"No."
"What do you mean 'no'!?" Kojirou screamed back, uncaring that they were in public. "We need help! Our people are-!"
"You are not the first to ask." The samurai guarding the entrance to the city said, his voice neutral. "You will not be the last." He frowned. "My answer remains the same: My Lord is unavailable at this time, and she does not want to be bothered by mortal woes such as this." His hand hovered over his sheathed katana on his waist. "Leave."
"YOU-!"
"K-Kojirou!" Hanami quickly interjected, grabbing onto his arms to stop him from doing anything rash.
Lumine, Saiguu, and I watched from afar. Neither of us were pleased.
"This is worse than I thought." Saiguu admitted morosely, her invisible fox ears drooping as she glanced at the hundreds of people around us. They too had attempted to enter the city to ask for the Archon's aid, and they'd all been rejected.
Lumine scowled as she watched the samurai's growing annoyance at Kojirou. "He's really asking for it, huh?" She whispered, her hands twitching in anticipation. "Makes me wanna bash his skull in." She smiled sharply. "Won't be the first city I brought down."
I shivered before I quickly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now, now. This is a country fresh from war. As unpleasant as it is, it does not surprise me in the slightest." I explained. Lumine huffed but stayed her hand, letting the energy she'd been building relax.
I frowned slightly. She wasn't wrong, however.
After another day of travel, we finally reached the border of Inazuma City. But what we saw surprised us. A temporary barricade of stone and wood had been erected around the city, and dozens of samurai stood at the city's entrance, blocking any who wanted aid from Baal. As such, hundreds of other people—samurai and peasants alike—now stood in despair outside the wall.
And now here we were. Merely another face in the crowd of people who wanted and failed to ask for Baal's aid.
I sighed, and approached the two children. "Come, you two." I said, gently pulling them away from the samurai. "They will not budge. There is no reason to continue our aggression."
Kojirou growled as I pulled him back, but he didn't resist. Hanami just sullenly held onto the [Windsail Beacon], as if to pull some comfort from the magical staff.
I winced. My heart hurt as I saw the deep sadness that'd befallen the two, but I knew that this was necessary. I could not begin teaching them independence from the Archon without them realizing that she couldn't be present at all times. So this experience was important, no matter how painful it had to be.
I brought the two kids back to Lumine and Saiguu. The kitsune was especially guilty, and she patted Kojirou and Hanami's head to somewhat mollify them. The boy didn't even attempt to shake her hand away.
Lumine and I made some distance from the three to talk. "So," Lumine began, still glaring at the samurai guarding the gate. "Now what?"
"Off to Watatsumi Island we go." I said, watching the two children. "We have our own methods of providing aid." I smiled slightly as I brought out the replica [Serenitea Pot] I bought from the [Shop]. "And with communications ending in failure, I believe it's my right to provide aid to people Baal had already left behind, no?"
Lumine blinked. "Oh yeah, you can always teleport back to Liyue, huh."
I nodded. It was something I discovered accidentally. By using my new [Serenitea Pot], I could teleport into my Personal World. If I leave using the teapot again, then I'd return to wherever I used the pot. Meanwhile, if I used the gateway Guizhong created, then I'd appear at Liyue Harbor. I basically created a two-way teleportation array by complete accident.
Lumine nodded back, grinning slightly. "Guess it's time for some kingdom-building!" She sighed fondly as she placed a hand on her cheek. "Man, this is starting to remind me of that time my brother and I became a sponsor for a bunch of rebels against a-" She froze, before she winced. "Ugh, now that I think about it, that hits a little close to home, huh?"
I smiled, though I offered no comment. It truly was interesting to realize how well-traveled Lumine was. I couldn't help but wonder if she could face Morax as an equal at her prime.
I then approached the Saiguu and the two children, and I took a slight breath. "Our negotiations have failed." I began. Hanami clung to her staff while Kojirou remained silent. "There is no reason for us to remain here."
Saiguu furrowed her brows. "Wendy, perhaps I-" She went quiet as I shook my head. Her ears drooped further. "Then what do we do?"
I hummed as I turned to the boy. "Kojirou." I began. The boy finally turned to me, his expression stormy. "From what I have gathered, you come from Watatsumi Island, no?" He nodded silently, and I hummed. "Then, perhaps instead of asking for Baal's aid, Lumine and I could aid your people instead."
He huffed, clearly disbelieving. "And how're you two going to do that?"
I just smiled. "Have you never wondered where I brought out those peaches we ate every morning?"
He, Hanami, and even Saiguu went still as they thought it over. The kitsune's eyes went wide when she realized that I was right; she'd never seen me or Lumine carry a bag large enough to contain all the things we used for our camps. Even the peaches I gave out alone wouldn't have fit in the small satchel I carried on my back.
Lumine approached, grinning slightly. "We can't always be carrying a gajillion tons of gear if we want to keep adventuring, you know?" She snapped her hands, and an apple popped out of her Space. The three's eyes were wide as they watched her bite into the apple.
"Who are you two?" Saiguu whispered in shock.
I gave a theatrical bow. "Wendy, a Wandering Bard from Mondstadt."
Lumine followed suit, performing a curtsy. "Lumine, a Traveler from the Stars."
Neither of them understood the true significance of our words, or the fact that my words were a complete lie. But Saiguu was quick to recover, smiling wryly. "I suppose you were never any normal individuals, are you?" She shook her head in amusement. "Ah, I must've grown ignorant in time."
I grinned. "Are you perhaps saying you're old, madam?"
Saiguu leveled me a glare, before she broke into a giggle. I joined in soon after.
"S-So you'll help us?" Hanami whispered, eyes bright with hope.
My grin softened as I patted her head. "I had promised that, did I not?" I smiled with absolute confidence. "Trust me. Trust us. We shall bring your people the aid they so desperately need, and we will ensure they will never again go hungry." My eyes glowed slightly. "That I promise."
"Still need to find a boat though." Lumine chimed in, rubbing her chin. "I don't think we can immediately board a ship at that port town. We'll need to wait, like, a week or something."
"Ah, that." Saiguu smiled. "I believe I can provide some aid in that regard."
Lumine raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
.
.
.
Not even a day later, and here they were, sailing across the waters on a ship the Grand Narukami Shrine had personally received from the Archon as a gift before she went into seclusion. The kids stood at the front of the deck, marvelling at how fast the ship was travelling across the sea.
Wendy meanwhile stood just by the ship's bow, playing his harp along with the rushing winds. The air itself seemed to dance around him, and the oceans were particularly helpful to their sailing. And using her own enhanced sight, she could see the ethereal dance of mystic and energy, mingling Wendy and the seas together into one whole.
Lumine was next to her, leaning on the ship's guardrails as she watched the oceans speed by. "Damn." She whispered, smiling wryly. "Could've reached Inazuma in half the time if we used this."
Saiguu smiled. "This gift had gone unused for years, so I'm at least glad that it could be used for something."
It was more than that. In truth, she'd been looking for some way to discreetly remove this ship. She appreciated Makoto's gesture, but the Narukami Shrine was atop a mountain. It was incredibly hard to keep an eye on a ship of all things, and if she ever lost it to bandits or whatnot, it would be a blow to her shrine's image.
She went silent as she watched the two travelers. She still didn't know who these two truly were. She didn't doubt that they were travelers, but she was certain it was far more than that. She was far from knowledgeable about the rest of Teyvat, but these two seemed too otherworldly. Through her eyes as a mystic, it almost felt as if the world itself knelt to their wills, both reverent and terrified.
But, despite that,
She smiled. When she'd descended from Mount Yougou on a whim, she could never expect to find someone she became friends with near-immediately. There was something about Wendy that drew her to him—a closeness that bound their Fates together. It certainly helped that he was just as cheeky as she was.
She'd become friends with Lumine as well. Her way of speaking was odd, but through the many misadventures she and Wendy shared, it was clear that her regal attitude was mostly a mask. She too was just as troublesome as Wendy was, and she quickly found herself befriending the odd traveler.
But more than anything, they were her friends. Friends. How long had it been since she found someone she could truly confide with? Makoto was her friend, but she had not seen the girl in years since she began her crusade to unite all of Inazuma. The other shrine maidens worshipped her, and that was a barrier no one dared to cross.
Here, however? Sailing across the seas, feeling the winds caress her as they flew past, towards some place she'd never seen with her eyes; it brought her elation unlike any sweet she'd ever eaten.
She wished, deeply and silently, that she could remain with these two. Continue to feel this sense of adventure.
Amidst the sea, beneath clear blue skies, Kitsune Saiguu sent her prayers to the Stars.