Disclaimer: I do not own Genshin Impact nor the front cover (source/link in my profile)
Originally posted on February 13, 2021
Update: Revised for AO3 reposting.
-Special Story Quest-
-Corvus x Viator-
~Laterne meines Herzens~
(Lantern of my Heart)
Friendship level: 10
Affection level: 5
It was late in the night and the bustling streets of Monsdadt were devoid of its usual crowdedness, making way for a very peaceful and tranquil landscape as the gentle gust of winds and crickets were the only sounds to be heard.
Majority of the citizens were fast asleep at this very hour, even the normally busy stores and stalls were all empty and barren.
That is save for two individuals who were huddled up together in front of a alchemy crafting table.
Looking closely, these two individuals appeared to be crafting a object, one that floats and glows.
The first person however seemed dissatisfied as she showed her discontent.
"...The intrigue of molding such a mundane piece of handiwork fails to yield any sort of gratification to such a fine and sophisticated individual such as myself."
The other person though merely chuckled in amusement as he finished creating another lantern.
"Oh don't be like that Fischl, it's not too bad, It's quite fun in fact."
The reaction to the other person's statement was met with less than favorable reception, which turns out to be Monsdadt's famed prinzessin, top investigator of the adventurers guild.
Who seemed to take offense at his remark.
"Again, such superficial notions doesn't grant me the exuberance that thee believes so." She haughtily replied.
Pausing for dramatic effect, she took her signature stance.
"Though I must say, I find it rather amusing that you, my dear Aether, of all people, insist on fabricating numerous kinds of self indulgent activities such as this one that you find fulfilment to your shallow satisfaction."
Her fellow companion, who was known as the traveler Aether, only laughed, contrary to what she was expecting to be an annoyed reaction.
He grinned, as if her words didn't have enough bite to get to him.
"Well what you say might be true, but still, it's kind of hypocritical of you for calling such an activity like making lanterns boring, if you, who made more than ten of these, in fact more than I ever did if I may add, is still boring for you, then clearly there's something wrong." he cheekily shot back.
Her character instantly broke as her face immediately flushed.
"T-That's!- I-I only keep m-making these because you insisted!" She whispered loudly, nearly screaming in the process.
The blond traveler laughed harder.
With a pout, Fischl turned away from him, crossing her arms.
"F-Fine, d-do it yourself then!"
Walking away from the crafting table, she made her way to the fountain where her familiar and his small companion were.
Stomping on her way, the blonde seated herself by the fountain to soothe her nerves, the traveler really liked riling her up.
In truth, it didn't bother her as much but she still felt mildly irritated that Aether knows how to push her buttons the wrong way while she still could barely get a rise out of him.
What even bothered her more is that he could understand her archaic speech without the need of a interpreter like Oz, at first he struggled but then he adapted and even found mysterious ways to decode them, it still irked her to this day and made her wonder how he figured her out so quickly.
So the vibrant scene before her helped uplift her battered spirit, to heal her wounded soul at her unsuccessful attempts in making the traveler become flustered.
Paimon seemed to be having fun, with how she was letting the lanterns they made float up the star filled sky, lighting up the plaza.
Even Oz, who was known for being the no nonsense type when it comes to their dynamic pair, was flying around the lanterns that were slowly rising into the night.
She allowed a small smile on her face at the sight.
Thankfully the acting grandmaster allowed them to release the lanterns like they were doing at the moment, because for a city that values freedom, they had plenty of laws that needed to be uphold.
Since it was their saviour, he was given a bit of leniency for as long as he what he was doing wouldn't disrupt the peace or affect anyone negatively, which meant that they could keep making lanterns and setting them loose to their hearts content.
And speaking of Monsdadt's saviour.
She watched as the blond traveler continued making lanterns from where she sat, humming a tune she doesn't quite recognize.
While his creations were left to be desired, fine as it is though it wasn't as good as the ones she saw in Liyue harbor, however the process on how he worked on them captivated her.
It was like watching him cook, he had a unique kind of grace to his movements that only he had, even when he was fighting on the field aggressively during the times they fought together, he held a special kind fluidity that she couldn't describe.
She chalked it up to him being from another world, the numerous travels between them probably helped him become the way he is now.
And at the moment as he was crafting paper lanterns, she was left in a trance like state watching him.
Not even realizing that he was now making his way to her with a lantern in hand, her mind too preoccupied with images of him to even notice that his face was now so close to hers.
"Mora for your thoughts? O great Prinzessin der Verurteilung?"
Unprepared with how close his face was to hers, she nearly jumped at his sudden intimate proximity,
"T-Traveler! D-Don't startle me like that!"
"Sorry, sorry, my bad hehe."
Pouting once again, she sent a light punch to his arm for making her heart race, which he only brushed off and laughed loudly.
Taking a seat right next to her, he smiled as he offered a lantern to her.
Seeing how earnest he was in giving it, she coughed into her hand.
"So, thou hast surmised that extending a lackluster offering would suffice in placating mine vexation?"
She added a glare for more effectiveness in showing off her 'indignation'.
Unfortunately it didn't work as the traveler smugly grinned.
"I promise you that you'll like it." he said as he practically shoved the lantern into her hands.
"Hmph, I will be the judge of that."
Taking the lantern, she gingerly took a close inspection of it, and what she saw left her speechless.
It confused her that she didn't notice it right away when he was walking towards her, because it was very unique.
The lantern, compared to the others he made so far, appeared to have a very complex design and even plenty of creative choices added into it.
It had a shape of an actual street lantern for one, and was purple in color, it even glowed without having any light source in it, she speculated that he added a few drops of insulation potion during the lantern fiber production to give it its electrifying glow without having to electrocute anyone.
The markings on it on the other hand showcased some of the most impressive line art she had ever seen.
Right at the center of it were drawings of two wings that resembled that of a raven's, that looked eerily similar to the ones on her back, and extending from it matched the line motifs that came straight from her dress.
It didn't end there, the overall design of the lines were so asymmetrical yet somehow managed to maintain a sense of beauty that in a way, made it appear even more ethereal.
The attention to detail, the amount of effort put into this single lantern, as if it was meant for her and only her, it left her astonished.
"I-I thought you said that you weren't good at a-art or drawing?" she managed to blurt out.
The traveler for once actually looked embarrassed, though despite the chance of getting back at him for all his teasing, she couldn't capitalize on it with how overwhelmed with emotion she currently was.
He scratched the side of his face as he began.
"I took a page out of Albedo's book and decided to start drawing when I had free time and practiced more with alchemy simultaneously, it's also thanks to Miss Lisa that I've managed to incorporate these elements well, and since I've been busy making lanterns in preparation for the Festival in Liyue harbor, I got the chance to experiment with a lot of things so I got the hang of it fairly quickly eventually." He explained sheepishly, unable to look her in the face.
"Also, watch this."
Taking the lantern from her, he took out a small piece of flaming flower stamen and placed it on a small compartment below it that was held with interwoven fiber strings.
And the result was absolutely spectacular.
If the already purple electro based fiber shone with such vibrancy on its own, well now it looked even more brighter as it greatly emphasized the beautiful black markings on it.
"-You don't need to worry about it getting over-loaded, the inside of it is coated with a bit of dust-proof potion, while to prevent it from making a reaction the outside portion is coated with insulation potion that gave it its purple glow, I'm surprised it worked because I still get hit by overload even with a geo shield on, turns out it doesn't apply to most objects, this one being an example." the traveler continued.
Which at this point the girl was barely paying any attention to with how focused she was on the lit purple lantern.
The blonde twintailed prinzessin seemed to be frozen in place, seeing this, the traveler carried on until he was rambling, because like Fischl he was actually feeling embarrassed and anxious despite his easy going demeanor.
The blonde girl wasn't showing any other reaction to his creation as she was still as a statue.
This made the traveler worried as he furthered his explanation.
"-It took me months of practice and research and about a week to make this. I wanted it to be a surprise, so I devised a plan in inviting you in making lanterns with me, which was tonight, and waited for the right time and opportunity and now here we are, I hope that yo-"
"Aether."
His long drawn explanation came to a screeching halt at the interruption as he stared at the girl who was now trembling.
"Y-Yes? Are yo-hmpf!"
Before he could voice out his concern and other inquiries however, his face was grabbed by a pair of slender hands as his mouth had suddenly become too occupied to do so.
From a distance but not too far, Oz stopped flying about and observed the scene in horror that was unfolding right before him, his beak agape.
"Oh, mein fräulein..."
Paimon had stopped playing with the lanterns when Oz spoke, on her part, she became very aware on what was precisely happening behind her based on the raven's reaction alone.
She didn't dare to turn around.
"They're doing something icky again, aren't they?"
The poor bird could only shakily nod as he became a witness to a full on make out session a few meters away from him, and would need to take a lot more hits to his head before the memory of such a horrific event would be wiped from his mind, in fact right now he submerged his head in the water of the fountain to save him from the torturous scene.
The numerous lanterns that were floating set the sky alight, making Monsdadt a spectacle to behold that unfortunately no one was able to become an audience to save for a few people who were conscious, like the traveler and the prinzessin who were far too "busy" to even care, and their companions, at least one of them as the other was currently cleansing his eyes out, were trying their best to ignore the two in favor of appreciating the light show.
It was a shame too because there was a single purple lantern that stood out, overshadowing the rest with its brilliance as it slowly floated into darkness of the night.
And, if one were to look even further, there was a certain bard sitting on the open palms of a statue, playing a soft tune with his harp as lanterns passed him by.
-Special Quest Complete-
-75 Affection EXP gained-
Current Affection level: 5
