"Keqing-san, I've been investigating the Fatui these past few days. There have been a few of them outside the city, but not many. Inside Liyue Harbor, though, there are quite a lot—especially that Fatui Harbinger, Childe. We've run into him several times."
Tabibito reported her findings to Keqing honestly.
"Mt. Tianheng…" Keqing frowned, thinking. "What are they trying to do?"
"I think they're making a Sigil of Permission," Tabibito said. "When we caught those Fatui before, it was in the Mt. Tianheng area."
"Do you remember Beidou just mentioned something happening around Guyun Stone Forest?" Ryou set his teacup down and spoke calmly, then looked at Tabibito. "You've heard about what's going on over there, right?"
"Guyun Stone Forest?" Tabibito thought for a moment before explaining. "I heard some areas were damaged. The Adventurers' Guild even has commissions up for people to investigate."
"I was thinking of going myself, but… I heard there are a lot of sealed ancient gods out there, so I decided not to."
"So that's how it is." Ryou nodded.
"Tabibito, then I'll have to trouble you to keep a close eye on Mt. Tianheng and Guyun Stone Forest," Ryou said. "If you find anything, come tell us right away. This is your payment."
He took out 100,000 Mora and set it on the table. If you wanted Tabibito to run errands, you didn't do it without paying.
"Huh? Sure!" Tabibito nodded the moment she saw the money.
"Oh, right. You know the alchemists in Mondstadt, don't you?" Ryou asked.
"Mondstadt alchemists… Albedo?" In Tabibito's mind, Mondstadt had three notable alchemists, but Albedo was by far the most famous. Sucrose was talented, and Timaeus was decent too, but there was no way their names would reach all the way to Liyue Harbor. If Ryou was asking, he was probably talking about Albedo.
"Correct." Ryou nodded.
"I'd like to invite Albedo to help me with something. Could you write him a letter and explain the situation?"
"That's easy. No problem!" Tabibito patted her chest and agreed.
Ryou glanced at her and nodded.
"Then… if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving," Tabibito said quickly. "Once we learn anything, we'll come back to find you—no, to find Keqing-san."
She hurriedly corrected herself.
She could feel Keqing's gaze turning strange, the kind that made her scalp prickle. Tabibito stood up in a rush, grabbed Paimon, and fled.
After she left, Ryou gently stroked Keqing and said, "Tabibito's capable. Having her watch those areas will put us at ease."
"Besides, you know what kind of person I am, don't you?"
Keqing rolled her eyes. In fact, his character was so good it was almost absurd.
But he was definitely aware of it. The problem was, that "awareness" would probably end up landing on her in the end.
When she thought about last night's madness, even Keqing felt a little weak in the knees. And honestly, she didn't have a great impression of Tabibito. The first time she met her, Tabibito kept staring at her husband. If Keqing hadn't been there, who knew what might've happened?
Later, she'd tell the butler to keep Tabibito from coming in—especially when Keqing wasn't home.
Still, knowing Ganyu would be arriving soon made Keqing feel better. Today, she had to seize the chance and take Ganyu down.
Ganyu's senses were sharp, so even if she used medicine, she had to be extremely careful. If Ganyu noticed, it would be a total loss.
"I never suspected anything between you and Tabibito," Keqing said to Ryou. "Besides, she came to Liyue Harbor to find her brother. If she can't find him, she'll have to leave."
"A sweetheart is still a 'brother,' technically," Ryou said with a grin.
"So you want to be her sweetheart?" Keqing shot him a look and pinched his waist. "If you do, I won't stop you. She can't have gone far. Go on, chase her."
"Cough—cough. I'm joking," Ryou said with an awkward laugh.
"Hmph. Who knows if you're joking or not. I'm not talking to you." Keqing stood up and walked off.
Ryou watched her go, then withdrew his gaze. He knew Keqing had only said it casually, so he didn't take it to heart.
He leaned back into the swing, feeling even more relaxed. He'd been in Liyue Harbor for quite a while now, but days this comfortable were rare.
…
In the afternoon, Ganyu arrived right on time.
The moment she came in, she noticed Ryou gently swinging. Ganyu smiled—she hadn't expected him to like a swing.
"Ryou-sensei!" Ganyu called as she walked up.
"Mm?" Ryou rubbed his eyes and looked at her. "Oh, it's you, Ganyu. You're here to see Keqing, right?"
"Mhm." Ganyu nodded.
Not long after, Keqing came out, smiling as she stepped forward and hugged Ganyu.
"Ganyu-nee is here. Let's eat while we talk. We can talk more later."
"And… in a bit, help treat me too."
"Ah… okay. I understand," Ganyu said, her face turning a shade redder.
But thinking about these two gave her a headache. How many days had it been already? How were they still this intense?
Every time she treated Keqing's injuries, she ended up blushing too.
Before Ganyu could think any further, Keqing was already pulling her to sit.
The table was packed with delicious dishes. Yet the moment Ganyu looked at them, she felt something was off—she just couldn't put her finger on what.
"Keqing, these look great. Nice plating," Ryou said, then picked three dishes for Keqing.
"Mm! Y-yeah, great!" Keqing's scalp went numb, but she forced herself to eat. The next second, Ryou served her another dish.
Keqing nearly wanted to cry. My husband is too good to me… but could you please not be this good?
One dish was fine. Two might still be okay. But once it stacked into several, it turned into something with a very special "effect."
Keqing could already imagine how tonight would end. She hurriedly picked up a few dishes for Ganyu instead.
"Ganyu-nee, you eat too."
So I'm invited over just to watch you two flirt in my face? Ganyu thought bitterly.
The meal lasted nearly half an hour.
After they ate, Ganyu brought Keqing into the bedroom. She'd promised to treat Keqing, and she also planned to ask what Keqing actually wanted from her.
But before Ganyu could even start treating her, Keqing tilted her head up to look at her—and in the next second, she kissed her.
Ganyu: ???
Wait. I'm here to treat your injury, and you're trying to…?
So you're that kind of person?!
"K-Keqing, what are you doing?!" Ganyu's whole face went burning hot. She forced Keqing back into a safe distance, then quickly used adeptal arts to send steady energy into her body.
Little by little, Keqing's flushed face returned to normal. Her eyes cleared too.
But almost immediately, Ganyu noticed Keqing's cheeks redden again—her eyes turning watery.
"K-Keqing… are you okay?" Ganyu asked softly.
"I… I'm sorry, Ganyu-nee." Keqing covered her face. Even her palms felt hot with embarrassment.
She'd meant for Ganyu to eat more, because she'd used a recipe to add medicinal ingredients to several dishes. If you ate enough of them, the effect would kick in without anyone noticing.
Her plan was to catch Ganyu today.
Who would've thought her husband would be too thoughtful, stuffing most of those dishes into her own bowl? With Ganyu there, Keqing couldn't exactly refuse to eat.
So the moment she got back to the room, she couldn't control herself. Looking at Ganyu, she'd practically seen Ryou—and that was why she kissed her.
If Ganyu hadn't treated her in time, she would've made an absolute fool of herself.
The more she thought about kissing Ganyu, the more Keqing wanted to disappear. What have I done?
"Ganyu-nee, I—I just acted on impulse. You… ah—wait, don't be like that, I didn't mean it that way…" Keqing grabbed Ganyu's arm when she saw her look frightened.
"No, I—I didn't misunderstand." Ganyu's face went pale. "I just remembered Shenhe is waiting for me at home. I… I need to go."
She struggled free and bolted.
If she stayed any longer, who knew what might happen?
It's true I like your husband… but don't misunderstand. It's not you I like.
And now you're coming after me like that…
Looks like I need to keep my distance from Keqing from now on.
Ganyu genuinely hadn't expected Keqing to have "ideas" about her. Is this revenge?
I'm interested in your husband, so you get interested in me?
How does this ever end?!
Lost in her thoughts, she accidentally ran straight into Ryou and stumbled backward. Just before she hit the floor, Ryou caught her.
Ganyu panicked when she saw him. "I—I have to go back. I—I'm leaving!"
"Huh? Didn't we agree I'd help you handle your official work?" Ryou didn't let her go.
He could see how flustered she was, and Keqing was inside. Don't tell me my wife did something to her…
"Ganyu, you can't leave!" Ryou's expression changed as a thought hit him. "What did you do to Keqing? Were you two hiding something from me—"
"Ah! No, it wasn't me who started it, it was—" Ganyu blurted out, trying to explain.
Ryou: ???
So something really happened?
Noticing Ryou's increasingly strange look, Ganyu struggled free. "I—I need to go back to work. Ask Keqing about it! We didn't do anything. I'm leaving!"
Before Ryou could react, she vanished—gone in an instant.
Watching her use adeptal arts like that, Ryou felt even more confused. She didn't seriously do something, did she?
Even if they were both girls, that was still my wife!
Ryou rushed into the bedroom and found Keqing sitting by the bed, her face red.
He hurried over. "Keqing, I'm late—"
"Late my ass!" Keqing glared at him, furious. "Ganyu and I are both girls. What could possibly happen?!"
If it wasn't because of you, would I have kissed Ganyu?!
Now I don't even know how I'm supposed to face her next time.
I'm not working at the Ministry of Civil Affairs anymore, but this still feels… weird.
"Eheh." Ryou scratched his head. Seeing Keqing like this, his gaze shifted, and he pulled her into his arms.
"Keqing, I misunderstood. Look, it's been getting cold in Liyue Harbor lately. How about we go soak in the hot springs and warm up?"
"Hmph. You want a hot spring because it's cold?" Keqing rolled her eyes. "Don't act like I can't see through you."
"Ganyu treated me because she saw my injury and panicked."
"No matter what, I'm explaining this clearly: I, Keqing, keep myself clean. I'm not that kind of person."
"And… I promised Ganyu you'd go help her. She already wasted a lot of time here today. Go help her."
"Mm. Tomorrow," Ryou said, shaking his head.
"No." Keqing wrapped her arms around his waist and spoke softly. "I already promised for you. Are you going to make me go back on my word?"
"…Fine," Ryou said, giving in. He lowered his head and kissed her forehead, then turned to leave—but paused and looked back at Keqing.
"What?" Keqing asked.
"Did you wash that outfit?" Ryou asked.
"What outfit?" Keqing tilted her head.
"That purple evening gown," Ryou said, grinning. "It really does something for me. Don't throw it away, okay? I'm heading out to help Ganyu."
"Keqing, don't forget to handle it. Tonight I want—ow!"
A pillow came flying at his face. Ryou dodged and hurried out.
Keqing watched him leave, cheeks red, and spat under her breath. "Jerk."
"You tore the fabric, and you even left… stuff on it. How am I supposed to let someone else wash that?"
"And… what's so great about purple anyway? I don't get why he gets so excited every time I wear that purple evening gown!"
[End of chapter]
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