Chapter I, Act IV - Prelude, Part I
You opened your eyes and found yourself really falling asleep on top of the desk. You rubbed your eyes and you put the book back on the shelf. "I should go back to Aether and Paimon. I did promise that I will reunite him with his sister and that is what I will do." You took out your phone to teleport back to Wangshu Inn to see them but you should've been wary of Orochi given the memory you've just gained and that he stood behind the Unknown God.
You headed to Verr Goldet and asked her about Aether's whereabouts before she stated that he was helping her take care of the monsters that cause an uproar nearby. You were about to head out before you saw Aether and Paimon standing across the counter, seem to be quite surprised seeing you standing in front of them. "Ahh... Hello. It has been a while, hasn't it?" You said with a smile before he started to hug you tightly along with Paimon.
"Y/N! Paimon was worried you won't return." Paimon cried at your shoulder and hugged you tightly. Aether however seems to hide his face on your shoulder since you are only slightly taller than him.
"Nope, I still have a promise to fulfill and I finally calm down since I already recall a few memories..." You trailed off but immediately shook off the uneasiness feeling of the past. "Anyways, I think we should go to Mondstadt." You said which surprised Aether when he heard that.
"So sudden? Why?" Paimon asked as you started to think of a reason to keep a lookout on Dainsleif since he is kinda what leads Aether to his sister before you recalled about your card. You immediately took out your phone to be ready to teleport to Mondstadt as you looked at Aether.
"I did fortune-telling earlier and it said that someone might give a hint about your sister's whereabouts. Though, I'm not sure when so I thought maybe we should head there and find hi-them." You lied, not sure if they actually bought your words given you did when missing around 3 days and you probably sounded insane.
Though it surely did somewhat make Aether immediately look at you in hopeful and he immediately grabbed your hand. "Really? You meant that I have a chance to find my sister." He said as you nodded with a smile on your face before you realized that Orochi isn't around here.
"Brat, I'm in your mind. Where did you run off to? And why is your mind so damn brighter than before?" You heard his- or rather Sukuna's voice in your head talking to him. You had a mixed feeling now but you acted as if nothing happen. You internally replied to him saying that you only visited Dragonspine before you teleported into the heart of the city of Mondstadt.
Though being in Mondstadt made you feel at ease which wondered if this was Venti's doing since every time the breeze brushes against you, it just made you feel so calm. You felt a pat on your shoulder which made you look in the direction to see Aether looking rather excited since, after all, you did mention his sister. "Let's wander around the city and see if there's news about your sister, shall we?" You gave him a smile as he nodded, following you from behind as you just jumped off from the waypoint to the fountain as if it was nothing.
Deep down, you were crying in pain and regret that you didn't open your glider for it, feel like you make a fool of yourself but Aether thought you were cool when you jumped off. You were walking a bit awkwardly past Kathyrene hoping that she would call you out since maybe she would tell Dainsleif whereabouts.
"Traveler, please, over here." You heard her call out as you immediately felt delighted that it actually trigger it. You two and Paimon suddenly appeared between you and him, she gave you a delighted smile. "It has been a while since you joined the Adventurers' Guild. Are your adventures going smoothly?" She asked as you nodded.
"It definitely has been so far but... companions would sound nice, wouldn't it, Aether?" You asked him which made him agree immediately because he can no longer refuse anything you say since he didn't want you to go away from him again. He found the whole thing hellish and he missed you so much. Definitely not mostly because of Paimon's bottomless pangs of hunger with her who knows how many stomachs she has and he could feel the urge to pass out when cooking for her.
"Hmm... is that so? Apart from your own skills, reliable teammates are also indispensable when adventuring. Another person to count on is always good, after all. But recruiting such dependable companions is no easy matter, is it?" Katheryne asked as Paimon began to look all smug and began to put her hands on her hips as she looked at Katheryne.
"Yup, and it's even harder to get a guide as good as Paimon." She said proudly as Aether gave her a deadpan look at her as you saw this as an opportunity.
"Not only that, the hardest to find is someone as reliable as you, Paimon." She was surprised by your statement but you didn't finish talking yet as your smile transitioned from friendly to scary. "Yes, no one has been this reliable to stay as an emergency food, Paimon." You joked as Paimon could feel her nerve snap as she began to ramble how she regretted that she even worried about you and so on while you try to calm her down. Aether absolutely had a laugh and is glad that you seem to be in a great mood after you have gone for a while.
"Ah, yes, I do have some information that may be of help to you..." Your ears immediately became sharper when you heard Katheryne say it as you turned to her. "Let me consult our records... Ah, there it is. There's been a certain blond stranger and a silver-haired lady who arrived in Mondstadt lately, dressed in the most unusual clothes." She stated as you three immediately stood there in shock.
Silver... Haired... Lady?!
TO BE CONTINUED
Author Note:
I sincerely apologized for not updating for a long time, I got too caught up watching and reading Mairimashita Iruma-kun, Solo Leveling, and The Beginning After The End. Also, I managed to get one of Solo Leveling's hard copies and totally forgot that this book exists on Wattpad. If it weren't for my teacher asking me if I'm going to update, you guys might have ended up waiting till December or longer.
Anyways, since it's Halloween today, I did promise to my little self that her original book that she had cultivated would be out so I hope you guys could check it out! It's called Calamity, a reincarnation story and I could guarantee that the story will be interesting!
Till then, I hope you guys continue to support this book and me!