Chapter Text
"Ugh, Paimons so sick of this gloomy weather! It's starting to feel like Tatarasanu all over again!" Paimon whines as she peers out the window. Across the thick glass panel, in an endless cycle, raindrops race one another.
Besides her, a robust radio outlines today's weather report, essentially the same report as yesterday, the day before that, and the day before that day, "Cloudy with 95% chance of rai—"
Lumine changes the channel, sick of hearing the same dull news for the sixth time.
"Cheer up, the rainfall died a little in the past few days and all storms will end eventually," Lumine reassures with what little positivity she has left, "When the rain dies out, I'll treat you to some sticky honey roast from Good Hunters."
Hearing the promise of good food, the little fairy instantly cheers up as she flies off the window ledge and circles around their best friend in an energetic manner.
"You're just the best!" she squeals in excitement as she embraces her arms intimately around Lumine, "Paimon's gonna have no choice but to hold you to your words then."
Lumine smiles knowing that her reassurance was more than effective. A warm fireplace sits cozily by the two, emitting a warm glow all around as its crackling drowns out the pitter-patter of the rain, the wind rattling against the window, and the occasional roar of thunder here and there. As cushy as it had been, it's unfitting for an adventurer anyhow. Lumine would much rather put herself to work in Sumeru's lush forests, taking up commissions or exploring what the region has to offer. Though she is the calmer and more patient one out of the two, getting cooped up in one place for too long can drive anyone restless. Looping through all channels twice and discovering nothing of interest, the radio is shut off to hush its obsessive rambling.
At first, it felt relaxing to finally have a well-deserved break from her normal routine. Instead of hacking enemies and solving mechanisms, Lumine and Paimon took time off for themselves--rearranging furniture, sleeping in, playing some TCG, or whatever they had pleased. However, having an idle body for too long naturally resulted in restlessness, and pretty soon, the vacation had lost its charm. Every day felt the same and blended into one another, ending up as distorted memories. Everything felt like it had taken place over a single day. A single day that stubbornly dragged on and on, refusing to end--like the Sabzeruz festival but without a magical cause.
Right now, Lumine would give anything for her usual schedule--fulfilling commissions, going on adventures, and exploring Sumeru's mysterious deserts. Dwelling on unproductivity, a sudden spark of inspiration strikes her and an abstract lightbulb jolts to life.
"Why don't we pay Nahida a visit?" Suggests Lumine, stars practically lighting up in her eyes.
The Dendro Archon had a lovely personality and was simply a joy to be around. Lumine hasn't run into her since Sumeru's artificial god incident so a check-up on her was much overdue. It'd be nice to see how she's doing after rightfully taking back control of Sumeru. She was a walking library, not just filled with nonfiction but also picture books, children's stories, and fables. With her wisdom, she would no doubt have good recommendations for passing the time in this bizarre weather. Either way, it's a win-win to see her.
"Oh! That's a great idea! Nahida is Paimon's favorit—," she sharply cuts herself off mid-sentence and corrects, "Second favorite, after you of course. You'll still be Paimon's favorite no matter how much food Nahida or anyone manages to bribe Paimon."
Lumine snorts as she gets ready to head out, "Is food all you ever think about?
"Hey! Paimon thinks about a lot of other things, and you know it! Like guiding you all throughout Teyvat!," Paimon pouts with both her arms crossed, giving Lumine the side-eye until she realizes Lumine is already well on her way out. "Hey, wait for Paimon!" She calls out.
She hops into a pair of cheerful rain boots, similar in color to her hair. Lumine pulls out a large, navy-blue umbrella from her near-bottomless hiking bag. Releasing the umbrella, its waterproof canopy flung gracefully as she stepped out. As the umbrella extends, a beautiful interior design reveals itself--vibrant pink sakura blooms sprinkled all across a pretty plum background hinting at an Inazuman origin. A thoughtful gift from Ayaka.
Lumine pulls the overhanging umbrella towards her as she closes the distance. A few steps out the door, an assertive gust of wind shoves them violently, as if to threaten the two back into the security of their home. Paimon, being the small floating fairy that she is, would have been blown away if it weren't for Lumine's quick reflex. Lumine angles the umbrella for it to glide smoothly across the wind. Paimon floats to her shoulder, tightly clutching on for stability.
"Aak, the wind almost took Paimon! Ugh, the weather is worse than Paimon had imagined."
"Let's try to move quickly," Lumine holds onto Paimon between the umbrella just in case another jet of wind surges by, "I don't want to risk us catching a cold either."
"There's nothing worse than to be sick on top of everything else," Paimon agrees with anxiety before addressing her concern, "You'll hold tightly onto Paimon, right? Paimon doesn't want to be blown off into nowhere. What if the wind takes Paimon and Paimon never sees you again? That'd be horrible!"
"I won't let that happen," Lumine confidently promises. She holds Paimon's hand tighter for security but not enough to the point of crushing her tiny hands, "I'll hold onto you tight."
The umbrella stood true to good craftsmanship. Despite the extended war against the harsh rain and wind, the umbrella's sturdy skeleton and unquivering fabric emerged victorious. The two didn't talk much either on the way. The heavy raindrops above and around them made communication and needlessly hard task. Unless you shouted at the top of your lungs, the rain would drown anything the other had wanted to say.
The plaza and streets, what the two had thought of as familiar places, became foreign and unwelcoming. The usual Academia researchers and students lay nowhere to be found. Barren, deserted streets lurked around as far as eyes could see. However, the houses looking down towards the plaza reminded the visitors that they were not alone. Windows shine brightly in the dull atmosphere as light from inside essentially every building pours out. Scattered smoke from chimney tops confirms livelihood from within these homes. Anyhow, it made sense in this freakish weather. Almost everything is closed and shut down for the time being. The damp and earthy smell of mud overpowered Lumine and Paimon. Although it wasn't necessarily a bad smell, it did make the two best friends more grateful for the umbrella overheard.
It didn't take too long for them to finally reach the Akademiya. As Paimon makes her way under the roof's eave, she dashes for the entrance door, eager to enter. Lumine closes the umbrella and gives several firm shakes. She folds the strap tightly around the closed umbrella to be transported easily without making a mess. She's in a prestigious place and can't be tracking water and mud everywhere she goes. Before doing anything else, she wipes her boots across the doormat.
"Whew!" Paimon exclaims, drifting in the air now that no wind can sweep her away. "A visit to the Akademiya has never been so exhausting!"
"It was more than what we bargained for," Lumine admits as she shuts the doors tight, pushing her weight onto the frame until a promising click reassured her no wind would swing it open again.
"Let's try our luck at the House of Daena first," Paimon suggests. Nahida seems the type to like a library.
The grand halls of the Akademiya were an impressive sight. Even as someone who had obsessed over architecture, anyone could see the great care and effort put into its design. All the scribes and researchers were nowhere to be seen, perhaps working at home or given the day off.
"Paimon's never seen this place so quiet and empty before. It's usually so busy like a hive. Do you think Nahida might be taking the day off?" Paimon asks curiously.
"Not outside the realm of possibility. She could also be doing work at home." Lumine proposes, though uncertain herself.
"Paimon wonders where Nahida lives. Is the entire Akademiya her house or just a single room?" Paimon asks, diving into the rabbit hole.
"Maybe she lives in an ordinary house near the temple," Lumine ponders thoughtfully out loud.
Nahida likes to integrate and mingle with the everyday life of humans so it wouldn't be much of a surprise if she had lived in a small house somewhere on the outskirts: to get the experience of a normal citizen's life. Inside the large building, loud echoes filled the empty silence with Lumine's every step. It was an interesting eerie atmosphere that would have worked wonders as the setting for a horror movie.
If Nahida was in the library, she'd, no doubt, be reading. She lives for literary work. Any point or explanation could be elaborated with an analogy of hers although they can be pretty weird at times. The door to the library was closed. Being polite, Paimon knocks on the door a few times and it wasn't long until a kind, youthful voice answered, "Please come right in." Although the voice was of a child's, it carries an undertone of experience and maturity.
"Nahida, it's Paimon and the traveler!" Paimon squeals with happiness, "We've come to visit you!"
"It's the Traveler and Paimon!" She welcomes brightly. She immediately puts her current task aside, giving the newcomers her full attention, "I was wondering if I'd have the joy of seeing you in the near future."
Lumine waves as she gently closes the door simultaneously from behind.
"How's your life been going as Sumeru's rightful archon?" Lumine prompts.
"It's been a tough start but nothing I can't handle. Sumeru is struggling at the moment from the Akasha withdrawal, but I believe it's in their best interest to stop using it completely for good. In the long run, people who rely on it for all the answers will never seek to discover the world for themselves. Think of it like..." Nahida taps her chin briefly as the cogs in her brain start to turn, "Think of it like house cats. The little felines we keep as companions were once similar to the great rishboland tigers in the past. When the domesticated tigers relied on humans to provide food, they slowly lose the ability to hunt and provide for themselves. Thousands of years pass and they end up fully reliant on human beings. I don't want Sumeru to end up that way." She smiles gently but there's something in her wavering voice. Something difficult to put a finger on, perhaps sadness? "Even after I'm long gone or have failed the people of Sumeru entirely, I want them to be able to find peace and prosperity even as an archon-less nation."
"Have a little faith in yourself. You're more than enough and you've already proven yourself by how you handled the two recent crises." Lumine asserts, "Sumeru will prosper under your rule."
"Lumine's right! Trust in your abilities," Paimon agrees wholeheartedly, "You deserve some confidence."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to ... ruin the mood. Thank you," she laughs, a little nervous and awkward. She brushes it aside and pours two hot cups of tea, "More importantly, you weren't soaked by the rain, were you? It sounds brutal outside."
Before a reply could even be given, Nahida was already up to her feet, offering tea and towels to the comfort of her rescuers. Lumine graciously accepts the towel even though the umbrella has kept her mostly dry.
"Please be careful," Nahida precautions as a heads up. She hands the teacups, sitting on a saucer, to the guests, "The tea is still very hot."
Paimon and Lumine did as they were told. The tea set seems fancy with its distinctive design and emerald-hued colors. Something that belongs to a collector's set. It'd be a shame to see it as a shattered mess, all because of a careless mistake.
As Nahida greets her friends, a new husky voice coughs disruptively, monopolizing everyone's attention. A voice Lumine couldn't mistake even if she wanted to. Looking all around for the former Harbinger, all too familiar to the Traveler and Paimon, they don't catch sight of him around the room. Alarmed, Lumine scans the room for the source of the voice. There's an impressive quantity of bookshelves, a tasteful coffee table, a decorative lava lamp, a fake (or at least probably fake) potted plant, a vacant desk, and large sofa chairs. Eyes darting across the room, the Balladeer is nowhere to be seen. The lamp casts a bright orangish hue, illuminating the entire room and leaving no hiding place in the dark. Under that same lamp, a circular jar loaded to the very brim with candied ajilenakh nuts cries out to Paimon in particular. The light source from above essentially functions as a spotlight.
The voice sounded so close, too close to be behind one of the bookshelves but with little to no other hiding spots, Lumine wasn't sure where he could be.
"That's straight-up absurd. Without a god, there's no nation. A nation that upholds without one is wishful thinking," he disagrees scornfully as if someone had rubbed salt to an opened wound, "Without a god, it all crumbles down eventually ."
"It's possible. The Geo Archon has passed but Liyue still holds up strong," Lumine taking Nahida's side, "The people themselves were able to fend off the fatui's ambush and Osial."
"You forgot to mention it was directed by the weakest and most simpleminded harbinger," he mutters, "And don't think I believe for a second that the old geezer is truly dead. I bet underhand tactics were used in the process."
"Anything used by the Fatui can be considered underhand tactics," Paimon says, unimpressed.
"But nothing lasts forever, not even gods," Nahida takes her original seat as she refills her own cup of tea, "I know you think it's an archon's duty to be strong, never quake, and withstand the test of time forever and ever to bless its people with prosperity. However, even for the Electro archon, it's an impossible feat, even for the god of eternity herself."
Knowing there's no real chance of winning the argument and irritated at the mention of his creator, Wanderer drops the argument half-heartedly. He's not exactly in the best position to argue but that won't stop him from trying.
"I didn't mean to—" Nahida quickly apologizes. It was probably too soon to bring up Baal.
"Save the apology," He hisses defensively with a bitter undertone before she could finish, "It's not like I can't handle hearing her name."
"Of course, of course," Nahida replies, "I wasn't implying that you couldn't,"
"Humph," he turns his attention elsewhere and the conversation had apparently ended.
Lumine had to position herself properly to see him. He's seated comfortably on a sofa chair directly across from Nahida. A third of his body is sunken into the soft-cushioned chair, making him look smaller than he really is. Combine that with the lamp in the way and he's completely hidden from sight. Interestingly enough, he's not wearing his usual large hat which is currently propped up diagonally against his seat, preventing it from falling over.
A large book, the size of a dictionary, is sprawled across his lap. On his face, there's an intense and serious expression as he reads the pages, momentarily flipping to the next. However, upon close inspection, his eyes don't actually follow the pages. Chances are, he's not reading, just a good actor.
"Ballad—Wanderer!" Paimon quickly corrects herself mid-sentence, "What are you doing here." she demands as she crosses both of her arms.
Ignoring her completely, he acts as if deaf and moves only to flip another page.
Paimon stomps her foot dissatisfied, understandably as no one is a huge fan of being ignored on purpose.
"Ooo, let Paimon guess," She flashes a mischievous smile. If he won't talk, a little teasing ought to make him, "It's a stormy mess outside yet you don't have anywhere else to go, but Nahida is too nice to let you suffer? Hehe, like a lost kitten, abandoned in the rain?" Paimon entertained herself with that last part. Paimon knew she was probably pushing it but since Nahida and Lumine were by her side, she felt bold. Given how he pokes fun and teases others, it's only fair for him to have a taste of his own medicine.
The bait was more than effective. Instantly you could see the Wanderer's grip on the book tighten with agitation as he slowly looked up with his nastiest glare possible. If looks could kill, this would be Paimon's funeral. If the situation was more favorable, he would have strangled her.
"Watch your tongue. You've got quite the imagination" he growls back, now sitting fully upright, "I wish she'd kick me out into that stormy mess!"
"It's not quite like that, more like the opposite," Nahida quickly explains. Her hands are held up as a reassuring gesture, "I didn't want him running around in that storm and thought this is the perfect opportunity to introduce him to some fictional literature—"
"Just straight up unreasonable!" He sharply cuts her off with frustration, "Why should I be wasting my valuable time reading dumb fiction, random crap some delusional guy came up with in a psych ward who has way too much time free time on their hand, when it's not even real."
"A good fiction comforts the disturbed yet disturbs the comfortable," she smiles patiently, "Fictions are like wonderful, dazzling quilts weaved together from a bunch of lies to form a single truth. Truths that nonfiction could never convey, not until that ugly lie becomes a reality.
"I can't even get sick from the rain, and I've been reading for like the last couple hours," he complains with a groan, ignoring her explanation, "You're making things difficult for no reason!"
"Actually, it's only been thirty minutes," Nahida says as a matter of fact.
While the god and former god bicker over one another, Paimon whispers with a hand over her mouth, floating directly next to Lumine, "Huh, so Nahida has a better grasp on him than Paimon thought if she can keep him here." She adds quietly with her hand over her head as if she's having a headache, "Nahida really can't catch a break. First, she's held prisoner by her own people, then she has to defeat an artificial god threatening to take her place, followed by all the workload needed to run the actual nation, and then on top of all that, she has to deal with the same exact gremlin who tried to replace her. Sheesh, looks like Nahida hasn't been taking days off. One quick look at her eyes and it's written all over her face."
"If this continues, she'll end up as Jean 2.0," Lumine murmurs horrified.
As the argument gets nowhere, Wanderer only lets out a loud, distressed sigh. I mean, going against the god of wisdom in a conversation only goes so far.
"Here, would you like some candied ajilenakh nuts? I made 'em myself after watching a cooking class demonstration," Nahida offers, "These are delicious! I was thinking of coming up with a new recipe of my own and calling it Halvamazd. I got the name inspiration from mazd which means wisdom here in Sumeru."
As Nahida moves the jar towards Wanderer, there's an exaggerated and disgusted expression written all over his face. He goes as far as ducking away from the jar as she moves it towards him, acting as if it contained the black plaque.
"Oo! Let Paimon have some, Paimon would gladly take his share!" Paimon chirps happily now that Nahida is finally addressing the jar which had been on Paimon's mind for far too long.
Nahida hands her the entire jar which Paimon eagerly pops a large handful at a time straight into her mouth. Eventually, she offers the jar's content to Lumine.
"Mm, wrery good. Ves esert eve!" She exclaims enthusiastically with her mouth stuffed.
"It has a sweet and nutty flavor to it" Lumine complements as she eats them slowly chunk by chunk in contrast to her companion.
"If interested, I can teach you the recipe. They're not all that complicated to make, and I have strong confidence that it will be a slice of cake for experienced chefs such as yourself," Nahida smiles with a slight head tilt, delighted to share her homemade treats with friends.
"You're missing out! Last chance; it's now or Paimon's gonna eat it all" Paimon offers, continuously poking Wanderer, "It's really—no, not just really but extraordinarily good!"
Lumine couldn't help but join the poking, much to the victim's annoyance.
"Tsk," he clicks his tongue and frowns at them both as if they were obnoxious, younger siblings he couldn't rid of. He mutters something inaudible. Whatever he said under his breath, it couldn't have been anything pleasant.
"Well suit yourself," Paimon shrugs happily in contrast to his mood. She pops another handful into her mouth.
Looking over Nahida's shoulders, Lumine focuses on two stacks of paper organized neatly on the desk: a tall stack and a much shorter stack. Reading briefly through the titles like Resignation Letter as the Grand Acting Sage, Withering Report of the Rainforest, and Erminite Ambush Over Trade Routes, it was obviously paperwork for Nahida to review and sign. The "finished" section was unfortunately the shorter stack out of the two. It seems like there's a lot of work to be done, more than Lumine has anticipated. That would explain Nahida's lack of sleep and tired demeanor.
She must not have had time to relax with so much restoration work needed and understaffed sages to help her get the work done. Most of the previous sages were corrupt and are now in jail for conspiring against the Archon. Newer ones have yet to be fully replaced.
Under this weather, Nahida won't get many visitors, so this is perhaps the best time, if any, for a little break. There's no telling when another opportunity will present itself.
"Are you worried about my workload?" Nahida inquires breaking Lumine's train of thought as she notices her gaze over the paperwork, "There's no need, that's the last of them for the week. I'm trying to get things done early so I can greet Sumeru and address concerns in person. Once things calm down, there won't be so much to do."
"It would still be good if you took a nap or gave yourself a little free time," Lumine urges, "You should take good care of yourself."
Nahida could use a break if only her schedule was freed up a little. That's quite a lot of paperwork. If she works on it non-stop, it'll probably take up the whole morning to the early or late afternoon. That is if she works non-stop. Hating to serve as a distraction, Lumine considers that maybe it's better to come back for a visit another time when things are mostly sorted out and she isn't so tired. The last thing she wants to do is have Nahida try to entertain guests on top of everything else.
There's nothing important to do for the day so Lumine could offer to watch over Wanderer for the day. That'd be one thing taken off of Nahida's to-do list. That way, Nahida could be left alone without distractions so she could fully focus on the paperwork at hand. With the extra time saved, she could nap or do something nice for herself.
On the flip side, maybe it's better to stay and help directly with the workload. Lumine isn't super adept at paperwork, but she could offer suggestions along with a second point of view. Any help is sure to be better than no help at all. Besides, Nahida might feel better from having another company that doesn't toss disagreeing and sarcastic remarks towards her every two seconds.
—If you decide to leave and take Wanderer with you for the day, turn to Chapter 2.
—If you decide to stay and help Nahida directly, turn to Chapter 3.