Jade Chamber.
"Understood. You may go."\
Standing atop the Jade Chamber and gazing down over Liyue Harbor, Ningguang had listened to report after report and still turned up nothing. It was, frankly, beginning to try her patience.
It hadn't been long since she'd first learned of Mobius's existence — yet even in that short span, enough had already happened to fill a lifetime of surprises.
That was no excuse to let her guard down. It never was, with anything.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps sounded from behind her — familiar ones.
Keqing...
The name surfaced in her mind before she'd even turned around. Slowly, Ningguang turned to face her.
"I heard something's been going on lately. What happened?" Keqing asked the moment she stepped up beside her.
"Indeed. Something has come up," Ningguang replied with a measured nod.
"Then what, exactly?"
When Ningguang still didn't elaborate, Keqing couldn't hold back any longer and asked outright.
"Well..."
Under Keqing's attentive gaze, Ningguang relayed everything Kaito had told her — simply and precisely, holding nothing back.
"Why is it always him?"
The moment Kaito's name came up, the words slipped out of Keqing before she could stop them. She caught herself quickly — that wasn't the point right now.
Because what she was really turning over in her mind was whether someone like that could actually exist. It sounded more fantastical than half the stories she'd ever heard about the gods.
So she pressed on: "And this person called Mobius — is she really that extraordinary? Doesn't it sound a little far-fetched?"
To Keqing, thousands of years was already an incomprehensible stretch of time. Tens of thousands? Utterly beyond imagining.
"I haven't seen it for myself, so I can't say. But I imagine they have no reason to deceive us about something like this."
Since she had yet to lay eyes on Mobius herself, Ningguang wasn't about to offer any definitive answer.
"Then where is he right now? I'll go find him and ask directly."
Taking Ningguang's answer at face value, Keqing decided to go seek out Kaito herself.
"Him? Are you referring to Kaito — or to Mobius?" For a moment, Ningguang genuinely couldn't tell which of the two Keqing meant.
"Kaito, obviously. Unless you already know where this Mobius person is?" If Ningguang actually knew where Mobius was, Keqing had to admit she'd want to see that for herself.
"That, I'm afraid, I do not." Ningguang shook her head slowly, then continued, "As for Kaito — he's still staying where he was before. You should know where that is."
"Where he was before?"
Keqing thought for a moment, then it came back to her. "Got it. I'm off, then."
And with that, she turned and left.
What an impatient one...
Though honestly, I'm not much calmer myself right now...
Watching Keqing go, Ningguang let out a quiet, helpless breath.
After that, she turned to head inside and attend to the mountain of matters still waiting for her.
She cared about the Mobius situation deeply, but there was nothing to be done — there was too much else on her plate to simply stand there waiting.
Hm?
Just as she reached the doorway and was about to step through, Ningguang noticed something: the door, which should have been closed, was now standing half-open.
She remembered clearly — she had shut it herself, not long ago.
Who went inside?
With that thought, she pushed the half-open door and stepped through — and there she saw someone seated in the very chair where she herself usually sat.
Or more precisely: a silhouette that made her instantly recall every word Kaito had said.
"You don't mind that I took your seat, do you? Big Sis Ningguang~"
The figure turned to face her at the doorway — Mobius, seated in her chair, wearing an expression that might almost be called apologetic.
Naturally, Ningguang didn't believe for a second that she actually felt sorry.
"Of course not."
Past the first shock, Ningguang composed herself and offered a faint smile, signaling that she didn't mind at all.
She had no choice in the matter, really — what else could she say? Anything other than that, and there was no telling what might follow.
Though Ningguang was well aware that even with that answer, there was still no telling what might follow.
The other party had come to her door for a reason. That much was obvious.
What was she to do now?
Wait and see if Keqing came back?
But even if she did, it probably wouldn't help much...
Or to put it another way — the only person whose arrival might actually matter right now was Kaito.
"Don't just stand there — sit down," said Mobius, gesturing toward a nearby chair with one finger.
It was only a suggestion, of course. Whether Ningguang sat was entirely her own choice.
And as it happened, Ningguang walked over to the chair Mobius had indicated and sat down.
"I believe you must be Miss Mobius," Ningguang said carefully, feeling her way forward.
She already felt fairly certain of the answer — but she had to ask anyway.
After all, a guess was only a guess until you heard it confirmed from the source.
____
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