For old time's sake, I decided to go with a plate of Almond Tofu for breakfast. The taste was just as good as I remembered, and it wasn't long before only a sprig of Mint remained in the small pool of sauce. I popped the Mint into my mouth—not one to waste food, even garnish—and let my mind wander back to the Domain hidden in that cave we found a couple of days ago.

Diluc did have a point when he said we should pay attention to our schoolwork. I've noticed my course load has increased drastically ever since the Sakoku Order was lifted. It was like all the professors were waiting to unleash their full lesson plans in an unrestrained learning environment.

Still, even though the Domain wouldn't be going anywhere while I attended to my above-ground duties, I felt anxious over not knowing what was on the other side. Despite being isolated in nature for who knows how long, the Domain's infrastructure had remained unaffected by plant growth or erosion from the cave water at all. There was no doubt some type of magical energy sustained it, and I wanted to learn more. Maybe if I got the chance to explore other Domains in Teyvat, I would know how to deal with the one on this island. It had been a long night then, and though I wasn't sure if I could find my way back without a Seelie guide, both Kaeya and Childe insisted they had it memorized.

"Teyvat to Lumine." Thoma waved a hand in front of my face, and I blinked back to the dining hall table. "Bennett was just asking if you wanted to try some of his specialty dish."

I looked across the table to where Bennett was digging around his bag. He wore a proud smile as he lifted out a container, opening the lid to reveal food. Or at least, I thought it was food. Suspicious was one way to describe that substance.

"I call it Teyvat Charred Egg!" He grinned and began to slice it up. "Here, you can each have a piece. Xiangling supervised me in cooking club while I made it, so don't worry. This is edible."

He carefully placed a slice of egg onto each of our plates. Thoma—the brave soul—didn't hesitate to stab it with his fork and eat it whole. His facial expression didn't change a bit while he chewed, and I took that as a sign to not judge a dish by how burnt the edges were.

"How is it?" Bennett asked with sparkling eyes. "I added extra green onion to really bring out the flavor."

"Heavy emphasis on the extra," Xiangling sighed. "You're stronger than you look, Thoma."

Thoma laughed and set his fork back down. "Oh, this? I'm no stranger to eating unusual combinations of food. While I don't try to make a habit of it, it's not like Bennett's dish screams hazardous or anything. I'm more than happy to support his cooking skills."

"Come on, you guys! Thoma likes it, so don't let yours go to waste." Bennett's smile didn't falter.

I stared back down at the sliver of egg on my plate and gulped. I wasn't one to waste food, after all. The egg had absorbed some of the leftover Almond Tofu sauce, and I hoped that was a good thing. Before I committed, I tried to catch the eye of anyone else at our end of the table that might be feeling the same uncertainty.

Amber was already staring at me, her eyes flicking to her plate briefly. We both nodded. This would be a team effort.

"I've had so much of this Teyvat Charred Egg in cooking club," Xiangling laughed halfheartedly. "I don't want to get used to its flavor, otherwise I won't be able to appreciate it as much. Thoma, how about you have mine?"

"Really?" Thoma paled. "Well, um, sure."

I nudged Childe's arm—he was completely distracted from our egg dilemma. "Aren't you going to eat yours?"

"Hm? Ah, I'm actually about to head off right now." Childe slyly slid his plate out of arm's reach. "There's somewhere I need to be before classes start, and I'm afraid this egg will take up too much of my time."

"Where are you going?" I pressed on. I wouldn't let him get out of this without a valid excuse. "You normally like to stay for all of breakfast."

"I like to stay wherever you are." He stood and patted my head. "Exceptions must be made. I have a whole stack of letters to drop off at our mailroom to be sent to my family. I wrote each of them a letter for every week we were under the Sakoku Order. Now that the borders are open to all, I can finally have them delivered. I finished writing another letter last night, and I want to submit the postage as soon as possible."

Xiangling clapped her hands together. "Aw, that's so sweet! I should probably write a letter to my dad, too. I'll be seeing him over winter break, and that's not far away, but I'm sure he misses me!"

I nodded in agreement. Sending letters to Madame Ping wasn't something I'd thought about before, but it was an excellent idea. Though she was quite old, I never worried about her health before, but it couldn't hurt to check-in. Madame Ping's physical well-being was always as strong as her attitude, and I hoped that hadn't changed in my absence. Even with my extra homework, I could find the time to draft something up. Anything for family.

My heart warmed with yet another reminder of how much Childe cared for his family. I had no idea he'd been writing them letters for weeks, and it must have been upsetting to be cut off for so long. My desire to make Childe eat Bennett's dish melted away, and I patted his arm.

"Okay, that's fair enough." I gave in.

Childe winked, "You can have my share."

My face fell, and I heard Amber snort. To the side, I saw Thoma reach over and drag Childe's plate close enough to snatch up the abandoned egg. Covertly, I reached under the table and squeezed his hand, whispering my thanks. There was still the egg on my plate, though, but I couldn't allow Thoma to sacrifice himself for me a second time.

"Don't miss me too much." Childe stood, ruffling my hair as he passed. "I'll see you later, Lumi. You too, Pyro club. Dinner is only a ways away."

I reached up to fix my hair. His habit of messing it up had only begun after our tunnel adventure. The slight worry I had over my flowers falling out of place was easily trumped by the endearment of the gesture. A soft smile lingered on my lips, and I found that I didn't mind at all.

"Lumine," Amber called out. She was gesturing back to our untouched eggs, but her tone held a hint of curiosity. Right, I still had to tell her about the development with Childe. "You're my outride or die, right?"

I picked up the Teyvat Charred Egg with my fork, and a mysterious grey piece flaked off and disintegrated into the air. That couldn't be normal.

"Bon appétit."

My stomach gurgled, and I had a strong guess as to what made it so upset. Ignoring the sound and hoping nobody heard my gut's turmoil, I kept my attention on Professor Minci as she wrote down information on the board.

"Alright my darlings, today we will finally be learning about Elemental Sight."

I guessed that much. There was a simple eye design drawn on the board along with seven separate arrows directed to the symbol of each element. I had already copied an identical image in my notebook, and my pen hovered above the page to capture more information.

"As you may have noted on the syllabus, Elemental Sight was a subject I planned to go over weeks in advance. Believe it or not, this is something better taught visually. With the silly restrictions out of the way and those guards no longer breathing down our necks, we can get on with a more interactive experience with Elemental Sight. Generally speaking, all Vision holders can use Elemental Sight, but those with high elemental sensitivity can as well. Those of you without a Vision may just be able to wholly participate today if you possess the skill."

My ears pricked up at that. Though I wasn't sure how to tell if someone had high elemental sensitivity, there's no way I didn't fit in that category.

She began to make bullet points in chalk. "There are three key things you can see with Elemental Sight. Elemental traces, elemental attributes, and energy routes. For clarification, I will list a few examples of each. You would do well to write these down."

We all went to work, quickly taking note of each instance in which Elemental Sight could be useful. My hand had gotten used to speedy scribbles with no breaks, but my mind was much slower in processing the information. It was only after I'd finished writing everything down that I actually got a chance to absorb and understand it.

With each bullet point, I grew more and more interested in the idea of Elemental Sight. If I wanted to search for more treasure—or clues in general—I could learn the signs of energy flow and follow them. Elemental Sight might even help me figure out more about that Domain when we eventually go back. Assuming my elemental sensitivity was higher than others, I might be able to see more than what they could.

Thinking about the Domain again, I lightly doodled the pattern that was set in the diamond-shaped stone on top of the Domain. Careful swoops and loops on the page formed the design, and I felt compelled to draw it again. Soon, the margins of my notebook were filled with the same drawing—a few varied with the triangular seal that marked the Domain's doors. I only stopped once I'd run out of space. Resisting the temptation to flip to a new page, I forced myself to look back at the board.

"And that's why it is typically used sparingly," Professor Minci finished saying.

My stomach flopped. I'd completely missed the explanation.

"With that out of the way," she hummed. "It's about time I put you in action. To activate your Elemental Sight, concentrate on a certain object or area and pull in the energy from your Vision. Now, be sure to direct it to your eyes the same as you would when activating an Elemental Skill or Burst to a weapon. You won't see anything interesting in this lecture room, which is why I'll be sending you off for the remainder of class to test your newfound Elemental Sight around campus. Quickly now, join with another pair to form a group of four. On your way out the door, I will hand each group a Kamera to take photos of one Elemental Sight occurrence per element."

Voices bumbled to life as students began looking around the room to join pairs. I closed the cover of my notebook, hiding my wayward drawings, and leaned towards Thoma.

"Who do you want to pair up with?" I asked.

"I don't have a preference, but I think Bennett is waving at us." Thoma tilted his head to where Bennett was most definitely waving at us as though he was trying to be seen in an arena full of a thousand people. "Do you mind if we work with him and Chongyun?"

I shook my head and smiled. "Not at all. Let's walk down to meet them before Bennett trips up the steps."

"Do you want me to grab your bag?" Thoma offered.

"I only need to bring my jacket. We can leave our stuff since we'll be back at the end of class to turn in the photos. Have you ever used a Kamera before?"

"Nope. I'm not used to the technology of it all."

"Me neither," I grinned. "Now's our chance."

We left our things by our seats and walked down the aisle along with everyone else getting ready to start the activity. Turning to Bennett's row, I watched him eagerly beckon us forward with a slightly wary Chongyun. I didn't know much about the Cryo user, only what Bennett has said about him on occasion. I knew he was some sort of exorcist, and unlike Bennett, Chongyun always presented as very composed.

"Hey, guys! Want to join forces together?"

"The point of this exercise is to capture images of what we see," Chongyun sighed. "It would be best to avoid forcing anything in this situation."

"I don't think that's what he meant," I said. "Bennett just wants to team up, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Bennett scratched his head. "Sorry, Chongyun. I forget you take things so literal sometimes."

Chongyun nodded slowly. "If that is the case, I am all for it. We should embark now so we have a sufficient amount of time to gather all the elemental evidence. As we travel, it would be a good idea to brainstorm areas in which we may find opportunities to use our Elemental Sight to the fullest. It would be a waste to unnecessarily strain the eye."

The gears in my head clicked in place as I realized that must have been what Professor Minci meant by using Elemental Sight sparingly. A buildup of anticipation was beginning to form inside me as I readied myself to try using Elemental Sight for the first time. As we lined up to exit the lecture room, I thought of how I could tweak Processor Minci's instructions to fit my talents. There would be no Vision for me to pull energy from, so I would probably have to draw from the elemental energy that I had on my own. Anemo or Geo? Did it matter which one?

"Remember," Professor Minci said from the doorway. "If your Elemental Sight feels weak, try holding your Vision in your hand to better strengthen the connection."

That wasn't an option for me.

"Oh, and try to embrace some creativity when snapping your photos. It would bore me to tears to look over the same photo of grass a million times for a poor representation of Dendro. A puddle of water is nothing to be impressed over for Hydro, either."

Our group made it to the doorway, and Professor Minci took a moment to pause and assess our members before handing over the Kamera. She especially took her time when it came to Thoma and I standing near each other, and it was impossible to miss the way her glossed lips pursed in satisfied amusement.

"Here you go, cuties." She placed the Kamera in Chongyun's hands.

He bowed stiffly at a slight angle. "Thank you, Professor Minci. We will handle this device with utmost care."

She laughed lightly in response, her gaze already sliding to the group behind us. Now that we had left the room and had our Kamera, it was time to find our subjects.

Pyro was first.

The first thing to pop into my head was the obvious—fire. There just weren't any convenient blazing fires around campus, so then I thought of the next best thing. Fire was a light source, so there had to be light sources around here that bore a Pyro elemental signature. After spending so many hours in the library studying with Thoma and playing chess with Diluc, I could never forget the subtle flicker of candlelight that came from the library's sconces.

"Are we allowed to take photos in here?" Chongyun whispered, holding the Kamera close to his chest and nervously looking around. "I do not want to disrupt the environment."

Thoma shrugged. "As long as we're quick about it, I doubt we'll be disturbing anyone. Professor Minci is the head librarian here, too. Surely, she would have no problem with an assignment for her own class."

I took a long look at the Kamera. "How disruptive could a Kamera be, anyway? It's such a small box."

"There's a sconce!" Bennett shouted before promptly slapping two hands to his mouth. He sheepishly removed them to whisper, "Sorry. Library."

Chongyun sighed once before turning to the sconce. His face tensed slightly, and I noticed Thoma and Bennett also begin to do the same. They were trying to use their Elemental Sight.

Quickly, I blinked to reset myself and focused on the elemental energy that dwelled within me. I chose to use Anemo since that's what I was most familiar with, and I brought the airy energy up from my core to my eyes. Once it was fully concentrated, I tried to imagine a world of elements—unveiling the basic matter that made up Teyvat.

Instantly, a wash of light spread out in front of me, leaving behind a darkened library. Only a few objects stood out, and they were surrounded by a hue of bright red.

"Confirmed Pyro," Chongyun brought the Kamera to his eye.

Then, a jarring shutter sound snapped from the small box. The capture sound on its own wasn't loud, but the sound carried more in a space as quiet as the library.

"Did it work?" I asked in a hushed tone.

A square of white paper with a flat, black square whirred out from the Kamera. Chongyun pulled it out with a frown, holding it up for all of us to see.

"Hm," Thoma tappped his chin. "Maybe we should try again?"

Bennett plucked the faulty photo from Chongyun's hand and began to flap it in the air erratically. Anxiety instantly sparked into life within me, and I feared the worst. Whatever Bennett was doing—because it was him—it couldn't be good. He seemed confident enough, but I couldn't stop my hands from clenching.

"I've seen people do this before," Bennett whispered conspiratorially. "Just a bit longer, and there we go."

He held the photo still, and a breath of relief mixed with pleasant surprise escaped me once I saw the fully developed image of the sconce. My hands unclenched, and I noticed Thoma relax next to me as well. I wasn't the only one afraid of what crazy accidents Bennett was capable of, it seemed.

Anemo wasn't easy to think of.

The air was all around us, but none of it showed up when we used our Elemental Sight. Normal air was hardly the creativity Professor Minci was looking for, anyways. We had left the library and begun wandering. Looking.

"I think there's something wrong with my Elemental Sight," Bennett suddenly confessed. "I don't see anything besides the usual stuff."

"None of us are catching any Anemo," I assured him. "Don't worry too much about it."

Bennet hung his head. "It's not that. I can't even see the Dendro green of the grass. I mean, I can see that it's normal green, but it doesn't stand out in the way Professor Minci described it. If I'm being completely honest, I didn't even notice the Pyro signature of the sconce from before, either."

"It could be that you have weak elemental sensitivity." Thoma pointed to the Pyro Vision hanging from the belt of Bennett's uniform. "You should try holding your Vision in your hands. She said that might help."

"Oh, right!"

Bennett swiped his Vision and held it tightly. He then stared at the grass with laser focus for a moment before breaking eye contact with a gasp.

"It's no use. Elemental Sight just isn't my thing. Sorry I have to be dead weight for everyone."

"Here," Chongyun said and held out the Kamera with no hesitation. "There is still a way you can be of use to the group. You can be in charge of the Kamera and all of our photos. Just don't lose them or break anything." The last line was quickly added on like an afterthought, one I was sure we all shared.

"Thanks, Chongyun! You can bet this Kamera will be in good hands. I can do all the photo shaking, too."

Thoma placed a hand on his shoulder. "We can continue working on honing your Elemental Sight another time. I can tell it's still bothering you. Maybe Professor Minci will know of a way to strengthen it."

"Good idea, I'll have to ask her sometime." Bennett paused before spinning in a circle. "Well, if there's no Anemo over here, how about we try grabbing those anemone spirits? I remember using them in Beginner's Gliding because I crashed into the forest a lot."

I snapped my fingers. "The Anemograna!"

"The forest," Thoma mumbled with a frown. "Anemograna would be great to take a photo of, but there's no marked area to locate them. It could take us a while before we find any, and I don't know if we can budget for that time."

"I have an idea for the next best thing." I grinned. "And I know just where to find him."

I led us down the path I knew so well to the gliding clearing. Sure enough, Venti was there along with a group of students much smaller than a normal class. Rather than practice gliding down the mountain like I've been doing this week, this group was sitting firmly on the ground with windgliders in their laps. Their heads were bowed, concentrating on working with the equipment.

My original intention was to take a photo of Venti in the air since he had enough Anemo energy to rival that of an elemental spirit, but one quick look at him with Elemental Sight revealed he was as normal as the rest of us. My backup plan also fell through—I thought we might have been able to get a photo of one of Venti's Anemo currents. Because no one was in the air, that wasn't possible.

Left with no other options, I quickly tried to think of a plan C. Those thoughts were interrupted as soon as Venti caught sight of us.

He waved. "Well, if it isn't my favorite students! Come on over. I was just working with these bright minds from the Gadgets and Devices course. They stopped by to tinker with Red Feather Fans to speed up the gliding experience. Isn't that wondrous?"

"You're not teaching a class right now?" I asked.

"I'm your favorite student?" Bennett exclaimed at the same time.

"Nope and of course! I favor all of my students."

Chongyun contemplated to himself. "I do not believe the same meaning is conveyed in that sense."

"So, what are you four doing around here? Are you trying to skip class? Sneak out? None of that is necessary anymore, remember? You're free as a bird post-Order!" Venti winked. "Doesn't it feel nice?"

"So nice!" Bennett nodded.

"We've been given a mission by Professor Minci to take photos of what we see with Elemental Sight," Thoma explained. "We thought we might find something related to Anemo around here, and we're trying to avoid spending too much time on the hunt for Anemograna."

"Oh? Taking photos you say? "It would be my pleasure."

Chongyun tilted his head. "Pardon? There is no Anemo energy in the area."

"Hm?" Venti briefly frowned before his eyebrows shot up. "Ah, right, right. I nearly forgot that I—never mind that. An Anemo current is just a dandelion wish away!"

Venti jogged into the wider space of the clearing before summoning a grand current of Anemo that lifted him into the air. I activated my Elemental Sight and watched the defined wisps of Anemo surge around the sky. Venti himself seemed to glow with Anemo—a faint aura of bright teal encased his entire body. Interesting. I wondered if that's how everyone looked when they used their Vision. I would have to check it out the next time I got the chance.

Bennett was sharp and held up the Kamera, taking a photo just as Venti struck a pose. The Kamera ejected the familiar blank paper, but Bennett's flapping technique wasn't necessary for the image to show up. The residual wind coming from Venti was enough to bring the photo to life.

"Woohoo! Do you want me to go for another?" Venti cheered.

Chongyun carefully inspected the photo before handing it back to Bennett. "No need. Thank you for rendering your assistance, Instructor Barbatos."

"Did I look amazing?" Venti beamed before clearing his throat. "I mean, no problem! Anything for my favorite students."

"I still do not understand the implications behind those words," Chongyun sighed.

Electro might be tricky.

"Do you think we can ask Professor Minci to use her Vision like Instructor Barbatos?" Bennett suggested. "Or would that not be creative?"

"Not creative," I said with reluctance. "It's too bad there's no upcoming thunderstorms."

"On the contrary, I would say it's a good thing we haven't run into any thunderstorms," Thoma said. "We'd get struck by lighting for sure if we continued to be out in the open."

We'd found ourselves in the wide space of the main quad. Some students were walking around, but because classes were still going on, the paths stayed mostly empty. I racked my brain, thinking of naturally occurring Electro in the area. Nothing.

"We could skip Electro for now and move on to the next element." Thoma jutted to the fountain with his thumb. "I bet all my Mora that Hydro is our most viable element right now."

"You make a productive point." Chongyun assessed the fountain. "Though this is clearly Hydro, I believe we should still exercise our Elemental Sight to get used to the action."

I switched on my Elemental Sight and sure enough, it was Hydro. Because this was such an easy find, I didn't mind lingering in the state of Elemental Sight for a bit longer. I wondered how long I could sustain it before I felt any strain, but a small flash of purple caught my attention before Bennett had even taken a photo.

"There!" I pointed a finger in the direction. "I see Electro."

Thoma squinted. "That looks like Cici."

My face fell. "Cici?"

"Our classmate." Chongyun nodded. "It appears the lamp hanging from her bag is imbued with Electro energy. Shall I approach her and ask if we may take a photo? I am sure she will understand, given that she is aware of our task."

"I got the fountain!" Bennett bounded over with a damp photo in hand. "It got a bit wet, but I think there's a creative charm in that."

Thoma high-fived him. "Nice work, Bennett."

I crossed my arms and stared hard at Cici. She was quite a ways away next to her group. I couldn't make out who the others were from here, but now that I recognized her, that was definitely the cicin lamp signaling Electro. Would she let us take a photo? My past interactions with Cici had been less than favorable, but that was before she turned over a new leaf and stopped bothering people. Well, it helped that Signora was no longer around to influence her.

Bennett gasped. "She's the scary mage lady."

"She's a normal student." I rolled my eyes. "Just like you and me."

"Right," he gulped. "And you want me to take a shot at her?"

"A shot of her," Chongyun corrected. "There will be no violence."

Bennett fiddled with the Kamera. "Good, good. I can do that. No problem."

"Oh, man," Thoma said with emphasis. "I sure wish I could have a go with the Kamera. Technology just seems so cool. If by any chance, you were willing to let me grab this Electro one, I would really appreciate it. Of course, I understand if you want to keep—"

"Here!" Bennett thrust the Kamera out to Thoma. "Take it!"

Thoma graciously accepted the device, and I hid my chuckle. He was so sweet. "Thank you so much. I'm so glad to have such a considerate friend such as yourself, Bennett. I'll be back with that Electro shot in no time."

The three of us stood by the fountain and watched Thoma approach Cici and her group. They were so far away, I couldn't tell if his proposition to take a photo of her lamp was going well or not. Bennett sat on the fountain's edge and leaned an elbow on his knee, propping his chin up with one hand. I copied him.

"Thoma sure is brave," he sighed. "I hope I can be like him when I'm a second-year."

I watched as Thoma took a few steps back, holding the Kamera out in front of him. Cici must have agreed. "He really is something. I don't know what I would do without him."

"We could start thinking about the next element," Chongyun said. He remained standing and wore a contemplative expression.

Right. The class objective.

With our Pyro, Anemo, Hydro, and soon-to-be Electro photos taken, we were left with Dendro, Geo, and Cryo. Taking grass out of the running, I thought of how we could seek out Dendro and still have time for the other two. Oddly enough, none of the trees or shrubbery registered as Dendro green. Zeroing in on the stone buildings yielded no Geo, either.

Picking apart our surroundings, I noticed some movement coming from the south end of the main quad where the gates were. The movement had nothing to do with elemental energy, rather, there was a small gathering of people entering campus. Behind them were large wagons loaded with wooden crates and barrels. Some of them were piled so high, I half expected the wood to topple over and crash into the ground.

Wait a minute. Wood.

I quickly stood and took several steps closer to the party. Surely, wood would be considered Dendro. A scan of Elemental Sight brought a smile to my face as the whole load transformed into a deep green before my eyes.

"Chongyun, look over there. That's our Dendro."

He was quick to ask, "Who are they? They do not look like attending students."

Good point. I had been so excited about clearing another element from our list, I hadn't spent any time observing the people in charge of all this Dendro energy. They were making slow progress wheeling it all over, but their attire stuck out. They definitely weren't students.

The sound of footfalls in the grass approached, and I turned to see Thoma. He waved the Electro photo up in the air and passed it over to me.

"Cici was a lot more open to the suggestion than I thought," he smiled. "She even thanked me for the idea. I hope Professor Minci is alright with multiple groups taking photos of the same subject."

Looking away from the group of newcomers, I admired Thoma's photo of Cici's lamp. I'd never seen it in this focus before, and I found it to be very pretty. It was very purple as well. Professor Minci would like it.

"Oh, hey. It looks like there might be some Dendro over there." Thoma gestured to the same boxes and crates.

"We were just looking at that," I said. "Getting a photo should be no problem, but it's hard to tell who the people are. Do they look familiar to you?"

He shook his head. "It can't hurt to walk up at ask. I don't mind being the one to—"

I cut in. "I'll go with you. Also, can I take the photo this time?"

Thoma passed over the Kamera. It was heavier than it looked. "Using it took a bit of figuring out, but I had a lot of fun. You're going to love it."

Testing out the functions, I held the Kamera up to my eye and fiddled with the side knob. A blurry image appeared in front of me, and it sharpened the more I turned the knob. I found that a dial on the top allowed the Kamera to zoom in and out. Directing the lens at the large delivery of boxes and crates, I focused on the man at the head of the group and zoomed in.

"There are four of them total. They look normal for the most part."

"For the most part?"

"One of them has long, white hair—really long. And…I think…are those…?"

Readjusting the knob, I confirmed for myself that this man did, in fact, have two stunning red horns on top of his head. Right at that moment, he turned sharply, looking alarmed, and stared directly into the Kamera.