"Uh—wait, hold on… why are you all crying now?"
Cael stared at the five Yakshas in utter confusion.
One by one, tears were quietly falling.
He was genuinely baffled.
Sure, his past self had saved them—but crying this hard?
Were Yakshas really this easy to emotionally break?
At the Same Table Once More
"So… you've just returned from Mondstadt?"
Fushe asked, sitting beside Cael.
Seeing that there was still space, Cael simply joined them at the table.
The Five Yakshas were visibly happy.
Long ago, this was normal—
eating together like this.
"Yes," Cael replied casually.
"I plan to travel through the Seven Nations, recover my memories… and then settle all debts with that one up there."
He raised his chopsticks and casually pointed at the sky.
The table went silent.
"…My lord, please don't take such risks again!"
Bonanus stood up abruptly, her voice trembling.
Five hundred years ago, when Cael fell in that war,
it felt as though the sky itself had collapsed.
Even Morax had suffered accelerated erosion because of it.
And now—
he had returned… only to say he intended to face it all again?
Cael shook his head gently.
"The situation now is more complicated.
I'm not facing just one enemy anymore."
"There are beings involved… from outside this world."
He had thought about this deeply over time.
The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles—
even her title was strange.
She did not call herself Heavenly Principles,
but the one who maintains them.
And above her…
was something else.
A "branch," as his past self once described it—
a concept tied to beings beyond Teyvat.
Too many unanswered questions.
They needed time.
The Yakshas were stunned.
"Outside… the world?"
The information overload was real.
Minu immediately waved it off.
"Stop, stop. Thinking about that hurts my head.
We're eating—no need to think about complicated stuff."
Cael smiled.
"Minu's right. Let's eat."
"Mm!"
How Long Will You Stay?
"My lord…" Bonanus asked softly, cheeks faintly red.
"How long will you be staying in Liyue?"
Cael smiled.
"After this matter is settled, I'll head to Inazuma."
"This matter?"
Xiao asked quietly.
Cael paused, then spoke lightly.
"When work piles up long enough, even gods grow tired.
And eventually… every duty reaches its end."
Silence.
"…That sounded important," Yingda muttered.
"But I didn't understand a word."
"…Wait."
Cael froze.
"…Was that just a riddle?"
He realized it instantly.
He had become a riddle-speaker.
The very thing he hated most.
He stared into the distance.
So this is how it happens…
…
But honestly? Kinda satisfying.
"Ahem."
Cael cleared his throat.
"Anyway—just be prepared."
He lifted his drink.
Then suddenly—
Someone hugged him.
Cael turned his head.
Bonanus—
completely drunk—
was clinging to him tightly.
"Agarest… mm… Agarest…"
"I missed you so much…"
"Bonanus really can't hold her liquor," Cael laughed.
"She's down after ten bottles. I've had fifty."
The table stared at him in disbelief.
Bonanus was usually the best drinker—
as the Hydro Yaksha, she had a natural tolerance.
And Cael?
He always looked drunk.
But never actually was.
Perfect equilibrium.
Then—
"Hey! That's not fair!"
Yingda suddenly rushed over and hugged him too.
"If Bonanus gets a hug, I want one too!"
Now Cael's left arm was trapped by Bonanus,
his right by Yingda.
He blinked.
"…Was my past self's harem really only half-open?
This looks like the full version."
Then—
Someone wrapped their arms around his neck.
Cael stiffened.
Slowly turned his head.
"…Xiao?"
Yes.
It was Xiao.
Slightly drunk.
Black hair falling over half-lidded, unfocused eyes.
His forehead rested against Cael's shoulder, breath warm.
Arms loosely wrapped around him.
"Almond…"
"…tofu…"
Cael: "..."
Fushe and Minu watched in silence, expressions complicated.
"Five hundred years later," Fushe sighed,
"and these three are still just as attached to him."
"Like kids," Minu muttered.
"And shockingly disrespectful."
In his mind, this behavior absolutely warranted punishment.
The fact that Cael tolerated it at all was mercy.
ElsewhereLiyue Harbor – Wangsheng Funeral Parlor
"Director Hu, aren't you going to bed?"
Seele asked, wearing a thin black nightdress, steam still rising from her freshly washed hair.
Hu Tao grinned, waving a letter.
"Hehehe—Cael wrote back!"
"Brother Aga—! I mean—Brother Cael?!"
Seele rushed over excitedly.
They read it together.
"Yay! Brother Cael is coming back!" Seele cheered, hopping in place.
Hu Tao rolled around on the couch, clutching the letter.
At that moment, Zhongli returned.
Seeing their excitement, he asked calmly,
"What news has brought such joy?"
Hu Tao immediately ran over.
"He's coming back!"
Zhongli smiled.
"Indeed… a cause for celebration."
The Rite of Descension was approaching.
And his plan… would soon begin.
I'll need his help, Zhongli thought.
As a final safeguard.
Even if Cael had already guessed everything.
Sumeru
"Connection… established."
Nahida knelt on the ground, holding a simple device she had just finished assembling.
She activated it.
A projection flickered into existence.
"…Oh! I can see him!"
On the screen—
Cael.
Nahida stared quietly.
"…Strange."
"I've never met him…
yet he feels so familiar."
"Why… is that?"