15 The lonely traveler and the enigmatic wanderer

The first thing that came to her mind when she was introduced to the masked wanderer was how strange he is, even more so when she listened to a bit of the tale of his past adventures.

She wonders just how horrible Inazuma is for him to brave a storm created by a god in order to escape, no matter how small the chance is.

She wonders why it is that he covers his face. Was he a criminal? By definition he probably is, considering he illegally left his home country. Was he covering a scar? She wonders how horrible it must be for him to hide it. Was he being hunted? Is there someone out there that wants him dead?

Regardless of her first impression, something that she can say with certainty is that he is skilled.

The first time she saw him, he was floating instead of walking. And later, when the three of them were unfortunately thrown into the sky, she saw clearly that he was able to fly, and flying is not something easy for a human being to achieve. She'd know, she has been in that position before.

And if she's being honest, she envied him for that.

How she misses being able to fly and feel the wind brushing past her. Ever since that god sealed her powers, she was as weak as a newborn baby. Her power, the thing she relies on her travels the most, taken away because of reasons she doesn't know. She was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.

She hated it.

She has been relying too much on her power, ignoring her brother's advice on practicing more on her techniques. It became her crutch. Now, with her crutch gone, she's forced to relearn the things she has not used in what felt like centuries.

Though she might come from a species with a long natural lifespan and a constitution that is fundamentally different from humans, without the power she holds dear and her ability to effortlessly travel between worlds, right now she is not that much different from a regular human being.

She hated this feeling of being weak.

And right now, in front of this strange wanderer, who looks like he's one second away from tearing apart the office, she was once again reminded of how weak she has become.

[Answer (my) question, Acting Grand Master.]

Whether he realized it or not, Yuu is currently creating a gale within Jean's office, with signs of forming some kind of curved blade on his hands and a hint of purple energy within them.

The office is practically in disarray. The books on the shelves were scattered throughout the room, the papers on Jean's desk were all over the place. Thankfully, no furniture has been harmed so far.

Jean, she observed, was trying her best not to cave under his pressure. Amber, Kaeya, and Lisa took a battle stance, ready to intervene should things go too far, though she could see that they too are not immune to the fear he is causing them.

Meanwhile….

"Pst, Lumine, shouldn't we do something?"

Paimon, being the scared little fairy that she is, is hiding behind her head, occasionally taking a peek at the situation.

"I don't think there's anything we can do to stop this Paimon. We'll just have to trust Jean to not make it worse."

She really hates not being able to help right now.

"Mr. Yuu, please listen to me, I didn't mean to–"

[To what, Acting Grand Master? Silently pressure (me) into agreeing to something (I) will most likely refuse to? Are you so desperate for help that you don't even bother asking?]

"..."

[Why the silence Acting Grand Master? Did (I) hit the mark?]

"Jean, is that true?"

She noticed that, out of the three knights in the room, only Amber seems surprised at Jean's action.

"Sigh. Yes Amber, it's true."

"...how could you do that?"

Scratching her head, Jean let out a sigh.

"Stormterror has been attacking Mondstadt for weeks now, and no matter what we did, we couldn't drive him off. It wasn't until today that Lisa managed to find the source of its power.

"And when I saw Ms. Lumine and Mr. Yuu successfully drove Stormterror away from the city, I saw a chance. A change I couldn't afford to let go.

"So I orchestrated this entire play: send Kaeya to invite the three of you, make sure Lisa worded her plea for help in a way that is hard to refuse, while I do my own part.

"I know it's wrong Amber, I really do. But for Archon's sake, I'm just so tired!"

At Jean's sudden outburst, even Kaeya and Lisa looked surprised.

"Do you have any idea how tired, how stressed I was?! The knights never had to deal with a dragon before, and the pressure from the Fatui diplomats is increasingly difficult to deal with!

"The Grand Master left the city in my hands, and I cannot fail him. I can't afford to fail him. I will not break his trust."

She fell to her knees, a hint of tear forming in her eyes.

"I am a Gunnhildr dammit! I've been trained for this, I've carried my family's mantle since I was a young child. I can't let them down! Not my family, and certainly not my mother!

"'For Mondstadt, as always.' I always tried to live by that motto. But now… now I just don't know what to do anymore."

At this point, Jean was reduced to a crying mess.

'I see. She's been carrying such a heavy burden from a young age. An aristocrat groomed to be a leader of the knights, to protect the safety of the City of Mondstadt. I suppose this situation is the straw that broke the camel's back, huh.'

Now that she paid attention to Jean's appearance a bit closer, she looks to have bags under her eyes, most likely covered by some sort of makeup that has been erased by her tears.

'When was the last time she even slept?'

"I'm sorry… I'm really sorry…."

Amidst the sound of her cries, the purple gale has stopped, and Yuu no longer looks like he's trying to murder someone.

"Hmm, I see. I suppose I can sympathize with your circumstance."

With that, Yuu began to make his way to the door.

"I will forgive you just this once, Acting Grand Master, and if you still need my help, then please, ask properly, do not let your emotion cloud your judgment.

"I will take my leave. You know where to find me."

"Thank you…."

"Don't thank me yet Acting Grand Master."

With a click of the door, Yuu left the office, the tense atmosphere seemingly disappearing along with him.

"Jean, why didn't you tell me about this? And by the archons, when was the last time you properly rested?"

"I… I don't know…."

"Sigh. Come on, I'll take you to your bed."

Putting one of Jean's arms on her shoulder, Lisa led the distraught Jean out the office.

"I'll be taking her to her room. Kaeya, please take care of any urgent matter within the city while I make sure our Acting Grand Master get some proper rest. Amber, assist Kaeya to the best of your abilities."

"Of course."

"You got it, Lisa!"

Turning her sight towards Lumine, she gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about this cutie, but we'll have to postpone our plan of action to tomorrow at the very least."

"It's fine, she looks like she's overdue with sleep."

"Tell me about it."

Letting out a sigh, Lisa continued.

"I don't know if you're close to Yuu, but… can you please talk to him? I know I agreed to help Jean with her frankly outlandish act, but that doesn't mean I don't feel bad about it. Please tell him I'm sorry, okay?"

"I don't know if he feels like talking right now, but I'll try."

"Thanks, that's all I ask."

With that, Lisa made her way outside with Jean.

'I should probably leave as well.'

After bidding farewell to Kaeya and Amber, she made her way outside the headquarters along with Paimon.

"Should we talk to white mask now, Lumine?"

"Probably. Let's just hope he's in the mood to talk."

With her decision made, she started walking towards the only inn available in Mondstadt.

'I should get a room as well, now that I think about it, preferably close to Yuu's. It'd be nice to have some company.'

She'd hoped that someone could fill the gaping hole that her missing brother left.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Arriving at the inn, she was greeted by the receptionist at the table.

"Welcome, dear travelers. How may I help you today?"

"We'd like to rent a room please. How much would one night cost?"

"Ten thousand Mora per night. If you stay for one week, it'll only be fifty thousand."

"I see."

As she moved to access her spatial storage, realization hit her like a truck.

In terms of Mora, she has no Mora.

'Fuck. Maybe I should've asked for some Mora from Jean.'

"Is something wrong, Lumine?"

While debating whether or not she should put it in Yuu's tab, someone approached her from up the stairs.

"She has no Mora, that's what."

Turning her face towards the voice's direction, she saw the masked wanderer that left the knights shaking in fear.

"Here you go Ms. Heidi, I'll pay for her first week."

"Quite the gentleman aren't you, Mr. Yuu?"

"Shush."

Hearing his voice seems to snap her out of her reverie.

"Thanks, Yuu."

"Don't mention it. How are the knights doing, by the way?"

"Well–"

"Actually, hold that thought. We probably shouldn't discuss this here."

Realizing the panic she could cause if the citizen knew that their Acting Grand Master basically fainted out of stress, she shut her mouth.

"Come on, follow me. Here's your key."

"Thanks."

"Where are we going white mask? Paimon thinks it's better for us to rest for tomorrow."

"So you're saying you don't want me to buy you food, Paimon?"

"Eh, what are you talking about, Paimon never said that! Now that Paimon thinks about it, it's only midday, so we can just rest later! Hehe, come on Lumine, it would be rude for us to decline white mask's invitation!"

Seeing how easily bribed her companion is, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Where are we going?"

"The best place to relax in Mondstadt."

Following next to him, they exited the inn and turned towards the building on their right.

"Cat's Tail?"

"Yup, best tavern in the city as far as I'm concerned."

"Why? Are their drinks the best the city has to offer?"

"Drinks? Probably not, Angel's Share is still more popular after all. The reason they're the best–"

Opening the door towards the rather empty tavern, she was greeted by the sight of multiple ball of fur scattered around.

"–is because they have cats."

'I can get behind that.'

The interior was quite spacious, and the cats have their own area. Of course, some of them chose to explore around the tavern.

"Ah, Yuu! Welcome back, and you're bringing a date! Oh, I'm so proud of you!"

'Date, huh? I wouldn't mind that.'

"Yes, yes, I'm also proud of myself. Anyway, Margaret, these two are Lumine and Paimon."

"Nice to meet you, Margaret."

"Paimon too!"

"Likewise, travelers. I'm Margaret, the owner of Cat's Tail. If Yuu starts causing problem, don't hesitate to report to me, okay?"

"You're not my mother Margaret."

Hearing his words, Margaret simply laughed it off. Shaking his head, Yuu continued.

"Anyway, are there any seats upstairs?"

"Yup, the floor's all yours. What would you like to order?"

"Three pizzas and three non-alcoholic Signature Mix for now."

"Understood. I'll bring them up, so get comfortable. Don't worry, I won't peek."

Hearing the teasing tone from the owner, Yuu couldn't hold back a groan.

'Oh, she's one of those types of people. I like her already.'

"Whatever you say Margaret. Say hello to Diona for me."

"Of course. I'm sure she'll be happy that there are others like you."

"Not that she'll say it."

"Haha, you know how she is."

After making their way to their seat, while Paimon was distracted by the black cat that's been following Yuu, Lumine couldn't help a teasing smile forming on her face as she asked the question she had in mind.

"So. Date huh? Is this an elaborate scheme to ask me out, Yuu?"

"Ugh, not you too Lumine…."

"I wouldn't mind, you know?"

That seems to get his attention.

"You don't even know much about me."

"And we can get to know each other better along the way."

"You don't even know my face."

"Then why don't you take your mask off?"

"We're not close enough for that."

"Aha, does that mean you're open to the idea?"

No answer. But looking closely at his body language, she can see a hint of nervousness in him. Perhaps he's not used to things like this?

"...maybe."

"Ah, ah, ah. It's a yes or no question, Yuu."

"Ugh, fine. Yes. I'll be lying if I say I'm not interested."

'He's really not used to this, huh. Oho, this would be so much fun. So many things I could tease him with.'

"See? That wasn't so hard was it?."

"Harder than you'd think, miss I-have-tons-of-experience-in-romance."

"And how would you know that, hmm?"

"I'm not hearing a denial, which means what I'm saying is true, princess."

"A cheeky one aren't you? Well, you got me. I do have experience in this sort of thing. Much more than you, clearly."

"And pray tell, what gave it away?"

This sort of banter, the ones she used to experience everyday when her brother was around, the little things that she's taken for granted, oh how she misses this.

'Don't worry brother, I'll definitely find you. And maybe, just maybe, I don't have to be alone.'

Perhaps she'll be having another companion on her journey.