Genshin Impact: Mondstadt Alter
Act 1 Chapter 3.5:
A Couple of Questions
I can't sleep.
I've been staring at the ceiling, lying on my bed for the last hour. The room is pitch black, with the only light source coming from the small gaps in the door. There isn't much noise due to the isolated room that I am in. Yet, my mind resists taking a rest.
The harder I try to sleep, the more my head is filled with random thoughts. Somehow, I feel restless. It may have something to do with what has happened today. But I don't know if thinking about it would free my mind. If anything, it would make me feel more agitated.
"Ah, this is just great…" I grunted, getting up.
I turn on the light and get myself dressed. Opening the door, I see some sisters are still working. I step into the front door to get some fresh air. But of course, one of the sisters stops me before I can leave.
…
It wasn't hard to convince her when I've been showing improvement to pretty much everyone about my mental rehabilitation.
At first, I thought sparing some time to stroll around the city would be a good idea, but I realized I wasn't in the mood. Even though exhausting myself sounded like a perfect need for me right now. Once in a while, I guess sleeping late should be okay.
There's one place I want to visit again, so I bring my purse and head to the destination. On my there, I saw and passed some people. Without stopping, it doesn't take long for me to reach the Angel's Share.
Before even stepping inside, I can hear the loud laughter of the patrons. It gets worse the moment I open the door. I suppose that's natural, knowing I've been here only once. This place is just as I predicted. It's cramming with people.
The front desk chairs are full, unfortunately. I can see the bartender is too busy serving customers to notice me. While I know some people I acquaintance with are here, I don't see them. Well, I have no plan to chat with them anyway.
It seems the second floor isn't as packed, so I go there. There's one vacant table in the corner next to a painting of a scenery that is oddly familiar. I take the chair with the wall on the back and close my eyes while waiting for someone to pick up my order.
During my half-napping, my instinct tells me some folks are coming and going to this floor.
...
"... gan."
...
"Morgan…"
...
"Hey!" Someone suddenly shakes my shoulder.
I open my eyes in reflexes and see Kaeya standing next to me.
"Oh, hey there. Sorry, I dozed off." I said, fixing my position.
"You look tired. You good?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Just feeling sleepy, that's all."
"... If you say so." Kaeya shrugged, "So what do you want for tonight? Another coffee?"
"Hmm, I'm thinking about drinking something sweet, maybe a tea or something. Any recommendation?"
"Haha, you sure you want to take my suggestion?" He snickered.
I ponder for a moment, "Fair enough. Give me a love poem, then."
"Hoo, I'm surprised you remember what's on our menu. Alright, one love poem. Anything else?"
I wag my head.
"Okay, please wait for a moment."
I nodded before he left.
Once again, I wait as I rest my back and fold my arms. I was puzzled. How did I fall asleep despite all the noises? I account that to my fatigue. My sonar didn't even react to Kaeya waking me up.
During my wait for a drink, someone approaches me.
"Good evening, Morgan."
I pause to examine the figure before answering, "Evening. Do you need something?"
"You look lonely, so I'm feeling to accompany you~" She teased, "May I sit here?" She asked, implying the chair on the opposite side.
"By all means."
Mrs. Frederica drags the chair out and sits in front of me. There's silence because she's fixing her hair and tying it into a ponytail. Different than usual, she's not wearing the armor. The last time I saw her like this was the first time I met her.
I wonder if Jean will grow up just like her.
"Do you often come here, Mrs. Frederica?"
She sighs, "I wish. Sometimes work takes too much of me, you know? But I guess that's better for me." She answered as she fixed her hair on the side.
"Make sense. I hope babysitting me didn't do that to you."
She laughs lightly, "You jest. Compared to what I usually do, being a bodyguard isn't hard."
"Is that so?" I muttered before leaning back, "Right, before I forget, you have my thanks for your input. It helped a lot."
"Glad to hear that." She smiled, "Although I am curious since you've been doing it for these past few days. Do you mind telling me about it?"
Mrs. Frederica rests her cheek on her hand, waiting for my response. There's no point hiding it from her because she will know my intention of joining the Knight, especially since she's a high-profile knight. Unfortunately, I'm afraid someone might be eavesdropping.
"Before I do that, can I ask you a couple of questions first?"
"Oh, sure. What is it?"
I wait for Kaeya to bring our order before I raise my questions to her.
"Thank you for waiting." He said before giving us our respective drinks.
I pull my mug closer to me while Mrs. Frederica does the same. Judging by the smell, our drinks are different.
"Thanks. That was rather fast for the busy time, huh, Kaeya?" Mrs. Frederica commented.
"Haha, it's just the usual, really. By the way," He halted as he peered at me, "You two are an interesting combination, I must say."
"Fufu, meeting Morgan here isn't part of my plan for tonight. It's a surprise but a welcome one."
"I see. I believe this is the second time Morgan has come here, no?"
I nodded as I drank my tea.
"Well, enjoy your drinks, you two. I'd love to join, but there are customers to serve beforehand."
"No problem. Good luck, Kaeya."
He bows a little before leaving. After he is out of sight, Mrs. Frederica picks up and shakes her mug leisurely. She took a few shots like I did and extended our previous conversation.
"So, where were we again?"
A/N: Word of advice. Do not take everyone's words at face value.
I am so sorry, but I have bad news for you, fanfiction users. Since apparently this site broke on me, I have no choice but to move this fic to a new one. By a new one, I don't mean anything to rewrite or anything, but rather make a new story and put everything here to there. I'll update the next chapter in the new story and delete this one, so I apologize for the inconvenience!
Thank you for reading, and carry on!