Hello everyone, after a while here's the new chapter, this time showing Inazuma and the reactions to the news regarding Aether. Enjoy reading!
While the nation of Inazuma now has peaceful days, Yae Miko, as usual, was quietly lounging in the Narukami Shrine, reading a new light novel imported from Liyue, while eating some sweets.
After a while, she was called by one of the priestesses who managed the place with her, only to tell them that a letter had been sent by Liyue's administration for the Raiden Shogun. Knowing that she was a close friend of the Archon and that Ei had asked her to manage the administrative part if there were ever requests to be made from the inhabitants to improve life in Inazuma, she accepted the role. However, she wondered what was the reason why Ei was so worried and was going to hate, and when she asked her, she told her that she did not need to know.
Yae was not fooled and knew that she would not leave her dear country for frivolous reasons, but decided not to dig into the question, knowing that her friend had not left to laugh, she just wished her well.
Holding the letter, she recognized the stamp that stated that the sender was Ningguang, because she had already been able to talk to her and she had already sent letters before, moreover, when Aether and Paimon learned it, they both had a shiver in their backs, knowing full well what kind of people these two women were and that their alliance could be dangerous.
"Here, I didn't expect that... But if the seal is official, I guess she won't tell me about rain and good weather as usual,... Anyway, this letter was addressed to Ei, so let's see what problem there is to send this to her..."
"According to Captain Beidou, she wanted to send this very quickly, but she didn't know why..."
"I see, thank you for the information, my dear. Now, please let me read this letter quietly."
"Understood, Guuji Yae."
The priestess left, leaving the kitsune alone with the paper, and she began to read it carefully for a few minutes, before exclaiming in amazement as she finished the letter.
"What do you mean, my little one is not doing very well? He decided to play the lone wolf, I didn't expect that... Well, since I have nothing to do, I think it might be time to put your ideas back... I understand his exhaustion, but to be as brutal towards everyone, and to consider Teyvat whole as rot, I think he goes a little far. I understand why Ei left in a hurry, she wanted to help him, how cute it is... But she forgot that she doesn't know how to deal with this kind of problem, she should have told me about it, especially if it concerns Aether. "
Yae convinces herself to make efforts to recover Aether, starting first to find Ei, to give her advice because she was convinced that she would not succeed in saying a suitable word after so much isolation in the Plane of Eutymia, and even if she became familiar with socialisation again, it was far from being won for her.
She got up and left for Ritou so that she could talk with Beidou about a possible journey to Liyue, because it was only the beginning of the morning, and it was very likely that she would leave in the late afternoon depending on how she made her journeys.
On the way, she was mainly trying to convince herself that she was there to help Ei, but she still could not wonder what were the motivations that led the Traveler to have such a brutal change in behavior, from kind and benevolent to cold and violent, but when she arrived in Ritou a few hours later, she saw the Frostflake Heron on one of the stalls buying something similar to interior decoration, and thought it was a good idea to kill two birds with one stone.
The pink-haired woman had heard the rumors that Kamisato Ayaka and Aether were very close, and that when he returned to Inazuma, she could not prevent him from being very happy to see his arrival, raising him more affection than anyone else and that her personality was more extroverted in his presence. Moreover, she herself had seen this several times when she walked the streets of Inazuma and saw in the distance a woman with blue hair walking alongside a man with golden hair.
Yae made up her mind to talk with her because she knew that Ayaka could be a person of choice to help Aether, because it will be much easier to talk with him if it is someone in whom he would never have suspicions and that he appreciated enough, so she approached the cryo user by hiding her intentions that although they were not bad, was sneaky enough not to be said.
"Good morning, Miss Kamisato? How are you? " saluted Yae, who interrupted Ayaka from her thoughts, greeting her in turn.
"Hello to you, Lady Yae. I'm fine, thank you. And you?"
"Me too, my dear. What are you doing now?"
"Well, I came for a walk a little, Ritou's sea wind helps me feel better. It turns out that I've had a lot of work lately. My brother was at an important appointment, so he entrusted me with some additional tasks to increase my autonomy."
"I see, it's not easy..."
"It's true, but I'm done now, I can enjoy a good day of relaxation. And you, what is the honour of your visit here worth?"
"I was passing by the corner, by the way, wouldn't you have seen Captain Beidou in the area?"
"Indeed, she is still in Inazuma, I guess you wanted to see her."
"Yes. In fact, I have to go to Liyue for something quite important, but it turns out that I am not the most talented in the field."
"What do you mean? I didn't think you would be nervous about a meeting or something like that, you who are usually so friendly."
"No, that's not it. In fact, I think it might as well concern you, since it's about Aether."
"Aether!?" exclaimed Ayaka, who began to be really interested after the conversation, unconsciously approaching Yae Miko, as she laughed furtively, her hand on her mouth.
"Wow, I didn't think that just mentioning his name would put you in this state! You have to believe that things are happening between you... "
Ayaka began to blush as she put herself back in her place, while looking at Yae with an embarrassed air and waving her hands very quickly.
"No, that's not what you think Miss Yae,... I mean, Aether and I are close, but..."
"Calm down, my dear, I was just teasing you, but you have to believe that it may be true after all..."
"I'm... Can you go back to what you wanted to say about him please? " asked the Cryo user to the kitsune, trying to avoid the conversation about the type of relationship she has with the Traveler.
"Okay, but a piece of advice before, if you want to have it, attacks first, because you are not the only woman who has a crush on him... Others may well get ahead of you, both in Inazuma and outside..."
"... Understood..." she said, blushing again, avoiding crossing the eyes of the treacherous woman who was this kitsune, but this sentence had not entered a deaf ear, and Ayaka will remember it for later.
"Well... As I said, this concerns Aether. To be brief, he is not doing well mentally, and I believe that his body will not hold in the long term if he continues in this way."
"What? Did something atrocious happen to him? Is it because of the Fatuis? " wondered Ayaka now worried that something had happened to him.
"No, he has not suffered mental or physical torture, and it is not the fault of the Fatuis. I think you should read this." she said, passing her Ningguang's letter, which she leafed through conscientiously, while displaying a frightened look at what she was reading, each word becoming more and more painful for her to read.
"It's not possible, it's necessarily a mistake, it's the Aether we're talking about. He had told me about a few moments of exhaustion he had, but I thought it was fatigue related to fighting or strained quests, I didn't think it would be so serious..."
"Indeed, that's why I want you to accompany me. Anyway, I don't think you would have stood idly by and did nothing."
"Of course I accompany you, I refuse to see him torment himself. He needs comfort, I immediately warn Thoma at the Kamisato estate so that he can take over in my place, he will tell my brother about it."
"Are you sure you won't be penalized for that?"
"No, after all, I am the one who directs the operations in the absence of my brother, and if I think it is an emergency case, then I will do it."
"Well, I didn't expect you to be so assertive! Spending time with Aether made you assert your authority to what I see..."
"Please stop, this is not the time for teasing..."
"Okay, I'm stopping for the moment, even if it's funny."
"Thank you. One last thing, we also know about what Aether really has, because the letter is not precise enough?"
"I suppose that when we get there, it will be explained in more depth, but we can only be satisfied with what we currently have."
"All right... I go back to the Kamisato Estate to take some things and warn everyone, then we embark, I now understand why you asked to see Captain Beidou."
"I will wait for you in the boat, and while you leave, I will warn Beidou so that she can sail faster than she normally does. "
Ayaka left in a hurry, going as fast as she could, knowing that the Kamisato domain was quite far from here, but she still hoped to leave before the end of the day, while Yae Miko was watching her, happy that her plan worked, but not without a little pinch in the heart to tell herself that she had planned this as if she were using Ayaka, when she too wanted to do something that would serve to get Aether back on track. She then turned to the other side of Ritou, determined to do her best to get to Liyue as quickly as possible and find Ei to understand what is really happening.
Shortly after dawn, Xiao did not wait a second longer to get out of his room, and then saw Yelan who had not slept too much either, thoughts mixing in his head. He was going towards her, who greeted her with a half-smile, a sign that she was not completely rested.
"Did you sleep badly?"
"We can say it like that. I didn't stop redoing the stories in my head..."
"I understand, did you eat?"
"Yes, don't worry about that. Are you hungry?"
"No, it's going to be okay, I usually eat practically nothing during the day, my metabolism is used to it now."
"Okay, if you say so. In my opinion, you want us to get started right away, don't you?"
"Yes, rather this problem will be solved, the less it will suffer. "
Yelan and Xiao left the village to return to the place where the Yaksha had lost the battle against Liyue's Hero, otherwise they thought they were looking for clues at that place, even though Aether had a considerable lead in their opinion and traveled fast enough, Xiao had explained that Aether's physical conditions were not correct at present and that he had many wounds and dried blood on his clothes, while seeing some dark circles on his eyes that indicated that he was not sleeping enough. At that point, they were quite afraid that he would faint by pushing his limits, knowing that some days, he did not stop killing as many enemies as possible and fighting for more than eight hours in a row.
They walked silently, being careful not to neglect any details, because even if the Yaksha could go faster, rushing into the void would not solve anything. In addition, with the blue-haired woman with him, he could not afford to leave her on the side.
The calm continued after an hour, until the two people heard voices coming from behind them, calling them in the distance. When they turned around, they saw, not without a certain astonishment:
"Ganyu? Keqing?"
"What are you talking about? Oh, you're right and there's a third person with them. I've already seen her, she had helped save Liyue from Osial's wife, if I remember correctly... "
As soon as their murmurs were over, the three women arrived in front of them, running, relieved to see that they could see Yelan, which was their main objective.
"Yelan! And I see that Xiao is also with you!", screamed Ganyu with relief.
"But what are you doing here?" asked Yelan, surprised by their appearance.
"Well, it's quite complicated, but we came to help Aether too. We also know that this is the reason why you left." answered the Yuheng.
"It's true but..."
"If you know something about Aether, it's now..." Shenhe said to Yelan, who shuddered at once when she heard the cold tone and icy look she had put in her words, because she couldn't stand all this.
"Wow, calm down Shenhe, you don't scare them that way. Have you forgotten what we learned about how you ask people for information?" said Ganyu, trying to calm down the white-haired beauty.
"Hmm... You're right Ganyu, but it's stronger than me, I can't stand this situation, all because we didn't act early enough."
"Don't worry, everything will be fine..." comforted Ganyu to Shenhe who was trying to control her anger, and she was happy that her red bonds could channel her emotions as well, because they would be in rage at this time.
"Now, you could explain to us what is happening, we came on purpose to see you, so we deserve some explanations. And also, why is the Conqueror of Demons also with you?" said Keqing in a firm tone, no longer bearing so many doubts.
"All right, but please calm down. Also, I would like you to answer my questions as soon as I have finished."
"Fine."
Yelan sighed, before explaining her first conversation with Aether, in which he had no confidence in what she was saying, before she told how Xiao had been beaten and brought to Qingce Village to quickly recover. Xiao mentioned that he had come because he had seen with his own eyes Aether's sudden behavior as well as his drastic change in perception of the world, and that he felt concerned about the issue, not only because it is a great asset for Liyue, but also because he wanted his friend not to follow the same torments he had.
Keqing and Ganyu understood the situation, not without some frustration to hear that he gave in violent impulses and then continued his journey as if nothing had happened. But even before they could release their emotions of anger and or sadness, the user of the Hydro element asked them how they had been able to leave Liyue without problems when they were not on leave, and why Shenhe is with them, knowing that the hostile nature of the white-haired woman had not made her comfortable, nor Xiao for that matter. And the answer that Ganyu and Keqing came out was certainly not the one thought by Xiao and Yelan.
"It's simple, we have temporarily resigned from our duties!" said simply Ganyu.
"What?" screamed Yelan, surprised by the news.
"Have you resigned? I thought you liked your work so much that I heard that you hardly took a rest, all this for Liyue's sake." added Xiao.
"Indeed Xiao, this is the case, but after our conversation with Ningguang, it was the best thing to do, and we will resume our occupations as secretary as soon as Aether is himself again."
"But... It's not possible, you do most of the work there, and in addition in an organized and efficient way, even if Ningguang replaces you with four or five people to do the job, it will still be a hassle for them." panicked the royal blue-haired woman.
"Yes, but as Ganyu said, we had judged that in the event of a crisis, it was the best thing to do. We can't bear to leave him in trouble once again, knowing that we had learned that you were not in the best position to help him and that in addition it resulted in failure if I remember what you said earlier." explained the woman with the cat's ears haircut.
"In addition, we did not accept what Ningguang did to us. She spied on us against our will, sending you. We know it, and she talks about Aether as if it were an object, which made me quite irritated." continued the horned woman.
"I see, so you knew..." sighed the owner of the Yanshang Teahouse.
"And you accepted this behavior,... I know it's your job, and on enemies, it doesn't bother me, but on your friends and colleagues, I admit that I was a little disappointed with you."
Hearing Keqing say this last sentence, Yelan had a flashback of her conversation with Aether, and one sentence in particular had caught her attention when the Traveler spoke to her:
"You are no different from the others, Yelan. You want to use them to your advantage as this continent used me to do the dirty work. "
Yelan's face became tense thinking of this sentence affably similar to the one Keqing had just said, and understood what he meant by that. She was so angry about doing this to Keqing and Ganyu, and rubbed her head with her hands as if she were in full disillusionment, under the intrigued eye of others. She spoke, in a lower voice than before, before bowing to Keqing and Ganyu, stunned by what was happening:
"I'm sorry... I don't know what took me... I understand what he meant now... I understand why he stopped trusting me... Keqing, Ganyu, I sincerely regret what I was able to do, it's true that Ningguang was suspicious of your mental state, so I went to investigate to find out if you were okay, there were no bad intentions..."
"Listen, if you really wanted to help us, you just had to say it. I know you wanted it to be secret, so that Liyue or someone harmful would not be aware of it, but in truth I think you would have known sooner or later. So we just had to ask ourselves, and if we agreed, which would probably be the case, we would be delighted if you helped us."
"Keqing is right, the problem is that you create mistrust between us, and that's the last thing we want now. The situation is already more complicated than it seems. However, I see that your apologies are sincere, and we know that in general, you would never put yourself in such a state, so I forgive you, but do not start again in the future."
"Thank you, Ganyu."
"Well, I understand the situation, so we'll say that I forgive you too."
"Thank you Keqing. " said Yelan, getting up again, trying to forget what had happened, and with the ideas a little clearer to use what Aether felt, because this remark had made her realize that trust is a fragile thing that can collapse at any time, like the state of the Traveler who no longer believed in much in this world except a few people.
"Now that this problem is solved, can we know why Shenhe is here? I mean, she's highly unstable, and I think that's the last thing you need. " Xiao asked with the same neutral expression he wore all the time.
Shenhe, who had not said much since the beginning of this reunification, found herself irritated to hear this bitter remark, but Ganyu blocked her with her hand, signaling her to calm down, because she knew that Xiao still lacked tact to speak without annoying people. Subsequently, Keqing spoke explaining that the first person to see Aether in Liyue was Shenhe, and that she was the first to warn them. Ganyu then told about the relationship between the hermit and the Traveler and why she wanted to invest so much, and that she could not stand to stay there doing nothing, while Yelan and Xiao understood even if they feared her rather incisive character.
Shortly after explaining the latest news from two sides, the main one of which were "How was this Liyue was going to be managed in the absence of the two secretaries?" and "Where is Aether?", the two groups merged to become one, all having the same goal, and even if there could be some tensions between the white-haired woman and the green-haired man, they knew that being more could play in their favor in order to find the Traveler as soon as possible.