Chapter 270: Teyvat Laws Are Weird...

***

As Draff continued to stroke Diona's head gently, Yomite took some time looking around the room.

The last time he was in their house, Diona didn't let him inside of her room.

Now that he took a look around, he could see why she wouldn't want him to see this...

Tens of cat-like stuffed animals and toys littered the floor.

She was probably embarrassed to let anyone but her father see her room with how many cat plushies there were.

Not to mention, there were toys people usually used to play with cats stacked next to the bed.

'They don't have any animals...so does that mean Diona is playing with cat toys herself? A catgirl playing with toys has to be the most adorable sight.'

Yomite thought as his gaze drifted from the toys to the stuffed cat plushie she was currently holding.

Anyone would wake up if someone touched them in their sleep long enough and so did Diona, who appeared to have had enough of the petting...

After a moment, Diona started opening her eyes...

A small groan came from her throat as she stretched slightly.

When she finally opened her eyes, they widened a bit and she quickly hid behind the cat plushie...

"DADDY!? How could you let someone in my room like this!? A stranger at that!" Diona yelled, glaring daggers at both of them.

Draff raised both hands in surrender and said in a defeated voice, "Don't worry! It's not just a stranger! It's the Hero Yomite, did you forget him?"

At this point Diona stared at him blankly as a look of utter confusion crossed her face...

She then turned her attention to Yomite and realized who he was.

It took her quite some time, simply because she just woke up and was having trouble understanding her surroundings.

"Then that's even worse! Nyaaa! Out! Both of you! Out! Out of my room!" Diona shouted, pulling a blanket over herself.

""Yes ma'am!""

Yomite laughed and agreed with her demand and so did Draff, and with that, the two of them exited her room and headed back downstairs.

"I'll prepare the fowls, you just wait here." Draff said and left the house, leaving Yomite alone.

For a moment, nothing happened...and then, he heard soft steps running down the stairs towards him.

"I apologize for my earlier outburst, but you simply don't enter a girl's room while she's sleeping! Yuck, that's creepy." Diona said, frowning slightly as she stood in front of him.

"Sorry, sorry, it was Draff's idea anyway, I just followed him,"

Diona sat down on one of the chairs in the kitchen before asking, "So what brings you down to the village today? Not that I'm really interested or anything..."

"Well, let's just say my friends drank too much yesterday, and I need a few fowls to make them a nice soup."

This answer made her perk up immediately.

"Ew, disgusting boozehounds..." She muttered under her breath.

"For most of them, it was their first time drinking so I was afraid they would be out of it."

"Oh, that's good..." Diona jumped from the chair and leaned towards him.

*Sniff* *Sniff*

" ...All clear! No scent of alcohol on you! Good, good!"

She concluded cheerily after sniffing him.

He nodded at her response.

"You seem happy about that."

"Hmph! It's only because I hate that awful smell!" She complained and wrinkled her nose, "It makes my head hurt!"

"How do you feel now? I heard from Draff you were overworking yourself lately." He asked concerned and reached out to her, placing a hand on her forehead.

"M-Much better! Keep your hands to yourself, Mister! My temperature is perfectly normal, no need to touch my head!"

"Aw, shame, I wanted to pet your ears." Yomite acted as if he was disappointed to the point where the world ended for him.

"Nyaaa!? My ears again..." Diona pouted, crossing her arms, "Well, fine...I guess since you insist...But no touching the tail! I'll bite!"

She moved closer to him and allowed him to pet her, which pleased him.

'So cute...'

Her cat ears wiggled happily in response to him.

"What happened to your hair...It's so long..." Yomite mumbled.

Diona started purring and she closed her eyes,

"I usually tie my hair up, but since I just woke up, I'm wearing it down."

Diona's cat ears were undoubtedly beautiful.

They were really fluffy and seemed to move in harmony with her movements whenever she turned her head in order to hear better.

After having enough, Yomite let her go. It already felt a bit weird petting a young girl like that but he focused more on the cat part than anything else frankly, and as the will of mankind existed, humans would pet everything. No matter how dangerous it was.

"Why did you stop?" She asked, sounding very upset and confused.

"Oh, I'm sorry? You liked it? I thought you hated being pet?"

"Of course I hate it!"

She exclaimed.

Yomite laughed.

She truly acted just like a cat would.

She was certainly adorable, and a true tsundere, much like most household cats...

Yomite was wondering, whether she would ever grow up to be like Draff...

'No...I cannot picture Diona acting like Draff...ever.'

"So, I assume you wanted me to make you a drink again? Otherwise you wouldn't enter my room..." She spoke after a pause.

"Yeah, I'd love one. Could you do the same one you did before? The Biotice or whatever you called it?"

"It's 'Bruice'..."

"Yeah! That one. It was amazing. I was full of energy during the day and...even during the night..."

He remembered the fond memories of all-nighters with Hu Tao. Those were wonderful times.

"Even during the night? Why would you want to be energetic during the night? Didn't you have trouble sleeping like this?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.

"....."

...

..

.

'Dear gods, Venti...Zhongli...Granny...she's so clueless it's adorable...' Yomite prayed.

"...Uhhh.....you know...ehm..."

Diona gave him a suspicious stare.

"Hmm...you're acting strange... something's up, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry, this is for adults only..." Yomite replied awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

He wanted to get out of this situation but it seemed that he hit a nerve...

"What was that!? I'm a proud adult of the Kätzlein Bloodline! And a proud adult doesn't shy away from the truth!"

He chuckled nervously.

"I'm sorry but you're only fourteen years old from what I've heard...You're too young to be an adult... you're at most a teenager..."

"A teenager? What's that word supposed to mean!? Are you implying that I'm immature?!"

Yomite tried to hide a laugh, but when he couldn't, he simply shrugged his shoulders and sighed softly.

"I didn't mean it that way...teenager basically means a growing child ready to become an adult... you're so small and adorable I can't picture you as an adult..."

"What are you talking about!? There is no teenager! There is only a child and an adult and I'm already an adult!"

She huffed in annoyance.

"Wait...what?"

Yomite blinked multiple times in surprise.

"Tch...alright then, so...let me tell you since you are a small dumbo. One becomes an adult at the age of twelve. Before the age of twelve, everyone is a child. As for me...I'm fourteen years old. I'm an adult, and as a member of the Kätzlein Bloodline...whether I want it or not, my body won't grow more than it already is...as all girls from our clan were short...only the boys turn taller and taller like my daddy..."

Yomite listened carefully to every word she said, but the more he listened the more his mouth fell open.

Adult at the age of twelve? Was that even possible?!

That was unheard of...

But then again...it was another world...

They had different laws and things people had to abide...but this felt weird...like something was not exactly right in this world.

Not to mention, wasn't her bloodline a curse then?

She was a Loli, for the rest of her life...

Unlike Hu Tao or Fischl, who were both petite yet adult women, Diona would be stuck in this body of hers for the rest of her life, never growing more mature or taller...

An actual Loli...

'Some of my old co-workers would most likely drool just to see what a real Loli would be like...they'd probably be more than delighted to talk to a tsundere Loli cat girl...'

As Yomite used to work in novel publishing...well, he knew how writers felt when working in such business...

People were mostly degenerates, with weird fetishes, and sexual perversions.

Many of his co-workers loved the Loli genre, even women.

And while he never really got into it due to his taste being fixated on milfs back then, he had to admit they looked cute and if the woman just looked small, but had grown mentally, was an adult and understood stuff, well, maybe the Lolis weren't all bad after all.

But he wouldn't put his hands on children who weren't aware of anything. That was just disgusting.

There were many women he was acquainted with on Earth, who suffered from the fact that they were short.

One of them once told him, that when she went to ask a guy she liked out, he told her he didn't want to date her, because she was so short he would feel like a pedo.

That broke her heart and she stayed single ever since, without even trying to get a partner.

Yomite didn't understand stuff like that.

Because no one chose how short or tall they would be even if it was unfortunate they were born this way...everyone deserved love no matter what their situation was.

In this case, Diona was definitely a perfect example of this.