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Viktor lets out a satisfied sigh and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand after gulping down his booze.
“Ah, alcohol after work sure is splendid!” He comments, earning offhand responses from his co-workers. On his side, Luke, whose duty is to guard the entrance door of the Goth Grand Hotel, takes a swig of his own drink. On the other side of the table, Lyudmila is munching on her snacks, while Mikhail’s mug is already half-empty.
They’re just exhausted, Viktor’s certain of it. As someone who merely spends his days being glared at by the nuns in the cathedral, Viktor is no less tired than them. But once the alcohol kicks in, the boring atmosphere between them would melt and get replaced by drunken gossips and laughter. It’s always been like that, anyway, since this isn’t their first time hanging out together.
Thus, Viktor speaks again. “It’s a shame that we can only visit Angel’s Share whenever the owner’s away.”
“It’s not like we’re banned to come here even if he’s around,” Mikhail points out.
Hearing his words, Viktor pauses and rethinks—well, that’s essentially true. People in Mondstadt have no qualms in showing their distrust towards the Fatui, but they know better than to seek trouble by giving them poor service in the business world.
However, the owner of this renowned tavern seems to be an entirely different case. Just like what Mikhail has said, the redhead has never attempted to kick them out whenever they were looking for a good drink or two. He’s never jeered at them either, for he’s always been a taciturn person.
But.
The wordless, death glower that he’d often send behind their backs is too intense that they had a hard time enjoying themselves. Even if they chose a secluded table on the second floor, the redhead would occasionally monitor them upstairs under the pretense of cleaning the tables. Hence, coming here whenever Charles is on shift has always been a better choice for them.
“Hmph. Talk about discrimination,” Luke gives a bitter remark. “What kind of owner who glares at his own customers, even if we’re from the Fatui? He shouldn’t forget that we’re here to give him more money!”
Lyudmila frowns and fidgets slightly in her seat. “Are… are you sure we can badmouth him here? People might hear us…”
“Heh, they can eavesdrop all they want. We’re not here to cause a mess, are we?” Mikhail shrugs nonchalantly.
Luke adds smugly, “Besides, we currently have two Harbingers here in Mondstadt. Who would dare to pick a fight with us?”
“Two?” Lyudmila tilts her head to the side. “I wonder what they’re doing here. Must be due to something important that only the higher-ups know.”
Mikhail grunts, “Yeah. Probably for a meeting or something.”
“If it’s for a meeting, then Sir Pantalone must be involved,” Viktor snaps his finger. He knows his answer is the most logical one; although Sir Pantalone is mainly busy with managing Snezhnaya’s economic policies, he is also assigned to watch over the flow of Fatui’s business in Mondstadt. It shouldn’t be strange for him to be here, albeit occasionally.
“That is obvious,” Luke waves a hand. Then, excitement grows in his tone. “Ahem, but I bet that all of you can’t guess who the other Harbinger is! I was blessed to see him in flesh once more when he checked into the hotel this morning! Hah, I’ve never been this grateful to be stationed there!”
Mikhail, Lyudmila, and Viktor exchange a rather wry glance with one another, but then decide to humor Luke.
“Oh, no, we really have no idea! Is it Sir Pulcinella? Wait, maybe it’s Sir Dottore!” Mikhail exclaims in faux desperation.
“Sir Pierro, Sir Capitano, Madam Sandrone…” Viktor flatly counts with his fingers, a bored expression on his face, prompting an unimpressed Luke to interject him.
“You’re just trying to list all of the Harbingers, aren’t you?!” He berates heatedly.
Lyudmila exhales. “Come on, Luke. You’re also being too obvious here—the only Harbinger who could make you this excited is Sir Tartaglia, no doubt.”
Luke clears his throat and crosses his arms stubbornly. “Don’t word it that way, it sounds weird. I merely respect and admire him, that’s all. I mean, have you not seen him in action with your own eyes?! The way he effortlessly used four different weapons on the battlefield! The way he rendered his enemies useless in seconds! He really lives up to his name as the most dangerous Harbinger in the battlefield, and may I remind you that he’s the youngest—“
“Pft, I don’t know if you idolize him or just straight up have a crush on him.” Mikhail mockingly inserts his pinky finger into his ear. At that, Luke almost blows up, a vein popping on his forehead.
“How dare you accuse me of having a romantic feeling towards Sir Childe!” He slams his hands on the table. “As I said before, it’s called admiration. I don’t want to be with him, but I aspire to become like him.”
In unison, Mikhail, Viktor, and Lyudmila bring their drinks to their mouth, all the while giving Luke a silent, judging look. This, of course, draws another displeased reaction out of the man.
“Do not give me that look!” He snaps. “Fine, then. We need to settle this fairly in order to maintain our in-group harmony.”
“What the heck are you talking about?”
Luke ignores Viktor and continues, “I believe that all of you are judging me due to having your own favored Harbinger.”
Mikhail sips on his drink and huffs. “That’s not necessarily true. I do acknowledge that Sir Childe possesses incredible skills. What is being judged here is your fanboy behavior, Luke.”
A constipated expression crawls up Luke’s face. “I am in no way a fanboy!” He protests, before pausing to comprehend Mikhail’s prior claim. “Hold on a second. You said you acknowledge Sir Childe as well.”
“That, I did.” Mikhail squints his eyes. “Your point?”
Out of habit, Luke clears his throat again and turns his face away. “Which… part of him do you like most?”
Viktor is this close to choke on his drink, Lyudmila’s face is red, and Mikhail looks like he wants to smash his mug to the floor and bring the entire tavern down with him. “Do you really have to phrase it like that?!” He chides vehemently. “How do you even expect me to answer that?!”
“Tone it down, Mikhail. I’d appreciate it if you don’t cause further misunderstandings,” Luke holds up a hand calmly.
“YOU CAUSED IT!!!”
Luke pays no heed to Mikhail who is now gripping the edge of the table while breathing heavily. “Well, as you wish, allow me to revamp my inquiry.” His face grows solemn when he speaks next, “Which side of Sir Childe that would make your heart run faster than the hilichurls’ flying cargo?”
“How is this question better than the previous one?!” Sweat rolls down Viktor’s temple.
“If I recall correctly, Luke’s a lightweight, isn’t he?” Lyudmila sighs after glancing at Luke’s mug. He hasn’t even drunk half of it, but in the dim lighting of the tavern, they can see that Luke’s face is slightly flushed. “He’s probably tipsy.”
“That explains his absurdness,” Mikhail grumbles.
“Hmph. Whatever do you mean by that? I’ll have you know that I’m completely sober,” Luke rebuts, drinking his booze to prove his point, however pointless. After a while, he inquires again, “…So, what’s your answer?”
Mikhail makes a face, “We’re still at it?!”
Luke snorts. “If you don’t want to answer, then I will.”
“…Why didn’t you decide so from the start?”
“Well, then! I shall reiterate my reasons for favoring Sir Childe out of all Harbingers!” Luke thrusts a hand to the air. “However, I feel the need to remind all of us that all of the Harbingers are chosen by Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa of the Zapolyarny Palace, so of course, without a doubt, they’re also a bunch of astounding individuals—“
“Get to the point already!” Viktor interjects in irritation.
“Right! Ahem!” Luke coughs into his fist. “First of all, Sir Childe masters multiple weapons. He is a fearless warrior at heart—something that can’t be achieved by ordinary mortals.”
“We already knew that. Next,” Mikhail says dismissively.
Luke seems to take this as a challenge. “Second of all!” He raises his voice. “He…”
“He…?” Lyudmila prompts.
“He…is good at doing household chores?”
“…”
“…”
“…”
This time, Mikhail is the one who releases an ahem. “That’s… quite unexpected, but how is that more admirable than, say, Sir Dottore’s expertise in machinery or Sir Pantalone’s vast economic knowledge?”
Luke looks mildly offended by this. “Yeah, but can they clean a house?”
“…” Mikhail’s left eyebrow twitches. “That’s not—damn it, my point is, you shouldn’t mention skills that us normal folks can do!”
The other man doesn’t receive his words very kindly and jumps up from his seat. “WELL, CAN YOU CLEAN A HOUSE?!”
Mikhail rises to his feet as well, “WELL, CAN YOU???”
“For Tsaritsa’s sake, can’t both of you take it easy?!” Viktor hurriedly urges them to sit again and plants his hands on either side of his waist, like a mother scolding two sulking children. “Are you asking to be kicked out?!”
Both Luke and Mikhail let out a growl, refusing to regard each other for the time being. They proceed to consume their drinks in silence, the air around them heavy with conflict, albeit childish.
Feeling quite bothered by this, Lyudmila chews her lower lip and voices out her thoughts, “Um, I think we really shouldn’t be comparing Her Majesty’s Harbingers like this. All of them are at unattainable height, anyway. Let’s just agree to disagree, yes?”
“That is not possible,” Luke refuses firmly. “My admiration isn’t only limited to Sir Childe’s capabilities, but also the way he treats his subordinates. A new recruit once told me that working under Sir Childe is much more preferable than Sir Scaramouche, for instance. Sir Childe cooked for them in many of their expeditions! Heck—an agent even told me that he had a friendly bet with him!”
Viktor can’t help but feel a twinge of envy. How lucky they are to have such wonderful work experiences? He was sent here to work under Lady Signora as a diplomat’s assistant, but he has yet to receive any orders. Mondstadt being a fairly boring city doesn’t help, either.
Huh. This is why he prefers working under Sir Capitano!
Mikhail then exhales. “Hmph. Now that’s a fair point,” he relents, though without looking at Luke.
Pleased by Mikhail’s acquiescence, Luke says again, “That’s not all! It’s also due to one seemingly mundane fact, but is actually crucial for us guys!”
This piques Viktor’s interest. “Alright, what is it?”
Luke clenches his fists and throws his head to the side with his eyes closed, his face all scrunched up as though he’s in a deep, inconceivable agony. “His good looks!”
At that, Mikhail and Viktor instantly mimick Luke’s reaction, as if they’ve heard such an unacceptable fact. Lyudmila lets out a puzzled eh?! upon seeing her conflicted co-workers.
“Erm… can someone enlighten me why this is a huge deal?” She asks hesitantly. Of course, her innocuous question prompts the three guys to snap their necks rapidly towards the clueless woman.
“You don’t understand!” Viktor yowls. “On a second thought, why don’t you understand?!”
“Yeah! It’s such a good point that I must agree with Luke this time!” Mikhail admits in despair. Their responses only make Lyudmila be more confused.
“Um… I’m sorry?”
“Answer me, Lyudmila,” Luke folds his arms across his chest. “Objectively speaking, is Sir Childe an attractive man?”
Lyudmila doesn’t have a single clue of where this conversation would go, so she indulges him with an honest, if not shy answer, “Y-yes.”
The guys simultaneously stiffen. Luke then fires another question, “How would you define ‘attractive’ on him?”
The woman diplomat swallows, “I-I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say this, but… like… the handsome, pretty boy kind of attractive?”
The guys begin to ooze depressed auras out of their bodies at her answer, to which Lyudmila adds in panic, “AH! B-but that’s just my humble opinion! I mean, my female co-workers who have met him in person thought that Sir Childe is quite sexy, but some of them pay more attention to his... what did they say again? Oh, yeah, his cute smile, or something like that—“ When the guys start to collectively asphyxiate, Lyudmila shrieks, “Oh, dear Tsaritsa! Comrades, are you okay?!”
“Ugh, Lyudmila,” Mikhail taps Lyudmila’s shoulder with trembling hands as he attempts to compose himself, “That’s what we meant. One of Sir Childe’s unbeatable charms is his attractiveness. This weapon of his is way deadlier than any swords, for he could effortlessly enamor any women he desires!”
“Indeed!” Luke nods vigorously. “No single men would ever deny their innate desire to become popular with women! The fact that Sir Childe is able to do that much deserves our acknowledgment!” He pauses, before quickly clarifies, “Not that I’ve never acknowledged him in the first place!”
It might sound too crude, but Viktor can’t bring himself to disagree. Later, he’d probably blame this on the alcohol that is starting to intoxicate his mind, but right now, he believes that Luke speaks nothing but the truth.
To men like Viktor, attractiveness isn’t only about looks. Sir Childe is attractive in a way that would make anyone turn their heads twice in his direction; most likely due to his strong presence and status. Of course, being blessed with good genes is like the icing on the cake.
After all, Sir Childe’s popularity with the ladies is no joke; he once attended an annual Fatui ceremony in Snezhnaya, where all Fatui members were gathered to receive yearly blessings from the Tsaritsa. The symbolic act was represented by the Harbingers, who would take turns to kneel before Her Majesty and declare their loyalties until death.
When it was Sir Childe’s turn, Viktor wasn’t that dense to not notice that most women in the palace had their eyes glued to his figure. Even during the after-party, Sir Childe would be swarmed by many subordinates—men included—thanks to his rather friendly nature.
That was then, but in the present time, Viktor also has proof. He rarely leaves his post inside the cathedral, but that is not to say that he has never taken a small break outside if his boredom reaches its peak. Today, he’s happened to overhear some girls giggling about spotting a hot, tall, ginger-haired man near the Goth Grand Hotel only to get disappointed at the possibility of him being a Fatui member.
What a bunch of hypocrites, Viktor thinks. Yet, having normal folks compliment him despite suspecting his association with the Fatui proves how influential Sir Childe is!
“So, how is it, Lyudmila?” Luke shifts his attention back to the woman, “Do you now understand our feelings?”
“One thing that I understand is that all of you have reached a new level of desperation…”
“That aside,” Mikhail brushes her off, “Have you heard the recent gossip regarding Sir Childe’s relationship with the mysterious traveler?”
“Traveler?” Viktor straightens his posture when a blonde-haired girl with a white outfit pops inside his mind. The same girl whom he had persuaded into joining the Fatui several times. He wonders if they’re talking about the same traveler here.
“The one who intervened with the Stormterror incident, huh?” Luke grunts.
“They were also involved in the Rites of Parting incident and tried to interfere with Sir Childe’s mission, or so I’ve heard,” Lyudmila adds, earning a scoff from Luke.
“What’s their deal? Why do they keep on trying to steal the limelight from the Fatui?”
Wanting to get back to the initial topic, Viktor then turns to the man beside Lyudmila, “Mikhail, when you said relationship,” he starts, “What kind of relationship?”
Mikhail intertwines his fingers, both of his thumbs brushing against one another repeatedly. His sudden quietude creates an air of suspense around them, which then dissipates once he opens his mouth and mumbles, “The romantic kind.”
Luke is quick to react. “Impossible!” He blurts out while slamming his palms on the table, rattling the utensils and mugs, “It’s utterly illogical—why would Sir Childe be in a romantic relationship with an enemy? This might be a mere rumor, but it could fall under defamation. Sir Childe would never betray Her Majesty like this!”
Mikhail frowns and elaborates defensively, “Hey, if you want to blame anybody, blame my fellow diplomats in Liyue. We diplomats keep in touch with each other, and in their latest letter, they claimed that they had seen Sir Childe and the traveler going out together in the streets of Liyue countless times.”
“How come no one tried to stop them?” Luke protests.
“Are you hearing yourself? Sir Childe might be friendly at times, but he’s still a Harbinger. Those who are lower than him must not have a say in his private life,” Mikhail retorts, his frown deepening. From the way Luke and Mikhail are glowering at each other, another fight is most likely to occur soon.
“Then, someone should’ve reported this to the other Harbingers.”
“Heh, don’t underestimate the Harbingers. I’m sure this matter has long reached their ears.”
“How can you be so certain? This is no laughing matter. What if Sir Childe is being played by the traveler?”
“As his fanboy, you should’ve known that Sir Childe is not a fool!”
“Stop calling me his fanboy! I’m just—“
“Excuse me, would you guys kindly shut up?”
“Huh?!” Mikhail and Luke immediately throw an indignant glare towards the person who dares to interrupt their argument, but both of them then freeze at the unexpected sight that welcomes them.
The voice doesn’t belong to Viktor or Lyudmila; it comes from a familiar blonde girl who is standing right beside their table since God knows when.
To Luke, she is a weird person who would usually stop by the Goth Grand Hotel to smother him with questions. On the surface, he’d act grumpy and cautious, but he would never admit that having a company is nicer than just standing alone there like a statue.
To Mikhail and Lyudmila, she is the girl who would often startle them with her abrupt presence near the ancient Waypoint. Up until this day, they still have no idea how she’s the only person who’s able to operate that mechanism, but she isn’t called a mysterious traveler for no reason.
To Viktor, she is the exact person that came across his mind just seconds ago. She doesn’t look any different from their last encounter, and he inwardly wonders why he could have such a photographic memory of her appearance. Maybe because she’s the only one who has never given him a dirty look in the cathedral. Maybe because she’s not as boring as other Mondstadters. Maybe because—
Viktor shakes his head. He must not get distracted; first, they probably should respond to her interruption and ask her what she wants.
“Oh, it’s you, traveler,” he initiates the first move, “As you can see, we’re quite busy here, so what do you want?”
Instead of answering directly, the traveler huffs and drags the nearest chair to join them, receiving perplexed stares from the others. “Lumine,” with elbows propped on the table, she lazily places her chin atop of her palm, “my name’s Lumine.”
Now, that’s news for them. Still, everyone fails to comprehend her true motive for telling them her name, so they end up struggling to form a proper response at that.
Not liking how everyone is suddenly silent, the blonde pouts. “Hey, why is everyone silent now? I wanna hear some more gossips too, y’know…”
Someone none other than Luke clears his throat for the umpteenth time that day, and Viktor’s starting to suspect that he has a sore throat. “We were talking about Fatui’s top-secret information, so outsiders like you do not have the right to listen,” he lies.
“Top secret?” Lumine parrots back with a seemingly innocent blink.
“That’s right. That’s why we can’t disclose them to you,” Viktor plays along, before adding slyly, “Unless you decide to join Fatui, that is.”
Instead of humoring him like she usually does, Lumine shrugs her shoulders. “I think I’ll pass. I already know a lot of things about Childe, anyway.”
Luke perks up upon hearing his favorite Harbinger being mentioned by an enemy. “So you’ve been eavesdropping on us!” He points an accusing finger at her.
“You guys were being too loud. That’s why I told you to shut up,” Lumine defends herself, before curling her lips into a smile. “Besides, I find it embarrassing for someone who claims to be his fanboy to have such basic knowledge about him. I’m only trying to save you some face here.”
She’s clearly targeting Luke, that much Luke realizes. Hence he’s quick to make a rebuttal, “I never said that I’m his fanboy! And how dare you said that my knowledge of Sir Childe is basic?!”
Lumine sighs in mock disappointment. “But I really meant it. Your knowledge probably won’t hold a candle to mine.” Her golden eyes slide over Luke’s direction playfully, “After all, I can say that I’m quite… close to him, unlike you.”
At that, Mikhail gasps and wonders to himself, “So that rumor might be true!”
Luke, however, is less interested in the rumor and is more focused on proving Lumine wrong, “I have done my researches, and I have my own resources. As a loyal guard to the Goth Grand Hotel, I also have the privilege to dig much information from everyone before they could enter the place!”
“Is that so?” Lumine hums while absently tapping the table with a finger. With a smile that is never absent from her face—which somehow reminds Viktor of Sir Childe himself—she then asks, “I’ll give you an easy question, then. Tell me about his hobby.”
All eyes then rest on Luke’s sweating figure. “I…” He gulps. “I have no right to snoop into Sir Childe’s personal information, so I’ve never attempted to find out about it.”
“But you knew that he could do some decent housework,” Lyudmila points out without reading the situation, and Luke looks like he wants to burst into pieces right at that moment.
“That’s different! I heard it from someone, so that doesn’t count as me purposefully prying into Sir Childe’s life!”
Lumine frowns. “But it’s just a hobby. It’s nothing too personal.”
“…” Luke presses his lips into a thin line as his co-workers stare at him unhelpfully. But Luke isn’t Luke if he doesn’t try to cover his mistakes in any way. “Hmph! Easy for you to say that. To us, Sir Childe is still a Harbinger. We’re in no way equal in status. Some Harbingers dislike nosey subordinates and wouldn’t hesitate to punish us.”
“Didn’t you say that Sir Childe is friendlier than other Harbingers?” Mikhail suddenly asks, to which Luke flinches in his seat. They share a brief, aggravated gaze with each other, and it’s clear that they have no intentions to resolve things between them anytime soon.
“Watch what you’re saying! His friendliness isn’t an excuse to be disrespectful to him!”
“Alright, alright, that’s enough.” Lumine waves a hand. “It’s obvious that you don’t know the answer to my question.” Before Luke could make up another excuse, Lumine inquires, “But, as his fanboy, surely you’d like to know one of his hobbies?”
Luke swallows and turns his head to the side. “…I’m not his fanboy,” he repeats weakly. “But it’d be an honor for me to learn more things about Sir Childe.”
Lumine’s smile widens. “Then—“
Viktor has his own suspicion of where this is going, so he interjects her before she could say a thing, “Don’t fall for it, Luke. She’s going to ask us to give her information about Fatui in return.”
However, much to Viktor’s horror, Lumine doesn’t try to hide that fact. “You got me,” she grins unabashedly. “You see, even if I try to interrogate all of you, there’s no guarantee that you guys would know what’s happening between the higher-ups.”
It’s the truth, because Viktor was the one who had admitted that to her when they talked casually in the cathedral. Now, he hates himself for being carried away in the past.
“So what’s your point?” Mikhail snaps. “What do you want from us?”
“Information. That doesn’t change,” Lumine answers unceremoniously. “My questions are quite easy, though, and they have nothing to do with Fatui’s top secret or anything. Not that low-ranks like you would know, anyway!” She chirps out, pretending to be oblivious of the impact of her jabs.
A vein appears on Mikhail’s forehead. “Stop making fun of us!” He barks out. “And who would even agree to that?!”
“This guy!” Lumine cheerfully points at Luke, who in turn points at himself in confusion while asking, me? “As everyone’s representation, I’ll only make a deal with him. Here’s how it goes: for every information that you’ll give me, I’ll tell you one, random fun fact about Childe in return. Sounds fair, isn’t it?”
It isn’t fair, Viktor realizes several seconds later. The traveler has the advantage to control what kind of information she’d get depending on her questions, but on the other hand, Luke is in a position where he can only accept any kind of information from Lumine. What if Lumine decides to tell him useless facts, such as the color of Sir Childe’s hair? It’s only fair if Lumine allows Luke to specifically ask something about Childe in exchange!
With this in mind, Viktor tries to warn Luke, “Oi, she—“
“Alright,” Luke suddenly agrees without letting Viktor finish his words, to which everyone gapes. “I agree. But you mustn’t break the condition that you made yourself, or else!”
That’s not the concern here! Viktor wants to wail, but it’s already too late. Just like Lumine, Luke also can’t go back on his own words. For now, he could merely watch the outcome of this unforeseen agreement.
“Rest assured, that won’t happen,” the traveler nods. “Then, let’s start with the first question!”
The Fatui members then wait for her with bated breath.
“Where is he?”
At that simple inquiry, they let out a huh? in unison.
“Do you know where he is now?” Lumine repeats impatiently. “As the guard of the hotel, you should know whether he’s left the place or not.”
“I… I have no idea,” Luke stammers, and hastily adds when Lumine narrows her eyes at him, “I’m not lying! I haven’t seen him coming out of the hotel today, but I’m not the one who’s guarding the post right now, so of course I can’t monitor the entrance.”
Lumine hums and rubs her chin, “That makes sense.”
“That’s common sense!”
“Don’t talk back to me, do you want his fun fact or not?” The blonde threatens albeit without any real heat, but it effectively shuts Luke up. “Okay, let me think… hmm, I guess I’ll tell you about his hobby.”
Luke gazes at her expectantly, but Lumine merely stares back at him impassively, “He loves ice-fishing. Okay, let’s move on to the next quest—“
“Can you at least let me process that first?!” Luke protests. “Can’t we appreciate how unique his hobby is?!”
“It’s a Snezhnayan thing, isn’t it?” Lumine sighs. “It’s probably unique, yes, but I don’t have time to listen to your gush—“
“No, no, you don’t understand,” Luke cuts her off again, “Contrary to popular beliefs, not all Snezhnayans fancy such an activity! I heard that ice-fishing is very tiring, and it requires extreme patience! Sir Childe must be very—“
“Next question,” Lumine says, ignoring Luke’s little rambling in the background, “What is his room number and where is it located?”
Luke pauses his rambling and then exclaims, “Aha! Those are two questions!”
Lumine frowns. “But I used ‘and’ as a conjunction, so I basically merged two questions into one.”
Is that really how it works? Luke thinks to himself, before shaking his head. “Nevertheless,” he firmly says, “Asking such things is an invasion of Sir Childe’s privacy.”
“Hmm, hotels indeed have that policy,” Lumine acquiesces, “But emergency cases are exceptions, right? Actually, I have an unfinished business with him, and it’s very urgent that our meeting can’t be postponed.”
“Do you take me as a fool? Your reasons are hardly convincing.” Luke huffs. “If it’s that important, then you would’ve been searching for him now rather than sitting so leisurely here.”
“…I’ll tell you everything about his younger brother,” Lumine offers flatly.
“…” Luke’s face hardens, before he finally replies solemnly, “Deal.”
At that, Mikhail almost falls from his chair, “Is that how far your loyalty goes?!”
Under everyone’s disbelieving gaze, Luke passes Childe’s room information to Lumine with a small slip of paper, and in exchange, everyone gets to hear Lumine’s little adventure with Teucer back in Liyue.
Afterward, Luke spends a whole five minutes spouting poetry about Childe’s unconditional love towards his family members, which naturally goes disregarded by everyone.
“We’re not done here,” Lumine then reminds a sniffling Luke. “As for my next question…” She smiles widely, “Would you tell me about one of Tsaritsa’s goals?”
Viktor slams his fist to the table. “Wait a second! You said you wouldn’t ask anything about Fatui’s top secrets, didn’t you?!” He cries out.
Lumine fixates her gaze to Luke, “I’ll tell you about Childe’s address—“
“Now you’re taking it way too far!” This time, Mikhail is the one who hollers at her. “Luke, don’t be swayed! Your loyalty to Her Majesty is at stake here!”
To his dismay, Luke seems to be considering it by muttering repeatedly to himself.
“Lyudmila!” Mikhail whirls around to grasp Lyudmila by the shoulders and shakes her. “Say something! Luke’s unable to think clearly right now!”
With Lyudmila being shaken in the background, Lumine laughs unapologetically. “Calm down. I was joking, don’t worry.”
“Well, that was a bad joke,” Mikhail grumbles and stops bothering a dizzy Lyudmila.
“Sorry, it’s because I’m running out of questions,” Lumine admits, sounding genuine. “Hmm, you know what? I’ll find my own way to investigate your organization later. For now, I’ll tell you anything about Childe for free.” She winks at Luke.
From the way Luke’s face brightens, Viktor’s certain that his co-worker is unaware of the abnormality of the situation. Why does the traveler decide to give up on acquiring information about the Fatui that easily? Furthermore, what benefit would she even get for feeding Luke’s fanboy side?
Truly, the traveler is a literal enigma!
“R-really?! Can I also ask anything?” Luke asks, but then gets embarrassed at his overly-eager reaction. “Ahem! I mean, I’m fine with hearing some random facts about him again, if you don’t mind…”
Lumine arches a brow, “Are you sure?”
“…Yes,” Luke replies hesitantly.
“You’re really going to accept any random facts about him without complaining?”
Luke is starting to get impatient, so he raises his voice slightly, “Yes! Yes, now please start.”
“Alright. You asked for this,” Lumine warns lightheartedly. “Where should I start…” she muses out loud, and blinks, “Oh, I know.”
“W-What is it?” Luke gulps.
That earns him a demure smile from Lumine. “He once came too fast when he was drunk—“
Mikhail, who’s drinking the remaining of his booze, spurts it out to the side and yells angrily, “WE DON’T NEED TO KNOW THAT!!!”
“Ah? Is that no good? It was a one-time thing, though. Usually, he’d have enough stamina to go for five rounds—“
“CAN’T YOU JUST CHANGE THE TOPIC?!”
“So picky,” Lumine complains. “Then, how about this? When we went to a Liyuean restaurant, he struggled so much with the chopsticks for a whole hour that the staffs were secretly laughing behind his back.”
At that, Lyudmila holds back a chortle by covering her face with her hands. “Ah, I’m sorry. I-I feel bad for laughing at our superior…”
Lumine gives her a gentle smile, “Come on, it’s fine. He might be a Harbinger, but he’s still a human just like all of you.”
“‘Just like all of you?’ Heh, are you not included?” Viktor jocosely asks, but when Lumine’s smile turns cryptic, a shiver runs down Viktor’s spine. Don’t tell me…
However, before Viktor could make a preposterous guess inside his head, Lumine distracts him. “Ah, but, I do think his size down there is too ginormous for a human, and it never fails to make me feel sore the next day—“
“TOO MUCH INFORMATION!!!” Mikhail roars.
The blonde shyly hides her mouth with a hand and averts her gaze to the side as red blooms on her cheeks, “Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.”
“Aren’t you just lacking common sense???”
“Mikhail, take a deep breath,” Lyudmila kindly massages his back, to which Mikhail unconsciously follows her suggestion. He doesn’t want to end up like Luke who has yet to come out of his shock due to his inability to receive such indecent ‘fun facts’ about his idol. “It’d be bad for us if Sir Childe found out that you were screaming at his lover…” Lyudmila adds.
Mikhail scoffs. “Nonsense. There’s no way he’d pop out of nowhere—“
“Lumine?”
Everyone, save for Lumine, instantly tenses in their seats and robotically turns their heads to the source of the voice. There, a ginger-haired man stands nearby the stairs with both hands buried inside his pockets.
“Childe?” Lumine widens her eyes and hastily makes her way to him as Childe does the same. They meet each other in the middle and Viktor half-expects them to hug each other like normal couples, but—
“Ow!” Childe rubs the sore spot on his arm, right where Lumine has punched him, and gives her his best puppy eyes. “Ojou-chan, we haven’t met each other for so long, and this is how you treat me? So cruel…”
“You told me that you’re going back to Snezhnaya in your last letter,” Lumine huffs. “Yet, here you are. What a liar. I bet this has something to do with your mission.”
Childe laughs sheepishly, “No, err, well, it’s nothing like that. I was the one who volunteered to handle some matters here, and they agreed.” He scratches the side of his face abashedly, “I miss my family, but when you said that you’re going to be in Mondstadt in your last letter…”
In her silence, Lumine puts two and two together, before whispering, “Childe, you…”
Childe smiles warmly at her and tucks her hair behind her ear, “I miss you the most, Lumine.”
Before Viktor could prepare himself for what’s about to happen, Lumine yanks him down by the collar and stands on her tiptoes to crash her lips against his with a satisfied moan. Childe’s gloved fingers immediately find their way to her nape and waist, pulling her closer as they share a rather heated kiss, as though to compensate for the lost time.
Beside them, there aren’t any available souls on the second floor, so the ‘lucky’ ones who get to witness the impromptu show are, of course, the temporarily forgotten Fatui members.
Mikhail looks more depressed than ever as he begins to mumble about getting a girlfriend, Lyudmila is too embarrassed to even glance in the couple’s direction, and Luke is too engrossed by Childe’s presence to even care about their public display of affection.
“I-It’s really… S-Sir Childe…” Luke whimpers to himself, blinded by admiration.
Lips still attached to Lumine’s, Childe opens an eye to regard his subordinates and decides to withdraw with a soft, smacking sound. “Hm? What’s this? What have you been doing with them, kotenok?”
“Oh, them? We had a great bonding moment, that’s all,” Lumine smiles, and Viktor silently thanks her for not reporting the truth. Who knows what Sir Childe would do if he ever found out that they were gossiping about him?
“Bonding moment?” Childe repeats in suspicion.
Lumine quickly pecks her lover’s mouth to ease him, “Yes. You’re lucky to have them, you know that? They’re very loyal, and I can tell they respect their Harbingers a lot,” she teasingly glances at the nervous Fatui members.
“…Alright?” Childe responds with a confused smile.
Then, Lumine smoothly alters his focus elsewhere. “Why don’t we also bond somewhere else, hm? I haven’t shown you how much I miss you,” she murmurs by his ear without breaking eye contact with the Fatui members. It’s almost as if she’s telling them to not worry and leave the rest to her.
Goosebumps involuntarily break on Viktor’s skin. She’s so sly that it terrifies him—he can’t really tell what she’s thinking, so all he could do from the moment she joined them is merely guess, guess, and guess!
Childe smirks down at her suggestively, “Hmm, that’s not a bad idea. Why don’t you wait downstairs then, sweetheart? I’ll catch up in a moment.”
“Okay. Don’t take too long,” she squeezes his hands and proceeds to descend the stairs.
Once she’s out of sight, Childe gives his full attention to his subordinates and smiles. “You know, she seems to be in a good mood, so I’m going to assume that all of you did a good job for accompanying her.”
The Fatui members bow at his praise, although the truth is far more absurd than Childe’s assumption.
“Thank you, Sir Childe, we were just doing our job,” Mikhail answers in a slightly strained voice.
Childe laughs in an easy manner, “Still, a little reward won’t hurt. Put the bills under my name, yeah? I’ll pay for everything tonight.”
A series of thank-yous is then heard from his subordinates, with Luke being the loudest. Childe nods and reassures them that it’s nothing, before pivoting around while shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Oh, right,” he suddenly halts in his steps, jolting the Fatui members. “My woman is actually a rather private person, so the fact that she decided to reveal our relationship in front of all of you must mean something.”
Viktor swallows at his implication. Does that mean that… the traveler actually trusts them? But why?
Childe continues, “So, everything that has happened tonight will stay here, and only here.” He coldly glances over his shoulder, his blue eyes gleaming icily, concealing a deadly promise lest someone dares to defy his command, “Do I make myself clear?”
The responses Childe gets afterward are ridiculously quick. “Y-Yes, sir!”
When his footsteps gradually subside out of their hearing range, the Fatui members release the breath that they’ve unknowingly held, and they have never felt more exhausted than this particular night. They decide to end the night without ordering new drinks, for they refuse to spend more money under Childe’s name.
Like four soulless zombies, they walk back to their respective places, all the while wondering the exact thing on their minds:
What—
What on Teyvat has just happened?