"Feeling better?"
"Much better… thank you." Rubbing the warm cup of tea on her hand, Yun Jin, despite her pale countenance, looks much better now as she releases a long sigh.
Not even halfway through back towards the living room, the three that were previously lounging around practically sprinted towards the doorway – flying, in Paimon's case – to check on the ruckus that our new guest made.
And seeing the half-dead look on her friend's face, Xinyan immediately went over and supported her other shoulder, while Lumine took over me as the two girls helped carry Yun Jin to the sofa, to which she wasted no time to collapse into it.
"Good." With a smile on her face, Xinyan adjusted her position so as to let her friend stretch her tired legs across the sofa. "Now why don't you tell me what's got you all tired like that, hmm?"
Hearing her question, Yun Jin visibly stiffened before warily glancing at us, who were now seated on a smaller armchair.
Noticing her friend's gaze, Xinyan was quick to reassure her. "Don't worry Jin, you can trust them. Hell, they might even be able to help you solve whatever problem you're having right now." She said, turning her attention towards us as she gently rubbed Yun Jin's shoulders. "Right guys?"
Paimon, who was sitting on Lumine's lap, excitedly nodded her head. "Of course! These two are super reliable, so you can count on them!"
Whether it's because of her friend's persuasion or Paimon's infectious smile, Yun Jin's guarded posture slightly loosened up. Though her next words made it pretty clear not all of her doubts were gone.
"Are you sure, Xinyan?"
"Yep! These two can solve pretty much everything!" The rockstar happily exclaims as she hugged the tired opera singer. "I'm not exactly sure what kind of trouble you got yourself into, but hey, it's probably nothing a good old beatdown can't solve!"
Hearing her answer, Yun Jin couldn't help but chuckle, much to Xinyan's visible delight.
After Yun Jin managed to restrain her laughter, she wiped the budding tears in her eyes before continuing. "Dear archons, I wish it was that easy this time, Xinyan. Though the thought of seeing those 'lǎo húndàn' swollen faces does bring a smile to my face."
"Now that's the Yun Jin that I know." Letting out a delighted hum, Xinyan proceeded to give Yun Jin one final squeeze before releasing her from her hold. "So. Are you ready to tell us what's going on?"
Giving us one final look and seeing Xinyan nodding her head, Yun Jin took a deep breath before letting out a long sigh. "Here's what happened…."
Omitting the strings of local curse words that was steadily increasing in frequency the further she explains, the reason she basically ran away from her family house sounds like something straight out of a webnovel's subplot.
Apparently, a traveler from Fontaine has been reaching out towards Yun Jin for marriage offers ever since he first saw her performance on stage. Quite persistently too, considering he hasn't given up for the past week and a half despite her clear rejection.
In fact, it just somehow makes things worse.
At first, it was stalking. Then, it suddenly escalates to the point that he somehow managed to meet with the elders of the troupe to discuss the matter of marriage directly, promising all sorts of benefits should they agree to hand Yun Jin over to him.
Of course, the elders swiftly rejected him. After all, Yun Jin is the star of the troupe. Without her, the Yun-Han Opera House wouldn't be nearly as successful as it is right now. Besides, no amount of promises of riches or what have you would possibly be worth the bright future of their opera house.
Unfortunately, despite the seemingly unanimous decision, some elders began to change their tunes not long after. Clearly, whatever the guy offered is more than enough to entice some of them into agreement.
"And what could he possibly offer? I thought he's just a traveler?"
"I'm not sure." Yun Jin shakes her head at my remark. "I did do some research however, and I found out that he's apparently some bigshot from Fontaine with connections to a couple of Liyue's nobility, and to say that they're wealthy is probably an understatement. On top of that, those same nobles are ones that aren't particularly happy about our troupe dominating the opera scene."
Taking a sip of her tea, Yun Jin continued. "And as if that's not enough of a headache, things started to get even worse."
"Let me guess, something started to go wrong with your performances? Sabotage, perhaps?" I said, crossing my legs as I leaned deeper against the chair.
"Yes. While I dismissed some of them as a staff member's clumsiness, things started to escalate beyond simple mistakes. At some point, strange people started to show up and outright made a ruckus, ruining the performance entirely. I'm guessing it's an attempt to make me give in to his demand." She explains, as a surprised expression appears on her face. "How do you know?"
"I don't. I just read way too many books." I shrugged, ignoring the groan coming from Xinyan. "But still, shouldn't the Millelith do something about it?"
"They did. Or at least, they tried. But at this point, I'm starting to suspect that they are intentionally downplaying our issues." As if remembering something unpleasant, Yun Jin furrowed her brows. "I think I recall one of the soldiers that came by saying that we are 'obstructing their duty' with 'trivial issues' after doing a 'thorough' investigation."
"Surely there are other people you could go to?"
"We can't. Since the majority of them are busy with the preparation for the Rite of Descension and border patrols, we would always get directed towards the same group over and over again no matter how much we tried. We also tried reaching out towards the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but even they had their hands full."
"A bit too convenient, don't you think? Almost as if everything was set up that way." Lumine, who was previously silent, suddenly remarked as she clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"I'd be surprised if it isn't, honestly." Letting out a scoff, I glanced towards Lumine. "So? Any idea on how to tackle this?"
Biting her thumb, Lumine pondered over the matter for a bit before turning her attention back towards Yun Jin. "I don't suppose we can just… you know…?" She asked, making a cutting motion in front of her neck.
"I'm afraid not. Or at least, I'm not desperate enough to resort to that."
"So it's not off the table?"
"If things keep going the way it is right now, I'm starting to think it might not be so bad of a solution after all." Yun Jin huffs angrily.
To say that I was surprised at her answer would be an understatement. Then again, when you're constantly being pushed around to the edge of the cliff like that, anyone would start to consider taking the easy way out.
'It's always the quiet ones, huh?'
Shaking the thought off of my head, I continued asking my questions. "What about your parents? Surely, they must've done something at this point, right?"
"They did. They've practically tried everything they could, even to the point of going into a shouting match with some of the elders." Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Yun Jin once again released a sigh. "I couldn't go a single day without hearing insults being thrown around that it's starting to drive me insane."
"So you ran away here?"
"Yes." She nodded, glancing at the suitcase placed against the wall. "I couldn't stand living in that house anymore." Yun Jin paused, before turning her attention towards Xinyan. "You don't mind if I stay here for some time, right?"
"You can stay as long as you need." She said, before putting on an expression of mock disbelief. "Oh, to think that you thought so low of me. I'm hurt, Jin."
"That's not what I mean and you know it." Yun Jin said, rolling her eyes as she lightly hit Xinyan. "You've been gone for a week and you somehow become even more annoying."
"Well, you can thank that guy over there." She replied, giving me a side glance as she pointed her thumb in my direction. "Spending an entire week with the most insufferable person in the world does that to you."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"It's really not, Yunyun."
"It is to me."
Clicking her tongue in annoyance, she turned her attention back towards the opera singer. "See what I mean, Jin? A whole week of that, and then some."
"Sorry for being myself, I guess." After blowing a gust of wind to Xinyan's face, I ignored her protest and steered the conversation back in place. "In any case, Ms. Yun Jin, even if we want to help you, I'm afraid we don't even know where to start."
"Me neither." Ruffling her hair in frustration, Yun Jin collapsed into Xinyan's lap. "The only thing I can think of is to acquire some form of evidence, if there even is one, and that would probably mean you have to break into their property to search for it. But with how tightly guarded the streets are these days, that's going to be very hard to do, no?"
Hearing her explanation, I couldn't help but think of a certain Millelith soldier we met on the market that one day, and a certain piece of paper that was given to his favorite musician.
And judging by the gleam in Lumine's eyes, it's safe to say that we've reached the same conclusion.
"Not necessarily…." Lumine whispered, an excited look appeared on her face as she looked towards Xinyan. "Do you still have the piece of paper that Kun gave you?"
"Of course I do. Why?" Even as the question left her mouth, Xinyan's eyes immediately lit up in realization. "You're not actually thinking of doing it, are you, leader?"
"She's already past the point of thinking about it, Xinyan."
Ignoring my comment, Lumine once again fell into a contemplative state, occasionally murmuring her thoughts as the rest of us patiently waited for her to finish whatever she's cooking up in that head of hers.
"Okay, just to make sure," finally breaking the silence, Lumine turned her attention towards Yun Jin, "are these noble families friendly with each other, or do they just happen to work together for the sake of their own benefit?"
"The latter." Yun Jin answered. "The two families have a bad history and their family members are known for butting heads with the other every chance they get; praises veiled as insults, always looking down on the other, constantly comparing their wealth, something like that."
"Hmph, typical nobles. This shouldn't be too hard." She whispers, low enough for the two across from us to not hear it, before continuing in a cheerful tone. "In that case, you can leave it up to us. We'll need time to observe things, but hopefully this shouldn't take too long."
"Are you sure you don't mind helping? I know that what I suggested isn't exactly legal, you know?" Even with how sincere Lumine seems, Yun Jin couldn't help but ask.
"It's fine. A friend of Xinyan is also a friend of ours." She smiles, trying her best to reassure Yun Jin. "We'll be happy to be of assistance! Isn't that right, Yuu?"
Seeing her saying all of that with a straight face, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Not that they can see it. "Can I say no just because?"
"No."
"Well that's that then. I suppose we'll take on this commission of yours, Ms. Yun Jin."
Seeing that both of us agreed to lend our hand, a smile crept up onto Yun Jin's face, erasing her previously despondent expression. "Thank you. Both of you. I don't even know if I can ever repay you."
"Let's save all that talk about payment and whatnot after everything is solved, okay?"
Seeing the smile on the opera singer's face widen just a bit as she nodded, I turned towards Xinyan. "What about you? Are you coming with us?"
"Nah. I'll stay here and accompany Jin. You guys can go and have fun. "
"Is that so?" With one member of the party out, I turned towards the silent fairy. "Paimon?"
"Eh… Paimon thinks she's better off sitting this one out, white mask."
"Are you sure, Paimon?" Lumine asked, a hint of worry in her voice. "We won't be doing anything too strenuous, you know?"
"It's not about that, Lumine."
Seeing Paimon beckoning her with her tiny hands, Lumine lowered her head and lended her ear as Paimon began to whisper something.
Once their secret exchange was over, Lumine nodded in understanding as she gently patted Paimon's head. "In that case, you can just stay here, okay? And make sure you don't cause any trouble for Xinyan and Yun Jin."
Crossing her arms, Paimon's mouth curled into a pout. "Hmph! Paimon is not a child, Lumine!"
"Fufu, of course not."
Letting out a grumble, Paimon flew out of Lumine's lap and settled down onto Xinyan's shoulder, blowing a raspberry at Lumine before burying her face into Xinyan's long hair.
Laughing at Paimon's childish antics, Lumine stood up and grabbed me by hand. "If there's nothing else, we'll start preparing and be on our way." Without wasting any more time, she practically sprinted out of the living room towards the stairs into our room, dragging me along with her.
Once we reached our room, she practically slammed the door shut.
"Well aren't you excited?"
"Of course!" Pulling out her usual white dress, Lumine began to take her current clothes off. "It's been a while since I got the opportunity to deal with some pesky nobles. And while we're at it, we might as well help redistribute their wealth for ourselves!" She continued in a giddy tone. "Oh, I am so going to enjoy this!"
Seeing her excitement, I shook my head and walked towards the neatly folded pile of clothes nearby. "That's great and all, but you do realize we haven't exactly asked Yun Jin where their houses are, right?"
Hearing my words, Lumine, who was putting on her dress in a hurry, suddenly stops, looking not unlike a deer caught in headlights.
"Uh…."
"Welp. Guess you'll just have to go and ask her then."
In the midst of tying the shimenawa around my waist, I felt a sudden weight resting on my shoulders.
"About that…."
Hearing the slight pleading tone in her voice, I barely restrained a sigh from escaping. "What is it, princess?"
"Can you uh… ask about it for me?"
"Why?"
"It's… kind of embarrassing." She said sheepishly. "I mean, going back after I was being all gung ho about it is a bit…."
"Awkward?"
"Yeah…."
Though I would love nothing more than seeing her being flustered, I'd rather not waste anymore time considering how strapped for time we are, what with the ceremony just a couple of days away.
"Fine. Just this one time."
"Thanks!" She exclaimed happily, no doubt with a beaming smile on her face. "You're the best!"
"I know, princess. I know."
___________________________________
Once I got the location from Yun Jin and Lumine had the patrol schedule with her, the two of us immediately headed towards the other side of the harbor once again, which I learned was actually called Feiyun Slope.
Compared to the days before, the streets seem even more crowded this time around. Unsurprising, considering the ceremony was practically just around the corner.
After walking around for some time fighting through the dense crowd, we finally found it.
Two nearly identical houses – or mansion, rather, considering its massive size – located in a high class residential area within the district right across from one another. Ironic, considering how they are supposedly mortal enemies or something.
Minus the difference in color scheme, with one side being more blue while the other red, both mansion is surrounded by a large garden, separated from the outside by a tiled wall with numerous guards standing by, each of them glaring at the guards across from them.
Once we wandered around the perimeter for a bit, the two of us are currently resting on a seating area located on a large connecting bridge overseeing the entire district. This way, it'll be easier for us to observe their movement entirely from the high ground.
"The House of Lan and the House of Hong, huh."
"Meaning 'blue' and 'red' respectively…." Lumine, who was sitting across from me, quietly said as her gaze focused on the notebook she's writing on. "I wonder what was going through their ancestor's head when they named their family like that."
"Who knows?" I shrugged, tilting my mask upwards as I took a bite of one of the many snacks we bought. "Maybe it's their favorite color or something."
"I'd believe it."
"And what are the odds that their whole conflict stems from them disagreeing about the other's favorite color?"
"Unlikely. But that would be hilarious." The scratching of lead suddenly stops, as Lumine hums in thought. "Actually, nobles tend to get into conflict for petty reasons anyway, so I suppose it's not as unlikely as I thought it'd be."
"Imagine that. Hundreds of years of bad blood, all because of their choice of color."
"Laughable." Lumine scoffs as she continues writing in her notebook while constantly examining the route the guards are taking. "Then again, it's sad how those born in those houses have their mindset twisted to fit their belief."
"I don't think that's an issue exclusive to just these two houses."
"True." With one final stroke, she dropped the lead pencil and relaxed her posture. "But enough about that, how do you think we should approach this, Yuu? Any ideas?"
"You're asking for my input? Who are you and what have you done to Lumine?"
"Fuck right off." She cursed, throwing a piece of piping hot tofu in my direction.
Catching the fried rectangle flying in my direction with anemo, I simultaneously cooled it off before taking a bite out of it. "Well, since the princess has graciously asked her subject for advice, might I suggest flying over everything and be done with it?"
"Too fast, no fun, rejected." Without hesitation, my suggestion was immediately shut down. "This princess has decided that the subject Kamiyama Yuu is to be hanged in the gallows for his blatant stupidity."
"Might I suggest taking a look in the mirror, for once in your royal life?"
"Motion denied."
The table was silent for a bit, though it was quickly broken by the laughter coming from the two of us.
"But seriously though," patting her chest, Lumine continued despite visibly struggling through her laugh, "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Really?" I asked, trying my best to restrain my own outburst. Once I did so, I made sure the two of us were surrounded by an invisible wind barrier. Just in case someone decided to listen in. "Why do you think so?"
"While I'd usually agree with your approach, don't forget that, unlike the interior of Mondstadt's cathedral, both houses are out in the open. And while people generally don't look up much, the same can't be said for the opposite, especially if they just so happened to be in a public viewing area like this."
"Even with the cover of darkness?"
"I guess if we were to put on a dark cloak or something it'd be possible, but honestly I'd rather not take the chance, even if putting out some of the lights is an option." She shrugs. "Better to be safe than sorry after all."
"*whistle* A rational decision, so very unlike you."
Catching yet another tofu she threw, I popped it into my mouth as I looked around the area. I can imagine that a scenic spot such as this would be just as if not even more crowded during the night. And if there just so happens to be a particularly eagle-eyed person around, the chances of us being compromised would rise.
"Then I suppose we have to do this the old fashioned way?"
"That's probably for the best." Noticing the absence of ambient noise, Lumine suddenly went into deep thought as she stretched her hand towards the invisible edge of the barrier. "Do you think you can use something like this to silence our footsteps?"
"It should be possible. I think. I'll have to try that out later."
"You should. As for our method of entry… probably either the backdoor or a window. I'm leaning more towards the door though, but we'll see how it goes when the time comes."
"So what happens once we're inside?"
"We improvise."
"Seriously?"
"Don't give me that tone." Noticing the unamused tone in my voice, Lumine huffs in annoyance. "It's not like we have a layout of the place, what else do you expect us to do?"
"I don't know. You're the experienced one here."
"Exactly. So just follow my lead, and everything will be just fine."
"Hopefully. I'd rather we don't sully the reputation we've worked so hard to build."
Once our discussion was over, Lumine once again picked up the pencil and started scribbling away, writing down the time from the nearby clock as well as the guard's rotation as well as verifying the accuracy of Kun's information.
'Feels nice to not have to do anything, my god.'
While I was busy munching on the multitudes of snacks, I suddenly remembered something.
"By the way."
"Hmm?"
"What did Paimon say to you?"
Looking up from her notebook, Lumine chewed on her lip for a bit. "Well, she basically told me why she didn't want to come."
"Thank you, captain obvious, I wouldn't have been able to figure that one out without your help."
"You're welcome." She said, covering her mouth as she let out a giggle. "I thought it should be obvious why she chose to stay? Don't tell me you haven't figured that one out?"
"Nope."
"Take a guess then."
"Do I get a prize if I guess correctly?"
"That's for you to find out."
Crossing my arms, I leaned towards the chair and stared at the clear sky, humming as I pondered over the answer. "Food is definitely not the reason, considering we can always stop by Wanmin at any moment."
"Keep going."
"Is it because of this?" I asked, motioning my hand at what we're doing. "Sitting around all day and just observing isn't exactly the most thrilling way to spend a day. Perhaps she'd rather not be bored to death?"
"Nope. Keep going."
"The only other thing I can think of would be…."
After digging through the creases of my nonexistent brain, I finally found the answer, which should've been obvious, really.
"Looks like you've got it."
"Sigh. Is it because she doesn't want to be a third wheel?"
"Close, but not quite." As she swallowed the slice of cake she bought, Lumine continued. "Paimon said she wanted to give us some time alone. She thought it'd be a good idea since the four of us spent the majority of our time together."
"Are you sure it's not because she'd rather not deal with us going off on our own world?"
"Well, that too, but I'd like to think she's being considerate. Feels a lot better when you frame it that way, don't you think?"
"I guess."
"Now then, onto your prize." Drumming her fingers on the table in an attempt to hype things up, she proceeded to motioned both hands towards the chair next to her. "Tada! You've earned the right to sit next to Her Royal Highness and have been granted the privilege to feed her all sorts of food!"
"Lucky me." Glancing between the so-called prize and her smiling expression, I answered her in a deadpan manner.
"That you are. Now come on, what are you waiting for?" Patting the chair excitedly, Lumine beckons me to come over.
Not really feeling like giving a comment, I silently stood up from my seat and moved over towards her left, grabbing the fork she handed over to me the moment I did so.
"Now, since I'll be doing most of the work from this point on, the least you could do is to keep my stomach full while I'm at it."
"Hmph, 'prize' she says. In the end, it's all just a ruse to get me to feed you, huh?"
"Got it in one, Yuu."
Shaking my head at her antics, I looked over the remaining food on the table, before opting to go with the unfinished cake.
Cutting another slice and putting it on the plate, I cut it into little pieces before stabbing one of them with a fork and offered it towards Lumine. "Here you go."
Instead of eating it, Lumine instead looked between the fork in my hand and my masked face. "You know, this is usually the point where the guy goes 'aaah~' when they offer their girlfriend a share of their food, you know?"
"Don't push your luck, princess."
"Fine, fine." Raising her hand in surrender, she finally took a bite of the cake. "I'll give you this one, Yuu. But don't worry, we'll get there eventually."
"I'm sure we will." I replied, somewhat dryly.
With that, I ended up alternating between feeding myself and Lumine as she continued to observe the streets below.
It was honestly quite relaxing, to be honest.
'Rather than a commission, this feels more like a date than anything.'
I couldn't help but laugh in my mind at the thought.
'A stakeout for a date, huh? What a strange scenario. Then again, she seems to enjoy it, and I do too, so I suppose I shouldn't really complain too much.'
We ended up spending the rest of the day on that bridge until late at night.