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Another day of hard work was behind me, and another one would await me tommorow. I sighed, watching the sun set on Liyue Harbor. I just stared at the horizon, until I suddenly heard some movement next to me. I turned my head towards it, expecting a bird or something simmilar, but I instead saw something entirely else.
A human, about to haul herself onto the roof.
I sprung onto my feet and took several steps back, which caused her to freeze. Just my luck, for a giant to come to a place like this.
"Don't go!" she suddenly shouted, making me freeze instead. "Sorry for startling you," she quickly added, waiting for my response. I glanced at her, then at her side. Another pair of eyes was watching me, but her companion didn't seem exactly human. That's when something clicked and I recognized who the pair was.
"Oh! You must be the Traveler!" I exclaimed while pointing at the blonde. "And you must be Paimon!" I added, while pointing at the small floating woman.
"You know us?" Paimon asked, to which I nodded and took several steps towards them. Since their reputation was praised basicaly everywhere, I had a pretty clear view of the two. And they wouldn't hurt someone innocent.
"People of Liyue Harbor speak a lot about you. You're basicaly a legend," I stated, causing them to smile. As the Traveler finally climbed the roof, her companion asked me
"Since you already know names of Paimon and the Traveler, can we know your name?"
"Me? My name is Lapis, your local helpful spirit," I introduced myself. The two of them shared a glance, before the small woman admitted
"You don't really seem like a spirit."
"Well, obviously I'm not one. But it's a better term to use, when you wish to keep your identity hidden."
"That does makes sense for Paimon," Paimon said and the Traveler nodded in agreement. I nodded with them, before she added "So if not a spirit, then what are you?"
"Well, I heard that my kind is called diffrently across all nations. But in Liyue, I am a Jiekuan Ren," I explained, receiving confused looks in response. So I added "If you never heard that term, then it means my kind does a very good job at staying hidden."
"We certainly met many unusual folks, but tiny people is certainly a first for us. So it seems that your kind really takes that thing seriously," the small woman pointed out, causing me to me sadly smile.
"For us, everything can be dangerous, especially giants. Not all are bad, I can tell that," I said, pausing for a second to gesture at the pair, "But still, not many people know about my existence, so I would be glad if you were to keep it that way,"
"Don't worry Lapis. Your secret is safe with us. You can trust Paimon on it," Paimon replied and once again her companion nodded in agreement. It surprised me how quiet of a person the Traveler was. But, Paimon did a pretty good job at making up for that. I was about to idly chat with them, when I remembered something I wanted to ask in the first place.
"By the way, why are you two climbing roofs? It isn't exactly safe," I asked them. This was the main reason as to why they saw me in the first place, after all.
"Traveler spotted something shiny up here. So we wanted to investigate," Paimon explained, making me glance behind me.
"Perhaps you noticed this?", I asked, while moving the item in question to the front. This caused the small woman to gasp, while the blonde asked
"So you're a Vision bearer?". I sheepishly smiled, while moving the Vision back onto by back and said
"I must admit, it's a very useful trinket. Even if it's hard to carry."
"It's amazing, Lapis!", Paimon exclaimed, making my smile go even wider.
"You're very kind, Paimon. But your companion is obviously more amazing," I stated, to which the person in question began laughing. I glanced at them for a second, before moving my eyes to the setting sun. At this point, it was barely sticking out. "It was nice meeting you two. But it's getting late, so I have to go,"
"Really?", the Traveler asked and I nodded.
"But if you wish to see me again, I will be here tommorow too, watching sunset," I said, while gesturing to it. "I will never get tired of it," I admitted and began walking over to the edge.
"Then see you tommorow, Lapis," Paimon said and the Blonde waved me goodbye. I waved back, before jumping off. I broke the fall using my Vision to safely land a few feet lower, after which I dissapeared inside the walls.
I decided to walk the rest of the way with a slower pace than I usually took, to think about what just happened. That wasn't the first time I talked to giants, so I wasn't as nervous as I should be. Besides, my friends said many good things about the 'Blonde Traveler' and their 'Silver Companion'. I smirked, thinking about about my actions
"You do a pretty good job at following the rules, idiot," I scolded myself, before putting my belongings away and jumping straight to bed. A long day awaited me, so I had to get a good rest.
The next time I got up onto the roof, the Traveler and Paimon already waited for me.
"Lapis! You're here!", the small woman greeted me, while the blonde waved to me.
"You really wanted to see me again, huh?", I asked, while moving to sit next to them.
"Of course! We have some free time and Paimon wanted to know more about you," Paimon explained and gestured towards the sunset. "Besides, you were right about the sunset. They're always nice to watch, at least for Paimon,"
"I'm glad you think like that," I told her and glanced at the Traveler. "What about you?", I asked her, to which she looked at the setting sun and said
"I think they're pretty." I smiled and proposed
"I can show you two some other places to watch them."
"You really would?!", Paimon asked to which I nodded. "No wonder you're called 'helpful spirit'. By the way, Paimon wanted to ask you about that name."
"That? You could consider it a nickname given to me by the giants," I explained and took a deep breath, before I continued. "I often help them out, from running errands, to finding lost things. And since barely a few know about my existence, a bunch of rumors began spreading."
"And you're running errands for the ones that know about you?", Paimon inquired.
"Yes. I do things for them and they give me something in return," I explained and the two of them nodded in understanding. It was also at this point that I noticed how dark it become. "Speaking of errands, I have some to do in the morning. So, I have to excuse myself," I said and stood up.
"You're leaving already? But you just got here!", the small woman said and moved closer to me.
"Well, you do have a point," I replied and I put a hand on my chin, to help me think. After a minute I proposed "Met me at Wanmin Restaurant tommorow morning. How about that?"
"Are sure about it? That place tends to be crowded," Paimon pointed out, but I shrugged it off by saying
"That won't be a problem. I will be doing an errand for Xiangling, so I can safely stay in the kitchen."
"Xiangling knows about you!?"
"Yeah. But don't worry, she isn't planning to turn me into a dish," I said, causing the Traveler to snort, while Paimon replied
"Well, there's at least that"
"Then see you in the morning," I said and as the two of them bid me farewell, I left the same way I did yesterday. I got to bed more excited than ever and with that very though I fell asleep.