A/N: Bruh I'm hyped for Act 3, Keqing's gonna appear! I'm reuploading the last chapter since it doesn't make sense with the stuff I got planned out.
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Aether's closest waypoint to Wangshu Inn was one of the two in Mingyun Village—the one closer to Sal Terrae. The journey would no doubt be shorter—and less painful—if only he had activated the other waypoint, or better yet, the waypoint in Wangshu Inn. It's literally right next to the reception! Oh, archons... just why? And to make matters worse, Keqing moved on to a different... phase? Would it be okay to call it that? Instead of sad, gloomy Keqing, she had transformed into uncontrollably giggling Keqing. Most often, her jokes would be about business things that he didn't get, incredibly cringy dad jokes that were so bad it actually hurt, and some about Snezhanya—the Fatui, to be precise.
"—And suddenly, they were t-talking about... about the Cor Lapis trade, like, if you want it so bad," Keqing started to laugh again, "just fucking mine it yourself!" Whilst she laughed, she had a habit of smacking her hand on something, like in those plays. However, unlike those plays, instead of a table or thighs or knees, she used Aether's shoulder, and at the same time, she was grabbing on to his long braid, pulling his head every time her fist went down.
Yes, he already knew about how strong the Yuheng was, but he thought she was most likely holding back whenever she abused him, since anyone who can kill a Cryo Regisvine in the span of 10 seconds cold probably rupture his insides in one push, or elbow, or kick, or punch...
Can you shut up?! And stop pulling the braid!
Maybe this was a sign that he should just cut it off. To be fair, it really affected the way he fought, but secretly he thought it was cool.
Thankfully, even if she was drunk, she didn't have her full power, but it still felt like she was chopping his arm off ever so slowly. It wouldn't do for him to scream in the middle of the night, but he was so close to just losing it. Was this how being tortured felt like? Actually, why is he tolerating her behaviour? More importantly, how? Gathering information from the way she acted, she wasn't a people person. All of that politeness just came from lots of practice. Especially that poker face she always has. Oh yeah, shouldn't she be more polite to him? From a different standpoint, two weeks isn't a lot; they're practically strangers. Yet she treats him like absolute crap.
In conclusion, from what he's known, she's actually a sadist. Hold up... is this Yukino Yukinoshita number 2?
And all that crap about being drunk shows your true personality? Bullshit! All that gloomy apologising and about her caring about him? She's drunk! Hell, he's tipsy! Otherwise, why the fuck did he start getting all intimate with her just a while ago? The hell happened back there? Aether must've misheard; it isn't as if he could never get drunk. The alcohol must've done a little bit to him, too.
Though embarrassed to admit it, he wanted her to stay asleep on his back. Sure, it's cliché, but it's better than getting his hair pulled out from his scalp! The constant giggling! The shit dad jokes! The hard pounding on his shoulder! The hair pulling! THE HAIR PULLING!
Venti, if you can hear me, can you use your Anemo powers on me again?
"This guy wanted to improve his business and, and he wanted to," she giggled for a moment, "get a sign from Rex Lapis. Said he w-wanted a sign and... overheard someone say six j-just as he said that, so he invested... in his sixth business item, w-which was iron chunks, when," she burst out laughing at this point, "he coulda just checked the latest trends! H-he went bankrupt!" Once again, the shoulder pounding ensued. For the past 12 minutes, the journey had been like this. At least now, Wangshu Inn was in his sights.
Before Aether began to cross the bridge that led to the inn, a sudden realisation came to mind. None of the citizens or even the Millelith saw him since he teleported straight away, but what would people think if they saw a random stranger carrying the Yuheng on his back into an inn? Quickly—faster than ever before—he took off his scarf, wrapping it around Keqing's facial features. Luckily, her hair had already been in front of her when he started to carry her, so no one would be able to notice her purple twin-tails.
"—But then she said—w-wha...? T-traveler, w-what is this...?"
And she's still calling him traveler?! Did she actually not know his name?!
"PleasefortheloveofRexLapisshutup."
Taking the lift up, Aether made sure to activate the waypoint as he walked over to the receptionist desk, meeting Verr Goldet's glance, the boss of this wonderful site. Keqing had, luckily, shut up—thanks to Aether's quick sentence a minute prior.
As soon as he approached, she spoke, "Welcome, traveler, to Wangshu Inn. How may I help you?"
"Can I please get a room?" Hopefully, his voice didn't sound too tense.
"Please pick from these." With her signature smile, she held out a piece of paper for him to take, showing the prices of many rooms. There were several categories, those including one-bed rooms, two-bed rooms, or even three or four-bed rooms. Then, at the side, it would show the sizes of the bed. For example, there could be a one-bed room with a king-sized bed. The one Aether had his eye on was the two-bed room with double-sized beds, but the price was 70000 Mora per night.
He knew that he wouldn't even need the other bed, but he couldn't just get one. It'd be crazy! Insanity! He'd look even more like someone taking advantage of a vulnerable girl if he did so! And so, whilst trying to hide his tenseness and frustration, he handed over a check of 70000 Mora from his Northland Bank account. If it made him look less suspicious, then it didn't matter if it was 150000 or even 300000... right?
He hadn't forgotten about Keqing's fever. She always coughed in between telling one of her jokes, or even before she became uncontrollably giggling Keqing. Her temperature had risen during their journey. As they entered the luxurious room, Keqing suddenly let go of his back and went for the toilet. Aether, obviously knowing where this was going, opened the tap of the sink and supported her as she... released the toxic liquids trapped inside her body. That didn't sound so bad now, did it?
So that was why she shut up, Aether thought as he continued to pat her back whilst she continued. However, she only had 5 cups, drinking two more after getting drunk, so the amount she let out wasn't that much.
"Now, time for the next thing... Shit."
Clothes.
For the second time, Aether had another realisation—one so big he thought an actual lightbulb just lit up in front of his head.
"Paimon, wake up," he said, putting Keqing in a chair as she giggled lightly by herself.
The emergency food appeared, stretching her arms and legs mid-air as she tiredly replied, "What?"
"I want you to run an errand for me."
"Hm?"
"Buy some clothes, I'll give you Mora. I don't care what, just get me a shirt and some essentials for Keqing, she's got a fever. Buy a bowl, we've already got towels here, but buy some small ones just in case."
After glancing at the girl, she nodded, taking the bag of Mora Aether had and popping into thin air.
He didn't have time to notice it, but the two beds were actually really, really soft. Really, really, really soft! ...Or was that just because he's been camping for ages now. Actually, thinking about it, this is the first bed he's touched in ages. That probably explains why he has so much Mora saved up. He then took a look at the bathroom; it had a shower, a sink, and a toilet—the obvious ones—and a bunch of towels on a glass shelf on top of the sink mirror. Also, there was this thing called a... hair dryer? Curious, he decided to turn it on, and a gust of wind flew from the device he held. A sign underneath wrote, 'Please don't waste wind. Anemo slimes used.'
...What the—
"Aether!"
"Holy shi—Paimon!"
"Paimon got what you wanted. I'm sure Paimon did job well done!"
"T-thanks... anyway, you can go now."
"Okay!" Paimon, once again, disappeared into thin air. Now that he thought about it, where did she disappear to?
Checking inside the bag, he took out a bowl (good), water bottles, snacks—though they were half-eaten—some small towels, medicine, bathroom essentials, a couple shirts, other types of clothing such as shorts, socks, and... undergarments. Aether instinctively slapped himself. There was no time to waist! A girl—a very rich, important leader whose subordinates could, and would, kill him if she wasn't taken care of—was sick! If it meant changing her himself, he had to! For the sake of his life! Who knew not treating someone could get you killed?!
"Are you actually such a pervert, Aether? Are you? Are you really? You think Lumine's gonna accept this behaviour?!" He smashed his head into the bed, so as to not injure himself, as he continued to berate himself over and over again. And now, he felt so cringe he couldn't bear to motivate himself with the most cringiest line he's ever heard, but it wasn't time to care about that! So, slowly, he said, "You can do this," wincing at the cringe.
Throughout this time, Keqing had switched phases again; it was more similar to the previous phase, however. She was incredibly confused, muttering to herself about how dizzy she was, her head bobbing up and down a way a sleepy person. He brought her up, and made her brush the teeth. Despite how annoying and frustrating it was, Aether managed, though he was the one who brushed her teeth. He made her do all of the things that included brushing someone's teeth, but no way was he going to let her use the complimentary mouthwash. Keqing could swallow it for all he knew.
Then came the hard part. Aether called on Paimon to change Keqing's clothes whilst he began to prepare the items to treat her. Paimon came out of the bathroom, leading Keqing out by her hand. She looks like she's about to pass out. Her actual clothes were set aside, folded neatly by a chair. Carefully, he laid her down, putting the blanket over her as he pulled a small seat next to the bed, bowl and towel on the small bedside table beside him.
Once again, reaching out his hand to her forehead, he checked her temperature, brushing away the hair from her forehead and replacing it with a towel drenched in cold water, using a hair clip to keep the hair in place. It wasn't too cold to the point where it felt like holding ice, but cold enough to make her wince a bit. Her cheeks were still flushed, eyes closed. A cup of warm water was next to Keqing, whilst Paimon and Aether began to prepare the medicine, always making sure that at least one had their eye on her. He made sure to order some Radish Veggie Soup from room service.
"Hey," he whispered, shaking her shoulder lightly, taking his other hand behind her back to make her sit up, "you gotta eat." Taking a small amount of the soup in the spoon, he put it close to her mouth until Keqing finally allowed him to feed her, quietly grumbling as the food entered her mouth. Okay, it was going good so far. Once she finished, he needed to give her medicine.
Looking at her now, something was definitely off. Her cat ears—no, I mean twin-tails. Her hair was tied up into a long ponytail slung over her shoulder. Good job, Paimon. He sent a spoonful her way, squeezing her hand slightly to tell her to open. He didn't know when, but Paimon had disappeared. After 20 minutes, she finished, giving a quiet hum of delight after drinking water for what felt like forever.
Having taken the medicine, she laid back down, with Aether taking the towel that had turned warm and dunking it in cold water again. After wringing the water out, he placed it on her head again. For the next two hours, he did it until he finally passed out on the seat beside her—but not before witnessing Keqing smile in her sleep as she nuzzled the pillow and tightened the blanket around herself.
Getting that double-sized bed was a great call. Yeah, it didn't matter if it was 150000 or even 300000 Mora, or anything else. In his mind, Aether made a small conclusion. Keqing was most definitely not just an acquaintance.
