Genshin Impact, I'm Slime

The night in Liyue Harbor is as deep as ink, and the hustle and bustle of the daytime has settled into silence.

The traveler and Paimon walked back to the White Horse Inn along the cobblestone path, the dim lanterns swaying in the night wind, casting their shadows long and short.

"...So, traveler, look!"

Paimon floated beside the traveler, gesturing excitedly with his little hands, his tiny brows furrowed into a knot.

"That old Gao said Zhiyi is dirt poor, he even has to haggle over a few moras, but his reputation has spread so far, even Old Sun's crew knows about him! This is just not right!"

She counted the suspicious points one by one on her little fingers.

"He doesn't have any Mora at all, so where did he get the money to hire people to promote him? And the timing is too coincidental, with so many nice things suddenly appearing right when the Seven Stars are being chosen... Keqing is right, someone must be pulling strings behind the scenes!"

As the traveler walked, his gaze fell on the gaps in the stone path ahead, and he unconsciously responded with a slightly absent-minded tone.

"Hmm...it is indeed suspicious."

Paimon, oblivious, continued to immerse himself in his reasoning:
"And another thing! That planning document Keqing mentioned at the end! She said it might contain clues that the mastermind is after. What could it be..."

Paimon rested her chin on her hand, looking deep in thought, completely unaware that the girl beside her had completely lost in thought.

"Do you want more trade routes, lower sea taxes, or do you want a particularly large piece of land in Liyue Harbor?"

"Wow! The more I think about it, the scarier it gets. If bad guys take control of Tian Shu, won't Liyue Harbor be doomed? Traveler, what do you think..."

Paimon finally turned around, only to find that the traveler's eyes were somewhat unfocused and his steps had slowed down, clearly not paying attention to her question that followed.

"Hey! Traveler, are you even listening to me? This is a major event concerning Liyue!"

Paimon flew up to the traveler, hands on his hips, looking disgruntled.

"what?"

Yingmei was startled by Paimon's sudden close-up face.

"Uh... I'm listening, I'm listening. You're right, it's important."

The girl nodded perfunctorily, but her gaze unconsciously drifted towards the brightly lit outline of the White Horse Inn.

Paimon stared at her suspiciously: "You're not thinking about something else, are you?"

The traveler, unusually a little guilty, coughed lightly, hesitated for a moment, and then finally voiced the absurd thought that had inexplicably popped into his mouth:
"Um... Paimon, didn't Famas say he was going to rest? Where do you think Famas would rest in Liyue?"

Paimon's eyes widened, seemingly unable to keep up with the traveler's leaps of thought:

"Huh? Does that lousy guarantor need a break?"

The traveler nodded, his brow furrowing slightly, a hint of worry that even he found unbelievable, and uttered a rather ominous conjecture:
"Famas doesn't seem to care much about the rules of mortals. Do you think he might just go straight to the room we rented at White Horse Inn and fall fast asleep?"

Upon hearing this, Paimon stumbled in mid-air and almost fell, her little face puffed up in shock.

"Damn it! I knew that jerk was up to no good!"

The little mascot waved its tiny fists in the air, as if defending its territory.

"That's a room we paid Mora for, and the bed is so small, it's definitely not suitable. Let's go back and check!"

With this increasingly strong sense of foreboding, the two quickened their pace, skillfully bypassing the front desk of the White Horse Inn and climbing the steps to the third floor.

Pushing open that familiar door, warm light poured out, and Paimon immediately let out a short gasp:

"Whoa! Traveler, look! There's a monster in our bed!"

In the center of the not-so-spacious bed by the window, a round, plump fire slime radiating a soft, warm orange-red light was curled up.

It lay there quietly, its body rising and falling gently with its even breathing, its little eyes tightly closed, clearly fast asleep. The traveler was taken aback at first, but when her gaze swept over the fire elemental core's luster, which was even more refined and pure than that of an ordinary fire slime, and the outline of its sleeping posture that she inexplicably found a bit annoying, she instantly understood.

"That's not a monster, it's a Famas."

The girl sighed helplessly and pointed to the warm, fluffy ball to remind Paimon.

"Huh?!"

Paimon's eyes widened as he flew to the bedside to examine the object closely.

Sure enough, that round body, the powerful yet gentle fire elemental aura it contained, and even the slight upturn of its lips as it slept, were none other than Famas himself.

"It really is him!"

After Paimon recognized him, his initial shock immediately turned into resentment at being usurped.

"Hey, Famas, this is my and the traveler's bed, what are you doing sleeping here!"

The little mascot huffed and pokes Famas's soft, elastic body with its tiny finger. The slime, poked, wobbles like jelly and bounces a few times. Warm light flashes, but it still doesn't open its eyes. It just adjusts its position, as if muttering "Stop it" in its sleep, before falling into an even deeper sleep.

Seeing Paimon's futile protests and the oblivious ball of fire slime on the bed, the traveler could only step forward, stretch out his hands, and carefully lift Famas's round body, intending to move this domineering guest to the cabinet next to him.

FAMAS's body was warm and light, like holding a warm cloud.

Just as the traveler lifted him off the bed, the fire slime in his palm stirred.

Famas's eyes, composed of pure fire element, suddenly opened, still slightly drowsy from just waking up, and stared directly into the eyes of the girl who was so close to him.

The air seemed to freeze for a second.

The next second, FAMAS's slightly lazy and matter-of-fact voice rang out in the room:
"Oh, you guys are back?"

He showed no awareness of being a guest. His body bounced nimbly in the traveler's hands, like a bouncy ball, lightly breaking free of his restraints. With a soft "plop," he landed precisely in the softest hollow in the center of the bed, even rubbing comfortably against the pillow.

"Don't be shy, sleep wherever you like."

The fire slime shifted its round body, as if making room for them, its posture resembling that of a host inviting guests to make themselves at home.

The warm light swayed gently with his movements, illuminating the speechless faces of the traveler and Paimon.

"Ah! You wretched, lousy guarantor, prepare to die!"

Seeing Famas's lazy, self-righteous attitude as if he had taken over the bed, Paimon's pent-up resentment exploded instantly. He kicked his short legs in the air and pounced on Famas in the center of the bed like a small cannonball ignited by anger.

"Pfft!"

Paimon's small body slammed into the pillow next to Famas with considerable force.

The weight of the mascot, combined with acceleration, produces immediate results.

FAMAS, who was almost crushed, bounced high from the comfortable, sunken pillow like a ball that had been hit hard. It drew a brief orange-red arc in the air, and its body was comically flattened due to the impact, causing ripples to spread in the warm light.

"Huh?!"

Famas only had time to utter a short, bewildered question before he was launched into the air.

The traveler stood at the doorway, witnessing the sudden disaster that had bedding come to a head, and his lips twitched involuntarily.

She watched Paimon sulking and rolling around on the bed, while Famas's round body traced an arc in the air before landing with a thud at the foot of the bed, bouncing slightly twice, his eyes blank and innocent.

The chaotic and inexplicably childish scene before her left her completely exasperated. She could only helplessly raise her hand to her forehead and sigh deeply. (End of Chapter)