Chapter summary: In which Xingqiu ropes everyone into helping him
Zhongli walks up the flight of stairs leading to Yujing Terrace. His mind caught in a jumble of thoughts, all centering the Khaenri'an he brought to Liyue.
He wanted to go search for Kaeya the moment he finished his work. He feels bad for asking Xingqiu to keep Childe from getting alone with Kaeya. He knows the young gentleman would commit to his words even if he found his request strange, but he's still worried.
No matter how cunning he knows the second son of the head of Feiyun Commerce Guild can be, Childe is still a Fatui Harbinger with more experience under his belt.
However, he needs to talk to the adepti residing in Liyue Harbour about Kaeya first. And… he also needs some advice from Ping.
When he gets to the top of the stairs, his sight immediately lands on Ping sitting at her usual corner of the Terrace, though she's not alone today. Ganyu and Yanfei, another two adepti, are also present. Ganyu should be able to tell who he is, but Yanfei…
"Oh, another old friend, did I miss a note about today being some kind of reunion day?" Ping asks in amusement once he's close enough to distinguish the kind of tea they are having by the aroma alone.
"It's been a while Ping. I hope I am not intruding."
Ganyu, who is sitting with her back towards him, whirls around to look at him before jumping up from her seat. "Re- I mean, Mister Zhongli! I didn't think I would see you here. Are you looking for Madame Ping? If so, then we can excuse ourselves."
"At ease, girl." Ping says. "I am sure he wouldn't mind the presence of you two. After all, I am sure our old friend here has something to tell us all."
Zhongli furrows his brows at the wordings. It's almost like she already knows why he's here.
"Ah, I see, so that's how it is!" Yanfei suddenly snaps her fingers and exclaims before also standing from her seat to settle her gaze on him. "You are him. No wonder you know so much about the history and legislation of Liyue. Although I didn't have much interaction with you before, once I put together everything I know about you, the fact that he is not actually dead, and Granny and Ganyu's words just now, it isn't so difficult to arrive at this conclusion."
He smiles at Yanfei, proud to see the daughter of one of his old friends growing up to be so intelligent.
He gestures for the two adepti to retake their seats before taking the remaining unoccupied seat for himself.
"You guessed correctly, Yanfei. And yes, Ping, I do have something to tell you all, but how do you know about that? Did you- did he pass by here earlier?"
"If you are talking about Kaeya, then no. But Ganyu and Yanfei met him earlier the day." Ping replies.
"Is that so?" He raises the cup of tea Ganyu poured for him to his lips to calm his nerves.
"And apparently Ganyu's first words to him is to comment on how much he has grown." Ping says.
He chokes on his tea. "Wh- what?!"
"Don't worry, I arrived in time before it could become a disaster." Yanfei says. "You are lucky that Barbatos sent Granny a letter about him visiting Liyue."
What? Since when did Ping and Barbatos-
A sigh. "How do you think Barbatos would know so much about what happened five hundred years ago?"
"I thought it's Xiao who told him?"
Ping shakes her head. "Xiao was, and still is, troubled over what happened. And with how quiet the yaksha usually is, Barbatos was only able to get bits and pieces of the whole story from him. I filled him in on the missing pieces."
"I see." Apart from him, Xiao had indeed spent the most time with him. He supposes it's only normal for the yaksha to still be troubled after so long.
If Xiao still hasn't gotten over that, like how he himself had been unwilling to meet Kaeya before his persistent friend found a way to force him to do so, had he imposed his own will on Xiao? The yaksha has indeed agreed to meet Kaeya, but was that simply because of the misplaced admiration and unconditional trust the yaksha has always placed on him?
He shakes his head to clear himself of the thought.
"Re- Mister Zhongli?" Ganyu looks at him in worry. "I- I am really sorry." She bows.
"It is not your fault, Ganyu." He reassures her. "If anyone is at fault, it would be me." He holds up a hand to stop the adeptus, one of his most loyal adeptus who has always looked up at him, even when his decision might not be the best at times and he had inadvertently failed them on occasions, when she looks to want to refute his words.
"And I trust that Yanfei has handled the situation perfectly." He turns towards the youngest adeptus among them and inclines his head. "For that, please accept my gratitude."
Yanfei inclines her head. "It is an honour to be of help."
He turns back to Ganyu. "I am simply worried that I might have forced Xiao to do something he's unwilling to do."
He then shifts his attention to Ping. "Ping, I would like to continue our conversation there."
Ganyu and Yanfei take it as the cue for them to leave and excuse themselves. Once the two girls leave, Ping takes out her serenitea pot.
"I would have said that it's unhealthy for you to keep going back there, but it's different this time, right?"
He nods. "There is also something I need to check on."
A mist veil is cast on the area, hiding their visage from normal people, and when the mist is gone as suddenly as it appeared, the previously occupied seats are already empty.
.
Zhongli stares into the cup of tea he's holding.
As expected, Ping advised him to reveal his identity to Kaeya. He still doesn't believe he's ready to do just that… but…
The conversation between him and Ping replays itself in his mind.
He's been a fool. A fool for thinking that the seal would allow Kaeya to have a normal life. A fool for believing that the seal is-
"Zhongli?"
He looks up to see three and a half pairs of eyes staring at him.
"Are you okay? You have been acting like this the whole dinner." Kaeya asks.
Guilt consumes him just seeing the concern in that single star lit eye. "My apologies. I was simply thinking about some work-related issues." He smiles reassuringly at the others.
"I am sure you must have been busy dealing with all the work that has piled up during your absence." Xingqiu comments.
"So what do you think about the case, Mister Zhongli?" Chongyun asks.
The confusion must have been apparent on his face because Childe then proceeds to elaborate. "We are talking about the miners that disappeared five days ago."
"The foreman at Huishan Hall has commissioned some adverturers to do some initial investigation several days ago." Xingqiu continues. "Four of the five miners working at the site disappeared without a trace when the fifth decided to take a break."
Chingyun nods. "What's more weird is that they had taken their tools with them but not their everyday items like food, clothes or water, so those four didn't seem to have left willingly, yet there's no trace of struggling in the area." The young exorcist perks up and starts to raise his voice. "It sounds like the work of some evil spirits. What do you think, Mister Zhongli?"
He blinks at the question. It seems he has been so preoccupied that he has indeed missed a large chunk of their conversations.
"I think those four miners might have encountered some really powerful hilichurls or monsters of the like that chased them away from their post." Childe offers his own view, a glint of excitement passes through his eyes. "Ah, if only I was there, I might be able to get in some good fights."
Kaeya shrugs. "I don't know about that. There is no trace of struggling found on site. I don't know about Liyue, but in Mondstadt, people would at least need to have some basic training on how to fight if they are to take up dangerous occupations such as miner."
"But what if that monster is so huge that they know from first sight they couldn't win?" Childe challenges.
"If that monster is so huge, then there would at least be some footprints." Kaeya argues.
"Abyss mage floats in the air, they don't leave footprints on the ground." Childe defends.
"If it's an abyss mage, they would start with elemental attacks, but there are no damages on the ground left by elemental attacks." Kaeya retorts.
"I still think it's the doing of some evil spirits." Chongyun interjects.
"No matter what the cause is, I propose we head out to help with the investigation tomorrow." Xingqiu says. He sweeps his glance over them. "Oh, I was just talking about me and Chongyun. Chongyun has always liked to investigate strange occurrences such as this, and I believe it's prudent to lend a helping hand and to rescue the missing miners if they are indeed thrust into some life-threatening situation."
Zhongli has heard of this chivalrous side of the second son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild before. But even so, from what he has been told, he doesn't think it's a matter to be resolved by just two teenagers.
"That's too dangerous." Kaeya frowns. "If you really want to investigate, then I am going with you."
Chongyun looks at the knight with wide eyes and waves his hand in front of him frantically. "No, it's fine. We would be fine on our own. You came here to visit, we shouldn't drag you into this." He stutters. The tip of his ears starts to get red.
Kaeya chuckles. "It's fine. The mining site is in Lisha, right? I haven't been there yet, I suppose we could shift our schedule around a bit to go there tomorrow first, right?" The Khaenri'an winks at him towards the end of his question.
It's impossible for him to say no to the man's request, not to mention he would also feel better if he can personally ensure the safety of the two younglings.
.
When Diluc arrives at Liyue Harbour with Aether and Paimon in tow, it is already very late at night. He leads the traveller duo to a hotel he usually stays at whenever he comes to the port city.
Luck was on his side when he heard from his informant stationed near Wangshu Inn that Kaeya's group had headed straight towards Liyue Harbour, and not wander around or, Barbatos forbids, take a detour to Jueyun Karst.
But the news that there's a new addition to Kaeya's group when they depart Wangshu Inn has soured his mood. That could only mean that the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger, who has some hidden agenda for his estranged brother, is already with Kaeya now.
He wants to immediately start searching for the bluenette, but Liyue Harbour is not a small city. It would be a waste of time to search blindly. Not to mention how both Aether and Paimon have most likely tired themselves out. He has set an almost punishing pace the moment they were informed of Kaeya's chosen route earlier the day after all.
"Master Diluc, how do you plan to find Kaeya here?" Paimon asks.
"I am taking you two to the hotel we will be staying for the night first. Then I will head out to talk to my informants."
"Wow, so Master Diluc's information network extends to even Liyue." The fairy exclaims.
Diluc nods. "Kaeya also has his own network in Liyue even though he has never been here before. It's only sensible to have people gathering information not just from inside Mondstadt, but from all over the world."
After they get to the hotel and Diluc arranges for their stay, he takes them to the closest restaurant, tells them to order whatever they want and starts to leave to meet his contact.
But before he could leave, Aether stops him with a small tug on his sleeve. When he looks at the boy, who's looking at him with one of the softest looks he's ever seen on the blonde, the traveller smiles.
"I am glad."
"Huh?"
"I don't know what is written in the letter Kaeya asked me to deliver to you. But I can see your change in attitude towards him. For that I am glad."
Diluc feels heat creep up his neck at the sincere words, he gives a tiny nod to Aether before glancing over at Paimon, feeling grateful that at least the fairy is too busy listing out her order to the server to notice their exchange.
.
…
He raises the spear and finds himself being engulfed by golden light. The light eventually converges at his right eye.
Only then does he realize that he is looking at the world with both his eyes uncovered.
After the golden light disappears, he hears the sound of glass breaking before tendrils of darkness burst out of his right eye.
He raises his head and looks at the dull grey sky. Some of the tendrils evaporate when they reach the sky and that somehow makes the sky look even duller than before.
He staggers as energy leaves his body. He slams the tip of the weapon in his hand into the ground and leans against it for support.
His hold on the spear slips as immense pain courses through his body. A blood-curdling scream tears through the air. It takes him a while to realize that he's the one screaming, yet the voice sounds wrong even to his own ears.
"No!"
Kaeya opens his eye to the darkened room. Quickened pants fill the otherwise silent room.
He tries to move his fingers. Only when he feels them responding to his brain's command does he realize that his body is not in pain.
That immense pain that made him feel as if his body was being torn apart.
The pain felt so real.
Whoever said that people don't feel pain in their sleep has to be bullshitting.
He repeatedly tells himself that he is safe. He is not in pain now. His body is not tearing apart. The seal on his eye is still active.
Once he manages to reign in his raging emotions and regulate his uneven breathing, he curls up into a foetal position on the bed. The blanket hiding his whole body from the world.
He really hopes that his dream is just that, a dream, and not a prophetic dream. Or that this prophetic dream of his is not absolute, that he could prevent it from becoming reality.
Once he further calms down, he slowly unfurls his body and lowers the blanket to under his chin.
He closes his eye and tries to recall this new extension of his dream. It was horrifying. Just trying to recall it makes him feel phantom pain throughout his body. But the phantom pain is nothing like the one he felt in his dream.
He recalls vaguely hearing someone shouting something towards the end of his dream. He tries to focus on that last part by trying to replay it in his mind.
It was… the word was 'no'... And it's from two voices. Two people had shouted the same word at the same time. He believes one of them belonged to Morax, as it's much louder and the voice was a bit distorted.
And the other one…
It's a voice he hasn't heard for over a decade already, but it's also one that he would never forget.
It was Dainsleif, his Twilight Sword.
The excitement he feels at the prospect of being able to meet his loyal knight in this strange 'future' after so long is almost enough to make him forget all the horrifying aspects of the dream just now.
He wonders if Dain was also thrown to the 'future' when he passed through the portal connecting the Abyss and Tevyat. If that's the case, is it possible that there are actually quite a number of his fellow countrymen that have also survived by being 'thrown' to the future?
But is the Twilight Sword's presence in this time also caused by those abyss gates? His knight has the power to manipulate space and can create portals himself, he doesn't have to pass through-
"Your power is so convenient! You can create your own portals and don't have to pass through those weird gates to get to the other parts of the world. I wish my eye can do that too." He pouts at the knight that's always by his side.
Dainsleif chuckles. "It's not as convenient as you thought. I also have to pass through the Abyss."
He tilts his head to the side and looks at the man curiously. "You also have to pass through the Abyss?" He repeats.
"My portal works by using the Abyss as a medium to create wormholes between two different locations. The portals you have been using are based on this power my family wields. You didn't feel like you were going through the Abyss when passing through my portals because as the original wielder of this power, I am able to shorten the 'corridor' of the wormhole constructed in the Abyss that links up the two locations."
The knight illustrates his explanation by holding up his hands before him, palms facing each other, and slowly closing the distance between the two palms.
"It's still convenient!" He refutes then sighs. "And I won't be able to use those portals of yours once you leave…" He then looks at his knight, his mentor, his friend, straight in the eyes. "Promise me you will use your portals to get away if it gets too dangerous. I… know it's a knight's duty to defend the kingdom… but I really hate this war… I just hope it can end soon…"
"I don't even know why this war started… and I doubt a lot of people believed the cover story Father gave to the public." He glances at Dain.
An apologetic look is sent his way. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I am also unaware of the events leading to this war. His Majesty and the council are very adamant about keeping the real cause of the war under wraps. Even the Royal Guards only know that our powers are required for the war."
He frowns. "But unlike the other Royal Guards, your power is just creating portals! Why do they have to send you away?"
He feels the warm palm of his knight on the top of his head and sighs contentedly as the man pats his head. It's rare for Dain to be affectionate, the blonde has always been saying about how it's not appropriate for a knight to touch his lord in such an unrespectful way.
"The power to manipulate space has more usage than you think in battles."
He blushes at the words. "Sorry…" He mumbles. "I wasn't trying to demean you and your power… I just…"
The patting stopped as Dainsleif kneels on one knee before him and takes his hand into his larger ones. "I know." He says in a soft tone and smiles at him gently. "I promise I will keep myself away from danger and come back to you."
That was the last time he heard of Dainsleif.
He… doesn't want his dream to become reality… but he wants to find his knight if the man is really alive. He hopes that voice wasn't just something his mind conjured up.
Maybe… maybe after he successfully evades or survives the events of his dream, he will try to locate the Twilight Sword.
.
There is still quite some time till their breakfast appointment with Xingqiu and Chongyun. But Zhongli knows that Kaeya should be awake now. The Khaenri'an has always woken up around this time. He first thought that it was simply the man's nature to rise early in the morning, but now he knows it's because of the nightmares plaguing his sleep.
How he wants to go over to comfort the distraught man now, but he knows Kaeya wouldn't want that. The bluenette made it very clear how he feels about his offer to help.
He was also similarly agitated the previous morning. The same thoughts of wanting to go to the man's side also passed through his mind then. It feels like a torture to know that he couldn't offer his protection and consolation to the bluenette even though they are just separated by a wall that isn't even ten-inch thick.
Maybe Ping is correct… no, Ping has always been correct. Ping has been living amongst humans for a long time. Her vast knowledge of human emotions and the ability to understand them is the most similar to Guizhong.
Ping was also the one to help him with-
He shakes his head to rid himself of memories of the past. It is not the time to reminisce now. He… he needs to tell Kaeya now, before this unbearable urge to protect the man and the worry he has for him drives him crazy.
With his decision made, he opens the door of his room. It only takes several large strides to take him to the door of Kaeya's room.
He hesitates only for a second or two before raising his hand to-
"I hope you are not thinking of doing something unsavoury to our dear captain by going into his room at this ungodly hour."
He slowly turns to the side and glares at the owner of the voice, not even bothering to pretend he's not irritated.
Childe causally saunters over from the end of the corridor, a knowing smirk on his face.
"And what might you be doing at this ungodly hour yourself, Childe?"
The man shrugs and stops several meters before him. "I couldn't sleep well and went to get some fresh air. I mean, aren't you excited about the case we will be investigating today? We might get some good fight out of it too!"
"Or," even though the corridor is still quite dark, he can see how the eyes of the Harbinger darken. The air electrifies as streaks of lightning start appearing around the man. Due to the lack of light, those streaks of lightning look even flashier than normal, the purple lightning brings a sinister look to the Harbinger's face, "are you pissed enough to want to fight me now?"
So Childe has really been trying to get a rise out of him. His eyes begin to narrow. Normally he would just ignore the man and his taunting, and it's not proper to fight the Harbinger here and now, but the man has tried his patience-
"What are you two doing outside my room?"
He blinks at the annoyed tone. The electricity in the air is gone in an instant, like it has never been there. He whips his head over to look at Kaeya. The man is leaning against the opened door of his room with his arms crossed before his chest, a frown marring his beautiful face.
"Technically I am standing in front of my own room. The only one standing outside your room is Xiansheng." Even without looking, he can tell that Childe is smirking. "Though I suppose I am the one at fault here. You see, I couldn't sleep due to the excitement of finally getting some action later today."
The Fatui Harbinger walks over to stand next to them. "And I know Xiansheng is an early riser, so I invited him to my room to try that expensive tea we bought yesterday. Then we kind of got into a silly argument when we were heading to my room."
"Sorry for waking you up from your beauty sleep. Nice nightshirt by the way." The man winks at the knight.
Kaeya rolls his eyes. "Next time start an argument away fro- Zho- Zhongli?! What are you-"
"It's cold in the morning, you will get sick again if you are not more careful." He ignores the way the two are looking at him as he covers the Khaenri'an with his own outer suit that he just took off, making sure no skin is exposed, and starts manoeuvring the man back into his room.
"Again? Did something similar happen before?" Childe asks.
He turns his head to stare at the ginger in irritation as the man follows them into Kaeya's room. The annoying grin on the Harbinger widens in return.
He feels fingers on his hands and turns back to see a blushing Kaeya removing his hands from those delicate shoulders that fit really well in the palm of his hands before taking a step back to put some distance between them.
"You two. Get. Out!" The scowl on the blushing man looks cute more than intimidating.
"Oohh scary." Childe says before tugging at his sleeve. "Let's go Xiansheng, better stop bothering the captain before he starts to bodily throw us out of his room."
He turns to the Snezhnayan just in time to see the man looking at Kaeya in a way that irritates him again. "Though I don't mind if you want to get rough with me."
Kaeya groans. "It's too early to deal with this crazy battle lust of yours, just… just get out."
He would have manhandled Childe out if not for the man shrugging and leaving the room on his own.
He follows the Harbinger outside and turns around to close the door only to see Kaeya thrusting his suit towards him. That beautiful star-pupiled eye staring at the floor instead of him.
"Thanks… but my room is warmer than the corridor… and I have my fur cape."
The man quickly closes the door before he can respond.
"Is someone getting rejected?"
He turns around to glare at the grinning man.
"What do you want from me?" He growls.
"Wow, this is my first time hearing you use that tone. You must be really pissed." The grin turns maniac. "And who said anything about me wanting something from you? Maybe I have just taken a liking to our dear captain and want to protect him from Mister Big Bad Dragon here."
He narrows his eyes. "If it's a fight you want then-"
The corridor suddenly becomes freezingly cold as Kaeya opens the door slightly to glare at them.
"What did I just say about starting an argument in front of MY room?"
.
"Welcome to Wanmin Restaurant! How many- oh Aether, Paimon, long time no see! Have you come to visit?" The girl in front of Diluc's group exclaims.
"Hi Xiangling, long time no see!" Paimon replies with an enthusiastic wave.
"Morning Xiangling, we are here to look for Zhongli." Aether says.
The girl, Xiangling, blinks and tilts her head to the side. "Again? Mister Zhongli sure is popular these days."
Xiangling looks like she wants to add something, but she might have changed her mind because of the impatient look on Diluc's face, because she suddenly changes her posture. "They're over there." She points towards a corner of the restaurant. They mutter their thanks to the girl and move towards the spot pointed out to them.
He zeros in on the familiar navy blue hair the moment it enters his line of sight. The second person he notices is the blasted consultant, then a ginger haired man with a red mask on his head. The Fatui Harbinger. And he is sitting next to Kaeya.
"Kaeya, Zhongli! And Childe, Xingqiu and Chongyun too!" Paimon greets cheerfully.
The group stops their conversation at the fairy's greeting. Only then does he realize that there are two other teens present.
It's odd. The presence of those two kids. But the only one he cares about is Kaeya. He watches as the knight peers at them through his eyelashes in an almost lazy stare before that single eye widens considerably when it lands on him.
Zhongli is the first to break the silence. "Aether, Paimon and… Master Diluc. It is quite a surprise to see you here. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
It's barely there, but Diluc could detect the subtle warning when the man said his name.
"I-"
What do you plan to do once you know where he is?
Adelinde's question echoes in his mind and he's suddenly at a loss for words. Why did he come here again? Because he wants to warn Kaeya about the Eleventh Harbinger? But the Harbinger is already here now…
"Master Diluc is helping us look for a way to go to Inazuma." Aether says.
Paimon nods a bit too enthusiastically. "And then we heard that you are having breakfast here, so we thought we could come say hi."
The blue haired teen stands up from his seat. "A pleasure to meet you, Master Diluc Ragnvindr of Dawn Winery, I presume. I am Xingqiu, second son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild."
He nods at the teen. "I have heard of you from your father before. Nice to meet you, Xingqiu."
The other teen also hurriedly gets up. "Nice to meet you. I am Chongyun, a friend of Xingqiu."
He nods.
The man he knows to be the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger gives him a lazy wave. "Call me Tartaglia, or Childe, whichever suits you. So what's this going to Inazuma about?"
"Master Diluc knows someone who might be able to help us get there." Paimon says.
"Is that so?" Xingqiu asks. "Are you perhaps referring to the Crux Fleet?"
"What?! Xingqiu, you also know that?!" The fairy exclaims.
The teen nods. "It's no secret that Captain Beidou still sails to Inazuma after the Sakoku Decree was erected. Are you going to search for her now? Last I heard, they will be anchored by Guyun Stone Forest for another few days."
Before Aether could reply, another voice cut in from behind. "Did I hear someone talking about Beidou?"
He glances to the side and sees the girl who they met at the entrance coming over and puts two plates of some kind of Liyuen cuisine onto the table.
"Yes. Xiangling, we are trying to see if Captain Beidou could help us get to Inazuma." Aether replies.
"Then do you want to go with me tomorrow? Beidou asked me to help cook lunch for the event she's organizing tomorrow." The girl says.
"Why would Captain Beidou ask you to help? Don't you have to tend to your own restaurant? And what's this event about?" Paimon asks.
Xiangling laughs. "Beidou is one of my oldest customers, and I have helped out in the kitchen on board her ship in the past. So I guess you can say that I will be going as a chef-for-hire tomorrow? And even if I am not here, there is still dad cooking for the customers here."
"I believe the event Xiangling was talking about is the Crux Clash." Xingqiu says.
"Oh I know." Chongyun cuts in. "It's the martial arts tournament you mentioned before, right?"
The blue haired teen nods. "Yes, some of my fellow disciples from the Guhua Clan have also joined the tournament."
"A martial art tournament?" Childe pipes up and Diluc swears he saw a dangerous gleam passing over his eyes for a moment there. "Sounds fun. Xiangsheng, Kaeya, what do you say we also join?"
He resists the urge to snarl at the Fatui Harbinger in front of so many kids. How dare he calls Kaeya's name so casually? Who does the man think he is?
"I don't think you can join. I heard that this tournament is for non-Vision holders only." Xingqiu says.
"Tsk." Is the Fatui Harbinger pouting? "If they are all non-Vision holders, I doubt the tournament would be fun anyway."
Kaeya chuckles. "That's too bad, Childe. Maybe you will have better luck quelling your bloodthirst later today."
Wait… just what is Kaeya doing fraternizing with that man? The consultant is one thing, but this is a Fatui Harbinger!
"Aether, are the three of you planning to look for Captain Beidou today?" Zhongli asks.
Aether hums thoughtfully before turning to Xiangling. "Is it alright for us to go with you tomorrow?"
"Sure. Just come here tomorrow morning so we can go together." Xiangling says. "I need to get back to work now, see you all later!"
After the girl leaves, the traveller turns towards the group. "I suppose I will go to Katherine to ask for some commissions later to earn some travelling fee. I mean, with Paimon's stomach…"
"Hey!" The fairy huffs indignantly at her partner.
"Perfect." Xingqiu says. "If you are looking for commissions, how about coming with us? I asked Katherine for a commission just this morning."
"Huh? Since when did Xingqiu join the adventure guild?" Paimon tilts her head to the side and puts a finger on the side of her chin.
"You don't have to be an adventurer to take commissions." Kaeya answers.
"Right… " the fairy trails off before she suddenly points at Xingqiu. "Wait, if we help you with your commission, does that mean we have to share the reward with you?"
"You can take my share, I am just doing this because it's a chivalrous thing to do."
"I also don't need the money." Chongyun says. "I just want to see if it's the doing of some evil spirits."
Kaeya shrugs. "Feel free to also take my share. I am only tagging along to make sure these two are safe."
"Likewise." Zhongli adds.
Childe grins. "Do I look like someone who needs money?"
Diluc frowns. Are they all going to-
"Wait, so you all are going to do this commission?!" Paimon exclaims.
Author's Note:
Ahh! Today's Kaeya's birthday! It's good that I can post this chapter today ^^
I hope you like the hotel scene. I actually just added it on a whim to get the word count of this chapter up to standard, i.e. ~5000 words ～(´ε｀ )
I have always wanted to add a scene where Zhongli covers Kaeya up with his clothes because he doesn't want others to stare at his Kaeya ( ˘ ³˘)
So I recently created a Twitter account ( LazyToWriteFic) for all my ideas/brainrots/thread fics, feel free to go there and check out my posts! Well... they are mostly ZhongKae and DainKae, so only check it out if you also like them ;)