Ren
"What a pain," Ren groaned.
The interrogation room was bigger than he expected. From all the movies he'd seen, he expected them to be smaller to make people feel trapped.
Maybe it was because he wasn't the criminal and they put him in a better room?
'Eh, who knows.' He shrugged.
A Garde walked beside him, escorting him through the Palais's empty hall towards the entrance.
"On behalf of the Gardes and the Champion Duelist, thank you for your assistance in this matter." The man said, giving him a slight nod. "To be frank with you, these rogues have been causing us some trouble. They always seem to slip through our grasp. You've done us a great service."
He looked at Ren up and down, the unspoken accusation clear as day.
'Ugh, again with this?' Ren thought, keeping his face neutral. 'They're as thorough as the Millelith.'
"Please, I'm just happy to help." He said, his words lacking any sincerity.
"Clearly." The Garde laughed. "Indulge me in my curiosity for a moment, how did you come across them? They are experts at concealing their tracks, and Fontaine's wilderness is not exactly easy to navigate. Especially for a first time visitor."
Ren had to hold back from rolling his eyes.
The people interrogating him had asked him for basically everything related to what happened.
Frankly, it was a pain in the ass. He could tell they were grateful for his help, but they did a bad job at hiding their suspicions of him.
He really just wanted to leave and doze off in a hotel somewhere. But he didn't want to get in any unnecessary trouble with the Gardes, so he played along.
'At least Margaux paid me a shit ton for helping her.'
Sadly, no amount of Mora would be able to free him from the shock of what he saw in those pictures.
"If you may indulge me in my curiosity, how exactly did you find them?"
"I'm an owner of a courier business. You pick up a lot of skills from something like that."
The Garde narrowed his eyes slightly at the answer, which was intentional on Ren's part. His answers would always be half-truths that bordered on mockery.
If they wanted to pester him, he'd make their time as miserable as possible.
"And a courier managed to effortlessly take down three rogue Champion Duelists?"
"What can I say, I'm full of surprises." Ren shrugged, sending the man a confident smirk. "All I had to do was take them out one by one. You already have the report of my questioning, and I don't feel like saying it all over again."
"Fair enough." It looked like he got the message.
At the same time, they arrived at the set of doors towards the Palais entrance. "We will contact you again if we have further questions. Have a good day, Mr. Roman, and stay safe."
Ren walked out of the building and breathed in the fresh air.
"I need a nap." He rubbed his eyes. It looked like he still had about an hour or so of sunlight, so he could use this time to—
"Excuse me!"
'Oh fuck my life.'
Ren looked to see a woman with pink hair running toward him. She had a fancy looking hat, held an expensive looking camera and… wore a monocle?
Teyvat's fashion sense has always been weird, but the people here have always found a way to make it work.
He could never see people on Earth wear such elaborate clothing every day. Teyvatians were really different.
'Don't know how I feel about the detached sleeves though.'
"Can I help you?"
"Are you Ren Roman? The man who took down three Rogue Duelists all by himself?!"
"Wow, news travels fast, huh."
"Not really. But knowing about the latest scoops is just my job." She extended her hand, and Ren shook it. "I'm Charlotte, a journalist from Steambird."
Now that was a name he actually knew something about. From his short visit to the Steambird, he was pretty sure her face came up as one of their most hardworking journalists.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Miss Charlotte." She was about to say something, but Ren cut her off. "I have a feeling that you want to ask me some questions about what happened. But I'm quite drained after being questioned, so I'll have to pass."
Surprisingly, Charlotte didn't seem put down by this at all.
"That's understandable. But what if I could give you something worth your time?" She smiled. "I hear that you're looking for a partner for the Champion Duelist training."
Ren raised a brow.
"How do you even know that?"
Charlotte's smile widened, completely disregarding his question. "As I said, it comes with the job." She tapped her pen against a notebook she pulled out of nowhere. "I also happen to know a fair number of skilled fighters who'd be very interested in partnering with the man who single-handedly captured three Rogue Duelists."
She tried to hide it, but a smug grin still formed on her face. "So… interview?"
"You are persistent, I'll give you that." Ren sighed, "Alright, I'll bite. Let's get this over with."
"Wonderful!"
She pulled out her camera again, but with a dedicated stand this time.
"Wait, we're doing it here?"
"Of course!"
'Jeez, journalists are scary. But I can respect it.'
/ — /
Thirty minutes later, Ren understood exactly why Charlotte's was one of the Steambird's best.
'She doesn't miss a thing.'
She'd asked about basically everything, even more than the official questioning that he got from the Gardes.
Stuff about his background in Liyue, his visit to Fontaine, and his interest in the Champion Duelist training. It was actually kind of overstimulating.
Heck, she even knew about his shikigami.
It turned out that his use of them in the Rite of Descension preparation got a lot more coverage than he expected.
He was really surprised when she handed him a newspaper with a picture of Nue.
Obviously he didn't go into too much detail regarding his shikigami or any of his abilities. He just told her the general strokes, along with the things he had to write in Liyue for paperwork.
Charlotte noticed his deflection, but didn't push him any further. As long as she got a good story, she was satisfied.
By the time they finished, the sun had already begun to set.
"That's all the questions I have. Thank you for your time, Mr. Roman." She shook his hand again.
"No problem, but about those partner connections."
"Right!" Charlotte perked up, flipping her notebook back open. "I know several skilled adventurers who'd jump at the chance to—"
She paused.
Flipped a page.
Flipped another.
"...I'll have the list ready by tomorrow."
"You don't already have it?"
"I have the contacts." She said it quickly. "I just need to actually reach out to them first. Confirm availability. That sort of thing."
She totally forgot to bring the list.
Ren sighed, 'I just got jebaited.'
"It's a very short list to compile! I promise it won't take long. I'll have everything ready by tomorrow." Charlotte's professional composure cracked slightly, looking sheepish and a bit guilty.
Ren considered giving her a hard time about it, but honestly, he was too tired to bother, and there was something almost endearing about watching someone competent lose their composure.
Kinda reminded him of Ganyu a little.
"Alright." He waved a hand. "Tomorrow's fine."
"You have my word as a journalist. I'll have everything you need to make an informed decision."
'Would have preferred it if you had everything ready from the get go.' But Ren didn't voice his thoughts.
"Where do I find you tomorrow, then?"
"The Steambird office. I'll secure your name for a visit, so you just have to say my name to the front desk." She finished packing all her things back into her Vision storage. "I really do appreciate this, Mr. Roman. This story's going to be a good one."
"Just… don't make me look like some hero or anything. I really was just a random adventurer who happened to be in the right place."
"I'll keep that in mind." She grinned. "See you tomorrow!"
She was gone before he could respond, disappearing into the crowd with the same abruptness she'd appeared with.
Ren let out a tired sigh and looked up at the setting sun. It looked like he wouldn't be able to do much now, so it was best if he looked for a good place to stay.
'Maybe I could even book one of those expensive hotels for once.' He couldn't help the smile that crept on his face. With Fontaine's focus on appearance and grandeur, he wondered what a fancy hotel would look like.
"Dammit, I should have asked Charlotte about that."
Thankfully, the Adventurers Guild would know a lot about accommodations in Fontaine. After being a partner to Liyue's branch as the Shadow Courier, he got to see all sorts of stuff the Guild does behind closed doors.
As he walked towards the direction of the Fontainian Adventurers Guild, he felt something odd.
He kept walking for a while, purposefully taking unconventional and longer routes through the city.
Sure enough, there was a constant presence that was following him. His senses were finally able to lock onto the figure's energy as they were the only familiar energy that stayed within his range.
'Is this person following me?' Ren grumbled, but made sure to look oblivious. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now.
He kept his pace measured and walked to a quieter part of Fontaine, far from the places where people usually walked through.
A part of him considered just telling the Gardes and letting them deal with it. But he really didn't want to go back to them again.
Of course, there were risks that came with dealing with the stalker himself. But he could say whatever he was going to do to be self defence.
They did already suspect that the Rogue Duelists wouldn't leave his interference unanswered, and that he should expect some form of retaliation.
'I didn't think it'd be this soon though.'
The streets emptied as the sun disappeared and the lights turned on, further emphasizing the emptiness of the area.
Through it all, the presence continued to follow him at a consistent distance.
If he were anyone else or if he didn't have his sensing ability, he would have been none the wiser.
He spotted a narrow alley that was tucked between two closed shops. There didn't seem to be anyone nearby at all, so it was the perfect place to make his move.
Suddenly going into a sprint, he headed into the alley and sank into the shadows.
He could feel the person following him increasing their pace to catch up. They stopped just at the entrance of the alley, hesitating to go in.
Eventually, they slowly walked in, but their reluctance was obvious in their pace and energy fluctuation.
'Hmm, this person's energy is kinda familiar. 'Ren emerged on the rooftops and looked down at the individual with a ridiculously oversized trench coat.'They're definitely not a Vision wielder, their energy is more negatively aligned instead of positive.'
"...Huh?" The person let out a confused sound. From their voice, it was apparent that they were a girl.
She turned her head around the alley, putting her hands on her hips in frustration.
"Where could he have gone?"
Ren brought his hands together.
The woman was none the wiser as Toad appeared at the far end of the alley and shot out its tongue, wrapping fast around their torso and arms.
"WAAAH—!"
The shout was one of shock and fear, before her eyes dropped to the thick, glistening appendage now coiled around them.
"—Is this a TONGUE?!"
The shriek echoed off the alley walls, muffled slightly as the tongue's grip tightened, pinning both arms firmly at their sides.
Toad took offence at her disgust and tightened a bit more. Not enough to harm the person, but enough for it to be uncomfortable.
Ren jumped down from the roof, making his stalker let out another shout that was cut short once he pointed his blade at her.
"Who are you and why are you following me?"