn't working today — or perhaps, just as Xiangling had predicted, he was upstairs in the detective agency at this very moment.
Noelle didn't dwell on it. She climbed the stairs and knocked on the door.
When it opened, she looked past Mouri Ran and — sure enough — spotted Amuro Tooru inside, holding an enormous platter of sandwiches as he chatted with Mr. Mouri.
"Oh dear — am I late? Did you order lunch all over again?" Looking at the sandwiches in Amuro's hands, Noelle's face filled with self-reproach.
"Ah! No, not at all!" Amuro quickly waved his head, holding up the platter to explain. "These are my personal treat. Mr. Mouri has looked after me so often, so I brought them over as a little afternoon snack."
As he spoke, Amuro's gaze settled on the girl who had come to deliver the Mouris' lunch. He'd assumed she was just an ordinary restaurant waitress, but the closer he looked, the more something about her felt off — and she clearly seemed quite close to the Mouri family, too.
"That's a relief. I was worried I'd been too slow," Noelle said with a breath of relief, setting the takeout bag down on the table without the slightest effort.
Amuro set down his own platter and stepped forward to help.
The moment his hands closed around the bag Noelle passed him, his eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
It had caught him slightly off guard — this takeout order was genuinely heavy. Yet Noelle had carried that considerable weight up all those stairs without showing even a hint of strain. Amuro marveled inwardly. Who would have thought this slender, delicate-looking girl possessed such remarkable strength!
Noelle, for her part, paid Amuro little attention. With the delivery complete, she took her leave.
Watching her retreating figure, Amuro's gaze sharpened subtly — he'd noticed a certain ornament at her waist, on the back of her belt.
Was he simply being oversensitive? Why did that bead-like ornament feel so strangely familiar...
Amuro's smile returned without a trace, and he turned to Mouri Kogoro, casually asking about Noelle under the pretense of idle curiosity.
"Noelle, you say?" Kogoro answered without a second thought. "Oh, her — she's just a waitress at Wanmin Restaurant nearby. And let me tell you, the food at that place is simply out of this world! The signature dishes especially — they'll haunt your taste buds for days. You ought to go try it sometime, Amuro."
The more Kogoro talked, the more animated he became, smacking his lips in fond memory — all while making sure to push his favorite restaurant on his brand-new apprentice, insisting he simply had to taste it for himself.
"Wanmin Restaurant, is it? Understood, Mr. Mouri. I'll be sure to try it firsthand when I get the chance," Amuro replied with an easy smile.