As Kamiyama disappeared from my sight, my focus was once again returned to the world around me. The muted sound of boats rocking against the waters and the whistle of the winds returned in full blow as I was pulled back from the imaginary back to reality.
The other girls were still talking – or rather, whispering – about something. Most likely regarding the cowering bluenette in front of us. Perhaps they're talking about how to best approach her, or perhaps they're talking about something else entirely. Regardless, I was too occupied thinking about the words Kamiyama said to me.
It was… quite strange, really, to see him behave in such a way. Or perhaps it isn't? Perhaps that's just how he is? Perhaps the way he subtly encourages me is just that, encouragement. As for why, I could probably chalk it up to him making it so that I branch out into the socialization tree and be more of a proper human being.
Or perhaps he's subtly nudging me in a certain direction, influencing me in such a way that would benefit him?
…
…
…and isn't that quite scary?
Then again, with how miraculous everything about this life is, would that perhaps be the least I could do?
Hmm… food for thought.
Suddenly, the clicking sound of high heels approaching broke me out of my thoughts.
Looking up, I saw Yelan and Ganyu coming towards us, seemingly done with their talk.
"Sorry about the delay, everyone, this one needs a bit more convincing than I thought." Yelan chuckled as she gave Ganyu a reassuring pat in the shoulder. "Please understand that with everything that's been going on, she's a bit on edge. More than she usually is, anyway."
"Yelan!" The half-adeptus harshly whispered, a hint of red on her face as she shook off Yelan's hand that was now on her head.
For a brief moment, Ganyu dropped her previously guarded posture as she protested against Yelan's admittedly childish treatment towards her.
Seeing her not being so anxious somehow caused me to sigh in relief.
Do I really care about her wellbeing that much? Am I feeling this way because I saw myself in her, or is it simply because Kamiyama's words are affecting me?
"Fufu, I'm sorry, I couldn't help it."
Taking her hands off her head, Yelan bent down, her mouth once again whispering something towards Ganyu for the final time. Once the half-adeptus nodded, Yelan gently nudged her forward. This time, there was no resistance from her.
"I'll be leaving her in your care, everyone." With her attention now directed towards us, Yelan continued. "While I doubt anything bad would happen to her, it's always best to be on your guard. After all, there's no telling what someone would do when they let their emotions get the better of them, adeptus or not."
Ganyu seemed to want to say something in response, but the words died in her mouth as she merely lowered her head.
"Don't worry," I gave a quick glance towards Ganyu. And once again, seeing her being dejected like this makes me feel uncomfortable, "we'll keep her safe."
"Thank you, honorary knight."
After expressing her gratitude, Yelan gave one last smile to Ganyu before walking back towards the harbor, leaving the five of us alone at the entrance.
The atmosphere was… awkward, to say the least, given that Ganyu still hasn't said anything and merely glanced at each of us before her interest was dragged back towards the wooden steps, rubbing the arms she hid behind her while fidgeting all the while.
Seeing that the others were not quite sure what to do, I decided to be the bigger man and open my mouth.
"Miss Ganyu."
"Y-yessh?!"
Seemingly caught off guard, her words came out with a slight lisp, which caused the reds in her cheek to deepen in color as she clenched the edges of her sleeves before burying her face into it.
'This is way out of my league.'
While she was busy drowning in shame, I turned my attention towards the trio behind me, making a motion of pointing towards them and Ganyu.
In response, the girls glanced towards each other before finally looking towards me. Instead of lending a helping hand however, the three stooges ended up giving me a thumbs up before backing away several steps.
Useless, the lot of them.
With no other choice, I once again faced the shaking secretary, only to find myself having to restrain a sigh, seeing as she had cowered into herself once again by crouching into the ground, nearly curling herself into a ball.
'Kamiyama.'
[How can I help you, my dear friend?]
Hearing the barely restrained laughter behind that sickeningly sweet tone of his, I knew that asking anything from this bastard is probably a useless endeavor.
'...remember when you said you're willing to give me advice?'
And like the idiot that I was, I still continued asking anyway.
[Crystal.]
'I don't suppose you have anything to offer right now?'
Honestly, I was prepared for him to start teasing me or something along those lines, or maybe even a direct rejection considering I would do the same if he was in this same situation.
[Well, since you're asking oh so nicely, then I don't see why not.]
So imagine my surprise when he actually was willing to offer some.
'Thank you.'
[No worries.] He cooly brushed away my gratitude, before continuing in a slightly haughty tone. [Now listen up! The first thing that you would want to do in this situation would be….]
Before I could even begin to take notes, his voice was suddenly garbled, like there was some kind of interference. I would honestly feel worried, if not for the fact that it was clearly his voice that was doing it. Like that fake static thingy you would do to get out of a phone call.
'This fucking bastard….'
The farce didn't continue for long, as his voice eventually turned clear once again.
[...and that's basically it! I sure hope you get all that, because I won't be repeating myself!]
'...'
Unfortunately, before I could give him a piece of my mind, he was quick to run away.
[Oh, would you look at that, it seems like it's time for my morning tea! Good luck out there, Yuu! I'll be sure to keep a close eye on things, so try not to fuck things up too much!]
'I better not see your face when I come back there you son of a–!'
And just like that, he disappeared for good, the lingering connection in the back of my mind snapped in half like a feeble string, leaving me by myself to deal with the bundle of nerves down on the ground.
'Sigh. Happy thoughts, Yuu, happy thoughts.'
Shoving the thought of making a mess out of Kamiyama's pretty face to the back of my mind, I quickly pondered on what to say before eventually lowering myself down towards her.
Taking a deep breath, I gather my thoughts as best I could before reaching out for the girl in front of me.
"Miss Ganyu." I called out once again, giving a quick tap on the hands covering her face.
Though she jolted in surprise, she didn't make a sound this time, opting to simply open a slight crack in between her fingers, exposing her heterochromatic eyes as they anxiously waited for me to continue.
"Do you hate us?"
I could see her eyes widening in surprise the moment she comprehends what I was saying.
"W-what?! N-no! That's not the case, at all!" She was quick to dismiss me, nearly collapsing onto the ground in the process. Thankfully, she managed to right herself by grabbing onto my clothes.
Once she stabilized herself, I continued. "I know. I was just trying to get you out of your funk. Hopefully that helps, however little."
Hearing my words, Ganyu immediately relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.
"So what's wrong? Are you perhaps uncomfortable with this arrangement?"
Ganyu fell silent, before letting go of her hands from my robe and placed them on top of her knees, covering half of her face as I waited for her to respond.
Eventually, she once again let out a sigh before raising her head and looked towards me.
"...I suppose that is the case. Even though I agreed to it, having someone I'm not familiar with know about my secret is not an easy pill to swallow." She paused, before frantically waving her arm. "Ah, of course, I'm not saying it's your fault, honorary knight–!"
"I know, I know. Calm down, Miss Ganyu."
I offered her my hand, which she took after a hint of hesitation before her other hand moved to clutch her chest as she took several deep breaths to calm herself.
"Better?"
"Yes, thank you."
"No worries. Take your time."
While Ganyu was occupied, I was internally freaking out.
Saying something outrageous to catch her attention was probably not the best way to start a conversation, but it certainly was the fastest and most surefire way to do so and it was all I could come up with on the spot.
Now that progress has been made, I am lost on what to do.
I would love to simply let her talk, but judging by her current state, she's probably not inclined to, which leaves me to initiate the conversation. But then, what am I supposed to say? Something along the lines of 'we won't treat you differently regardless of what you are?' Will that even work?
God, why am I getting so worked up over this anyway?
In the end, I decided that, the less I think about it, the better off I am.
"I know that Yelan probably already said something similar," I started, feeling Ganyu's gaze directed towards me the moment I spoke, "but you don't have to worry, you know? Regardless of what you are, we won't treat you any differently."
Despite my assurance, I could see that her bicolored eyes were filled with doubt.
"Even though I'm not human?"
"Of course." I replied with confidence, before pointing towards the others behind me. Specifically, towards a certain gluttonous white fairy. "I mean, just look at Paimon over there. Does she look like a human being to you?"
Ganyu took a peek behind me, towards the white fairy floating next to Xinyan. Noticing that she was being stared at, Paimon smiled and gave an energetic wave towards us, to which Ganyu responded with a hesitant wave of her own.
"She looks like a child."
"Is a normal child supposed to be capable of flight?"
"No, I suppose not." Ganyu finally said with a small smile.
"Exactly, so you have nothing to worry about."
Seeing the smile on her face, I nodded in satisfaction before slowly began to stand up, belatedly notice that I was still holding onto Ganyu's hand the entire time as I helped pull her up.
"I know you still have some doubts, but hopefully, in time – however long that might be – you'd be able to cast those doubts aside." I said, letting go of her hand as I shrugged my shoulders. "Seeing is believing, after all."
"I see." Ganyu slowly nodded, any trace of anxiousness was gone as she stood straight and met the slit of my mask. "Thank you, honorary knight."
"It's Yuu. Kamiyama Yuu."
"I see. Thank you, mister… uhm… it's Kamiyama, right?" Ganyu asked, her head tilted to the side. "I remember that Inazuman's custom dictates that you should call someone you're just acquainted with by their family name."
"Personally, I don't really care for all that formal stuff, I'm fine with either, anyway. But if that's what you're comfortable with, then go ahead."
"In that case, thank you, Mister Yuu."
"No problem." With that I began to walk back towards the others while beckoning for her to follow. "Now come on, let's introduce you to the others and be on our way."
As we came closer to the group, I couldn't help but feel like I could've done a lot more than simple reassurance there.
But seeing that Ganyu's no longer the bundle of nerves that she was, I convinced myself that I've done more than enough.
For now, anyway.
___________________________________
The sensation of the winds blowing against your entire body as you took to the skies is something I haven't experienced in a while.
Though flying through the skies of Liyue on a near-invisible box while carrying four girls and a fairy is hardly the free flight that I was so used to back in Mondstadt, it's the closest thing I could get for the time being.
Not to be ungrateful at being granted the freedom of not having to walk from place to place or anything, but there's just something about solo flight that brings with it a sensation of freedom that something like this just couldn't replicate.
But I suppose being in this kind of mock airplane has its charm too, especially with the sound of conversations flowing in the background.
Reminds me of the atmosphere of a school trip's bus, actually.
I leaned back onto the near-transparent sofa – which feels soft, strangely enough – an elemental creation inspired by the man I owed a knuckle sandwich to, after seeing him creating things out of thin air over and over again. I've made small things before, so I figured I might as well try my hand on something bigger.
Lo and behold, a perfectly normal sofa, if you ignore how 'cloudy' the freshly minted product is.
Which extends to the entirety of everything that I made inside this flying box, but hey, if it works, it works.
And while I was busy marveling at my own creation, Xinyan, taking advantage of the lack of music laws governing the skies, wasted no time in bringing out her guitar and started jamming her fingers away. Normally, it would've been too noisy, but thankfully, with a bit of a change here and there, the loudness of her favorite genre is no longer an issue.
Paimon, instead of resting in her usual throne that is Xinyan's shoulder, was now sitting on top of Ganyu's lap, chatting away with both the secretary and Lumine. She would've been sitting on her shoulders, but after making the mistake of touching Ganyu's horn, she was quickly discouraged after some stern talking to by Lumine.
Speaking of Lumine….
I looked down towards my left hand that was currently being held in a vice grip before looking up towards the girl smiling away as she nonchalantly conversed with our newcomer, trying to ease her into our group of misfits with small talks, much to Ganyu's delight.
Honestly, I'm very impressed.
"So how did you and Yelan meet?" Lumine asked, her head slightly moving to the beat of the music in the background. "You two seem close with one another."
"It was by chance, actually." Ganyu replied, looking much more comfortable as the conversation went along. "After I returned from Yuehai Pavilion late one night, I saw her along with her subordinates while I was walking back home. They were gathering around, talking and eating, and she happened to see me walk by and invited me over."
"And the rest is history?"
"Pretty much." Ganyu nodded, as she gazed down towards Paimon and began playing with her hair. "It was a much quieter time back then, so Yelan and I were able to meet quite a bit. She's nice, though she did make it a point to never talk about work outside of work hours."
"That's quite a no brainer though?" Xinyan suddenly inserted herself into the conversation, being mindful of her music as she tones it down a bit. "Why would you talk about work during off hours? You go out and hang out, talk about your life and hobbies while out drinking yourself to sleep! You know, having fun?"
"But… working is my hobby…."
"Excuse me, what?!"
The sound of pleasant rock suddenly devolved into loud gibberish notes as Xinyan, in her surprise, ended up nearly dropping her guitar into the floor.
"Working is my… hobby…?" Feeling the stare coming from the other girls, Ganyu cowered into herself. " Uhm… did I say something weird?"
With her guitar now safely resting on her thighs, Xinyan stared incredulously at the half-adeptus with her mouth agape. "You can't be serious…."
"What? What did I say?"
"Oh, she's serious." Lumine added, surprised though not equally as baffled as Xinyan was by Ganyu's admittance.
"Eh?!"
The serene conversation somehow devolved into utter chaos as they discovered this fact about Ganyu, not that I blame them. I mean, anyone in their right mind wouldn't have filling mountains of paperwork all day everyday as something they would willingly call a hobby.
While I was content with seeing the two girls freak out about this, I decided that it's better to step in before the poor secretary could bury herself any deeper into the sofa.
"Alright, alright, that's enough yammering out of you." I said, shifting into a more comfortable position as I reined them back towards their seats. "You're taking it like it's the end of the world or something, Xinyan."
"And you're not?" Xinyan asked in a challenging tone. "Look me in the eyes and tell me it's a normal thing to do, Yunyun."
"I never said I disagree, I just think you're overreacting a bit." I quickly turned towards the secretary, just in time to see the slight disappointment on her face. "No offense, Miss Ganyu, but people don't usually count being drowned in tedious paperwork as a hobby."
"Hobbies are our escape from the tediousness of real life!" Xinyan exclaimed, as if to emphasize her point. "Your job doesn't count as your hobby, that's not how that works!"
"But… aren't hobbies supposed to be the things that you look forward to doing?" Ganyu asked softly, looking like that question took every bit of courage she had.
Her counter was enough to shut Xinyan up real quick.
"Uh… yes?"
"And when doing said hobbies, you'd feel good when doing them, wouldn't you?"
"Well… yes, but–"
"That describes my job perfectly, so what's the issue?"
Xinyan looked like she wanted to refute her, but was at a loss of what to do. Instead, she turned towards me and Lumine, looking desperately for an answer with a pleading look on her face.
"Can't argue with that logic, Xinyan." Lumine said apologetically.
Not getting the answer she wanted, Xinyan turned towards me.
"You like to play rock and roll music more than anything, and you held rock and roll concerts around Liyue, so technically, your hobby is your work, don't you think?"
That ended up being the final nail in the coffin.
Horrified at the realization, Xinyan grip over her guitar slipped, causing it to begin falling towards the floor. Thankfully, I managed to grab it just in time while the rockstar in question now began gripping her head, her gaze unfocused as she kept mumbling nonsense.
Oh well, a little existential crisis never hurts anyone.
"Uhm… is she going to be okay?"
"She better be, we're approaching Jueyun Karst right now." I stood up and briefly looked towards the front, gently rubbing my left wrist as Lumine moved over to comfort the distraught Xinyan, before looking back towards Ganyu. "Should we stop at the base of the mountain?"
"Over by the offering area should be fine." Ganyu said, carefully setting the sleeping Paimon aside before making her way towards me and pointed towards the same circular platform where we previously met Xinyan. "But you might want to fly a bit lower, we shouldn't intrude on Moon Carver's abode."
I looked up towards the summit covered by the clouds before nodding. "Sure thing."
Once we'd touched down and everyone was ready to depart, I dispelled everything and began stretching my body for a bit, noting that the Millelith that was supposed to be guarding this place was nowhere to be seen.
"I'm guessing the ones stationed here are pulled back to the harbor?"
"Yes." Ganyu nodded, as she carried Paimon and began gently tapping her awake. "Though I'm not privy to the specifics, Lady Ningguang thought it best to bolster Liyue's defenses in case of an emergency by pulling back as many soldiers as she could."
"And leave the other areas unguarded?"
"There are still some out there, patrolling as usual, but not nearly as many as there used to be."
"Right."
Suddenly, the sleeping fairy let out a cute yawn, stretching her body as she nearly fell out of Ganyu's hold. Slowly, Paimon blearily opened her eyes, letting out a grumble as the bright sunlight shone directly into her eyes.
"Ah, did you sleep well, Paimon?" Ganyu asked with a smile, still cradling Paimon as she gently rocked her and began poking on her cheeks like a mother would her baby.
If there's one thing Paimon is good at other than eating, it would be to effortlessly melt the heart of anyone that's captivated by her childish charm.
I doubt that fact would hold true when they see the bill I had to pay just to feed the damn thing.
While Ganyu was busy being charmed by how cute Paimon was, I looked towards the other two, who began to approach us. Xinyan looked a lot better than before, though there was a noticeable lack of pep in her step.
"So where to now, Ganyu?" Lumine asked as she wasted no time taking her position right next to me.
"There's a rope bridge up ahead, by the edge of the cliff." Ganyu replied as she pointed towards the north, having let go of Paimon. "As long as we follow it, we should be able to reach Cloud Retainer's abode without problem."
"Cloud Retainer, huh? Is there a reason why we're visiting this adeptus in particular?"
"She's… well…" Ganyu began, before shyly looking away, " sort of like a mother figure to me."
"Ah, so that's why the Qixing sent you with us." Xinyan cut in, nodding in understanding. "Making use of your familial connection towards one of the adeptus would've made things a lot easier, huh?"
Ganyu nervously laughed in response, causing Lumine to give a light jab towards Xinyan, who quickly realized her mistake and began apologizing profusely.
"It's fine, I know you don't mean anything bad by it."
With that, Ganyu began leading the way forward with Paimon in tow, with Xinyan entering a quick jog to catch up with them, probably still feeling bad about what she was insinuating.
I would've caught up with them as well, if not for the fact I was purposely held back by a not-so-smiling Lumine.
I resisted the urge to sigh, knowing what's about to happen. "What can I help you with on this fine morning, princess?"
"A lot of things, actually." She hummed, the vice grip on my left hand returned as we began to walk several steps behind the others. "But I think there is a particular matter you could enlighten me on."
She pointed with her chin towards the front, specifically towards the blue-haired secretary talking merrily with the others.
"I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, don't you, Yuu?"