guard dog | genshin impact

three

It was safe to say that you hardly got a wink of sleep after that.

On top of the unpleasant dream that woke you up in the first place, Thoma's words made you restless all night. What did he mean you reminded him of himself? Last you checked, you weren't as overbearing as he was.

But on your mission to make sense of the conversation you'd unknowingly eavesdropped, the sun had eventually pittered through the windows. One by one, your fellow retainers had started waking up.

The day you'd been cleared of any 'medical conditions', you were given a futon and locker of your own in the attendants' bedchambers. There, you shared the same living space as the rest of them—a fact that you'd had a tough time coming to terms with the first few nights.

You'd been so accustomed to taking shelter in caves and abandoned shrines that the thought of all these people falling asleep in your company gave you whiplash.

It's not as if they knew, though.

Most of them didn't have the slightest clue. That they shouldn't trust someone who came out of nowhere just because their superiors insisted. That they shouldn't be complacent in the company of someone who could massacre them before they could wake up.

"Oi."

Eyes still heavy with fatigue, you turned to the woman who occupied the space to your right. You sighed. Ayame had already rolled up her futon and was impatiently tapping her foot against the tatami. From the irate look on her face, you could tell that she'd found a new reason to be mad at you today.

Well. You did drug her the first time you met her. And steal all her clothes before attempting to kill the lady of the house. The hostility was well-founded, you thought.

"You've been tossing and turning so much that you kept me awake," she grumbled. "What, your conscience suddenly catching up to you?"

You laughed, smoothing down your bedhead. "Keep dreaming."

Despite how she spoke to you when she knew no one else could hear, Ayame kept her mouth shut about the truth. You were damn sure that it took every ounce of willpower for her not to rat you out to Ayaka herself, but the poor attendant acted in confidence. Always.

Just how much did Thoma bribe her to keep quiet?

Later that morning, you made your way to the estate's entrance in spite of your glaring sleep deprivation. It was Madarame Hyakubei who'd disseminated the retainers' tasks for the day—meaning both Thoma and Ayaka weren't in the premises.

Of course, you weren't just going to let a golden opportunity like that slide.

"Mornin', Miss Kira!"

Freezing in your tracks, you shot the guard who called your attention a wary smile. "S-Sir Hirano, good morning to you, too."

"Are you...headed out by any chance?" He flashed you a sunny smile with traces of suspicion clearly seen beneath his guise. "Sorry to break it to you, but Master Thoma put us guards on strict orders to keep you safe inside the manor."

Your eye twitched. The meddlesome bastard...

"Ah? But I won't take long," you insisted with a pout. "Just a quick herb-gathering session at Chinju Forest won't hurt, right?"

As you tried to step around him, Hirano halted you with a large stride of his own—obscuring your path by extending the polearm in his hand.

"No can do, miss. It'll do us no good if you're caught out there by the representatives of the Tenryou Commission, you know?" he sighed. "And without Lady Kamisato and Master Thoma to speak on your behalf, it'll be too easy for them to present a warrant and throw you in jail."