Klee absolutely loved Little Duke, which made Shen Qin feel like all the hard work he and Sucrose had put in over the past few days was completely worth it.
At first, they had only planned to make a simple toy for Klee—but without realizing it, they had packed it with all kinds of features, turning it into a multifunctional, intelligent mechanical pet with top-tier practicality.
Sucrose, on the other hand, looked at Little Duke with a hint of envy. Deep down, she resolved to make time to build one for herself later and ask Shen Qin to help program an intelligent system for it...
"Sucrose."
"Eh?" She snapped out of her thoughts to find an unfamiliar mechanical pet floating in front of her.
It was a stunning butterfly, with semi-transparent, pale cyan wings. Its body was about thirty centimeters long, but its wingspan stretched a full meter.
Compared to the cuteness of Little Duke, this one radiated elegance.
"Miss Sucrose, hello. Would you be willing to bond with me and let me become your personal pet?" A gentle female voice spoke—one that Sucrose could tell sounded a bit like her own.
"This... this is for me?" she asked, covering her mouth, caught between delight and bashfulness as she looked at Shen Qin.
They had made four mechanical pets in total, all with designated recipients. She hadn't expected that Shen Qin would secretly make an extra one just for her, let alone keep it a surprise until now!
He smiled and nodded. "If Klee gets a gift, then of course you should have one too! I wouldn't play favorites."
"Th-thank you!" Sucrose, blushing, excitedly bound the uniquely designed mechanical pet and named it "Butterfly". (T/N: Yeah, the literal raw in it is the same when translated to english. Well, it can be said that her name is "Ah-Die" or just Die.)
Butterfly had a smaller storage capacity than Little Duke, but its wings could emit light, and it had six tiny legs to help handle alchemy tools.
Shen Qin had programmed Little Duke's personality to be that of a playful little girl so she'd interact and play with Klee. Butterfly, on the other hand, was more like a gentle big sister—attentive, kind, and ready to listen to Sucrose's thoughts or remind her about everyday things.
Both girls were absolutely thrilled with their mechanical pets, but Shen Qin eventually had to interrupt their excitement. "Alright, there'll be plenty of time to play with them later. For now, we need to head out."
Klee noticed him placing a cat-like mechanical pet into his backpack and asked curiously, "Huh—Big Brother Shen, who are you giving that one to?"
"Don't you remember? At the bartender competition, you touched a certain someone's tail." Shen Qin playfully flicked her nose. "I said I'd send her a little gift to apologize."
"Oh! Klee remembers now—it's Big Sister Diona!"
"That's right. She should be at work now, so I'm heading to the Cat's Tail tavern to deliver it. Do you want to go back to the Knights, or come with us?"
"Klee wants to come too!"
Klee had gotten a cute Dodoco, Sucrose had a beautiful butterfly—so what kind of cat-themed pet would Diona get? She was curious!
When they arrived at the Cat's Tail tavern, Shen Qin was surprised by how bustling it was. Though the tavern had always been regarded as one of Mondstadt's top two drinking establishments alongside Angel's Share, it had never been this busy.
Old-timers usually preferred Angel's Share, while the Cat's Tail mainly drew cat lovers.
"Hmph! Your Super Lizard-Tail Stinky Booze is ready!"
As they entered, they were greeted by Diona's annoyed voice. At the bar, she slammed a drink in front of a customer with an obviously displeased expression.
Just hearing the drink's name sounded disgusting, yet the customer eagerly picked up the glass. After taking a sip, the other patrons started chiming in:
"How's today's special mix, Miss Diona?"
"I bet it tastes amazing—the weirder her ingredients, the better the drink!"
After savoring the drink, the man's face flushed as he gave a big thumbs-up. "Nice! Way more exciting than yesterday's Frog Special, with a stronger aftertaste!"
Seeing his enthusiastic praise, others quickly demanded their own glasses.
"Ugh! These disgusting drunks!" Diona turned around angrily. "Why do they still love my drinks, even when I make them taste awful?"
"Big Sister Diona!"
A familiar voice called out behind her. She turned to see the three of them walking toward her. Immediately, she clutched her tail protectively and put on a stern face. "You guys can drink all you want—but why bring Klee to a tavern? Kids absolutely cannot drink!"
Clearly, she hadn't forgotten the little girl who had touched her tail the moment they met.
"Ah? Oh!" Shen Qin quickly waved his hands. "We're not here to drink—we came to see you."
"I-I see…" Her tone softened immediately. She turned to the persistent patrons and said, "You guys heard him—I'm busy today, no more mixing!"
But the customers didn't seem to care, staring instead at what floated around Shen Qin and the others.
"Look at that chubby, floating thing—what is that? And why is it flying?"
"That's one big butterfly!"
Only then did she notice Little Duke and Butterfly floating near them—and was startled.
Shen Qin placed his backpack on the bar and pulled out a mechanical cat, activating it. "I promised you a gift to apologize, and today I'm here to deliver it."
The mechanical cat, excluding its tail, was about thirty centimeters long. Although made entirely of metal, it had the sleek curves and natural flexibility of a real cat. Its face was a glowing pixel display, while its ears, waist, limbs, and tail mimicked a real feline's movement.
Everyone in the tavern watched in shock as the mechanical cat gracefully "walked" through the air around Diona—thanks to its flight system and calculated motion patterns.
"Is it walking in midair?!"
"That's not a real cat, is it?!"
"Wait—that young man's Shen Qin, the esteemed alchemist! If he made these, that explains a lot!"
"Does it, though? His alchemy's amazing, sure—but how do they fly?!"
The mechanical kitty finally landed on the bar, sat neatly like a real cat, and said in a soft, adorable voice, "Miss Diona, I am Yuumi. Would you like to bond with me and let me become your personal pet?"
"Eek?! It talks!" Diona jumped back a few steps in shock.
"Don't be scared," Shen Qin said. "Could you find us a private room without other guests?"
In the private room, Shen Qin explained the purpose and features of Yuumi. To ensure Yuumi could move like a real cat, he had completely removed its storage function, focusing solely on companionship and scanning capabilities.
Diona agreed to the bonding. Now she gently stroked Yuumi's cool metallic body. Though it wasn't as soft as a real cat, the carefully programmed, responsive feedback brought her a different kind of satisfaction.