The Rarest Sight in Teyvat

Chapter 1

It was a bright, sunny day in Mondstadt. Not a single cloud could be seen in the sky and the summer breeze was gentle and refreshing. Diluc was on his way back from his part-time job at Angel's Share, exhausted from working the morning shift. He fantasized about going home to take a long, blissful nap as he made his way from the city to Dawn Winery.

As he was walking down the road near Wolvendom, Diluc noticed a small girl dressed in red running towards him. It took him a second before he realized that the red-clad girl was none other than Klee. Diluc and Klee never really got along. Klee's chaotic yet gleefully childish nature always seemed to rub Diluc the wrong way. He always found her rambunctious mischief to be a headache and figured he wasn't exactly "fun enough" for Klee to like him. Diluc didn't mind, though. He never really enjoyed the company of children and Klee was certainly no exception.

Diluc kept walking expecting Klee to just pass right by him, but to Diluc's surprise Klee ran right up to him. Before Diluc could process what was happening Klee spoke to him timidly, her hands folded shyly behind her back:

"Um, Mr. Diluc... was that shed behind your house yours?"

"Yes, it... wait, what?"

Without a second thought Diluc bolted towards Dawn Winery and to the back of the manor. Once he arrived Diluc couldn't believe his eyes. Before him were the remnants of what used to be his tool shed, now a pile of smoking ash and debris. All Diluc could do was stare in pure shock and dismay at what was once the tool shed. With the look of defeat on his face, Diluc turned to Klee.

"Klee... what did you do?"

"I'm so, so sorry, Mr. Diluc! I was playing on top of that hill over there until one of my jumpy dumpties started bouncing towards your house. I guess it landed on your toolshed. Um... you're not mad, right?"

"Klee, you bombed my toolshed and charred some of our grapes. I'm not exactly thrilled." Diluc grunted, facepalming himself. "Now we have to rebuild the shed, order new tools and replant the seeds."

Klee became visibly anxious. She didn't want Diluc to be angry at her. But, instead of getting mad, Diluc decided to remain calm. He was too tired to get mad anyway.

Diluc sighed, "It's alright, Klee. I'll talk about repairs with Elzer later, just run along and try not to blow anything else up."

"Actually, Jean wanted me to give you something."

Diluc paused. Klee held out what looked to be a letter from Acting Grand Master Jean. Diluc hadn't talked to Jean in a long while, so he was a little curious as to what she had to say. Hesitant at first, Diluc slowly took the paper from Klee. He opened the envelope and began reading the letter. It read:

Diluc,

I'm writing to you in the hopes you'll fulfill my request. I must travel to Liyue on business and cannot watch over Klee. Kaeya is leading a group of knights to Stormbearer Mountains to take care of some reckless Hilichurls so his hands are too full at the moment. I know you and Klee aren't on the best terms, but may I humbly ask that you let Klee stay with you at Dawn Winery for a while? At least until Kaeya gets back from his mission. It's only for the day. Besides, I feel like this is a great opportunity for you two to bond. You should take her to the farmer's market in Springvale. I'm sure she'd love to try some of the tasty foods there. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to look after Klee. Kaeya will be there later tonight to pick her up.

P.S. Make sure Klee is on her best behavior. That means no explosives.

Best regards,

~ Jean

Diluc cursed under his breath. First the shed and now this? He already had a stressful day dealing with a drunk Nimrod back at the tavern. He didn't need more people to babysit.

"And just as I was about to take a nap..." Diluc said quietly to himself.

Klee crossed her arms contorting her face into a grumpy frown. "I told Jean I'd be fine by myself. I don't need you to take care of me."

"Well clearly you can't be left completely unattended." Diluc brought Klee's attention back to the destroyed shed.

Klee's grumpy face turned into a more bashful one. "I really am sorry, Mr. Diluc. I promise I won't do it ever again."

Diluc sighed. "It's alright, Klee. And you don't have to keep calling me Mr. Diluc. Just Diluc is fine." Diluc took a deep breath before speaking again. "So, I guess I'm looking after you today. I've never taken care of a kid before so, um, is there anything you want to do? I mean, Jean said you'd enjoy the Springvale Farmer's Market. Are you hungry?"

Klee suddenly looked up. Her eyes lit up with excitement. She loved going to the farmer's market. Albedo would always take her there whenever he was in town.

"Yeah! Let's go to the farmer's market! I wanna taste all the yummy food!" Said Klee jumping up and down. "Do you think they'll have fish?? It's okay if they don't. I know a pond close by that has lots of yummy fish! I also have a super special way to catch them!"

Diluc began to have flashbacks of multiple incidents where ponds around Mondstadt have been blown up due to someone's bombs. "Klee, no. You're not blowing up any more ponds. Jean won't let me hear the end of it if she finds out I let you play with more explosives."

"Okay, fiiiine. Why do you always have to be such a grumpy bum?"

"I'm only doing as Jean instructed. I really don't need her getting stern with me today."

"Yeah, Jean is scary when she's mad. Whenever I'm a bad girl she puts me in solitary confinement. But, when she's not being scary, Jean is super-duper nice and gives me yummy treats and lets me play outside in the field whenever I'm being a good girl!"

Diluc was almost amused by Klee's spontaneity. Who knew such a small girl could cause so much chaos. Diluc begins walking towards the direction to Springvale. He gestures for Klee to follow. "Yeah, Jean can be quite strict, but she's a kind person at heart. Now come on, let's get going before everyone packs up their stands."

Klee smiled. "Okay! I can't wait to eat fish!" Both of them began walking down the path from Dawn Winery to Springvale. Diluc knew this was going to be a long day.