Deaded...
***
With a goal in mind and a huge amount of excitement, the group began preparing for the trip to Liyue at once.
For everyone in his party, other than maybe Hu Tao, a surprise painted their expressions.
They didn't expect Yomite would simply say they were about to travel.
Immediately.
As he stated previously, however, all of the girls had a reason to visit Liyue, and since there was nothing really stopping them from just packing things up and leaving, they could comfortably set out for their journey.
It was decided that Yomite would arrange the carriage, and pay for it.
Lumine, Iris and Paimon went to purchase food for the trip together with some sweets, Hu Tao returned to the mansion to take out the necessary tools and weapons, and Fischl prepared luggage with clothes for everyone.
Yomite planned on borrowing a carriage by rental, but it would seem that none of the carriages were present in Mondstadt, as some kind of special festival would be happening in a few days time in Liyue.
All of the carriages left for Liyue, forcing the party to rely on the most common way of transit for mankind.
Walking.
In one hour, they completed all of the preparations and left for the city of Liyue.
***
"It's not that far away! Only about four more hours of casual walk!"
"Yeah, yeah...God...I should have dressed lighter than this..."
Yomite muttered while fanning his sweaty chest with his palm.
He could feel every inch of his skin prickling from the sheer, intense burning feeling.
He was about to take his shirt off any moment now...
With the way the sun beat down on him and the heat coiling around his whole body, he knew this was gonna be hell to get used to in a little while.
His head was throbbing and he just wanted to lie down on something soft and fall asleep...
The heat and humidity felt like they had doubled since they passed the Stone Gate, which acted as the boundary between Mondstadt and Liyue territory.
In both of his previous lives in Japan and his present life in Mondstadt, Yomite was living in a country with a temperate zone. A country with four seasons.
Yomite wiped the sweat on his forehead with a white handkerchief that he was given as a present from Barbara before he left the city of Mondstadt.
She was truly a cutie for that, and a lifesaver at that.
A lot of people said their farewells to them.
Kaeya the sly fox waved at them from distance together with Diluc, who only saw them off with his gaze.
Barbara and Jean packed them with some delicacies and gifts. Specifically, some kind of a spicy drink that Barbara loved and that handkerchief, he was currently putting to good use.
"Party leader...I don't think you should be using it. It was a gift..." Lumine'a voice interrupted his train of thoughts.
"Eh? But it's a handkerchief, right? Not a family heirloom... What should I do with it? Pin it to my wall?"
"It's not that...Giving away a handkerchief to a gentleman that's leaving off on a journey is something akin to the lines of...A wife saying goodbye to her beloved husband that most likely won't return from a battle..."
"...At least say that it's like a good luck charm, damn it!"
(She sure knows how to make it dark...)
"Don't make it out to be so depressing! It's a gift, so I will use it as a gift..."
In any case, Jean also gave them a nice present.
A true Knight's of Favonius badge which they could use as an identification in case something happened.
Despite the fact they saved the city multiple times they actually weren't official Knights as they didn't conduct the training of 'mind and body' alike.
Yomite wanted to decline the gift as he didn't want to be an actual Knight in title as well, but Jean insisted that he should take it.
(Well it's just a medailon so it doesn't really matter...)
After he took it, Amber came to say goodbye, giving them moon pies and also whispered something to Lumine.
(Girl's talk, nothing for my ears, huh...)
"Yomite-sama! Let's take a picture! My big sister handed me the new invention from Fontaine called Camera!" Barbara came up to him and explained how it worked in detail.
"Well, sure." He agreed with a smile at how adorable she was, trying to explain how an inferior version of camera worked to him.
"Let's take a picture!"
"Alright!"
Both of them smiled as they looked at the camera lense.
After a short *Snap* the picture came out and both of them took a look.
Yomite looked at Barbara and said, "You can keep it,"
"Thanks~!"
After they were done, he regrouped with his members and planned on leaving.
However, just before they left, Barbara walked up to him once more and whispered, "May lord Barbatos be with you on your journey. I'm sure we will be meeting very, very soon~"
Her words were accompanied by a frenzied gaze.
"Y-yeah..." Yomite nodded and swiftly left without looking back.
(I'm really bad when it comes to this type of women...)
The unpredictable behavior from Barbara that started happening soon after he saved her life was frankly, getting out of hand...
Yomite knew this exact trope, called Yandere. It was a very favorite genre, many otakus loved.
But...
Reality was different...
Such individuals usually turned out to be highly dangerous people. This wasn't an anime after all.
***
"It's such a shame they're leaving. I'm missing them already."
Amber let out a heavy sigh. These past few months she grew quite close with Paimon and Lumine, so much that the moment they left, she already felt lonely.
"It will indeed be quite lonely without them. I'm still wondering as to why Lisa didn't come to say farewell to them. She seemed pretty close with Yomite." Jean murmured as she crossed her arms.
The outrider Amber practically jumped in place, her eyes full of passion as she replied instantly,
"Yeah! I noticed she had taken quite liking to him! Usually, if I ever wanted her help, she would immediately decline or it would take her ages to get up from couch and follow me, but Yomite told me she immediately agreed whenever he asked her! Can you believe that!?"
Jean let out a small smile, "Maybe there is a reason for that?"
While the duo of Amber and Jean were chatting, a lone figure of Barbara slowly disappeared, without them noticing.
***
Barbara headed home, skipping and singing with the picture in her hands.
Her singing always brought joy to the nearby people, who smiled and clapped.
Even people such as Fatui, found it hard to not clap for her.
Moments later, she arrived in front of her home.
The mansion was average in size, and despite having money, she chose not to spend it on a larger one.
There were six padlocks on the door as she came in front of her chamber, which could pique anyone's interest.
Just what was in there for the popular idol to keep hidden from the public eye?
Opening them one by one, she made sure to put the padlocks back from the inside, so that no one would get into her room.
Looking around, a familiar and beautiful sight greeted her.
The room was covered in hundreds of pictures, all hanging on the walls.
The room was a mess, papers scattered across the floor, photos littering the table and the bed.
There were no windows, and Barbara choose this room specifically as her own to make sure no one could climb into her window and see what she was hiding.
She picked up a ball pin with a grin, and stuck the picture both of them took not that long ago, into the wall.
"Picture number 134# I finally received my first picture from Yomite-sama...with his consent even!!! Ah, I can't believe it!"
Upon closer inspection, all of the pictures in her room were pictures of Yomite.
Either smiling, laughing, focusing and so on.
During his morning spars, during his walks, or when he fought outside with monsters, taken without his knowledge, of course.
One would find it weird and almost impossible to comprehend, how she took so many of them in such a short period of time.
After all, it wasn't even a week since she received the Camera from her big sister.
"Liyue...was it? I can afford a short break..."
A hysterical laughter echoed in the mansion.
