As expected...
Listening to Paimon's words, Kiana knew she'd guessed right — but there was absolutely no way she was going to agree to this.
Still, she couldn't turn Paimon down too bluntly. She'd need an excuse.
"You should go find Wendy for that. I've got something I need to take care of, and she's fast — she could have you in Liyue in no time." Since Wendy was currently wandering around outside and not at the inn, and since they were all the same person anyway, Kiana pointed Paimon in Wendy's direction without hesitation.
"But Wendy just stepped out! I was going to ask her to take me, and she disappeared before I even finished my sentence."
As she said it, Paimon threw her hands up in exasperation.
At this point, Kiana was her only option. Wendy had vanished who-knows-where, and Acheron had been nowhere to be seen since early morning.
"Even so, I still have things I need to do. Just wait for Wendy — she should be back soon." Kiana had already prepared for exactly this kind of response from Paimon, and stated plainly that she was busy.
"...Fine. I'll wait a little longer."
Seeing that Kiana genuinely had somewhere to be, Paimon gave a reluctant concession.
With anyone else, she probably would have kept pressing. But she wasn't that familiar with Kiana yet, so she'd let it go for now.
"Then I'll be off." With those words, Kiana stepped past Paimon and continued toward the exit.
Hah...
Was that a little too cold of me?
Thinking back to the look on Paimon's face just now, Kiana couldn't help feeling a small twinge of guilt.
But if Paimon actually went to Liyue, it really would complicate things for Kaito and Lumine.
Oh well...
I'll have Wendy take her out for a big meal later. That should make up for it...
After turning it over in her mind, Kiana ultimately settled on the same approach Acheron had used before.
A full stomach had a way of making people forget their complaints.
Mm...
Should be about time.
I'll head straight to the shrine...
With that thought, Kiana vanished from where she stood in the blink of an eye.
Since they were all the same person, there was no need to wait for Acheron to come fetch her. She could simply go on her own.
---
The Shrine.
Should I ask Kiana why she looks so much like the Sustainer?
Miko was pacing back and forth outside the room where they'd agreed to meet, turning the question over in her head. She'd even considered slipping away to call Ei over before Acheron arrived with Kiana.
But after thinking it through, she decided against it. Better to feel Kiana out herself first.
It had been a while since the first time she'd laid eyes on Kiana — but back then, she hadn't yet known how strikingly similar Kiana looked to the Sustainer.
Hm?
There they are.
Miko turned sharply toward one direction and spotted Acheron walking toward her — with Kiana at her side.
She composed herself quickly, then went to meet them.
"You really ought to come outside more often. Don't you get bored, shut up in your room all the time?"
As Miko drew closer, she caught Acheron's voice — clearly directed at Kiana.
Mm, I'm curious about that myself...
Hearing those words, Miko quietly echoed the sentiment in her heart.
Not that she'd ever say it aloud, of course. But since Acheron had already put the question out there, all Miko had to do was listen.
Of course, Kiana might not actually answer. She might just brush it off.
"I don't get bored."
Just as Miko was bracing for a non-answer, Kiana gave her one.
Really? Not bored at all?
She's just like Ei — a complete homebody...
Miko privately registered her mild disapproval, then stepped forward to join them and spoke up:
"There's plenty of fun to be had out there, Kiana. You'd do well to take a page from Wendy's book on that front."
"Not too many pages, though. Wendy loves wandering everywhere — she even used to try to drag the rest of us along with her."
Acheron added her own comment in response.
"Maybe that's why that little brat is so fast," Miko mused, in a rare moment of not actually ribbing Wendy — just reflecting.
She couldn't help it. It really did remind her of the wind — free and unrestrained. Even if Wendy was a latecomer to the title of Anemo Archon.
"Wait — Miko, are you saying I'm slow?"
Just as Miko was lost in thought, Kiana said that out of nowhere.
In the past, she never would have said something like that.
But circumstances were different now. She needed Miko to see her as a perfectly ordinary girl.
"Huh?" Miko blinked, caught off guard, then quickly recovered: "Of course not — I was just musing about that little troublemaker, that's all."
Kiana actually seems... kind of normal...
Not that she is, obviously. But still...
Miko had to admit — that offhand remark from Kiana had given her a very ordinary, casual feeling. The kind you'd get chatting with anyone on the street.
The Sustainer certainly would never speak to her like that.
Mm.
...Probably wouldn't, anyway.
The thought hit her: she actually knew nothing about the Sustainer. And just like that, her confidence wavered.
She turned it over a little more, then decided she still didn't think the Sustainer would act like that — even if she had no real basis for the assumption.
"Miko went to Liyue yesterday to find Kaito. She only got back this morning."
Acheron dropped that line without warning, leaving Miko momentarily stunned.
...Huh?
Mei.
Why are you bringing that up?
Miko couldn't quite figure out why Acheron had suddenly said that.
"Somehow, Acheron, it feels like you're trying to tell me something."
Kiana spoke up while Miko was still confused.
Wait — is Mei trying to tell Kiana that I went to Liyue to ask about her?
The more Miko thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
How do I even begin to explain this...
"As long as you understood it." And before Miko could figure out how to spin it, Acheron spoke again.
Understood it?
Miko was baffled all over again. She genuinely couldn't parse what Acheron was getting at anymore.
But from the way Acheron said it, there was clearly something being communicated.
Wait.
Could Mei be hinting at... that?
Something suddenly clicked in Miko's mind.
"I'm used to it," Kiana said simply, her tone perfectly natural.
After that, none of the three said anything for a moment. The silence sat there, a little odd.
How many girlfriends does that guy actually have...
Kiana's easy admission of being "used to it" sent Miko's thoughts drifting in that direction. If Kiana was already this unbothered, the number was clearly not small.
Hold on.
That's not the point right now!
Miko caught herself. She'd somehow completely lost the thread of what she'd actually come here to do.
She had wanted to have a proper, close-up conversation with Kiana — and here she was, mentally tallying up Kaito's romantic entanglements instead.
____
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