"That's right, I'm Keqing of the Qixing." Keqing gave a small nod toward the girl who was clearly not from Liyue, then continued: "I came to find Kaito because of—"
"The Mobius situation, right?"
Miko had caught the hesitation in the other girl's voice, so she said it herself. Though she wasn't entirely certain that was the reason for the visit, she figured it was worth testing the waters.
If it turned out she was wrong, then she and this Qixing star would have quite a different conversation ahead of them.
"That's correct." Seeing that the girl in front of her already knew about the matter, Keqing gave a nod as well.
She had just been wondering whether to bring it up — whether or not the other party was aware — and that brief uncertainty had made her hesitate.
Either way, for something this important, the fewer people who knew, the better. If too many people caught wind of it, there was no telling what kind of chaos might follow.
Tap, tap, tap—
Just as Miko was about to say something more, footsteps sounded from behind.
"Keqing, what brings you here?" Kaito stepped up beside Miko and asked directly.
He already had a guess, but he asked anyway.
"It's about Mobius." Now that Kaito had appeared, Keqing got straight to the point.
"Then let's talk inside." Kaito nodded and gestured in invitation.
Whatever the circumstances, basic hospitality still applied. Standing out here to discuss something like this was hardly proper.
"Sorry for the intrusion, then."
Knowing this wasn't a conversation for the doorstep, Keqing didn't stand on ceremony and walked right in.
"Miko, would you mind brewing some tea?" Kaito said over his shoulder before following her inside.
"Sure."
Miko turned to watch the backs of Kaito and the Qixing star as they disappeared inside, and when she answered, her voice had a distinctly flat, deflated quality to it.
Not that it was the tea-making itself she minded, of course.
Next time it won't be Ganyu showing up too, will it…
I wonder if they even know each other…
She stood rooted to the spot, thoughts drifting quietly in that direction.
So far, two of the Liyue Qixing had already come to find Kaito. Both visits were ostensibly about Mobius — but given the parade of women in Kaito's life, Miko couldn't help keeping a close eye on the pattern.
Oh, whatever…
I'd better go make that tea.
With that thought, she turned and headed into the courtyard.
"Actually, I've already told Ningguang everything I know — going to her would get you the same information." After listening to Keqing explain that she'd just come from Ningguang's, Kaito said as much.
"I figured. But I still thought it would be better to come to you directly."
Keqing felt that if she truly wanted to understand the full picture of what was going on, Kaito was the one she needed to talk to.
"Your tea, both of you." Miko arrived just in time to catch Keqing's last words, and she couldn't help but furrow her brow slightly as she set the cups down.
She was rather curious what they'd been saying before that — was this really a conversation about Mobius?
"Thank you." Keqing looked up at the girl who'd just carried the freshly brewed tea over and offered her thanks promptly.
"You've worked hard, Miko."
He'd already had her brew tea twice in a row now, so Kaito felt he had to say something.
"It's nothing, really. Just making tea." The words came out technically fine, but Miko's tone was off — like someone saying exactly what they were supposed to say, under mild duress.
Hmm…
What's gotten into Miko?
Is she actually annoyed that I keep asking her to make tea?
Kaito glanced at her. Something was clearly a little off. But with Keqing sitting right there, now wasn't the time to ask.
I'll check in with her later.
With that thought set aside, he turned back to Keqing: "Go ahead and ask. I'm right here."
By the time he said that, Miko had already slipped back outside.
"Mobius… what is she after?" Keqing thought for a moment, then decided to lead with that.
"On that front, I can't give you a definitive answer right now. What I can say is — she's probably here because of me."
"In that case, if you were to leave Liyue, would she follow?"
Keqing was characteristically direct, and this time was no different.
After all, if Kaito leaving Liyue meant Mobius would leave with him, that was the simplest solution as far as Liyue was concerned. She would, of course, arrange appropriate compensation from Ningguang for the inconvenience — simply sending someone away without acknowledgment wasn't the Liyue way of doing things.
Only Keqing would come right out and say something like that…
The thought surfaced unbidden as Kaito listened.
But regardless — he had no intention of leaving Liyue just like that. So his answer was going to be no, one way or another. He'd already decided this was where Mobius's story would play out, and his arrangement with Childe was more or less in place. He couldn't simply walk away.
"That I honestly don't know. Maybe worth a try." He said it like that rather than a flat refusal — a direct no would only raise questions.
Of course, the actual outcome would be anything but a yes.
____
👻🔥Seek: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Oshi No Ko: Co-starring with Kana Arima
Let's hit these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter for the public!