Here I present myself with a new chapter!

Again I want to thank f46adpg for giving me a hand with the translation.

It was a pretty busy time, but I'm finally on vacation. I don't know exactly how much free time I'll have, but I can safely say that weekly updates will be able to return until February, as long as nothing happens in the way.

With this point clarified, it is time for the reviews:

Vanilla 12: I'm so glad you liked the fight. Updates should be more regular from now on.

With nothing more to add, let's get started.

Enjoy!

The empty tray was carefully placed on the nightstand. A light feminine sigh covered in joy could be heard at the same time that Aether settled further on the bed.

"Thank you very much for the food. I have never tasted anything so good." Ei's emotions were now much more controlled, but it was evident that the delight marked on his palate would not go away for a long time.

"It doesn't matter. You will be in my care now, so you better get used to it." Aether commented with a certain grace, an expression that only increased as he witnessed the Archon's face light up.

"Are you serious?" Her tone was calm, but you only needed to see her face to know that she was very excited.

"I really like to cook." Aether shrugged his shoulders, as if that were no big deal. "Besides, it's not like I can help Yae and Sara much. You know, things are complicated." The happy atmosphere faded pretty quickly with the meaning behind those words.

Ei lowered her gaze. She didn't look as devastated and depressed as before, but it was evident that she was still very affected.

"I wish I could help, but…" She trailed off almost immediately, feeling quite helpless for not even being able to lift a finger.

That feeling eased a little when a comforting hand was placed on top of her head.

"Don't worry. As I've said before, it is true that they need their Archon…" Aether commented, ruffling the woman's hair a little, who couldn't help but close her eyes as she felt her messy hair getting even more messy. "But, remember that they also know how to fight for themselves. And I believe that everyone will be more than willing to work hard until their precious Archon recovers." The Shogun lowered her gaze a little after hearing those words, a light sigh accompanied her beautiful lips, something that did not go unnoticed by Aether.

With the intention of distracting her from what was tormenting her, Aether pushed her with his hands before Ei's somewhat surprised look. The fact that she didn't feel the physical contact helped her not feel a little nervous about the traveler's hands running over her back to cradle her in his arms.

"I have to attend to some business. "I'll be back in a couple of hours in case you need anything." The blonde commented, laying her down on the bed very carefully, as if she were a porcelain doll.

"It-it's okay." Ei couldn't help but stutter, as Aether's hands caressed her cheeks to remove the strands of hair that fell over her face.

"I'm just going to make something clear." Aether commented as he took the empty tray. "Stop thinking about complicated things, or I won't give you your lunch." A lament, or rather, a rather peculiar and funny scare emerged from Ei's lips.

Anyway, she didn't comment on it. Apparently, he had perfectly noticed that there were still many things that were bothering her. Surely her previous involuntary sigh had given her away.

Before leaving, Aether gave her one last look, emboldening her with one of his smiles.

"By the way, when you recover you should wear your hair down. You look much more radiant like this." The traveler closed the door without even waiting for the Archon's reaction.

He had only made that comment in an effort to cheer her up, and in a way he did.

Although he would never have thought that such a simple comment could make a Goddess over 500 years old blush.

CHAPTER 4: STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS.

"So that's what happened…" Diluc spoke with his ever stoic manner as he placed the wine glass on the table. "Seeing the circumstances, I'm not surprised that all those people have decided to stay here for the moment."

As always, the redhead seemed more analytical than sentimental, so it was easy to have these types of conversations with him. Anyone else would already be yelling or annoying him to the core for such feats, something that clearly made him uncomfortable.

In fact, Aether was sure that he had never seen a smile from Diluc in all this long year that they had been partners and friends.

Diluc turned slightly to face the open window. You could see a gigantic field covered with crops there. That small floating island, unlike the others, only contained a simple inn with a completely overflowing and rich vineyard. Hectares and hectares of grapes that served Diluc exclusively, and the only thing he had to do was pay the monthly rent for the area, an area that was overflowing with ideal climatic conditions 365 days a year.

A simple perfect place to do business, but for now he didn't just come to talk about that.

As said before, Diluc was a friend of Aether, and was interested in this turn of events, although he did not outwardly show it.

"Have you gotten close to the people you saved yet?" Diluc turned his gaze to Aether, who took one last taste of the gifted wine before setting it down on the table.

"I think it would be very uncomfortable. Right now they are trying very hard, I don't want to disturb the reconstruction of their spirits and…"

"You don't want to get involved in a political way." Diluc sentenced before his friend finished his meaningless chatter, making him lower his head with a nervous chuckle.

"It's impossible to make excuses with you…" He commented nervously.

"If you ask me, you're already up to your neck in this. Not only did you save them, but you allowed them to live in your home, even if it was only momentary. In addition, their main residence is incapacitated at the moment." Diluc declared as he crossed his arms. "I'm going to give you some advice. Being fully involved in the structure of Inazuma will not prevent you from remaining free, so you can continue traveling in search of your sister and the answers you long for." On this occasion, Aether couldn't help but become a little serious.

"To be honest, that's what worries me the least. Although thank you for your words, they helped me think about things in a better way." The blonde concluded, giving him a slight smile.

In any case, Diluc was not left alone with those words.

"If this is not what worries you the most, I have to assume that something serious could happen." The redhead commented, making the blonde lower his gaze a little. "Are they the Gnosis?" He finished with a question, receiving a slow nod from his friend.

"I'm sure the Cryo Archon won't recover for a while, so maybe they won't make any more moves for now. That gives us time to recover, but what happens next…"

"A war." Diluc finished Aether's idea, and his frown showed that he was just as worried as his friend. "The Gnosis weren't supposed to do much nowadays, they were supposed to be relics of the past, but from what you said they are still very dangerous. And if the Fatui were willing to destroy a region to get just one of them, I don't want to imagine what might happen in the future, and I don't even want to think about what they might do if they got them all."

"I know, that's why I want to talk to Jean." Diluc watched him silently after hearing those words. "I would like to go visit her myself, but I am very busy because I have been assigned the arduous duty of caring for a Goddess. Also…" Aether pointed to himself, emphasizing the numerous bandages that were visible on his body.

"I understand, I will deliver the message." Diluc nodded, rising from his chair as he tossed in a bag full of berries.

"As always, it is a pleasure doing business with you." Aether smiled at him as he raised his hand.

"You do know that we are not only partners right? We are also allies. You can call me if you need help with anything. Furthermore, this nonsense is something that could also affect my vineyard." Diluc did not hesitate to shake hands with Aether, thus ending the meeting.

A couple of hours later…

Jean sat in front of Yae and Sara, who had put the papers aside after seeing his arrival.

"I am the current Active Grand Master of the Knights of Fávonius. Diluc told me that they had to talk about something urgent with Mondstadt, so I came as their representative." The woman declared with her typical serious appearance when she carried out her work.

"It's impressive to think that someone so influential decided to come so quickly." Sara commented, somewhat amazed to meet Jean, who, according to the information collected- the knight could be on her level and even more.

"Although we are a little busy, your visit is welcome. I think that Diluc guy already told you everything." Yae commented, her appearance and manner were as eloquent as always, although this time she looked a little more cautious.

"To be honest, I'm very busy. But what Diluc said has me very worried. Besides, everyone in Mondstadt knows the Honorary Knight, and we know he wouldn't be so uneasy about anything." The woman clarified with a slightly friendly smile, to which Yae responded in kind after noticing her demeanor.

"I take it that the 'Honorary Knight' you speak of is Aether?" Jean nodded in response to Sara's question.

"Do you want to make an alliance with Inazuma for what could happen in the future?" Yae was the one who asked the second question.

"After seeing that all the surviving inhabitants are in this place, I have no doubt that the matter is serious, and it is a grave situation and threat that can also affect our region with even more danger, partially because we do not have the same military force as "Inazuma." Jean made her point, and the tone in her words implied that she was truly worried about what might happen. "But I know that Inazuma has been a secluded region for a long time, so it is difficult to establish a good diplomatic relationship. But I have hopes that the friendly relationship that our Archons used to have can rekindle, not to mention that both sides have a fairly famous intermediary in common like Aether, I was thinking that maybe…"

"We accept." Yae didn't even let him finish her proposal, since the answer was more than clear to her. "We agree to be allies of Mondstadt."

"Are you sure?" Jean looked between Sara and Yae, not being able to hide her surprise. "You didn't even talk to their Archon. Maybe she doesn't want to…"

"Things have changed." Yae interrupted her again. "In addition, at this time, it is necessary to take serious measures. Even Barbatos, who believes in freedom and romance, will be willing to fight. After all, we are talking about everything that it protects that can run great risks. We don't know what the Fatuis want to do with the Gnosis, and, in any case, Barbatos and Zarina are natural enemies." The High Priestess gave all her points, in which only the two present could hear.

"I agree with everything." Jean nodded satisfied at the final verdict. "Anyway, are you sure to leave aside the Shogun's opinion? "She is the highest authority in Inazuma."

"Don't worry about her…" Yae commented, covering her lips with one of her hands.

"She's too busy right now fufu."

" Achuuu !" Ei sneezed loudly, earning a worried look from the traveler.

"Are you getting a cold?" Aether asked with great concern as he sat down next to her to place a hand on her forehead.

"Don't worry, Gods can't get sick." Ei commented with a slight smile as she noticed the great concern he was showing for her.

It was true that he was taking care of her as it was mainly because there were no other options. Even so, she was really enjoying his treatment. Most likely, living alone for so long had also influenced any affection received to be much more intense and sensitive for her case.

"What did you think of lunch?" Aether tried to continue the conversation to keep this cheerful atmosphere, as he didn't want Ei to start thinking about unnecessary things again.

"You cook really well!" Ei didn't hesitate to respond instantly, and she clearly looked excited. "I have never tasted such delicious things, and even salty food wasn't something that caught my attention until now!"

"That's great, but you should know that such flattery will not help you save yourself." The Goddess could only observe him with great confusion after those words. "Once you recover, I also want you to prepare things for me. "I've always wondered how a God would cook."

At that moment, Aether knew he had hit a nerve, as Ei became a little disappointed.

" Shububu …" Ei looked away with a bitter expression.

"What did you say?" The blonde couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, since the Archon's murmur was impossible to hear.

"I don't think you want to try my food. I could never do anything right…" Ei murmured again, although this time she was heard.

"Is that so?" Suddenly, Aether felt the need to tease her. "I thought a Goddess was supposed to be perfect. I'm disappointed." Ei looked at him again, lowering her head a little.

"I am very far from being perfect. If it were the case, my people wouldn't have suffered so much…" This time, Ei's tone looked clearly hurt.

The feeling of discomfort subsided when she felt a hand being placed on her head.

"The first step is to recognize it and I am going to help you become a perfect Archon." Ei's eyes widened a little after hearing those words. "Once you recover, we will begin this arduous progress with something as basic as learning to cook." Although Aether said it jokingly, it was clear that Ei didn't take it that way, as her face lit up in such a way that she looked like a little girl visiting a toy store for the first time.

"Are you serious?!" The excitement and lively hope in the Shogun's eyes did not allow her to back down.

"Uh, of course…" Ei was so excited that she didn't notice Aether's somewhat hesitant tone.

Although, that slight smile that appeared on his face shortly after indicated that he didn't dislike the idea much either.

"In that case, I hope you don't kill anyone in the process." Aether laughed as Ei's brightened face turned into a pout that lasted only a second.

"Why do you always have to bother me?" The Shogun showed her annoyance in her own sweet and relaxed way.

Those two ways of describing her were so good that Aether couldn't help but look at her with some affection, something that Ei noticed.

"It's just a joke." Aether ruffled her hair a little, making Ei close her eyes. "I can't believe there's that much of a difference between you and the puppet, since you technically created it in your image." Aether stopped messing up her hair, making the Goddess look at him with slight curiosity. "Perhaps the fact that you are so helpless and restless makes you much more talkative and receptive. Or maybe it's just that it's been a long time since you could enjoy these trivial things." The Shogun lowered her head a little at his words, since that statement made her think about things a little. "In any case, it's really nice that you gave up the idea of killing me." He concluded with a toothy smile, making Ei a little sad.

"How many times do I have to apologize for it?"

"It's still not enough."

"I'm sorry."

"Relax, I'm just kidding."

Ei looked at the mirror in front of him, watching as Aether's hand left her head and left her hair tangled up. But she looked very beautiful despite it.

"What I want to say is that I don't do this out of simple obligation. Regardless of the causes, you ended up being a very nice person, so I enjoy spending time with you." The blonde's casual response made Ei blush a little.

"It's also good to talk to someone who doesn't feel tied to their responsibilities or the fact that they're talking to an Archon." Ei commented, even as a slight blush accompanied those words.

Aether looked at her with slight surprise, since she had said that she really liked his company without even thinking about it.

"Great, but don't get used to me bringing you food in bed after you recover." Aether joked, but instead getting embarrassed, a somewhat unique expression emerged on Ei's face.

"What dessert will we eat in the afternoon?" Aether couldn't help but roll his eyes at such a question.

"You just finished your lunch and you're already thinking about the afternoon meal?" He thought with a sweatdrop.

But, the silence made the answer more than evident.

"What's going on?" Ei asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"You don't eat desserts in the afternoon, it's a light meal." The blonde clarified, making Ei lower her gaze in quiet amazement.

"What? Why not? What do you mean it's a light meal?" Ei's excitement changed to an expression covered in surprise, something that Aether no doubt found quite funny.

"It's not that I mean to be rude, but surely the fact that you are an Archon has something to do with it." Aether commented, doing his best to hold back his laughter, making Ei lower her gaze and give a small, barely audible sigh.

"So, the others have been pleasing me until now because I am the Shogun? Hmm , interesting…" She commented mostly to herself, although her surprise and disappointment were more than palpable.

"If you want, I can continue pampering you a little longer." Those words made Ei look at him with great interest. "I'm not going to give you a plate full of desserts, but if you want I can give you a specialty of mine that is not very big." He concluded, and Ei couldn't help but blink in complete and utter curiosity.

"What kind of dessert is it?" Aether didn't answer him, just stood up.

"It will be a surprise." He commented as he approached the door to leave.

"Wait!" At one point, Aether thought that she wanted to continue insisting, but he soon discovered that it was something else when he saw the gigantic blush that decorated her cheeks.

"What's going on?' Aether turned to face her, and Ei couldn't help but look away in utter embarrassment.

"I-I have to go to the bathroom…"

". . ."

An extremely awkward silence appeared between them, until Aether finally reacted.

He didn't say a word, he just left the place as quickly as he could, leaving Ei completely shocked by the obvious escape of her caretaker.

…..

…

….

"How are you not going to do anything about it?!" The traveler slammed the desk hard, making Yae laugh in his own peculiar way.

Meanwhile, Sara stayed out of everything, reading her papers without taking her eyes off of them.

"You said you would take care of her. That means you have to treat ALL of her needs until she recovers." Yae declared and although her lips were covered by her bandaged hand, it was more than obvious that she was mocking him. You just needed to take a look at her eyes.

"But that already transcends any kind of things!" Aether exclaimed, completely hysterical.

"Oh…why do you say that?" Yae tilted her head slightly, feigning innocence.

"We are man and woman! The problem is more than obvious! And what am I supposed to do when I have to bathe her or check her wounds?!" Aether exclaimed, completely letting himself get carried away by his nerves.

The Yokai just stayed silent, watching him with that expression of feigned innocence. In fact, she stayed like this for so long that Aether began to feel very harassed.

"Yae?"

"And that's supposed to be a problem?"

Sara finally looked up, feeling a little uncomfortable at the conversation.

"That's what she said." Aether commented, taking Ei into his arms.

"In part I already expected it. But, of course… um , it's still uncomfortable." The Goddess commented with a faint blush on her cheeks.

"How could you expect something like this?" The traveler questioned with a roll of his eyes as he headed to the dorm's bathroom.

"Yae is too eloquent and outgoing, she loves to joke with people, or failing that, make fun of them if the situation warrants it."

"Evidently it was not the situation to do it." Aether didn't hesitate to respond as he opened the door.

"I know, that's why I understand that this is not a joke. "It's a punishment." Aether put aside his annoyance to look at Ei with much confusion. "I have done many things, things that were not the best. This is her rather unique way of punishing me." He concluded, and the traveler had to accept that this explanation sounded quite convincing.

But that was far from calming him completely.

"But it wasn't necessary to use me to carry out this punishment…" He whispered under his breath with some annoyance as he placed Ei on the toilet as carefully as possible.

"I think she did it for a reason." Aether stopped his actions after hearing Ei's words. "Yae may be a very outgoing person, but that doesn't mean she trusts everyone. She has very few friends, and even fewer in whom he can give his complete trust. I think you are one of those few people. Yae chose you because she knew you weren't going to hurt me in this helpless condition, even when I tried to kill you on more than one occasion." Ei's speech undoubtedly convinced Aether, who couldn't help his smile, a small, but visible smile.

"You know each other very well. You can tell you are very good friends." Aether declared, making that smile rub off on the Goddess.

But said smiles did not last long, as Aether began to slowly remove the bandages from her thighs.

Ei only managed to look somewhere else with a blush, while Aether could only break out in a cold sweat.

"You know, I've traveled to so many places, but I've never seen a naked woman…"

"I don't think that's the best topic of conversation for right now."

"I'm sorry."

The action became somewhat long, longer than they had expected. Not only was it extremely awkward at that moment, but it was also because it was very difficult to remove the bandages in the position they were in, as Aether had to lift Ei's legs repeatedly.

After that long while, the Goddess's creamy skin began to be visible, along with her violet panties. But before he knew it, the traveler was no longer focused on those things.

All he could see were the various cuts along her exposed thighs. They were really deep cuts, although luckily they seemed to be healing.

"It's a lot worse than I thought…" Aether inadvertently shared his thoughts, causing Ei to abandon her embarrassment to face him with a confused look.

Quickly she knew what he was talking about. You just needed to see how he had one of his hands placed on the deepest wound. He was touching her with so much care and concern that it brought out a small smile from Ei.

"It does not hurt me." She spoke, trying to reassure him.

"That's what worries me…" This desire failed miserably.

"I'll be fine, I'm a Goddess. My body has a very different vitality compared to the body of mortals. Furthermore, I can replace the affected parts once my Elemental Energy has recovered, if it is truly necessary to do so." This time, Aether's gaze relaxed a little.

"I guess you're right…" He commented quietly, then brought his gaze to her panties.

That simple gesture made Ei blush again.

"Don't worry, I'll close my eyes." Said and done, the traveler closed his eyes and put the garment aside in that total darkness.

The rest goes without saying, since it was probably the most uncomfortable moment those two had ever suffered in their lives.

Luckily, that moment passed quickly, and evidently neither of them wanted to say anything about it.

Unfortunately, this was just beginning.

That's what Ei thought when she saw Aether enter with a small tray full of Slime Pyro slime.

"So that…?"

"It's the treatment." Aether didn't even let her finish. "I need to remove your bandages and make sure all parts of your body are healing properly."

Obviously, she had to be left only in her underwear to be thoroughly inspected. At least, that's what she thought, and it was evidently not far from the truth.

But Aether didn't look nervous or embarrassed. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He looked relaxed, and even serious. Ei was able to notice this after he began to remove her bandages, as his eyes ended up on her face a couple of times.

It was obvious that if he was not embarrassed now, it was due to only one thing. And that was the seriousness of the matter. He couldn't be nervous when it came to so many deep and dangerous wounds.

Worry and care was above all his other feelings. That's what Ei was able to feel, so in the end she was able to relax quite a bit. But it was obvious that she still felt quite embarrassed and exposed.

Aether's frown deepened noticeably as he placed his hand on the Archon's abdomen.

"What's going on?" Ei asked with many doubts, since it was the first time that he stopped on a part of her body and changed his gaze in that way.

"This wound…" The traveler felt with his hand along a large cut that extended from the beginning of her waist and ended just below her breasts. It was certainly something frightening, as the depth and width of the wound were considerable.

"I'll be cured, don't worry." Ei tried to calm him down again, but this time it didn't work.

"You don't feel it, but this part of the body is extremely cold. It's almost like it's still frozen." He commented, beginning to place several Slime Pyro slimes along her entire abdomen, until reaching under her bra.

Aether knelt right next to him and a momentary silence settled in the bedroom.

"Do you feel anything?" Aether broke the silence, receiving a quick denial from Ei as he shook his head. "Luckily you didn't receive damage to your back, or the recovery process could be much longer."

"I guess it's a relief among so many glooms…" Ei commented under her breath, causing a somewhat bitter smile to emerge from the traveler.

"I think it's incredible that you're still alive. I wouldn't have been able to handle something like this." Aether commented, placing a hand over Ei's.

He knew she couldn't feel the contact, but the action was more than enough. This was perfectly demonstrated when the Goddess smiled back at him.

"If you hadn't contained much of that attack, no one would have survived, you know that, right? "

"Are you trying to make me feel less guilty?"

"I'm just telling the truth." Aether bowed his shoulders at the end. "Many may have suffered and perished because of your decisions, but you also saved many." He concluded, making it clear that he wasn't really trying to comfort her.

"Your sincerity can get you into trouble." It was Ei's simple comment, making Aether share his smile.

"Am I being threatened by a Goddess who can't even move?" They both laughed softly after those words.

"Do you know something? You look a lot like Yae, but you are even more enigmatic and strange than her." The Archon commented.

"Should I take that as a compliment?" He asked with both eyebrows raised.

"You should." Ei responded, widening his smile a little.

'So I can call you friend too?' Ei's eyes widened a little after hearing his proposal.

Although the answer did not take long to arrive.

"Of course, I would be very happy to be your friend." Ei commented with a radiant smile, a gesture that Aether shared.

"Very well, then I will do my best to be worthy of that honorific, Miss Archon." Aether bowed his head slightly, making Ei a little nervous.

"You don't need to be so formal." The Goddess commented, making her new friend look at her with a mocking smile.

"Who said I was being formal?" He commented, standing up. "To celebrate this moment, what do you think if I bring you that dessert that you want to see so much?"

The traveler had to contain his laughter when he saw how Ei's face lit up like a lantern.

"I have to attend something before, so I will come in an hour. In the meantime, try not to move so the drool doesn't fall." Aether commented, completely ignoring the fact that Ei couldn't even move.

After all, he was much more focused on something else.

How could such an imposing and dark Archon transform into something so adorable and friendly just by mentioning the word "dessert"?

END OF THE CHAPTER!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Many thanks to Surfysun who became Patre-on's first paid member. Thanks to him, the next update will have two chapters in a row.

Remember that, if you want double chapters, you can support me on my Patre-on. You just have to look for me as "Jyanzein". It is not only useful for that, since there you can always know if there is a new chapter or some other important notice. There will be no other platform where you will be more informed. (If you want to know more about this, just send a private message).

In the next chapter there will be a little more development between Ei and Aether, but things will start to move faster. I still have to introduce certain characters that will be very relevant in the future.

Without further ado, it's time to say goodbye.

Have a beautiful Christmas and a great start to the new year!

I love you!