Accidental Arriviste || Genshin Impact

XIII: Reconvene

You greet your two companions at Good Hunter who are eating their breakfast. Aether compliments your new outfit as Paimon waves at you and ushers you to sit down and enjoy the meal with them. You chat about your recent adventures and small things about Earth—more specifically, your smartphone.

"Oh, this? It's an item that's... not necessarily something you need, but you also can't really live without one."

"Huh...? How does that make sense?" Paimon asks.

"It's like... you don't need to have one of these to survive, but it's also difficult because it's a societal norm."

Paimon ponders over your statement and nods. You don't believe that she understands what you said, but moves on regardless, "So how does it work?"

"Well, we're able to communicate with others using this chunk of metal. It has really complicated functions that I'm not too sure about, but it's really cool! If you had one of these and you were across the world, I'd still be able to talk to you without a problem." You explain, "There are downsides to it, though. You'd have to recharge it once in a while, but it'll let you know when it does. And it depends on where you are when you use it. If you're up on a mountain like Starsnatch Cliff and you tried talking to me through this, it won't necessarily be the best option because the nature there can interfere with it. But if you talk to me at Dawn Winery, it'll make the connection between this phone and your hypothetical phone."

"Mm..." Aether nods, "So it's basically... as if you had a pigeon that can send messages really fast?"

"Exactly. And not only can it send messages, but you can play games with it. You can even order food here, and you can choose whether or not to pick up the food yourself or if you want it brought to your home."

Paimon's eyes haze over your phone, her mind suddenly running amok on the food she can order.

"There's also this camera option. I can take a picture of us right now and it'll show up here. It's like someone painting us right now except this one creates the image not even a second later and is saved here as a memory you can look back on later."

"Ooh, can we try it? Please!" The fairy begs.

You chuckle, "Yeah, of course. Would you be okay with it, Aether?"

The boy shoves the last of his pancake in his mouth and nods.

You take out your phone and swipe left, opening the shortcut to the Camera App. You hold it up to take a selfie, with Paimon and Aether in the background. You smile at the camera and hold up a peace sign as Paimon copies you. Aether looks at the phone curiously as you press the white button in the middle.

Excitedly, Paimon asks, "Can we see it, can we see it?"

"Yes, here."

You slide your phone towards Paimon and Aether as they crowd around it. You tap on the thumbnail of the current photo you took with them from the bottom left, and the image shows up automatically.

"Woah, this is so cool. It's like someone put all of us in here holding the same pose we had earlier! Are you sure you're not from Fontaine? Those guys have a knack for these kinds of things."

You shake your head, and even comment about your non-Fontainian attire when you first met. Aether stares at your device in bewilderment, "Your world... has reached such an advanced era."

You snort, "Not to mention corrupt but I guess it is."

The blond raises his eyebrow at your comment as you finish the last of your pancake, "C'mon, Paimon. We gotta get there fast. Maybe I can take more pictures—and ones that move."