Surface Level
"Excuse me, Traveler…c-can I have a picture taken with you?"
The roaring sound of the waterfall resting around Romaritime Harbor almost drowned out the voice of a Liyue woman who gingerly approached Teyvat's newest "celebrity". Even though the water was crashing constantly a fair distance below the observational deck of the harbor, the sheer magnitude of the waterfall could be felt from the upper half through noise and slight reverberations alone.
Snapping out of their aimless gazes directed towards the dusty cliffs of Southeast Sumeru, Paimon and Aether turned around, moving away from the balusters to face the speaker.
With the whole ordeal regarding the demise of Focalors, the appearance of the All-Devouring Narwhal and the flooding of Fontaine being in the past, normalcy had returned to the lives of the many denizens of Fontaine as well as to visitors from outside the region. As such, the duo were afforded the luxury of having a short period of time to wind down and relax; something they were, until then, unable to indulge in after taking their first step into Fontaine.
And as they stared with curious eyes at the woman who spoke to them, they were reminded that, once again, their recent deeds had further increased their reputation and fame throughout Teyvat and similar requests for casual photographs, autographs and the like were becoming the norm for them.
"A picture? Hmmm…" Paimon put her hand to her chin as if in deep thought, "You know, it's been a while since you've taken one here."
Aether narrowed his eyes and placed his hands on his hips.
"We've never taken a picture here before ever" he responded.
Sheepishly smiling, Paimon put her arms behind her back, floating in between him and the woman from Liyue.
"Oh…right!...hehe…this is our first time back here after we…um…crossed paths with Furina" she said.
Aether then smiled at the woman to let her know that they hadn't forgotten about her request. Even before she had introduced herself, he had taken note of the blue and white dress she wore, adorned with designs that had strong connections to the attires found in Liyue.
"Of course, you can" he told her in a pleasant tone.
"Yeah! Paimon thinks you can never have enough pictures, especially in memorable locations such as this" Paimon chimed in.
The nerves on the woman's face appeared to fade in an instant as she beamed for a moment before approaching him and his loyal companion.
"Oh! T-Thank you so much then!" she hastily said.
The woman then shifted her attention to a person behind her, giving them a brief nod before she stood to the left of Aether. Both Paimon and the Traveler glanced in front of them first to see who she was gesturing to.
A melusine with short purplish hair, wearing the standard uniform given to those affiliated with the Marechaussee Phantom, stood directly in front of the entrance towards the elevator. A very distinct Kamera was in her hands as she looked at the trio standing near the railings.
"…she already had a friend ready to take the picture, huh?" Paimon giggled, drifting to Aether's right.
While they were making sure they were standing at the correct spots, Aether noticed the woman's eyes widening for a second, as if she had realized something.
"I'm sorry. Where are my manners?" she said, "My name is Baiji and I'm from Liyue…" she added before pointing at the melusine holding the Kamera, "…and that's Siora."
A brief round of greetings would follow immediately after.
"Nice to meet you, Baiji" Aether replied with a nod and a smile.
Paimon mimicked his actions to give her a non-verbal "hello".
"A pleasure meeting you as well, Traveler…" she smiled as well before facing Paimon, "…and nice to meet you, Paimon."
Hearing her name being mentioned took Paimon by surprise. She was sure she had never met Baiji before so it was astonishing to learn that the woman had known her name beforehand without any requirement for introductions.
"Huh!? You know who Paimon is?" she asked incredulously.
Baiji giggled in response.
"Of course, I do" she told her, "You see, before I came up to you two, my friend over there, Siora, told me who you were."
It didn't take long for Paimon to accept that as a logical explanation.
"Really?" she asked once more before she turned to the melusine.
Siora was busy fiddling with the Kamera's settings while the three of them were having a brief chat.
"Siora, how did you know who Paimon was?" Paimon inquired, tilting her head slightly, "Paimon has met some melusines before but Paimon is sure there are even more melusines out there who haven't known Paimon yet."
The melusine simply smiled and giggled, finding her bewilderment quite amusing.
"That's exactly the reason" Siora replied, "While we haven't met before, other melusines from the Marechaussee Phantom had run-ins with you before and they've told me exactly who you and the Traveler are. So, it wasn't hard to know who you were just from that information."
Upon hearing the explanation, Paimon nodded as she spoke to Aether.
"Ooohh! That does make sense, doesn't it?" she said to him, "You've done a lot of things since first reaching Fontaine some time ago and Paimon's been with you the whole time. And since word travels fast, Paimon believes there are a whole lot of people who know about you and Paimon even though they might still be strangers."
"You've got that spot on" Aether replied.
"Okay! Everyone stay still for a moment!" Siora said aloud in order to have her voice be heard loud and clear amidst the crashing sounds of the waterfall nearby.
Aether, Baiji and Paimon instantly adjusted their stances, waiting for the unmistakable click of the Kamera. Once a second or two had passed, Siora had finishing taking the picture and she skipped towards the trio, smiling gleefully.
"Here's the picture!" she excitedly showed it to them.
Baiji held the photo in her hands as Aether and Paimon leant in closer to have a look.
They all smiled in delight as the composition of the picture was to perfection, highlighting each of their best features while also showcasing the unique Sumeru landscape in the far distance behind them. The lighting from above was just bright enough so that the glares from the sun did not intrude upon each of their frames.
"This is well taken" Aether told Siora.
"You're a natural at this!" Paimon happily said.
"This is such a perfect photo" Baiji added, "Thank you, Siora."
"Thank you as well, everyone" Siora nodded, returning the Kamera to the woman.
Baiji then gave a polite bow to both Aether and Paimon as a show of appreciation to them for taking the time to grant her request.
"I will cherish this photo forever. Thank you so much" she told them in a grateful voice.
"You're welcome" Aether replied.
And with that, Baiji and Siora went towards the far side of the observational deck. Even from just a glance, Aether could tell that despite the two of them being from different parts of Teyvat with starkly different cultures, there was a genuine friendship between them.
That reminded him of the fantastic people he had met throughout his travels – all the way from the harbors of Liyue to the forested villages of Sumeru. His quest to be reunited with Lumine had brought him to wonderful locations as well and he could only wonder how many more friends as well as allies he'd make along the way.
"Ooh! OOH! Paimon has an idea!"
Quickly shelving his thoughts for a second, Aether turned to Paimon.
"What is it?" he asked with a curious look.
The floating being put her hands together to mimic the focus of a Kamera.
"If you still have free time today, Paimon was wondering if taking photos at some of Fontaine's many beautiful places might be something you could do" she suggested with a strong hint of enthusiasm.
"Hmm…are you talking about a quick trip around Fontaine to take proper photos?" Aether inquired.
"Yes!" Paimon exclaimed, "But where to start?...Oh! Paimon has an idea!"
Seeing her break into a giddy smile, Aether could not help but chuckle.
"Let me hear it" he told her.
She then pointed at the entrance to the elevator.
"Just past the elevator room near the boarding point for the aquabus, if Paimon is not mistaken, there is a stand where there are copies of the Steambird!" she explained, "Charlotte's photos are regularly in each issue and she sometimes puts stunning pictures of the scenery of Fontaine there."
From what he heard so far, Aether quickly pieced together what Paimon was getting onto.
"So, we'll look for the scenic photos in the newspaper and then go to those locations to take our own pictures then?"
"Exactly!" Paimon nodded eagerly, "If those places are featured in the Steambird then Paimon is sure they are beautiful locations to see in person too!"
"I can't argue against that logic" Aether chuckled, "Come on then, let's have a look at that newspaper stand."
Even though they were having a day off, it seemed like another quest had fallen into their hands, albeit a small, fun one. It was, in fact, quite a while since they had the chance to properly journey across various parts of Fontaine without having to worry about a mission or request they were tasked with.
To have a relaxing adventure for a change was not something he was opposed to, at least for the day.
After passing by the chamber that housed the elevator shaft, Aether and Paimon emerged on the other side of the observational deck of Romaritime Harbor where the boarding point for the aquabus headed for the Courte of Fontaine was located. Directly in their sights were the various columns supporting the structure high above their heads as well as layers of Fontaine's mountains in the distance.
A small number of people were scattered nearby as well, with some waiting for a particular aquabus while others were simply lazing about. The water bound transports were constantly moving to and from the harbor, each one of them being accompanied by a melusine.
"It's quite busy today, huh?" Paimon remarked as she looked around.
Aether's gaze soon fell upon one of the newspaper stands Paimon had mentioned earlier. Though it was several meters away from him, he could already tell there were a number of copies of The Steambird on display.
"I think there are more people in the lower half of the harbor" he stated.
Before he could take a step towards the newspaper stand, a certain passenger stepping off one of the aquabus grabbed his attention immediately.
As he stared intently at the individual, Paimon, too, noticed them.
"Hey! That's…Furina!" she exclaimed to Aether.
A fair amount of time had passed since the conclusion of the Fontinalia Film Festival. And that also meant it had been quite a while since him and Paimon had run into the one who had assumed the position of the region's archon until recently.
The duo watched as she carefully stepped off the aquabus, waving and smiling at the melusine attendant as well. It was rather easy to be aware of her presence, especially since she was wearing her usual distinct attire that stood out among the already fashionable dresses and suits that the citizens of Fontaine always wore in public.
While it was certainly a positive to see her in supposedly good spirits, it was difficult to not speculate about the reason as to why she had suddenly shown up at Romaritime Harbor in the middle of the day. And.
Had she still been masquerading as the Hydro Archon, guesses could've been made effortlessly but since she was an ordinary citizen now, her reason for being there could be anything.
"Who's that person she's walking with?" Paimon suddenly asked.
"Huh?"
Paimon's question alerted Aether immediately to a well-dressed man walking alongside Furina.
It was not a person he had ever caught sight of before, let alone interacted with in the past. That much he was certain of from a mere glance.
The man in question was wearing an ornate, white buttoned shirt with a black cloak on top of it. Designs related to the culture of Fontaine adorned the interiors of his cloak and there was a circular pendant around his neck. A wand-shaped stick was tied next to his belt as well as a very ordinary looking booklet.
His hair was platinum blonde in color and his eyes were a glistening shade of purple. He was rather tall and easily towered over his companion. Somehow, Aether could tell that he had physical features that oddly felt foreign in comparison to the other people from Fontaine.
The stranger and Furina appeared to share a short laugh together before she excitedly pulled him towards the edge of the waterway to show him something.
"Paimon's never seen that person before…" Paimon said, squinting her eyes, "What's he doing with Furina?"
Aether was about to hazard a guess when his eyes caught sight of something rather…strange.
"Is that…" he muttered to himself, trying to have a clearer look at his discovery.
Carefully, he focused his gaze on the strange man's belt, keeping an eye on the dangling, shining object that swayed with each motion that he made.
"Where have I seen that before?" he asked.
A couple of seconds later, just before Furina and her companion were about to move outside their line of sight, the answer came to him and his eyes widened in surprise.
"Is that…a badge? The one that holds their delusions?"
All it took for him to make that educated guess was to trace back to his encounters with Fatui operatives who had similar delusions attached to their person in similar fashion. However, it appeared as though only the empty frame was present on the strange man as no orbs were occupying the space.
Still, he had no idea if the stranger was affiliated with the House of the Hearth or if he was from a branch of the Fatui that operated differently from the Knave. While he was fairly certain that the Fatui no longer had any reason to target Furina, he had to keep in mind that many within the organization had their own motives, ulterior or otherwise.
However, his distinct clothing had nothing to do with the Fatui which further added to the mystery around him. Nevertheless, unless he was certain the man accompanying Furina wasn't planning anything devious, he had to be wary of him.
"…I think…" he said to Paimon in a quieter tone, "…I think we might have to keep an eye on him."
"Oh? Why's that?" she asked innocently.
"…we don't know who he is really."