Without realizing it, a week has passed by with Aether and Paimon traversing the rocky Liyue landscape, the once picturesque view that calmed him now gives him bone deep exhaustion and every step towards the fourth Adeptus' location only deepening the fatigue, now seeping into his very soul.

"we're almost there, Aether!"

His floating tour guide cheers him on as she floats beside him. Man, must be nice to float. No more walking, no more sore feet, no more aching muscles.

"The Inn's stairs are currently under repair," The Inn owner's husband informed them. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

The two of them were now inside anyways. "it's no problem…?"

"at least there was an elevator." Paimon shrugged as the two of them climbed the stairs that lead towards the more secluded balcony where the other Adeptus allegedly hang out.

"Huh," Paimon blinks as the Adeptus vanished before their eyes. "So he does hang around here." She then nodded to herself. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Aether could only stare at his tour guide in confusion. What is she talking about?

"You know, Paimon just realized," the floating girl starts as the two of them descended the stairs, the smell of food wafting from the kitchen below. "We haven't seen Lili in a while."

Huh, now that she mentioned it, where is Lili?

"Maybe she got lost?" Aether suggested, stomach rumbling from hunger.

"Hah, we're low on mora too." His floating companion glumly sighs, her floating turning sluggish. "where's our financial aid?"

Aether could only sigh.

"Excuse me, traveler." The lady by the counter calls them with a wave. "You have a letter."

…what?

The lady continued to smile as the two of them walked towards her before she pulled out a pouch and a letter. Somehow, the pouch looks familiar.

"a letter came in along with this pouch addressed to you. You're Aether and Paimon, yes?"

With a hesitant nod, Aether slowly reached for the letter, the damp paper between his gloved fingers as the ink somehow transferred on his hands, leaving black stains on the material.

Curious, Paimon floated closer as Aether read the letter.

Aether and Paimon,

I am learning how to paint from a nice man in Dragonspine. Here's some Mora to keep you two nice and plump.

Surprisingly, her handwriting is legible and elegant. She however, didn't leave a signature but rather, a small simple caricature of her winking with her tongue out and her hands in a peace sign. Whoever is teaching her must be good.

"She gave us mora?!" Paimon then excitedly grabbed the pouch and peeked inside only to shout out in shock as the shiny currency blinded her. Literally. "We can finally eat!"

"She was here?" Aether asked the lady behind the desk who shook her head.

"No, that letter was dropped on this counter by a bird."

Aether blinks. "it's damp."

The lady behind the counter shrugged, her pleasant smile not wavering. "Must be from transport."

Aether didn't bother dwelling on it. He's unsure whether he can accept the reason behind the dampness of the letter.

"Come on, Aether!" Paimon shouts, now floating towards the stairs that leads towards the Inn's kitchen. "Time for lunch!"

With a sigh, Aether followed his tour guide down to the kitchen. Might as well use the mora Lili sent to eat good today.

-0-

After blowing half of the mora in the pouch on food, Aether and Paimon are now both energized enough to go back to the Harbor.

"Aether and Paimon?" a man wearing a straw hat on a wooden cart called, making the two of them turn towards him. "a letter for you two."

Another letter?

Grabbing the letter with a small 'thank you', Aether opened the letter, showing the same neat and elegant handwriting on a soggy paper. First, the pouch of mora, now a ride to Liyue?

"What does it say, Aether?" Paimon floated behind him, darting from left to right, curious.

"we're going to ride a cart back to the Harbor." Paimon then cheered, happy that they don't have to walk anymore.

"Is this how it feels like to be rich?!" Paimon shouts, amazed as the man who drove the cart let out an amused laugh.

"Who handed this to you?" Aether asked the man who blinked and scratched his head.

"More like what handed me the letter. It was the weirdest thing," the man starts as Aether sat in the cart. "a golden loach crossed the road and placed it on my foot, dripping wet!" the man exclaims as their cart moves forward in a fast but comfortable pace. "It was the weirdest thing I have ever seen in my entire life and that's saying something! I have a paranormal writer for a wife!"

And so, for the rest of the ride, the man continued to talk about the absurd things his wife has dragged him into. From staying in an abandoned town for a week to tailing a suspected 'something else disguising as human'.

It was an entertaining ride.

After paying the man a handful of mora for the great service, Aether and Paimon once again wandered the streets of Liyue Harbor for the last Adeptus.

Hopefully, this will be the last errand.

-0-

It wasn't.

Once again prowling the streets of Liyue Harbor with a new addition in the name of Zhongli, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's representative, they scoured the shops and stalls for the perfect materials for the Nation's fallen Archon.

Although the man is a pleasant man, he talks in length about Liyue's this and that. Not that Aether disliked it, the man has a calming voice but the words coming out of his mouth is lulling him to sleep. The pleasant breeze and the sun's rays are making it worse.

"Paimon's feeling a bit drowsy…" the floating tour guide whispered into Aether's ear who hummed in agreement.

"Me too, Paimon. Me too."

Aether can't wait for this errand to end so he and Paimon can take a nap.

Replies:

Redaer Copious: she let Scaramouche drag her around bc they're 'friends' and she finds him amusing. also, yeah, i guess it's time for a lili pov.