We stepped out onto a patch of grass, and the fresh air immediately hit us.
There was a pleasant gust while the sun shone down above us.
It was neither too hot nor too cold.
Honestly, it was like the picture perfect type of afternoon.
“It’s quite beautiful.” Artoria commented, looking around. “And it smells nostalgic. The lack of modern invention reminds me of some places back home where the air tasted sweet.”
“No pollution?” I asked.
She shook her head. “More than that. Something simply missing in the modern era that is hard to explain.”
She flatted out her skirt before squatting down and running a hand through the grass.
Other than the concerns I had about this place, the fake sky, and the weird presence I felt on the wind, I couldn’t argue with her take on it.
There was a weird sense of peace here.
Not in a bad way.
Like, my instincts weren’t warning me about impending danger or anything of the like. And my instincts were usually top notch when it came to things like this.
“There’s a path down that way and there’s an apple tree up ahead.” I pointed over to the side. “And over here—" I pointed to a small pond. “Is where Yasaka found her little pet.”
“The slime?” Artoria had a very clearly amused expression on her face. “I have found her sleeping on it on more than one occasion. The concept isn’t foreign to me. I have even seen some in my period in Britain. Merlin explained to me that it was simply an amalgamation of Mana that took shape and failed to develop intelligence or life.”
Huh, I didn’t even think that she may have had similar things back home.
But it makes sense.
“More or less the same. It isn’t alive and basically acts on some predetermined instinct or actions. Though, it wasn’t pure mana but some type of elemental, lacking most of the nature of such beings.”
I fixed my collar before adjusting my sword that was still on my waist. “Do I look the part of a proper knight? Shall I ask the lady if she would like a proper escort?” I held out my arm.
She giggled and took my arm. “Then I shall be your lady escort, Ser Knight.”
We headed over to the beaten path. A quick glance showed both a footpath and what looked like carts having pushed down the dirt here over years.
Though, it was hard to make any true guesses.
Her eyes were quickly drawn to the apple tree.
It’s funny how she can have just such a one-track mind sometimes.
“I have a theory.”
“Yes?” She looked at me.
“I think the mana in the air is getting absorbed by the tree and, by extension, the fruits.” I pointed to one of the apples. “There’s a lot of mana in the air, but not aggressively so. It’s almost gentle and seems to play nice with the surroundings.”
What went unsaid, of course, was that this made the apples taste better.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they were much more nutritious than normal apples too.
She didn’t have an answer.
Mostly because she was looking up at the apples above her head.
Then she looked at me with a longing expression, one mixed with a cute little pout.
She didn’t want to say it, but I could read her thoughts.
I let go of her arm and then quickly lifted her up onto my shoulders. She made a little squeak in embarrassment but settled as she grabbed my head to keep herself from falling.
But she was now just high enough that she could grab the lowest-hanging ones off the tree.
She happily snatched several and even leaned over my head and politely gave me one before biting into her prize.
“Is it good?”
“Mmph.”
I’ll take that as a yes.
Honestly, this alone made the trip worth it. Seeing Artoria act like a…well, girl was always a treat. When she just allowed herself to be more open and carefree, not thinking about propriety or her own image.
“What do you want to do? We can just randomly explore outwards, or we can go towards a city I saw in the distance back with Yasaka." I gave her the option.
“Are they humans here?” Artoria asked after swallowing from bulged cheeks.
“Probably.” I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. But when I went to new worlds, I did have certain parameters keyed into the calculations. Most of which were the optimal conditions for life to develop in a world and, by extension, life that we’re familiar with.
I could write a thesis on the concept of ‘humanity’ evolving or being created across unconnected world lines, but I didn’t care to think about it right now. Just that it was a common enough occurrence that it could be calculated based on worldly conditions.
“If there is a city, I would like to visit. I intend to purchase a gift for Rin and Mordred.” She was unconsciously kicking her feet from on top of my shoulders.
“Even if they aren’t humans and we stick out like sore thumbs, I’m pretty good at weaving illusions.” I patted her thigh.
Got fairly good at it when I had to tweak things to take into account my Magic Resistance.
“Then onward –”
Whatever I was about to say was cut off by a very loud explosion. Both Artoria and I had our heads snapped towards the source. Over a hill, we couldn’t quite see the explosion itself, but we saw the dust cloud ascending upwards.
Well, I suppose plans changed.
We can’t not investigate now.
I used a quick burst of Shunpo to move towards the direction before setting Artoria down next to me.
Down the hill, there was a lake. But more importantly, there seemed to be a humanoid child of some sort.
She was surrounded by some other humanoids but was distinctly not human from just a glance. They had fur, black skin, and these weird masks on their faces.
The sounds they were making were distinctly unintelligible to my devil senses as well.
The girl, on the other hand, looked significantly more human.
My eyes caught one of the non-human creatures surrounding her. It was similar to the others, but much bigger. Of the others who were…perhaps, slightly shorter than a normal person, this thing was at least twice my height. And it was carrying a giant tree trunk as a weapon.
Neither Artoria nor I needed to say a word to each other.
We were already moving to save the little girl within the blink of an eye.
I appeared in front of one of the non-human creatures, getting a better look at it. My eyes scanned it briefly, seeing more details of it. Its overall physical shape was very similar to a human's; muscular and skeletal structure were nearly spot on.
But that’s about where it ended.
I gave it a swift kick, sending it bouncing backwards.
Artoria was on the opposite side, grabbing one by the arm and tossing it through the air before going to punch another in the chest.
They seemed hardier than a normal human. I’m guessing increased physical strength and durability?
Their reaction speeds leave much to be desired, however.
Regardless, I was about to reach for the young girl to get her out of harms way first and foremost. But I saw her hand swirl in a fiery aura before a strange object appeared in her hand.
She hadn’t even noticed us yet and was instead looking at the bigger creature out of the group. I didn’t blame her; we came in very fast, and that thing must have been frightening enough for a girl her age—perhaps five or six—that she couldn’t focus on anything else.
If it weren’t for the hint of mana that spread out at her gesture, I would have assumed she was about to throw her toy at it.
Then I realized the important detail I missed in hindsight.
Like, where did the previous explosion come from?
The girl threw the toy-looking thing, and the mana surged even more before igniting and exploding.
I sort of just stood blankly as my hair whipped back, and that big creature was reduced to dust.
Artoria shared a similar befuddled reaction.
I think we both had to double-check, mentally, if we just saw a literal child throwing powerful bombs at monsters.
The answer was yes, yes it was.
The little girl turned around with a very proud look on her face before blinking in surprise at our presence. “Mr. Dilucs?” She looked at me. “And Big Sister Jean!” She looked at Artoria. “Did you come to fish with me!?”
So many questions were now opened up, and she barely said any words.
I noticed her ears immediately, pointed, like an elf.
I didn’t want to make assumptions, especially since Medea also had pointed ears.
She was a little cutie though. A red hat that covered a blonde head of hair, a little red dress, a pair of matching boots and gloves, and a backpack.
I noted her language too.
My devil senses let me pick it up and translate it, so it was a normal language. But to my ears, it also sounded very similar to German.
“Hello, what’s your name?” I decided to just take the nicest approach.
“Mr. Diluc knows Klee!” She puffed up her cheeks indignantly. “Klee is Klee!”
Well, I guess I know her name.
A glance at Artoria showed how funny she found the whole thing.
“Big Sister Jean, why do you look different?” Klee looked Artoria’s way.
“How does she look different?” I asked curiously.
“Big Sister Jean is smaller!” Klee declared, trying to put her hand up above Artoria’s head. “Did Klee get bigger!? Or did Big Sister Jean get smaller? Did you shrink, Big Sister Jean?”
“I –” Artoria was about to answer, but Klee cut her off again.
“Big Sister Jean is smaller here too.” She pointed at Artoria’s chest.
Ah, that was a critical hit.
She now looked like she wanted to bury her head in the sand somewhere.
"I…apologize, little one, I am not this Jean you speak of. My name is Artoria; perhaps I resemble the one you know?” Artoria spoke, trying to remain reserved, but I saw her lips twitching.
Klee seemed to evaluate her for a long time. “Not big sister Jean?” She tapped her little chin. “But if not Big Sister Jean, then why is Big Sister Jean with Mr. Diluc? Big Sister Frieda says that Big Sister Jean and Mr. Diluc want to give Klee a little brother or sister; that’s why they don’t take Klee out to play when they’re together!”
There was a lot to unpack there, and I’m sure in her young mind, it made a lot more sense.
Right, there was probably no convincing her.
“What are you doing out here? Playing with bombs?” I asked.
“Klee was fishing.” She said innocently.
"..."
"..."
Both Artoria and I didn’t really have a response to that.
“And the, erm…monsters?" I asked.
“Mean Hilichurls came to be mean to Klee, so Klee taught them a lesson," she said proudly. “Did Klee do good?”
I unconsciously reached out and rubbed her head. “Klee definitely did good.”
She preened under the praise. “Klee thought Mr. Diluc was weird and never smiled. But now Klee sees Mr. Diluc smiling and thinks he should smile more.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
"Klee," Artoria spoke up. “Are you…supposed to be out here alone like this?”
Her concern was still towards the young girl being by herself where apparently monsters could get to it.
Klee immediately looked down, not wanting to answer that question. “Klee just wanted to go out and play. Klee wasn’t being bad. Is Klee in trouble?”
Artoria’s stern look immediately melted. “Why don’t we take you home, Klee?”
“Okay, Klee will go home. Klee is tired and wants a nap.” She yawned before reaching her hands out. “Klee wants to hold hands.”
She grabbed both of our hands together with her in the middle.
She very clearly mistook us for others, and I had a feeling we wouldn’t convince her at this point.
May as well just take her home, huh?
Artoria and I shared a look that seemed to sync.
“Alright Klee, let’s get you home. Why don’t you lead the way?” I didn’t know where her home was, so best phrase it in a way that lets her lead us in a playful way.
“Klee can do it! Klee remembers how to get back home; Klee is good at remembering!” She said excitedly as she began to pull us forward.
@***@
She actually did seemingly know the way 'home.'
She took us on a few paths, and we had to backtrack once or twice because we went the wrong way. But eventually, we found ourselves on what looked like the main road.
As we walked further, there were signs of civilization.
A broken cart on the side of the road that looked like it had been there for years.
Rocks in the form of a footpath.
Even wooden fences started to pop up.
That’s when the actual city came into view.
It was big.
Immediately, I could see the large walls that surrounded the city, but after that, I realized the city itself sat in the middle of a large lake.
And the windmills.
I saw a lot of windmills.
Big and towering over even the stone walls.
There was a single bridge that connected the city island to the mainland, and many more silhouettes came into view as well.
Artoria’s eyes lit up because they were knights.
Proper knights.
Though, I noticed their armor wasn’t a full set like one would assume. Instead, it was shoulder guards, a half-breastplate, arm guards, and everything else looked to be either some chainmail or a type of leather armor.
I didn’t judge it immediately because I had no idea what "normal" led to this being the standardized armor around these parts.
The most obvious assumption is that they prioritize maneuverability over a solid defensive armor.
Thankfully, I didn’t need to weave any illusions.
It looked like the people coming and going into the city were humans. In fact, Klee with her pointed ears seemed to be the outlier here.
Klee just all but skipped forward, uncaring about all the looks being sent their way.
Actually, a few people waved at me.
I’m guessing she wasn’t the only one who mistook me for someone else.
Did I really look like someone else here?
Now I was sort of curious.
The security was fairly lax. Not that it didn’t exist; there were several knights standing about, but no one stopped us. Nor did they stop anyone else for that matter. Even the large gate was opened, and people just simply came and went as they pleased.
Klee led us inside, and we found ourselves stopping.
Artoria and I took in the new sights and were pleasantly surprised.
Immediately, the entrance was covered in different stalls, carts, or people with tarps thrown out with goods being sold on them.
A market.
I did a double take because I saw someone who looked Japanese. Particularly, their style of headdress and the fact that they were wearing a kimono with also Asian features.
The hammer of a blacksmith not far down the street caught Artoria’s attention, and I too was genuinely curious enough to go check it out.
But also, there were just so many new sights and smells that reached me that I didn’t even know where to begin.
But first things first.
“Alright Klee, let’s see if you can find where home is." I said it playfully again to hide the fact that I was utterly ignorant of this place.
“Mr. Diluc wants to go home? Okay! Klee will take Diluc home!”
That’s not what I meant, but she just continued to pull us forward, and I could only sigh.
The immediate ‘center’ path was a gradually ascending staircase, which Klee led us up.
On either side, there were stores with people going in and out.
Once we got up further, I noticed tables set up, a clear restaurant if the meats, vegetables, and other things were any indication.
They even had a large pot and stove out in front.
Quite a few people were happily eating and chatting while sitting around.
On the other side, I noticed a jeweler.
Which was good, because we didn’t have any local currency, but I definitely had some jewels I could sell.
Klee paused in front of a large ornate fountain as if trying to remember where to go. “Klee remembers! Mr. Diluc’s home is this way! Klee has never been inside. Big Sister Jean says that it’s a grown-up home, and Klee shouldn't go inside. But since Jean and Dilcus are with Klee, that means Klee can finally go inside!”
She pulled him further into a side street.
There were many tables set up, lots more restaurants and stores set up with plenty of foot traffic moving about.
Based on the architecture and building materials, this felt like an early rendition of something like Berlin. The lack of any electricity made me assume that it was pre-industrial as well.
Noteworthy were the lantern lights set up everywhere that looked like they needed manual lightning.
Once we got close to our destination, I understood what Klee meant by an 'adult home.'
It was a bar, or a tavern.
Angel’s Share, it was called.
Thank god; I was afraid that it was called an adult home for a different reason.
Plenty of patrons outside too.
Many of whom got loud and greeted us—mainly me—as we got close. I politely waved and smiled at them, which seemed to throw them off guard.
“Let’s go inside! Klee wants to see what’s inside!”
I shrugged and pushed the door open. I really didn’t have any good reason to stop it other than that she was told by someone else not to go inside. But I didn’t know where I was supposed to drop her off at, but she apparently knew the owner or worker here or something.
I think I can be forgiven in this instance since I was trying to get her home properly.
The inside was, well…a tavern.
A nice-looking tavern.
It had a good atmosphere; the decor was tasteful while also being slightly rustic and freely placed.
“Thank the Archon you’re finally here!” The bartender looked our way—my way—and looked utterly relieved as he all but flung himself over the bar counter. "Thanks, Boss, for covering for me. My mom really wasn’t feeling well, and I wanted to be there when the doctor visits.”
“Pardon?” I blinked.
“Don’t worry, we’re all caught up for now, but there’s a party of twelve coming in a few hours.” He patted my shoulder. “We’re running low on Wolfhook berries; you may need to send someone out to get some more to get through the night.”
The bartender left the building before I could realize what was going on.
I looked back then at the empty bar.
I then looked at Artoria, and she also had a confused look on her face.
With a shrug, I got behind the counter.
“Guess I’m the bartender for tonight?” I leaned on the counter. “What do you want?”
“Klee wants apple juice!” Klee climbed up onto the stool as Artoria sat next to her.
Well, this isn’t the weirdest situation I found myself in.
Either way, I think I can manage.
@***@
A/N
In Wilhelm's first foray into Genshin, he gets to Mondstadt and is mistaken for Diluc immediately and gets handed the proverbial keys to the bar.
If it wasn’t clear, yes this is Genshin. Next arc, I think will be Campione? Wrapping up Campione plotline. We’re going to start ending the major plotlines across worlds as things wrap up in various places.As for me, I’m doing alright. I didn’t want to give an update on myself without a chapter update. I’m having some good days and some bad days. I have medication for the bad days, so it isn’t too bad. Surgery was a success without any complications, so that’s good. It’s just dealing with stitches and pain in my bottom area which is very unpleasant.