"Don't bring up love affairs so quickly. It makes me sound like I'm obsessed with that sort of thing."
"Isn't it true, though? I heard from Keqing that you've been doing it in broad daylight every other day… and you even let her use your mouth in the bath—"
"Ahem!!"
Keqing, face bright red, cut Ying off before she could finish. She darted her eyes toward the little white-haired fairy sitting at the table, listening wide-eyed.
(Paimon is still here. Don't say things like that!)
Keqing's lip movements made her meaning clear.
(Oh my, and who was bragging last night about how 'full' they always are afterward… and how nice it would be to have someone share the burden?)
(Not me, Keqing! You told her that? Don't you know Ying's morality stat is in the negatives?)
(Ugh… sorry, I'll shut up, you idiot.)
(Waaah, I know I was wrong! I'll never say that in front of Ying again!)
"???"
Paimon, who couldn't read lips, puffed up in anger and put her hands on her hips."How dare you ignore me and whisper right in front of me! Do you think I don't exist?"
"Two chicken legs!"
"Deal!!"
Paimon's mood flipped instantly. Once Jack stuffed two chicken legs into her mouth, she forgot the matter entirely.
After their cheerful breakfast, they came to the gate to Teyvat that Jack had placed in the Dust Song Pot.
"Keqing, are you sure you don't want to come with us to join the Teyvat travelers?"
"Well, I arrived a little earlier than Ying. If she continues her journey here later, I can help her out. Besides, without you or me, she wouldn't be able to light up the map alone."
That was true, but Jack couldn't help thinking: Don't you realize how many girls with maxed-out favorability are eyeing your husband?
Before he could phrase it delicately in Teyvat's common tongue, Ying interrupted:
"Keqing's more generous than you think. And anyway, you're the one who racked up all those romantic debts in Teyvat. At most, half of it is my fault. So of course you should clean up your own mess."
Ying knew Jack better than anyone in this world. She could practically guess his intentions the moment he so much as pulled up his pants.
Keqing stepped forward and straightened his collar.
"I'm already satisfied. Out of luck, you chose me, and we met earlier. But sometimes I wonder… if you had drawn someone else, like Kamisato Ayaka, instead of me, would I have been the one standing in the crowd, looking at her with envy?"
Just from her tone, Jack could hear the fear and bitterness behind her words. He couldn't imagine what kind of resolve it had taken for her to even voice such a thought.
He gently embraced her, burying his face in her violet hair.
"I'm sorry, Qing. I'm a terrible partner. I haven't given you enough security."
"It's okay, Jack. You know I don't care for empty words. After talking with Ying yesterday, I realized… maybe our home feels a little too quiet."
"But isn't that unfair to you?"
"So, are you saying you'd be fine with me looking for other men?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
"How overbearing, Lord Creator… Don't worry. My world is small. With a great god like you in it, there's no room for anyone else."
Their eyes met, and they kissed naturally.
Click.
A soft shutter sound echoed.
Not far away, Ying lowered the camera in her hands, clutching the photo she had just taken of their kiss. Keqing's words came back to her.
Yes… there are people in the crowd who can only look on with envy.
That person was her.
Three people. Two worlds. One photo. Countless emotions.
It was a fragmented scene that only Paimon, tilting her head in confusion, could see.
"Strange… why are they all crying again? Nobody even wants to leave."
"She's gone. What are you still looking at?"
"Ying…"
"Don't look at me with that pitying face. I'm not that fragile, and I don't need your sympathy."
"Alright."
Jack lifted his gaze skyward, calming the storm in his chest, then looked at the girl who had been with him for two and a half years.
"This is a long-overdue greeting. It's great to see you again."
"That's right, Jack. Please guide me for the rest of my life."
"Haha, I'm still not used to you suddenly being serious."
Jack raised his fist. Ying smiled, pure as a gardenia, and tapped her hand against his.
"I wasn't joking at dinner just now. I've been to the modern world before. I know all kinds of poses—splits, backbends, anything you can imagine."
She winked playfully.
"Ahem… let's talk about that later. I'm leaving now—I've got a question for a certain bard."
Ying's gaze was far too heated. Jack had the nagging feeling she'd stuck around just to say that line. And he had to admit—it was a lot to take in.
Unbidden, images began forming in his mind.
A beam of light flashed. Jack withdrew from the Dust Song Pot.
Inside a Mondstadt hotel.
Jack's fingers danced, channeling elemental power into immortal magic, and the Dust Song Pot folded neatly away. It was the cave-storage technique taught to Ying by Grandma Ping, now passed on to him.
"Though I want to ask Venti about the mutation of my Vision, finding him is the problem."
Jack stepped out of the hotel and onto the street.
Work hours had long passed, yet the streets were oddly empty.
Mondstadt—the city of Barbatos, God of Wind.
A city that hoisted the banner of freedom high, and in doing so, pushed human nature to its limits.
Paradise for the reckless. Hell for the responsible.
"No wonder Diluc despises the Knights' methods. If not for the gods, this city surviving at all would be a miracle."
"But speaking of freedom, dandelions… and wine…"
The rich aroma drifting through the air caught his attention. Odd—it was still early morning.
A smile tugged at Jack's lips. A thought surfaced.
An hour later.
At the Wind God's statue in the northern plaza, Jack arrived carrying a bottle of aged dandelion wine.
Few people lingered, save for a couple of nuns sweeping the square.
"Excuse me, Sister—would it be alright if I climbed up there?" He pointed to the god's outstretched palm.
The nun eyed the fake two-toned Vision at his waist.
"Mondstadt doesn't forbid climbing the statue. But with all due respect… a fake Vision won't give you the strength to make it up there. It's dangerous."
"Thanks for the warning."
With a light laugh, Jack sprang off one foot, leapt skillfully along the folds of the statue's robe, and landed easily on the broad palm.
The nun was left staring, windswept and speechless.
Settling down, Jack didn't find the green-haired bard perched there.
So he set out two cups, poured the fine wine, took one himself, and left the other for the wind.
Suddenly, a cheerful voice drifted from behind.
"Ah, drinking alone is far too lonely. Traveler, how about a companion?"
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