Chapter Text
“I do hope you aren’t too upset that I deceived you two; I found it to be more of a ‘the end justifies the means’ situation rather than one where I needed to flaunt moral superiority,” Kaeya shrugged as the pair made their way back to Mondstadt.
“Hey, no sweat off my back. Besides, seems like your kind of thing to do,” Lumine joked, lightly elbowing him in the side. “Paimon might take a bit more sweet-talking, though.” The two gave the fairy-like companion, who was flying ahead of them grumbling over her dashed fantasies of treasure, a good look before Kaeya softly laughed and turned to Lumine.
“Then please, let me make it up to her. Allow me to take you two to dinner and treat you to wine at the Angel’s Share.”
It had been three months since Lumine, Paimon, and Venti left for Liyue. The Rite of Descension was still well over a month away, and most of their exploring was actually just Venti leading Paimon and Lumine around by the noses.
“I can’t believe that man really went out of his way to drop off our payment at the Adventurers’ Guild in Mondstadt! He could have just waited to ask for help when he had the reward with him, you know!” Paimon huffed as they walked through the gates of the city, Lumine giving a wave to the knights at the entrance.
“To be fair, it was weird when he asked us to find his paintbrushes that were miles away from where we met him. If he didn’t originally take the path of least resistance by buying new brushes, I’m not sure why we would expect him to do that in any part of his life,” Lumine said, slightly rolling her eyes. “Well, it’s fine. We needed to come back here anyways. We should probably let Jean know about the uptick in Hilichurls coming closer to Liyue Harbor in case it starts happening around here.”
“Plus, we always have time for dandelion wine!” Venti laughed, already eager to go to the tavern. “The alcohol in Liyue really just doesn’t compare.”
Lumine greeted Katheryne, quietly parroting back “Ad Astra Abyssosque” before asking about any rewards left for their party.
“Have you gotten in touch with any of the Knights to let them know we’ll be back for a couple of days?” Venti asked as he all but herded the other two towards the Angel’s Share.
“Yeah, I sent a letter to Amber before we left Liyue Harbor. She should know that we’re arrivi-“
“LUMINE!”
Speak of the devil...
“Amber! It’s so good to see you again,” Lumine chuckled while the archer wrapped her in a hug.
“It’s so good to see you too! It’s always nice to have an honorary knight in town.”
“Aaaaand we’ll help out with whatever you all need,” Venti snickered, knowing all the work would fall onto Lumine.
“For the right price, of course!” Paimon added, thinking about how to get mora for apple vinegar cider.
“That’s so kind of you two to offer!” Amber smiled, not realizing the ulterior motives of the two. Lumine looked at them with a deadpan expression.
“Anyways, I wanted to speak with Jean about something. Is she around?”
“Jean is away on a commission and won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. Kaeya is in charge until then though if you’d like to talk with him instead.”
“Erm...”
“Erm?” Venti copied, a coy smile on his face.
“I mean...”
“You mean?” Amber tilted her head, large brown eyes piercing though Lumine’s soul. Or just large brown eyes simply making eye contact with a friend, Lumine couldn’t tell.
“I just think it’s something that Jean should be there for! Y’know, it’s not something that could be fixed in a day, and it’s not urgent.” Lumine recovered. “Besides weren’t we getting food? I’m pretty hungry after all that traveling.”
“Right!” Paimon shouted, flying in the direction of Diluc’s tavern, Venti running behind her.
“Oh, mind if I join? I haven’t had lunch yet and would love to hear about your travels. Plus, as a Knight of Favonius, it’s my duty to hear about what’s going on in the surrounding areas!”
During the walk over, Lumine gave Amber a run down of the ghost village they came across and the various characters in the Wangshu Inn, with Venti interrupting every once in awhile with a joke or a “fun anecdote” about Lumine accidentally knocking Paimon into a tree with her Anemo power.
“I can go into more detail about the political workings of Liyue once we sit down,” Lumine concluded, opening the door of the tavern. “Might take a bit-“
“Oh! Captain Kaeya!” Paimon exclaimed.
“Ah! Kaeya! You’re on duty right now; why are you here?”
Oh.
Kaeya.