Author's note: This chapter takes place after Kaeya's New Cape. Enjoy, and God bless!

Epilogue

A week later, Bennett was buying potatoes in the square when he spotted Kaeya walking to Good Hunter, a familiar blue-white mantle flung lazily over his shoulder. Bennett's mouth dropped open.

"I'm sorry, did you say fifty potatoes?"

He dragged his attention back to the matter at hand. "Er, yes. Um… I like to get a whole bunch so I can do a lot of cooking in one go, so I usually get fifty. But less than that is fine, too."

"I'm afraid you only have enough Mora to purchase fifteen potatoes, sir," the shopkeeper informed him regretfully.

"Oh, well, I guess I'll just go with that, then." He handed over the Mora, completely used to his bad luck kicking in. As soon as he'd received his purchase, he stuffed the potatoes in his pocket dimension and eagerly sprinted across the square.

"Captain Kaeya!"

The lean knight turned just in time to see Bennett trip over a cobblestone and go flying. "Oh, Bennett. Good to see you again." He strode over and offered a hand.

Bennett gratefully accepted his assistance, leaping up and dusting himself off. "Sorry, didn't mean to do that! Um, yeah, anyway, how're you doing?" His eyes strayed to the enigmatic cape of their own accord.

Kaeya's sharp eye followed his gaze, and he laughed. "Oh, you want to know about my cape?"

Flushing, Bennett nodded. "I didn't think it was exactly recoverable…"

"It wasn't," Kaeya said casually. "But lucky me, a certain someone just happened to find time in his busy schedule to make me another one."

"Oh? Who made it?" Bennett was genuinely curious. He reached out, and Kaeya obligingly shifted so the Adventurer could inspect the neat stitching.

"Oh, I have no idea. It simply… showed up in Jean's office this morning." Kaeya raised his voice slightly, his taunting words echoing off the building behind them. "I certainly wonder just who could've made me an exact replica of my old cape. If only I knew… I would most certainly be sure to express my thanks in full."

Bennett blinked at him, trying to figure out why the Cavalry Captain's words seemed to have another layer of meaning. But the conversation was interrupted with a dry huff.

"I'm sure whoever made it dropped it off secretly in order to avoid precisely that."

Spinning around, Bennett nearly smacked into the tall form of Dawn Winery's owner, Diluc Ragnvinder. The redhead sidestepped him. "Greetings, Bennett. It's nice to see you out and about after that domain incident last week."

"Er, yeah, haha," Bennett rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. "I wasn't really expecting that last trap…"

Diluc nodded, crossing his arms. "Well, Charles told me that he spoke to Donna yesterday, and she happened to tell him of her relief that you were able to retrieve her missing library book before her hold ran out. Well done." Bennett grinned, delighted with the praise. Diluc's scarlet gaze shifted to Kaeya, still standing behind Bennett, and he addressed the Cryo user. "I see your cape has made a resurgence. Wonderful. I don't know how Mondstadt would've survived without your fashion sense." His flat tone reeked of sarcasm.

"Mmhm, it would be a true travesty to divest them of my fashion," Kaeya agreed with false horror. He stroked his mantle's fur, his hand lingering as an odd vulnerability slipped through his eye. It vanished, however, and he added teasingly, "I suppose I'll just have to keep my thanks to myself, then. What a shame."

Turning to leave, Diluc flung over his shoulder, "I imagine your overly heartfelt thanks has been duly noted." With that, he strode off.

Behind Bennett, Kaeya let out a low chuckle under his breath. When Bennett spun around, the knight met the Adventurer's confused look with amusement. "What?"

"I did not understand any of that. Is that how you always talk to Master Diluc?"

Kaeya shrugged. "Don't worry about it. He got the message." He smirked again. "It's a brother thing."

Bennett thought about that for a moment. "Well, okay then. Um, I'm glad your cape is back! I'm sorry your old one got ruined, though."

To his surprise, Kaeya chuckled again. "It's all right. This one is actually more important to me already."

"It is?! But you only got it this morning!"

Nodding, Kaeya said cheerfully, "And it's already got memories stashed away in it. For starters, someone poured a lot of time and effort into making this for me. And for another thing, it'll always remind me of my time spent on Benny's Adventure Team. Please, let me know if a spot opens up. It's always a pleasure to join you for an adventure."

Bennett could hardly believe his luck. "Really? You mean it?"

Kaeya's smirk softened into a smile. "Of course." He rested a hand on Bennett's shoulder. "Keep your chin up, lad. You're an inspiration to us all."