In the end, she said her greetings in the most neutral way she possibly could,
Before giving Ei some Mora for today's spending and leaving for the carriage house.
*And of course, Yae also decided against making Ei her specialty dish,
Feeling a little hurt that her friend decided to spend time with the Puppet and not her...
...
...
Well, it appears that Ei actually wanted to spend time with them both,
But considering that she didn't really like Kunikuzushi and her friend wanted to become a little closer to him...
*It was not like the two could become a family, after everything that happened, so she honestly wasn't sure what her friend expected,
But if it would help Ei get over her guilt for "abandoning" him, then she supposed it was better than nothing.
...
...
Anyway, it was best to just leave for Dragonspine, like she initially planned and so Yae did,
As she was now sitting inside a carriage, waiting for more people to get in so they could depart...
...
...
"Dragonspine Winter/Ski-resort:
A Familial/Romantic destination for all the snow lovers to experience another one of Mondstadt's wondrous locations.
Formerly a place full of monsters and hidden danger, this vast mountain engulfed with ancient ruins and snow-capped areas has now become safe for visitors to enjoy.
Akin to a mini Snezhnaya, it is full of beautiful and unforgettable locations, surrounded by pure white and un-melting snow..."
Was written on the first page of the brochure she recently got,
With an artistically taken photo of the mountain being shown right above the words...
*And as expected, on the next few pages was a more detailed explanation about the place and its "Winter/Ski-resort" activities...
...
...
It was a shame that she couldn't experience it together with Ei,
Especially considering how different this snowy place was to anything they had in Inazuma...
*And yes, Yae knew quite well she was the one who decided to travel alone...
...
...
Just when will the carriage finally depart...?
…
…
-Look, Qiqi, Yaoyao, Auntie Shenhe, there's a carriage that should get us right to Dragonspine! -An enthusiastic voice was heard a minute or two later, as a happy looking child ran towards the carriage, followed by two other children and an adult woman. -...Not only are we getting right to Dragonspine, we could also watch the scenery along the way! I am so happy that you could see how beautiful Mondstadt is!
The child continued in even more enthusiasm, before proceeding to board the carriage,
As she took another child's (a zombie's?) hand in her own, happily pulling her along,
With the third child and the woman following after them moments later...
...
Yae soon realized that she saw those four just recently,
As they were spending time around the city, going from stall to stall...
...
...
Even without Ei to accompany her,
This carriage ride was bound to be interesting~
"Passing on Yánwáng-dìjūn's words: "I apologize, Barbatos. But regretfully, I can't join you during this year's Windblume."
I was asked to give you this letter, Lord Barbatos. I am certain it contains the full explanation of the reason why Yánwáng-dìjūn couldn't join us to Mondstadt."
...
"Thank you for passing Morax' words and letter, Shenhe.
Knowing how the blockhead is, reading this letter is going to take a long time and I don't want to hold you up."
And just as he expected it to,
The letter truly turned out to be quite long.
*Yet, he also understood why that was,
As Liyue was clearly changing, slowly but surely...
...
...
But to summarize the contents of Morax' letter:
After spending time together and learning about each other's contributions to Liyue's growth and safety, the Liyue Qixing and the Adepti became a little closer and more cooperative.
Due to this there are talks about making some changes to the nation as a whole and to Liyue Harbor in particular.
*Especially for the latter, which is the capital of the nation...
"...It's a good thing that both groups have started to actually work together.", the Winds quietly commented, sounding thoughtful and a little detached, "...In the current situation, it wouldn't be good to stay divided."
...
First off, there's already talks on how to make the city more accessible for Adepti, in the same way that the trio Adepti made their abodes welcome for humans.
*Since Xiao was still in Sumeru at that time and Ganyu is still on her vacation in Inazuma, the trio animal Adepti, as well as Osial and Beisht were asked for more "detailed information" on this matter.
"...Oh, yes, Secretary Ganyu.", the Winds commented, sounding a little amused now, "We are not going to go into details, but from what we heard from the Inazuman Winds, she is having some "Sleeping classes with Sayu". The Little Ninja really didn't like it(Rather, she was horrified) once she heard just how little Secretary Ganyu slept for the past few decades, so she decided to be her teacher!", they explained, before there was a short pause, "...Oh, and apparently Captain Beidou is also making sure Secretary Ganyu takes things easy. And Yoimiya stuck the kids on Secretary Ganyu to keep her busy...?", they asked in some confusion, before there was another short pause, "...Sorry for interrupting you so much, Barbatos. We are going to be quiet now, so you can continue the summary now."
They soon added, sounding quite apologetic...
*Though Venti didn't really mind it, even if he was indeed interrupted,
He heard some very interesting information just now~
...
But to continue the summary...
...
The other and hopefully a long-lived change is to create and distribute all matter of revolutionary inventions through Liyue:
This task was given to Cloud Retainer or Xianyun(as she calls herself in her human form), who is known as an expert in all kinds of mechanical contraptions,
Keqing, who is the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing and manages real estate and construction, was tasked to work together with the Adeptus.
*Upon realizing that those two, even if currently on more amicable terms, weren't going to completely forget their past grudges just yet,
Morax took it upon himself to watch over them in order to make sure that no trouble arises.
...
...
...
Wait, was this all the new information...?
He could have sworn there were like 3 whole pages explaining this stuff...
*It's a LOT shorter in a summary he just made, though he did skip some details,
Such as about some of the already successfully made inventions...
...
Like the "Suspensus Somnium Mechanism":
"A complex and intricate adeptal mechanism created by the hand of Cloud Retainer that can miraculously soothe the mind, aid with sleep, and help those afflicted with amnesia find themselves.
However, as its creator said: "We adepti can only help those who first resolve to help themselves." Although adeptal mechanisms are truly wondrous, they are not omnipotent. If you wish to realize your dream, you must ultimately rely upon your indefatigable efforts..."
A helpful device for those who really need it, as well as an inspiration,
Working for those who are having difficulties finding their way...
*Truly an invention that anyone could safely use and benefit from...
...
Perhaps, it could even help someone with a trauma,
But to which extent, Venti admitted that he wasn't sure...
*Would it be helpful to someone like Xiao...?
Perhaps the Traveler or even himself...?
...
...
His friend, the memory was not as painful as before,
Yet still, sometimes Venti couldn't help but wish that he was still here...
...
"Now that I am here and seeing the intriguing situation you are currently in, I can't help getting inspiration for my artistic pursuits.
If you two could model for me, it would be greatly appreciated.
...Not just for myself and my artistic pursuit, but I am certain other people would love to see the united scene of both Mondstadt's Archon and the Rebellion Hero immortalized.
So much so, it could easily turn into a national treasure. A priceless relic for Mondstadt and its people."
...
Right, there still was the painting that Albedo drew at that time...
*And the Alchemist gave it to him later...?
Honestly, he was so depressed after his friend "left" that...
...
...
He should just continue going to the KoF Alchemist lab...
*He was recently asked to come there, but it wasn't urgent,
Which gave him enough time for some deep thinking...Or more like "overthinking"...
...
Apparently, Der Frühling and the Vayuda Turquoise Gemstone brooch were recently infused with the Crystaltears...
*Something which took some time, but Venti knew it was due to all the crises constantly arising, in both Mondstadt and other nations...
...
...
...
Ȏ̸͕̟̟͇̮̬̯̬͈͕͇͙̺̬͍̘̺̝͓͈̲̭͉̺̏̽̂̽̃̿̈́̈͋̍̋̎͌̈́̒͝n̴̨̡̛̛̙̭̞̱͈̮͇̣͇̲̬̖̿̅͒̾͗̐̌̔̅̈͊̋̾̅̅̾̑͋̒̐̚͘͘̚̕͘̕͠e̸̛͇̙͚͙͔̦͈͚̦̼̠̙̰͓̝͕̖̅͛͗͐͆͑͜ ̶̨̧̢͎͙̯͓̲̬̳͖̣̬͆͋̇̈́̉̀̆̋͛̍̀͆̂͋̐̔̒̓̍͝Ả̵̧̛̟̺͖̺̤̦̜̠͎̤͎̥̣̰͔̳͚͈̻͖̱̥̦̫͉͍̀͆̃͆͂́̇̑͂͂͋̆͜͝ͅl̶̨̛̛̠̱̦̹̲̹̖̼͔̣̹͖̬̮̙̗̰̞̝͊̀͊̀̽͛̿̓͂̃̿̍̍̓̀͛̌̔͌̕ͅb̷̧̟̺͎̭̲̯͌̀̀̎̂̊̐͌̏͛͐͛̈́̈́̿̃̿̉̍͒͆̈̈́͐̒̈̄͐̏̚ͅḙ̴̪̰̭̬̞͇̥͎̞̜͉̪̘̦̫̬̗̲̜̮̬̒̀͂̃͂̃͜͜ͅͅd̵̨̘̮͓̼̱̜̬̳̣̭̭̝̫̖̞̞̦͎͚̰͎̲̤̪̯̻̆̑̉͂͆́ǫ̸̟̪̰͍̰̺͓̞͕͇͙͔̺̇̊̂͊̀̋͑̆͂͌̈́̓̌̆̏̄̂̽̀̕͠ͅ,̸̡̨̧̛̗̙̳̻̰͈͎̯̥̦̥͎̳̲͈̇́̽̅͑͆͒̾̍̋͛́̀̃̉̅̏̈́̉̂̍͘͘̚͜͠ ̷̯͉̗͙̻̟͎̗̦̥̱͉̯̗͖͓̣̝͎͚̅̐̇͜͝Ţ̷̛̯͙͚̦̳͈̭̫͕̯̗͆̏̆̎̊̄̾̃̋͆̋̀͐͒͑͆͋̈́͝͝͝͝w̸̨̢̧̧̡͈̠̮̼̠̳̪̗͕̰̫̟͚͕͎̗̩͊̏̅̒̎̾̍̌͋͘͜ͅo̷̢̧̧̞̱̝̖͚̭̯͉͖̎̎̅͌͒͆͗̂̄̅́̂̏̾̕͘͝ ̷͙̠͕͗̿̎̓̑̈́͒͐̓̔͝A̵̢̨̧̨̫̭̬͔̥͓̱̺̼͖̯̝͙̩̰͕̫̰͉̝̺̙̯͐͐̅̉͋̽͛͛͑̿̃l̶̮̼̥̫͉̱̲̘͙͉̝̏͛͛̑̉̇̃̏̃̔͂̍͝͠b̵̨̡̧̪͇̖͙̲̩̪͚̖̉̿̿̂̀͆̀̈͛̈́͊̾̓̿́́͂̅͑͐͒̆̄̏̍͘̚͘͜͠ͅͅę̵͇͔͇͎͈͔̖͓̙͓̠͍̮̠͓̫̘̞̖̳͎̭̼̙̺͐̾͒͑̔͗̽͠͠d̷̢̹͚̳̰̤̞͖̗̺͎̝̝̗̮̥̤͒͜͜o̷͈͗̂̒́̌͒̐̈̈̐͛͘̚͠͠͠,̶͉̩͖̞͕̱͔̭̦̪̰̫̬̈́́̃͊͛̑́̓̈́̓͘͠ ̶̡̛͇̻̰̞̯͈͉̻̫̲̦̭̯̃̉̔̒͒̋̈́̌͗̇̔́͌̃̒̏̈́̿̀ͅͅT̵̖̖͋̕ḩ̷̧̧͙̹̥͖̬̭͈̣̼̱̭̟̜̊̓̈͛̀̓̎͒̀̿͒̄͂͑͐̂̓̈́͗̐̈́̿́̈́̈́̈́̕̚r̸̡̛͉͉͖̫͍̲̥͉͓͊̀́̑̅̄̑̔̈͂̈́͌͐̔̂͌̏̚̕̕͠ȩ̴̥̯̺̟̦̺̩̣͉̦͖̾̋é̵̢̧̳͎̼͇͈̖̭͚̣̭͈̺̠̝̲̅̄͛̄͛͑̄̓̈̑̌̾͌̌̑̌̚̕͠ ̶̭͕̫̞̹̈̔̇́͐̈͆͂̏̓̆̽́̉̑̓̅̐̅̓̀̃͘͝͝A̵̡̤̙͚̭̱̜̪̤̫̜̲̥̙͎̱̯̱͇̟͒̎l̵̢̢̛̝̹͎̟͓̰̻̰̹̟̞̻̗̫̱̤̬̬̝͉̥̤̭̾̌̒̓͛͐͒̍͌̑͊̅̐̈͂̈̿̋̚̚̚͜͝ͅb̸̨̨̩̖̳̳̘̜̖͚̣̭̮̤̳́̽ͅë̵̡̡̢̛̹̖̩̮̯̭͖͔̺͕͔̲͔̖̪̰̙̺̲͙͇̰̙̬̫̬́̂̀͂͒͑̿̕͝d̸̲͕̀͒̐̓̐̃̏̓̀́̑͘͝͠ò̶͚̥̯̲̻̪̜̣̦̞̈́̆́͂͐͋͗̋͆̈́͆̈́̈́̓̿́̊̑͒̏̈́̿̉́̕̕͝͝͝…̴̨͎̐̀̊̈́̄̀̀͋͒̾̓̔͆́̅̋̔͌̆͛̔͘͠͠Á̴̢̢̢̬͍̙͕̳̻͙̣͍̞̬͉̼͕̖͓̼͇͈͚͔̈́̒͗̎͘͜ͅr̴̡̙̣̹̺̮̝̺̠̹̻̟͍̯̤̣͓̤͈̋͝e̸̟̤̰̟̼͕̟̘̮̣̰̯̟͛͒̏̽̎̈́͌͘͝ ̷̨̡̨̞̺͇̲̖͙̫͔̙͈͐͌͆͋̊͐̉͐̇̔̄̑́̓̄̈́̈́̈́͛̽̓͋͒͑͒̈́̕͘͝͝ͅt̸̛̛̺͈̫̹̬̖̯̝͚͎̭̯͙̩̦̮̘͍̙̉̃̾̇͐̇͒̀́͑́́̒̔͊͜ͅh̴̢͇̯͚͙͖̗̱̰͚͑̔̈̌̀̓̋̈̃̇̓̊̀͛̏̃̾͝͝ę̸̢̡̨̨̡̨̰͉̦̯͓̜̝̞̝̻͖͇̜͔̖̟̲̥̇̒̌͌̔̉̐̃̅̈̆̊̓̽̃͋͒̀̊̂͊͐͛́̄͘̚͝r̷̛͇̹͎͎̅̋̓̐̄̐̅̾͂̿̊͊͗̓̂̑̃͆̈́̓͌̇̈̚̕͝͠͠e̸̢̨̙̖̤̬̲̬̜͖̣͈͇̞͍̮̟͛̏̈̔͜͝ ̶̝̥͉̟̭̯̠͔̟̯̘̥̜̂͐́͒́̑͌́̾͑̉͑́̓̀͐͘̕͜͝͝â̶̧̺͎͈̟̗̩͚͇̺͙͚̞̗͔͖̜̮̫͉̤̗̌̅̾̈́͐̊ͅn̵̢̧͚̠̘̖̣͉̙̤͉̘̹͕̻͒͛̇y̵̢̛̛̘̱̯͙̤͈͈͖͈̮̘͖̹̝͎̭̻̖̖̓̏̇̇́̍͛͒̒̏̇̽̔͗̓̐̿̄͑̀̌́̓̎͘͜͝ͅ ̴̙̻͕͎͓̠̫̞̲͉̘̲͉͙͊̔̓̇͒̿͂͂̐̄̈́̈́̈́͜ͅm̵̨̯̣̺̜͆ó̸̢̤̪͓̥̪̣̝̹̗̙̲͓͎̝̥͙̤͔̜̼̮̉̏̌̽͜͜ȑ̸̙̈̋̾̅͌̈́ḛ̸͎͈͓̹̞͙͚̖̖͇͎̳̱̳̭̱̇̾́̕͠ͅ ̴̨̛̛̼͉̟̻͍̱̘̲͚̠̹̥̻͙̠͓́̈͋̌̉̑̇͐̄̎̈̓̂̚̕͜͜A̶̧̭͉̟̣̙̤̳̙̼̜͓̻͖͇̹̪̺̠̎̋̀̈̈ļ̸̢̘͇̬̗͍̫͓̥̩̝̣̦͕͚̤͖̺̊͗͐̔̀͑b̸̛̛̥̙̻̙̯̳͕̘̪̞̞͖̼̟͈̠͇̲͙̀̏́̄́̃͛̈́̈͐͛͆̽̍̇͜ę̸̝̤̼̣̜̖̣̦̭̟͈̫͍̮̾̃̓̒̈̀̀͌͌̋̀̓̽͑̾́͛̚͘͜͠͝͝ḑ̷̨̛̛̳͉̙̲̐͛̐̿̄͋͂͒́̊͊̓̉͗̃̌̈́͘̚̕͘͝͝͠͝͝͠o̶̧̻̰̘͖̘̭̻̰͈͇̻̥̙̳̲̫̯̟̤̲̲̘͔͎̐̓̓̏͋̈́ŝ̶̭̦̭̬͎͕͙͒̀͑̄͐̆̋͘͜͝ ̷̡̛̲̫̙̖͚͚̫͆͌̓̋͗̑͑͜͜͠ư̵̧̬͚̜̜̦̥͔̗͙͔̲̫̮̯͎̹̱̼̤̣̞̣̲̭̺͐̈͂̿̒̀͆̕̚͜͜͠ņ̴̫̻͍͔̫̜̻̱͚̙̲̥̭͙̞̟̩͈̰̃͌̋̈́͋a̴̡̨̢̮̲͙̹̟͚̖͍̮͕̭̜̲̬̜̩̞͕̓̓̿̾͑̃̅̆̂͆͒̔͜͜ç̵̯̟̫̗̜̜̽̐̅͋̍̔̏͂ç̶͇͔̫̺͙̘̟͕͚̯̝̥̫̩̳̺̫̠̮͎̹̪̤͉͈̋̂̈́͋͐̂̏̈͋͒̀͛̀̀͆̉̐̀͆̾̒̆̕͘̚͠͠͝o̴̜̗̫̯̻͒͊̆̄͛̓̆͗͆̈̈̐̽̕͜͝͠ͅṵ̴͚̝̻͓̞̣̻͓͔͎̟͗͒̋̍̔̋̍̚͠n̷̛̛͕̬̟̦͎̻̜̯̭͙̩͇̘̾̀͐̔̀̑̍̓̈́̀͗̾̄̕̚͘͜t̴̫̻̺͗̋̈̔͂̎̌͑̒̀̕͘ḛ̴̡͓̯͖͙̩͔͇͉̹͎̭͖̰̣͙̯̥̗̳̰̻̘̗͙̣͐̔̅̈́̾̄͑̇̚͜͝͠d̸̢̘̦͓̥͎̟̟͚̩̝̞͉̦̻̩̝͎̋́͗̓̄͌̐́̅̀̇̐̚͜ ̷̛̣͍̖̦̘̣̲̂̽̈̌̈́́͝͠f̴̡̢̛̱͎̘̜̦̹̗̫̫͍̘̼͚̠̱͙̻̜̹͎͚͓̩͌͐͗̍̏͗̈́̆́̔̆̈́̎͋̃̄̓̓ͅơ̵̰͍̦̱̮̟̬̗̆͑̋̓̀̔͂̑̑̈͋̕͘ŗ̴̢̢̡̭̮̩̭͎͙̱̙̭̖͖̹̜̗͂̒̀̊͌̿̓͐̓͗̓̾̄̽͂͛́͜͝͠…̵̢̡̧͚̹̮̩̲͙͚͍̤̳̙̭͕͓̻̰͔̲̰̠̽͐̌́͌̚?̷̨̨̡͈̼̥͉̹͍͖̬̩̞̱̫̦̠̺͕͉̥̪͇̥̠͇͒͋͒̇͋̿͑̓̕͝ͅͅ
...
Wait, what...?
*What was that...?
...
Oh, well,
He is almost at the door...
...
...
Huh...?
-Good day to you, Venti. Did you sleep well?
-Took your sweet time, huh...? Not everyone has enough free time to...
-Silence. Not only is this matter a nonurgent one, you are also being extremely disrespectful to Mondstadt's Archon!
-He is completely right. Which begs the question, are you perhaps a faulty "model"...?
-Can you all keep quiet? I am still busy with the task Master gave to me and would very much like to be able to concentrate.
-...Apologies, we will try to keep it down.
As soon as he opened the door, a bunch of Albedo's(?) were seen moving all over the lab, doing their thing,
Which they(or rather most of them) stopped doing once they noticed him, soon talking to him and between themselves...
...
...
Just what was going on here that...?!
"...Alright, I will retract my earlier plea to remove me from the post of Chief Alchemist. But I would also like to work on the lab's defenses, if it is no trouble."
"Before you ask, yes, I might as well assist you in this particular matter.
...There's a certain "project" I require a first test for, anyway...
It has to do with my "Flower Garden", you see...~"
"...Oh, so it has proceeded quite far.
...There should be no problems with safety, yes...? I do not want the lab to turn into another Dragonspine."
"They are very obedient children, so there should not be any problems in that regard~
...So obedient, that they will follow any command which I give them, without question. Same goes for my "Dear Twin"s commands.
"...I thank you for trusting me with your creations, Emilia."
...
Oh, right, this "discussion" the two had,
During the Traveler's retelling a few days ago...
...
...
Are all of these "Albedo's" actually Fellflowers in disguise...?
*Just how many of them did Emilia make anyway...?
Is she trying to create a "flower army"...?
...
And did he really want to know that...?
...
...
As long as they are not enemies to Mondstadt,
Then it should be fine, right…?
...
...
-Good day to you, Venti. -Was suddenly heard from behind him, with him not losing a moment to turn around, soon noticing Emilia and Albedo(it was really Albedo and not a Fellflower, right?) standing there with thoughtful expressions on their faces. -...You must have already realized they are all Fellflowers in the disguise of my "Dear Twin" and must be wondering why there are so many of them. -The speaker, who was Emilia, said with a small grin on her face. -...I am just going to say it is a "precaution" of sorts for the future, hence why they are also able to completely hide their presence. I also had them operate at the Dragonspine resort, so it could be open 24/7. -She soon explained, before a small warm smile appeared on her face. -...All of them are my obedient "Flower Children". I have truly become a mother and without this probably-very-painful "pregnancy" thing to worry about.