Sucrose was woken up by some noises nearby followed by the light of the sun on her face. She didn't open her eyes; she was feeling dizzy and wanted to go back to sleep. Then, a yelling startled her awake:

"Hey! She's here! Hey, you! What do you think you're doing!?"

Sucrose looked around her only to see that she was inside a box. Next, she looked up and saw a man looking at her with a grim face.

"W-what…?"

She tried to stand up, but she had some trouble doing so. Her whole body ached and she felt like her head weighted a ton. At least, the man didn't try to get her out by force. When she managed to stand up at long last, she had the box at shoulder-length, but that was the least of her worries: before her lay a landscape she didn't know whatsoever.

There were ships everywhere; she was in a seaport of some sorts. The buildings around were small and white, and they had green, round roofs. There were some wooden ones with leafy roofs as well. Sucrose looked around. She could see two structures with buildings, streets and terraces on them standing on both sides of a river flowing into the ocean, with a bridge raised well above said river to connect them. Around both structures were plenty of enormous roots, converging under a tree trunk located above said structures. The tree that used to rise on top of the seaport must have been titanic, because only its base remained nowadays, and despite it being split in two, it was already humongous.

Sucrose had heard about such a place: she was in Sumeru. The issue was how did she get there. The last thing she remembered was that she was in Liyue, sheltered from the rain under a canopy at Stone Gate. She couldn't understand in the slightest why she was now so far away from that place, nor why she was inside a box.

Before she could even begin to assimilate her current state of affairs, two men rushed there. Both of them were dressed the same, like if those clothes were uniforms of some kind, and were armed with spears. They looked like the nation's authority.

"Have you found the stowaway?" one of them asked.

"Yes, she's the one," answered the grim-looking man, pointing at Sucrose. "Get her out of there"

Without saying a word, the two armed men grabbed Sucrose by one arm each and pulled her out of the box without the slightest tact. Sucrose fell flat on the floor and had to put her glasses back on, since they had fallen from her. She remained on her knees, watching frightened the three men glaring at her.

"What did you intend to do? Huh?" spouted the grim-looking man, now more like furious-looking man. "Come on! Talk!"

Sucrose cowered. Her pupils constricted and tears appeared in her eyes. She even wet herself a few small drops. She was petrified under those men's inquisitive glare. It was like before in the Grand Master's office. No, this time it was worse, because those men were complete strangers to her. Nevertheless, she needed to explain herself, otherwise she would be in great trouble. Perhaps they would believe her if she told them the truth, although she didn't expect as much. In fact, she was certain of the opposite, but still, she had to at least try it.

"I-I don't know…" she stuttered while sobbing. "I only know that I was in Liyue last night. I really don't know how I got here…"

"So you don't know, huh?" repeated one of the armed men.

"Is that the best you could come up with!?" blurted out the other armed man.

"Do you think we're stupid!?" roared the furious-looking man. "You're coming with us in the name of the Matra!"

Not again. Once more she was going to be locked up without her knowing what was happening, or something even worse this time, as she didn't know how everything worked there. What she did know, however, was that every one of her efforts and sacrifices she had done would be for naught. She couldn't let that happen, but she was paralyzed with fear.

The Matra stretched out their arms to grab her. Then, everything happened all of a sudden: Sucrose yelled and a whirlwind appeared beneath her. The whirlwind sent the three Matra flying. Sucrose didn't know what had just happened, though she didn't hesitate either and took that chance to run away.

"Wait!" shouted one Matra, soon after landing.

Sucrose was aware that there was little point in running. She felt great exhaustion and ache on her legs; she wouldn't be able to go very far. And besides, she didn't know that place at all. She needed to hide, and fast, before the Matra recovered and chased after her.

She noticed some large crates stocked near a small building. There was nobody around. She didn't think twice and hid behind them. She hugged her legs, trying to make herself as small as she could. She held her breath, although she couldn't do the same with her tears, and raised an ear. She heard quick footsteps approaching. She felt her heart beating hard against her chest while she hoped to the Archons that nobody had seen her hiding.

The footsteps became fainter until she could hear them no more. She was safe for now, but she understood that it wouldn't be for long. They would find her sooner or later, and even if they didn't, she had nowhere to go or stay. She envisioned herself suffering under the elements and starving to death. That fear struck into her heart and began to cry. She thought that maybe it wouldn't have been a bad idea to let herself be arrested; at least she would have food and a roof, she supposed. She felt her head aching.

Slowly and carefully she leaned out from her hiding spot. She saw a person walking by. Although Sucrose only saw that person's back, their short height and their pink hair were unmistakable, even though they were wearing different clothes. Sucrose was overwhelmed with joy. She ran from her hiding place to that person and squeezed them with so much enthusiasm that she lifted them from the ground.

"Diona!" she rejoiced. "I'm so glad I finally found a familiar face!"

"Hey! Let go of me! My name is not Diona!"

Sucrose looked at the person's face and was taken aback when she saw that that girl was, indeed, not Diona. Sucrose dropped her and stepped back ashamed. She couldn't avoid feeling a strong sense of guilt.

"I-I'm sorry…" she stammered. "I made a mistake…"

The girl stared at Sucrose with half closed eyes and leaning her body forward while resting her hands on her hips. She wasn't glaring at her; it seemed more like she was analyzing her. She was about to say something when at that moment both heard some shouts drawing near.

"Hurry! She must still be around there!"

It was the Matra; they were coming back. Sucrose ran out of reflex back to her hiding place. Soon after, the three Matra arrived and approached the girl, who was still standing there.

"Lord Sangemah Bay!" one of them spoke. "Have you seen…?"

"Hold on," another one interrupted. "It may not be a good idea to ask her. She might charge us a hefty sum for her answer."

"Well, well! It seems someone knows the ins and outs of little old me!" the girl chuckled. "All right, since I'm feeling nice today, just for you, I will say something for only one single Mora!"

One Matra took a coin out from his pouch and gave it to her. The girl grinned and stored it in hers. The first man asked once again:

"Have you seen a girl with green hair and foreign clothing?"

"Something!" the girl guffawed. "Now, as an extra for the joke, I will say that I haven't seen anybody fitting that description."

The three Matra left while muttering things like they had been played for fools and that it had been a complete waste of time, among other less polite. Once they were out of her sight, the girl looked around to make sure nobody else was around. She then went behind the crates where Sucrose was hiding. There she was, hiding her face in her legs. Sucrose noticed her and raised her head. She looked at her in tears. The girl smiled.

"Thanks to that little trick, they won't come back in a while," she said. "You owe me one."

"Why didn't you… give me away?" Sucrose wondered.

"Why?…" The girl thought for a moment, then she sat down next to Sucrose. "Let's just say because you gave me a good first impression."

Sucrose raised puzzled her eyebrows. To her, that didn't seem a good enough reason to go against the authorities. And besides, from her point of view, that first impression had been everything but good.

"So, what are you doing here in Sumeru?" the girl asked.

Even though that question didn't come as a surprise, it still made Sucrose anxious. She was still feeling distress from the hard time she had just had with the Matra, and she didn't want to go through that all over again. However, she didn't see any way to avoid that question. She explained to the girl, with difficulty and uneasiness, everything she knew since she had reached Liyue.

"So then you don't know how you arrived here?" the girl confirmed. "No wonder you are that flustered."

Sucrose was dumbfounded. "Wait, you believe me?"

"Of course I do! One of my fortes is knowing when I'm being deceived. If I didn't, I wouldn't have succeeded as I did in my line of work," the girl asserted with confidence. "By the by, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Dori, and I'm a merchant."

"I-I'm Sucrose, and I'm… I was… an alchemist."

"An alchemist, you say!?"

Dori's eyes lit up and looked at Sucrose with excitement. That reaction left Sucrose speechless. She turned away from Sucrose and began to mutter to herself while nodding with her hand resting on her chin. Although she didn't understand what Dori was saying, Sucrose knew that kind of gesture from watching Albedo when he was deep in thought. Dori turned back to her with a broad grin on her face.

"It's decided, then!" she announced. "From now on, you will work for me!"

Sucrose remained still for a few moments, still grasping what she had just heard. Then, she was taken aback by her statement so much that she almost fell over backwards. Every recent event had been one big surprise after another, but that one was among the top.

"What!? Just like that!?" she faltered. "Are you sure of what you're saying!?"

"Of course I am!" Dori nodded firmly. "I told you, in my line of work a good hearing is needed to distinguish trickery, as well as good eyesight and sense of smell in order to seize the best business opportunities!"

Dori moved closer to Sucrose's face until the latter could see only her eyes staring at her and feel her breathing.

"And my sense of smell is telling me that you will bring me many a great opportunities," she affirmed. "That, and that you need a bath."

Sucrose's face turned an intense red. Amongst that she hadn't bathed for days, plus the sweating from her run from Mondstadt to Liyue and the rain pouring all over her, she didn't want to imagine the "fragrance" emanating from her. She wished for the Earth to eat her as a whole. Dori withdrew from her and stood up.

"Well then, shall we be off?" she said.

"W-where to?"

"To my house, of course. You need a place to stay, don't you?" Dori claimed with least concern, like if it were obvious. "And we need to depart now if we don't want to arrive there late at night, since it's a bit far away and we should avoid the main roads. They may still be looking for you."

As soon as they left the port town, they went into the thick vegetation that covered almost the entirety of Sumeru's rainforest. Fortunately, they didn't need to cross the river in order to go to their destination, because the only way that didn't require swimming across it was the town's high bridge, which would have been a risk too great for Sucrose to cross it unnoticed.

While they walked through the dense vegetation, Sucrose was thinking about the recent events. Everything had happened all of a sudden and she still hadn't taken it in. A person she had just met had just offered her not only a job as an alchemist, but also a place to stay in her house, and she didn't even have a chance to give her an answer.

It sounded too good to be true. Perhaps it was all just a ruse to lure her into whatever scheme that Dori had in mind, like turning her into a slave or something even worse. Not that she cared anymore. She had already lost everything: her home, her family, her dreams… And now she had also lost the chance to start over in Sumeru on her own, since she was a fugitive there, too. Her only choice now was to trust Dori. Besides, she was exhausted, her headache had worsened and now her whole body hurt as well. If it turned out to be something bad, she hoped for it to be quick at least.

Regardless, no matter how much she was telling herself that she didn't care, she couldn't help but feel curious about what it would really be, and never stopped thinking about it throughout the route. Dori was some steps ahead of her, guiding the way, while she followed suit, having trouble keeping her pace. At one time when they had to go over a fallen trunk, Sucrose took that chance to lean on it and rest a little bit. She coughed between heavy breathings. She raised her head and looked around. The vegetation was so thick that she couldn't see far away. How somebody was able to navigate through a place like such without getting lost amazed her greatly.

At that moment, she noticed something moving nearby. It was two little creatures that she had never seen before. They were indeed small, they might barely reach the height of her knees. One was green and round, whereas the other was brown and slim. Both wore a big leaf and a mushroom head as hats, respectively, and were walking in a peculiar manner. Sucrose observed them with her mouth open. She was so mystified that she had even forgotten her physical discomfort.

A voice talked to her close to her ear. "Sucrose? Are you okay?"

It was Dori standing on the tree trunk. She had turned back when she noticed that Sucrose had stopped.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," Sucrose answered. She then looked back to where she had seen the creatures, but she had lost sight of them. "It's nothing."

Dusk had already come when Dori emerged from the thicket to a side road. She glanced around and then gestured to Sucrose that it was safe for her to come out: there wasn't anybody there except the two of them.

"We are almost there, we just have to go down this road," she pointed. "Hey, are you sure you are okay?"

Sucrose nodded, but her face was bright red, she was sweating and breathing hard. She rested her hands on her knees. Dori put her own hand on Sucrose's forehead.

"No, you aren't. You are burning up," she refuted. "I will have a bed made up for you at once. Come on, just one last push."

Dori took Sucrose's hand and both continued walking the descending path. Sucrose walked slowly, dragging her feet and letting herself be led by Dori. She hoped that Dori didn't say that just to encourage her, because she felt like she was going to faint any moment now.

Dori was right, though. As soon as they stopped descending the road, they walked up a sinuous stone ramp and arrived at a big garden, where a man wearing glasses approached them.

"Welcome home, Mistress Dori," he greeted with a formal movement. "Who is the young lady accompanying you?"

"I'm back, Goshtasb," Dori replied. "I shall explain later. For now, have a room prepared for her. She needs to rest."

"Certainly, she doesn't look well," Goshtasb affirmed, looking at Sucrose. "Very well, I will get to it without delay."

Goshtasb made another formal movement and left with haste. Dori pulled Sucrose gently, encouraging her to continue. They walked up another ramp, slow and with short steps, until they reached the main door. They tried to climb the three steps before it, but Sucrose couldn't stand anymore and sat down on them. She was gasping and coughing.

"We have finally arrived. Just a little bit more," Dori encouraged her. "We go in, we take you those dirty clothes off and we put you to bed."

"No… Not my clothes… please…" Sucrose begged, breathless while grasping Dori.

"Huh? Why not? Sucrose?"

Dori tried to know why Sucrose didn't want to have her clothes removed, but Sucrose didn't answer; she just collapsed on Dori. She had exhausted her last strength.