dndkeg: Well, would you be calm with an unsupervised Klee running around?

This part was initially going to be combined with the next, but it ended up being longer than initially thought. So this will now be 6 chapters total.

"I have to say Aether, I'm flattered, I really am. All these people came to see you off, and the first person you choose to go towards is me? Haah…I suppose it can't be helped, I have cooked a lot for you after all~ Hm, I wonder what Amber would say if she knew what we were talking about…"

"Ha. Ha. Ha." came the dry reply from the adventurer as he reached for his food- a Chicken-Mushroom Skewer. "I just needed to calm down for a bit, you saw how I was just now."

"It's alright, anyone would be emotional in that situation." Sara replied, hand outstretched to collect the required Mora, which Aether quickly produced. "It's not often that so many of them stop by in one day, and even less so for the same reason. Her smile turned a bit teasing again. "You must feel pretty lucky right now huh?"

Yes I do. Aether confirmed her opinion with a nod, contemplating something while thinking back on them all. Finally he spoke up. "I think I'll go around town and talk with anyone I can, it'll be a great way to spend the rest of the day." Satisfied with his answer, he grabbed his food, pushed himself off the chair and turned around… but was interrupted halfway when Sara handed him another three full skewers.

"For you three later…or maybe two for Paimon and one for Amber, ha." She forced them into his open hands." And no complaining about the payment either!"

Sensing that there was no point in arguing, Aether grinned right back. "Thanks a lot Sara, I'll miss eating here."

"Well, the job offer will still be open when you return~ But go on now, you have a lot more people to talk with." She looked back to the fountain in the square's center. "In fact, I think I see a couple of them over there."

Aether followed her gaze and spotted Sucrose and Timaeus talking by the crafting table, as per usual. Giving a final wave to Sara as he left Good Hunter, he eagerly dashed over to the pair, four skewers still in hand (even if one was halfway eaten).

The Vision-less man spotted him and called out, attracting Sucrose's attention as well. "Hey Aether, what's up? …Oh, if you're looking for Paimon, she's still with Bennett and the others. I caught a glimpse of them as I was coming here."

"A-ah! Um." Sucrose began. "Mr. Albedo was busy with an experiment, so he couldn't come today. I'm sorry that he won't be able to see you off…"

Right, I didn't see Albedo earlier after all…he must still be in Dragonspine. He could just picture the scenario, the Chief Alchemist reading one of his many books while remaining unaffected by the cold of the region. "It's alright, I'll pay him a visit when I return." Aether spoke with a look of confidence, one that lit up a bit as an idea came. "In fact, …I'll be sure to bring back a bunch of Inazuma specialties for you two to study."

Sucrose looked delighted, but Timaeus spoke up before she could. "Hey, don't forget about me! I work with Albedo too!" The other two chuckled a bit at his interjection as the chat became more lighthearted, with the trio talking about their activities as of late, along with Aether telling them about his plans at Inazuma (what little he actually wanted to speak about to avoid worry anyway) until he remembered a topic he heard.

"Hey Sucrose? When I was talking with Jean earlier, she mentioned something that you might know about. It's about the Dawn Winery, more Cryo Slimes have appeared in that area than usual, and more often too. Do you have any idea why that would happen?" Maybe if I have anything to tell her, she won't get too upset with the whole Klee business. Thought Aether with a tiny smile. The bespectacled assistant fell silent for a second before speaking, typical stutter gone.

"Hmm…well, it's hard to say. Slimes are pure elemental beings, so they can emerge if the level of energy in a certain location reaches a threshold. If these are Cryo Slimes we're talking about, then it might have something to do with the snow on Dragonspine, but Mr. Albedo made no mention of anything different…so another option is because something has changed in the water. Unfortunately, if that is the case, then the underlying cause could be just about anything, as the stream surrounding Dragonspine is connected to the ocean after all… As unlikely as this is, it could even be related to how the water around Mondstadt turned bitter a while ago. …Oh!" She finally looked back up. "I-I'm sorry…I got lost in my thoughts for a moment there…"

"N-no problem." said Aether, impressed. He knew she liked experiments and solving issues, but that was something else. Timaeus winked at him, he was used to this and found the adventurer's reaction amusing.

Slightly embarrassed, Sucrose searched for a different topic to talk about. Luckily for her, there was one thing she wanted to say. "Right! Aether, Mr. Albedo wanted me to pass along a message for you."

"Albedo? What is it?"

"His exact words were," she closed her eyes and put a hand on her chest, aiming for perfection. "'Please tell Aether that his message is ready.'" Opening them again, she asked the obvious. "I didn't understand what that meant. Do you know?"

Aether didn't… My message? What is he-

Wait.

The realization hit him just before an open palm against his forehead did. "H-Hey, did either of you see which way…Eula went?"

Now that was a name neither of them expected to hear when Aether started his question, as evident by their worried glance at each other. "W-Why? Is this related to what Mr. Albedo said?"

Thinking how to answer that for a moment, Aether nodded. "Yes…I need to give her something."

Timaeus shook his head. "I have no idea where she is, but it's possible that she already left Mondstadt again. After all, you know her history."

No! Cursing at himself for ever forgetting, Aether said a quick goodbye to a still-confused Sucrose and Timaeus. Without waiting another moment, he sprinted for the front entrance, mind already doing its' best to try and predict where the Cryo-user would have gone. He was just about to step onto the stone bridge when-

"Wait."

A voice to his left was heard. It was familiar…despite his sudden rush, Aether turned towards the voice and was greeted once again by Kaeya. What does he want now?

"Honorary Knight, you aren't scheduled to leave until sunset. I can't imagine you're just abandoning us, especially without your…friends." He taunted Aether with a smile, it was if he knew about the adventurer's brief thoughts earlier of possibly doing just that. Of course by now, that thought had been completely stamped out from his mind, so Aether was able to brush past Kaeya's fake accusation.

"Of course not. I'm just looking for Eula."

An eyebrow rose. "Well, I don't know why you would go outside the city then, she's still in Mondstadt."

Aether felt a sigh escape from his lips as he relaxed a bit. "Excellent, where is she then?"

"Hold on a second." Kaeya paused for a moment. "Before we get to that, you need to come with me."

"C'mon, this is no time for games." Aether frowned, he was on limited time as it was, he couldn't afford to waste any more of it.

Or that was what he was thinking, that this was the usual antics that annoyed Paimon, but the Calvary Captain didn't even flinch as he responded. "I assure you this is no joke. Your friend is asking for you at Angel's Share. I was in the area, enjoying a nice drink to celebrate today's events, when I saw you about to leave. And how could somebody in my position possibly ignore that kind of request?"

Admittedly, Aether was never completely sure that Kaeya's actions were as innocent as he made them sound, bit he did sound serious about what this 'other person' wanted…whoever they even could be. Taking a last look at the outside land, he gave up and went to the bar that held a certain fond memory.

-0-

"There you two are! Next time Kaeya, can you bring him a little quicker please? The bartender has been staring daggers at me since you left!"

As soon as the pair entered Angel's Share, they immediately heard a voice call out to them from the far side. Luckily with it being the afternoon, the bar was mostly empty, allowing for an easy sighting. Plus, if the appearance of this individual somehow wasn't enough to have Aether remember them, their answer to the question of Why didn't you just buy a drink then? that Kaeya asked as they went over would expel any doubt.

"You know I can't afford that…"

Still donning her hat despite being inside, the person who requested Aether was none other than the astrologist, Mona Magistrate. This was a surprise for him, but not exactly an undesired one. He didn't see Mona too often, as normally she was holed up in her new Mondstadt house, working on her arts of hydromancy.

"Hi Mona. Kaeya said you wanted to see me?"

"Indeed I did. Come, sit down for a moment, if you please." With a slight look of suspicion, Aether followed instructions and sat across from her. Meanwhile Kaeya grabbed a chair, dragged it over, and spun it around, plopping down with a satisfied grin.

"Where to begin…" she mused. "Well, I wish we could've met again under better circumstances…but I need to tell you something urgent. It's about Inazuma."

A chill went down Aether's spine at that, he wasn't expecting Mona to say anything concerning that topic. Then again… "Did you see something?" he guessed. Using a combination of her hydro abilities and the background of an astrologer, Mona was able to get a glimpse of people's destinies. She wasn't able to find Lumine for him though (as this was before that truth was uncovered) so he felt no need to ask her about it since. Now though, it was clear that Mona had tried again to greater success.

"Correct. When I heard the news from Kaeya that you were leaving tonight, I attempted to look at your fate once more, but this time focusing on your next destination."

As I thought. "So what was it?"

"Inazuma…the nation of eternity…As you might expect, you will make new allies that will assist you in your journey. I can tell you will develop strong bonds while you're over there. At the same time however…" She closed her eyes. "There will be many dangers…much of which will be from new enemies, but I could tell that some familiar faces will also try to harm you.

That last part caught Aether's attention the most. "Familiar foes you say?" Great, just great…I wonder who she's referring to. "Mona, should I assume that if you're telling me, then it's somebody you know as well? Doesn't that mean it can only be Scara-"

Mona's expression became deadly serious, and even Kaeya's earlier smile completely vanished. "I don't know, your fate is not easy to decipher Aether. There was just…a strong feeling that you have a history with…whoever this is." …But for your sake, I hope you never run into that man again."

Aether grimaced. If he remembered right, upon meeting 'that man' for the first time with Fischl, Mona had teleported them away as quick as she possibly could. That was just how afraid he should be…but regardless if it really was the man in question or not, hearing that the swordsman would run into a 'familiar foe' got him frantically thinking about if he was being watched by some person…if it was even a "person" at all. Who's to say it wouldn't be the Abyss Herald yet again?

What about Lumine?

"This goes without saying, but I cannot stress it enough Aether." Mona coldly warned. "Be extremely careful in Inazuma. Because if you don't…."

A cold air rushed in throughout the bar as neither Aether, Mona, or Kaeya spoke, all deep in thought while letting her words linger though the air. It was fortunate they were sitting towards the back of the bar, this way Charles couldn't hear. Aether was especially quiet, whoever this Raiden Shogun was, they were not going to be a fan of his intrusion into their region. But being told your life may be threatened? That would always get his attention, no matter what or who he fought in the past. But as if to interrupt his thoughts from going down a dark path, someone else called.

"So Honorary Knight. What will you do?"

Attracting three people's attention at this sudden question, Aether quickly turned around, and was surprised as anybody to see Rosaria of all people walk down the stairs from the second floor, glass in hand while looking as uninterested as ever.

Kaeya's grin grew back. "Well this a surprise. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at the cathedral helping out?"

"Be quiet." The nun dismissed. "This whole farewell event for the Honorary Knight- that you organized Kaeya- has got the whole town buzzing like an annoying insect. The only place I can enjoy some peace is here…well, before you three came in at any rate."

Oblivious (or simply unconcerned with) Mona's growing indignation, Rosaria took a sip of her alcohol and pressed Aether for an answer. "You ignored my question. Even knowing the risks involved thanks to this astrologist, you're still set on going to Inazuma?"

Halfway tempted to make a comment about how unlike it was for Rosaria to care about this, Aether didn't even have to think about his answer, he'd already decided long ago. "Yes, I am…even knowing the dangers that await me, I'm still going. 'I have to know why the Raiden Shogun is doing all of this, why is she hunting Vision-holders? Why is she oppressing her own people? Is there anything I can do to help?"

And…he thought, What is the truth Lumine wanted me to find? To the other three though, they heard: "Plus, I'm an adventurer. Exploring new lands is what I'm best at. So thanks for the heads-up Mona, but I have to go there."

Rosaria merely scoffed at his explanation. She's probably thinking I'm being naive. "Do whatever you want. Just make sure that you watch your back, I'm not about to explain to Amber what became of you if you don't make it."

Aether frowned, that was a bit of a cheap shot, however right it was to point that out. With her "job" done, he thought she would walk out of the bar at that statement, but Kaeya's next action came before any consideration could even be given. Clapping his hands twice for attention, the Calvary Captain declared, "Alright everyone. I just brought him here to listen to what Mona had to warn him about, but I don't think this discussion is how we should be spending Aether's last day in Mondstadt."

Interpreting Rosaria's softening glare on Aether as a confirmation, he continued. "Let's order some drinks." Charles! Three cups of your finest and one Apple Cider for the adventurer." causing the target in question to frown while Mona chuckled, successfully distracted from the conversation.

"C'mon Charles, can't you let it slide? It's my last day!" He whined to the counter.

But the bartender remained firm with a shake of his head. "No can do, I already looked the other way when you had your girlfriend over before. We're not doing this again."

Meanwhile, Mona and Rosaria had reservations of their own (though for two very different reasons) but Kaeya was able to convince them to join in by offering them free drinks. So after some thankfully lighter topics of discussion, the four of them got their respective meals and all sat down again.

Aether had to smile at what was going on. Himself, Kaeya, Mona, and Rosaria drinking at Dawn Winery. What a weird way to spend the day…