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that-student-that-has-homework · 7 months

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You WILL Have my Herbs 02

Diluc / Reader

Previous Chapters: Chp 1 | Chp 2 | Chp 3 | Chp 4 | Chp 5 | Chp 6

Read the Full Story on Ao3 | Tumblr MasterList Here (Maybe even leave me a comment please? :3< )

Summary: Listen you just wanted to pick some plants, do some experiments, find some cures, and report back to your mentor. Unfortunately a handsome vigilante puts you in his debt and now you have to fight him to let you make it up to him.

Chapter 2: Debt Simply Won't Do

You were staring. You knew you were.

Of course you were staring!

That was your elusive savior! It had to be them-him? That shade of red was much too unique!

You fumbled to slip on your boots and approach the hero, letting out a low hiss when you moved too quickly. Which in turn drew his attention to you. His gaze met yours and narrowed suspiciously. You flinched. Involuntarily. It was an involuntary flinch.

You opened your mouth to try and thank him and offer your assistance in return. However before you could really move, or get a sound out, Miss Adelinde was receiving him and explaining the situation.

Meanwhile another maid rushed towards him with a towel in hand. Made sense, really, he had clearly been out in this downpour for longer than you had.

“Master Diluc,” she called him. Wait, then this was his inn! Winery!

To think this man has saved you not once but twice -technically speaking.

Unless he was simply a man of high status and not the master of this inn-er-winery.

Diluc. Dee-luc. Di-luke. Dee-looook. Diluc. It would do you well not to forget his name! You had to make sure to commit it to memory. Your savior, the person whom you owed a lot to! Diluc. Diluc. Diluc.

Maybe you should write it down? You always did remember things better that way.

That thought was quickly swept away as he turned to face you, having finished talking to Miss Adelinde. His footsteps were unexpectedly light as he approached you. Your footsteps were heavier in relation as you shuffled in your undone boots.

“Please rest easy,” the decadent timbre was as rich in authority as it was rich with courtesy, and you stilled immediately-a bit entranced, “Adelinde informed me you were caught in the storm.”

You nodded. Dumbly probably. Goodness, his voice was heavenly. Had that one professor back at the Akademiya sounded at all like this man, you’d likely never have fallen asleep in his lectures. Well you’d likely still fall asleep if you were exhausted, there was no escaping sleep when it came for you. After all despite having a course with professor as invigorating as -Ah! Focus!

Truthfully, your brain was simultaneously swimming in the long list of things to do, and in absolutely nothing at all. You’d said that Sir Kaeya was lovingly sculpted by the divine, and you could absolutely say the same of the man of near-otherworldly beauty that stood before you.

There was some vague gurgling voice of reason in the back of your head, drowning under the crashing waves of observations regarding the man before you. He was tall. He had a fierce flame for hair-bright enough to blaze through the dark-you would know. Ruby red eyes, as though he’d taken the gems themselves and crafted them into eyes (that would be rather interesting if it were possible). Tailored brows - naturally tailored brows, a very beautiful curve as though laid down with a brush. A sharp nose, full lips, long lashes, a sharp jawline, sharp as the claymore you’d glimpsed that…

…you really should have gone into art instead. Or perhaps you ought to have been a writer, a poet, or something similar.

Turns out the living, breathing, sculpture of a man, the sentient piece of artwork of a -erm-the man, the incredibly handsome man, that you’d likely been ogling, had been waiting for you to say something. You realized this once you noticed how your mouth opened and closed as your reason resurfaced. Oh gosh you had to thank this man! Properly!

“T-thank you!” You winced as your voice came out louder than intended, with a little cough and then another wince, you repeated, much softer, “t-thank you, very much.”

“Not at all,” he shook his head gently, “feel free to stay as long as you need.”

“I-I’m an apothecary,” that was very random dearest, would you like to try again? Taking a breath, you pushed down a grimace as your cheeks heated up, “I mean to say, that, uh please allow me to repay you for your hospitality,” your pitch rose a bit and your voice cracked slightly.

You really had no control over your tone today huh?

“That won’t be necessary.”

“I beg to differ,” your expression fell a bit, “you saved,” you were straining and you could feel it in your throat, “you saved my life. Please, please allow me to offer my services in return.”

“Shelter from the rain hardly qualifies as saving someone’s life,” his brow furrowed slightly, “and it’s Adelinde you ought to be thanking.”

You blinked, and your shoulders drooped, taking your expression and blanket down with them. You readjusted the blanket on your shoulders, it made sense he didn’t remember. Even if he did , he probably wouldn’t recognize that you were the pitiful person he’d rescued from a Cryo Abyss Mage-what-a month ago now?

Wow time really flies.

So does mora. But that’s beside the point!

“Um, you’ve saved my life before, actually…um Master Dilu-Diluc was it?” You began tentatively. “It was around Mondstadt proper, I was attacked by a Cryo Abyss Mage, around a month ago now actually.”

You observed his brow further pinch in what you assume is confusion. You continued then, trying to go through the list of things you wished to do when you met him.

You proceeded to provide your name, “I’m an apothecary, a-as I said before. I’m currently traveling to research and further my knowledge. I know of quite a few herbal remedies and natural solutions to assist with a wide variety of ailments, I’d love to repay you in any way I can,” you started hopefully, though you soon realized what you’d offered, “I-I mean, not to say that a few small remedies would be enough of repayment for saving my life, but I didn’t want to just do nothing -”

“That won’t be necessary,” he cut through your rambling, “thank you though.”

That won’t be necessary? Was there really nothing you could do for this man? You deflated a bit, feeling the blanket slide off your shoulders once again.

“I need to be going,” the redhead gestured to the hearth again, “please don’t let me keep you any longer.”

“Oh! Uh! Yes, sorry,” you shuffled back a bit, adjusting your hold on the blanket and pausing momentarily to reel in the crushing weight of failure, “please don’t let me keep you - I’m sorry for keeping you.”

He nodded at you once before walking away to where you assumed his quarters were. Shuffling back to your seat by the hearth, you curled up into the blanket once more. You hadn’t been much help to him at all. But there had to be something you could do…

-_-

Miss Adelinde came by later to check in on you. You’d mostly dried up by then. You renewed your offer to her, and entertaining you, she shared some of her ailments with you, and you made sure to jot them down in your notebook.

She seemed rather amused by your earnestness. However she was even more curious as to what had led to you being stranded in the rain. At some point she even asked you if you hadn’t thought to bring an umbrella with you. You let out a little chuckle, halting midlaugh at the sharp pain you felt, before gingerly pulling your umbrella out for her to see.

“My, what did you do ?” She stared at it in wonder.

“Oh! Well, I was attacked by an Abyss Mage,” you began, your tone as though you were listing out your tasks for the day, “a Pyro Abyss Mage, and well, while trying to run from it I ended up destroying my umbrella,” you wore a sheepish grin, “I’m not too sure how though, haha.”

“Oh my, that sounds horrifying!” Adelinde stared at you in concern. “Are you alright? Not burnt or injured anywhere?”

You didn’t want to lie, but you also didn’t want to share information of your injury with the kind maid. She’d already done so much for you as it was, worrying her was definitely not something you wanted to do.

Also, you weren’t willing to share that sensitive piece of information. The consequences you imagined ranged from troublesome to dangerous.

“I think I’m mostly alright!” You smiled at her in a way you hope was reassuring. “I’m almost dry too! So I believe I’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”

“Oh don’t say it like that! You’re no trouble at all,” ah she was such a warm person, “and the rain hasn’t let up yet.”

You turned towards the windows then. It was still raining, however the wind wasn’t howling, and it wasn’t as heavy a downpour as it had been earlier. “Well I need to get back to Mondstadt tonight, so I will have to be leaving soon, regardless,” you began shrugging and stopped when you felt that familiar jolt of pain, “I hate to ask this, but could I maybe buy an umbrella?”

“This is a winery dear, we don’t sell umbrellas,” Adelinde teased, “however you could take one.”

“I’m afraid it’ll get destroyed if I encounter another monster, I’d much rather exchange it for money,” you shook your head.

“Oh dear, it seems you misheard,” you furrowed your brow, “I said you could take an umbrella, not borrow one, then it would be yours to destroy.”

“I couldn’t possibly accept that!” You disagreed. “Please allow me to buy it.”

You and Adelinde continued to debate the issue, until you mentioned that you would sooner leave without an umbrella at all, than take an umbrella for free. Which led to a process of haggling? Reverse-haggling with the maid, as she attempted to sell you the umbrella for dirt cheap. You vaguely recalled how much you’d paid for your own umbrella, and at some point during your argument you decided to simply agree to the meager 90 mora that you’d fought Adelinde to, and then to leave a generous tip with it, as Sir Kaeya had suggested you do with Sara at Good Hunter.

With the price settled you asked after the restroom. Aside from attending to your natural business, you took a moment to grind and apply a numbing salve to your chest and torso. You’d inspected it quickly, and it was bruised, which partially explained the continuous pain. In digging for the numbing salve ingredients and some bandages you’d also come across your thermal undershirt. So you slipped it on for when you had to go back out into the rain. It was a bit of a challenge to manage, with your previous boar-related injury still rather fresh. No matter! Soon the salve would take effect and you’d feel better (read: numb).

You counted your mora, placing them into a makeshift pouch of sorts, washed your hands again, and exited the washroom. Bidding the warm Adelinde farewell, you dropped the mora into her palm before immediately leaving the building, the umbrella shielding you from the soft shower.

You hurried to be far from the mansion before she would notice that you’d paid more than agreed upon. Trekking in the rain was more challenging than you’d anticipated. The setting was darker, and less familiar as a result. You really should have asked for directions before leaving.

Oh but not to worry, you would arrive at Mondstadt alive! With no further injuries!

-_-

You remained in Mondstadt proper for at least another week then. You spent your time with both Barbara and Lisa, trying to figure out how to make use of your vision. Thus far they were the only two who knew about it, and they respected your wishes to keep it that way. Though… a few more people ended up finding out as you assisted Barbara so as to learn how to heal with your vision. After all that’s a huge part of why you became an apothecary! To heal.

Of course in staying in Mondstadt again you became privy to a rather interesting urban legend.

You’d been talking to Flora about where she went to gather different flowers and how to grow them, when a couple of Mondstadt natives got into a bit of a tussle arguing who was Mondstadt’s strongest fighter. The two fools were much too inebriated for this time of day, as the sun was quite literally overhead . Really.

But that was how you heard of the “Dark Knight Hero.”

From the argument you gleaned that this “Dark Knight,” was a vigilante of sorts. Unbound by any diplomatic nonsense, they swooped in to save Mond and its citizens whenever they found themselves in need. Truly a hero from a children’s tale.

This was a rather romantic and sweet notion, even if it did undermine the authority of the Knights and current government. That being said they were clearly a force for good, and given they weren’t tied down by diplomacy and political hoo-ha, they achieved things that the government could not.

Well given this urban legend was more than just a mythical character in a rumour.

That being said…if this Dark Knight Hero was real, and they were going about protecting and caring for the citizens of this city then who was it that was caring for them ? Your inquiry dragged your face down into a scowl. It didn’t last long however, with an exhale you neutralized your expression before deciding to do some research into this “Dark Knight Hero.”

“Miss Flora, would you happen to know anything about this ‘Dark Knight Hero’ these men were talking about?” You asked the young girl.

The young girl shook her head with an exasperated sigh, “he’s something of an urban legend. Whether he’s real or not is debatable. No one’s ever really seen him in action, or knows who he really is.”

“Oh I see,” you deflated.

“If you’re really curious, you can ask Patton over by Angel’s Share,” she pointed you down towards a tavern, “he’s the man at the door. He hears the most about this stuff and is the most interested anyhow.”

“I see! Thank you Flora!” You smiled at her with a nod.

After you finished up talking to her about flowers, and taking notes, of course, you made your way to the aforementioned “Patton.”

“Excuse me sir,” you spoke to the bouncer stationed dutifully by the entrance of the aforementioned tavern, “would you happen to be Mr. Patton?”

“Yes I am! A good day to you ma’am! How can I be of assistance?” He greeted, his smile bright.

“Well, I was wondering if you had any information on this ‘ Dark Knight Hero ,’ a man was zealously describing earlier,” you gestured to where the arguing duo had priorly been with your hand.

“Oh hehe curious are you?” He chuckled. “Well, you’re probably going to have to ask around, there isn’t much known about him aside from the fact that he operates at night.”

“Oh so he’s a he is he?” And he operates at night, that makes for two pieces of this potential puzzle.

The bouncer’s eyes widened as though he’d been caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

“Well that’s what Donna said at least,” the bouncer nodded his head towards the lady standing above the flower stall nearby, before shrugging his shoulders.

Huh? Why hadn’t Donna said anything then? Though she does often seem rather dazed.

“I see,” you nodded, “thank you good sir.”

“No problem!”

You made your way towards Donna and thankfully managed to glean some more information.

First: she really did have her head in the clouds, that’s why she hadn’t hopped into your conversation earlier. She’d been rather bashful, her cheeks red as the windwheel asters that Flora was selling below, when she’d snapped out of her daze.

Second: according to her, the Dark Knight Hero was indeed male , and he wielded a pyro vision.

In fact from her answer and rambles he sounded a lot like Master Diluc.

Or maybe you were getting the two mixed up because she kept mentioning Master Diluc? Something about remaining loyal? Oh! Was Donna Master Diluc’s lover?

Was that why she was always dazed?

You supposed it made sense that a man of Diluc’s beauty would be spoken for. It was…mildly disappointing though? In that embarrassing, sort of sheepish sense of: ”oh darn I was the only person who took immediate interest!” AHHH! That’s honestly so embarrassing, you-

Wait.

Why were you thinking about Master Diluc? You were investigating this Dark Knight Hero…kind of?

Oh yes, because of Donna!

Now to recap, the Dark Knight Hero was allegedly a man who used a pyro vision and operated at night.

Well…

That sounded oddly familiar.

After all, your savior had used fire and the moon had fully risen when he’d saved you. And Master Diluc was your savior. As far as you could tell, Master Diluc was male . A very beautiful male too! So…

Male: check.

Uses Pyro: check.

Operates at night: check.

Hmm…based off of these facts alone, you’d be led to believe that Master Diluc was the Dark Knight Hero.

Ah. AHHHH. Your whole body curled up on itself in disgust. Or embarrassment. Both. Yeah probably both. Definitely both. Both. Your meeting with your hero had been awkward at best .

Not to mention he’d rejected your offers to repay his great generosity. A small groan escaped you. How embarrassing. How utterly embarrassing. You curled in on yourself, shrinking down to hug your knees. And shameful that he would save your life and you’d just allow for him to not be repaid in some way.

Uh. What- how did you even get here again?

Oh yes! Master Diluc. The Dark Knight Hero.

Perhaps it was pure coincidence. After all, there’s no way anyone would be able to see that blazing head of hair and forget it, you rested your cheek on your knees. Well unless it was covered up and they didn’t see it. Still there wasn’t any conclusive evidence. Besides, Sir Kaeya had mentioned that Mondstadt had a number of pyro vision holders.

Wait.

Sir Kaeya! You raised your head from your knees. The Knights were bound to be after this vigilante and if anyone had any information about anything around Mondstadt it would have to be that guy!

If you met this Dark Knight Hero you’d be sure to offer him your services as well. Because if you help a hero doesn’t that technically make you a hero too? (It probably does not , however it won’t do to dwell on such negativity!)

Would he reject your offers for herbs like Master Diluc did? Another wave of embarrassment washed over you and you curled back into your previous position. If the Dark Knight Hero was Master Diluc, he would likely reject your remedies again . Ah, this was most unfortunate.

“My, just what is this suspicious ball here?” You heard a familiar voice taunt.

You looked up to see a head full of blue. Well, if it wasn’t the Cavalry Captain you’d just been thinking of. You perked up, unraveling yourself slightly, “Sir Kaeya,” you greeted from your still crouched form, awkwardly shuffling to look at him, “how do you do?”

He let a chuckle slip…oh. Akh! Your family often commented on your poor etiquette, and you usually were much better about it. Safe to say, rather than bounce around on your heels as a ball, you ought to have stood up like a normal person and greeted the man.

You should probably stand up now. Yes.

You sprung up to your full height (which was still shorter than the knight beside you) at that thought…and immediately regretted the decision. Your vision swam with stars, and you swayed a bit on your feet before reaching out to a nearby ledge. Wait,was there a ledge? There was a bench nearby, wasn’t there?

Your hand felt concrete and you were relieved. The man by you seemed more amused than concerned as you could hear him continue to chuckle at you, but he did have the decency to check on you. “You okay there Miss Apothecary?”

Blinking the last of the stars away, you turned to look at the inquiring party. “Yes, I’m alright, just a slight bout of dizziness due to a sudden change in elevation.”

“You mean standing up?”

“I did it very quickly,” you explained, “it was unwise.”

How ironic , such poor wisdom for a person who was gifted for some potential wisdom. Pushing the thought away you reiterated your previous greeting, “how do you do? Can I help you with anything?”

He put on a pouty face (which was unfairly cute and therefore ought to be illegal) feigning offense, “why do you assume that I only sought you out because I wanted something?”

You furrowed your brows, “I didn’t? I just want to know if I can be of any help?” You paused, then it occurred to you. “Wait, you sought me out?”

“I did,” he nodded, “after all, it was rather strange to see someone crouched beside a bench and not seated on it.”

“Oh,” you smiled sheepishly. Yet another thing to add to the list of embarrassing events you’d featured in lately.

“I was wondering what remedies you had for headaches,” he continued, bringing your attention back to him, “the Acting Grandmaster has had nothing but praise for your remedies and I was wondering if you could provide me with something.”

“Do you have a headache?” You looked at the notable drinker of a captain. “It depends on the type of headache. What kind of pain are you experiencing?”

The ever so slippery Cavalry Captain originally hesitated to answer the questions, however as you continued down the list of diagnostic questions: “did you sleep enough last night? Have you been drinking enough water lately? You can tell by the color of your pee, if it’s dark you need to drink more water.”

When you’d mentioned that, he’d wasted no time in commenting how unladylike that statement was. You’d huffed at him, before taking a seat on the bench next to you and continuing down your list of questions: whether he’d been drinking, how his vision was faring, if he was feeling stressed, and if he’d like to take a seat next to you. He did.

You tried to keep them vague enough so that he’d hopefully be comfortable in answering them, but when you realized he seemed rather dodgy (you’d experienced this behavior enough times from other people) you decided to provide him with remedies for all of the types of headaches you’d mentioned.

“Some of these remedies don’t involve any medicine at all,” he commented at some point when you were mentioning perhaps having a fruit or a sweet with some coffee.

“Medicines are not the only cures to things,” you sighed as you pulled a sunsettia out of your handy herb-housing backpack to hand to him, “the human body is an interesting thing, often times the different pains we experience are it trying to communicate that it is deficient in one thing or another, or that perhaps we ought to take care to rest more.”

He took the sunsettia and sniffed it a bit, prompting you to pull out a fruit knife and unwrap it from the handkerchief you put it in to keep it clean.

Taking the fruit from his hand and beginning to cut it to pieces you continued, “medicines often take the healing properties of natural herbs and heighten them or mimic them, to help or aid the body where it is deficient. Sometimes to reinforce its natural immune system, and sometimes to introduce the necessary antidote that the body does not naturally produce.”

You took a piece of the sunsettia and put it in your mouth before handing the captain a piece, trying to reassure him it wasn’t poisoned, “the amazing thing about the body though is that it will make sure to retain the necessary information to combat an ailment it has faced before.”

“So what doesn’t kill you,” he started, before pausing to swallow.

“Quite literally makes you stronger,” you agreed, handing him another slice of sunsettia.

Taking it from you, he gave you his ever-so-charming smile. You smiled back, despite being flustered. You weren’t too flustered though! You had more experience now! You’d faced Sir Kaeya before this, and even managed to keep your wits about you (somewhat) while dealing with Master Diluc!

Oh! That’s right! Without thinking much about it you turned to Sir Kaeya as you handed him more of the sunsettia - you’d meant it for him anyhow.

“Sir Kaeya, have you ever heard of a ‘Dark Knight Hero’?” You blurted out.

He took the fruit slice, leaning back languidly as he chewed and swallowed slowly, obviously relishing in your eager anticipation. After swallowing he turned to look at you, a smirk sitting comfortably on his lips, “hmmm, are you thinking that maybe the Dark Knight Hero is your savior?”

“Yes,” you answered unabashedly.

Your honesty seemed to take him aback, as his visible eye widened a bit and his smirk fell slightly. It smoothly returned as he accepted a slice from you and relaxed again.

“And if he isn’t?” he chewed thoughtfully.

“I would still like to find him,” you answered without thinking much about it, turning back to continue cutting the fruit, “a hero that is always worrying about the wellbeing of the people of Mondstadt, and of Mondstadt itself, who works mostly in the dark of night.”

Your brain finally managed to articulate your thoughts, “well, if someone like that exists, I hope they have someone who is also caring for them , and worrying for their wellbeing and their health.”

It was silent then. You could feel your somewhat-patient’s cool stare on you, perhaps he was studying you. Sir Kaeya didn’t really seem to think you were trustworthy yet. Which was fair, from what you’ve seen of him, he was the type that could talk a lot and reveal nothing about himself. Your mother often told you to steer clear of these types.

No wait- she said something like being careful about how you answered them. Not providing any more information than how much the question required.

At this point the knight had finished the sunsettia. So you pulled out an apple and began to cut it up as you waited for an answer. You wished you could say the silence was comfortable, but you’d never been one to handle silences with company well. Thankfully, having the apple to work with helped. You made sure to eat a slice before offering the knight his own.

As you’d expected he was indeed studying you. He took the offered slice with no hesitation and popped it in his mouth. After he finished the apple you’d like to get some black tea, coffee, or cocoa into his system. Oh perhaps an iced tea with lemon in it. The scent of lemon was therapeutic in itself.

You continued to cut up the fruit and hand the slices to Kaeya, well and you ate a couple yourself. The apple was gone soon enough, and with it most of your hopes of getting any information out of the knight.

Either way, you weren’t about to leave an ailing person half treated when you had more solutions in mind. So you invited Kaeya to have a cup of black tea with lemon. You suggested it be cold, but it would work if it was hot as well. He chose the cold option and you made a mental note of that. He also helped you with the cooling process, and you made a mental note not to forget about his cryo vision.

After the tea and fruits his headache seemed to subside, but it wasn’t gone entirely, so you invited him to accompany you to the grass patches just outside of the side entrance. Under the shade of a tree you told him to lay down, close his eyes, take a deep breath, and release any tension from his neck and shoulders.

He’d been intrigued by this. You explained you wanted him to rest his eyes, well, eye . Given he hadn’t told you much about the headache, you couldn’t rule out the possibility it was due to his vision. Besides if he relaxes, then if it was caused due to stress it should also be reduced.

“You’re a thorough one,” he shot you an amused look as he took a seat on the grass beside you.

“I try to be,” you responded watching him, “do you mind if I inspect your neck and shoulders for tension?”

“Not at all,” he rolled his shoulders back.

“Well then could I ask you to take that fluffy thing off?” When you took note of his inquisitive expression you continued. “If you don’t mind I will be touching you.”

“My, how bold ,” he teased while shrugging off his fur accessory ? Whatever that thing was.

You tried not to fluster too much at his words. He seemed to enjoy teasing you. Pinching the juncture of his neck and shoulder you noticed some tension, there was more of it in his shoulders than his neck though thankfully. From this you could conclude he was likely a bit stressed.

Hmm…you recalled the basic tips an therapist from Inazuma to your homeland had mentioned with regards to working knots out of a patient’s body. “Please tell me if you’d like me to stop,” was all the warning you gave the knight before beginning to knead the knots out of his shoulders.

Again, the two of you stayed silent, and again you were thankful that you had something to do to keep you from worrying over the silence. You’d been kneading for a while, working out knot after knot, for someone so lax he sure held a lot of tension. Figures, the relaxed attitude was an act.

“I’ve heard that the Dark Knight Hero drops by Angel’s Share from time to time,” his smooth voice cut through your concentration and you stilled momentarily, “maybe you could contact him indirectly that way.”

You blinked your surprise away, and your tired hands resumed their kneading. He was actually giving you some information? And is that why Patton seemed rather startled earlier? He was stationed outside the Angel’s Share, did he know the hero personally?

“Sir Kaeya, is that yet another rumor that is floating around?” Your face pinched in suspicion. “Or have you figured out who this hero is?”

“Who’s to say?” He would have shrugged if he could. “Though you probably have a point.”

“About?” You raised an eyebrow though he couldn’t see it.

“If this Dark Knight Hero really does exist, and he does as people say,” he paused letting out a quiet grunt as you worked on a particularly tense knot, “then he’s undoubtedly in need of someone to worry over him.”

You hummed then let him know you were considering his words, “and so you’re nominating me?”

“Well you’re the one who seems the most concerned over his well being,” he angled his head to look back at you.

“That can’t possibly be true,” you disagreed, tone a little strained as you tried to maintain a consistent pressure on that knot.

“Well, whenever I’ve heard people talking about the Dark Knight Hero, it’s always been speculation and adoration, but never concern,” he exhaled deeply, turning his face back again.

You fell silent for a moment, trying to work out the next knot, “but isn’t Angel’s Share a tavern?”

“One of the best in Mondstadt!” He chirped in agreement.

Your smile was wry then, “I confess I’m not fond of taverns or bars.”

“Is that so?” He seemed rather disappointed by that, “why not?”

“I don’t like alcohol,” you answered bluntly, “unless it’s an antiseptic.”

“Oho,” he shot you a glance over his shoulder, yet again, his smile was very amused, “well that’s interesting .”

“Not really,” you deadpanned, “please face forward.”

“As you wish.”

His neck is a sensitive area, hence why you instead directed him through your favorite stretches. Once you were done he confessed to feeling lighter.

That was when he plopped himself onto the soft grass with a sigh, his long limbs stretched out as though he’s a starfish. He seemed better, you supposed. Not wanting to leave him alone, you went to sit by a tree trunk and pull out your current book.

You hadn’t been reading for long when the captain sat up again. He rolled his neck and shoulders out, thanked you, and excused himself to get back to work.

You prescribed he sleep early without drinking to make sure he didn’t have another headache later.

He chuckled jovially, with a smooth, “sure,” that made no promises.

He was absolutely going to drink again.

You’d have to charge him for these remedies next time. Hopefully having a few less mora in his coin purse will prevent him from drinking.

-_-

As was probably expected, you spent the rest of your time foraging in the outskirts of Mondstadt. After climbing a sunsettia tree and seeing the amazing expanse of Cider Lake followed by the forests beyond the bridge, you plopped yourself down on a branch to rest, munching on a freshly picked sunsettia all the while.

The exhaustion of the day really settled into your limbs, and you found yourself too tired to even bother fighting it. So you stayed like that even as the sun completely set and the stars came out. It crossed your mind that you really ought to get down from that tree and get a proper meal. Especially before it got any darker. Vision holder or not, you weren’t exactly a trained warrior. But you were so tired , and the ground was so far down, and getting yourself down safely would be a chore .

You were coaxing yourself to make your way down: returning your pack into your newly obtained pocket dimension (arguably the best thing about having a vision) so you’d be lighter, mentally chanting little encouragements in your head, and pulling up your sleeves - then you heard that annoyingly familiar cackle.

You pulled your knees to your chest as quietly as you could. Were you an Abyss Mage magnet? Seriously ? When you were in Sumeru you didn’t attract nearly so many-oh wait, you were mostly in residential areas there. But you were close to a residential area right now ! Just-urgh. Perhaps Mondstadt was just hazardous?

Not likely.

After all, if you thought about it hard enough it seemed like a friend of yours had mentioned something deceptively similar…

Not that you paid all that much attention to his boasting. You lamented that now, as he might have let something useful slip then.

With great care not to make a sound, you surveyed your surroundings. The Abyss Mages, yes, mages, plural, were…walking? Yes just strolling about on their tiny little legs, once again near a side entrance. There were two of them, one was a Cryo Mage, you would know, the other however was unfamiliar to you. Unlike its cryo counterpart, the unfamiliar mage seemed to blend in with the dark, its fuzz and robe being rather dark, so it just looked like a black mass with a floating white mask.

They seemed to be conversing with one another, probably plotting something evil given their continuous cackles. You worked to suppress the shivers that came over you. Make no mistake, it wasn’t because the night was cold.

Thankfully due to the dark and your position in the tree, neither mage seemed aware of your presence. You picked up a few words from their conversation as they neared your tree. Something about “trying again,” and “getting revenge for last time,” and this time being more successful because they’d “been scouting the area for a while now.”

Yepp, you weren’t going to go around on the outskirts of Mondstadt after dark anymore. Noooo siree! These things came by every night?

No wonder you ran into one a month ago.

They continued to cackle ominously, and you made out some more of their conversation, it seemed like they were targeting one specific individual, and that their demise would make it much easier for them to carry out whatever plot (vile, evil, horrendous plot) they had.

You had to notify Master Jean as soon as you could leave this tree safely. Or Sir Kaeya. He was a valid option. Well that was when you could leave. It looked like you’d be stuck here a while, and you couldn’t even read anything because you had to stay vigilant in case these menaces chose to attack you indiscriminately again. Well that was one good thing about them perhaps: they did not discriminate when it came to attacking people. How kind of them. To hate all peoples equally. It was almost noble in a sense.

You grabbed your humble knapsack of Klee bombs from your pocket dimension and clutched it tightly. In case they did attack you’d be as ready as you could be.

You continued to clutch the bag to your chest even as the night went on and they continued to wander about, perhaps making note of this and that. Due to the stress of potentially being attacked, you didn’t really feel any sense of hunger, nor exhaustion. You were straining to hear as much as you possibly could about their plan to tell the Acting Grandmaster, but that was it.

The restless monotony of your night was set ablaze by a flaming weapon coming down on both the shields that the Abyss Mages had summoned. The suddenness of the attack had you reaching for a bomb in a hurry. However before you launched the thing, you carefully leaned over to see what all the commotion was.

Something about this situation seemed familiar.

It couldn’t possibly be because you were on the outskirts of Mondstadt proper at night after foraging and running into Abyss Mages could it? Not at all related to the flaming head of hair below, no siree.

You exhaled as though you were a deflating balloon. This was your opportunity to help though! You could give it a shot! Putting the bomb back into the pack you moved to a lower branch as best you could. Now you could make it to the ground without breaking anything if you fell!

Turning back to the battle you noticed Master Diluc work tirelessly to avoid what looked like a bubble trailing after him while also dodging massive ice shards. He made it look effortless, but it couldn’t be easy. You pulled out that bomb again. What if you distracted one of them? Ideally the cryo mage, but well, you weren’t in a position to be picky.

You’d thrown lots of Klee’s bombs before, how else were you to go fish blasting? However this would be your first time throwing one at anything that wasn’t a body of water. Launching the device it detonated upon impact to the ground not too far away from the tree. The explosion distracted all three of the participants in the current scuffle, and you waited with baited breath to see if they’d take the bait.

To your greatest fortune, it was the Abyss Mage with the unknown element that teleported over to see what the fuss was about. Casting a glance you noticed that your savior happened to break through the mage’s cryo shield. Of course that wasn’t the wisest move, as the mage that came to investigate the commotion you’d caused managed to spot you on the branch. You’d barely gotten a bomb out when it caged you within a bubble of water.

Ah so that’s what Master Diluc had been working to dodge.

Thank goodness your herbs were in that pocket dimension! Nice, and safe, and dry . Truly, this was the greatest blessing of having a vision.

Hmm if you were currently drowning in this bubble, didn’t that mean this was a Hydro Abyss Mage? Well then, that’s three out of the seven known elements, you just had to meet the other four variants and you’d have a full set! Maybe you’d even get a prize for meeting them all? Or perhaps it would be recorded somewhere as an achievement?

This was not the time for sardonic jokes.

You weren’t the best at holding your breath underwater really, but you did know that the trick was to move as little as possible. You could vaguely make out a deep, notably human voice calling out to you through the water of your current prison. Your grip tightened on the dangerously cute looking bomb in your hand. Oh yeah!

Luckily all Klee’s bombs are waterproof!

Welp here goes something, you couldn’t help but think as you activated the bomb and tried to swim as far away from it as you could before it exploded. As you expected, you didn’t really get very far before the force of the blast destroyed the water prison and launched you to the side.

Your landing onto the grass was not graceful, but it wasn’t too bad, as the ground was mostly soft. You’re not going to lie, that blast hurt . Maybe you shouldn’t blast the poor fishies anymore.

You were hacking as you regained your breath, water dripping from your hair, clothes, nostrils, and mouth. You’d barely started to breathe again, when you looked to see that you weren’t very far from the Cryo Mage that looked as disoriented as you felt, swaying on its feet.

You could hear the sounds of the fight continuing as you continued to cough and gasp for breath. You worked to sit up, feeling the entirety of your left side ache. As it turns out, thanks to your efforts, and the fact that you were in water, your outfit hadn’t taken much damage, it wasn’t completely unharmed, but it was still decent enough that you wouldn’t need to buy another one. Your mora was running low as it was.

You saw the mage regain its footing and start dancing, which honestly didn’t seem like a good sign. You summoned the bomb pouch again. Huh, you were lucky that it disappeared when you’d been in that hydro bubble, imagine all of these things going off? You’d have died.

Probably.

But that’s besides the point. Grabbing another bomb you managed to throw it at the dancing mage’s feet. It went off, and blew the Mage off its feet, which meant it stopped dancing. That was when a blur of red and black flew past you, grabbing the mage by its fuzzy neck.

You’d blinked and you noticed Master Diluc had both the Abyss Mages against the wall, his hands pressing into both their necks.

You could hear him speak, voice low, demanding, “what are you doing lurking around Monstadt?”

“Like we’d ever tell you!” One of them spat.

You heard them shriek in pain, the sound ear-piercing, and not in the way that let you wear more earrings.

Wait.

They could speak your language! You stood up, wincing at the sharp pain shooting through your left leg and made your way towards the trio. “you understand our language!” You accused.

“Of course we do silly human!” One responded.

You felt your indignation rise. However before you could articulate your anger, you heard them shriek again, and noticed the dying flicker of flames where Master Diluc’s hands were.

““I know you’ve been searching for something around here for the last month or so,” his eyes narrowed, “I’m going to ask you again, what are you plotting?”

“We’re never going to tell you and you’ll never find-AAAAHHHH!” You watched in horror as the cryo mage burned until there was nothing left but black ashes.

You turned to look at Diluc who had the full force of his glare directed at the remaining hydro mage. He didn’t need to say a thing.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” You felt bad for the fiend, as it pathetically tried to negotiate for its life. “The Dark Knight Hero! We’re after him!”

Oh that’s interesting!

Master Diluc seemed to think otherwise.

“The Dark Knight Hero,” he scoffed, eyes narrowing, “hasn’t he fended you off already? What are your true motives?”

“Actually,” you cut in without thinking, earning their attention, “when they were talking earlier, he and his friend mentioned that they were plotting revenge against someone, saying this time their attack would be successful.”

The Pyro user immediately confirmed this, “is this true?”

“Yes! Yes!”

“And what’s this about an attack?” The growl that left the man to your side had you flinching a bit.

“An attack on the Dark Knight Hero!”

Ooh wrong answer.

Diluc’s hand tightened on the mage’s neck, “do not play dumb with me. Whatever your plot, I will find it out and I will foil it.”

“They’ve been scouting the area for a while now,” you recalled.

You could see the Pyro energy in Diluc’s hand, “tell me everything .”

That was all it took for the mage to finally crack. Seems they’d been planning a series of assaults on Mondstadt in succession, where they’d demand the surrendering of the Dark Knight Hero, hoping to pressure him into revealing himself. At first you’d been confused, but then it made sense: reveal his identity and then the knights would have to limit his activity, which meant he would interfere with these mages’ plans less.

These mages were oddly organized. Perhaps they belonged to some specific order of mages that wished to…to do something, perhaps take over the world? Or Mondstadt at the very least?

You were pulled out of your mind-wanderings by the shrill cry of the hydro mage being fried. From there you turned to look at the man that had fried it, swallowing down an unreasonable complaint.

“Speak of this to no one,” was the first thing he said.

Your brow furrowed, “I feel we should at least report this to Acting Grandmaster Jean.”

He stared you down, his eyes ablaze as he worked to burn your resolve down. It was kind of working. Having the full, undivided attention of a man who’s managed to end two Abyss Mages and could likely easily end you? Yeah…it’s enough to intimidate anyone you’d think.

That and he’s really pretty. Having the full, undivided attention of a man whose beauty could inspire the many bards of this city? Yeah that’s a lot of pressure.

Yet for whatever reason you didn’t yield. Perhaps it was the lingering adrenaline? Or maybe it was your dwindling patience from the day? (Or perhaps it was that ever so convenient habit of your mind wandering yet again.) Either way after what felt like an eternity of him staring you down, he let out a tired exhale.

“If the Knights of Favonius were capable of handling this, wouldn’t you agree they’d have arrived by now?” He reasoned, folding his arms over his chest, “we’ve managed an entire interrogation and despite your explosives none of them have come to investigate.”

You hated that he had a point. Where were those knights? Well then again you weren’t that close to the entrance this time. Besides, even if her staff were bums, Master Jean herself was not! She deserved to know, she was responsible for all this too! All this being Monstadt. And its safety!

You told him as much, “Master Jean deserves-no- needs to know,” you insisted, “regardless of how incapable her knights are, she herself is highly capable and ought to be informed as the Acting Grandmaster.”

He gave you a bored look then.

“Fine,” he closed his eyes, “but only Jean and mention nothing about me. I was never here.”

You could feel your face scrunching up in confusion, “why?”

However before he could say anything more it all clicked into place. Your hunch had been right! “You are the Dark Knight Hero!” You cheered excitedly.

His brow furrowed and a frown marred his face, “how do you know about the Dark Knight Hero?”

“Oh! Well! You see,” you began oh-so eloquently, “a couple of drunk idiots were arguing about who the strongest fighter in Mondstadt was.”

At that he raised an eyebrow, “and what drove you to the conclusion that it was me?”

“Oh well, I asked around and people said that the Dark Knight Hero was a he, worked at night, and had a pyro vision,” you listed things out excitedly, “when you’d first saved my life it was at night and you’d clearly used pyro, and you’re a male.”

“I’m not the only male that uses a pyro vision at night in Mondstadt,” his expression was bored.

Oh he got you there. “Well I don’t see why you’d be so adamant about me not revealing your involvement to Master Jean unless you didn’t want her to figure out you were the infamous vigilante,” you explained.

He seemed to be considering what to do with you when you decided to give credit where it was due though. “Well to be fair, Donna gave me the idea.”

“Donna?”

“Yes! She’d been saved by the Dark Knight Hero before and was working very hard to ensure she stayed loyal to you, and she kept mentioning you while telling me about the time the Dark Knight Hero saved her, so I got the two of you mixed up in my head,” you babbled quickly, “oh! Don’t worry she still prefers you, as in Master Diluc, to the Dark Knight Hero! There’s no need to worry though, really, given you’re the same person! I mean, she , doesn’t have to worry!”

The way he was looking at you made you want to shrink in on yourself, “what do you mean by all that?”

Oh no. “I wanted to clear up any misunderstandings? Donna is clearly a very loyal lover, so I didn’t want you to be upset with her because of my negligence and rambling-”

“Donna and I are not lovers,” he corrected your assumptions.

Ah what a fool you were, making assumptions as you did. Just brilliant, absolutely brilliant. You were sure the look of horror on your face said it all.

“I,” you paused, “I apologize. I didn’t mean to, well I don’t know really,” you rambled, “I hope I have not made you uncomfortable?”

“Not at all,” he replied smoothly, finally uncrossing his arms, “from what you’ve said, your assumption seems like a somewhat logical conclusion to arrive at when you have so little information.”

You didn’t respond.You felt your embarrassment lick at you the way his flames had licked at the Abyss Mages prior. Oh gosh, you’d also completely ruined things for Donna! You just revealed her feelings to him without her consent nor knowledge and-

“I trust we have an agreement?” He asked you.

“I’m sorry, about what?” You snapped out of your thoughts.

“You will only inform Jean and won’t mention me.”

“Ah yes,” you shook off your lingering embarrassment to look at the man before you, “you have my word.”

He offered you a gloved hand, and so you shook it, reaffirming your agreement.

“I’m sorry, could I ask that you continue to treat Donna as you usually would?” You asked sheepishly. “I thought that-I didn’t mean to reveal that she-I’m sorry.”

He retracted his hand from yours - oh you’d still been shaking it. “That is a misplaced apology,” you grimaced, “not that you have anything to apologize for, she was never subtle about her feelings.”

“So you knew?” You saw that he wore a tired look now.

“Of course, I had to know why she observed me so keenly,” he folded his arms across his chest then, “turns out she wasn’t a threat.”

Oh. So that was it. Guess you didn’t do any real damage. Would you still have to apologize to Donna though? How would you do it without revealing this event? Well if he already knew then you didn’t do any real damage. Maybe you should keep quiet about this…

Nevermind that, there was something more important right now! You gave the man a once over, “are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I should be the one asking you that.”

“Don’t worry yourself with me,” you worked to wave his concerns away, however he cut you off.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’re leaning heavily on your right side,” he stated flatly.

“A slight sprain,” you said quickly, “nothing Sister Barbara or I can’t fix.”

“You’re not planning on walking on that leg are you?”

“Sir, do not think I haven’t noticed you avoiding my question,” you folded your arms across your chest and you scanned him once again, but with more focus, “are you hurt anywhere?”

“That’s nothing for you to concern yourself with.”

“I’m an apothecary , it is exactly the thing I ought to concern myself with!” You disagreed. “Actually! Given I’m aware of your secret identity, I’d like to re-extend my offers for natural and herbal remedies! Not that the initial offer ever expired.”

You smiled as you started explaining what this entailed, however you’d barely told him about how it included teas and salves as well as ointments when he cut you off saying he was fine.

“Well the offer is always there for you when you wish to take it,” you relented, your excitement dampening.

The two of you stood in silence, and a sudden gust of wind had you shivering. That’s right! You were still soaked from head to toe. Without something to distract you, and your falling adrenaline levels, the aftermath of your earlier scuffle made itself apparent. Your expression soured despite your efforts, and you tried to shift subtly to ease the weight on your seemingly injured leg.

A low branch would do, especially given the lower branches were rather sturdy on the tree you’d been in. It could serve as a crutch to help you hobble your way home for the night.

Wait. You had a vision, and you had been practicing. You cast a quick look to the man by your side, he seemed private enough, he likely wouldn’t tell anyone about your vision.

You unceremoniously dropped yourself onto the ground. Really there was no elegant way to do it with only one leg supporting you.

“Are you alright?” Master Diluc was kneeling by you instantly. “There was no way you could walk on that ‘slight sprain,’ of yours.”

As much as you wanted to deny it, he wasn’t wrong, and so you simply heaved a tired sigh as you worked to unlace your boot, “yeah, you were right,” you were about to remove your boot, when it hit you that you’d been wearing it all day .

You turned to look at the very attractive redhead, embarrassment finally finding you. Now, while you wouldn’t say you were ugly , you were actually rather cute sometimes! You also wouldn’t say you could compete with the beauty that Diluc possessed. All this to say you didn’t want him smelling your smelly foot.

“Uh, Master Diluc,” you shot him a sheepish smile, “I believe I’ll be fine now, so if you’d like you could go ahead with your evening.”

He perked an eyebrow at that, somehow that inquisitive look made him all the more attractive, “even though you can’t stand?”

“I can stand!”

“Then why did you sit yourself down?”

“To-” you paused then, he got you.

“To?” He pressed.

You were silent for a moment, letting his focused stare whittle away at you. With a sigh you gave in, “to inspect the damage to my foot.”

“Wouldn’t it be wiser to do that within the city walls?” He asked flatly.

Ah! He had a point! You should have thought of that!

“Well I’d need to be able to walk into the city to inspect it there,” you tilted your head to look at him, “oh wait I can crawl.”

You were working to retie your boot when you heard him shuffle to be beside you on your injured side. “Is everything alright?” You asked.

The look he gave you could be described as tired, or perhaps done, “you can lean on me.”

You felt your face burn, from both the proximity and the offer. You were working to stutter out a response, “th-there’s no need! It’ll hurt but I can manage,” you were shuffling to stand, and moved much too quickly, the sudden pain shooting through you like a shock of electro.

You inhaled deeply so as to not let out a cry of pain, and dropped back down to the ground. Or you would have, had it not been for Master Diluc’s quick reflexes.

You felt your whole body warm in embarrassment: you were being held . As though sensing your discomfort the man helped right you to stand on your own foot, however one gloved hand remained firmly on your elbow.

“You’ve made it worse,” he reprimanded, voice low, “stop being stubborn and let me help you.”

You couldn’t help the look of absolute disbelief on your face. Was he being serious? You could say the same to him! “I’m not being stubborn,” you denied.

“You are.”

“I am not !” You stressed. “I was hoping to find a way where I wouldn’t be putting myself further into your debt.”

“You’re not in my debt.”

“I am !” You disagreed. “You’ve saved my life twice, arguably three times now!”

“Arguably three times?”

“When I met the Cryo Abyss Mage not too far from here,” you counted onto your fingers, “when I was given shelter from the rain at your winery,” you counted before quickly moving on to the most recent incident when you noticed he was about to disagree, “and just now when you took down the two mages.”

“You weren’t under attack just now,” his brow furrowed, “you weren’t in any danger at all before I arrived. Where were you?”

“I was sitting in that tree,” you turned to point at it.

“You should have stayed put in that tree then,” he grumbled.

“I was trying to help!” You replied in indignation, before shrinking.

“It was unnecessary, I had it undercontrol,” you felt like you were being scolded, “and you got yourself injured as a result.”

He was right. You’d potentially gotten in his way too. It was nice of him not to bring that up though.

“I suppose I should have considered if I was getting in your way,” you looked away from him, “I’m sorry.”

He was still holding your elbow, you took note of how he hadn’t reached around to help you out yet. Was he waiting for your permission to help you before he touched you?

“Well,” he cut through the silence, “you didn’t get in the way ,” he corrected gently, “however you did put yourself into unnecessary danger.”

You shrunk even further, “I see that now.”

“Your information during the interrogation did help,” he acknowledged then, “thank you.”

“Yeah…uh you’re welcome I guess…it was no big deal - don’t - no need to mention it,” your voice got quieter with every word as you wrung your hands together hoping to relieve yourself of some embarrassment, “I suppose we ought to get inside, I’ve taken up enough of your time as it is already.”

“May I?” He asked as he gestured in a manner you understood as him asking to support you.

You nodded, more embarrassed by your previous actions than you were by his proximity. He took your right arm, slipping it over his shoulder, before his hand - which was really nice and warm-came to rest on your waist. In a smooth motion he pulled you into his side.

Nice and snug .

Oh gosh that’s embarrassing. But he was so warm and given you’d been doused from head to toe-hold up. “Uh wait Master Diluc!” You said after the first awkward hobble.

“What is it? Are you alright?” He really did have a decadent voice, truly it was rich as he spoke right above your head.

“Oh no! I’m alright, it’s just,” you grimaced, “I’m going to get your clothes all wet.”

“Is that all?”

“Well I’d rather not inconvenience you further,” you explained.

“Don’t worry about me,” he reiterated, his fingers flexing on your waist as he readjusted his grip, tightening it as he worked to help you again.

Your gaze snapped towards where his hand rested on your waist. Oh if your family saw you now. Hoo boy, would you be in for it. Such close proximity to a handsome man…and that hand on your waist.

Scandalous.

You’d never been held like this before. It was very strange, and incredibly embarrassing. You found yourself looking at the dark ground below, trying your best to go as fast as you could, the sooner you made it past the gates, the sooner Master Diluc could be free of you.

With every awkward little hop you made, the redheaded’s grip would readjust on your waist as he continued to help you. You swallowed heavily, the heat rising in your body making you warm despite your chilled skin.

“I’m sorry this is taking so long,” you apologized sheepishly when the entrance was in sight, “I’ve taken up a considerable amount of your time, so you can just leave me here to use the wall, I’ll manage.”

“I’m not about to leave you where you can be attacked when you’re unable to even stand.”

“Then you could let me lean on the wall and watch me walk in,” you suggested quickly, before pausing, “oh wait-”

“That would still be taking up my time, wouldn’t it?” He asked.

“Yeah, I was just thinking that,” you grimaced, “my bad.”

You heard a quiet exhale that sounded…amused? You turned to look at the man that was serving as your crutch, and unless it was a trick of the moonlight, there seemed to be a subtle upturn at the corner of his lips. You blinked and it was gone though, and so you turned to look ahead of you again.

As you got closer to the side entrance though a new worry rose to the forefront of your mind, and you stopped entirely.

“What is it this time?” He seemed a bit impatient.

“Well, I don’t think it would be wise to enter as we are right now,” you started, looking back up at your companion with a furrowed brow, “I’d rather we enter separately.”

He seemed to be considering what you intended by that. “I fear you being seen with me will hint at your secret identity.”

“How is that?” He furrowed his brows, eyes narrowing at you.

You pursed your lips while looking away, your embarrassment hurting more than the dull throbbing in your foot. You inhaled sharply as you grimaced. “I talked to Sir Kaeya about the Dark Knight Hero,” you started pausing as you worked to formulate the rest of the explanation.

“You told Kaeya your speculations?”

“No! No no no!” You immediately denied waving both your hands in a panic. “No, I didn’t,” you quickly cleared up as your brain quickly thread all the events together, “I tried to ask him if he knew of the Dark Knight Hero, and if he had any information about him,” you paused to breathe, “and he was already aware that a pyro user had saved me prior-I reported the first time I was attacked to him-and when he asked me if I thought that my savior was the Dark Knight Hero, I said yes.”

Master Diluc looked very unimpressed, and so you continued hurriedly, “I was just hoping he might give me some information for a change, but I never mentioned your name-not even once,” you rambled on, “and like you said, you’re not the only pyro vision user in Mondstadt!” You gestured with your free hand. “A-and! And he said as much the first time I met him. Uh-when I reported being attacked by an Abyss Mage!”

He closed his eyes and let out a long exhale, when he opened them again he raised a brow at you, “and did you get any information out of Kaeya in the end?”

You looked up towards the sky in thought, “he mentioned that the Dark Knight Hero frequents a tavern by the name of Angel’s Share,” you turned to look at him noticing his features had shifted subtly in surprise, “is that true?”

“I own Angel’s Share,” he stated, readjusting his grip on you as a whole, “given your concern, I take it you won’t be sharing your theories with anyone else?”

“I already promised you this,” your brows furrowed this time, “didn’t I?”

At his silence you promised him again, “yes, I promise that your secret is safe with me.”

“Good,” he nodded at you.

He pulled you along towards the entrance, and you wasted no time in voicing your confusion, “uh Master Diluc, about my suggestion to enter separately?”

“Yes, I’m in agreement,” you noticed that you were moving closer towards the wall, “it’s a rather astute suggestion after all.”

“Oh. Uh thank you,” you offered a gentle smile.

The vigilante helped you to the wall, and stood back watching you the whole way up until you made it through the entrance. There you were met by the knight that was keeping watch and an unavoidable interrogation.

“You’re hurt! How did you get injured?” The knight began reaching for you.

On instinct you reached out to keep him from touching you, which caused him to shrink back. “Well I climbed a tree, and, well, things happened, and here I am!” You explained, truthfully.

Seems that was enough for the guard. Following your instructions he got you something that could serve as a crutch, and tried to call for someone to escort you home. You appreciated the sentiment, but you did not want to inconvenience anyone else for the day, so you didn’t and hobbled on back to your inn by yourself.

You made it back to your room without causing yourself any additional pain, inspected the damage without subjecting anyone to the stench of your foot, and even managed to put into practice some of your healing…y’know without making too much noise. You’d had to gag yourself, kind of.

Which was all good news! Okay maybe not the gagging bit, but still, good news for the most part!

It took you a while to heal it and by the time you were done, as in, the swelling went down and it only throbbed with an easily ignorable soreness, you were freezing , your clothes were still damp after all. You wasted no time in switching into your night clothes and setting out your other clothes to dry before curling up under the covers for warmth.

Now you were a lady of your word, and so you half walked half limped your way to the Acting Grandmaster’s office first thing in the…early afternoon, to tell her what you’d overheard. Sans the unfairly beautiful winery owner’s involvement of course!

With that settled, and Master Jean rubbing her temples, no doubt attempting to assuage an incoming headache, you…didn’t move on to see Sister Barbara, but instead remained by the young lady for a bit longer.

Noticing you hadn’t left yet, she heaved a heavy sigh. “Thank you for your information,” she continued to rub at her temples, “The knights will be mobilized to handle this issue.”

“Well it was only right to tell you,” You replied with a shaky smile, feeling a pang of guilt for increasing her already tremendous burden. Well it wasn’t really your fault, but still, you felt for her.

You’d bring her some tea and sweets, oh and maybe some soap later. Oh you had to make that.

Anywho, you left to see Barbara after your meeting with Jean. You hadn’t been wearing your boots for long, so your feet didn’t stink! Well not too much anyway - besides any stench they would have worked up would likely be covered up by the mint scent of your numbing salve.

Your boot came off. The scent of mint wafted into the air much to your relief. Then your sock came off, then the bandage, and that was when you watched the popular deaconess’ face contort into a look of horror. Your foot looked abysmal. Truly.

It was swollen.

Much more swollen than you would have expected.

See, that was the problem with using the numbing salve, it just reduced the pain, it didn’t solve the problem. Barbara was looking at you in horror, especially given she’d seen you limp your way into the cathedral, without a crutch.

Gosh, and it was this bad with your healing. Either it was way worse before, or you plain sucked at healing.

Well! You were still new to the whole vision thing. You’d figure it out eventually.

She was such a great mentor really. When you expressed you’d actually tried to heal it last night - she seemed even worse for wear after hearing you’d slept with the leg - how did you manage that? Oh yeah-you were exhausted.

Back on topic!

Yes, Barbara decided to walk you through how she would go about healing it, and a good way to use your elemental sight and vision to inspect the wound better. It was really clever! Upon inspecting the damage done to your foot, you could understand exactly why she was as mortified as she was. Just wow - you’d really done a number on yourself. You’d outdone yourself really. Coming to Mondstadt was giving you all sorts of new experiences.

Rejecting Sir Kaeya’s soup might just be the highlight of this trip really. Or perhaps last night when you were supported by Master Diluc. The ghost of his fingers on his waist teased you, and you shook out your embarrassment quickly.

Anywho, once you were fully healed, Barbara told you not to do anything strenuous for the day. She let you off with a word of advice that every healer has their own way of healing and that it will take time before you figure out what works for you.

Nothing strenuous huh?

Nothing strenuous.

Would your current activities be called strenuous?

Hmm. Depends on who you asked and how they defined strenuous. You were making soap right outside Mondstadt’s walls. That wasn’t strenuous!

It was rather relaxing actually!

Adelinde hadn’t shared much of her troubles with you, however, you picked up on the fact that she worked a lot, and that Master Diluc did as well. And Master Jean too! Welp that was all the more reason to prepare some soaps with refreshing scents that were good for the skin. You should make a good batch of them so the other maids and workers could also get some! That would only be fair.

Oh maybe you could prepare a bathing solution! You knew just the thing for hair and skin!

Oh wait, it depended on the type of hair and type of skin…

Ah, well, they’d figure it out.

Also your mother had this amazing foot cream, you’d modified it slightly with the help of your old professor back when you were still at home so it was even more effective! It would help with those sores the sweet maid did mention.

And you could also extract oils from the mints to make a topical solution for headaches! Sir Kaeya would appreciate that wouldn’t he?

You weren’t sure if they’d help with hangover headaches though…

“My if I didn’t know better, I’d think there was a witch brewing evil outside Mondstadt.”

Ah think of the peacock and he shall appear.

You looked up from where you were squatting by your pack, soap molds and a batch of mint in hand. Well that was convenient for you! You could tell him about the mint oil!

“Sir Kaeya!” Your excitement springing you into a standing position. “Perfect timing! I was just thinking about you!”

He looked amused then.

Wait had he just said witches were evil? But Miss Lisa was lovely how-

“Oh?” He smirked at you. “Thinking about me ?”

“Sir Kaeya, did you just call witches evil?”

He seemed confused by your statement and raised an eyebrow in askance.

“Miss Lisa is a witch,” you furrowed your brow, your earlier excitement lost, your hands falling to your sides, “however, she is most kind and absolutely delightful! So please refrain from speaking ill of witches!”

He let out a little chuckle then. His one visible eye scanning you in a chilling appraisal. “Trying to distract me from the fact that I was on your mind?”

You blinked at him, the furrow in your brow replaced with a relaxed forehead and wide eyes that revealed your bafflement.

Oh!

“No,” your tone was blank, innocent as your expression, and pure as your intentions.

The captain chuckled, his visible eye crinkling. It was a nice sound. You almost forgot that he always approached with ulterior intentions.

“Pray tell then, why was I on your mind?”

“Because! Mints!” You smiled holding up the bundle as though it would explain the whole situation.

It did not.

“Mint oil is good for headaches,” you elaborated, your mouth finally catching up with your brain-no your brain finally catching up with your runaway train of thoughts, “you simply apply it to your forehead or temples- and temples? or take a whiff of it and it can help with headaches!”

The captain raised a hand to his chin, looking rather intrigued before his eye shifted to look to your side. You followed his gaze to the cauldron that you were currently using to make your soaps.

“And what is this concoction here?” He inquired.

“Soap.”

“Soap?”

“Soap,” you nodded, before squatting down to prepare the molds. In the middle of placing different petals and peels in you turned to the knight who was still unnervingly scrutinizing your every move, “would you like one?”

His eyebrow rose as though confused by your offer.

“The soap,” you elaborated, “would you like a bar once I finish this batch?”

“What were you planning to do with all this soap?”

“Give it to mothers so they can wash their children’s tongues clean of their lies,” you explained, your tone void of the humor your statement carried.

When the man seemed to believe you, you giggled, “I met a very nice lady who helped me out, so I’m gifting it to her,” you stood to mix the soap solution, adding this and that to it, “no need to be so suspicious Sir Kaeya,” you turned to look at him, “how may I help you today?”

“Oh I just came to repay you for yesterday,” he offered you his usual jovial smile as he flourished a fancy looking pen.

Oh! That’s nice! Not the most convenient, given it requires you to refill it regularly, but still a kind gesture!

Also you were weak for stationery, and this, this was a beautiful piece of stationery. An elaborate fountain pen, of a regal navy color, its clip resembling a peacock feather.

It was too fancy.

You couldn’t accept something so obviously expensive in exchange for only an apple and a sunsettia…and a tea…and a massage…

“I don’t think I can accept something so fancy when I’m not sure I even helped cure your headache,” you tugged at your hair apologetically.

“I’d say you helped,” he smiled.

“The treatment doesn’t feel like it warrants something so expensive,” you shifted away from his offering.

“My you are difficult,” he chuckled, “how about this?” He gestured with the hand holding the pen. “Consider this as an early payment for the mint oil.”

Huh. Mint oil was a little difficult to extract, and as a result, a bit on the expensive side when sold. You could make sure to offer him a quantity you felt was on par with the price of the pen.

“I’d rather you kept the pen until I actually give you the mint oil though,” you stared at the pen before looking back at its current owner.

He pouted, clearly upset by your continued rejection. Well it wasn’t really rejection. It was…uh…bartering! Yes bartering! In reverse?

“I bought this pen especially for you,” he complained, “as a token of my gratitude for your help.”

“Mondstadt sells special stationery?” You perked up. “Where?”

Oh no. No. No no no. You did not have the funds to buy fancy pens and notebooks. You were starting to run low on funds as it was already. You’d spent too much time at the inn (courtesy of your first life threatening experience) and well it was a good place to dry herbs. Oh maybe you could ask Miss Lisa to let you dry herbs in the library or something.

You heard the knight sigh, bringing you back to your current situation. The soap! You scurried to the cauldron, and stirred the thick bubbling inedible stew.

You began pouring the solution out into the molds, making sure to layer in different petals as you did. Sir Kaeya was still in your vicinity as you did so, you didn’t mean to be rude, but you needed these to cool and set by sunset. He plopped himself down by your pack, now quietly observing.

Ah yes, to be observed so closely by a beautiful man. That wasn’t uncomfortable at all. You knew full well the added heat in your cheeks was not because of the heat of the cauldron. Well, to be fair, yesterday you’d been held by an equally beautiful man. You jolted a bit, the phantom grip of Master Diluc’s warm hand on your waist.

Ah yes! If you had time after this you ought to prepare some salves for the vigilante. He seemed to work alone, and likely endured injuries. You had an excellent antibacterial salve recipe! It sealed wounds rather well and didn’t even sting!

Though you preferred the sting to be honest. It meant the wound was being disinfected properly.

“Well I have to be off,” the knight rose to his feet, “I’ve confirmed you aren’t making anything dangerous and you’ve rejected my repayment,” he pouted playfully at you, “seems you like to keep people in your debt.”

You startled and turned to look at him, mid pour.

“How hypocritical, given you insist on never being in anyone else’s debt,” he lamented theatrically-it was rather dramatic in your opinion.

“You’re not in my debt,” you furrowed your brow at him and turned back to your project for a moment to finish up that specific soap bar before facing him again, “and I feel like if I take your pen then I’ll be in your debt.”

He looked…rather disappointed. His little pout was less annoying and more…? You were not about to call this clearly dangerous man cute, but his pout definitely was. Hmm…it seemed like if you didn’t take this pen, he’d feel indebted to you regardless of your opinion. That was not a nice feeling to experience. It was a nice pen.

Fine.

If only to make sure he wouldn’t feel the weight of a debt. But it would leave a sour taste on your tongue. Oh! You got it!

“How about mora instead?” You suggested.

Yeah, you couldn’t just take that pen. Too fancy. And rather strange given you didn’t feel you were well acquainted with the flamboyantly dressed captain.

His smirk was tired then as he acquiesced, “you’d make a horrible merchant.”

Well that stung.

“Honest merchants can be good merchants,” you huffed, temporarily abandoning your soaps, “I’d say you owe me approximately,” well tomatoes were 90 mora a piece, and you gave him a massage.

Massages were kind of expensive? Were they? Well if it’s a professional handling it, then yes-but you’re not so…

“250 mora?” You suggested.

He gave you 500 and left while you were counting.

He was the one who taught you the generous tip tactic.

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