guard dog | genshin impact

six

malewife thoma malewife thoma

...

You should find it terrifying, how comfortable you've become over the next few days.

After attending the festival with Thoma, he seemed to be more present than what you'd gotten used to. Instead of leaving you a list of chores to get done before fucking off somewhere else, the chief retainer was currently busying himself with repairing some rotting floorboards in the pavilion. Neither the attendants nor the guards found his behavior odd—simply carrying on with their own duties as if seeing the highest ranking retainer subject himself to manual labor was a normal thing.

Well, this wasn't the first time you've seen him pitch in with the housework around the estate. You recalled the one time you witnessed the man trimming hedges during your stakeout days, but that's besides the point!

Thoma was humming leisurely as he tossed the old slabs of wood with new ones—hammering them in place without a care in the world. And he wasn't just replacing the floorboards, he made sure they were a perfect fit. He even brought out sheets of sandpaper to smoothen the edges and even them out with the rest of the platform! What amateur carpenter does that?

But before you could watch his handiwork more closely, you were scolded for taking too long to bring Ayaka's and Ayato's covers to the wash.

The next time you saw the chief retainer was on your way to the attendants' quarters. Laundry wasn't very high on your list of favorite chores, and you figured that an afternoon siesta could give you the proper rest and relaxation you direly needed.

However, when you passed by the common hall, you heard a fit of familiar laughter spilling out of the room.

You silenced your steps as you observed the scene through a crack in the shoji. Inside, Thoma and a few elderly retainers were seated around a low table—vibrant crochets and knitting needles in hand. A scowl made itself on your face as the blond taught old lady Furuta how to specifically do a cross-stitch pattern resembling a little shiba puppy. The others giggled at his instruction before silently following his lead as well.

Sliding the door shut, you muttered to yourself on your way back to your room.

"What the fuck..."

By dinner time, the whiplash had been abated slightly, since you had to retrieve the dried sheets from the clothesline, fold them, and put them back in the cabinets. You were busy enough to not think about a certain chief retainer, and it stayed that way for the remainder of the late afternoon.

That's until you got to the kitchen—intent on getting a glass of water, only to see Thoma with an apron around his waist as he mixed some stir-fried rice on a large wok pan.

"What the fuck...?"

This time, you couldn't quite be left alone with your curiosity.

"Mmm? Oh, Miss Kira," the bastard chirped, tending to the coals underneath the stove as he wiped a sheen of sweat off his brow. "Didn't think I'd see you here. Are you opposed to taste testing the katsudon I'll be serving later? Oh, I'm also pairing it with my special miso soup, since everyone did a great job today."

"Are you for real?"

Thoma raised an eyebrow before turning to the adjacent stove, where he was deep-frying breaded katsu strips and boiling a pot of hot water. "Pardon?"

You could only stare at him in jaw-dropping disbelief. This couldn't be right. Wasn't Thoma the chief retainer who swore fealty to the Yashiro Commission? A well-known fixer in Ritou Harbor? Kamisato Ayaka's unsung bodyguard?