Chapter 187: Liyue
"Miss Ganyu, if you don't mind my asking, why did you join this... Teyvat Organization?" Camus asked, his voice smooth and pleasant. He couldn't resist a slight, teasing smile. "Honestly, the name of your organization is a little peculiar, isn't it?"
Curacao walked beside him, her gaze sweeping over their surroundings with practiced vigilance, all while quietly listening to Camus fish for information.
"Because there is someone in the organization I wish to follow," Ganyu replied, seemingly unbothered by Camus's light jab. Her expression softened, a genuine yearning coloring her features as she spoke of her reason for joining.
"Is it Ningguang?" Camus pressed gently.
Ganyu shook her head. "No. It is the head of our department."
Camus's smile widened, his charm dialed up. "To inspire such adoration in you, Miss Ganyu, he must be a truly impressive individual."
He knew he couldn't inquire directly about this department head, so he had to find a way to circle the topic.
"Oh, yes," Ganyu affirmed, her voice brimming with an almost reverent praise. "That lord is a truly remarkable person—powerful, gentle, and more knowledgeable than anyone I have ever known..." Whenever the conversation turned to Zhongli, she had an endless stream of commendations to offer.
Watching Ganyu list the virtues of her superior with no sign of stopping, Camus found it difficult to maintain the friendly curve of his lips.
He quickly interjected, "Then this person in charge must be terribly busy, yes? Much like the head of our organization's action team. He's saddled with missions day in and day out, already going gray from the stress. It's an exhausting life."
"Hmm... not exactly," Ganyu said, pausing for a moment to organize her thoughts. She wanted to phrase it in a way Camus could easily understand. "In fact, that lord... well, he has already retired. Lady Ningguang is managing our department's affairs now. But even she isn't overwhelmed every day. With Miss Keqing and the others assisting, everything runs quite smoothly."
"...Retired?" The word left Camus's lips as a hollow echo. His charming facade vanished, replaced by a blank, uncomprehending stare. He paid no attention to the rest of what Ganyu said.
Even the ever-composed Curacao couldn't help but widen her eyes, her head snapping around to look at Ganyu.
Camus truly never expected to hear the word 'retired' from the mouth of someone in another underground organization. Did groups like theirs even have such a concept? He had always assumed the best possible outcome for people like them was to die of old age while still on the job—and that was the optimistic scenario. Most died midway through a mission or at the hands of a traitor.
A new, more cynical question surfaced. "Are your department head and the organization's boss relatives?" he asked, unable to stop himself.
Otherwise, how could the leader possibly feel secure letting a department head simply retire? Why not find a way to silence them permanently?
'No, that can't be it,'Camus thought.'Even if they were brothers, that level of trust is impossible at this level.'
He was certain that in his own organization, if Rum ever told the Boss he planned to retire, the Boss would agree with a smile... and then secretly order Gin to dispose of him.
The chilling thought spurred another question before Ganyu could even answer the first. "Um... this might be a bit presumptuous, but are you certain your lord truly retired safely? And didn't just... disappear, or something of that nature?"
Though she found his sudden morbid turn strange, Ganyu nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I am sure."
"I was just in contact with him the day before yesterday," she continued. "He's been quite busy recently, reshaping the local terrain. He hasn't even had time for a proper cup of tea. I've already prepared some fine leaves to send over to him soon." She trailed off, wondering if Kirara could help with the delivery.
Her voice had lowered towards the end, and while Camus didn't catch the last few words, he understood the core message. He couldn't fathom why a retired old man would be "reshaping terrain," but that detail wasn't important.
What was important was that the Teyvat Organization actually allowed its people to leave alive. And not just anyone—a department head.
Could the rumor he'd heard earlier be true? The one about the son of another Teyvat department head joining his organization? He had initially dismissed it as the boasts of an overeager recruit. But if Teyvat allowed a department head to retire, then not pursuing the son for leaving to join a rival group... it suddenly didn't seem so impossible.
Was their organization really that lenient? A flicker of something that felt dangerously like envy sparked in Camus's chest. If he didn't know better, he might have been tempted to ask Ganyu if they were accepting applications.
He forcibly suppressed the turbulent emotions, regaining his focus just in time to hear Ganyu answering his previous question.
"As for the relationship between our boss and that lord..." Ganyu's expression was firm, her belief absolute. "They are friends, of course. Friends who have experienced a great many things together."
'Just friends, huh...'
Still, if the boss was friends with a retired old man, did that mean the leader of Teyvat was also an old man, just like their own? Camus felt a pang of disappointment. How boring. Were all organization bosses just stubborn old men with one foot already in the grave?
Over the next few minutes, Camus asked more questions about the retired lord and Ningguang. He didn't glean much more useful intelligence, only confirming that their department handled the commercial side of the Teyvat Organization, and that Ningguang had taken over as acting head after her predecessor's retirement.
Ganyu, for her part, made a few token attempts to inquire about the Black Organization, acting the part of a member gathering information. It was a necessary dance; to show no interest at all would have been abnormal. Of course, just like Ganyu, all Camus offered were surface-level details, carefully avoiding anything that touched upon actual secrets.
"And so," Ganyu said, stopping as they returned to their starting point, "I have given you both a tour of the company. Are there any further questions?" She turned to face them, her voice as gentle as ever.
"We haven't seen everything, have we?" Camus gestured toward a hallway they had bypassed earlier, the same one he had noted before. "We haven't been over there yet."
"I'm sorry," Ganyu replied, her smile unwavering but her eyes firm. "That is a restricted area. Outsiders are not permitted to enter."
Seeing the gentle but clearly non-negotiable refusal in her expression, Camus had no choice but to concede.
Ganyu escorted them to the company entrance, where they exchanged their farewells.
"Oh, right, Miss Ganyu," Camus called out just as she turned to leave. "I forgot to ask earlier. What is the name of your department?"
Ganyu had only taken a few steps. She paused, slightly taken aback, then turned back with a warm smile.
"It is Liyue."
After speaking, seeing that Camus and Curacao were lingering outside the entrance with nothing further to say, she gave a final nod, turned, and walked away, disappearing from their sight moments later.
"Liyue?" Camus muttered to himself, a frown touching his lips. "Another strange name. Why does that organization insist on such bizarre naming conventions?"
Curacao finished organizing the new information in her mind, then shot a cool glance at Camus. "There's no one around now. Should we sneak back in and take a look?"
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