"Well, we can try destroying the underground Ley Lines. If only there were an explo––"
BOOM!
The beach exploded.
Dust, ash, and heat.
The world spun as Keqing was propelled into the air by the sudden pressure. The air was knocked out of her lungs, and one side of her body prickled from warmth.
She landed almost face-first to the ground. Her mind was completely blank. Only her instincts responded quickly enough for her to shield her head and roll, dissipating the impact.
Then, Keqing laid on the ground, eyes closed and a hand covering her mouth and nose, wondering just what in the world happened.
'Was the bard just about to say "explosion"?'
And she thought about the possibility of the bard being the reason for that explosion, but that wouldn't make much sense at all. Venti did not seem like a person who'd attempt murdering someone with a bomb for 20k mora.
For a bomb to be buried in such a random place…
Keqing mentally shivered.
"Are you all right?"
She rolled over and opened her eyes to find the bard, Venti, looking right back at her. The dust had already been cleared, and the sun was casting his shadow upon her.
Keqing removed the hand that had been covering her mouth and let out a long sigh.
"I'll take that as a sign of 'yes'."
She nodded and continued to lay still on the ground, arms outstretched. Her ears still rang from the booming sound of the explosion, and her mind felt very stuffed.
"Hmmm?" Venti blinked, he then proceeded to sit down beside her. The bard leaned back, supporting his weight with his arms, and hummed.
"Oh! The blue sky, the sunshine; such splendor brought to the world fine! To our–"
Keqing bolted up. She then retrieved her sword and patted the sand and dirt off her dress. "Stand up," she told Venti. "We have to go."
Venti huffed. "It was just getting–hold on, wait for me!"
He ran, catching up to Keqing, who had been walking away swiftly.
"We're going back to the city? What for?"
"We should report the unusual events that we've encountered. The Anemo slimes and that bomb…" Keqing narrowed her eyes. "They are not something that can be dismissed as a simple child's play."
"That bomb could simply be a little…plaything."
Keqing didn't listen. "Hush," she told Venti. "There's something–"she turned, looking into the woods nearby. The eerie feeling of being followed had been stronger than before.
She drew out her sword, ready for battle.
Moments passed, and the stifling sensation faded like the blowing wind.
Keqing sighed, sheathing her sword. Had she been overly alarmed?
"Did you sense anything?" she asked Venti.
"By anything, do you mean an apprehensive young lady?"
Keqing did not respond. Picking up her pace, she headed for the city gates.
She thought back to the deep crater left on the beach. This was an urgent matter that should be informed to the knights.
The guards outside the Knights of Favonius headquarters didn't even question her when Keqing tried to enter the building. When asked where she should report her case, they all pointed to the Grand Master's office.
Keqing frowned. There's no way that Jean Gunnhildr was the only person working in this entire building. Where did their captains go?
"…Can I leave now?" asked Venti.
"No, you are an important witness."
With that, she knocked on the door of the Grand Master's office.
"Please come in."
Keqing and Venti entered the room. It was a big room, with many bookshelves and tall windows. Compared to what Keqing had seen in Liyue, the room was rather plain, with only a red carpet and a chandelier upholding its sublimeness.
The Acting Grand Master, Jean, was seated at the table behind stacks upon stacks of paper. She seemed very busy, and Keqing wondered if it was appropriate to trouble her more.
Jean kept her head buried in her work. "Is there something to report?"
"Yes…" said Keqing. "But I do wonder if I'm being of inconvenience."
Jean put down her pen. "Miss Keqing? Apologies for my incompetence. I've yet to–" Her eyes widened when she saw Venti. "Hello." She stood up for a former greeting.
"Greetings Ms. Gunnhildr. No need for formalities. I am not here in representation of Liyue. Simply refer to me as Keqing and consider me an ordinary outlander."
"And I'm just an ordinary bard that got dragged into the incident," Venit remarked. Keqing glared at him.
Jean sighed. "If you must insist, please call me Jean."
Keqing nodded. "Miss Jean, I'm here to report about the abnormally gathered Anemo slimes found on the eastern corner of Cider Lake. Our attempt to annihilate them was followed by a sudden explosion that had not only eliminated all the slimes but also partially destroyed the shoreline."
Jean winced, only briefly before turning to her more gentle expression. "Explosions, you say…The source was underground?"
"Yes, on the shore of Cider Lake."
"If you may wait for a few minutes, I'll be back."
Jean left the office.
"What–" Keqing looked at Venti. The boy grinned.
"She found our little 'culprit'~," he said in his usual light tone.
The Acting Grand Master came back with a little girl.
The child was no taller than Keqing's waist, with blond hair and dressed in bright red. She hid behind Jean upon eye contact and looked as if she was about to cry.
"Klee, apologize to our guests," said Jean.
And the girl, with her head looking down, and hands clenching her dress, blurted her apology, "Klee is very, very sorry that Klee hurt big sister and big brother! Klee thought the bomb she made for fish blasting won't explode. But it did! Klee will be careful with her bombs next time and stay in solitary confinement for another hour…"
Klee then looked up with tears swirling in her eyes. "Will you please forgive Klee?"
Keqing stared at the girl. The child was adorable, but–
'Just what in the Teyvat is going on?!'
Venti didn't seem any fazed by the situation. He patted the girl on the head. "Big brother accepts your apology."
"And big sister?" Klee looked at Keqing.
"I-I accept your apologies," she stammered, trying to keep her words straight.
"Thank you so much!" Scurrying, the little girl left the room.
Keqing looked to Jean, feeling her head pulse and throb. "I need to recount, if you don't mind."
Jean nodded.
"That little girl–" Keqing inhaled "–was the one who had created the bomb and buried it underground?"
Jean nodded.
"That little girl that seemed no more than eight years old?"
"Yes, as much absurd as it sounds. I apologize for her antic. But please believe me that this is the truth. I can swear on my name–"
"No, there's no need." Keqing sighed. "I believe you."
While she did not know Jean well, Keqing believed that she knew the Acting Grand Master well enough to know that she is not the kind of person to pull such an absurd joke.
Jean let out a long breath. "Thank you. As for the slimes, there had been another similar case report a day ago. I will need to inquire further information about it. Please fill me in as I write it down." She headed for her desk and wobbled when she pulled back her chair.
"Jean are you OK?" asked Venti.
"Yes, it's only a small head ach…" The Acting Grand Master slumped into her chair–
–and passed out.
"Ms. Gunnhildr? Jean?" Keqing asked. She shook Jean by the shoulders, but there was no response. "Call a healer," she told Venti. He left with a nod.
Keqing examined the woman, checking her breathing and heart rate. While it was impolite to peer into another nation's political affairs, she still gave the huge stacks of paperwork several glances and remembered only seeing such varying fields of papers on Ganyu, the general secretary's desk.
The negotiation of repairing the road between Liyue and Mondstadt and several treaties that had been proposed by Liyue, a report on recent Abyss and hilichurl activities…carriage drowned in Starfell lake…finding a missing cat?
What?
Keqing frowned.
Venti was able to get the knights to move Jean to the cathedral. However, it was a bit out of line for a representative of another nation to pry further into the matter, so Keqing didn't follow. She paced small circles in front of the Statue of Barbatos. Several young kids ran around holding pinwheels. The toy twirled and spun along with their laughter. Several bards were singing in the corners of the square. Each gathering a fair number of audiences.
The sky was still blue, and the wind still blew. Yet there was something…something that was bothering.
She felt a tap on the shoulder, followed by a cheerful voice.
"Hey~ How are you today?"
Keqing turned, and there was the bard again, cheerful and troublesome as before.
"How's she doing?" she asked.
"Jean's fine, simply exhausted. The sisters at the church are taking care of her, so there shouldn't be a need to worry."
Keqing nodded and continued to stare at the bard blankly. He was a few inches taller, and she had to tilt her head slightly upward to meet him in the eyes.
No matter how many times she studied him, the bard looked like a normal teenage boy.
Venti tilted his head and made a funny grin. "You're making a stony face!" he exclaimed. "Kind of reminds me–ehehehe…"
Hell, he even behaves like one.
Now, why was she wasting her time with someone like him anyway?
"Catch." Keqing threw a pouch into the air. "17 hundred mora. It should be enough to get you through the rest of the day."
Venti caught it.
"It's your pay for the commission we did this morning."
She had originally planned to accompany him for the day, however…
Venti shook the pouch. "Haven't seen this much mora in a long time." He put it away. "Thanks~ And now that everything's settled, I'll take my leave–" The bard turned around to leave.
She had other matters to attend to. Yet, for some reason…
"Wait." Keqing crossed her arms. "Do not think that things would be over from here. You still have a debt to pay. And–"
Venti sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Morax and his contracts that you Liyue people just follow with so much dedication. The blockhead must've given you guys some of his stubborn attributes–"
"First," Keqing interrupted. "I was only about to remind you that you must return what will be left of the money in that bag. Second, a contract is made upon the agreement of both parties. And while I must admit that signing one with you was a mistake, as the Yuheng of the Qixing I will set an example and face the consequences. Third–" she took in a shaking breath "you must not speak as such when referring to Rex Lapis. He's–" Keqing paused.
What did the name Rex Lapis mean now that he's no longer the Lord of Liyue?
Of course, he had watched over Liyue for thousands of years and had contributed to Liyue in so many ways that Keqing couldn't even begin to count.
But Keqing held her own pride.
"Oh?" She now had the bard's full attention. He turned to face her; an eyebrow raised.
"H-he's–"
"Just like how Barbatos is to Mondstadt," Venti uttered. "Yeah, I know. After all, the people of Mondstadt haven't seen their god in a very, very long time~"
Keqing trembled. With anger or humiliation, she didn't know. "A-anyways, I'll meet you tomorrow, here under the statue, 7 o'clock sharp. Don't even think about not turning up. "
"Still persistent with the contract, are we? Guess I'll just have to see it to the end, then." Venti grinned an amused smile. The wind blew, picking up his braids that danced along with the breeze. He spun around, waving a hand in the air. "We'll part ways, for now, miss Keqing. Don't worry about the bargain. An old friend once told me: 'ones who break their contracts shall suffer the wrath of the rock'–sends shivers down my spine every time I think about it." Venit laughed. His voice was so bright and playful, it sounded piercing.
She watched as the bard made his way to the stairs leading down the plaza and disappeared.
The image of his smile was carved into her mind.
For some reason, the expression made her feel that she shouldn't let him off so easily. However–
"Enough with the procrastination, I should get to work."
Nights at Mondstadt are usually quieter than Liyue. The evening markets were a huge part of the Liyue economy, and music and chattering from the streets could be heard from where Keqing worked. While in Mondstadt, the citizen's nightly activities seemed to revolve more around drinking in taverns, and the streets are quieter compared to Liyue.
Keqing sighed as she opened yet another document.
'Here, here, and there…so many that still needs improvement…'
The flame of her lamplight flickered. She rubbed her eyes, trying to soothe the soreness due to the dim lighting.
Why had she been blind to so many flaws and mistakes in her work? Had the idle atmosphere of Mondstadt affected her efficiency as well? Naïve of her to think that her work had been finished.
Keqing remembered Jean, and the mountain of workload stacked on her desk.
The Yuheng of the Qixing wasn't obliged to attend diplomatic negotiations. Keqing came to Mondstadt to learn.
"After all, the people of Mondstadt haven't seen their god in a very, very long time." Venti's voice echoed in her mind.
Shame on her for believing that Liyue was superior in human rule.
Keqing huffed.
She had much work to do, and the nights always felt too short.
