Through Thick and Thin- Diluc x (female) Reader

Chapter 27: Mist Flower Experiment 001: Status- Temporarily on Hold

I awoke the next morning at the usual time for work. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I rubbed my eyes to wake up. Glancing out the window, I remembered the treasure hoarder from the night before.
I decided to let him go. I risked a lot in doing so, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Watching him run away made me take pity on him, so I disengaged and let him run. He looked so... scared.
Putting on my shoes and brushing my hair, I wiggled my ears in the mirror and smiled a little. I could go see Diluc after work, and tell him all about my newfound abilities. Turning to my desk, I grabbed my vision and put it in my pocket.
Doing so reminded me that I needed to go to Jean and commission an order for a vision holder. Putting a finger to my chin, I thought for a moment. "Should it swing from my hip? No, that could get in the way of my bow. How about a necklace? No, same problem..."
"Aha!" I said to myself as I decided. I never really wore belts, but I supposed that it would be a good option for me. It could fit snugly to my waist, and still allowed for free movement which seemed essential to both my bow and my newfound reflexes.
With my decision in mind, I headed downstairs to talk to Jean before I started work. As I went down the stairs, I waved with delight as I saw Klee smiling at me widely.
"Ms y/n!" She said with glee as she waved at me with excitement. "I missed you!"
I bent down as I reached the bottom of the stairs, and Klee ran into me full force. "Oof," I said as she tackled me with a hug. "Hey Klee! I missed you too."
"Albedo said you had to go for a day, but I'm glad you're here now!" She said, hugging me tight. My heart dropped for a moment when she I realized she didn't even know what had happened.
"I'm back now, Klee," I said, deciding to keep it quiet. Perhaps she was too young to understand what happened to Diluc and I. Not yet. "No need to worry anymore!"
"Okay!" She said, releasing me and backing away. I stood up, dusting myself off. "I have to go now! Jean said I need to go back to solitary confinement."
"Solitary confinement?" I asked, an ear raised. "Did you set off one too many bombs?"
Klee giggled for a second, and then raised her hand. She held up four fingers, smiling maniacally. "Four to many!"
I laughed, amused. "I have to go talk to Jean as well. I'll see you later, okay Klee?"
"Okay!" Klee said again, and then ran off to a door next to Jeans office. She went in and shut the door, accepting her punishment.
I knocked on Jeans office door, hearing a "Come in," from within. Opening it, I stepped inside to see Jean rubbing her temples with her fingers in stress. "Oh, y/n, it's you."
"I'm not bothering you, am I?" I asked, trying not to intrude.
"No, not at all. Come in," she said, gathering some papers on her desk. "Did you decide on what to commission?"
I nodded, walking in. "Yeah, I think I'll just go with a belt."
"Sure thing," she picked out a paper, and slid it over to the other side of the desk. "Go ahead and fill this out, and I'll take care of the rest."
"Thank you, Jean." As I filled out details on color and material, I noticed the pile of papers on her desk and compared it to her level of stress before I entered. "A lot of work to do today, huh?"
Jean shrugged. "It's my job, just how it is." She smiled at me, although I doubted it was a genuine smile.
"Do you want me to run anything around today?" I asked, feeling bad for all the work she had to do. "I get out of the lab at noon, and then I'm going to stop at the Winery. I can take something somewhere for you, if it'll help."
"Really?" Jean asked, looking at me gratefully. "I would appreciate it." She went through her papers, setting down a few as I continued to fill the form out. "Can you take this to Albedo for me? And this to Noelle, please."
The one for Albedo was a smile pile of papers, although I wasn't sure what they were about. Noelles was a sealed letter, the red wax stamped with the seal of the knights. Wax sealed letter? Fancy... why?
Nodding, I handed her the form and collected the items she needed delivered. "Sure thing, Jean. I don't mind at all."
"Thank you," she sighed with relief. "That's a bite off my plate. I'll repay you."
"Repay me with a belt for my vision," I joked to her as I left the office. I saw her smile as I closed the door, and I turned and began walking to the lab.
As I entered the lab, I noticed something peculiar. It was... warm. My breath didn't come out in puffs of fog anymore, it seemed.
Looking over to where the mist flower was, I saw instead a burnt table and a cracked pot. "Uh... hello?" I exclaimed, pointing the to mess. "What happened when I was gone?"
Albedo looked up from his desk, and Sucrose looked over to see me as well. "Ah, y/n. A whopperflower is what happened."
"A what?" I asked, my ears flat in disbelief. "What do you mean a whopper flower happened? How did that get here?"
Sucrose stepped away from his desk, walking over to me. "It turned into a whopperflower," she said simply.
"I- what? Okay..." I looked over to it again, confused. "I... why is the table burnt?"
"Remember how we kept an open flame handy?" Albedo said, looking back down to his work. "It came in use."
"Wow..." I said, looking over to it. "It's kind of a shame... I felt like we were going to learn a lot from it."
"We did," Albedo said. "We got to see and record a mist flower turning into its whopperflower counterpart. That isn't something you witness often."
"So, the elemental records it shattered..." I said, remembering the insane amount of energy it had. "Did that happen just because it was becoming a whopperflower?
"No," Sucrose said quietly. She turned to Albedos desk and grabbed a piece of paper, handing it to me. "Those energy levels are off the charts, even for a mist flower going through that process. Not to mention that it was heated and harvested beforehand."
I looked over the chart, which showed the energy levels of mist flowers going through the transformation into a whopperflower. "So, the energy levels are still a mystery to us?"
"For the time being," Albedo said, going over notes again. "But, this has a lot to do with your next assignment."
"My next assignment?" I asked, walking over to his desk. "Here, these are from Jean," I set down the pile of papers Jean gave me alongside the paper Sucrose handed me.
"Thanks," he said, adding them to his current pile of work. "Anyways, your next assignment. I'm going to send you to Liyue to collect a mist flower sample and a flaming flower sample. We need to see if these levels are occurring in Liyue as well."
"All the way to Liyue?" I asked, starting to feel excited. "How far into Liyue do you need me to go?"
"I'm going to send you to Liyue Harbor. If the levels of the energy all the way over there match the ones here, we will know how far this issue spreads." Albedo took a few papers from his desk, handing them to me. "I won't be sending you for a while, I'm sure you don't want to go alone. Find someone to take with you, it can be whoever you want so long as they are trustworthy."
I smiled as I knew who I would take right away. "Alright, so how long do I have to get ready?" I began to look over the paper he handed me.
"I'll give you two weeks," Albedo said, looking up to me. "Those papers there are the dates for your stay at Wangshu Inn and Yujing Terrace. I know the road is long, so I booked a night for rest at Wangshu Inn on the way there and back. You will still need to stop for a night when going from there to Liyue Harbor, though. Prepare to make camp."
Looking over all the information, I began to get excited just thinking about it. While it was for work, I had no doubts that it would be an exciting trip since I hadn't so much as left Mondstadt, let alone travel to the Harbor. It looked like Albedo had left me a few days to stay in the harbor, so I could try Liyue cuisine and check the shops out too.
"I will," I said, heading over to my desk. As I sat down and got ready to work, I remembered I was still holding Jeans letter to Noelle. "Hey, do you guys know where I can find Noelle after work? Jean wants me to deliver this to her."
Sucrose looked over to me, her eyes resting on the letter. "I think she has tea with Barbara most days around noon, so you will probably find her outside good hunter. They often drink tea at the tables there."
I nodded, setting the letter down. "I wonder..." Sucrose said to herself before returning to her work. My ears perked to listen, hoping she would say what she was wondering, but to no avail. Needing to get to work, I decided to leave it be.