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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 22: To the Land of Contracts

The new day comes with a new mindset. After pretty much brainstormed how much I should intervene with the plot and how convenient it would be for me to start being a prick with the Fatui early on, I came to realize that...

It kind of wasn't good for me to step in and stop Signora early on.

As far as she was concerned, I was an 'amusing jester' at best, and one that had not sided against their goals. Plus, I thought about my last interaction with Venti and... maybe it was for the best I didn't intervene. I had all the reasons to do so in Liyue since I had to balance things out, but I found intervention in Mondstandt unneeded.

It made for some unwanted early hostilities, it made us all a target, and put more issues on Lumine's plate than she needed. Helpful as she was, this was 'little Lumine', not 'I am an adult Lumine and I can deal with all sorts of fuck-ups happening in this wild world'. I just felt that this was less of a moral decision and more of a 'Is the little moral victory worthy of greater issues in the long run' at this point?

Hence why I just turned my gaze from Signora and Venti, and just took care of the last things needed to be taken care of before I got out of the region.

So, once Arbad arrived and surprised the locals with the sheer amount of heavy boxes she carried over a single hand (who would have guessed that without their nerf, these girls could get 'bulky but still petite' going on), and had Collei familiarized with the fellow nerdy girl, I took off with Lumine, Paimon and Mini Dvalin.

Took me a considerable effort to hide the last addition to the team from the likes of Klee and Albedo (the former because she had enough bombing means and the latter because he would be a bit too into finding out the whole science about how his 'big brother' became this tiny so suddenly).

After all, the trip itself was no joke.

"The first time I went to Liyue was by boat through the Chenyou Valley. That was a smooth trip, but the journey there from Mondstadt can solely be made by foot."

"Awww," Lumine deflated, clearly missing on the fact I was carrying her and being the only one walking there. Same for Paimon and Mini Dvalin as both were floating over and never once stepping down to properly walk.

Walking Paimon doesn't exist, and shall never exist!

"It not so bad, sugarcube. After all, the Koski Airlines here will bring you there before dinnertime."

"Can you really do that, Sampo?" Paimon asked, a bit surprised, while her new floating buddy was-

"Is it true that Liyue's rocks are cooler than those in Mondstadt?"

Ah yes, Lil' Dvalin was a dragon to the core and hoarding shiny rocks was in his blood. To the point that he was carrying a little cloth bag with his many 'conquests' before our departure.

"The coolest as far as I know, and we sure can, little Pai-Pai," I assured confidently. "After all, the Wind is under my Wing, whenever Barbadoinkos is up for it or not."

Everyone (minus Dvalin) knew I was mistaking Venti's real name on purpose, but did little beyond either giggling or shaking their heads. After moving through the bridge and making it across the region until we made it to the Stone Gates, I could feel we were truly back to a place that had been my home a long while ago.

Lumine was munching on some apples I had bought by the market near the gates with Paimon and Dvalin while they watched the many highlights of Liyue within this breathtaking sight spot.

Everything there showed how different things were from the more 'European' style embraced by Mondstadt, and how we were now back to one of the most renown locations for rices and shiny rocks.

Wangshu Inn was the primary eye-catching location, and the place where I planned to end our first day on the trip to the harbor.

I had promised the group to bring them all to Liyue, never to actually get them to the harbor before the end of the day. That was... a bit impossible considering any extensive walks may gain the attention of some unwanted eyes on me.

I mean, usually humans tended to forget silly grudges after a few years, but I doubted that was the case with the Adepti, and it was best to play safe with this bunch of divine birbs and deers. That and a few dilemmas crossing my mind.

While in Mondstadt, I could worry about Mondstadt. But now that we were in Liyue... well, there was a lot to recall and remember between old friends that would be happy about my return, and a few others which may be less than enthused over my abrupt exile in Inazuma.

I didn't expect this to escalate into anything worrisome, but one can never be too sure about the kind of attitude Tao Tao may have about unexpected departure from the land. Her region, that is.

"It's like a big tree!" Lumine squealed in awe. "A tree but there is a big house-"

"Hotel."

"A big hotel!" She corrected herself as I said that, her bright smile hardly tainted by this interjection.

It was infectious enough to mellow any lingering tension. And, after I paid for our rooms, I made sure that no Anemo birb was around to give us grief by reporting us back to his brigade of mountain stooges.

As I helped Lumine to get in bed, with Dvalin and Paimon oddly enough having no issue sharing the bed to cuddle up despite them being at odds most of the time, I got to mine and I took a moment to look at the ceiling of the room, a deep sense of unease wrapping around my heart as I could tell that, despite all the plans and hopes I had for this big month or so in Liyue, things were going to shit and...

I just could tell that I really wasn't ready for it.

Signora looked at the Anemo Gnosis, a scowl adorning her lips as she contemplated not just the weakened state of it, but also the way she obtained it.

She had thought of the many scenarios. The Rat should have put up much more of a fight, either with words or with might. But no, the bastard denied her even that opportunity by actually playing her like a fool. Or rather, his bitter truth by saying what she could see now that she had his Gnosis.

"Power? What power can you get out of this? Do you even know the lie that is going on? The pure and utter doom you Fatui are so hopeful to find a chance through?"

These words sounded hollow enough to pass as a trick of sort, but Signora had enough experience around items alike Gnosis to know the Rat was right. He had gotten weaker not just because he relied less on the Gnosis, but the Gnosis itself had gotten far more weaker and dimmer than it used to be.

How? Why?

These questions burned sharply through the Cryo Delusion that kept her burning curse at bay, leaving the woman to ponder if this was a truth shared by all Archons.

She could see the Rat as someone that lazily squandered all that power but... wouldn't it be true for those that relied on their Gnoses to commit impressive feats?

Albeit the Tsaritsa was clearly stronger and younger than Venti, she had invested her might in building up Snezhnaya to a degree that no other country could stand up to. And then there was her next target in mind: the God of Geo.

Rex Lapis was a massive influence for what the Tsaritsa created, a lawful society that worked under a strong-willed authority in the form of a council under their God. But where Snezhnaya actually kept a strong hold over politics under the Tsaritsa, Morax had actually taken steps to slowly vacate his chair of control.

This, in turn, caused for several accidents to unfold through the years, and, even worse, it made the once-strong bond between the Adepti and the mortals in the harbor now a thing of the past.

And as she looked deeper on these what ifs and theories conjured by the rat's last words before truly becoming a nobody to his once mighty winds and leaving enough hope for the people of Mondstadt to last with such pitiful god for a few more years, she was given a report that she didn't expect.

"The fake Harbinger has left the city?" Signora read aloud, eyes narrowing as she studied all details pushed by her spies. Sampo Koski had left the school under new management, a very 'abrupt' and quite suspicious matter considering that his expected trip out of the region would take him and his new cast of 'odd cuties' (that was more her way to address such a silly-looking and yet adorable Lumine and Paimon) to Liyue.

Which was her next stop.

Peculiar. but not enough to carry any ill intent over the move. In fact, she sought fit to just write a letter to the top agent currently in the harbor and see that he took note of Sampo himself.

She just had a feeling that Childe would appreciate a proper sparring mate for once, at least to the point of ceasing with his nagging on failing to find strong opponents...

AN

Next time, meetings and reunions... all starting with a Pirate Queen meeting with her Smuggler Buddy. Indeed, Dou Dou meets with Po Po! xD