Sucrose was in a place she had never seen before. It was an enormous circular room, in which many different green tonalities predominated. A structure stood in its center. It was supported by four diagonal pillars, one in each corner. The whole room was suspended over a pit of which the bottom was impossible to see. Everything there gave off a divine air which overwhelmed Sucrose. The shape of that structure felt familiar to her, but she couldn't think what it was. In fact, she was struggling to just think.

She came a little closer to the center. There was a platform inside that structure. Said platform could only be accessed via a walkway situated just before her. On the other side of that walkway stood a little girl as unfamiliar to Sucrose as the whole place. She had fair skin, green eyes and pointy ears. Her hair was white with green tips, long and tied into a ponytail on the left side of her head with a green leaf ornament. She was wearing a white sleeveless dress decorated with green and gold details and a split green cape. She was, however, barefoot, only wearing short white stirrups which covered only the arch of her feet. The girl stared at Sucrose, then she smiled.

"I can finally contact you," she said. "Come meet me after you have recovered. I will be waiting for you in the Sanctuary of Surasthana, atop Sumeru City."

Before Sucrose could even react, she felt a sudden, overwhelming somnolence. She tried to resist it; she wanted to know what that girl meant, or at least, who she was. Despite her efforts, the images were becoming blurrier, darkener and more distant. She succumbed.

"Mistress Dori, I wouldn't want to call your decision into question, but this is just too sudden," Goshtasb expressed.

Dori and Goshtasb were in the former's personal sitting room. Dori lay on her divan, holding her pipe in her hand. It wasn't a real pipe, since Dori didn't smoke, but a custom made replica which poured smoke out each time she blew into the stem. She always carried it at every interview or meeting, because according to her, it gave a better impression.

"I'm well aware of it," she replied while blowing on her pipe.

"The other employees are confused since you announced that that girl you brought with yesterday is going to work here, and as an alchemist, no less!" Goshtasb continued. "They keep asking me questions and I don't know what to tell them! Also, is it really true that the Matra is looking for her? She may get us into trouble!

"I admit that I'm very puzzled that the Matra is involved: it doesn't seem like she has any kind of connection with the Akademiya. Anyhow, let me handle this matter. Have they ever been a problem to us?" Dori smiled without concern while twiddling her pipe. "As for the others, they may be uneasy now, but over time they will get used to and open up to her."

She blew on her pipe again and raised her head, staring at the ceiling. She then stretched without any modesty and stood up from her divan. She approached Goshtasb and stared at him in the eyes while waving her pipe.

"After all, the life of a merchant is full of unforeseen circumstances," she reminded him. "We just need to do what we always do: continue on step by step without getting nervous nor impatient. And the first step is to wait for Sucrose to recover."

Dori's gaze expressed confidence and conviction. Goshtasb knew that gaze very well: her boss was determined, had thought everything over, and had no intention of backing down. There was no way to change her mind now. Goshtasb conceded and showed Dori his support with a nod. He then asked her what he should do then, to which she asked him to have a couple Stumper Beasts prepared. She told him that everyone just needed to keep with their normal lives; that she would take care of Sucrose herself.

"Oh, and tell Shaghayeh to come to the guest room whenever she has a moment!"

Sucrose slowly opened her eyes. She was in a bed. She looked around and saw that she was in an unfamiliar room. Its decoration and furniture were sumerian-styled. She let out a long sigh with her eyes closed. For a brief moment she had thought that everything that had happened those last days was just a dream and that she was in her own bed. But it hadn't, and she had to accept it. She wasn't in Mondstadt any longer, but in Sumeru. Most likely in the house of that girl she had just met.

She sat up. Although her head barely hurt now, she was still feeling a bit unwell. She thought that she might have caught a cold. She noticed that she was still wearing her clothes. Her hat and her glasses were on a nightstand next to the bed, and her boots lay all muddy next to the door. It didn't look like she was being held there against her will. Thanks to her hearing, she heard footsteps drawing near some time before the door opened. Dori entered.

"Ah, good. You're awake now," Dori greeted her.

"Hello, uhm… Dori was it? Where am I?"

"You're in my house, in a guest room," Dori explained while she put her hand on Sucrose's forehead. "Oh my! You aren't febrile already! You recover fast!"

"How much time have I been sleeping?"

"Around half a day. You fainted last night, just after we arrived. We had to put you to bed in a hurry."

"Is that why I'm still wearing my clothes?"

"Huh? Don't you remember? You begged me not to have your clothes removed yourself."

Sucrose didn't remember it whatsoever. She did remember arriving at Dori's place, but from the garden on, her memories became hazier. She must have fainted, indeed. At least they had agreed to that odd request of hers, and she was grateful for that.

A sneeze came out from her without warning. Dori gave her a handkerchief, which she appreciated. She blew her nose on it. She then looked at Dori and thought of their encounter the previous day. It seemed like Dori really meant everything she had said back then.

"I'm sorry," Sucrose apologized regretfully.

"What for? Your clothes?"

"That's not it. You offer me a job and even provide me a place to stay at your own house even though we have only just met," Sucrose told Dori. "And I show you my gratitude by getting sick and giving you more work."

Dori laughed while shaking her head.

"You wouldn't have begun to work just after arriving, either way, silly," she explained. "We need to have everything ready beforehand, you know. Materials, instruments, tools… all of the essentials in order to have your workshop up and running."

"Workshop?"

"And you will also need your own room to live," Dori continued. "I refuse to let you sleep in the workshop."

"Workshop?" Sucrose repeated. "W-wait just a minute! What do you mean by 'workshop'?"

"What do I mean? Why, the place where you work, of course," Dori affirmed. "A room in which work is carried on. That's its name, isn't it?"

Sucrose explained that the place where she has always done her alchemy and conducted her experiments was a laboratory. Dori didn't like that name. She said it reminded her of the usual haughty argot coming from the pretentious people at the Akademiya. Sucrose didn't say another word; she was busy thinking of what she could say to persuade Dori that the appropriate term was 'laboratory'.

At that moment, someone knocked at the door. Dori granted permission to enter and a woman carrying a leather case came in.

"Did you call for me, Mistress?" the woman asked.

"Indeed I did. Thank you for coming this quickly, Shaghayeh," Dori nodded. "I have something to ask you. Can you first go fetch the measuring instruments?"

"There is no need: I had already guessed what you were going to ask me." Shaghayeh said while taking out some measuring tapes from the case.

"How convenient that you know me so well," Dori winked. "Sucrose, could you get out of bed for a moment? Shaghayeh is going to take your measurements."

Sucrose turned bright red and covered herself with the bed sheets up to her nose.

"My measurements?" she stuttered. "Why?"

"Because I will have a new set of clothes made for you," Dori replied. "You will be more comfortable wearing something better suited for Sumeru's climate and environment. And you don't need to take your clothes off: Shaghayeh knows her way around."

Sucrose got out of bed full of shyness. She positioned herself and posed following Shaghayeh's instructions. She didn't know if she was feeling hot because of the cold or because of how embarrassed she was. Once Shaghayeh had taken her every measurement, including her glove size, she went back to bed without wasting any more time. Shaghayeh finished taking notes. put everything back in the case and excused herself. Dori approached Sucrose and gently patted her forehead.

"It will suit you wonderfully, I'm telling you," she encouraged her.

Sucrose didn't answer; she only groaned. She was still feeling embarrassed from having had her measures taken.

"Even if you aren't febrile anymore, you should still rest for the day," Dori suggested. "As for me, I will soon be going to Sumeru City. I have to order everything for you: the materials for your job, your new outfit… And I have to take care of your registration of residency as well."

"Sumeru City? H-hold on!"

As soon as Dori had mentioned Sumeru City, Sucrose remembered the dream she had had. She described to Dori the place and the girl she had dreamt with. She also explained what that girl had told her. Dori doubled up with laughter.

"Is it that absurd? Maybe I shouldn't have told you" Sucrose regretted, quite humiliated.

"No, no! I'm sorry! It's quite the opposite!" Dori explained while trying to suppress her laughter. "That's Lesser Lord Kusanali herself! The Dendro Archon!"

Dori choked on her laughter and coughed. She needed some time to catch her breath before being able to proceed with her explanation without further issue.

"Lesser Lord Kusanali has the ability to connect with anyone through their minds. Your 'dream' was just her making contact with you," she continued, not laughing anymore. "It seems like she has taken an interest in you. Now I understand the reason behind the Matra looking for you yesterday."

"What do you mean by that?" Sucrose wondered, perplexed. "That she somehow knew I was there beforehand?"

"Indeed she did."

"Then does that mean that she knows where I am right now!?" Sucrose guessed. She was becoming more and more frightened. "What are we going to do!?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. If she had really wanted you arrested, we would have had someone knocking at our door hours ago," Dori reassured her. "I don't know what she has planned for you, but it isn't anything to be fretted about. That much I can assure you."

Dori rubbed Sucrose's arm, trying to comfort her. Sucrose was still concerned about what the Dendro Archon intended to do to her, yet she was also curious as to how she managed to be aware of her whereabouts. Another sudden sneeze made her lose her train of thought: she had to find her handkerchief to blow her nose on it again.

Now that she had calmed down a bit, she realized that the answers to those questions wouldn't come any sooner no matter how much she worried over them, so she decided to cast them aside for the moment and focus on her recovery. She patted Dori's hand to let her know that she was fine now. Dori gave her a relieved smile.

"I will inform Goshtasb that there has been a change of plans," she said. "We will go together to the city once you have recovered."

As the day went by, Sucrose was feeling better. Her physical discomfort was already gone and she only had mucus in her nose. When Dori brought her a light meal consisting of a simple rice soup and boiled eggs, she ate it without any issue. In fact, when she saw it, she remembered that she hadn't eaten for days. It was most specifically her stomach the one that reminded her. More steam billowed from Sucrose's head than from her soup. Watching her whole face blush with that intensity made Dori chortle.

Some time later, during the afternoon, Sucrose decided that it was finally time to take that long-awaited bath, although there was still a little detail:

"How do you intend to bathe without taking your clothes off?" Dori wondered.

"Oh, no. My clothes are fine," Sucrose remarked. "The problem actually is…"

Seeing that Sucrose couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence, Dori said that it was okay if she didn't want to be seen. Since Sucrose didn't have any kind of spare clothes, Dori told her that she would have them washed up while she was bathing; therefore, she should take her time in the bathtub. Sucrose was fine with that procedure.

The bathroom was on the first floor, and consisted of three, smaller rooms. First, there was a small dressing room with hangers, racks and hampers for clothes, as well as small boxes for accessories. There was also a mirror there. That room was followed by a shower room, which had ten showers, five on each opposite side of the walls; and finally, the room with the bathtub.

The bathtub was a square, sunken tub placed in the center of the third room. It was large enough for twenty people to sit at the sides with enough space between them. When Sucrose submerged herself into the warm water up to her shoulders, she felt like she was melting, as if all of her worries, pains and sorrows had never been there to begin with. Even though she had plenty of room to move around, having that huge bathtub just for herself, she remained sitting in the same place, wondering how they managed to keep that bathtub always full of water, since she saw no faucets, springs or any other means to fill it in the whole room. Or how the water was kept warm, or how the bathtub was cleaned, for that matter.

Around half an hour later, she began to think that she had been there for enough time and that her clothes should already be prepared for her, back in the dressing room. She hoped so, because she didn't know what she would do if someone were to see her. She decided to stay five more minutes, just in case. She looked at her body, barely visible under the water, and let out a sorrowful sigh.

"This will accompany me for the rest of my life," she muttered to herself. "I know that, but still, I just can't…"

When she decided to come out of the bath, she was relieved to find that her clothes were already there, waiting for her. She intended to go back to the room she was using as soon as she left the bathroom, but once she had finished climbing the spiral stairway to the second floor, where said room was, she realized that she didn't remember which room was the one, or which one of the two hallways in the first place. She was so distracted talking to Dori about the bath on their way there that she didn't remember to pay attention.

She could try and look for it on her own: that was supposed to be her home now, after all. Even so, she was afraid of running into somebody and having an awkward situation, considering her sudden arrival; or that she may trespass on somewhere she wasn't supposed to. The more she thought about it, the more scared she became.

"Why are you just standing there?" a voice behind her asked suddenly.

Sucrose let out a small squeak due to her shock. She turned and saw Shaghayeh, the woman who had taken her measurements previously. She tried to undo the knot in her throat.

"It's just that I can't remember where my room is…" she stuttered.

"What is your point, then? Are you afraid of being on your own?"

Sucrose didn't answer; she just nodded sheepishly. Watching her cowering, Shaghayeh raised a hand on her forehead and sighed.

"Very well, I will lead you the way," she said. "Come with me."

"Thank you…"

They made their way towards that guest room, which was located at the back end of the left hallway, in silence. A silence uncomfortable for Sucrose. She was curious to know Shaghayeh's opinion regarding her sudden appearance and arrival, yet she was afraid to ask her. However, she was aware that she had to get to know every other resident, since she was going to live there as well. She gathered as much courage as she could and broke the silence:

"Uhm… Excuse me…"

"Shaghayeh."

"Huh?"

"My name is Shaghayeh."

That wasn't at all what Sucrose had expected out of every possibility that she had imagined. But, at least, she had taken the first step. Now she just needed to keep with that momentum and ask Shaghayeh before fretting again over it and let her chance escape, now that they had arrived at the door. The one who spoke, however, was Shaghayeh.

"I'm going to be honest with you: nothing of this convinces me whatsoever, but if the Mistress so wishes, I shall obey her," she accepted. "Nonetheless, I swore not to let anyone disturb the peace and quiet of this place, whoever it may be."

Shaghayeh's candor and bluntness shook Sucrose and left her speechless. Sucrose didn't want to stay there anymore, so she just bid Shaghayeh farewell with a small, shy nod and entered the room at once, closing the door right after her. She left her glasses on the nightstand and dropped face first on the bed. She exhaled until she emptied her lungs. She had suspected as much, and she actually agreed with Shaghayeh: even she herself was feeling out of place, after all. Even so, Shaghayeh's statement had scared her.

She turned around and stared at the ceiling. She thought about her home, her real one, and her parents: what were they doing, how were they doing… How did they feel when they realized that her daughter had been labeled as a criminal and arrested, and that she had run away. She missed them. She was worried about them, too: she hoped that they didn't have to bear the brunt for her actions. She couldn't cope with those thoughts; she wanted to see them again. Tears filled her eyes and small sobs escaped from her mouth. The door opened all of a sudden and Dori entered, holding another tray of food.

"Sucrose!" She greeted her with a melodious voice. "I brought you dinner!"

"Dori!" yelled Sucrose, startled. "Can you knock before coming in!?"

"I will do so once you have your own room," Dori teased, sticking out her tongue and winking. She then noticed Sucrose's tearful eyes. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yes, yes I am," Sucrose assured, wiping her eyes. She gave Dori a smile. "I'm fine now. Thank you for coming."

Sucrose was being honest. Thanks to the surprise caused by Dori's sudden irruption, she had escaped from that spiral of negative thoughts, which would have only led her to depression.

They sat on the bed's edge and Dori passed Sucrose the food tray, which the latter placed on her knees. While Sucrose ate, Dori just stayed there, keeping her company. At one point, Sucrose left her spoon on the tray and asked Dori:

"Hey, Dori, why are you doing all of this for me?"

"Haven't I told you already? Because you gave me a good first impression, and because I would like to have an alchemist working for me."

That answer didn't convince Sucrose entirely. Be that as it may, it didn't seem like Dori was going to say anything more no matter how much she insisted.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter," Sucrose sighed. "What does matter is that you helped me when I needed it most. And I'm going to give my best to show you, as well as everyone else, how grateful I am for that."

She stared straight at Dori's eyes. Dori didn't need to use her talents in order to see that her eyes were full of resolve. She stared back at Sucrose's eyes with a broad, confident and sincere smile.

"And I expect no less," she claimed.

The morning after, Sucrose had already recovered, and therefore, came the time to go to Sumeru City. As everything was being prepared for departure, Sucrose went to get some fresh air to the garden, accompanied by Dori. She was astonished when she finally realized the immensity of that place.

The garden was divided into two levels: an upper level and a lower level. Both levels were connected with each other by ramps on each end. The upper level had two buildings: one small on the right side from the entrance, which was already as large as a single-floor house; and the main building, where everyone lived, much larger than the other one, located at the back of the garden. When Sucrose exited it and saw it from the outside, she would dare to say that it was more like a palace.

The lower level was the main garden. On its center stood a large, round fountain. On its further side there was another ramp which connected to a single platform that had only a large gazebo with several benches in it. There were flower beds everywhere in the garden, which had flowers of all kinds. Those flowers, along with the native vegetation, gave off a calming atmosphere altogether. Lastly, there were lamps scattered around the garden for lightning up the whole place during nighttime.

Sucrose ran to the gazebo and leaned over the railing. From there she could see her whole surroundings, which were mainly walls of rock. Only three waterfalls flowing down broke that rocky monotony. The whole place was located in a basin, and around the edge of a cliff. The bottom of such basin was almost flooded in its entirety. There wasn't any other sign of civilization around.

Dori approached Sucrose while the latter was still trying to grasp everything.

"Well, what do you think? Isn't it beautiful?" she boasted. "And the best of all is that there isn't anybody around in kilometers. Perfect for a tranquil life!"

"Dori, is this really your house?" Sucrose questioned, stunned.

"Right, you might not have paid any attention when we arrived, since you were about to faint." Dori recalled. "Okay then, I guess it's time to do a proper introduction."

Dori went out of the gazebo, turned around to face Sucrose and spread out her arms while showing off a broad grin.

"Welcome to the Palace of Alcazarzaray, my humble home! As well as yours!"

Sucrose was left gawping. She had already guessed that Dori had quite a sum of money, but not as much as to have a whole palace for her. And considering the tycoon's appearance, she couldn't tell which one of the two was the senior. Such was her bewilderment that she was barely coherent when she tried to speak. Even so, Dori could figure out what she was trying to say:

"I told you that one needs to know how to move around in my line of work," she bragged. She raised her hand to her chest with pride. "And before you stands none other than the best merchant in all of Sumeru: Dori Sangemah Bay!"