Here's the new chapter, I hope you enjoy it as much as the previous ones.
The next day, Aether had arrived at the border between Mondstadt and Liyue. He had not slept, but his last conversation with Yelan had hurt his head a little, mixed with previous problems, it gave him more adrenaline to dissipate the energy and frustration accumulated until the end of the night, always leaving the same trail of blood in his path.
He inspired, breathing the freshness of Mondstadt's air, before exhaling when he saw in the distance the first place he had visited. He thought of Amber, the first person he had met in this world after Paimon, and felt compassion for her because she was the only one in this country who in his eyes deserved his trust.
The people in whom he had no doubts about their way of acting and whom he knew he could trust were counted with one hand, because except for the Outrider, Paimon, Ayaka Kamisato and the Dendro Archon, he had stopped trusting people, even his friends as he had shown with Yelan.
If one day he crossed the Pyro archer again, he would be a little happy to think of something else for a while, but for now, that was not his goal. In the short term, all he was interested in was staying alone, to recharge his batteries, before trying as much as possible to bypass all the obstacles that could stop him to finally succeed in finding his sister and leaving Teyvat, this place that had only caused him trouble.
However, as the wind shook his hair and he stopped to look at the landscape, he thought back to Yelan's words and wondered if she had really come for him or something else. He had analysed her facial expression, and he felt that she was not lying, but knew that Yelan was an expert in the theme of changing emotions, so he let doubt prevail, because he did not want to have unpleasant surprises. According to him, he thought he was going to give her to Ningguang so that she could ask him something again, and just thinking about it made him nauseous.
Not far from the Dawn Winery, he took the opportunity to reap some fruits and made sure to put himself in a quiet place north of the mansion to prevent Diluc where his maids could see him. He knew that stealing was not something he would do as normal, but he considered it the least thing to give him two or three fruits after everything he did for Mondstadt.
He ate and then lay down under a tree thinking about everything that had happened to him in this country, and this title he had never wanted and thought he had, the "Honorary Knight". Since he received this distinction by Jean, he had only had problems, solving everyone's idiocies under the pretext that he is a hero and a noble person, and sometimes for more than stupid missions, such as watching a guy so that he does not drink or looking for a key for a airhead. And what annoyed him in all this was that they did not learn their lesson, and that they continue to repeat without thinking about the consequences.
"- These morons,... If only I could put an end to all this... Maybe I should have left these idiots left to their own devices, in the face of the Abyss and the Fatui... They would finally understand the value of things and people before choosing the easy solution... "
Aether hit the ground with his fist, before telling himself that he should not get angry for the moment because he wanted to sleep a little, in order to make up for the night of sleep that he did not execute. He could sleep in the teapot, but he wanted to enjoy the breeze of the country, which he had always appreciated. In addition, he had limited access to the mystical home only to himself and to Paimon after leaving for a few weeks, knowing that the little fairy might want to rest, but not bothering to go back because he did not want to see her for the moment, otherwise it could aggravate the situation according to him.
Since the time Aether had left him, Yelan had not returned to the city of Liyue, and used an unused camp in Fatui to spend the night. When she woke up around dawn, she stretched a little before continuing to establish a plan to continue her journey and be able to continue to understand why and to what extent he was able to get to this point.
She had seen him go to the north, and thought that he might have gone to Mondstadt, hoping that no one affiliated with Liyue would come and would not know where he is because the inhabitants of the land of Geo Archon do not know enough about the topography and dangers of Mondstadt. However, Yelan was an expert in this field, used to changing regions to be able to capture her target, so it did not bother her too much.
However, one point came to spoil her confidence, it may turn out that Aether had thrown her on a wrong track to mislead her, but given that it was the only information she had and that asking people was useless, because she knew that Aether was insightful and that he would make sure to go incognito, without being noticed.
At this point, she knew that she had no landmark and that Aether considered Mondstadt as her first home, and that therefore he knew the place by heart. But she did not have time to think about this and decided to take the road towards the land of freedom, assuming that he would probably not go to the city since he does not try to get noticed.
She watched the sunrise with a slightly melancholic air, hoping that Aether would avoid seeing people, she did not want it to become a public matter, for Teyvat and for her. She felt that she had to convince him right away before it was too late and he was finally sinking.
The next day, in Liyue, Ganyu returned to the office, with the same face she had left in the evening, sadness reading like an open book, while thinking about what she had seen from afar. She was happy that Yelan had nothing, but she would have liked to hear their conversation, and even if Aether was rather calm, the sight of Yelan taking the lead with both hands of frustration indicated that what she had said was useless.
Arriving in Jade Chamber, the secretaries sent her their greetings, but Ganyu did not give a single "hello", too upset by the last few days, and when she saw Keqing in front of her, she saw herself as in a mirror. The same dark circles proving that they had cried all night, their very slow way of moving, their faces closed and their constant sniffing. Even the Qixing, one of the strongest women she knew and who never let herself be let down, was in a lamentable mental state.
"- Hi Keqing...
-... Hi Ganyu... Do you have any news from Aether?...
- I... "
The mere mention of his name was enough for Ganyu to fall back into tears, her fragile nature taking over, and Keqing hugged her in her arms to calm her down a little before bringing her office, and making her a tea, as well as to her because she knew they both needed it.
They settled on the sofa next to Keqing had in her office when she wanted to sleep or rest a little, before waiting for Ganyu to calm her spirits, while the user of the cryo element looked at her cup before speaking:
"- Sorry, I broke...
- You have the right, Ganyu... I don't blame you...
- Thank you... As for what I saw..., I saw...
- Take your time, I know it's as difficult for you as it is for me... Especially since you have seen it, so calm down, breathe and don't worry, everything will be better... "
Keqing was trying to do her best to keep calm and be as stoic as she usually did, but she would die of wanting to know how Aether was doing, but she knew that it could abrupt Ganyu, who is emotional.
Ganyu took a sip of her tea, before breathing and starting to describe what she saw:
"- Aether is no longer in the Aozang Mountains...
- What do you mean?
- Yesterday, Shenhe and I were watching the same thing as these last two nights.
- Was he still fighting?
- Yes, well, fight a rather weak word... Rather, he used his enemies as a punching bag... But this time it was different, Miss Yelan came...
- Yelan? What was she doing there?
- I don't know, we couldn't hear it from where we were...
- I see, continues..
- She spoke to Aether, and they had a conversation that seemed normal to me, I mean, he didn't get upset about where I was... But then, after a few minutes, he left, and Yelan sat on the floor being a little frustrated at not having managed to talk enough with him, I think...
- In my opinion, she tried to talk with him about the reason that pushed him to change his behaviour, but not in the right way.
- No doubt... But it doesn't stop there...
- What else...
- Aether left without even turning around, and continuing to kill his enemies until I no longer saw.
- Where did he go?
- He continued north, but I don't know more. All I ended up seeing was Yelan who tried to think in vain before sleeping. Besides, I found it very strange, I mean, she is more orderly in general...
- It also upsets her, in my opinion... You know what, we won't have an answer right away if we don't do anything.
- What do you suggest to do?
- Talking to Ningguang, in my opinion, she was the one who sent Yelan. We'll know more about why she did this.
- You're right. But she's busy.
- I don't care. Aether is experiencing a serious emotional crisis, and we stand idly by waiting for it to happen. Ningguang gives me answers whether she likes it or not. Are you coming with me? "
Ganyu hesitated for a few seconds, but her willingness to help Aether and no longer see him suffer, as well as Keqing's energy boost to discover the truth gave her enough strength to continue, because she understood to shed tears without having made any effort was useless.
"- Yes, I want Aether to get better, and that's the only way we can get there.
- It's the spirit. "replied Keqing with a small smile, happy that her friend can a little stop languishing and hope for the best.
The two women hurried towards the young woman's office, and without warning, Keqing opened the door without asking for permission, believing that her reason was important enough for the white-haired woman to stop working.
"- Keqing? ", said Ningguang, surprised to see her.
"- Ningguang, you will finish what you do later, but we have a question for you. And a negative answer will not be tolerated. "
Ningguang was going to tease her once again to relax the atmosphere, but saw in the young woman's eyes a more pronounced seriousness than usual, and she really didn't laugh, so she decided not to do anything. In addition, the sight of Ganyu next to her, who was emotionally exhausted, did not help her much, and she knew that the only reason they were in front of them right now was obviously the man with blonde hair.
"- It's about Aether, if I'm not mistaken?
- Yes... Ganyu, tell him what you told me, please.
- All right... Why did you ask Miss Yelan to see Aether? "
Ningguang widened her eyes knowing that they had heard the news, and wondered how they could have known, knowing that she had asked Yelan to be discreet.
"- What are you talking about? Yelan is on another mission.
- Don't play with us on this field! Ganyu saw with her own eyes Yelan at the Aozang Mountains talking with Aether, and once their conversation was over, Aether left while Yelan stood there as if she were confused.
- I see... I will explain to you. Yelan heard...that the Traveller was in a bad time and..
- Stop, I'll stop you right away. I haven't told anyone about this except Xiangling. Only Ganyu, Shenhe and I are aware of this. How do you know about it?
- Well... I may have asked Yelan to spy on you because you seemed bad to me to see if I could help you with your personal problems and that you are more joyful and productive, and the same goes for Ganyu...
- What did you do?!
- Wait, Keqing, it's for a good reason that...
- Shut up, and now just answer my question! "
Keqing couldn't take it anymore, all this information had given her an even greater headache than she currently had, and the fact that she learned that her boss was encroaching on her private life was the straw that broke the camel's back. However, she retains her anger to have as much information as possible about why Yelan went to find the Traveller. At that time, she understood why in this kind of situation, Aether could get angry, and she sympathised with him.
Ganyu, for her part, said nothing after this news, but nevertheless thought that her purple-haired colleague, and took a rather cold look at Ningguang, very different from her sweet face and angelic smile, not having appreciated this kind of unacceptable behaviour. She knew that Keqing would be more qualified to hold accounts, so she let the electro user continue her interrogation, while the white-haired woman had chills of fear when she saw her two most competent secretaries display a deep contempt for her, contrasting with her usual nonchalance. She knew that it was necessary to respond better in the hope that all this would work out.
"- All right... Yelan went to see Aether because she asked me. After listening to your conversation with Xiangling, she began to worry seriously about Aether. When she came to see me, she displayed a rather tormented expression, probably because she said she had seen you frustrated too. She voluntarily asked me to talk to Aether, and I agreed.
- You accepted while knowing that Aether is not in his normal state and that even if Yelan and he are close enough, he may not think properly and hurt her or even worse... And that this would have an impact on him indirectly?
- Yes, I had thought about this possibility, but what do you want me to say... Even if I had refused, I know that she would still have gone to find Aether, I might as well give her my blessing. And then, Yelan is orderly and intelligent, all the missions I give her are perfectly coordinated, so I doubt that she has not planned some solutions to get out of it.
- Even knowing this, we had to be warned... Since you knew we were aware of the situation, you could have asked Yelan to accompany her. The result is that now, by your fault and inattention, Aether is even more suspicious of people.
- You know that Yelan has a very own way of acting to get answers, and Aether probably had to think she was there because you asked her, and not because she was worried about him.
- I understand, it's true that it doesn't happen to me a lot to do foolishness, but I hadn't planned all this..."
Hearing this, Keqing was bubbling with rage. It annoyed her to hear that Ningguang spoke as if she had realised a little stupidity, when in reality, it was getting worse. She had decided a radical thing, which she would never have thought once to say, while she always made sure that Liyue could enjoy a better future, and looked Ganyu eye to eye, the cryo Adeptus understanding exactly what she meant and she agreed.
"- Since you put us in shit and you didn't respect us, I don't see why we wouldn't do the same. I'm sorry for the inhabitants of Liyue, and Ganyu too, but since it's like that, from now on, and until Aether gets better, or at least we can have answers about his behaviour change, we are abandoning our duties as secretaries of the Jade Chamber.
- What? Are you not serious?
- Yes, and it takes effect immediately.
- No, it's a joke... Ganyu, don't tell me that you too...
- Yes, I join Keqing on this subject. Aether is a dear person to me, and your lack of consideration for him, as well as for Miss Yelan regarding the potential danger in which you put her, or Keqing and I regarding our privacy shows that you do not care about us. So I prefer to use my time to find him. Goodbye.
- Have fun managing the rest on your own and see you soon. "
Keqing and Ganyu hit the heavy door strongly, leaving a dull noise, in front of Ningguang who barely digested what had just happened. She did not know what to say, or what to do, her two best elements were about to leave her, Yelan had not sent any news, and she felt truly alone, even more than before. She knew that Aether was important to them, and to the stability of the country, and managing the amount of work that the two women had was not going to be an easy task for them and the other secretaries.
She sighed loudly, her hands on her head, finally understanding that the situation is much more complex than she thought, it was not a vulgar crisis that Aether had, and that if all this was mismanaged, not only Aether, but also Keqing and Ganyu, and probably other people, out of love or admiration for the Hero of Liyue, could pass on the dark side and be a bigger problem than the Abyss or Fatui.
In another sense, she felt that she deserved this, what she had done did not deserve to be the head of state of this country for her, but she knew that she should not be let down. All she had to say to the other employees was that Ganyu and Keqing were taking vacation days to hide this temporary resignation, and even if getting bogged down in another lie was certainly not good for her, it was the only choice that was within her reach at the moment.
"- What to do?... Aether, please, I hope everything will be better for you, and bring back Keqing and Ganyu safe and sound... "