"How did I do Mr. F/N?"
"Haha...you look a bit too trigger-happy using my gun..." F/N smiled weakly, a sense of fear at the innocent look Collei gave him while she shot a target with his gun that she was interested in when she first saw him use it in combat. Ever since then, he would train her with using his pistol since she always looked like she wanted to try it out. "Your aim is better...a bit too good..." He looked at the target which was just a puppet.
He is concerned given Collei requested a blue-haired wig to be placed on the puppet. He already knows the reason but he prefers to act naive to it otherwise it will continue to terrify him. It seems she can't wait for sweet revenge.
Yeah...focus on murdering somebody. He sweats as he sees the target's head has multiple bullet holes.
"It's all thanks to you Mr. F/N!"
"Please... I already told you F/N is fine..."
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
"What was that Mr. F/N?" Collei looked behind her and blinked innocently as three bullet holes were carved into the puppet's head.
"N-Nothing..." Seriously! She's quite scary! He gulped, he wonders if Tighnari knows of this side of her. "Anyway, how about we call it a day for now? I hate to tell you this, but there's only enough ammunition I have." His source comes from making a portal to a gun shop and stealing the ammo when nobody is watching. Eh...he hopes Theresa and the others don't find out that information.
"That much time has passed quickly?" Collei realized that given they were finishing up, a long time must have passed. She saw that the sun was setting already "S-Sorry Mr. F/N... I lost track of time." She apologized while handing the man back his weapon.
"Don't sweat it. Also, stop calling me mister already. Just F/N is fine." He put his gun back in its holster with a satisfied hum. "You've been progressing well during training. It seems like you're good in general when it comes to using range weapons."
"Thank you Mr. F/N. But please don't praise me a lot, I still have a long way to go..."
"Accept some flattery from time to time. And stop calling me Mr. F/N—who am I kidding? You're not gonna stop after all these times you've called me that." He sighed as he and Collei began walking away. "Just call me whatever you want then."
"Then I shall continue calling you Mr. F/N."
"Knew it." He snorted with amusement. "Let's just get going now, I'm sure Tighnari is waiting for you."
"Ahhh! I almost forgot about Mr. Tighnari! I must've worried him with how much time has passed!" Collei panicked and rushed off without hesitation.
"C-Collei! W-WAIT!" F/N rushed after the green-haired girl with concern. If she were to pass out midway, he wouldn't know how to grieve that he was at fault for not making sure she arrived back to Tighnari in safety. "I know you can hear me so wait!"
-~-
*Pant* *Pant* *Pant* *Pant*
"Is he going to be okay, Mr. Tighnari?" Collei stared down at F/N with concern as he lays on the hard wooden floor while panting.
*PANT* *PANT* *PANT*
"He'll be fine." Tighnari blankly looked at F/N who was gasping for air at this point. "Why did you run all the way here?"
After a few seconds, F/N slowly began getting back up from the ground as he groaned. "C-Collei panicked when she realized that it was already quite late and you must've been waiting for her...so she ran off and I tried to chase after her to make sure...she...she doesn't get hurt or passed out." He took a few more breaths as he crouched a bit and his hands gripped his knees tightly. "Holy shit! For a sick girl, she's so agile..."
"Don't curse in front of her." Tighnari frowned as he crossed his arms.
"Mr. Tighnari! I'm not a kid anymore!"
"You still are." Both F/N and Tighnari turned their attention and looked at the girl.
"Hmph!" Collei pouted as she stared at the two in betrayal. They teamed up on her! The betrayal! "I'm able to take care of myself just fine..." She mumbled, like a child throwing a tantrum.
"Are you sure you're not just unhealthy?" Tighnari stared at the white-haired boy with a smirk.
"N-No...! I'm average!" F/N frowned at Tighnari. "Unlike all of you who have years of training and stuff, I've remained a normal civilian my whole life!" Didn't help that when he was put under Theresa's watch, everyone around him were superhuman girls who naturally...were better than him at anything physically related. A curse given Kiana was able to dominate him when they play fight. Not to mention he was forced to hang out with her and Mei alongside the others. "It's just that I'm an average person stuck with not-so-average people..." He gazed down at the ground while panting to gain some breath.
"...Right." Tighnari looked amused as he saw the grouchy expression on the man's expression. "Anyway, are you fine?"
"Now you ask?" F/N looked above and directly at Tighnari with a frown. "Just...just give me a minute." He raised a finger to make his point.
*PANT* *PANT* *PANT*
"A-Are you sure you're fine—"
*PANTTTTT*
"...Get him some water, Collei."
"Yes, Mr. Tighnari..."
-~-
"So you're able to travel through worlds as well! Got it! And you're looking for F/N L/N, your unofficial brother yet regardless the two of you are close enough to consider each other siblings! You come from an advanced civilization as well so something such as multiverse traveling isn't considered abnormal?"
"That's right!"
"Huh..." Venti looked at the smirking Kiana with amusement as she explained to him the world she and F/N came from. Nahida explained to them that he was of another world, much to the surprise of him given that's another world hopper. He remembers that Morax wasn't surprised, given the clothing of the male gave it away. "Anyway, if you wish to venture out to Sumeru, you'll need to reach the Liyue Region. It's quite the far walk and there's Hilichurls, Treasure Hoarders, and other nasty enemies crawling around the place."
"Hmm... I see. Are these enemies frequent?" Kiana bit her toast as she paid attention to the bard. The next day arrived and after waking up, she found Venti quite easily as he was eating breakfast at Good Hunter. He offered her to eat with him as he'll explain what to do next if she wishes to go to Sumeru.
"I'd say so. Hilichurls are the common enemy you can say. Just some monsters who can use things like tools, whether it be bows, clubs, shields, etc. They're very primitive so don't be too alarmed."
"They don't sound too bad..." Kiana mumbled. "Sounds like a walk in the park."
"Pfft, yeah. Compared to what your world fights, I suppose these guys would be easy for you." Venti giggled as he munched on his bacon. "You know, before you do decide to leave, how about getting to know the locals? Or the people around? There's a lot of useful people around here, especially the Knights of Favonius."
"Knights of Favonius huh...who are they?"
"They're the ones that protect the city from harm. They also do many tasks to entrust that the city continues thriving."
"Does that mean each nation has its own Knights of Favonius?"
"Sort of. You can say they're similar but not at the same time." Venti hummed, wondering how to explain it. "Let me give you an example, Liyue has a group of beings known as Adeptus."
"Adeptus?" Kiana blinked at the word as she continued focusing on what information Venti will give her next.
"Adeptus or Adepti, you can call them either way, are a group who are bound by contracts to protect the city of Liyue from any disasters that can come from demons and other sorts of enemies...like evil Gods." Venti said with a small frown. Kiana widens her eyes at the mention of gods. "The Adepti is led by Rex Lapis himself...the God of Liyue."
Rex Lapis... Kiana found herself interested in the history of the Adepti. "These Adepti sound strong. And this Rex Lapis is interesting too! I want to meet him!"
"Maybe you will...maybe you won't. Rex Lapis died not long ago. Quite a few years ago to be exact."
"...W-What?" Kiana widened her eyes. "How did he die? Isn't he a God?"
"Gods are not invincible." Venti shook his head with a frown. "He was assassinated during the titular Rite. Or so that's what the public thinks hehe~" He revealed while leaning in and whispering so Kiana can only hear.
"The public thinks? How do you know?" Kiana leaned forth while whispering as well.
"Well, I've met the guy a few times. You can even say we're personal friends who go way back!" Venti said, still leaning forth.
"Go way back?" Kiana stared with confusion. "How back are we talking about?"
"Ehhh...about 2000 years." Venti shrugged.
Kiana's eyes widened as Venti revealed another shocking piece of information. Her mind was registering it as she then concluded something. "2000? Then does that mean..."
"Yes. I'm also a God myself." Venti winked. "I'm known as Lord Barbatos, God of Freedom, the Anemo Archon. Don't tell anyone." He winked twice.
"Wow... I'm talking to a God of this world." Kiana mumbled with awe. "But you're just a drunk." Her awe deflated as the image of a God of this world disappeared as she thought of Venti. She thought of a man drinking while happily dancing around and singing in her head now.
"Looks can be deceiving~ Ehe~" Venti chuckled.
"By the way...you said Anemo Archon right?" Kiana tilted her head. "But you also called yourself God of Freedom... I'm confused."
"Let me explain to you, young one." Venti sounded a bit too smug as he coughed into his hand. "The Seven Archons which are known as The Seven, are essentially the big Gods. These seven Gods rule over the seven regions of the world. Archon is another word for God. And each one of us rules over an element."
"Element?" Kiana blinked. "What do mean by element?"
"It's simple really. Our world has seven elements, and each one of us Archons holds power over one of them. I hold the power of Anemo, which is another word for wind basically... Rex Lapis holds the power of Geo, the element of earth basically."
"Ooohhhh...now I get it!" Kiana said with awe. "So it's like a basic RPG video game? Where characters can use magic and stuff."
"Video game? RPG?" Venti stared with confusion.
"Mm. F/N loves to play RPGs!"
"Right...anyway...let's continue shall we?"
"Mm!" Kiana found herself intrigued by learning more about how this world functions, and she was sure Mei and the others are listening in as well. That depends on who walked into the room and was interested in how far they've progressed with finding F/N. "So what other title does Rex Lapis hold?" Her neck and back were hurting as the two of them continued to lean forth, she hopes this secret stuff ends soon.
"He's known as the God of Contracts and so much more. He makes contracts with many people essentially...and if the contract were to be violated and broken in one way or another...you will suffer the 'Wrath of the Rock'."
"Ah...funny. I get it!" Kiana snickered. "Cause he controls Geo." That was quite clever she'll admit. She noticed Venti wasn't laughing or anything, he looked at her with a serious face.
"No seriously. Those are his exact same words." Venti said. "He will make sure you suffer the consequences. And things end up pretty badly." He shuddered.
"I-I see..." She sweat dropped. "What other Gods are there?"
"Well there's Inazuma..." Venti hummed. "It's overseas and you can get there by boat. It's quite far and it's located to the southeast of Liyue Harbor. The Archon there is the Raiden Shogun. She is kind of something I'll tell you...both her character and how she treated her nation in the past."
"Raiden Shogun..." Kiana mumbled as she couldn't help but think of Mei.
"She's the Electro Archon and her real name is Raiden Ei."
"Even her name sounds like Mei-Senpai's!" Kiana said with shock as she stopped leaning.
["Raiden Ei..."] She heard Mei mutter.
"Mei-Senpai...?" Venti raised a brow.
"Yep! Mei-Senpai and the Raiden Shogun seem to have similar names hehe! It was a coincidence that left me quite shocked." She was truly shocked at the coincidence.
"Well...coincidences happen from time to time." Venti muttered. "Do you have a picture I can see of this Mei person?" He asked. If his theory is true, then perhaps there exist counterparts of a person in more than one world. Is that why Kiana called him Wendy yesterday? Because she must have known his counterpart of another world that is a female? Or does he count as Wendy's counterpart? Hmm...now that he thinks of it more. Counterparts are really confusing.
"Um, sure..." Kiana blinked with confusion as she pulled out a picture that she showed to Venti. It was a different one from the other day of her and F/N. Instead, this one was with not just her, but Mei and F/N all together. Mei was smiling as she held hands with Kiana. The two of them were happy while F/N was seen stuck in a chokehold by Kiana with her other hand.
Venti stared at the picture of the three as he looked on with surprise. "Wow..." He mumbled. It's not just the fact that Mei and Ei look similar, it's the fact that it's too uncanny how closely related they are, that if you were to put the two of them together, you would think they were related!
"Something wrong?" Kiana asked. "You better not be thinking anything dirty of her! She's taken already! By me!" She proudly smirked.
"[K-Kiana! Don't say that out loud!]" Mei who was watching from her screen held her hands to her face as she was steaming red with embarrassment.
"I was just surprised is all." Venti replied honestly.
"Why is that?" Kiana asked with confusion.
"Well...it's because she and Ei look similar." Venti said with a hum. "If I were to see the two of them together, you would think they were related somehow."
Mei widened her eyes at the information as she unfolded her arms from one another and stared at Venti. She has a counterpart?!
Kiana meanwhile froze at Venti's words as she had to take a few seconds to process. "I-I'm sorry I didn't hear you correct...what did you say?"
"That Ei and Mei look the same—"
"Take me to Inazuma!" Kiana slammed her hands onto the table as blood was dripping from her nose. "Hehe~ Hehe~ Two Mei's..." She imagines in her mind the idea of having two Mei's by her side. The three of them together...sharing a bed...clothes falling...kiss—
["Kiana..."] The sound of a blade being sharpened rang through Kiana's ears as she quickly stopped fantasizing and shivered. ["No horni, Kiana. Bad Kiana."]
"I-I'm not bad..." Kiana slouched slightly and pouted with a sad face.
["Bad Kiana! Bad!"] Mei repeated as Kiana whimpered.
"What exactly am I seeing..." Venti sweat dropped as he didn't understand whether Kiana was crazy or not. "Who are you talking to exactly?" He decided to finally ask.
"O-Oh right! You can't hear her or see her!" Kiana quickly realized. "I'm communicating with Mei-Senpai you see... It's with a special device that allows me to speak to her from home."
"I see...fascinating. All this time I thought you were just crazy." Venti muttered.
"Hey!" Kiana took offense to that.
Mei looked on with silence as she sighs. She understands that Kiana wanted to go alone and seek out F/N, but she wishes to help as well with finding him. Everyone else let her go and they'll monitor from home to make sure nothing goes wrong. When deciding on who was mainly gonna monitor Kiana's journey, she participated. Now, she wishes she can do more to help.
"You wish to help don't you?"
"Is it obvious?" Mei looked back and saw Bronya staring at her as she sighs. "F/N is important to us as well. The fact that she's the only one searching while we sit back and observe is terrible."
"Why not go there as well then and help out?" Bronya asked. "I'll take over your position and you can go out and help Idiotka. Besides...the way she was acting right there when she learned of your counterpart, she needs to be monitored."
"Bronya..."
"I'll be fine here. Besides, the two of you will find F/N. You have a lead on where to go, don't you?" Bronya asked with a smile.
"Mm...we do." Mei smirked as she nodded. She got up from her chair and began walking away as she was gonna prepare herself before she leaves. She stopped by the door and looked back at Bronya. "You don't want to come? Someone else can take your position that way it can be the three of us." She suggested.
"I'll be fine here. Besides, I don't mind observing and helping from the sidelines." She told Mei who went quiet for a moment and then nodded at her.
"Then I shall prepare to leave..." Mei muttered as the door opened and she exited the room.
-~-
Down bad tuna with her imagination right there.
That is all for now everyone. Thank you for reading and reaching the end of this chapter! That is all for now at the current moment.
Your support means a lot once again. Until the next time we meet, bye.
Word Count: 3,052