The briefing: P1

There was quite a big party at his teapot to celebrate his return.

Many people gathered inside the house to meet the famous blonde Traveler who had just returned from his most recent trip, where he had saved another nation… again. They were happy to see him still well and everyone wanted to sit as close as possible to him, so they could hear his amazing adventure best.

Except there was just one "little" problem.

That table was occupied by two noble girls from Liyue and Inazuma who were stationed on both sides of Aether.

Although the table was big enough for at least six people, no one dared to approach, the intimidating aura around these three were too thick for anyone to try. Any act of interrupting their meal could be the end of their life and it wasn't worth the risk.

Perhaps the only exception was the Traveler's flying companion as she just scarfed down any food that was within reach of her short arms without thinking. Well, that was what she usually did anyway and Keqing and Ayaka didn't bother her, they had something more important to do. And that was:

Feeding the blonde Traveler

"Come on, Aether opens your mouth" Keqing picked up a golden shrimp ball

"Mine too" Ayaka also did the same "Say Ahhhh"

"Uhhh" Aether hesitated for a while before he slowly swallowed them…

Since he did not want to ruin the mood of the two girls or the party as a whole, Aether had no choice but to take turns eating all of the food brought by them.

"I…I can eat it by my own Keqing, Ayaka…" Aether tried to tell them to stop but of course it was no use.

"You've worked hard for us" Ayaka shyly said while leaning her face closer to him thus making his face redden like a tomato "At least let me do this for you"

Seeing that Ice princess was making a move and not giving up, Keqing also said the same "You've gone away for a while…I-I want to reward you for your hard work…"

Many watched them in jealousy and wondered when they would get their turn to feed Aether. They wondered how did Aether managed to attract these two upper-class girls to him yet it seemed he wasn't happy about it. Perhaps he didn't realize his special characteristics that had seduced so many of the people he had met.

After the party was over, they moved to the living room to have a friendly talk with the people of each nation.

And of course, the situation was pretty clear to everyone: It was the same as before when both Keqing and Ayaka were sitting on the same couch as Aether on each side and no one had the guts to sit with them.

As they were talking to Aether, both of the girls tried to push the other out so they could be alone with him, not knowing that the other was also pressing against him.

"Hey you are pushing me away!"

"I can say the same to you!"

"Who do you think you are?" Keqing shot a glare to Ayaka "A weirdo princess huh?"

"What do you mean by that!?" Ayaka glared at Keqing

"Who likes dancing while still wearing socks under the pond anyways" Keqing smirked, making Ayaka flustered. Her face turned beat red. How did she know that…"What a weirdo…" Keqing whispered to Ayaka.

"So, are you!" Ayaka shot back while pointing at Keqing's cat ears. "Trying to look like a cat huh? You think Aether is going to like a fake cat girl?"

"That's my hairstyle okay! It doesn't have anything to do with cats!" Keqing shouted back, her face heating up as well. "At least I went on a proper date with him like twice already(*)…unlike you"

"Is that so? How come only a few people can even confirm that?" Ayaka shot back mockingly "Unlike you, everyone knows about my hangout with him(*)"

"WET SOCKER!"

"FAKE CAT!"

Couldn't withstand each other's words any longer, they started to glare directly into the other's eyes. The onlookers could swear they saw sparks in the air between them. The atmosphere around them became colder and heavier than ever.

"How about we have a duel, princess" Keqing summoned her sword and pointed directly at Ayaka. The electro energy was running violently around her blade. "Let's see who deserves him more"

"So be it then" The same to Ayaka as her sword was getting colder as the cold air started to gather around her weapon.

Knowing he was unable to stay silent any longer, Aether quickly jumped in and managed to stop them. Only a few more moves from either side could have caused a great conflict.

"Ladies, please calm down" Aether looked at both of them while lowering their sword "Let's just solve this like rational people"

After realizing that they had to calm down and noticing that there were a lot of people watching them, both Ayaka and Keqing realized they were being childish in front of so many people, so they took a step back and withdrew their weapons.

"Sorry…" They both said

Still, that was enough to make the fairy have an idea after she saw the whole thing had just happened

An "interesting" idea…

"How about we have a friendly competition then" - The little fairy said excitedly, much to everyone's surprise "You two want to show Aether who's better right? Why don't you both compete, and the winner will get the grand prize!"

"What prize" Keqing and Ayaka looked at Paimon in curiousity.

"What if I say…" Paimon beamed her eyes at Aether "A whole week to spend with this sweet gentleman here!"

"Oh great, now I'm a prize and a "sweet gentleman" too, eh?" Aether facepalmed at his companion's idea, secretly hiding his reddened face. That little fairy always came up with the most troublesome ideas whenever he was involved, and now she had thought up another one…

"Come on, it's only one week" Paimon said "I mean you've already hung out with loads of girls along the way, right?"

From Mondstadt to Inazuma, Aether couldn't count how many girls he had met and for some reason, he always attracted them in many ways, from young girls like Amber, Ayaka, Keqing,… matured women like Lisa, Jean, Ningguang…and many more. Even some ordinary people, whom he didn't know very well couldn't resist his attraction.

While Aether was trying to argue against a date from happening, the Archons somehow had other reason to make this happen…

"Sound like a good idea" Zhongli said "An exchange between each nation. It's been a while since we truly had an event of this scale. How about you two?" he asked the other two former Archon.

"It's not a bad thing, our country hasn't been in contact with the outside world till recently, so holding a competition like this would be a good opportunity" The Shogun agreed.

Meanwhile Venti only said "Eh he" while nodding rapidly, followed by a *burp* sound. He was too drunk to do anything but simply nod if anyone asked him something, and it was rare for him to even realize if someone was speaking to him.

And of course, after hearing Paimon's idea, the two girls began thinking about the offer. It was a perfect opportunity to challenge each other to see who's better and to prove themselves their worthy to the blonde Traveler.

"I accept!" Keqing and Ayaka quickly respond in unison to the fairy's idea. Aether was just standing silently, watching as Paimon suggested ideas for the two girls to compete over him like some sort of prize. He couldn't help but feel a little flattered, but at the same time he wanted to fillet Paimon as soon as he got the chance.

Within an hour of discussion, they had come up with plans for a national contest…That just so happened to function more as a contest between people to compete for a day of the Traveler's time. Keqing and Ayaka tried to suggest a clause that specified that only they shall be able to compete, but Paimon denied them, not only because she thought it would be more fun if more people were allowed to compete, but also because she didn't have enough brain juice to write any more.

"This date will be mine!" Keqing blurted out, but quickly caught her tongue. "I mean, glory for Liyue!"

Ayaka didn't give up either as she did the same "For Aethe- ahem, for Inazuma!"

"Alright then we will meet again after two weeks" Paimon said "See everyone soon! And don't forget, the snack stalls are very important, what is a multicultural event without cultural foods?"

Classic Paimon as always.

Two weeks later, one day before the showdown.

With the help from the people of three nations, the preparation was going well. After checking everything again for tomorrow's huge competition, Aether and his fairy companion returned to their house to get some rest. They were quite nervous and worried about the event. Especially Aether. He tried to cancel the event many times; but once the Ordo Favonius, Liyue Qixing, and Inazuma Tri-commission had announced the event to the public, with him as the main attraction, the ball had started rolling too fast to stop. He had tried to explain to Ayaka and Keqing, but they wouldn't listen. They saw this as the only way to prove themselves to him, and they tried to stay away from him, so they wouldn't be tempted to forcefully keep him to themselves. Aether got into his bed and laid down, facing the wall, looking away from Paimon who was floating in the doorway.

"Night, Aether" Paimon waved "Don't worry, everything will be okay. Paimon's sure you'll find the right girl to choose!"

"Yeah right" Aether let out a long sigh then turned off the light, calling it a day.

As soon as the door closed, the fairy floated off quietly with a wicked smirk: "All according to plan" and called a person.

A shadow's portal then appeared near the fairy and...

Out from it, there was a girl who looked exactly like Aether holding a rope and slowly approached his room:

- Let's get the real party started!

P/s: Actually, Keqing's second outfit has her hair's bun that looked like cat's ears
(*) Keqing's "quest" is only available in Lantern and Moonchase event as LTO while Ayaka's quest is a character's quest which is permanent. That means several people will miss out Keqing's "quest" if they don't play around these times.