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Childe was definitely not stalking his love riv- adeptus. The adeptus. Right.
He had just happened to walk past Wangshu Inn on his way back from doing Harbinger Duties (read: trying to convince Ningguang that whatever transpired in Liyue was simply a… miscalculation). It was purely coincidental that the adeptus resided there.
Never mind the fact that his meeting took place in Liyue Harbor, where his accommodation was, and that Wangshu Inn was nowhere near any of his places of interest but details.
He tapped his foot against the wooden floor as he waited for the lift, almond tofu in hand.
According to his sources, the adeptus resided on the top balcony of the inn and would only meet with humans if they offered him almond tofu. Coincidentally, Childe had some spare almond tofu lying around and it would be a waste to just… let it go uneaten. Therefore, he was… minimising food waste.
It’s not like he wanted to meet the adeptus and see what he was up against. That was ridiculous.
He was just going to put the almond tofu on the balcony and leave immediately.
Right.
The lift arrived, snapping Childe out of his thoughts. He cleared his throat, feeling embarrassed for some reason (as if he was caught doing something wrong and illegal which was a surprise as he’d always been doing wrong and illegal things) and casually strolled into the lift.
There were no other occupants with him, but he still felt as if he was being watched. He was willing to bet it was Zhongli, considering that the tip he got from his subordinate was way too specific and he was the one who planted the idea of love rivals and whatnot.
It was Zhongli’s own words, not his.
Again, it wasn’t explicitly said but Childe could read between the lines, being an accomplished Harbinger and all that.
Glaring at the open world and hoping that it would somehow reach Zhongli (who was indeed, hiding in the bushes somewhere but Childe didn’t need to know that), he exited the lift and made his way up the stairs that had no business being that… open.
If he was a lesser person, he would have slipped through the cracks. Alas, he was not so he didn’t. But someone else could. It was a hazard and the management should consider rectifying it.
Still busy contemplating the fact that he had almost fallen to his death due to something as ridiculous as poor stair designs, Childe failed to register that he had reached the top balcony and that his almond tofu offering had managed to attract his intended target.
“Why are you here?” A smooth voice asked from behind, causing Childe to turn around and inwardly curse.
There, standing imposingly despite being a few inches shorter than Childe, was the mysterious love riv- adeptus. The adeptus. Right.
“I happen to be passing by,” he answered, trying his best to look nonchalant.
Childe took a second to assess his opponent in front of him. Not in terms of battle, no. He had used up his Foul Legacy Transformation quota for the month. Archons knew he needed the transformation to go up against the man in front of him. He had heard tales of the Guardian Yaksha, the Conqueror of Demons after all.
He wasn’t looking for a fight when he wasn’t in his best condition. Maybe next month, when his body had had enough time to recover.
Back to pressing matters.
The adeptus had medium-length black hair with green tips, pale skin and okay-looking amber eyes. He was dressed in a white sleeveless collar shirt paired with dark purple pants and boots, showing off his arms and - were those… tattoos?
Childe personally thought that they were equally matched appearance-wise. The only advantage he had over the 2000-year old adeptus was perhaps the fact that the adeptus was only a bit taller than Lumine (Childe had prayed to the Tsaritsa - okay, maybe not the Tsaritsa considering that no one in Snezhnaya had any love left for her and she, them so perhaps… Barbatos - that Lumine was into guys who were way taller than her).
But then again, the Guardian Yaksha had tattoos. That was kind of hard to compete with.
Not that he was competing. Because they weren’t love rivals or anything. He wasn’t there to scope out the competition. There was no competition in the first place!
It was just Zhongli being his cunning, play-directing self.
The adeptus regarded him suspiciously at his prolonged silence, eyes narrowing as he took in the sight before him.
“You are the one who summoned Osial.”
There was no accusation in his tone. No hint of betrayal or anger or even fear. It was as if he was talking about something as mundane as the weather and not his attempted genocide.
Damn him and his cool demeanour.
Childe laughed in response, finding it pointless to deny. Instead, he extended the hand holding the plate of almond tofu, beckoning for the adeptus to take it.
The adeptus eyed him warily before taking the dish anyway.
“Poison would not be enough to kill me,” He said, staring Childe in the eyes as he took a bite.
That was such a power move. He was kind of impressed.
Childe raised his hands in mock surrender, as it to prove that no malicious intent was present in the making of the almond tofu. There was no intent, even, in the making of the almond tofu. It was just… made with no intent whatsoever.
Now that his mission of reducing food waste was accomplished and he had somehow managed to gain unwanted information that was not related to any sort of love rivalry, he didn’t know what to do.
Should he just nod his head in acknowledgement and leave the premises?
It didn’t feel quite right. It felt like the situation lacked something… dramatic.
Not that he needed any more drama in his life, with him being in a literal forbidden love, star-crossed lovers situation (if Lumine even felt the same way he did but he wouldn’t count on it. Not after that day… but she had promised to visit his home, hadn’t she? That had to count for something, right?).
“I’m… leaving,” He ended up saying, lamely.
The adeptus looked at him as if he was a fool (he might be right), and nodded as if he couldn’t care less.
In which, he really could’t care less. He didn’t care at all.
Why was he supposed to care? It wasn’t as if he saw Childe as a threat.
Unless… he didn’t know. Or he wasn’t even interested in Lumine in the first place and it was all a part of Zhongli’s Divine Schemes.
But what if he really didn’t see Childe as a threat, despite knowing?
He couldn’t let that happen. He was a Harbinger. He had to strike fear into other’s hearts. He’s pretty sure it’s in his job description somewhere.
Childe needed a suave one-liner that could simultaneously serve as his dramatic exit and also crack the cold and uncaring facade the adeptus was sporting. He couldn’t just leave on such an unsatisfying note. He would never have heard the end of it from Scaramouche!
He forced his brain cells to cooperate, knowing that he had limited time before anything else he said sounded awkward and off, considering that he had already announced his intention to leave. Fortunately, his brain cells didn’t need much convincing.
“I’ll send Lumine your regards.”
Nailed it, he thought as he turned around and swiftly left the balcony, not waiting for a response. He didn’t need to, not really. He had heard the adeptus’ warning growl loud and clear.
Childe smirked as he left Wangshu Inn, paying no attention to the surrounding winds that were gradually picking up. He knew the adeptus wouldn’t do anything drastic, not when there were innocent citizens milling about.
Was he playing with fire? Perhaps. It didn’t bother him, though. He was a Hydro user, after all.
As he made the trek back to Liyue Harbour, he couldn’t help but contemplate his next course of action. Now that he had somehow ended up declaring war (that wasn't even supposed to exist in the first place! Screw you, Rex Lapis!) on a 2000-year old adeptus, there was no way he was going to remain passive as he initially planned.
He had to scrap his original plan of waiting for her in Snezhnaya and be more proactive.
Maybe he should pay her a surprise visit one of these days. He had heard rumors that she was travelling back to Mondstadt while she figured out the logistics of entering Inazuma. Maybe he could take some time off and join her on her adventures like he had always wanted to. The other Harbingers were more than capable and with the influx of Fatui recruits, they wouldn’t need his help.
It’s settled, then. As soon as he tied up some loose ends, he’d take a short detour. He’d probably gather some things that Lumine liked along the way and maybe threaten every Fatui agent that dared to come in between them. Maybe he could cook up some dishes he learned during his stay in Liyue and buy her those vayuda turquoise chunks she'd been eying the last time they hung out before The Battle. It probably wouldn't be enough to earn her forgiveness and her trust once again, but he could start with atonement. He'll work his way up from there.
For the first time in ages, Childe finally had something to look forward to.