"Wait, little one."
Jiang Yan pointed at himself with an amused expression.
"This should be the first time we've ever met, right?"
"Why do you want to follow me?"
It wasn't that he had any objections.
He just didn't think his charm had reached the point where every little girl wanted to follow him around.
Hearing his question, the girl answered seriously:
"Because… Big Brother saved me."
"So I want to repay you!"
In her eyes, if Jiang Yan hadn't appeared just now—
She probably would've died there.
His arrival had changed her fate.
He had pulled her back from the edge of death.
So she wanted to follow him, leave this forest, and spend her life repaying him.
After hearing her explanation, Jiang Yan's expression turned a little strange.
Hiss…
Why did this sound more and more like one of those "I'll devote myself to you forever" situations?
That kind of thing was definitely not okay!
Very criminal. Very arrest-worthy.
Still, Jiang Yan was genuinely tempted by the idea of the girl following him.
Because if nothing unexpected happened—
The girl before him would one day become Kujou Sara.
She just wasn't called that yet.
After all, she hadn't been adopted by the Kujou Clan.
Although Sara was only a four-star character in the game, her abilities in the story were incredibly impressive.
The Great General of the Tenryou Commission!
Not only did she command all of Inazuma's Shogunate forces, she also charged at the frontlines personally in every battle.
One person worth ten thousand soldiers!
Most importantly, Kujou Sara was fiercely loyal.
One of her voice lines in the game was:
"Loyalty to Her Excellency, the Almighty Narukami Ogosho, is my life's guiding principle."
If Barbara was Venti's fanatic little fan…
And Keqing was Morax's tsundere fangirl…
Then Kujou Sara was Ei's ultimate devoted believer!
She would carry out the Raiden Shogun's orders without hesitation and treat anyone opposing the Shogun's will as an enemy.
And now this loyal little girl, still just a tiny adorable child, wanted to follow him.
Jiang Yan found that extremely acceptable.
Originally, Jiang Yan had planned to hand command of the Millelith over to Ningguang.
But if Sara truly followed him back to Liyue, then little Ningguang wouldn't need to shoulder yet another responsibility.
He could simply let Kujou Sara command the Millelith and assist Ningguang.
At that point—
Beidou would command the navy.
Shenhe would command the air force.
Sara would command the land forces.
Together, they would help Ningguang stabilize her rule.
Heh heh heh…
At that point, who would dare provoke Ningguang?
The more Jiang Yan thought about it, the further his imagination drifted.
Of course, all of this depended on whether the little girl truly wanted to return to Liyue with him.
After all, she had grown up in Inazuma.
Although she currently said she wanted to follow him, if he brought her across thousands of miles of ocean to Liyue…
Jiang Yan worried she might not adapt well.
"Hey, little one."
Jiang Yan looked into the girl's bright eyes and spoke seriously:
"You should know that I'm only visiting Inazuma as a traveler."
"I live in Liyue now, and it's very far from here."
"If you want to follow me, then you'll have to leave Inazuma and travel with me to Liyue."
"Have you really thought this through?"
The girl's eyes instantly lit up.
Smart as she was, she immediately understood that Jiang Yan was considering accepting her.
Then, without even thinking, she nodded firmly.
"Big Brother, I've already thought it through!"
"I want to follow you!"
"No matter where you go, I'll follow!"
"I'm very obedient too! I won't cause trouble!"
She hurriedly tried to sell herself, afraid Jiang Yan might suddenly change his mind and refuse her.
Looking at the little girl's round childish face filled with determination and nervousness, Jiang Yan smiled softly.
"What's your name?"
He asked gently.
At this point, she shouldn't be called Sara yet, so he naturally needed to ask first.
"My name…"
The girl lowered her head and thought for a long while.
Finally, she looked up at Jiang Yan in confusion.
"Big Brother… I… I don't think I have one."
Because she had grown up alone in the forest.
Ever since she could remember, she had always lived like this.
No one had ever called her by name.
So she didn't know what her name was.
No—
More accurately, she had never had one.
"No name…"
Jiang Yan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
So before being adopted by the Kujou Clan, Sara really hadn't had a name.
Then he spoke:
"Little one, since you want to follow me…"
"How about I give you a name?"
"Eh? Okay!"
Hearing that Jiang Yan wanted to name her, the girl nodded excitedly, her eyes sparkling brightly.
What made her happiest wasn't just gaining a name.
It was Jiang Yan's earlier words.
Didn't that mean Big Brother had already agreed to let her stay with him?
That's wonderful!
Jiang Yan stood up and looked around at the forest.
Since he was the one naming her, calling her Kujou Sara obviously wouldn't fit.
After all, he wasn't from the Kujou Clan.
There was no need to use someone else's surname.
It wasn't like he lacked one himself.
"Since I picked you up, and you're a girl…"
"Then from now on, your name shall be Jiang Big妞."
Jiang Yan grinned mischievously and came up with an incredibly rustic nickname.
"Jiang Big妞…"
The girl felt like something about the name was strange.
But since Jiang Yan had given it to her—
She accepted it wholeheartedly!
"Okay! From now on I'm Jiang Big妞!"
Seeing the little girl's silly earnest expression, Jiang Yan burst out laughing.
Kids really were too fun!
The girl looked at Jiang Yan's uncontrollable laughter in complete confusion.
Why was Big Brother laughing so hard after naming her?
"Alright, alright, I'm done teasing you."
Jiang Yan finally calmed down and vigorously rubbed her head.
"Honestly, how can you be this adorably dense…"
"I was just teasing you earlier. You absolutely cannot use that name."
Because if you grew up with that name, you'd probably kill me someday.
Jiang Yan wisely kept that last thought to himself.
"Eh? But I think that name sounds pretty good…"
The girl tilted her head, completely unaware she'd been pranked.
Jiang Yan shook his head with a smile.
Then he took Sara's little hand and walked along the road he had blasted open through the forest.
"Sara."
"From today onward, your name will be Sara."
His clear voice echoed through the forest as the figures of one tall and one small gradually disappeared into the distance.
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