Ch4: Ballads at dawn

(((((

I blinked, there were white spots in my vision. So the sun had risen, sunglasses would be nice to have been warranted, then I'd have one less thing to be irritated about.

By the looks of it Lumine was all prepped and ready to go. Her blonde hair was emphasized by the light, while her scarf and outfit were pristine. The only thing missing from her regular ensemble was the flower pin I still had carefully tucked away.

It was probably in my best interest to return that soon. Nonetheless with or without the decorative object, the center part of her locks were more free flowing.

"Good morning!" She greeted me with a small smile. I lazily grinned back but being half asleep slightly impaired my groggy expression.

The two of us weren't best friends by any means, but there was the feeling that a comradery in arms type of connection was slowly being built.

Meanwhile I probably had a severe case of bedhead and my shirt plus outer layers were undeniably wrinkled. Not exactly the best way to start the day.

What good was it to have past knowledge when over the many years that I have lived the memories easily slipped away. Still I hated waking up in the morning just as much as I disliked lasagna.

Birds cooed, either it was a stocky barn owl or a lame pigeon.

Mondays were a fickle thing, I sometimes referred to the first day of the week as Monday. However, because each region of Teyvat relied on a different calendar system, that personal practice of mine was pointless.

Old habits die hard I guess. Nearby was a slow moving river that I used to fix a few of the disheveled hairs that refused to flatten and stay down.

Maybe I should put more effort into keeping up appearances, but reach a certain age and there's a lethargicness to looking good. At best my image was presentable, if not a little wild.

Yet no matter how much sleep I got, the bags of tiredness never left my eye. It wasn't super noticeable but if a person looked close, the shadows simply made the angle of my face gaunt.

"So I don't forget, here take it." About the perfect time for me to give her the accessory back.

Lumine took it from my hand, and thus, proceeded to pin it back to its proper place. Although I couldn't help but notice the angle was slightly askew.

"Need some help?"

"It's good enough, but if you really want to fix it then go ahead." She replied.

Close to the river bank we sat, Lumine watched the fish swim about in the water. Meanwhile, I kneeled close beside her..

It wasn't the best, but one of the skills I had picked up from having two adopted sisters. So by the end of it Lumine's hair was braided back into a finely woven bun.

(((((

Only certain moments do I realize that I've fucked up badly. Since immortality is a big thing that comes into question, and life seems to go on forever I've often taken a trial error until succession approach.

Yet where the hubris does lie in wait is that gods can die, the universe is on a timer, and certain very specific events are impossible to repeat.

Up ahead was the looming city of wind, Mondstadt capital. From a distance it looked like a large looming fortress, but at a second glance with the huge windmills and all it was quite tranquil.

"Please don't tell me we have to climb another wall." Lumine said with apprehension in her voice that turned into teasing. "Because if so I won't be the one to lug you around like a damsel, it'll be potato sack style."

"I thought we agreed to never talk about that incident ever again!" I complained, what happened during that embarrassing incident was best left forgotten.

"But seriously, what do we have to do to get past the gate?"

"Nothing too complicated, we just have to tell the guards were traveling merchants, or entertainers, etc. Then after that clearance has to be granted at the Knights of Favonius visitor bureau located at their headquarters."

Sure Mondstadt was known for its freedom but that mostly applied to its inhabitants and citizens. Outsiders were not free to come and go as they please, lessens threats of foreign invasion and terrorism.

"Well onward we go to civilization at last." Lumine being the appointed leader that she was led the way and I followed closely behind.

(((((

The journey took us to the bridge that was less than a few steps from the entrance. Luimne looked ecstatic, unfortunately for me a sensory overload started to overwhelm my senses.

There were many new sights, familiar scents like baked goods, and harsh noises such as a baby crying. For a person that was a wandering vagabond like me who dallied about near the countryside the city was too much.

Despite that I'd grin and bear it. The situation would be a lot easier if I were still human. My calm facade was probably tearing at its seams.

Nobody was none the wiser to my inner turmoil. Anyway, whereas the wilderness was vast and somewhat tedious, the town had a huge concentration of people who went about mortal affairs.

Maybe I had some small expectations that within the first few seconds that a canon character from the game that I barely remembered might show up.

However, that was unrealistic. The local population was large, and every individual had different lives that hardly intersected with the more influential and prominent figures in Mondstadt.

A formally dressed woman behind the counter at the visitor bureau was paid to ask. "Name and place of birth?"

"I'm Lumine and he's Inari." She introduced the two of us. "He's from Inazuma and I'm an outlander who's looking for my brother Aether."

"What Lumine means is that she's from Fontaine." I interrupted, the result of which she gave me a strange look. "It's not wise to give away sensitive information like that."

"While you have a horrible sense of direction, this time you're right." Lumine tentatively whispered in agreement.

"Congratulations!" The bureau women stated. "Your papers have been issued, the next step of the process is the currency transfer unless you already have Mora that suffices."

In the end the whole administrative nonsense took longer than necessary. At the bank the accountant watched in horror as I shoveled Ryo out of my pockets, the out of date coins were swiftly placed on the counter.

Perhaps Lumine had a good laugh at the expense of my dignity, all the while she scolded me because I accidentally made a scene.

(((((

Finding a place to stay at was an absolute failure on my part.

The Goth Grand Hotel and other similar taverns were booked up by regular patrons. It turned out to be a wild goose chase, thus the search for a basic room was for naught.

Back to the woods and tenting it for a few hours until tomorrow turned out to be the sorta temporary solution for now.

It was arrogant on my part to think that I was better at managing my finances when compared to my contemporaries Barbatos and Morax.

Speaking of which, the amount of Mora I managed to scrounge up was little in compensation for daily necessities. To stay in Mondstadt permanently involved becoming a beggar on the streets, seek refuge at the church, or finding a good paying job.

Hindsight is twenty-twenty, past memories of another life only sometimes come in blips. Somewhere while skipping a few passages I screwed up.

If I and Lumine continued with the way we were operating without any source of revenue we were guaranteed to be broke in two weeks.

Therefore, once the sun peaked at dawn the plan was to join the Adventurers' Guild to take on commissions. Regardless, I barely got a blink of sleep that night.

Regretfully I had a lot of things that went unfulfilled. Visions are ambitions, but to throw away a Gnosis is a loss of an even bigger extreme.

Hence, whenever I close my eyes I no longer dream. There's just darkness and thus I lie awake to drown.

"Get up it's morning!" Lumine called, and that's my cue to stop with the self deprecating thoughts and keep moving forward.

(((((

Voice Line Snippet

Inari's Hobbies: "I don't really have any activities that I enjoy per say but believe it or not once I was a farmer who tended to grain. Rain, shine, thunder, no matter the weather, watching over rice was once a huge priority."